Make Oak Ridge Energy Efficient, or MORE2, will be hosting a public meeting for interested applicants Thursday, September 22, from 3-4 p.m. at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.
MORE2, funded by the Tennessee Valley Authority, kicked off in April and began retrofitting the homes of Oak Ridge residents with no-cost energy upgrades, such as new HVAC units and water heaters. [Read more…]
Becca Seay, right, and Daphne Seay, left, Junior Girl Scouts from Troop 20508 fold white peace doves as souvenirs of the Girl Scouts celebration of the United Nation’s International Day of Peace. (Submitted photo)
Information and photos from Jerralyn Luckmann and Kay Brookshire
Oak Ridge Girl Scout Troops are planning a Peace Demonstration to celebrate the United Nation’’s International Day of Peace, at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21. Also known as World Peace Day, September 21 is a global observance, a day when nations around the world are invited to honor a cessation of hostilities.
To inaugurate the International Day of Peace, the “Peace Bell” is rung at the United Nations Headquarters. The bell was cast in Japan and made from coins donated by children from all continents. It bears the inscription “Long live absolute world peace.”
Girl Scouts from many Oak Ridge troops will gather at the Oak Ridge Friendship Bell, near the proposed location for the Peace Pavilion, which will house the new bell support structure. In the shadow of our own “Peace Bell,” the Girl Scouts will present a program of songs and peace quotes. Troop members are folding peace doves to distribute as keepsakes of the event. [Read more…]
Jackie Clay
The Free Medical Clinic has announced Jackie Clay as its executive director.
The Free Medical Clinic, or FMC, provides no-charge primary care and wellness services to low-income, uninsured residents of Anderson, Morgan, and Roane counties.
Before she joined the FMC, Clay worked for the City of Knoxville as project manager, then as program manager, with a focus on crime reduction programs. She has experience as a community organizer and as an instructor at the University of Tennessee, a press release said.
Clay has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee in social work with concentrations in nonprofit management, leadership, and community practice. She also has a community engagement professional certification from Neighbor Works America Training Institute. [Read more…]
Members of the Oak Ridge delegation at 25th Anniversary celebration of sister city signing agreement with Naka shi, Japan. (Submitted photo)
This year, the Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization, or SCSO, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Sister City agreement between Oak Ridge and Naka-shi, Japan.
The significance of this anniversary was acknowledged with special events in Japan and Tennessee. In July, a 21-member delegation from Oak Ridge traveled to Naka, including City Council member Rick Chinn; Myles Hebrard, supervisor of special education for Oak Ridge schools; SCSO Chairwoman Jerralyn Luckmann; Japanese mentor Shigeko Uppuluri; and the 2016 middle school exchange delegation of students and teachers and other SCSO members. A reception and dinner with more than 100 Naka shi dignitaries, officials, and Naka International Exchange Association members attended and honored the Oak Ridge group with recognitions, gifts, songs, and karate demonstrations. [Read more…]
THDA Executive Director Ralph M. Perrey and ADFAC Executive Director Annie Cachiero cut the ribbon on a rehabilitated home on Wainwright Road in Oak Ridge on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (Photo courtesy THDA/Wes Bunch)
State officials and local leaders joined Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties in Oak Ridge on Thursday afternoon to help cut the ribbon on a newly renovated home located in the city’s Highland View neighborhood.
The formerly blighted and vacant home was rehabilitated with the help of a $67,410 Housing Trust Fund grant the Tennessee Housing Development Agency awarded ADFAC in 2015. ADFAC obtained the property on Wainwright Road through a donation.
THDA Executive Director Ralph Perrey told those attending the ribbon cutting that it was important for the state to recognize innovative work being done to improve access to affordable housing.
“This project is exactly the kind of work that our Housing Trust Fund grant program was created to assist,” Perrey said. “We are glad to work with partners like ADFAC who continue to have a positive impact on the communities they serve.” [Read more…]
The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will host a fall Meet and Greet followed by a fall wildflower walk on the UT Arboretum grounds on Saturday, September 17, from 9-11 a.m.
The public is invited for a Meet and Greet at the UT Arboretum Visitor’s Center at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. Coffee and donuts will be served from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Kris Light, an expert naturalist, educator, and photographer will lead this fun, educational, and easy walk, a press release said. Participants may want to bring a camera to take pictures of the many wildflowers on the Arboretum grounds. [Read more…]
One of the Hospitality Houses is pictured above. (Submitted photo from March 2015)
The Hospitality Houses at Methodist Medical Center have won the 2016 Historic Preservation Award, the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association announced Friday.
The award is presented by the ORHPA each year on Oak Ridge’s birthday, September 19. That’s the day in 1942 that General Leslie Groves selected this area as the first site in support of the top-secret Manhattan Project, a federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.
The Hospitality Houses are managed by Kim Maes of Methodist Medical Center, a press release said. These houses are original Oak Ridge E-2 duplexes located at 210 and 216 West Tennessee Avenue. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will have its popular semi-annual rummage sale on Friday, September 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, September 17, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., a press release said. Bargain hunters have come to rely on the low prices for much-needed or desired items, the release said.
ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Proceeds raised will help to support various ministries of the church, the press release said.
Shop the sale and find very low prices for linens, kitchenware, small appliances, furniture, home décor items, DVDs, CDs, books, baby items, toys, tools, athletic equipment, garden equipment, low cost computers, TVs, and other electronic devices, the press release said.
For many shoppers, the sale is highly anticipated for renewing and refurbishing the wardrobe for the entire family, the release said. Clothing, shoes, and accessories will be available. [Read more…]
A winning chalk painting at the 14th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival, held in October 2014 at the Oak Ridge Branch Campus of Roane State Community College. (Submitted photo)
Do you enjoy drawing upon your artistic skills as you sketch a face, animal, or colorful scene? Then you might like “painting” pictures in chalk on a sidewalk.
You are invited to sign up as an artist for the 16th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival. The festival showcases the talents of artists of all ages and provides a fun time for the community.
This popular event will be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, October 1, on the sidewalks of the Oak Ridge Branch Campus of Roane State Community College. (The rain day will be Sunday.) Artists may start their chalk paintings on Friday afternoon, September 30.
The art must be completed at 4 p.m. Saturday, October 1, so it can be judged before 6 p.m., when artist awards will be announced. If you win a first prize or the People’s Choice Award, you will receive a $50 cash award as well as recognition.
The festival is organized and hosted by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. Its purpose is to raise funds for scholarships for students at Roane State Community College. [Read more…]
The Rotary Club of Oak Ridge is hosting a Golf Classic tournament at Centennial Golf Course on Friday, September 23, to raise money to build a community garden in the Scarboro community in Oak Ridge. (Photo via Rotary Club of Oak Ridge on Facebook)
The Rotary Club of Oak Ridge is hosting a Golf Classic tournament on Friday, September 23, to raise money to build a community garden in the Scarboro community in Oak Ridge.
The Rotary Golf Classic will have a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, September 23, at the Centennial Golf Course off Edgemoor Road.
Here’s the rest of the schedule:
A martial arts academy in Oak Ridge is offering a free workshop in October for children and their parents who want to counter bullying.
The CounterBully Seminar is from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, October 1.
It’s being offered by Progressive Martial Arts Academy at 138 Fairbanks Road in Oak Ridge.
There are many forms of bullying, including cyber bullying, verbal abuse, physical violence, and even sexual harassment, a press release said.
The CounterBully Seminar will teach children six years old and older to learn to combat bullying by using confidence as a way to prevent potential physical violence or emotional abuse, the press release said. Participants will also learn proper reporting methods and basic self-defense tactics in case the bullying becomes physical. [Read more…]
Masami Kinefuchi, second from right, Consul-General of Japan based in Nashville, represented Japan as the Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization celebrated the 25th anniversary of the sister city relationship with Naka-shi, Japan. At the celebration, Alan Tatum, left, and Pat Postma, second from left, received a check for almost $10,000 from Naka for the International Friendship Bell’s new Peace Pavilion. With them is Shigeki Uppuluri, who was instrumental in bringing the bell to Oak Ridge and serves with Tatum and Postma on the Citizens Advisory Committee raising funds for the new pavilion. (Submitted photo)
Naka-shi, Japan, Oak Ridge’s sister city for 25 years, recently made a major contribution for the newly designed Peace Pavilion to house the International Friendship Bell in Bissell Park.
Residents of the City of Naka contributed almost $10,000 for the new Peace Pavilion when an Oak Ridge Sister City delegation visited the Japanese city this summer. Oak Ridge City Council member Rick Chinn accepted the check on behalf of Oak Ridge.
Chinn presented the check to Pat Postma and Alan Tatum, co-chairs of the Oak Ridge International Friendship Bell Advisory Committee, at the August welcome reception for Naka-shi students and chaperones celebrating the sister cities’ 25th anniversary. The advisory committee is spearheading the fundraising campaign for the Peace Pavilion and plans to formally kick off the campaign in November.
Masami Kinefuchi, Consul-General of Japan based in Nashville, spoke at the Jefferson Middle School reception hosted by the Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization, welcoming guests from Japan and representing Japan during the ceremonies. He said he hoped Oak Ridge would be the home of the international friendship between Japan and the United States. [Read more…]
