Oak Ridge Today

Drug Take Back Day is Saturday in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Norris, Rocky Top

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Anderson County is participating in the 16th Annual DEA Rx Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 26. Community members can bring their expired or unused medicines to one of the Anderson County Take Back locations anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday.

Collection sites will be located at the police departments listed below. Each department will be set up outside in their respective parking lots to receive the expired or unused medicines.

  • Clinton Police Department, 125 West Broad Street, Clinton
  • Norris Police Department, 9 West Circle Road, Norris (will begin at 8 a.m.)
  • Oak Ridge Police Department, 200 South Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge
  • Rocky Top Police Department, 104 Lawson Street, Rocky Top

The National Rx Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue, a press release said. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs, and that number has continued to climb in recent years. Studies show many of the misused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. The Take Back Day provides an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths in the community and communities across the United States.

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Fire and Crime Prevention Celebration is Saturday

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Oak Ridge Fire and Crime Prevention Parade Map 2019
Oak Ridge Fire and Crime Prevention Parade Map 2019 (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge fire and police departments, in partnership with the Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program, will hold this year’s Fire and Crime Prevention Celebration on Saturday.

Everyone is invited to participate and support this free event, which combines the police department’s annual National Night Out and the fire department’s Fire Prevention Parade into one big community celebration, a press release said. 

The event will kick off with a parade (weather permitting) at 11 a.m. at Oak Ridge Fire Department Fire Station 3 on Tuskegee Drive. Following the parade, the celebration in Alvin K. Bissell Park is expected to begin around noon, and it will include food, emergency services equipment displays, a mobile video game theater, bounce houses, safety information booths, and police/fire demonstrations, the press release said.

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Oak Ridge Public Library to host paranormal program

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The Oak Ridge Public Library will host a program by the East Valley Paranormal Society on Saturday, October 26, beginning at 1 p.m.

The program, called “Ghost Hunting 101,” will provide an overview of paranormal investigations and the types of equipment used during a case. East Valley Paranormal Society presenters will also share photos, videos and electronic voice phenomena, or EVP, they have captured, a press release said.

East Valley Paranormal Society team members will be on hand to answer any questions. The program is sponsored by Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library.

Questions can be directed to the library’s front desk by calling (865) 425-3455.

ORAU Employees Club to host parking lot Trunk or Treat on Oct. 31

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The ORAU Employees Club will host a free Trunk or Treat event for the community on Thursday, October 31, from 7 to 9 p.m. ORAU employee volunteers will be handing out candy to trick or treaters at the ORAU main campus parking lot, located at 100 ORAU Way, a press release said.

“This is the first year we’ve done an event like this. Our Employees Club members are embracing Trunk or Treat, and we hope a lot of families bring their children to participate,” said Krista Seaton, the ORAU employee who is organizing the event.

Opportunity to view and discuss PBS series on six 20th century dictators

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As part of its Community Education and Development Ministry, the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will offer a series of viewings and discussions of the PBS series, “The Dictator’s Playbook.”

You can join them on Sunday afternoons from 3-5 p.m. from October 20 through November 24. A final discussion and reception will be held on Sunday, December 8, a press release said.

The group will meet in the Social Hall at ORUUC, which is at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Six moderator-led sessions will focus on the rise of a particular dictator who arose to infamy in the 20th century, the press release said: Kim II Sung (October 20), Saddam Hussein (October 27), Benito Mussolini (November 3), Manuel Noriega (November 10), Francisco Franco (November 17), and Idi Amin (November 24). The seventh session will be a discussion of common themes and lessons to be learned from the rise, rule, and fall of these modern dictators (December 8), the press release said.

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Volunteers to learn karesansui raking techniques for Friendship Bell Garden

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Gene Patterson, center, of CNS Y-12, watches as volunteers rake designs in the karesansui garden at the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Volunteers who are designing and maintaining the new Japanese dry landscape garden at the International Friendship Bell Peace Pavilion received special rakes for the garden earlier this summer from Consolidated Nuclear Security, the contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

CNS-Y12 presented the volunteers with rakes featuring stainless steel blades, made by craftspeople at Y-12 especially for the karesansui garden, which features patterns in fine gravel raked around boulders or stones, a press release said.

“We believe these are the first stainless steel rakes to be used in these traditional karesansui gardens, a centuries-old garden tradition,” said Pat Postma, co-chair of the International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee. “The rakes have traditionally been made from wood, but I find the weight of the stainless steel rakes makes deeper furrows and longer-lasting designs. CNS and Y-12 continued Oak Ridge’s tradition of innovation by creating these rakes with stainless steel blades. We are glad that CNS offered to make these for us.” [Read more…]

New at Street Painting Festival: Take the STEAM challenge

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Artists turned Jackson Square into a work of art last year at the annual Rotary Club of Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, at Jackson Square. (Submitted photo)

The 20th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival at Jackson Square on Saturday will offer a new challenge this year, a press release said.

The October 19 event will be held in historic Jackson Square, and it will offer the first STEAM Challenge. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

The festival will, as always, offer prizes for artists in each category, the press release said. But this year, artists in any category can win an all-ages, all-categories bonus prize as part of the STEAM challenge.

The Street Painting Festival is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. It’s a fundraiser for Roane State Community College scholarships.

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UT Arboretum Society has Fall Plant Sale on Saturday

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University of Tennessee Arboretum Society Fall Plant Sale (Submitted photo)

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Fall Plant Sale will be held Saturday at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge.

The sale is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, October 19, at the UT Arboretum, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

“Fall is the ideal time to add plants to your landscape because of milder temperatures and more dependable rainfall,” a press release said. “In addition, the fact that plants are not putting energy into their top growth but devoting all their resources to developing a strong root system will give them a head start in the spring and a much better survival rate.”

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Sound Company has auditions on Saturday

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Children currently in first through 12th grade who enjoy music and performing are encouraged to come to the Grove Theater (High Places Community Church) in Oak Ridge to audition for Sound Company, the children’s show choir of Oak Ridge, on Saturday, October 19. Auditioners should prepare a song to perform, a press release said. You can sign up to audition and find out more at the Sound Company website, www.soundcompanytn.net.

Sound Company is comprised of approximately 100 children who come from all over East Tennessee. They present concerts featuring a wide range of music, from pop to Broadway to classical to multicultural, incorporating choreography and costumes into many of their pieces, and they have travelled regularly to Switzerland, where they have a “sister” choir, and to other places such as New York City. Sound Company is divided by age into four groups, and is led by Katy Wolfe and Terry Silver-Alford, both on staff at the University of Tennessee in the vocal music/musical theater departments and both regular performers in the area.

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Children’s Halloween Party is Oct. 24; sponsors, volunteers needed

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Halloween Party 2017 Star Wars Family Costume (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the annual Children’s Halloween Party on Thursday, October 24, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This event is now in its 37th year and will be attended by hundreds of local children and their families, a press release said.

Activities will be held inside the Oak Ridge Civic Center, located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike, and a hay ride will be offered outside in A.K. Bissell Park, weather permitting. There is no admission fee for the event, but participation in most activities requires one or more tickets. Tickets can be purchased at the Civic Center. The cost is 25 cents per ticket or $5 for a pack of 20.

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ASAP to celebrate move with Oct. 24 ceremony

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ASAP of Anderson will celebrate its move to a new office building in Clinton with a building dedication ceremony on Thursday, October 24.

ASAP had been in the Robert Jolley Building on Main Street in Clinton for 10 years, a press release said.

The building dedication ceremony is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. October 24 at 131 South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton. Everyone is invited, the press release said.

The ceremony will include coffee and light snacks, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and open house for community members to explore the new space, the press release said.

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Tonight: Free Movie Night in the Park

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The Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board, in partnership with the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department and Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson, will host a free Movie Night in the Park event tonight (Friday, October 11).

The event will be held in Alvin K. Bissell Park beginning at 7 p.m. The movie shown will be Disney’s “The Haunted Mansion” (rated PG) from 2003 starring Eddie Murphy. Free popcorn and drinks will be available while supplies last, a press release said.

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