Author: On Common Ground News

Rockdale County is hosting the 2019 Rockdale Employment Summit on Friday, June 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Salem High School, 3551 Underwood Road, S.E., Conyers.  The job fair will include a mobile career lab that will assist with resume building and job training. The event also will have services for veterans as well as training and employment information concerning Rockdale Works.  The summit will offer record restriction services. Persons who have been arrested in Rockdale but were not convicted may be eligible to have their arrest record restricted and potentially sealed by the courts for free.  Applications for…

The Rockdale County Board of Assessors is offering extended hours on Saturday, June 8, 8 a.m. – noon, at their offices, 981 Milstead Ave., Conyers. Chairman Will Barkley said the extended Saturday service would give those who are unable to come in during the week the chance to do so on a weekend day. “We owe it to the citizens of Rockdale County to be as accessible as possible to ensure they are able to ask questions regarding their property assessments and exemptions,” Barkley said.  “We realize the need to sometimes do things outside of the scope of our daily…

DeKalb County hosted Park Prescription Day recently at 11 parks throughout the county. Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, who represents the county’s Super District 7, and her staff members were honored to support Park Rx Day at Hairston Park, located in Stone Mountain on April 28. The Friends of Hairston Park presented a day filled with yoga, nature walks, scavenger hunts, calorie burning challenges, healthy snacks, gift bags and outdoor games for children. Photos by Allison M. Slocum.  

Mayor Jason Lary: City of Stonecrest is fiscally on track, fixing potholes and poised for economic development  At his State of the City Address tonight at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary touted the city’s progress in finally beginning its much-needed roads repaving program, an $800,000 surplus in the city’s operating budget, a boom in residential and commercial development and a partnership with DeKalb County government that will keep Browns Mill Recreation Center’s summer camp in tact this year. The mayor said he worked last week with senior officials of DeKalb to restore the summer camp program…

Over 100 students gathered at Stone Mountain Middle School to attend the DeKalb County School District’s (DCSD) seventh annual chess fair on Saturday, May 4. The day-long fair included tournaments for kids K-12 for students just learning to play to more intense games for advanced players. Parent Marquice Mason of Stone Mountain, who attended the event with her sons, said that she is was grateful for the exposure the event provided for her boys who have been learning to play chess and are all members of their schools’ chess clubs. “They enjoyed playing kids from different schools as well…

Stonecrest City Councilman Rob Turner and DeKalb County School Board member Vicki Turner will honor teachers and mothers who nurture, train and educate children at the Culture Exchange Breakfast on Saturday, May 11. The free breakfast, open to the community, will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., at the House of Hope Church, 4650 Flat Shoals Parkway, Decatur. Pastor Collette Gunby, along with other leaders, will share their perspectives as teachers/mothers. “ On the heels of Teacher Appreciation Week and entering the Mother’s Day weekend, we felt it befitting to acknowledge those who continue to pour into our…

Conyers, GA—The Rockdale County Tax Commissioner’s Office will be closed on Wednesday, May 8, for state-wide training. Late penalties on May 8 – May 10 renewals will be waived until Monday, May 13 (renewals must be completed in the office). Renewals may also be completed online at www.rockdaletaxoffice.org by the deadline to avoid penalties and expired registrations. For more information, call the Rockdale County Tax Commissioner’s Office at 678-278-9833 or visit www.rockdaletaxoffice.org.

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA. – The 14-year-old juvenile suspect wanted in the April 25 pellet gun shooting at Wynbrooke Elementary has been taken into custody in Durham, North Carolina, school officials said today. Authorities did not release his name because he is a juvenile. He has been charged with nine counts of aggravated assault. “I am happy that no students were seriously injured in this incident and that the suspect has been found,” said DeKalb Schools Superintendent R. Stephen Green. “I would like to thank DCSD Public Safety (DeKalb County School District Public Safety) as well as law enforcement…

Mother Nature blessed the “Kites Over DeKalb” festival with a gorgeous, spring day on Sunday, April 27. DeKalb County Parks and Recreation hosted the free inaugural event at Wade Walker Park in Stone Mountain. The festival, which was rescheduled due to rainy weather on April 13, attracted a cross-cultural crowd of children and adults, who tried their hands at kite flying. A rainbow of kites—from small ones that cost a buck to the large, very ornate dotted the blue sky. Some of the smallest kite enthusiasts ran with all their might to get their kites off the ground,…

DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond(left) thanked Fox 5 News Anchor Alyse Eady (above)  and Major Danny L. Jordan of the DeKalb County Police Department’s South Precinct (bottom) for sharing  how they were once in foster care as children.  Photos by Glenn L. Morgan “We are investing in our children. We’re going to put children first.” –DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond announced at his April 27 community State of the County address that organizers raised $10,000 to help support the 904 DeKalb children who are in Georgia’s foster care program. The fundraiser was the focus of Thurmond’s community breakfast…