Author: On Common Ground News

The UGA Extension Office, in conjunction with the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners and Rockdale County Public Schools, is hosting the Teen B.E.A.M.S. event on Thursday, March 12, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Rockdale Career Academy, 1064 Culpepper Drive S.W., Conyers. B.E.A.M.S., which stands for Building Education Around Mental Services, is a program that offers mental health support to teens and is an opportunity for them to learn how to take care of themselves and their friends, build healthy habits, raise mental health awareness, and connect with caring adults…

By Mackenzie N. Morgan Clergy from throughout Rockdale County flocked to the Pastors Table forum hosted by Rockdale County Board of Commissioners Chairman Oz Nesbitt, Sr. on Feb. 24 at Coaxum’s restaurant in Conyers. The event, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary, brought together local leaders and clergy to dine and discuss the future trajectory of Rockdale. Pastors and politicians sat side by side to participate in strategic planning while enjoying a Southern buffet of baked and fried chicken, grilled salmon, green beans, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, garden salad and sweet potato muffins. Nesbitt thanked the…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD31d1wyB5w&feature=youtu.be The Stonecrest City Council approved a tax anticipation note (TAN) for $3,060,000 during the Feb. 26 special called city council meeting for the purchase of the Sam’s Club off Turner Hill Road.  The meeting was held so that the financing could be finalized in time for the real estate closing scheduled for Tuesday, March 3. City officials plan to pay off the note with proceeds from an upcoming bond to be authorized by the city’s newly formed Urban Redevelopment Agency. The cost of the tax anticipation note and the closing costs, approximately $75,000, must be paid for by the…

By Valerie J. Morgan As the nation celebrates Black History Month, the city of Lithonia is honoring a trailblazer of its own in February. The Lithonia Post Office has a new Postmaster General: Sukisha Kilgore, who was sworn in on Feb. 15 as the first woman to hold the position since the Lithonia facility opened 71 years ago in 1949. She is the ninth postmaster to serve the city and at the helm, Kilgore oversees 120 employees. Terry Clemons, manager of Post Office Operations, administered the oath of…

By Mackenzie N. Morgan Staff Writer Rockdale County’s Chief Magistrate Judge Phinia Aten and NewRock Legal Society recently hosted about 50 students for their annual youth law camp. The free one-day camp, now in it’s fifth year, was held on Feb. 17 in the Rockdale Magistrate Courtroom where participants got a firsthand look into the legal profession. The students were out of school for President’s Day. The daylong camp kicked off with a complimentary breakfast and greetings by Rockdale County Clerk of Magistrate Court, Patricia Carreker, and the immediate past president of NewRock Legal Society,…

STONECREST—Grieving friends and supporters have made a makeshift memorial outside of the Tic Toc Food Mart on Evans Mill Road in DeKalb County. They placed flowers and stuffed animals near the door to remember the store’s owner, who was shot to death as he was closing the store on Feb. 19. The deadly shooting took place around 10 p.m. Police said they believe someone waited for Tesfaye Birru, 57, as he closed for the night. A friend said Birru was often seen taking his night deposit from the store to his car. Police found Birru’s body on the ground…

Pictured left to right: Eric Jordan Elam and Troy William Fiddes The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit has arrested 26-year-old Acworth resident Eric Jordan Elam and 19-year-old Covington resident Troy William Fiddes. Elam is known locally as the hiphop performer “Ahuto Dakkid.” Both suspects are accused of picking up Amir Azad on Feb. 7 in a vehicle and driving him to Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain, where they beat him with a handgun and robbed him. Authorities said Elam and Fiddes stole an I-phone, about $100 cash and the black and…

Several students were recognized at a recent Stonecrest City Council meeting for contributing key data for the department’s master plan, which is still underway. Parks and Rec Director Sean DePalma, along with Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary and Councilman Jimmy Clanton, honored the students’ efforts by shining the spotlight on them during a special presentation at the Feb. 10 meeting. Student representatives from Lithonia and Arabia Mountain High Schools’ Student Government Associations conducted school-wide surveys generating more than 1,300 completed surveys between the two schools. DePalma said the survey results…

Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary recently announced the promotions of several of the city’s key staff members: Clarence Boone and Al Franklin were promoted as senior directors Chris Wheeler was promoted as the city’s new Planning and Development Director Sonya Isom was promoted to the Deputy City Clerk William Settle was promoted to Business Development Director Tuyanna Daniel was promoted to City Planner LaRhonda Sutton became the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment. Megan Reid, the city clerk, will be the city’s first employee to be hired from the city’s partnership with Jacobs…

After the recent ransomware attack, Rockdale Water Resource’s (RWR) systems have been restored. “RWR wants to thank the residents of Rockdale for your patience and understanding during the recent outage. Rockdale County apologizes for the inconvenience and is putting measures in place to prevent this from happening again,” Rockdale County said in a news release on Feb. 20. During the outage, RWR stopped all disconnects for failure to pay and any additional late fees to ensure there were no negative impacts to customers. County officials said any account that requires immediate…