Oak Ridge Today

Council to consider selecting Scarboro Park for new preschool

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The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new preschool could be located at  Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider selecting the Scarboro Park as the site for a new preschool on Monday.

The Scarboro Park site, off Carver Avenue in central Oak Ridge, has already been unanimously selected by the Oak Ridge Board of Education. The board endorsed that site during a February 27 meeting.

The other option had been Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge.

Elm Grove Park had been identified as the preferred site after a preschool report was published in October 2015. But there has been opposition, including a petition drive, to building the new preschool there.

Meanwhile, the Scarboro community has welcomed the idea of building the new preschool at Scarboro Park, officials said. [Read more…]

Photos: Secret City Wildbots at FIRST Robotics Palmetto Regional

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The Secret City Wildbots Team 4265 pit crew makes adjustments between qualification rounds at the First Robotics Palmetto Regional in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Friday, March 3, 2017. (Photo by Angi Agle)

The Secret City Wildbots Team 4265 pit crew makes adjustments between qualification rounds at the FIRST Robotics Palmetto Regional in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Friday, March 3, 2017. (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

The Secret City Wildbots, an Oak Ridge team, is competing at the FIRST Robotics Palmetto Regional in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this week.

There were practice matches on Thursday, and qualification rounds on Friday and Saturday. Elimination rounds are scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The three-day competition is from March 2-4.

Here are photos from the Palmetto Regional by Angi Agle. [Read more…]

Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge offers Spring Break activities

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Children get creative with crayons at a Children’s Museum camp. (Submitted photo)

Children get creative with crayons at a Children’s Museum camp. (Submitted photo)

 

Gardening, art, astronomy, and messy science experiments will be among Spring Break activities offered for children in first through fifth grades at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge from March 13-17.

The museum will offer morning activities from 9 a.m.-noon and afternoon sessions from 1-4 p.m. There will be a full day St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Friday, March 17, featuring an Irish lunch, “wearing o’ the green,” Highland games, and crafts, a press release said. Children may register for individual sessions, a day, all mornings, all afternoons, or the entire week.

The museum will also host “Wonderful Wednesday” programs from 11 a.m.-noon March 15 and 22. Kids love rocks, and on March 15, they can learn about rocks in our backyards. The East Tennessee Geological Society will have rocks, minerals, and fossils to explore. [Read more…]

Clinton teachers, principal of the year honored

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Information from WYSH Radio

Clinton City Schools Director Kelly Johnson recognized the school system’s teachers of the year and principal of the year during the Clinton City Council meeting on Monday night.

Leslie Goins of North Clinton Elementary School, Abbey Kidwell of South Clinton Elementary School, and Kimberly O’Dell of Clinton Elementary School were voted teachers of the year from their respective schools by their peers.

Leighann Bonesteel, principal of South Clinton Elementary, earned principal of the year honors.

A banquet will be held on April 11 at First Baptist Church in Clinton to recognize these individuals as well as the educators of the year from the Anderson County school system.

ORHS Masquers performs ‘The Wizard of Oz’ this weekend

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Pictured above for the March 2017 performance of "The Wizard of Oz" by Oak Ridge High School Masquers are Lion: Tre Jackson; Scarecrow: Bronson Burdick, Dorothy: Lauren McCoig, and Tin Man: Dillon Nowhatchik. (Submitted photo)

Pictured above for the performances of “The Wizard of Oz” by Oak Ridge High School Masquers from March 3-5, 2017, are Lion: Tre Jackson; Scarecrow: Bronson Burdick; Dorothy: Lauren McCoig; and Tin Man: Dillon Nowhatchik. (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present “The Wizard of Oz,” the classic musical, for four performances in March.

The performances are scheduled for Friday, March 3, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, March 4, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, March 5, at 2 p.m. All performances are in the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center. Advanced tickets are $8 and are available at the ORHS office and The Ferrell Shop. At the door, tickets will be $10.

Under the direction of Dana Wham, who has directed, choreographed, or acted in numerous adult and children productions throughout the region, this year’s “The Wizard of Oz” continues the ORHS Masquers tradition of bringing excellent performances, impressive sets, amazing orchestration, and technical panache to the stage, a press release said. “The Wizard of Oz” combines an ambitious theatrical experience with the classic story for Frank L. Baum, the press release said. [Read more…]

School board picks Scarboro Park for new preschool

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The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new preschool should be built at Scarboro Park, the Oak Ridge Board of Education said in a unanimous vote on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new preschool should be built at Scarboro Park, the Oak Ridge Board of Education said in a unanimous vote on Monday.

The site selection in a 5-0 voice vote came after about 15 minutes of discussion during a school board meeting on Monday.

The other option was Elm Grove Park. That park on East Tennessee Avenue in east Oak Ridge had been identified as the preferred site after a preschool report was published in October 2015.

With one exception, school board members said the two sites are relatively equal as measured by a number of factors outlined by BOE Vice Chair Bob Eby, including learning environment, building and transportation costs, safety and security, expandability and impact on parks, and community and City Council support. The one significant difference: There has been opposition to building the new preschool at Elm Grove Park, while the Scarboro community has welcomed the idea of building the new preschool at Scarboro Park.

“The difference is very stark,” Oak Ridge Board of Education member Angi Agle said. “The community support from Scarboro does make a huge difference.” [Read more…]

Elm Grove Park, Scarboro Park now being considered for new preschool

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The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city’s school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, and the city’s school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, a school official said Friday.

Recent discussion had focused on Elm Grove Park and the Scarboro Community Center, where a day care center closed last fall.

But on Friday, Oak Ridge Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer said expanding the city-owned Scarboro Community Center would require “stair stepping and filling,” essentially work to move dirt and level the site. That’s not cost-effective and not great for the preschool, Fillauer said. Also, the administrative area and gymnasium at Scarboro Community Center would still be used during the day, and the preschool couldn’t be attached to those areas, Fillauer said.

The school board had a non-voting work session Friday morning, and Fillauer said members were shown a very impressive design for a preschool at Scarboro Park, which is across the street from Scarboro Community Center on Carver Avenue. Soil testing has shown that the site is acceptable for building, Fillauer said. [Read more…]

Wilsons expand Roane State Foundation endowment to provide scholarships for more students

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James Frank and Patricia Ann Wilson (Photo courtesy Roane State)

James Frank and Patricia Ann Wilson (Photo courtesy Roane State)

 

James Frank and Patricia Ann Wilson recently established a scholarship endowment with the Roane State Foundation, the James Frank and Patricia Ann Wilson Morgan County Campus Scholarship Endowment.

Now, they have submitted an additional gift that will expand scholarship opportunities to nursing and allied health sciences students in Morgan County, a press release said. The Wilsons said: “We are pleased to double down on our commitment to these scholarship beneficiaries. It is very important to us. We ask that you determine what is important to you and do the same now rather than later.”

Recipients must be a current or former Morgan County resident, have financial need, and meet special criteria as set by the Roane State Community College Foundation Scholarship Committee. [Read more…]

Author Mascaro to speak at Roane State Oak Ridge campus March 1

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Knoxville area author Marilyn Mascaro will be the featured speaker at the new Arts and Lectures series at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus.

Mascaro—an educator, writer, traveler, and East Tennessee native—will discuss her latest book, “Surviving History: The Life of B.Y. Harris in East Tennessee.”

It’s described as “creative non-fiction” and is about a relative who fought in the Civil War.

The event will be held in the Oak Ridge City Room (A111) at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1. Mascaro will be introduced by DeAnna Stephens, a Roane State assistant professor of English and humanities. Stephens organized the new Arts and Lectures series, titled “Writers at Roane State.” [Read more…]

School board could vote on preschool site on Monday

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Scarboro Community Center Preschool Conceptual Site Plan Jan 2017 Large

The Oak Ridge Board of Education could vote on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017, on where to build a new preschool. Among the possible sites are the Scarboro Community Center on Carver Avenue in central Oak Ridge, pictured in the conceptual site plan above, and Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy Studio Four Design/City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Board of Education could vote on Monday on where to build a new preschool.

Several sites have been considered. At one time, Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge was the preferred site. But there has been recent discussion of building the preschool at or near the Scarboro Community Center.

The school board will discuss the preschool sites during a non-voting work session at 8 a.m. Friday, February 24, in the conference room of the Robert J. Smallridge School Administration Building at 304 New York Avenue.

The board could then vote on a site during its regular meeting on Monday. [Read more…]

Driskill named Roane State executive director for Oak Ridge campus, community relations

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Owen Driskill

Owen Driskill

 

Owen Driskill has been named Roane State Community College’s executive director for the Oak Ridge Campus and Community Relations.

Driskill joined Roane State’s staff in 2007 after a 10-year career in journalism as a reporter and editor. He served as Roane State’s news coordinator until 2011, when he became the college’s director of marketing and public relations.

Driskill serves on the boards of Explore Oak Ridge, First Steps Child Development Center in Oak Ridge, and the Oak Ridge Center for Leadership and Community Development. In addition, he is a member of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Advocacy Committee. He has been a volunteer mentor for tnAchieves, the nonprofit that coordinates mentors for Tennessee Promise students, since 2008. [Read more…]

UT, NOAA to collaborate on atmospheric sciences research

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Taylor Eighmy, UT vice chancellor for research and engagement, left, and Bruce Baker, director of NOAA’s Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, headquartered in Oak Ridge, right, sign a memorandum of agreement in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

Taylor Eighmy, left, UT vice chancellor for research and engagement, and Bruce Baker, right, director of NOAA’s Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, which has headquarters in Oak Ridge, sign a memorandum of agreement in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

 

The University of Tennessee in Knoxville has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, or ATDD, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Air Resources Laboratory to advance collaborative research in atmospheric sciences. ATDD has headquarters in Oak Ridge.

The agreement was signed Wednesday, February 15, at ATDD headquarters in Oak Ridge, and it will help with joint efforts to advance understanding of air pollution, atmospheric transport processes, and weather on a regional and national level, a press release said. It also will create educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to collect scientific data, develop models and simulations, and transition research to applications and commercial use.

“The mission of the collaboration will be to train the next generation of scientists and engineers and provide the best available atmospheric data and scientific analysis to the global scientific community, to local and national decision makers, and to the general public,” said Bruce Baker, director of the ATDD. [Read more…]