Author: On Common Ground News

DeKalb County School District (DCSD) Superintendent R. Stephen Green invites all students, parents, staff and stakeholders to the fourth “On The Scene with Dr. Green” event of the 2018-2019 school year on Thursday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. The event will be held at E.L. Bouie Elementary School, 5100 Rock Springs Road, Lithonia. Green will give a brief statement about the state of DCSD before answering questions from the audience. “On The Scene with Dr. Green” is an opportunity to learn more about DeKalb schools. Throughout the 2018-2019 school year, Dr. Green will visit seven total locations. To learn more, visit www.dekalbschoolsga.org/on-the-scene.

In partnership with Fit for a Queen, the Bello Mo Group and Lynette Clove, an Independent sales director for Mary Kay, DeKalb County Solicitor-General Donna Coleman-Stribling is inviting DeKalb County high school juniors and seniors to enter the 2019 Stop Teen Dating Violence Public Service Announcement(PSA) Contest. With February being recognized as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, Coleman-Stribling and her team are encouraging DeKalb teens to promote healthy teen dating practices that prevent violence by producing a one-minute PSA. The student who creates the most impactful PSA will win a prom prize package, which includes:      Dinner for two  …

Readers at every grade level in the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) are poised to compare their knowledge on Saturday, Jan. 26, at Arabia Mountain High School, 6610 Browns Mill Road, Stonecrest. Registration for the 2019 Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl begins at 8 a.m. Helen Ruffin, a library media specialist in DeKalb County, founded the Reading Bowl as a way to engage students with the Georgia Children’s Book Awards and encourage them to read. She therefore created a unique reading competition in game format, called the Reading Bowl, using books from the nominee list. Students at every grade level—elementary, middle,…

Are you or is someone you know a Champion of Education? If yes, the Rockdale County Public Schools Foundation wants to hear from you. The Foundation is seeking nominees for its 2019 Champion of Education awards. Recipients will be recognized during the Foundation’s annual Denim & Diamonds fundraising gala on Friday, March 8, at the Acuity People Center in Conyers. Champion of Education nominees can be either individuals or businesses that have demonstrated outstanding service, support or advocacy to further public education in Rockdale County. The Rockdale County Public Schools Foundation has provided more than $500,000 in funding mostly for…

The Atlanta Police Department (APD) has requested that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation(GBI) conduct a probe of an officer-involved shooting on Jan. 15 in Atlanta. Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 7:21 p.m., a plainclothes APD officer was gassing up his unmarked police vehicle at a gas station located at the intersection of Whitehall Street and McDaniel Street in southwest Atlanta.  While the vehicle was at the gas pump, an individual entered his vehicle.  The vehicle began to drive away and the officer attempted to stop it.  During the incident, the officer discharged his service weapon.  The vehicle continued driving south on Whitehall street…

Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary said the city plans to soon hire a road maintenance supervisor to begin addressing potholes and other road issues. Residents have been clamoring for help, complaining that potholes are plaguing the city’s streets and tearing up their vehicles. Lary said the city, could start the process as early as Spring using SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) dollars, along with county resources, to start the process. “We’ve put in the budget to hire a road maintenance supervisor with regards to those particular things,” Lary told CBS46Atlanta reporter Melissa Stern during an…

Furloughed federal workers who need a helping hand during the government shut down are invited to get food for their families at Springfield Baptist Church on Jan. 22 in Conyers. Springfield is opening its food pantry on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., 1875 Iris Drive SE, Conyers.  Church officials said that food has been set aside especially for furloughed federal government employees. Anyone who needs food, however, is welcome. The partial federal government shutdown, which began on Dec. 22, is the longest in history and is taking its toll on about 800,000 federal employees and their…

In an effort to ensure families receive the food they need while the federal government is in a partial shutdown, the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) has released the February allotment of food stamp benefits early to all Georgia residents.    In statement released on Tuesday, Jan. 8, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials made the decision to protect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants access and announced that food stamp recipients will have access to their full benefits for February, even if the partial government shutdown continues.  USDA is working with states to load benefits onto recipients’…

Two Conyers employees were recognized for their work ethic, leadership and positive attitudes at the city’s annual employee breakfast held on Jan. 9 at Cherokee Run Golf Club. For 20 years, the city has been presenting the Dee Buggay Award of Excellence, or the Employee of the Year award, at the Mayor’s State of the City Address. But in recent years, the award has been presented at the employee breakfast so employees are recognized in front of their peers. The recipient of the 2018 Dee Buggay Award of Excellence is Elizabeth Kimbrell, office manager in the Public…

All tech savvy students throughout DeKalb County School District are invited to the 2019 DeKalb County School District (DCSD) Technology Fair on Saturday, Jan. 26. The 2019 Tech Fair will take place from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., at Elizabeth Andrews High School, 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard in Stone Mountain. This year’s theme is “Digital Dreamers Shine.” Since 2001, the DCSD Tech Fair has served as an annual gathering of students who present projects involving 3D Modeling, Animation, Audio Production, Device Modification, Digital Game Design, Digital Photo Production, Graphic Design, Internet Applications, Mobile Applications, Multimedia Applications, Productivity Design, Project Programming,…