Author: On Common Ground News

Approximately 4,500 DeKalb County voters have cast their ballots for the Nov. 7 General Municipal and Special Elections. Early voting will be held through Friday, Nov. 3, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the locations listed below: Main Office, 4380 Memorial Drive, Decatur, GA 30032 Bessie Branham Recreation Center, 2015 Delano Drive, NE, Atlanta, GA 30317 Dunwoody Library, 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, GA 30338 There will be no voting on Saturday, Nov. 4, or Monday, Nov. 6. To vote on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7, voters must go to their assigned polling locations, which will be open 7 a.m.…

Students interested in earning free college credit while in high school or even an associate’s degree are invited to an informational session on Rockdale County Public School’s Dual Enrollment for the 2018-19 school year. The informational session will be held on Thursday, Nov. 9, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m., at Rockdale Career Academy, 1064 Culpepper Drive, Conyers. Dual Enrollment representatives will be available from Georgia Piedmont Technical College, GSU Perimeter Campus, Point University, Gordon College. For more information, contact Bennett McCumber at bmcumber@rockdale.k12.ga.us or visit the RCPS Dual Enrollment information page at www.rockdaleschools.org/de

Medicare open enrollment is Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. Navigators for 2018 Medicaid and Medicare services will provide information on the Medicare Part D health plan on Thursday, Nov. 16, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Stonecrest Library, 3123 Klondike Road, Lithonia. If you desire a personalized comparison of healthcare options, bring your Medicare card, a list of your prescriptions and the name of your preferred pharmacy. Assistance will be provided on using the online Medicare Decision Tool, which generate health care plans and their costs.

First Place winners Congratulations to the winners of the Rockdale County Middle School Oratorical Competition, who were chosen on Oct. 28 by a five-member panel of distinguished judges. The annual event was held at Conyers Middle School. The first-place winners each took home $500, second-place winners $350, and the third-place winners $150. The competition judges were Rockdale Superior Court Judge Robert Mumford; Pastor Antoinette Alvarado; Rockdale State Court Judge Nancy Bills; Rockdale Probate Court Judge Clarence Cuthpert, Jr.; and Cory Thompson, director of communications at Georgia Piedmont Technical College. Toastmasters District 14 Director Al Wiseman served as speaking coach…

A DeKalb County Grand Jury has indicted a Decatur man accused of killing his grandmother and hiding her body along an I-20 embankment near the Flat Shoals Road exit. Jurors returned a five-count indictment against 35-year-old Gregory Williams on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing the death of another, and theft by taking in connection with the murder and disappearance of Millicent Williams, 78. Williams, a military veteran who reportedly had Post Traumatic Distress Syndrome, had lived with his grandmother for several years. Police were called to their home six times between July 2011 and September 2004…

Pastors, police officers and the community will unite at two upcoming worship services in DeKalb County. The Unite DeKalb services are part of an effort to build better relationships and further the Citizens Review Panel, which was created to review issues surrounding actions of police officers against citizens, said Pastor Steven Dial, who heads the DeKalb Pastors Alliance. The first unity service will be held on Friday, Nov.10, 7 p.m., at Greenforest Baptist Church, 3250 Rainbow Drive, Decatur. The second service will be held on Friday, Dec. 8, 7 p.m. at St. Philip AME Church, 240 Candler Road SE, Atlanta.…

Springfield Baptist Church, 1877 Iris Drive S.E., Conyers, will host a community resources meet-and-greet to assist families of individuals incarcerated and recently released. The church’s Transitional Prison Ministry is presenting the resources event on Saturday, Nov. 11, 10 a.m. to noon, at the church’s activity center. The event will provide housing and employment information and representatives from the Georgia Department of Corrections, State Board of Pardons and Paroles and area transition centers will lead discussions. Refreshments and a light lunch will be served. For more information, call 770-929-1111.

Resource Center for Community Action (RCCA) will host its Thanksgiving mobile food pantry distribution on Thursday, Nov. 16, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., 1400 Parker Road, Conyers. Bags of chicken leg quarters and hens will be given away. The food is free to anyone in need while quantities last. Drive up in your vehicle and volunteers will bring the food to you. Food also will be given away at Mayor’s Park in Lovejoy, Georgia on Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This will be the second year the RCCA has held the Community Thanksgiving giveaways at two locations. For…

Rockdale Board of Commissioner Chairman Oz Nesbitt, Sr. has appointed 13 volunteers to serve as community ambassadors. Nesbitt said he created the team of ambassadors to help promote Rockdale and to serve as volunteers at community events with county officials or on their behalf. The volunteers became ambassadors after completing the Rockdale Community Ambassadors Workshop training on Oct. 28 at Johnson Park Recreation Center. Nesbitt appointed the following individuals to serve as ambassadors: Connie Alsobrook Katie Beam Everett Bevelle Gwen Butler Jessica Ivey Keith Lamar, Sr. Betty Maddox Terry Moore Jerry Sheppard Daniel Whidby Ivy Wroe Paula Sims Ballard…

Conyers Police offer reward in Conyers murder case  Conyers Police, in conjunction with Crime Stoppers, is now offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the shooting death of Richard “ATL” Green. Investigators have released a sketch of the suspect. The reward was increased from $2,000. On Sunday, Oct. 22, at noon, Richard “ATL” Green was shot and killed inside a residence on Pinedale Circle in Conyers. The shooter is described as a tall slender black male with a “box” style haircut and a gap in his front teeth.  He was…