Starting September 14, YWCA Knoxville was officially known as YWCA Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley.
The new name better reflects the geographical region that the YWCA now serves, including Oak Ridge and Anderson County, a press release said.
“This name change reflects our current growth and future expansion plans,” says Marigail Mullin, chief executive officer of the YWCA Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Senior Center is hosting a free interest meeting regarding piano lessons that will soon be offered to those age 50 and older.
The session is scheduled for Friday, October 6, at 2 p.m., and it will introduce the instructor, Chris LaLoggia, and his style of teaching, a press release said. Possible days and times for lessons will also be discussed at the meeting.
Anyone age 50 or older who is interested in learning how to play the piano is encouraged to attend the informational session. Please call the senior center at (865) 425-3999 in order to reserve a spot.
Jessica Steed
Jessica Steed, executive director of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, October 3.
Steed will discuss the Critical Difference (the Foundation’s teacher grant program) and the special book project to celebrate the schools’ 75th anniversary, a press release said.
The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]
Submitted
The community is invited to join in the celebration of the seventh birthday of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Stone Soup Free Community Meal on Friday, September 29. On the menu will be taco salad, Mexican rice, fresh fruit, and of course, birthday cake for dessert.
An assortment of nonperishable family friendly groceries will be available for free to anyone in need. Dine in or take out will be available from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.
“While many of our guests are our food insecure neighbors, we want to start our eighth year making sure that we emphasize that the community meal is open to anyone who would like to come,” said program co-coordinator Jinx Watson. “There are a lot of connections that are made, not only among the guests, but also among the guests and the team. We enjoy dining with them and love the opportunity to celebrate someone’s birthday, hear news about their families, and build friendships. For some, attending is as much about the welcoming atmosphere as it is about the meal.” [Read more…]
Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge
The City of Oak Ridge’s Community Development Department is continuing the Oak Ridge City Blueprint effort with a discussion focused on the Palisades and east side residential neighborhoods on Thursday.
An open house will be held between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 28, at Glenwood Elementary School, a press release said.
Families living in these subareas are encouraged to attend and provide ideas and suggestions for possible neighborhood improvements, the press release said.
“Please note that no formal presentation is planned for this event,” the release said. “Those attending can come and go anytime during the open house to meet, ask questions, and share thoughts with city staff and board representatives.” [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Police Department K9 Officer Ray Steakley is pictured above at a K9 demonstration at the 2016 National Night Out at Alvin K. Bissell Park. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
The Oak Ridge Police Department is teaming up with the Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program to host a National Night Out celebration on Tuesday, October 3.
The event will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Alvin K. Bissell Park behind the Oak Ridge Civic Center. National Night Out is a free community gathering that heightens awareness of local efforts to prevent crime, violence, and drug use while generating support for and participation in anti-crime programs, a press release said. [Read more…]
Ahead of United Nations International Day of Older Persons on October 1, the Taoist Tai Chi Society is hosting a special demonstration at the Oak Ridge Senior Center. On Wednesday, September 27, at 11 a.m., a Taoist tai chi instructor will show how practicing tai chi contributes to healthy aging, a press release said.
Program organizers say the gentle motions of tai chi offer health benefits for all ages, but the practice often appeals to seniors looking for ways to improve strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance. The motions are also gentle and low impact, exercising the skeleton, joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and all connective tissue, with very low risk of injury. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge History Room (Image courtesy American Museum of Science and Energy)
The Tennessee State Museum will have its fall bus excursion to Oak Ridge on Saturday, November 4. It will be a one-day guided trip to the former “Secret City,” a press release said.
“Local historian Ray Smith will join the bus in Oak Ridge and accompany the group on its stops at the American Museum of Science and Energy, the Y-12 History Center, as well as drive by other locations,” the press release said. “Don’t miss this chance to see the museum before it closes at the end of the year and moves to a new, smaller location.”
Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachians, the area that is now Oak Ridge was created when the U.S. government started buying up more than 50,000 acres of land for one of three major sites for the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal project to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. (Besides Oak Ridge, the other two major sites were Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.)
“Even Governor Prentice Cooper didn’t initially know what was going on as he complained about 1,000 Tennessee families losing their homes,” the press release said. [Read more…]
Axel Ringe
Axel Ringe, conservation chair for the Sierra Club’s Tennessee Chapter, will discuss “The Environmental Impacts of Government Deregulation” as guest speaker at the Monday, September 25, meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club. The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at Swifty’s Atomic Grill, which is at 119 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.
Ringe is a retired scientific analyst and program manager with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information, or OSTI. A graduate of Cornell University, he has made a second career as a volunteer with the Sierra Club, a press release said. He has held numerous offices within the Tennessee Chapter and Harvey Broome Group since joining the club in 1996, and currently serves as conservation chair for both the state chapter and the local group. [Read more…]
Amber Roberts, vice principal of Oak Ridge High School, will give a talk on “Oak Ridge High School’s Vision for 2020” at the general meeting of the AAUW (American Association of University Women) on Monday, September 25, at 11:30 a.m. in Room 102 of the Activities Building of First Presbyterian Church, 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Roberts joined the staff of the high school as vice principal in 2009 after teaching eighth grade in the Atlanta metropolitan area for 11 years, a press release said.
She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Agnes Scott College, a master’s degree in middle grades science education from the University of West Georgia, and an educational specialist degree in educational administration from Lincoln Memorial University.
Her talk will be first for the 2017-2018 year for AAUW. New presidents for the year are Mayme Crowell and Fay Martin, the press release said. [Read more…]
Submitted
Peace begins with you! On Saturday, September 23, in honor of International Day of Peace, the yoga group at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is hosting an event, “Yoga Peace Day,” that is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Presenters of the day will include Serene White, who will lead a restorative yoga session; Amanda Caldwell, who will lead a guided meditation with a slide show; and Jan Coe, who will treat everyone to a sound immersion concert, a press release said. There will be a blessing led by Reverend Tandy Scheffler to dedicate the new peace pole installed on the property, the press release said. [Read more…]
The three Oak Ridge Rotary Clubs present a check for $10,000 for the Peace Pavilion that will house the International Friendship Bell, at the kickoff for the fundraising campaign last year. From left, they are last year’s Rotary Club presidents, Devrin Kuipers, Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club; Jennifer Campbell, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge; and Emily Jernigan, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club. Accepting the check are Pat Postma and Alan Tatum, co-chairs of the International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)
When local organizations step up to support local initiatives, communities experience success.
“Communities that organize and work with a goal in mind benefit and prosper far more than those that don’t,” said Pat Postma, co-chair of a group leading a fund drive for a new Peace Pavilion for the Oak Ridge International Friendship Bell.
Postma is pleased that many local organizations have contributed to the Friendship Bell drive, seeing it as a sign of strong community support when organizations that raise funds for their own causes contribute to other community initiatives, as well. They join contractors, businesses, local governments, and individuals that are supporting the effort, a press release said.
Among the first organization to contribute to the drive was the Girl Scouts Oak Ridge Service Unit, which observes the United Nations International Day of Peace annually at the Friendship Bell and has established friendships with Girl Scouts from Oak Ridge’s sister city in Japan, the press release said.
“The Girl Scouts of Oak Ridge made a donation of $1,000 when we had a visit from our sister Girl Scout Troop 37 in Naka, Japan, in 2014,” said Jerry Luckmann, community service coordinator for the Oak Ridge Service Unit, which covers about 30 troops in the Oak Ridge area. [Read more…]
