Author: On Common Ground News

At the recommendation of Governor Brian Kemp and at the directive of Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) Superintendent Dr. Terry Oatts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) in communities, RCPS will move to Independent Learning Days beginning Monday, March 16, 2020 for two weeks. Families should plan for schools and facilities to be closed the week of March 16th, the week of March 23rd, and potentially longer if needed. Friday, March 13, 2020 is a normal operational school day. Updated information will be posted atwww.rockdaleschools.org/COVID19 RCPS will implement Independent Learning with students using their school-issued laptops in grades…

Shoppers packed the Kroger grocery store off of Highway 138 in Conyers. The lines snaked from the store’s pharmacy to the check-out registers at the front of the stores on March 12.  As state officials confirmed Georgia’s first COVID-19 death, local residents stepped up their preparations for the global pandemic. People headed to grocery stores to stock up to stay home, heeding federal, state and county officials’ advice to get ready. There were long lines at a Kroger store in Rockdale County, where shoppers filled their buggies with groceries, bottled water and other goods on Thursday evening (March 12).…

Sugar Bowl Bakery, founded in 1984 by five immigrant brothers as a neighborhood coffee shop in San Francisco, one of the leading minority-owned bakeries in America, will locate its first East Coast location in DeKalb County. The company will create approximately 400 new jobs and invest $37 million over the next five years in its new Tucker facility. “Sugar Bowl Bakery is one of the great American success stories, and we’re excited to welcome this internationally known, family-owned bakery to Georgia,” said Gov. Brian Kemp, who announced the company’s expansion into DeKalb County. “Through our outstanding workforce and logistics…

Heavy rainfalls during the week of March 2 flooded the DeKalb County sewer system with an extraordinary amount of stormwater causing a 6.9-million-gallon spill on Meadow Creek Path.  In February, a 9.2-million-gallon spill occurred at this site that also was due to stormwater intrusion into the wastewater system. Stormwater intrusion occurs when rainwater enters the wastewater system from a structural defect, such as broken or damaged sewer lines, root intrusion and aging infrastructure. Identifying the location of the stormwater intrusion can be challenging because the actual source of stormwater intrusion could be located miles away from the actual…

Development Authority Pictured: City of Stonecrest Economic Development Director Clarence Boone; Stonecrest Development Authority member Julius Lee; Stonecrest Development Authority Chair Antonio Render and Mayor Jason Lary.  Photo provided.  Housing Authority Pictured: Members of the Stonecrest Housing Authority Edwina Clanton, Bill Bruckner, Mayor Jason Lary, Marty Garrison, and Dennis Dae. Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary and the members of the Stonecrest Housing Authority and the Stonecrest Development Authority are heading to the bank with their first checks. Last year, the Authorities respectively adopted bond inducement resolutions paving the way for a $70 million senior citizen housing community and a $700 million…

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced a conviction by jury trial in connection with a fatal crash nearly five years ago that claimed the lives of three people headed to church . Jurors returned guilty verdicts against Marvin Lynch, 32, of Marietta, on March 6 on charges of vehicular homicide in the first degree (six counts), hit and run (two counts), and driving under the Influence. Authorities said Lynch fatally struck Vernon Hatley, 67, of Raleigh, N.C.; his wife, Willie Mae Hatley, 65; and their friend, Cora Rhodes Lyles, 65, of Stone Mountain. Lynch was sentenced to…

By Mackenzie N. Morgan DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson said that he is determined to get a complete count for the 2020 Census—even if it means hosting free carnivals. An estimated 600 people attended one such carnival hosted by Johnson and DeKalb County’s Department of Human Services on March 7 as a reminder that the census is approaching. Invitations to respond to the census are being delivered in the mail March 12-20.  Responses can be made online, by phone or by mail. Families from all over DeKalb attended the Census Carnival, which was held in…

The qualifying period for candidates seeking offices in Rockdale County ended on Friday, March 6, with six unopposed races already decided in the May 19 primary. The incumbents who will face no challengers and will retain their seats are: State Court Judge Nancy Bills; Tax Commissioner Tisa Smart Washington; Coroner George Levett; Rockdale Board of Education Post 1 member Mandy North; Rockdale Board of Education, Post 3 member Wales Barksdale; and Rockdale Board of Education, Post 4 memberHeather Duncan. Meanwhile, the Rockdale Sheriff’s race will have more candidates than any local contest on the ballot. Sheriff Eric Levett is facing…

Pictured left to right are Sarah Adams, Xenia Delgado, Congressman Johnson, Mena Perry and David Moreno. Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) announced the winners of his 2020 Congressional Arts Competition and awarded four college scholarships worth a total of $35,000 on March 7 at the Art Station in Stone Mountain. In this year’s competition, there were 40 entries from eight high schools throughout the Fourth District. The Grand Prize Winner was Sarah Adams, a senior at South Gwinnett High School. She won a $12,000 scholarship to The Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) for her work “Nourish.” Adams will…

State Rep. Viola Davis recently honored Tucker resident Linda Clarkwith the Yellow Rose/Nikki T. Randall Servant Leadership Award. Davis described Clark, a longtime resident of the Peters Park Community, as a “one-woman force that has unified the community to combat and fight the growing deterioration of the neighborhood.” Davis said Clark has a long history of serving the Peters Park Community with dedication and devotion. Clark took the lead in a community cleanup,  motivating more than 75 volunteers from all over Tucker to roll up their sleeves and pitch in to restore Peters Park.  The army…