Author: On Common Ground News

The RockdaleNAACP awarded four Rockdale high school students $1,000 scholarships at its annual Freedom Fund Scholarship Banquet on Monday, June 5, at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers. The banquet is held annually as a means to raise funds for promising college-bound seniors in the Rockdale County School System. Students are required to submit an essay discussing career aspirations and community involvement. In addition to the essay, students are selected based on SAT scores and the ability to demonstrate financial need. “The scholarship is our way of giving back to the community and helping our young people. We…

ATLANTA—House Speaker David Ralston has named Rhonda Briggins, MARTA’s senior director of external affairs, to the House Commission on Transit Governance and Funding. Briggins, a DeKalb County resident, manages MARTA’s government affairs and community relations activities on federal, state and local levels. House Resolution 848, passed during this year’s session of the Georgia General Assembly, established a commission to study the conditions, needs and issues regarding Georgia transit. The council will provide transportation recommendations aimed at benefiting Georgia’s local and regional economy. Transit studies, generated from the commission’s activities, will also review potential funding mechanisms. ‘This is an amazing opportunity…

Rockdale County officials recently saluted National EMS for providing emergency care to the North Georgia region for more than 40 years. The Rockdale Board of Commissioners (BOC) presented a proclamation to the company declaring June 6 as National EMS Recognition Day. Rockdale Commissioner Sherri Washington, Post 1, was joined by BOC Chairman Oz Nesbitt and Commissioner Doreen Williams, Post 2, in reading the proclamation during the board’s work session. Benny Atkins accepted the proclamation on behalf of the family-owned business, which was founded by his parents, Pat and Mary Ellen Atkins. The Atkins started operating the business from their…

I want to speak with you briefly about the hand, the head, and the heart. Your instructors have made sure that your course of study has been hands-on and practical. We have no doubt that you are skilled of the hand. So, when you accept a job as a certified nurse assistant, for example, I know your hands will be healing hands. I know you will be skillful in what you do, but don’t be satisfied with just getting a job–always strive to be the best. Let your job propel you into a career that sustains you and your loved…

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God….” —Marianne Williamson This excerpt has always stood out to me as a beacon of light and truthfulness. This poem has always been something that gives me hope and hope for my surroundings. I tell my boys often that everybody has something special on…

CITY OF STONECREST, GEORGIA Honorable Mayor Jason Lary, Sr. Council Member Jimmy Clanton, Jr. – District 1         Council Member Rob Turner- District 2 Council Member Jazzmin Cobble – District 3          Council Member George Turner- District 4 Council Member Diane Adoma – District 5 WORK SESSION MEETING AGENDA June 7, 2017 5:00p.m. Stonecrest Library 3123 Klondike Road, Lithonia, Georgia CALL TO ORDER:   Mayor Lary   ROLL CALL: Acting City Clerk   OPENING REMARKS: Mayor Lary                                                                                                                                  AGENDA ITEMS:   Discussion of the CH2M Vendor Agreement   Discussion on the Adoption of the Millage Rate   Discussion on the Zoning Ordinance…

Rockdale County Board of Commissioners meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 13, 10 a.m. This meeting will be held in the Assembly Hall located, 901 Main Street, Conyers. This meeting is open to the public. For more information, email Jennifer.Rutledge@rockdalecountyga.gov. Agenda – Board Of Commissioners Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. Call to Order Invocation: Pastor Billie Cox Public hearing pursuant to O.C.G.A. 36-60-13(g) regarding the financing or refinancing of certain projects – Roger Murray, Murray Barnes Finister LLP Approval of the Agenda Approval of the Minutes: May 23, 2017 and June 6, 2017…

Keep Conyers-Rockdale Beautiful will host a meeting on Tuesday, June 13,  6 p.m. at the J.P. Carr Community Meeting Room located at 981 Taylor Street, Conyers. This will be a regular meeting instead of the scheduled KCRB Board Training. This meeting is open to the public.   For more information, contact Jeannettia Owens at jeannettia.owens@rockdalecountyga.gov.

Rockdale County plans to amend the name of its Human Resources Department and create the “Department of Talent Management.” County officials said it wants to officially change the name to better reflect the county’s mission to not only recruit “world class” talent for job openings, but to provide training and career track guidance to those who desire to move up into other positions with the county. “It’s part of an extreme makeover,” said Rockdale Board of Commissioners Chairman Oz Nesbitt. “I think that it’s important that each time we use the phrase or term “transitioning Rockdale into a world…

Jacob Pyne, 24, has been found guilty in the July 2016 shooting death of 52-year-old Gerard Foster, a deacon at Living Water Christian Baptist Church in Decatur. DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a news release that jurors convicted Pyne of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and weapons offenses. On July 6, 2016, Pyne shot Foster multiple times in the breezeway of his Robins Street apartment complex, according to the investigation. Foster was rushed to the hospital but died a short time later from his injuries.  Neighbors reported hearing gunshots and seeing the getaway car speed…