Author: On Common Ground News

Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) was honored on Feb. 1 by Environment Georgia for his 100 percent clean-energy voting record in 2017. Johnson received the “Environmental Champion” award after he toured clean-energy battery maker sonnen off LaVista Road in Tucker. “Rep. Johnson voted with our planet and our families 100 percent of the time in 2017,” said Jennette Gayer, executive director of Environment Georgia. “Today’s event is fitting–we are touring a facility dedicated to helping us transition away from dirty energy sources and maximize clean energy from the sun.” “It’s an honor to be recognized by such an important organization…

Rockdale’s sharpest readers went head to head in the Rockdale County Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl on Jan. 27 at Rockdale Career Academy in Conyers. Lorraine Elementary won first place among 11 elementary school teams. Barksdale Elementary won second place and Shoal Creek Elementary won third place. In the middle school division, defending champion Edwards Middle School reclaimed their trophy and won first place out of four middle school teams. Gen. Ray Davis Middle School won second place and Conyers Middle School won third place. The first place teams advance to the regional competition on Feb. 10 at Clayton State University.…

Retired Army Capt. Tommy Clack received the A.R. Gus Barksdale Lifetime Achievement Award, the Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce’s highest honor, at the organization’s 62nd Annual Meeting. Clack was among six award recipients honored during the Chamber’s luncheon at the Georgia International Horse Park on Jan. 30. Clack, who is president and chairman of the Walk of Heroes Memorial in Conyers, has assisted veterans for over 40 years. After losing three limbs and suffering internal injuries on May 29, 1969 while serving in Vietnam, he turned his tragedy into victory by advocating for those who serve the United States. Since 1970,…

The Rockdale County Branch of the NAACP will host its 2018 Black History & Heritage Celebration on Saturday, Feb. 10, 3 p.m., at the Rockdale County Auditorium, 903 Main Street, Conyers. “We are pleased to be in partnership with the Nancy Guinn Memorial Library to bring several Black History Month activities to Rockdale County.  We are also working in collaboration with Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company to showcase participants from the August Wilson Monologue Competition and to attend August Wilson’s play, King Hedley II, on Feb. 25,” said Rockdale NAACP President Thomas Brantley, Jr. “We cordially invite all to…

DeKalb County Commissioner Steve Bradshaw, who represents District 4, is seeking to fill two appointments: one on the county’s Animal Advisory Board and the other on the CATV Citizens Board. Board members serve in an advisory capacity to the DeKalb County CEO and Board of Commissioners. Responsibilities of this board will include monitoring the master plan to ensure its implementation in the provision of professional practices including efficient service delivery and updated clean facilities. In addition, the board will serve as liaison to animal advocacy groups, animal professionals and County government for the purpose of creating a method for clear…

Register for DeKalb Medical Center’s free Surgical Weight Loss Seminar to get all the facts on Bariatric Surgery and how it can help you improve your health and meet your weight loss goals. The seminar will be held on Saturday, Feb. 10, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Women’s and Surgery Center Auditorium, 2701 N. Decatur Road, Decatur. For more information: 404-445-0504 or http://bit.ly/SWLSeminar.

Friends of the Stonecrest Library, 3123 Klondike Road, will host its super book sale on Saturday, Feb. 10, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A variety of books will be available including fiction/non-fiction, crafts, textbooks, romance, magazines, encyclopedias and books on tapes/DCs. Most books are $1. For more information, call 404-482-3838.

The South DeKalb Improvement Association will meet on Saturday, Feb. 10, Berean Community Center, 2440 Young Road, Stone Mountain. A meet and greet will begin at 9 a.m. The public meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. The Public Safety Committee will present the program.

By Sheriff Eric J. Levett Nearly three women in the U.S. are killed daily by an intimate partner.  The recent shooting on Habersham Way has rocked the community already traumatized in November 2017 by another domestic dispute that resulted in death.  It also brought to the surface a pervasive, ugly problem of intimate partner homicide that has remained consistent nationwide for years. Domestic violence is defined as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. Abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of…

Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Commissioner Avery D. Niles Conyers educator Harold James Farmer was named 2017 Teacher of the Year for the Department of Juvenile Justice Georgia Preparatory Academy (GPA). Farmer, a social studies teacher at the Rockdale Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC), was recognized as Teacher of the Year as part of winter graduation ceremonies for students from DJJ secure facilities throughout the state. Avery D. Niles, Superintendent of the DJJ School System, honored Farmer at the State of Georgia’s Tift College campus in Forsyth. “We are genuinely impressed with the progress our students are making and by…