Oak Ridge Today

Beat the heat with Dine & Donate on Monday, July 11

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ADFAC Jamie LaRose at Chick-fil-A

ADFAC Development Director Jamie LaRose is already getting in the “spirit” for Monday’s Dine and Donate/Spirit Night at Chick-Fil-A from 5-8 p.m. ADFAC will receive 15 percent of all the receipts that are donated into containers at the registers. (Photo courtesy ADFAC)

 

On Monday, July 11, five local restaurants will donate a portion of their sales to support Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC.

“Dine & Donate Mondays are always an easy way to treat loved ones to a special meal that also gives back to the community,” a press release said. “It’s also a great way to relax indoors and beat the heat!”

In Clinton, you can dine at the following participating July 11 restaurants:

  • Hoskins
  • Riverview Grill

In Oak Ridge, these July 11 restaurants are participating: [Read more…]

Column: Oak Ridge Elks celebrate 70 years, $1 million in charitable donations

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By John Calvert

Oak Ridge Lodge Number 1684 of the Benevolent and Protective Order for Elks, or BPOE, is celebrating its 70th birthday this week. The lodge was formally chartered on July 11, 1946.

Many people have probably passed by the local lodge located at the corner of Emory Valley Road and Briarcliff Avenue many times and wondered: Who are the Elks and what do they do?

Oak Ridge Lodge 1684 is one of the nearly 2,000 BPOE lodges located across the country that have a combined membership of nearly 800,000 members. The Elks organization was founded in New York City on February 16, 1868, under the name “Jolly Corks” by 15 actors, entertainers, and others associated with the theater. In ensuing years, membership expanded to other professions.

The Order spends more than $80,000,000 every year for benevolent, educational, and patriotic community-minded programs. These may be in such fields as benefiting physically handicapped children, sponsoring Elks National Foundation scholarships, scouting, athletic teams, veterans’ works, a national “Hoop Shoot” free-throw contest involving more than three million children, physical and occupational therapy programs, and patriotic programs. For many years the Elks were second only to the federal government in the dollar amount of college scholarships awarded annually. [Read more…]

Altrusa donates books, toys for distribution in Children’s Waiting Areas at MMC

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Members of Altrusa International of Oak Ridge visited Methodist Medical Center to assemble special activity bags to be distributed to children waiting for loved ones who are patients at Methodist. The women pose with the variety of books and toys they included in each bag. (Submitted photo)

Members of Altrusa International of Oak Ridge visited Methodist Medical Center to assemble special activity bags to be distributed to children waiting for loved ones who are patients at Methodist. The women pose with the variety of books and toys they included in each bag. (Submitted photo)

 

Altrusa International of Oak Ridge recently assembled and donated bags filled with books and toys for distribution to kids who are visiting Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge. The bags’ contents were all donated from businesses and individuals throughout the community. Methodist’s Volunteer Services will oversee the distribution through the hospital’s special Children’s Waiting Areas.

“These bags will make wonderful gifts for our patient families who utilize the Children’s Waiting Areas,” said Lois Ward, director of Volunteer Services at Methodist.

“Waiting while a loved one—especially a parent or grandparent—is in surgery or intensive care can be an emotional time for anyone, but for children it can be especially difficult,” Ward said. “Having a good book to read or a new toy to play with is a great way to help take some of the worry out of their wait.” [Read more…]

Free community trainings offered by United Way this summer

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United Way of Anderson County

As part of United Way of Anderson County’s new initiative to strengthen community leadership and facilitate partnerships, the organization is offering community trainings this summer. These trainings are free to attend and open to the community.

Robert’s Rules of Order: July 26, 3-5 p.m. Published in 1876, Robert’s Rules of Order codified parliamentary law and is now used as a manual for conducting meetings and managing group decisions. The training is perfect for agency leaders, business executives, volunteers, and board or committee members who want to learn how to conduct and contribute to productive meetings. Judy Poulson, long-time member of the Knoxville League of Women Voters, will lead the workshop. Poulson has extensive experience in parliamentary procedure, having served as editor, secretary, treasurer, and president of the League over the course of her membership. This training will be interactive, and manuals will be available for purchase. [Read more…]

Legal Aid Society moves Oak Ridge office to new location

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Victory Centre

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest nonprofit law firm, has relocated its Oak Ridge office from 226 Broadway Avenue to Suite 201 in Victory Centre, which is pictured above, at 575 Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Photo courtesy of R&R Properties)

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest nonprofit law firm, has relocated its Oak Ridge office. The office has moved from 226 Broadway Avenue to Suite 201 in Victory Centre at 575 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The new 3,590-square-foot office’s location is convenient for clients and guests, a press release said. The space also meets Legal Aid Society’s growing tech infrastructure needs: The firm recently began deploying video conferencing technology, which it will use to better connect with other staff members, volunteer attorneys, and clients across the nonprofit law firm’s 48-county service area.

“We are fortunate to have found an office that is so easily accessible to our clients and the public—plus the amount of space and the amenities allow our office to be both inviting and functional,” said Janet Mynatt, managing attorney of Legal Aid Society’s Oak Ridge office. [Read more…]

Scottish professor visits Children’s Museum for Weinberg research

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Sean Johnston and Alvin Weinberg Papers at Children's Museum

Professor Sean Johnston, a professor of science, technology, and social studies from the Dumfries Campus of the University of Glasgow in Scotland, searched through the papers of Alvin Weinberg, former director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as part of a two-year project funded by the British Academy titled “Trusting the Technological Fix.” (Submitted photo)

 

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge is well known as a center of play and learning for the young and young at heart. The museum’s lesser-known collections of historic papers recently brought a senior academic historian from Scotland to Oak Ridge for several days of research.

Professor Sean Johnston, a professor of science, technology, and social studies from the Dumfries Campus of the University of Glasgow, searched through the papers of Alvin Weinberg, former director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as part of a two-year project funded by the British Academy titled “Trusting the Technological Fix.”

His visit highlights the value of the collections the museum began gathering in the 1970s to tell the cultural and social history of the area for its Regional Appalachian Center.

“Not only was Weinberg the prominent head of the national laboratory (1955-73), and very much a member of the establishment, but he was somebody who was curious and worried about the wider social implications of nuclear technology,” Johnston said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge nonprofit receives $35,000 federal grant to help fight homelessness

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TORCH Logo

An Oak Ridge nonprofit organization has received a $35,000 federal grant to help fight homelessness, officials said Thursday.

The Emergency Solutions Grant was awarded to the Trinity Outreach Center of Hope, or TORCH, the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, or THDA, said in a press release. TORCH will use the grant to help fight homelessness among high-risk populations in Anderson County and surrounding areas.

The funds will be used to help with administrative services, street outreach, prevention, and rapid rehousing services that will help homeless people and families in the area covered by TORCH, the press release said. [Read more…]

Secret City Festival hosts Willow Run Rosies 

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Eight of the 13 Rosie the Riveters are shown here along with Heritage Exhibit participant Tom Walker, Oak Ridge Heritage Room organizer Bobbie Martin, and Interpretive National Park Ranger Veronica Greear. The Rosies are, from left to right, Bette Kenward, Barb Matthews, Vikki Toth, Chris Brown, Patsy Kemner, Kate Weise, Susie Sweeney, and Alison Beatty (down front). (Photo by M. McBride)

Eight of the 13 Rosie the Riveters are shown here along with Heritage Exhibit participant Tom Walker, Oak Ridge Heritage Room organizer Bobbie Martin, and Interpretive National Park Ranger Veronica Greear. The Rosies are, from left to right, Bette Kenward, Barb Matthews, Vikki Toth, Chris Brown, Patsy Kemner, Kate Weise, Susie Sweeney, and Alison Beatty (down front). (Photo by M. McBride)

 

This year’s Secret City Festival hosted 13 members of the “Willow Run Rosies” from the Historic Willow Run bomber plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Wearing Rosie-The-Riveter costumes, these ladies helped re-create the spirit of the many Rosies who powered the American war effort during World War II.

The Rosies were part of a 20-person group from Michigan.

The Willow Run Rosies chatted with festival visitors in the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Room on Saturday during the city’s two-day festival. Each year, the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association sponsors a heritage room during the festival, featuring exhibits on the history of the super-secret Manhattan Project and its “Secret City” of Oak Ridge.

Tens of thousands of “Rosies” came here during World War II, as part of President Roosevelt’s massive effort to build an atomic bomb in time to end the war. [Read more…]

ASPCA supports lifesaving transport for animals in 13 counties, including from Oak Ridge

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Go North Animal Transport

Note: This story was updated at 11:17 a.m.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or ASPCA, has awarded a grant of $47,250 to the East Tennessee-based GoNorth Animal Transport Collaborative, an alliance of 13 animal shelters, for transportation to northern shelters with ample space and high adoption demand, a press release said. The grant will be used to reimburse shelters for pre-transport veterinary care that is required by the destination shelters.

“Affordable, easily-accessible spay/neuter programs are the solution to ending pet overpopulation,” said GoNorth project coordinator Carmen Trammell. “However, it will take ‘time on task’ to do enough spaying and neutering to dramatically reduce the birth rate. In the meantime, northern transport saves the lives of shelter animals in oversupply.”

Counties participating in the GoNorth project include Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Hamblen, Hamilton, Jefferson, Loudon, Monroe, Sevier, and Union. The primary destinations are the Michigan, Toledo, and Wisconsin Humane Societies.

Currently, the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter is the only shelter participating in Anderson County. A complete list can be found here.

[Read more…]

Boys & Girls Club has fundraising Reverse Raffle on July 30

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RAFFLE FLIER FB BOOST

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Clinch Valley will hold its annual Reverse Raffle on Saturday, July 30. The fundraiser will start at 6:30 p.m. July 30, and it will be hosted and catered by the Oak Ridge Country Club, which is completing renovations to its pool, outdoor bar, and entertainment area, a press release said.

“We are so excited to have the Raffle at the Country Club this year,” said Jennifer Pettyjohn, Boys & Girls Club chief executive officer. “It is just the perfect venue for this fun and casual event, with the best views in Oak Ridge!”

This year’s jackpot is again $10,000, the press release said. Numbers will be drawn during the evening on July 30, and the last number on the board will win.

For $100, the Reverse Raffle evening will include one entry into the raffle drawing, and admission for two to the live gaming, dinner, drinks, and live music event, the press release said. To keep the fun going, artists TRUK will be playing live on the new patio, and consolation prizes will be randomly awarded to losing raffle numbers by guest emcees. Not available on July 30? No problem. You do not have to be present to win, the press release said. [Read more…]

Photos: Charlie Daniels Band, Grand Funk Railroad; changes possible at Secret City Festival

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Charlie Daniels Band at Secret City Festival June 10 2016

The Charlie Daniels Band played at the 14th annual Secret City Festival at Alvin K. Bissell Park on Friday, June 10, 2016. Pictured above is Charlie Daniels. (Photo by Angela Richardson-Newman)

 

The Charlie Daniels Band and Grand Funk Railroad both played at the Secret City Festival last weekend. Here are two photos from the concerts by Angela Richardson-Newman.

The Charlie Daniels Band played Friday, June 10, and Grand Funk Railroad performed Saturday, June 11. Both concerts were well-attended, and both received good reviews.

It was the 14th annual Secret City Festival. Besides concerts, the festival included music, food, vendors, a car show, a World War II re-enactment, U.S. Department of Energy bus tours, history and science exhibits, arts and crafts, and children’s entertainment and activities.

It’s not entirely clear if the festival will continue next year in the same form or at the same time of year as this year’s festival and previous festivals. This year had been considered a transition year as a new inaugural board of directors was appointed for a new nonprofit celebration. That board is expected to be responsible for the time, location, and length of the festival, as well as sponsorships and funding. [Read more…]

Barbara Ferrell receives Muddy Boot Award

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David McCoy Barbara Ferrell and David Bradshaw June 17 2016

Barbara Ferrell, center, received a Muddy Boot Award in a surprise ceremony on Friday, June 17, 2016, in conjunction with the Lavender Festival in Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. Also pictured are Dave McCoy, left, and David Bradshaw. (Submitted photo)

 

Barbara Ferrell, who owns The Ferrell Shop in Jackson Square, received the Muddy Boot Award on Friday.

The award is given by the East Tennessee Economic Council. It is a tribute to people who, through their work and community activities, make East Tennessee a stronger region.

The mid-year Muddy Boot Award was given to Ferrell in a surprise ceremony on Friday in conjunction with the annual Lavender Festival in Jackson Square.

Ferrell has been a leading independent retailer in Oak Ridge for more than 25 years, a press release said. She has been the driving force behind the successful Lavender Festival, which celebrates its 18th year this year. [Read more…]