Oak Ridge Today

Family of Hannah Morris has receiving of friends, celebration of life on Sunday

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Hannah Kopp Morris

Hannah Kopp Morris

The family of Hannah Kopp Morris, a 20-year-old Oak Ridger who died after an accident in Pennsylvania on Thursday, will have a receiving of friends and celebration of Hannah’s life in Oak Ridge on Sunday.

Morris was a junior at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She was fatally injured when she was hit by a sport utility vehicle while crossing North Main street in Meadville at about 10:44 p.m. Thursday, according to the Meadville Tribune newspaper.

Morris, a neuroscience major, was taken to Meadville Medical Center for treatment, but was pronounced dead at 12:40 a.m. Friday, the newspaper reported. Her death was ruled accidental due to multiple blunt force trauma. [Read more…]

School Board endorses recommendation for preschool at Elm Grove

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Elm Grove Park Oct. 21, 2015

Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge has been proposed as a site for a new preschool, and it’s considered the best potential location. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday endorsed a recommendation to build a new preschool at Elm Grove Park. A new preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years, but this particular proposal is still in the early stages.

The school board received a report from the Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee on Monday and endorsed the committee’s report in a 4-0 vote. The recommendation will now be considered by the city.

There was once a school at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge, and the committee’s report, presented to City Council and the BOE in a work session in October, recommended using that city-owned site, officials said.

“We think that after the factors we discussed, it was the most appropriate site,” Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said. [Read more…]

Digital transformation: Rollout of convertible laptops starts at Robertsville

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Robertsville Middle School

Robertsville Middle School is pictured above in this file photo.

 

The digital transformation at Oak Ridge Schools starts Tuesday with the rollout of convertible laptops at Robertsville Middle School, officials said. It will continue Thursday at Jefferson Middle School.

“This is an exciting day for Oak Ridge Schools,” officials said in a press release. It marks the “first step in the digital transformation that will impact teaching and learning in our 21st century classrooms,” the release said.

“We aim to close the digital divide and ensure access to powerful technology tools for all Oak Ridge Schools students,” the press release said.

Here are some specific plans: [Read more…]

Photos: Halloween at Oak Ridge Preschool

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Oak Ridge Preschool Halloween Oct. 30, 2015

Students and staff at Oak Ridge Preschool dressed up in costumes for Halloween, and the children received candy on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Students and staff at Oak Ridge Schools Preschool dressed up for Halloween on Friday, and the children received candy. Here are pictures by John Huotari. These children are pre-K students (3-4 years old) in Linda Dalton’s class.

Oak Ridge Preschool Halloween Oct. 30, 2015

Students and staff at Oak Ridge Preschool dressed up in costumes for Halloween, and the children received candy on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

[Read more…]

Read the Preschool Planning Committee report here

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Elm Grove Park Oct. 21, 2015

Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge has been proposed as a site for a new preschool, and it’s considered the best potential location. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:40 p.m.

A new preschool for Oak Ridge Schools could cost $7.5 million, and Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge is among the sites where the new 20-classroom facility could be built, a planning committee said in a report released this month.

The report is now available online. You can read a copy of it here by clicking under the link at the end of this section: VII.D. Preschool Building Committee Recommendation.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education is scheduled to consider the Preschool Building Committee recommendation during at meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, November 2, in the School Administration Building at 304 New York Avenue. You can see the agenda here.

A new preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years. The Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee said the existing building on New York Avenue needs significant repairs, and renovations could cost about $7.5 million, or about as much as it would cost to construct a new facility. [Read more…]

Hayes, a former RMS principal, City Council member, dies at 76

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Tom Hayes Gym Dedication

On Thursday, January 16, 2014, Robertsville Middle School recognized former Principal Thomas W. Hayes, third from left, by naming the school gymnasium in his honor. (Photo by Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Tom Hayes, a former middle school principal and city council member in Oak Ridge, died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, according to his obituary. He was 76.

Hayes, who lived in Oak Ridge, was a former principal at Robertsville Middle School and a former member of the Oak Ridge City Council.

A native of Parsons, Tennessee, Thomas Warren Hayes was born November 2, 1938, and he graduated from Riverside High School. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in social studies and a master’s degree in education supervision from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. [Read more…]

School Board retreat time changes

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The time of the Oak Ridge Board of Education retreat on Friday, October 30, has been changed to 7:30-9:30 a.m. in the School Administration Building conference room.

See earlier story on the retreat here.

ORHS Masquers presents ‘Harvey,’ a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, in November

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ORHS Masquers "Harvey"

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Harvey” in three performances in November. (Photo courtesy ORHS Masquers)

 

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Harvey” in three performances in November.

“Harvey” is the story of Elwood P. Dowd and his invisible, six-foot-tall rabbit named Harvey. When Elwood’s sister Veta tries to have him committed to the local mental hospital, the doctors commit Veta instead and mad-capped hilarity ensues. Come “see” the best dressed rabbit in town and a fantastic cast of student actors, a press release said.

The Masquers performances will be at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center (ORPAC) on:

  • Thursday, November 12, at 7 p.m.;
  • Saturday, November 14, at 7 p.m.; and
  • Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m.

[Read more…]

School Board retreat: Preschool, superintendent evaluation, Access Oak Ridge

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education has a retreat on Friday. Among the agenda items are a superintendent evaluation and a preschool update.

The retreat is from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday, October 30, in the School Administration Building conference room.

Other agenda items include Access Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge 2020, communications plan and Web page, capital projects, and a legal update.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Linden Elementary has Scholastic Monster Book Fair Oct. 26-30

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Linden Elementary School Book Fair October 2015

Linden Elementary School has a Scholastic Monster Book Fair from Oct. 26-30, 2015. (Submitted photo)

 

Linden Elementary School has a Scholastic Monster Book Fair this week.

The Book Fair is scheduled from 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday, October 26, to Friday, October 30.

There are extended hours until 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.

Updated: Nine students injured when Roane County school bus rolls off road

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Roane County School Bus Crash Workers Oct. 21, 2015

Nine students were injured after a Roane County school bus went off the right side of the road and rolled on its side down a steep embankment on a curvy, country road southwest of Oliver Springs on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4 p.m. Oct. 22.

ROANE COUNTY—Nine students were injured after a Roane County school bus dropped off the right side of Mahoney Road and rolled onto its right side down a steep embankment on a curvy, country road southwest of Oliver Springs on Wednesday afternoon.

Two middle school students were taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge by ambulance, and a third student, possibly also a middle school student, was transported by a parent, said Gary Aytes, Roane County Schools superintendent. The injuries were not life-threatening, Aytes said. He said one student might have a broken arm, and the others had cuts and abrasions.

Thursday update: The Tennessee Highway Patrol later reported that nine students were taken to Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge. Two were transported by ambulance, and the other seven were taken in private vehicles.

The crash was reported in the 600 block of Mahoney Road, just west of Johnson Road, at about 3:50 p.m. Wednesday. There were 22 children on the bus from Oliver Springs High School, Oliver Springs Middle School, and Dyllis Springs Elementary School in Roane County. [Read more…]

New preschool could cost $7.5 million; Elm Grove Park a proposed site

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Shirley Raines Presentation to Oak Ridge City Council on Oct. 20, 2015

Shirley C. Raines, citizen representative and chair of a preschool planning committee, presents a report to Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education members during a joint work session on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A new preschool for Oak Ridge Schools could cost $7.5 million, and Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge is among the sites where the new 20-classroom facility could be built, a planning committee said in a report released Tuesday.

A new preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years. The Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee said the existing building on New York Avenue needs significant repairs, and renovations could cost about $7.5 million, or about as much as it would cost to construct a new facility.

The Preschool Planning Committee, which has nine members and three non-voting members, estimated that the new 40,000-square-foot facility could cost $6.3 million to build. There would be an additional $1.2 million in expenses for infrastructure, architects, and other fees, and an in-depth analysis by design and construction firms, pushing the total to $7.5 million, according to a summary presented by citizen representative and committee chair Shirley C. Raines during a joint Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education work session on Tuesday. [Read more…]