Oak Ridge Today

First Presbyterian offers free meals, groceries Nov. 11

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

First Presbyterian Church will provide a free meal and bag of groceries to food-insecure guests who drive by the church between 5:30 and 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 11.

The church’s monthly “Welcome Table” community meal program plans to supply each guest with a meal consisting of a soup, chips, fruit, and brownies, a press release said. In addition, a bag of groceries will be delivered to each car.

Guests should drive through the church parking lot to the sanctuary building at 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike at the intersection of the Turnpike and Lafayette Drive to collect the foods donated by church members or paid for by the congregation’s hunger fund, the press release said. Church volunteers wearing masks will deliver the hot meal and groceries to guests in their cars.

Oak Ridge Chamber’s Christmas Parade is Saturday, Dec. 11

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Santa plans to participate in the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade. This year’s traditional parade will be held on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, beginning at 6 p.m. (Photo credit: Ray Smith.)

 

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will have its annual Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 11.

This year’s theme is “The 12 Days of Christmas.”

The sponsor of this year’s parade is The Cowperwood Company.

There is no cost to participate.

The Chamber will be accepting parade entries online through Tuesday, December 7. You can register by visiting the Chamber’s website: www.oakridgechamber.org. [Read more…]

Medicaid expansion to be discussed at Tuesday forum

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Medicaid expansion will be discussed during a virtual forum Tuesday. It’s the first of two community forums about expanding Medicaid in Tennessee.

The first forum is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 2. It will feature professionals discussing the need for expanding Medicaid, a press release said.

The second forum, scheduled for November 16, will feature legislators discussing ways to achieve this goal, the press release said.

“Failure to expand Medicaid in Tennessee is severely impacting the health and welfare of Tennesseans,” the press release said. It said there are more than 300,000 uninsured Tennesseans, and Tennessee is second in the number of hospital closures and leads the nation in terms of hospital closures per capita. Also, many of the uninsured are essential workers whose lack of insurance places them at increased risk just to care for their families, the press release said. And Tennessee is failing to accept $900 million in federal money that would cover the cost of expansion for more than six years, the release said.

[Read more…]

ORNL’s top 10 tech transfer successes topic of FORNL talk

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mike Paulus

 

Mike Paulus, director of technology transfer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will talk about ORNL’s top 10 technology commercialization successes during a talk next week.

The talk is scheduled for noon Tuesday, November 9, to Friends of ORNL.

The virtual lecture is open to the public. To watch it online, click on the talk title on the homepage of the www.fornl.org website and click on the Zoom link at the top of the page describing the lecture. Here is Paulus’s summary of what he will talk about.

“From high-temperature alloys to biomaterials to solid-state batteries, ORNL innovations have made a difference in the marketplace,” Paulus said. “Since the 1980s, ORNL has transferred technologies to the private sector through its technology transfer office. My talk will review ORNL’s top 10 commercialization successes and look at a few recently licensed technologies with the potential for future success.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Philharmonia resumes concerts

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Philharmonia

The Oak Ridge Philharmonia is resuming concerts after more than a year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Great news!” the Philharmonia said on its website. “The orchestra will finally be in concert again!”

These are the first concerts since March 2020, and they are free.

The first concert is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, October 31, at Cokesbury United Methodist Church on Kingston Pike in Knoxville. The second is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, November 7, at First Baptist Church in Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

Temporary road closure for Halloween House

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A temporary road closure is planned along part of Nebraska Avenue for Sunday, October 31, between 4 p.m. and 12 a.m. for the annual Halloween House.

“The closure is necessary to create a safer environment for drivers and pedestrians expected to visit the annual Halloween House residential attraction on Nebraska Avenue, between Newridge Road and Newhaven Road,” a press release said.

The small stretch of road will be blocked to through traffic. However, residents will still be able to get to and from their homes during this time.

[Read more…]

City hosts Monster Mash Bash Halloween on Thursday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host Monster Mash Bash, a citywide Halloween event, on Thursday evening. Monster Mash Bash is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 28.

“This year’s event will be a literal ‘walk in the park’ beginning between the Oak Ridge Civic Center and the Senior Center on the west side parking area and looping through the Oak Ridge Civic Center Plaza back to the west parking lot,” a press release said. “Bissell Park and the parking lots will close at 2 p.m. and should be vacated at that time. This is to allow our sponsors and vendors to finish getting ready for the event. Parking in the west parking lot in front of the Senior Center will fill first, then the east parking lot by the Library, secondly.”

Event participants will be able to enjoy Halloween scenes, and children ages 4 years to 4th grade will receive treats throughout the park trail and may participate in a stamped scavenger hunt, the press release said. All families wishing to attend this free event will need to register at Eventbrite.com to help ensure there are enough treats and goodies to go around, the release said.

[Read more…]

Street Painting Festival honors Scarboro 85, raises funds for Roane State scholarships

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The theme for the 2021 Street Painting Festival, “Honoring Scarboro 85,” recognized the first Black students from the former Scarboro School who integrated Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior High on Sept. 6, 1955. The Honoring Scarboro 85 award went to the team of Dawn and Her Guys. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

The 2021 Street Painting Festival, hosted by the Noon Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, is in the books having raised more than $14,000 to help fund scholarships for Roane State Community College students in Anderson County.

Held in Oak Ridge’s Historic Jackson Square each October, the festival blends art, history, and community for a fun event in support of local students. Nearly $300,000 in scholarships issued by the nonprofit Roane State Foundation have been provided since the start of the festival in 1999, a press release said.

Festival sponsors make a tax-exempt donation to the Foundation, with levels ranging from $5,000 for Platinum down to $100 for Individual. Sponsors’ names are assigned to sidewalk squares upon which the artists then paint pictures with chalk. Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. once again sponsored the event at the Platinum Level. 2021 marked the 20th consecutive year of festival sponsorship for the company.

[Read more…]

Trunk or Treat at Roane State is Thursday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Trunk or Treat is at Roane State Community College on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. (Submitted photo)

The always popular Trunk or Treat event is back this year at Roane State Community College, scheduled for the evening of Thursday, October 28, a press release said.

Trunk or Treat festivities will begin at 5 p.m. and wrap up around 7 p.m., the press release said. College students, employees, and members of the community are welcome to attend. Admission is free.

The event will take place in the student parking lot next to the O’Brien Theatre on the Roane County campus, located at 276 Patton Lane in Harriman. Signage on campus will direct visitors where to go when they arrive.

Participants will be able to collect candy and other treats as they visit vehicles lined up in the parking area. Many event volunteers will be in costume.

[Read more…]

Howl-O-Ween dog costume contest at PetSmart

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

There will be a Howl-O-Ween Dog Costume Contest at PetSmart in Oak Ridge on Saturday, October 30.

The contest is presented by the Anderson County Animal Shelter and the County Mayor’s Office, a press release said.

It will begin at 11 a.m. that day. Registration for the contest will begin at 10:15 a.m. under the tent in the parking lot, the press release said.

PetSmart is at 203 Main Street in Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

RMS RamSat team to discuss cube satellite

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Robertsville Middle School students and mentors assembling the RamSat cube satellite. (Submitted photo)

ORION will welcome the Robertsville Middle School RamSat cube satellite team to a Zoom session on Wednesday evening, October 20.

The Robertsville Middle School CubeSat began its construction in the 2015-2016 school year after Robertsville became the first middle school selected by NASA’s Cube Sat Launch Initiative program. RamSat is a two-unit cube satellite, with dimensions of 20 centimeters by 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters. Its mission is to take pictures of the forests around Gatlinburg, which were destroyed by wildfire in 2016.

RamSat has an educational co-mission to develop a middle school STEM curriculum, a press release said. The mission has been designed and carried out by students, teachers, and mentors. The cube satellite has been dubbed RamSat for the school’s mascot.

The Wednesday Zoom session will start at 7 p.m. It is open to the public. [Read more…]

Missing Goats to perform at Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Event

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

From left to right are Tom Beehan, Mary Tuskan, and Steve Reddick. (Submitted photo)

 

ADFAC will host “The Starry Night,” their ninth annual Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Event, in Oak Ridge on Saturday, October 23.

The fundraising event will honor this year’s award recipient, Jim Dodson, and feature music by local band The Missing Goats, a press release said.

“This self described ‘pub band’ features members Tom Beehan, Mary Tuskan, and Steve Reddick as well as guest player Gary Coleman with a repertoire including Irish, Scottish, bluegrass and Appalachian songs,” the press release said. “Band members have a love for Ireland so much so that they have travelled to Ireland for concerts (and a little travel fun along the way) and performed at many local St. Patrick’s Day activities.” [Read more…]