Oak Ridge Today

Collins Tuohy of the ‘The Blind Side’ to speak at Girls Inc. luncheon

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Tuohy Family Super Bowl

Collins Tuohy, whose family is featured in the hit blockbuster movie “The Blind Side,” will be the guest speaker at the Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge annual Committee of 100 luncheon on Friday at the DoubleTree Hotel.

The annual luncheon honors a select group of woman who each contribute $100 or more to help address the growth and development of girls through programs offered at Girls Inc. The luncheon will begin at 12:30 p.m., and Girls Inc. invites all women of the community to join. To become a member of the committee and attend the luncheon, contact Rhoni Basden, executive director of Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge, at (865) 482-4475.

Tuohy shares a famously close bond with her adopted brother Michael Oher, as chronicled in “The Blind Side,” a press release said. They first met in the halls of their school in Memphis as she helped him adjust to both a new school and a new life with the Tuohy family. When Collins became homecoming queen, Michael was her escort. They also share a common bond through their athletic pursuits: Collins won the Tennessee state championship in the pole vault as Michael earned all-state honors in the discus and basketball championships. [Read more…]

Education Foundation will award $80,000 more to Oak Ridge teachers

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award another $80,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers this year, and applications are now being accepted for the 2014 grant cycle.

This year, the Foundation will award $80,000 in grants to teachers, administrative staff, and student groups as part of its ongoing “Making the Critical Difference” campaign. Grant applications are due no later than March 31.

This campaign provides resources and teaching tools over and above those funded with tax dollars, typically in the range of $500 to $5,000, a press release said. The grants are not intended for salaries or to replace items that may have been cut from the schools’ annual budgets. Since the program began in 2004, the Foundation has awarded a total of more than $399,000 to dozens of teachers in every grade. ORPSEF grants may be made for educational programming, professional development, equipment, facilities, travel, conferences, or other purposes that might be approved by the Foundation. [Read more…]

Gov. Haslam supports national preservation award for Alexander Inn

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Alexander Inn Groundbreaking

Local, state, and federal officials join volunteers and nonprofit and business executives for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic Alexander Inn in November.

Gov. Bill Haslam is supporting a nomination for a national historic preservation award for a project converting the Alexander Inn in Oak Ridge into an assisted living center.

Knox Heritage and East Tennessee Preservation Alliance have nominated the hotel for the 2014 The National Trust/Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Award for Federal Partnerships in Historic Preservation.

In a Feb. 25 letter, Haslam said he supports the nomination. The letter was sent to Stephanie Meeks at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C.

The Alexander Inn was built during World War II, when Oak Ridge raced to help build the world’s first atomic weapons as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. Guests who once stayed at the two-story hotel included Gen. Leslie Groves, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. [Read more…]

Rock to Bach Music Festival is Saturday at New Hope Center

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Kukuly Fuego

Kukuly and Gypsy Fuego will perform gypsy and American swing jazz at the Oak Ridge Rock to Bach Music Festival on Saturday, March 1, at New Hope Center. (Submitted photo)

The fourth annual Oak Ridge Rock to Bach Music Festival is Saturday.

Rock to Bach is an all-day music festival presented by the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association as a benefit for ORCMA music organizations, such as the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and the world-class Chamber Music Series.

Eighteen groups will perform this Saturday, playing pop, rock, blues, bluegrass, folk, jazz, Celtic, patriotic, Dixieland, swing, klezmer, and classical music.

The festival is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the New Hope Center near the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex. The New Hope Center is next to Scarboro Road, just across from the intersection with Union Valley Road.

Among the performing groups and performers are the Tennessee Schmalz, Knoxville Youth Jazz Orchestra, Early Bird Special Band, Liz and Tim, Jack Russell and the Terriers, Kukuly and Gypsy Fuego, Walker Marema, Silver Winds Choir, and singers with the Oak Ridge Chorus who will perform selections from musicals, operas, and operettas. [Read more…]

Free screening of ‘Inequality for All’ to honor International Women’s Day

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Robert Reich

Robert Reich

Local organizations are offering a free March 7 screening of “Inequality for All,” a documentary that features former U. S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, in honor of International Women’s Day 2014.

Reich’s award-winning documentary focuses on the widening income gap in America, a press release said.

The screening is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m., Friday, March 7, in the City Room (A-111) of Roane State Community College at 702 Briarcliff Ave. It’s sponsored by Women’s Interfaith Dialogue, the League of Women Voters, Altrusa International, and the Sisterhood of the Jewish Congregation, all of Oak Ridge.

The release said Reich uses humor and a wide array of facts to explain how income inequality and the shrinking middle class affect everyone and have implications for the future of democracy, the economy, and the nation. The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Special Jury Prize. It was recently released in theaters nationwide and has now been made available for educational screenings. [Read more…]

ORNL FCU donates sweepstakes winnings to Girls Inc.

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Girls Inc. with ORNL Federal Credit Union Sweepstakes Winnings

ORNL Federal Credit Union collected thousands of dollars worth of electronics and household goods during the Credit Union Magic Minute Loyalty Dash sponsored by PSCU,  and the credit union donated its winnings to Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge on Thursday, Feb. 6.

PSCU, the nation’s leading Credit Union Service Organization, or CUSO, conceived and fully sponsored the Credit Union Magic Minute Loyalty Sweepstakes as a way to give their member-owner credit unions, including ORNL FCU, the shopping thrill of a lifetime, a press release said.

ORNL FCU members were encouraged to register their contact information on their credit union’s CURewards loyalty program website, the press release said. By using their ORNL FCU credit or debit card during the sweepstakes eligibility period, members’ names were automatically entered in a series of eight weekly drawings. [Read more…]

Breakfast with the Legislators on Monday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The second Breakfast with the Legislators of 2014 is on Monday morning.

The Tennessee General Assembly in Nashville has been in session since Jan. 14, a press release said.

“Bills dealing with election laws, Common Core Standards, Medicaid expansion, charter schools, Hall Income Tax, and the Affordable Care Act are being considered,” the release said. “Breakfast with the Legislators provides a forum to get to know key legislative decision makers and to ask questions on issues moving forward in state government.”

Monday’s monthly breakfast is scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike. A free continental breakfast will be served. [Read more…]

Get rid of your unused medicines on Saturday morning

Posted at
By 1 Comment

You can get rid of your unused medicines in a Saturday morning drop-off at the Oak Ridge Police Department.

Operation Medicine Cabinet is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon at the Oak Ridge Police Department at the Municipal Building at 200 S. Tulane Ave.

“Come and drop off your old and expired drugs,” organizers said. “No names given.”

It’s being promoted by the ORPD and Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County, or ASAP. For more information, call ORPD Officer Brandan Sharp at (865) 556-6696 or visit www.asapofanderson.org.

CASA receives national certification for work quality

Posted at
By 1 Comment

CASA of the Tennessee Heartland—which serves Anderson, Blount, and Scott counties—has been awarded certification by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association. This certification recognizes that CASA of the Tennessee Heartland is in compliance with National CASA’s high standards for quality child advocacy.

“The National CASA quality assurance process is very rigorous and reflects our commitment to ensure every child we serve has the most powerful volunteer advocate working on their behalf,” said Michael Piraino, chief executive officer of the National CASA Association. “This certification says CASA of the Tennessee Heartland has demonstrated to us a strong capacity to provide excellent services to the abused and neglected children within their community.”

CASA of the Tennessee Heartland was started in Anderson County in 1988, has been serving Scott County for 13 years, and is entering the second year of service in Blount County. [Read more…]

Tuesday: Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Free Medical Clinic

Posted at
By 5 Comments

Tanya Vargas

Tanya Vargas

Dr. Tanya Vargas, co-medical director of the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, will discuss the impact of the Affordable Care Act on the clinic during Lunch with the League on Tuesday.

Vargas will be the guest speaker during the lunchtime meeting in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. Vargas’ presentation is scheduled to start at noon Tuesday.

The Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge was established to provide free healthcare and to promote a healthy lifestyle to low-income clients in Anderson, Morgan, and Roane counties who lack health insurance and cannot afford medical care, a press release said.

“Vargas will discuss the issues that are faced by the segment of the Tennessee population that is eligible for neither the Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies nor TennCare,” the release said. [Read more…]

Rock to Bach Music Festival on March 1 at New Hope Center

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Classic Beatles and Rock to Bach Music Festival

Fifty years ago, the Beatles, the pop and rock group from England, arrived in America to perform before screaming fans. Now, one of them, Paul McCartney, composes classical music.

Imagine the Beatles walking one way as they pass Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Haydn walking in the opposite direction.

That’s the mental image you might have if you attend Oak Ridge’s fourth Rock to Bach Music Festival on Saturday, Mar. 1.

The annual festival has a new venue this year. It will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the New Hope Center of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Music, dance, food, crafts at Children’s Museum International Fest on Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Children's Museum International Festival 2013

International tastes, sounds and sights will fill the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge during the International Festival from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15.

The family-friendly event features musical and dance entertainment on stage throughout the day. Participants will dine on international cuisine, children will make international crafts to take home, and all will visit booths displaying crafts and traditions from world cultures. Food will be served from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the museum, which is at 461 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge.

Picti, a duo performing Celtic rock, will be featured performers at the International Festival. Other performers will include the klezmer band Dor L’ Dor; Good Thymes Ceilidh Scottish Fiddle Band; Chinese folk musicians Song Yu; Carib Sounds; South American musicians Cantemos; Andrew Payzant on Scottish bagpipe; and Hmong folk music and dance. Appalachian music—including David Neidig and Tom Smith, Early Bird Special, Knoxville Area Dulcimer Club, and Allen McBride on hammer dulcimer—will be in the Appalachia Heritage exhibit area of the museum, along with crafts exhibitors. [Read more…]