Oak Ridge Today

Roane State Winter Concert is Saturday at O’Brien Theatre

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Roane State Winter Concert Dec 9 2017

It’s a longstanding tradition at Roane State and a great way to celebrate the holiday season.

The annual Winter Concert featuring all of the college’s music department ensembles will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 9, in the O’Brien Theatre on the Harriman campus, and everyone is invited, said a press release from Roane State Community College.

“All donations collected at the door will help support the Roane State music programs, including our 2018 summer choir tour to Italy,” music department professor Brenda Luggie said.

“This is one of our main on-campus concerts for the season,” she said.

Featured will be the Celebration Singers, Concert Choir, Jazz Band, Stage Band, and Bluegrass Band. [Read more…]

Youth Advisory Board drops off donated toys at Holiday Bureau

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The Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board, which has purchased new items at a local retailer with funds raised at board events, made a special delivery at the Holiday Bureau of Anderson County on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, dropping off an estimated $1,200 worth of toys just in time for Christmas. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board, which has purchased new items at a local retailer with funds raised at board events, made a special delivery at the Holiday Bureau of Anderson County on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, dropping off an estimated $1,200 worth of toys just in time for Christmas. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

On Wednesday, the City of Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board made a special delivery at the Holiday Bureau of Anderson County, dropping off an estimated $1,200 worth of toys just in time for Christmas.

The YAB, made up of 16 Oak Ridge High School students, purchased new items at a local retailer with funds raised at other board events, a press release said. Items purchased include toys for all ages, as well as bicycles, clothing, and sports equipment. The items will soon be distributed to low-income families in Oak Ridge and Anderson County for the holidays, the press release said.

“This generation of young people want to make a real difference in the world and I’m proud to be able to work with them,” YAB City Staff Liaison Matt Reedy said. “YAB members voted unanimously to give back to kids who are less fortunate. Most of the money supporting this project was raised by students at the Children’s Halloween Party, a city event at which they also volunteer.”

After delivering and helping sort through the donated items at the Holiday Bureau’s warehouse on Emory Valley Road, the students took a tour of the facility to learn more about the nonprofit’s mission and other ways they can help. [Read more…]

ORHS automotive students have 1st place, 2nd place finishes in Top Wrench Competition

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Static Engine Team: Jack Borchers, Brian Dittner, Matthew Thompson, Matthew Powers, and Brooke Bigi (Photo by Oak Ridge Schools)

Static Engine Team: Jack Borchers, Brian Dittner, Matthew Thompson, Matthew Powers, and Brooke Bigi (Submitted photo)

 

On Friday, October 27, the Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair classes from Oak Ridge High School competed for the second time in the Top Wrench competition at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base. The students had their first experience in this competition in April 2017.

Now in its 27th year, Top Wrench Competition hosts 17 area schools, including more than 600 instructors, students, and other attendees.

Oak Ridge students entered the following competitive events: Static Engine Challenge, Pit Crew Challenge, and Computer Control Car Challenge. ORHS teams placed as follows:

  • First place in the Static Engine Challenge with a time of two minutes,
  • Second place in the Computer Control Car Challenge with a time of one minute and thirty seconds, and
  • Fourteenth place in the Pit Crew Challenge with a time of thirty-two and forty-five one hundredths seconds.

Besting 17 schools to take first place in the Static Engine Challenge (repairing an ailing 427 Chevrolet engine to running status), the team completed the task in two minutes even. (The next closest time was 2:45.) [Read more…]

Roane State to add men’s and women’s golf teams for fall 2018

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Chris Griffin, who was a member of the Roane State golf team when he was a student in the late 1970s, has volunteered to coach a revived squad, which he intends to compete in collegiate tournaments beginning in the fall of 2018. (Photo by Roane State)

Chris Griffin, who was a member of the Roane State golf team when he was a student in the late 1970s, has volunteered to coach a revived squad, which he intends to compete in collegiate tournaments beginning in the fall of 2018. (Photo by Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

A Roane State alumnus with fond memories of his days on the college’s golf team wants to make those experiences available to current students as well as those who enroll at Roane State in the future.

Chris Griffin of Oak Ridge has volunteered to be the coach of a revived men’s golf squad and to also launch the college’s first-ever team of women golfers.

Current high school golfers and Roane State freshmen will be invited to try out for the squads—composed of between five and seven members each—and Griffin said plans are for competition tourneys to begin in the fall of 2018. [Read more…]

Presentation on opioid drug epidemic Wednesday evening at RMS

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Chasing the Dragon Flyer Nov 29 2017

There will be a presentation on the opioid drug epidemic this evening at Robertsville Middle School.

The presentation is hosted by the offices of Safe Schools and Coordinated School Health. They are inviting the Oak Ridge community and friends of Oak Ridge Schools to the presentation, which is this evening (Wednesday, November 29) in the Robertsville Middle School Auditorium.

The evening will include a screening of the film “Chasing the Dragon,” a press release said. Following the film, the group will engage in a panel discussion with former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Neil Morgenstern as well as representatives from Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Ridgeview Behavioral Health, and ASAP of Anderson County.

The doors will open at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday to provide those who attend an opportunity to visit with area mental health, drug prevention, treatment, and recovery agencies. The program will start promptly at 6 p.m. [Read more…]

Roane County Lighting of the Tree on Monday, Nov. 20

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It’s a holiday event for all of Roane County—and the surrounding area.

The first of what’s expected to become an annual celebration—Roane County Lighting of the Tree—will be held Monday, November 20, on the front lawn of Roane State Community College’s main campus, 276 Patton Lane.

The college is a central location in Roane County. “It’s an institution, not just of higher learning, but of our community,” said Roane State Alumni Relations Director Tamsin Miller.

There will be a large variety of holiday music, games and activities for children, and refreshments. It’s Roane County’s take on the famous tree lighting ceremony in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, Miller said. [Read more…]

Adams, RMS principal, moving to job in Hamilton County

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Garfield Adams

Garfield Adams

Garfield Adams, Robertsville Middle School principal, has accepted a position with the Hamilton County Department of Education as the exceptional education director.

Adams will continue in his role as RMS principal until December 31, a press release said.

Effective January 1, 2018, Tonya Childress will serve as the interim principal of Robertsville Middle School, and David Scott will serve as interim administrative assistant, the press release said.

Childress has both doctor of education and educational specialist degrees from Lincoln Memorial University. She received both her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in technology education, the press release said. Childress has served as the vice principal of Robertsville since July 2017. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge city manager honored with Lifetime Achievement Award from University of Kansas

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Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas University City Managers and Trainees Alumni Organization (KUCIMAT) on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017, during a banquet at the International City/County Management Association Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas University City Managers and Trainees Alumni Organization (KUCIMAT) on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017, during a banquet at the International City/County Management Association Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas. (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas University City Managers and Trainees Alumni Organization (KUCIMAT) on Sunday, October 22, during a banquet at the International City/County Management Association Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, a press release said.

The KU Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals who have, through cumulative career achievements and successes, furthered the purpose of the KUCIMAT organization, the press release said. As stated in his nomination for the award, written by his son Kevin Watson, “Mark’s passion for local government combined with his strong leadership and commitment to mentoring the next generation of managers made him an ideal candidate.”

Speaking about the award, Watson said: “I was deeply surprised and honored that my fellow city managers from across the nation and United Kingdom had recognized me for my work. Members of my family, a number of friends, and many of my past interns, who are now practicing city managers, were there honoring me with their attendance.”

Watson is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration in city management, the press release said. Watson was selected as city manager of Oak Ridge in August 2010 after a 30-year career in local government. He is a second-generation city manager and has served in that capacity since 1981, the press release said. Before arriving in Oak Ridge, Watson served as city manager to six cities in Texas, Montana, and Arizona. [Read more…]

Roane State Oak Ridge Library Learning Center to host ‘Long Night Against Procrastination’

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Decked out in seasonal costumes to promote the upcoming “Long Night Against Procrastination” event on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017, on Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus are, from left, Becca Decker, librarian; Learning Center Specialist Robin Leib, kneeling; and Library Assistant III Christi Moss. (Photo by Roane State)

Decked out in seasonal costumes to promote the upcoming “Long Night Against Procrastination” event on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017, on Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus are, from left, Becca Decker, librarian; Learning Center Specialist Robin Leib, kneeling; and Library Assistant III Christi Moss. (Photo by Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

If you delay doing this, you will miss out.

It’s the first-ever “Long Night Against Procrastination” from 5 until 11 p.m. on Thursday, November 16, in the atrium of the Coffey-McNally Building on Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus.er

“We’re excited about it, and we’re a little nervous about getting it all together,” said Becca Decker, Oak Ridge campus librarian.

The event, patterned after an international movement that started in 2010 in Germany, is being organized by the library and the Learning Center in Oak Ridge.

It’s intended to help students with their studies during the week before Thanksgiving “so they can enjoy their holiday break,” Decker said. [Read more…]

See ‘The Odd Couple’ (female version) at Roane State’s Roane County campus

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Roane State Playmakers Shelby Stout as Olive Madison, back, and Courtney Briley as Florence Unger, front, rehearse for upcoming performances of 'The Odd Couple,' Nov. 10-12 and Nov. 17-19, 2017, at the college’s main campus in Harriman. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Playmakers Shelby Stout as Olive Madison, back, and Courtney Briley as Florence Unger, front, rehearse for upcoming performances of ‘The Odd Couple,’ Nov. 10-12 and Nov. 17-19, 2017, at the college’s main campus in Harriman. (Photo by Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

It’s an update of a classic comedy about a slob and a neat freak living together in disharmony, but this time the characters are female.

It’s Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple (Female Version),” and the curtain went up on the Roane State Community College Playmakers’ adaptation on Friday, November 10, for a two-week run in the O’Brien Theatre on the college’s main campus in Harriman.

“I’ve been wanting to do a Neil Simon play for a while,” said Jonathan Chemay, Roane State theatre technician, who’s directed three other recent Playmakers productions. “I think (Simon) was a comedic genius.”

Simon’s update of his contemporary classic, about slovenly Oscar Madison and obsessive Felix Unger, was rewritten by the playwright two decades after his original version premiered.

The original Odd Couple featured Felix and Oscar hosting a poker game with four guys as guests. In the female version, Florence and Olive have a get-together with four girlfriends for a night of “Trivial Pursuit.” [Read more…]

Roane State Shooting Sports Team places first at nationals

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Coaches and athletes with Roane State’s national champion Shooting Sports Team are, from left, Assistant Coach James Wattenbarger, Head Coach Kenneth Carey, Ty McCaskey, Nathan Wattenbarger, Andy Carey, Codey Dean, Assistant Coach Kevin Hembree, and Nathan Hembree. (Photo by Roane State)

Coaches and athletes with Roane State’s national champion Shooting Sports Team are, from left, Assistant Coach James Wattenbarger, Head Coach Kenneth Carey, Ty McCaskey, Nathan Wattenbarger, Andy Carey, Codey Dean, Assistant Coach Kevin Hembree, and Nathan Hembree. (Photo by Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

CROSSVILLE—These athletes are truly the nation’s top guns.

The Roane State Community College Shooting Sports Team won the national championship among community colleges in a competition that measures marksmanship with shotguns.

It was a quick march to the top for the team. The Roane State squad came into existence three years ago and placed third nationwide then. Last year, Roane State’s sharpshooters captured second place.

A reception for the team will be held Wednesday, November 15, at 5 p.m. CST at Roane State Cumberland County campus, 2567 Cook Road in Crossville.

To win nationally, “It takes a lot of hard work and dedication as well as a lot of years of experience in practice and competition,” said Kenneth Carey, the volunteer head coach. Assistant coaches are Kevin Hembree and James Wattenbarger. [Read more…]

Documentary focusing on school funding, privatization at Pellissippi on Thursday

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BackpackKnoxville 2017_11_09

The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge is urging members interested in school choice to attend a documentary at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley on Thursday.

The documentary is titled “Backpack Full of Cash.” It’s narrated by Matt Damon, and it’s described in an event flyer as a film “exploring the real cost of privatizing America’s public schools.”

In the United States, $600 billion per year is spent to educate children, a fact “near and dear” to proponents of privatizing, according to information provided by Kay Moss.

Filmed during the 2013-2014 school year in Nashville, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and other cities, the feature-length documentary narrated by Damon concentrates on how privatization is devastating public school funding, the information said. [Read more…]