A book sale organized by Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library continues this weekend through Sunday.
The FOL Winter Book Sale is at the Oak Ridge Public Library.
Saturday, February 5, is Half-Price Sale Day from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, February 6, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., is Buy-A-Bag-of-Books Sale with each bag provided by FOL priced at $3.
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Center will open on Tuesday.
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.
Oak Ridge VITA program will again be housed at the United Way Offices at 728 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge. Hours are from 1:30 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays. The office is staffed entirely by IRS certified volunteers-preparers, greeters, and computer experts. United Way of Anderson County provides funds for software and provides office space, the press release said.
COVID-19 protocols were instituted for the 2020 and 2021 tax seasons and will be in place again this year. VITA tax preparers will not meet in person with taxpayers, but they will prepare taxes and communicate by telephone with taxpayers as needed, the press release said. Taxpayers will need to bring their materials to the United Way office, where greeters will help assure that all materials needed are included.
[Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Stormwater Division and Healthy Waters Program will host a volunteer cleanup on Melton Hill Lake in March. It’s the 33rd Annual Ijams River Rescue, which is a volunteer cleanup event hosted by Ijams Nature Center.
The cleanup is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 12.
“Volunteers are encouraged to come out to the Boat Ramp at 173 Edgemoor Road near Haw Ridge Park to keep Melton Hill Lake beautiful,” a press release said.
There is trash in the water and along the banks in the area, which sees high foot traffic and many wildlife sightings as well as litter from vehicles traveling on Edgemoor Road, the press release said.
[Read more…]You can hike with a park ranger and learn about history on Cedar Hill Greenway this month.
“Grab your boots and jacket to join us on a hike through the Secret City,” a press release said. “Manhattan Project National Historical Park will be hosting a hike with a ranger along the Cedar Hill Greenway in Oak
Ridge.”
The hike will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, February 26. The 2.5-mile moderate hike will begin at Cedar Hill Park, the former location of Cedar Hill Elementary School.
“Park rangers will be discussing the early school system of Oak Ridge as well as the shopping centers and housing in the Clinton Engineer Works,” the press release said.
[Read more…]Anderson County government is asking residents to comment about the future of parks and recreation in the county.
The county is using a citizen survey to inform a comprehensive parks and recreation master plan, a press release said. The last day to submit your input online is February 26. You can complete the survey at https://losedesign.mysocialpinpoint.com/andersonco_tn_parks_and_rec.
“I’m really hoping that citizens can go online and answer a few questions about what they feel about parks—whether that’s a trail out in the county, or a tennis court inside a city,” Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said in the press release. “Anderson County is working on a Comprehensive Parks Plan that looks up to 10 years into the future. Anymore, to apply for most grants, having a written plan is a requirement. Such a look at our existing assets and surveying your thoughts about future needs helps communicate to elected leaders how best to allocate limited resources. This plan will allow us to take advantage of numerous grant opportunities that can benefit our county and cities.”
[Read more…]
Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees and the lab’s managing contractor UT-Battelle donated more than $900,000 to local nonprofit organizations in 2021.
Most of the donations, almost $800,000, came from laboratory employees. UT-Battelle provided an additional $144,000 in corporate contributions, a press release said. That’s a total of $944,000 in donations.
The contributions from ORNL’s employees benefit 169 area and regional nonprofits, the press release said.
Organizations receiving funds include:
[Read more…]The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will host a presentation next week about bird courtship and pair bonding.
The First Thursday Nature Supper Club program is titled “Love is in the Air.” It is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 3.
“Though it is only February, bird courtship has begun,” a press release said. “Male birds vie for the attention of the females in a variety of ways. We will explore what all that cooing is about!”
“You provide your own stay-at-home supper, and we provide the nature as local naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales will entertain and teach us via Zoom what counts for beauty in the avian world,” the press release said. “We will look at many species. Great horned owls are the first to start courtship rituals, while cedar waxwings typically do not begin their pair bonding until June.”
[Read more…]
A celebration of the life of museum founder John Rice Irwin will be held in April at the Museum of Appalachia in Norris. The celebration of life is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 24.
Irwin was a cultural historian and founder of the Museum of Appalachia, among other notable achievements.
Irwin died Sunday, January 16, in Clinton. He was 91.
He was born on December 11, 1930, in Union County, Tennessee.
“While Irwin was still a toddler, his family was forced to move from their farm to make way for the flooding of Norris Lake and the construction of Norris Dam,” his obituary said. “They first settled in Robertsville (in Oak Ridge), but the Manhattan Project forced them to move yet again, this time to the Bethel Community.”
Irwin’s obituary said he was captivated by the rich cultural history of East Tennessee and its people for as long as he could remember.
“As a young boy, he would sit at the feet of his grandmother, Ibbie Jane Rice, and grandfather, Marcellus Moss ‘Sill’ Rice, and listen intently to their stories of the past,” the obituary said. “Sill took notice of his grandson’s fascination and said to him, ‘you ought to keep the old-timey things that belonged to our people and start you a little museum sometime.’ It was this advice that would ultimately inspire Irwin to create the Museum of Appalachia.”
[Read more…]
It has been almost two years since the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society has had a Third Saturday Hike because of COVID-19 closings.
“The organization is excited to announce the resumption of the hikes beginning February 19 at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge, 901 South Illinois Avenue,” a press release said. “Enjoy over 260 acres of forest and trails in this lovely wooded setting.”
The theme for February is a newcomer’s hike, the press release said. Everyone is welcome to participate in this free guided hike. Newcomers to the area, newcomers to the UT Arboretum, and newcomers to hiking are encouraged to join as well as previous participants. The hikes have been a staple of the UT Arboretum and UT Arboretum Society for more than 13 years This is a great opportunity to “walk off” the food and festivities of the Super Bowl and the Olympics, the press release said.
[Read more…]
By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
Roane State Community College student Kinsley Cagle has a job helping teach Einstein.
That’s the moniker for the famous African grey parrot at Zoo Knoxville. Einstein is a viral superstar whose incredible antics have been viewed more than 24 million times on YouTube.
Einstein’s hilarious mimicry of noises ranging from a variety of animal sounds and calls to complete sentences is a popular attraction at the zoo’s Wild Encounters area.
“She (Einstein) can make a lot of sounds,” said Cagle, a 23-year-old Oak Ridge resident. “At times, it’s almost like having a conversation with her.”
One of Cagle’s latest training endeavors involves teaching a species of duck called hooded mergansers to voluntarily waddle into a crate for safe, secure transport.
“I was never a ‘bird person’ before this,” Cagle said, “but I like being around them.”
[Read more…]
By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
“Brain Food,” the name of Roane State Community College’s pantry for students at the Oak Ridge Branch Campus, has seen a big increase in students taking advantage of the free service.
A reduction in federal assistance that went into effect in late September is seen as one of the reasons for the uptick, an official said.
At the Oak Ridge campus, between nine and 11 students were helped by Brain Food each week during the Spring 2021 semester, while that number jumped to 18 to 20 students in the fall.
Last year, more than 120 students were served. After tallying the reported members of each student’s household, pantry staffers estimate that a total of 373 people received assistance in 2021. Mariella Akers, Oak Ridge faculty secretary and Brain Food volunteer, added that 120 of those household members were children.
[Read more…]
Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers will present his State of the Schools at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, February 1.
During the annual talks, Borchers gives an overview of what is happening in Oak Ridge Schools.
“Between the unusual events at the high school in December and groundbreaking of the state-of-the-art Ben Martin Track, Dr. Borchers will undoubtedly have much to share,” a press release said.
Lunch with the League is organized by League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.
Borchers started his education career as an elementary physical education teacher in the Sioux City (Iowa) Community School District. He also worked as an interim assistant principal and guidance counselor in Iowa City, Iowa; as assistant principal and principal in Mankato, Minnesota; and as associate superintendent of secondary schools for the Anoka-Hennepin (Minnesota) School District. Prior to joining the Oak Ridge Schools, Borchers was the superintendent of the Rockwood School District from 2010 to 2013.
[Read more…]