Author: On Common Ground News

Be Someone Inc., the local organization that uses the game of chess to teach life lessons to young people, has announced a free training session open for families, Saturday, Sept. 29, 10 a.m. – noon. The session will be held at the Be Someone training facility, 949 Stephenson Road, Stone Mountain. The organization’s founder and CEO, Orrin C. Hudson, says he decided to provide this offer for parents, especially single moms, who need expert guidance in protecting their children from the cycle of crime, violence and poverty that has found its way into many of our communities and homes.  “In two hours,…

Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary has announced that he plans to take medical leave to undergo treatment for cancer. Mayor pro tem George Turner will oversee the City Council meetings likely until the end of the year, said Lary, who has started pre-radiation treatment. Lary said the council’s heated and lengthy debate at the Sept. 17 City Council meeting over the management of the city’s SPLOST program was the tipping point that led him to make the announcement. Councilwoman Jazzmin Cobble made a motion, which was seconded and approved by the council, to remove all of the items from the City…

A man wanted in connection with a series of carjackings in DeKalb County has been arrested by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit. Thirty-year-old Azoumana Diarra of Clarkston, tried to run away from investigators yesterday, as they pursued him on foot near Memorial Drive and Rays Road in DeKalb County.  Sheriff’s deputies were trying to serve several arrest warrants for Mr. Diarra issued on Sept. 5 by DeKalb Police. The warrants allege that Diarra carjacked three people in Clarkston on Aug. 29 and Aug. 30, assaulting one of the drivers and fleeing the scene to elude police. According to…

By Valerie J. Morgan  A federal judge has ruled that Georgia voters will not use paper ballots during the November election, despite objections from voting rights groups and activists who are concerned the state’s electronic voting system could be hacked.  U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg said on Monday that switching to a paper ballot verification system just weeks before the election would be chaotic. In her 46-page ruling Totenberg agreed that Georgia is vulnerable to hackers, saying state election officials “had buried their heads in the sand” on the issue. However, Totenberg said changing the system now with such short…

Amazon has opened “Amazon Storefronts,” a new store for customers to shop exclusively from U.S. small and medium-sized businesses selling on Amazon. With Storefronts, customers can shop a curated collection of over 1million products, and deals from nearly 20,000 U.S. small and medium-sized businesses, and learn more about profiled businesses through featured videos and stories.  Amazon launched the new store to offer customers an easy way to buy from small and medium-sized businesses in all 50 states through the convenient and trusted Amazon experience, the tech giant said in a release. Amazon Storefronts features a variety of product categories including…

Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) served as the keynote speaker at Georgia State University’s (GSU) Constitution Day kick-off event at the college’s Perimeter campus in Decatur. Constitution Day, Sept. 17, marks the day 231 years ago when attendees at the Convention at Philadelphia signed the document that is the foundation of our United States government. GSU’s event focused on how America’s immigration policies can address liberty, equality and security. “When the Constitution was signed, it gave our country a foundation of justice, equality, and dignity. We’re here to celebrate that today. But it is up to us to bring those values…

Friends and supporters gathered on Saturday, Sept. 15, to remember 22-year-old Shali Tilson, who died during a nine-day stay at the Rockdale County Jail. Tilson was in jail on misdemeanor charges reportedly waiting for his family to come up with the money to post bond. According to an internal report by the Sheriff’s Office recently released last week to the media by Tilson’s attorney, Mawuli Davis, the mentally ill man was neglected. Jail logs were falsified to state that mandatory 15-minute checks on Tilson were made, Davis said. Tilson begged for help, pressing a call button that was inoperative, according…

   Photo Essay by Glenn L. Morgan Dozens of military veterans turned out for the Veterans Resource Expo, hosted on Saturday, Sept. 15, by DeKalb County District 4 Commissioner Steve Bradshaw. The event, which included a free barbecue, was held at the Central DeKalb Senior Center at Mason Mill Park at 1346 McConnell Drive, Decatur.

By Valerie J. Morgan  Keith Parker has a straightforward philosophy about being a successful business leader. “No matter where I’ve worked, no matter what the entity, I’ve always focused on the same three things: employees first and foremost; customers, and then the financials. My approach has always been: If you take care of the employees and the customers, the financials will take care of themselves.”  Parker is now putting that philosophy to work as he approaches his one-year anniversary in October as president and CEO of Goodwill of North Georgia, Inc., the largest workforce development organization in the Southeast.  Previously,…

American Medical Response (AMR) teams in DeKalb County have begun mobilizing for deployment to assist with medical efforts as Hurricane Florence batters North Carolina and South Carolina. AMR and DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond announced that AMR has set up a command station in Stone Mountain to deploy emergency workers to provide ground ambulance, air ambulance, paratransit services, non-ambulance EMS personnel and other resources. Assistance is coming from around the country, officials said. The teams will be volunteering in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the military. “We anticipate the crews will be on a 7-14 day activation, but…