Author: On Common Ground News

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit has arrested 37-year-old Joe Eakmond Morris of Decatur on a charge of felony murder. An arrest warrant issued on June 5 alleges that Morris caused the death of Rico Jabar King, 35, of Monterey Drive by shooting him multiple times with a handgun on June 4 on Belvedere Lane in Decatur.  No probable cause was given for the incident. Morris has a long history of various charges including drug trafficking, battery, family violence, theft by receiving stolen property, robbery and probation violation dating back to early 2000. DeKalb Sheriff’s Office deputies located Morris…

DeKalb County, home to one of the highest HV positive populations in the nation, has been selected as one of three pilot sites in the country to serve as models for an initiative to fight the HIV epidemic. Baton Rouge and Baltimore, also burdened with high HIV populations, have been selected to pilot treatment  and prevention programs. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which is headquartered in Atlanta, has announced it will spend $1.5 million with the DeKalb Board of Health on the “Georgia: Ending the Epidemic” campaign. The funding will be used for patient treatment and to promote the…

DeKalb County Extension has launched the fifth season of Fresh on DeK, DeKalb County’s Mobile Farmers Market, which travels throughout the county offering nutrition education and fresh grown fruits and vegetables for sale. The season is open now through Sept. 20. Fresh on DeK’s purpose is to improve the health of the community, the viability of local produce and to preserve the environment for future generations by providing access to fresh produce and nutritional education programming throughout DeKalb County.   The market accepts EBT, credit cards and cash. For a detailed listing of locations in DeKalb…

Summer campers received a surprise visit by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office . Members of Sheriff Jeffrey L. Mann’s Field Division held a “pop up” shift change meeting on June 5 with young people attending day camp at the Gresham Park Recreation Center in DeKalb County. Deputies invited kids to meet some of the men and women who are responsible for keeping their neighborhoods safe while witnessing an authentic roll call – one of the agency’s daily processes. “We want their first, and hopefully their only encounter with a sheriff’s deputy to be a positive experience,” Sheriff Mann said.

Gov. Brian P. Kemp today named the Cobb Judicial Circuit’s Chief Magistrate Judge Joyette Holmes as its incoming District Attorney. Holmes will be the first female and first African-American to serve in this capacity. Holmes succeeds Victor Reynolds, who was appointed in February as director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations by Kemp. “Judge Holmes is a servant leader in her community, and I am very excited to select her as Cobb’s new District Attorney,” said Kemp. “I know Joyette will put the safety of Cobb families first and always do the right thing – even when no one…

Pictured left to right, top to bottom: Rockdale County Board of Education Chairwoman Katrina Young, Vice-Chair Mandy North, members Wales Barksdale, Pamela Brown, Tony Dowdy, Heather Duncan, Sandra Jackson-Lett. The Rockdale County Board of Education (BOE) was recently honored as a 2019 Exemplary Board, the highest status in the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) Board Recognition Program. “We are extremely proud that the Rockdale County Board of Education has earned Exemplary status each year this recognition has been awarded,” said RCPS Superintendent Dr. Terry Oatts. “This is the highest level of distinction conferred by the Georgia School Boards Association.…

The Rockdale County Board of Education (BOE) was recently honored as a 2019 Exemplary Board, the highest status in the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) Board Recognition Program.   “We are extremely proud that the Rockdale County Board of Education has earned Exemplary status each year this recognition has been awarded,” says RCPS Superintendent Dr. Terry Oatts. “This is the highest level of distinction conferred by the Georgia School Boards Association. Not only has our board exceeded the previous recognition program criteria, but it has also met the more rigorous criteria of the revised recognition program. This affirms our board’s…

A colorful bouquet of flowers and balloons were placed on a bank outside of the South Deshon Zaxbys Restaurant in Stone Mountain where 17-year-old Elyse Purefoy worked as a cashier. The Arabia Mountain high school student, who was a member of the school’s dance team, collapsed and died on Monday during a summer training workout at Arabia Mountain High School in the City of Stonecrest. Students said she was running on the field with other members of the dance team when she collapsed. Zaxby’s Restaurant manager Kimberly Cuffie said, “We are saddened by what happened.We are all praying for her…

Geoffrey Lofton, program coordinator with University of Georgia’s  Small Business Development Center, will serve as the guest speaker for the Greater Lithonia Chamber of Commerce upcoming luncheon. The luncheon meeting will be held on June 19, 11:30 a.m., at This Is It Banquet Hall, 2853 Panola Road, Stonecrest. Lofton will discuss the GLCC partnership as well as service offerings available at UGA’s Small Business Development Center in DeKalb County. Registration for the luncheon is $20 in advance or $25 at the door Chamber members are admitted free with advance registration. Visit https://www.greaterlithoniachamber.com

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners has chosen Commissioner Larry Johnson to chair DeKalb’s 2020 Census Complete Count Committee. The goal of the Complete Count Committee is to ensure that accurate Census data is collectedtoprovide information critical for federal funding, government programs, and policies. DeKalb County is committed to ensuring every resident is counted. Approximately $675 billion in federal funding is distributed to communities across the country each yearbased on the U.S. Census, which is conductedto count the U.S. population and obtain other data every 10 years. For the first time, residents will be able to respond to the Census…