Author: On Common Ground News

The annual Mr. and Miss Arabia High School competition will be held on Saturday, Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m., at Arabia Mountain High School, 6610 Browns Mill Road, Stonecrest.  Juniors and seniors who have at least a 3.0 GPA will compete in formal wear, talent and speaking for a $500 scholarship and the opportunity to participate in speaking engagements as ambassadors of Arabia Mountain High School.   A distinguished panel of elected officials, community leaders and celebrities will serve as judges for the event , which is sponsored by David’s Bridal and Men’s Warehouse. The event is open to the public. Tickets…

  The DeKalb County NAACP’s Education Committee, in partnership with the DeKalb County School District, is recruiting community volunteers to serve in the district’s public schools.  Volunteers are needed to assist teachers and staff members with various tasks. The goal is to enhance parent and community involvement in schools so that students achieve a high level of academic success.  Fingerprinting and background checks are required of all school volunteers.  A kick-off orientation for volunteers will be held on Thursday, Oct. 25. The featured national speaker Antoinette Tuff. Tuff is known for her heroic efforts in saving the lives of 870…

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…