Oak Ridge Today

Disability issues to be discussed Tuesday

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The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge will host Marian Wildgruber on Tuesday, December 6. Wildgruber will discuss her work with the Mobility Justice Working Group and the new Disability Advisory Board for the City of Oak Ridge. Her topics will include outreach, priorities, paratransit, and sidewalk/crosswalk infrastructure, a press release said.

This event will be held at 12 p.m. Tuesday at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Church Social Hall. It will also be available via Zoom. A link for Zoom access will be distributed later. You should bring your lunch if you want one. Lunches from The Soup Kitchen will be available beginning in 2023, the press release said.

Wildgruber grew up in Seattle and got her bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Washington. She worked for the U.S. Forest Service for 12 years in Washington, Oregon, California, and Washington, D.C., during which time she got her master’s degree in public administration, the press release said.

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Senior Center has Holiday Reception on Dec. 9

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Oak Ridge Senior Center exterior front 2019
The front of the Oak Ridge Senior Center is pictured above. (File photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Senior Center will host a Holiday Reception for area senior citizens on Friday, December 9. The reception is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day in the Civic Center gymnasium at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The reception is free. Pre-registration is required because of limited space, a press release said.

“Come join us for a light box lunch consisting of chips, cookies, and a choice of either egg salad, chicken salad, or pimento cheese sandwich,” Senior Center Manager Linda McGhee said. “The Senior Center’s own Golden Eagles will be playing live Christmas music beginning at 11 a.m.”

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Chamber’s Christmas Parade is Saturday, Dec. 10

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A photo from a previous Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade. (File photo by Eli Welton)

The annual Christmas Parade in Oak Ridge will be Saturday, December 10.

It’s organized by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by The Cowperwood Company.

This year’s theme is “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

More than 80 floats are expected to participate in the parade, which is scheduled from 6 p.m. to roughly 8 p.m. The parade route will include Lafayette Road, then Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Arboretum Nature Book Trail features new insect book

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The Nature Book Trail at the University of Tennessee Arboretum features “Bugs on the Job,” a book by author Nancy Kelly Allen and illustrator Martyna Nejman. (Photo by UT Arboretum Society)

The Nature Book Trail at the University of Tennessee Arboretum features “Bugs on the Job,” a book by author Nancy Kelly Allen and illustrator Martyna Nejman.

The Nature Book Trail is about half a mile in length. It begins near the parking lot by the UT Arboretum Visitors Center at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

“It is an easy trail for children and adults to hike, with two benches to rest on along the way; however, it is non-accessible for people with disabilities,” the press release said. “The 14 beautiful trail signs feature Ian Sect, a roving reporter who interviews 10 different insects to learn about their roles in nature as decomposers, pollinators, or colonizers.”

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Creswell, new Roane Co. executive, to talk to League

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Wade Creswell

Wade Creswell, who was elected Roane County executive this year, will talk to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Creswell’s presentation is scheduled to start at noon Tuesday, November 15, in person at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Church Social Hall. It will also be available on Zoom. A link for Zoom access will be distributed later.

It’s a Lunch with the League hosted by the League of Women Voters.

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Tree Lighting ceremony on Dec. 1

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The Oak Ridge Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, in Alvin K. Bissell Park. (File photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The annual Community Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, December 1, in Alvin K. Bissell Park.

The tree lighting ceremony, sponsored by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department, is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. December 1.

The tree, a Norway spruce that was presented to the city by the Woman’s Club, has become part of a growing community tradition, a press release said.

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Community Thanksgiving on Nov. 24

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The annual free community Thanksgiving dinner is in Oak Ridge on Thursday, November 24.

“Everyone should have someone to give thanks with on Thanksgiving!” a press release said. “The grassroots annual tradition continues, and this year we are back to in-house dining!”

Everyone is invited, the press release said.

The dinner is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, November 24, at the Historic Grove Theater at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge. No RSVP is required, the press release said.

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Tickets available for ADFAC Bow Tie Event on Nov. 5

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Pictured above from left to right are Bow Tie recipients or representatives Bill Capshaw (2019), Cande Seay (2015), Teresa Myrick (Tim Myrick, 2014), Pat Postma (2022), Ray Smith (2013), Pat Row (Tom Row, 2016), Jim Dodson (2021), Tom Beehan (2020), and Bear Stephenson (2016). Not pictured is Louise Mixon, who received the award in 2018. (Submitted photo)

ADFAC (Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties Inc.) is selling tickets to the upcoming Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Event to be held in Oak Ridge on November 5.

This year’s event, “Lady With a Legacy,” will honor community volunteer Pat Postma as the 10th Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Awardee, a press release said.

The Bow Tie Event is scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. November 5 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Free Trunk or Treat, movie in Rocky Top on Oct. 28

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ASAP of Anderson is partnering with the City of Rocky Top to present free trunk-or-treating and a showing of “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” on Friday, October 28.

It’s scheduled from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on October 28 at Rocky Top’s George Templin Field, a press release said.

“Fun activities and free resources will be available for the whole family!” the release said.

The free event will include food and costume contests, the press release said.

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Drop off expired, unused meds on Oct. 29

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The Oak Ridge Police Department is participating in the National Drug Enforcement Administration Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29.

On that day, anyone in the community can drop off their expired or unused medications at the Oak Ridge Police Department at 200 South Tulane Avenue. The drug take-back is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. October 29.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the most common method of obtaining pills is through family and friends, a press release said.

“Prescription drugs could be easily stolen at home when they are left in unlocked cabinets and drawers,” the release said.

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Monologue Slam will feature artistic competition, fundraising

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The first East Tennessee Monologue Slam Fundraiser for Veterans and First Responders will be in Clinton on Saturday, November 12, and it will benefit the Infinite Warrior Foundation.

The Monologue Slam will feature a performance competition, and it will be at E. Claire’s Coffee House in Clinton in partnership with Actor’s Way In acting studio. It is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. November 12.

“Each performer is given three minutes to perform a monologue of their choice and then receive critiques from the judges,” a press release said. “After the first round of actors have gone up, three finalists are selected to move on to the second round.

“Here’s where things get interesting. In the second round, finalists are given plot twists that must be incorporated into their original piece. Some twists have included the actor now being drunk at their wedding or turning into a werewolf.

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CNS awards $120K in grants

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CNS Community Investment Grant Recipients are pictured following a grant ceremony on Oct. 17, 2022. (Submitted photo)

Twenty-two East Tennessee nonprofits received a total of $121,600 from the Consolidated Nuclear Security Community Investment Fund at a ceremony October 17.

Since 2015, the fund has awarded 180 grants to more than 120 nonprofit organizations and educational institutions in 20 East Tennessee counties, totaling a combined $1.04 million, a press release said.

The Community Investment Fund is a partnership between CNS, the managing and operating contractor of Y-12 National Security Complex, and the East Tennessee Foundation.

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