Author: On Common Ground News

by Mackenzie N. Morgan Dr. Antoinette G. Alvarado has called on a chess champion to share success strategies with students at the Alpha School in Rockdale County on April 30.  Orrin “Checkmate” Hudson, founder of Be Someone Inc., in Stone Mountain, will lay the foundation for the screening of the film, “Queen of Katwe.” Hudson, a chess champion and motivational speaker, served as a Disney consultant for the movie. Disney picked Hudson, who grew up poor and learned chess from a teacher, a move that forever changed his life. “Queen of Katwe” tells the story of a poor, 10-year-old Ugandan…

LifeLine Animal Project presents our DeKalb County Pet of the Week, Momma.  With Mother’s Day around the corner, Momma would love to celebrate motherhood at home with her new family. This three-year-old girl is the perfect choice for anyone looking for a calm and gentle dog who is good natured.  Momma’s favorite things to do include taking long naps on a comfy dog bed, resting her head in her human’s lap and going for slow walks.  This wonderful girl is great on a leash, never pulls and sticks right by your side.  If Momma sounds like the pup for you,…

By Mark Brock, DCSD Athletics The No. 6 ranked Clarkston Angoras and the Tucker Tigers were the lone bright spots on a night when four DeKalb soccer teams’ seasons would end. The toughest loss would come as the No. 1 ranked Cross Keys Indians (15-2-0) would score an own goal that made the difference in a 2-1 loss to Grady at Adams Stadium on Wednesday night. The two teams played a scoreless first half, but with 34:51 left in the game Eduardo Dimas got behind the Grady defense on a nice pass from Jose Romero to give Cross…

The Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney is hosting a child support ‘settlement’ day for delinquent parents to become financially compliant with their child support court orders. The event will be held on Friday, April 27, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the Child Support Enforcement/UIFSA Division of the District Attorney’s Office. Notification letters have already been mailed to eligible parents outlining the amount due and other documents required to be presented in person. Parents who remit proper payments can have their driver’s licenses reinstated, if applicable. Delinquent parents who fail to appear or bring…

By Mark Brock, DCSD Athletics DeKalb County has seven of its 17 playoff teams in action tonight led by the No. 8 ranked Chamblee Lady Bulldogs who host North Springs at North DeKalb at 6:00 pm. Chamblee (12-2-2) rolled through its Region 5-5A schedule 7-0 and outscoring its region opponents 67-0. Juniors Teagan Furbish and Caiah Smith lead the charge for the Lady Bulldogs. Skye Bragan is the leader in goal for the defense. Chamblee is making its 10 consecutive state playoff appearance, but is looking to improve on its 3-9 record. It is the first playoff matchup between…

Atlanta Public Schools can confirm that there was at least one shot fired in the air in the parking lot of Benjamin E. Mays High School (3450 Benjamin E. Mays Dr. SW) this afternoon.  A female student got into a verbal altercation with a male acquaintance, who is not a Mays student, that resulted in the male breaking a car window and the student receiving cuts from the broken glass.  As the male acquaintance drove away, at least one shot was fired into the air in the parking lot.  No other injuries were reported. Several Atlanta Public Schools Police…

Eight students were injured this afternoon in an accident involving a DeKalb County school bus. There were 19 students from Champion Theme School and Cedar Grove Middle School on the bus, officials said. The school bus was soundbound on I-285 near Glenwood when the bus made contact with a tractor trailer, school spokesman Andre Riley said. The students were taken to the hospital and are being checked.

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By Valerie J. Morgan and Travis Hudgons The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) terminated seven employees for violating school district policies after nearly 400 bus drivers participated in a strike on April 19. The district delivered termination letters to the seven employees after reviewing events leading to the “sick out.” While the district does not discuss specific personnel matters, the employees were among a group found to actively support or encourage bus drivers not to report to work, officials said. The drivers want better pay and benefits. District officials say DeKalb school bus drivers earn about $19,400 annually and are among the…

Dr. Terry O. Oatts, Assistant Superintendent for Student Achievement in Fayette County Schools, has been selected by the Rockdale Board of Education as the sole finalist for Rockdale Schools superintendent. Information on Oatts will be available at the Board office and posted on the district website at www.rockdaleschools.org, effective Friday, April 20, 2018 and for the following 14 days prior to the Board taking final action. Jim McBrayer, Board Chair, applauded Shirley Chesser for serving as interim superintendent. “On behalf of the Board of Education, I want to express our sincere appreciation to Mrs. Shirley Chesser for the tremendous work…