Oak Ridge Today

Local organizations, congregations celebrating community unity

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Community Unity Celebration has events this week. During the celebration, local organizations and congregations are working together to offer opportunities for residents of Oak Ridge and surrounding areas to come together to get to know each other and build community, a press release said.

The Celebration kicked off with the Human Rights Rally on Saturday, January 18, and it will end with the World Day of Prayer on Friday, March 6.

“Please join us as you can!” the press release said.

Here is more information about the events:

[Read more…]

Second annual writing contest under way; scholarships available

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Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Grace Writers of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge is featuring its second annual writing contest in memory of two members: Carol Oen and Cleva Marrow, both Oak Ridge writers.

Carol Oen wrote poetry, freelance articles for magazines, and a senior romance novel, “Songs That Remember,” about Alzheimer’s and caregivers. She taught memoir writing for the Oak Ridge Institute of Continued Learning. Cleva Marrow freelanced for The Oak Ridger and The Knoxville News Sentinel.

The contest will consist of three awards:

[Read more…]

Presentation today about taking charge as a medical advocate

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Gay Marie Logsdon
Gay Marie Logsdon

At the February meeting of Women’s Interfaith Dialogue, Gay Marie Logsdon will give a presentation about taking charge as a medical advocate.

The meeting will be held on Monday, February 3, at the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge, 101 West Madison Lane, with an opening reception at 10:45 a.m. and program at 11 a.m., a press release said.

Logsdon’s presentation is based on her own experience as well as that of family and friends over more than 30 years, the press release said.

“The urgency to speak about medical advocacy grew out of months of in-patient and out-patient medical care, torrents of insurance claims, and gradual recovery following a head-on car wreck in 2016,” the press release said.

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Voting rights to be discussed Tuesday

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Katie A. Cahill
Katie A. Cahill

Voting rights will be discussed in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The speaker will be Katie A. Cahill, associate director of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy and director of the Leadership and Governance Program. Cahill has a courtesy post as an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Her Tuesday talk will be to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. Her talk is titled “Voting Rights, Laws and Trends: A Look Ahead to 2020,” a press release said.

[Read more…]

UT creative writing director to speak at Lunch 4 Literacy in Oak Ridge

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A creative writing director at the University of Tennessee will speak at Lunch 4 Literacy in Oak Ridge in March.

The popular annual event is co-sponsored by the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club and the Altrusa International Club of Oak Ridge. It will be held at Oak Ridge High School at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 24.

This year, the award-winning speaker is Margaret Lazarus Dean, an associate professor and director of creative writing in the Department of English at the University of Tennessee. [Read more…]

ASAP of Anderson seeking stuffed animals to help kids in Juvenile Court

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Juvenile Court running low on stuffed toys to comfort children

ASAP of Anderson is seeking stuffed animal donations for children involved in the Anderson County Juvenile Court system.

“Stuffed animals are offered as a comfort item in a juvenile court setting for children who have been separated from their parents or guardians,” a press release said. “The animals provide a sense of warmth and reassurance in a potentially stressful setting.”

Juvenile Court Judge Brian J. Hunt said: “Coming to court can be frightening for children. Receiving a stuffed animal can alleviate anxiety and stress and lets children know they are in a safe place.”

ASAP of Anderson has partnered with Juvenile Court after learning their stuffed animal supply has been running low, as no child should have to go without a feeling of support during a hard time, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Breakfast with Legislators this morning

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The Oak Ridge League of Women Voters will hold its first Breakfast with the Legislators event of the year on Monday, January 27. The meeting will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. A free continental breakfast will be served.

Tennessee senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to speak about the legislative outlook for this session of the Tennessee General Assembly, and respond to questions and hear opinions from the audience, a press release said. The public is invited to attend.

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Free food tastings, classes offered Saturday at Winter Farmers’ Market

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Children 12 and under who taste two bites of a vegetable get $2 to spend on fruits and vegetables at the Winter Farmers’ Market in the free Power of Produce Club. (Submitted photo)

The Winter Farmers’ Market, located in the gym at St. Mary’s School, 323 Vermont Avenue in Oak Ridge, is offering a series of free market workshops on healthy eating and gardening this winter.

On Saturday, January 25, at 11 a.m., Dr. Elaine Bunick will present “Healthy Eating on a Budget,” with a variety of healthy foods to sample and recipes to share. Bunick is a retired endocrinologist who has helped hundreds of patients manage diabetes and other lifestyle-related diseases, a press release said. Bunick says she wants “kids and adults to see how good healthy eating can be.”

The UT Extension Service will also be at the market, offering healthy recipes and food tastings as well. The market is open Saturdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., through March. 

For children, the Anderson County Health Department’s public health educator Sabrina Greene will present an “All About Veggies” activity. Plus, the market’s popular Power of Produce Club will offer free vegetable tastings for children 12 and under. Those who take two bites get $2 to spend on fruits and vegetables in the market.

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Oak Ridge History Museum presents 1940s music on Saturday

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The Oak Ridge History Museum will host an evening of 1940s music by the Oak Ridge High School Choral Ensemble and the Oak Ridge High School Jazz Band on Saturday, January 18, at 7 p.m.

Admission is free, although donations to the museum are certainly welcome, a press release said.

The Oak Ridge History Museum (www.oakridgemuseum.com) is located at 102 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge, across the street from the Kroger Marketplace.

This press release was submitted by a subscriber to Oak Ridge Today.

Human Rights Rally on Saturday in Oak Ridge

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Human Rights Rally Marchers in Rain 2019
Marchers at the first Human Rights Rally in Oak Ridge in 2019. (Submitted photo)

The second Human Rights Rally in Oak Ridge will be held on Saturday, January 18, at 2 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The organizers of the “Human Rights Rally:  How Can You Help?” event stated in a news release that the doors will be open at 1 p.m. for making signs for the march that will follow the 2 p.m. program of speakers and music.

Mark Flynn, pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge, will serve as the moderator. Speakers will include Lissie Meza Beehan, Jake Morrill, Kesha Shipe Waters, and Rose Weaver. Topics will range from the rights of children and LGBTQ rights to the challenges for the immigrant community in Oak Ridge, a press release said.

Music will be provided by the Oak Valley Voice of Praise, the ORUUC Sorta Singers, and the First Presbyterian Church Choir.

[Read more…]

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Center relocates, opens Feb. 3

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The Oak Ridge Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Center has relocated, and it will open Monday, February 3.

The VITA program is an Internal Revenue Service initiative to help taxpayers by providing trained volunteers to prepare and electronically file individual tax returns at no cost to the taxpayers, a press release said.

For 2020, the VITA office has moved from the Trinity Center on Robertsville Road to the United Way Office at 728 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge, the press release said. The hours are from 3-5:30 p.m. on Mondays, 3-8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The office is staffed entirely by volunteers—19 preparers, 8 greeters and one computer expert. United Way of Anderson County provides funds for software and provides office space.

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AC, ORPD to discuss program to combat elder abuse

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Submitted

Elder abuse is a new focus of Anderson County and the Oak Ridge Police Department. The two agencies are preparing to jointly implement a Senior Citizens Awareness Network, or SCAN, program that will likely start later this year to deal with the crime.

District Attorney General David Clark of the Seventh Judicial District and his Anderson County office are leading the charge on combating elder abuse, and the office will be running the SCAN program, according to a press release. RPD will help implement the program in Oak Ridge.

Clark and ORPD Detective Wendy Zolkowski will speak Thursday, January 16, about the SCAN program, elder abuse in Oak Ridge, and the ways seniors can be protected.

Their talks will be the first in 2020 in the lecture series sponsored by Roane State Community College and the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning. They will speak at 2 p.m. Thursday in the City Room (A-111) of the Coffey-McNally building on RSCC’s Oak Ridge Branch Campus, 701 Briarcliff Avenue. ORPD is hosting the presentation, which will be preceded by a reception with refreshments at 1:30 p.m. in the lobby. [Read more…]