Author: On Common Ground News

Deadline to register April 26 The33rd Annual DeKalb County Senior Olympic Games will be held May 1-10, for ages 50 and older. The kickoff for the games will be 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 1, at Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Center, 3181 Rainbow Drive, Decatur. The Olympic-style sports festival will include free-throw basketball, bowling, track and field, billiards, swimming, table tennis, line dancing, water volleyball and more. Events will be held at various venues across the county. Participants are encouraged to compete as a team or enter individual events. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded to the top three finishers in…

New Birth Missionary Baptist Church is providing bail for non-violent offenders. The mega church, in partnership with rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris, VH1’s Love and Hip Hop personality Scrapp Deleon, are working with the sheriffs’ offices in DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Rockdale counties to free non-violent offenders through New Birth’s Bail Out” initiative. Program participants will be reunited with their families during a press conference on Saturday, April 20, 2 p.m., at New Birth, 6400 Woodrow Road, Stonecrest. Dr. Jamal H. Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, said the program is all about redemption. What started as a…

Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary is pictured with his brother, the Rev. James Lary, where he preached on Palm Sunday at Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia. Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary is getting a firsthand education on stroke since his 58-year-old brother, the Rev. James Lary, had a stroke on April 15. Their family, he said, is keeping vigil as their loved one recovers. The mayor said his brother moved from the Intensive Care Unit to a regular hospital bed on April 18. He has a tube inserted into his esophagus because the stroke impacted his ability to swallow, Lary…

Congressman Hank Johnson and rapper 21 Savage wrap up their one-day tour in Georgia’s Fourth District, educating students about the importance of financial literacy. Photos by Joshua Smith Congressman Hank Johnson, who represents Georgia’s Fourth District, and Grammy-nominated hip hop artist “21 Savage” recently teamed up to educate students on the importance of financial literacy and following their dreams. Savage and Johnson made two stops in Georgia’s Fourth District to connect with more than 100 students and introduce them to the rapper’s financial literacy programs. “Learning the invaluable lessons of financial literacy at an early age is critical to…

A well-known rapper is in custody after turning himself in to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. Responding to a warrant issued on April 15, 23-year-old Qamar Akee Williams of Avon, Ohio, was taken into custody at the DeKalb County Jail where he will be held on a felony murder charge. According to the warrant, Williams allegedly caused the death of Calvin Alexander Chappell by shooting him multiple times with a handgun on April 15 at a Decatur, Georgia residence. Williams was arrested without incident.

Voices of Faith Ministries kicked off its “Jesus Saves” 5K walk on April 13 at its Stone Mountain campus with nearly 300 registrants turning out for the event. Bishop Gary Hawkins, Sr., founder of Voices of Faith, said the church launched the inaugural walk ahead of Resurrection Sunday as a way to evangelize and reach the unchurched in a way that had not done previously. “We have participated in other walks but never had a walk of our own. With so many people celebrating Easter, we wanted to show our love for Jesus Christ by being visible in the community…

DeKalb County residents now have two more options to renew automobile tags in as little as one minute. DeKalb County Tax Commissioner Irvin J. Johnson recently celebrated the opening of the new tag renewal kiosks on April 9 at the DeKalb Kroger stores located at 4498 Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody and 4919 Flat Shoals Parkway in Decatur. The new location store hours are Sunday through Saturday, 6 a.m. until 1a.m. Customers can scan their Georgia driver’s license, or enter registration information, then follow the easy-to-use touch screen prompts to renew up to 10 vehicles at a time. The new…

A team of 25 volunteers of the Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce went from door to door on April 17 visiting the Chamber’s 475 members at their places of business. The volunteers gave each member a blue cup filled with candy to say thank you for their support of the Chamber. Rhonda C. Frederick, a certified Quickbooks ProAdvisor, received her gift from Fred Boscarino, Chamber President.  Boscarino said the event gives the Chamber not only the chance to say thank you but look over and update member information if needed, and pass on any comments and suggestions to take back to…

DeKalb County has added two rapid response vehicles to its fleet.   The DeKalb County Fire Rescue Department has deployed two rapid response vehicles to respond to emergency medical and fire suppression calls after a successful year-long pilot program during which response times, maintenance and operation costs were reduced, county officials say. Nine additional rapid response vehicles will be deployed around the county by December 2019. “DeKalb County is building a state-of-the-art emergency response and transport system,” said DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond. “These vehicles will be an essential component in responding to all non-fire emergency calls in a timely…

Keep Conyers-Rockdale Beautiful (KCRB) is holding an Electronics Recycling & Paper Shredding event for Rockdale residents and business owners. The E-Recycling and Paper Shredding Event will be held Saturday, May 11, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., in the parking lot of 1400 Parker Road, Conyers. The free, half-day event will provide the public a place to safely discard and recycle old documents and electronics, regardless of working condition. There is a maximum of 4 banker boxes per vehicle allowed for paper shredding, and participants must provide photo ID as proof of an address in the county for both shredding and…