Author: On Common Ground News

Join DeKalb County Tax Commissioner Irvin Johnson and staff members along with District 4 Commissioner Steve Bradshaw for an in-depth look at how homeowners and senior citizens may save money on their annual property taxes. The meeting will be held on Monday, March 27, 7 p.m., DeKalb County Fire Station Community #25 Community Room, 7136 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain. For more information, visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov/taxcommissioner or call 404-298-4000. Commissioner Bradshaw can be reached at Srbradshaw@dekalbcountyga.gov or 404-371-4907.

Read More

The City of Decatur is hosting its annual Touch-A-Budget Expo, 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21, on the MARTA Plaza. Every one in the community is welcome at this free event. The purpose of Touch-A-Budget is to engage people of all ages in the city’s budgeting process in a fun, relaxed atmosphere. In addition to learning about the city’s plans for spending in the July 2017 – June 2018 fiscal year, the expo will feature music, food and prizes. The popular Card of Strategy game returns this year, appropriate for ages 5 to 105. Public safety and public…

Read More

WorkSource DeKalb will host its 2017 “Youth ROCK! EXPOsed,” April 3-4, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Georgia Piedmont Technical College Conference Center, 495 North Indian Creek Road, Clarkston, Georgia. The free event aims to prepare DeKalb County youths for summer employment opportunities with workshops such as resume writing, dressing for success, effective communication and entrepreneurship. Attendees also can participate in a job fair and gain assistance researching scholarships. Youths who complete the career readiness training at the expo and are selected to participate in the DeKalb Works Summer Employment Program will be able to apply participation in this event…

Read More

MARTA recently honored two veteran bus operators for driving more than a million miles without a preventable incident. Bus operators Arluther Deadwyler and Coy Dumas Jr. received MARTA’s Million Mile Safe Driver Award — earning an elite designation among their peers nationwide. For more than four decades, Deadwyler and Dumas navigated busy streets across MARTA’s service areas.  While Deadwyler and Dumas’ routes may have changed over the year, their commitment to safety never wavered. “I’m thankful to have been recognized,” said Deadwyler, who has driven more than 1,290,000 miles incident free. “We have a job to do and rules to…

Read More

Gov. Nathan Deal, in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), presented 24 businesses with GLOBE (Georgia Launching Opportunities By Exporting) Awards at the 2017 Go Global reception. The state-led awards program recognizes companies that entered into a new international market in the previous year. “The Go Global event highlights innovative businesses and the enormous impact trade has on Georgia’s economy, while providing industry leaders an opportunity to network and strengthen relationships with international partners,” said Deal. “These businesses contribute heavily to Georgia’s success in exports and significantly bolster the state’s economy by reaching new markets. In 2016,…

Read More

TUCKER—The Kingdom Builders Gospel Awards will host its inaugural Prayer Breakfast on Saturday, March 25, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., at Restoration Church of deliverance, 4874 North Royal Atlanta Road, Tucker. The theme, “Activate Your Now Faith,” will equip, empower and enable men and women to pray with greater power. Evangelist Valerie Curtis of Open Door Outreach Center in Riverdale, Georgia will be the keynote speaker. Currently, she serves as an associate minister of the Open Door Outreach Center and a Ministerial Liaison to Apostle Mary…

Read More

Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) says the Republicans ‘Pay More For Less’ repeal bill, also known as Trumpcare, would be disastrous, leaving millions of Americans without healthcare coverage. “After all of the Republicans’ hollow promises, the cruel reality of their wretched ‘Pay More For Less’ bill has been exposed for all to see,” said Rep. Johnson.  “Trumpcare will result in millions of hard-working families losing their coverage. Trump Care also reduces access to affordable healthcare by defunding Planned Parenthood, which will make it more difficult for women, expectant mothers and children to have their healthcare needs met. To make matters worse, Trump…

Read More

DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond has announced the appointment of Talisa R. Clark as the county’s chief procurement officer. Clark, who served as the county’s interim chief procurement officer since December 2015, began working for DeKalb County Purchasing and Contracting Department in 2005. “Through Ms. Clark’s leadership, the Purchasing and Contracting Department has leveraged the use of current and new technologies to continuously improve the procurement process and offer world-class service to internal and external stakeholders,” said Thurmond. During her tenure with DeKalb County, Clark has worked as buyer assistant, administrative operations supervisor, deputy chief procurement officer and procurement deputy director.…

Read More

Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) is joining in a statewide celebration this week to salute the efforts of local school board members. The week of March 13-17 has been proclaimed School Board Appreciation Week in Georgia. The observance calls attention to the contributions of local boards of education. “For the second consecutive year, our board has earned the distinction of Exemplary Board, the highest possible recognition by the Georgia School Boards Association,” says Superintendent Autry. “To earn this distinction, our board members have gone above and beyond what is required of them for training, annual goals, and continuous improvement…

Read More