Author: On Common Ground News

Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) students saw many new faces working the lunch lines on Oct. 13, as RCPS celebrated National School Lunch Week with special guest servers, including State Superintendent Richard Woods.  Woods and Rockdale County Probate Judge Clarence Cuthpert, Jr. donned aprons and hairnets at Conyers Middle School (CMS) to help serve walking tacos. Woods also had a chance to learn about CMS’s Center for Technology & Engineering (aerospace), tour the flight simulator laboratory with instructor Lt. Col. Stephen Williams, and learn about the new drone flight program starting next year. Rockdale County Superior Court Chief Judge David…

DeKalb County police are seeking the public’s help in locating a dark sedan that hit and killed a 4-year-old child who was walking to school this morning with her aunt, 7-year-old sister and a cousin. The driver struck Ling Thang around 6:45 a.m. in the crosswalk on North Indian Creek Drive near Indian Creek Elementary School in Clarkston. The child went airborne and hit another vehicle as the sedan lost control, stopped momentarily and then sped off, said DeKalb police spokesperson Sheira Campbell. Police took photographs of one of the little girl’s shoes left at the scene. “The car has…

Today, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, flanked by mayors and leaders of the 12 cities within the county, announced projects that the new 1 percent sales tax would fund, if voters approve three referendums now at stake. Early voting for the referendums began on Oct. 16 ahead of the General Election Day on Nov. 7. While city residents will vote on the referendums and their citywide elections, voters in unincorporated DeKalb County will vote only on the referendums. DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond said the Special Purpose Local Sales Tax (SPLOST) would transform DeKalb, paving the way for critical infrastructure improvements…

ATLANTA— MARTA plans to expand its fresh produce kiosks in 2018, thanks to a $500,000 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant, the agency announced today. Currently, the transit authority has Fresh MARTA Markets located at four rail stations. The markets provide a convenient shopping alternative for fresh, affordable and locally grown produce. “We realize that all communities don’t have adequate access to fresh and affordable produce,” said Interim MARTA GM/CEO Elizabeth O’Neill. “This generous grant from the USDA enables MARTA to help bridge the nutritional gap from the convenience of our local stations and expand our increasingly popular Fresh…

At the request of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) has granted an additional 30 days – until Nov. 14 – for Georgia state and local governments and certain private nonprofits to submit Requests for Public Assistance for federal reimbursement of debris removal, emergency protective measures and repair or replacement of public infrastructure damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irma. A Request for Public Assistance is FEMA’s official application form that public and private nonprofit organizations use to apply for disaster assistance under the Public Assistance Grant Program. Once approved by the state and FEMA, the request starts…

State Rep. Doreen Carter (D-Lithonia) will host the Georgia House District 92 Nonprofit Summit on Saturday, Nov. 4, 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., at Nancy Guinn Memorial Library in Conyers. This event is a gathering of nonprofits in District 92 that work to make a difference in the community. The theme of the event is “Creating Connections, Building Bridges.” “My vision for the Nonprofit Summit is to reshape the way District 92’s nonprofits work together to leverage scarce resources, and this informative event will allow nonprofit leaders to learn from one another,” said Rep. Carter. “I hope that our discussions…

Stonecrest resident says she’s ready to be an “Amazonite” Susan Lee, a resident of Stonecrest, has become part of a growing movement to embrace Mayor Jason Lary’s idea to carve out a portion of the City of Stonecrest and name it Amazon, Georgia as a way to lure the giant to set up its second world headquarters here. When Lary pitched the idea a few days ago, news outlets from around the country carried the story. Lee told the City Council during public comments today that she’s ready to be an Amazonite. She said it was her research on the…

Early voters for municipal elections around the state began today as Rockdale County began using new voting machines, launching a pilot for the state of Georgia. State officials picked Rockdale to test the new system called Expressvote. The new system allows voters to make their selections on one machine and verify their selections before casting the ballot in a separate tabulator. If a mistake is made, the voter can turn in the ballot and get a new one and start over. Voters in the city of Conyers in Rockdale County are choosing a mayor and filling City Council seats for…

The second annual Conyers Latin Festival drew a crowd of supporters on Sunday at the field at 1400 Parker Road in Rockdale County. The free event, held in celebration of national Hispanic Heritage Month, featured the Panamanian Marching Band of Atlanta, a car show, music, ethnic food, arts and crafts, a magic show and vendor exhibits.

DeKalb County law enforcement officials, the District Attorney and Solicitor General are inviting clergy leaders to a joint meeting that will be held on Nov. 9, noon, at Clairmont Presbyterian Church. Officials are implementing an innovative new program called the One Congregation One Precinct (OneCOP) initiative aimed at increasing public safety and strengthening police-community relations. The objectives of the OneCOP initiative include: 1) improving public safety through collaboration and information sharing to prevent, combat and solve crimes by tapping into the varied resources of faith-based institutions; 2) increasing community engagement with patrol-level officers, via congregations, resulting in decreased biases and…