The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department has temporarily closed Alvin K. Bissell Park Playground due to a partially fallen tree nearby. The playground will remain closed until crews are able to safely remove the tree, a press release said.
Safety fencing has been installed around the playground, and signs have been posted to notify the public of the closure, the press release said.
“All residents and visitors should avoid the area until further notice,” the release said.
[Read more…]The next Lunch with the League program will be held on Tuesday, April 16. The speaker will be Jon Hetrick, director of the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department.
Hetrick will provide an update on the department, which is responsible for planning, organizing, supervising, and coordinating a comprehensive plan of leisure activities for the citizens of Oak Ridge, a press release said. It is also charged with providing safe and well-maintained facilities for its patrons. The department maintains more than 30 city-owned properties, including athletic fields, horticultural displays, playground areas, tennis courts, community center buildings, and swimming pools.
[Read more…]
The City of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Senior Center are working to implement a new transportation program for senior citizens. The program, called “MyRide Oak Ridge,” has already provided its first ride with the full program set to roll out soon, a press release said.
On Friday afternoon, April 12, local senior Willie Wade was driven by Pat Gengozian, chair of the Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board and the program’s first volunteer driver.
The City of Oak Ridge has offered transportation help to its senior population since 1974. Due to changes in grant reporting procedures from the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the current taxi coupon program will be ending June 30. When fully operational, the new MyRide Oak Ridge program will allow for a new way to provide this assistance, the press release said.
The program includes door-through-door service provided by volunteer drivers in their own vehicles. This service helps seniors be more independent by allowing them to take trips to the grocery store, social events, and medical appointments, the press release said. It will also allow volunteers to accompany seniors into the store or doctor’s office, if needed, as well as help carry in groceries or other items.
[Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will again consider revisions to the plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.
The potential revisions will be discussed during a Planning Commission work session at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.
The most recent version of the revised plan is similar to what Oak Ridge officials have seen before with minor variations. Some things have been incorporated that were only discussed before, such as sidewalks.
After being discussed today, the potential changes could be considered by the Planning Commission for a recommendation to Oak Ridge City Council next week, during an April 18 meeting. The changes would be considered as an amendment to the planned unit development for Main Street Oak Ridge. Among other things, the revisions would replace proposed multifamily residential units near Rutgers Avenue with retailers, and they would propose mixed-use areas in a future phase along Wilson Street.
[Read more…]
A previous Oak Ridge Egg Hunt is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the 2019 Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 13, in A.K. Bissell Park beginning at 11 a.m.
Hundreds of children are expected to participate in this annual spring event, a press release said. More than 15,000 candy and prize-filled eggs will be hidden inside the park with prize eggs in each age group.
The event will be held rain or shine, so participants should dress appropriately. If severe weather prevents hiding eggs outdoors, they will be given away in the Civic Center gymnasium, the press release said.
Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee will be sponsoring additional activities after the egg hunt until approximately 2 p.m., depending upon participation levels, the press release said. East Tennessee Pediatric Dentistry will also bring the “Molar Express” children’s train ride if weather permits. [Read more…]
An image showing what the new Oak Ridge Senior Center at Alvin K. Bissell Park could look like. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)
The new Oak Ridge Senior Center is scheduled to open later this year.
Area seniors will enjoy opportunites for recreation, physical fitness, education, health screenings, social activites, nutrition lunch program, and transportation assistance, a press release said.
At this time, the Senior Center needs the community’s help in furnishing the building, the press release said.
“Your donation of any of the pieces of furniture will greatly be appreciated,” the release said. “You can choose from the furniture on our list or assist with a cash donation.” [Read more…]
Julie Forkner
The Kiwanis Club will hear about the Oak Ridge Public Library on Tuesday, April 9.
At noon meeting will include a program by Julie Forkner, who is director of the Oak Ridge Public Library. She will describe library facilities and services. Included are the Oak Ridge Room, Center for Oak Ridge Oral History (COROH), the Library’s Organizations Index of Non Profit Groups, and the help that can be given to the Library through the Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library (FOL).
Kiwanis Club of Oak Ridge meets at the Golden Oak Buffet in Oak Ridge. There is an optional luncheon at 11:40 a.m., and the program will start at 12:10 p.m. Tuesday. The meeting will be held in the small meeting room at the Golden Oak Buffet on the right side of the entrance door. The restaurant is located on 401 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, near the stores in the Main Street Oak Ridge shopping center. [Read more…]
Students from the University of Tennessee are planning to host a virtual open forum as they continue to explore alternative designs for the intersection at Pennsylvania and North Tulane Avenues in Oak Ridge, a press release said. The event will be accessible via Facebook Live on Wednesday, April 3, from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m.
The effort is part of a senior project for the students from UT’s College of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the press release said. The Oak Ridge Public Works Department teamed up with the group to evaluate designs that would potentially realign the intersections of North Tulane Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Providence Road, and East Pasadena Road.
The students held their first open forum in early March at Oak Ridge Public Library, where they introduced themselves and gathered public opinions and concerns. In the upcoming open forum, students will build on the feedback received so far and present conceptual drawings of alternatives that are under consideration, the press release said. [Read more…]
The City of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Fire Department, and Oak Ridge Police Department recognized a local student, Wesley Alig, a 13-year-old student at Jefferson Middle School, on Thursday for his quick actions to stop a fire from spreading inside his home last year. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
The City of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Fire Department, and Oak Ridge Police Department recognized a local student on Thursday for his quick actions to stop a fire from spreading inside his home last year.
When a slow cooker in his kitchen caught fire on Halloween, Wesley Alig used skills he learned in Oak Ridge’s Junior Police Academy to successfully operate a fire extinguisher, a press release said. Wesley, a 13-year-old student at Jefferson Middle School, is a graduate of the 2018 Junior Police Academy class.
The incident happened at the Alig family’s home on Heritage Drive in Oak Ridge. Wesley told first responders he heard a popping noise coming from the slow cooker, the press release said. When he walked into the kitchen to check, he saw flames on the stovetop. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission is scheduled to consider the Oak Ridge City Blueprint during a meeting this evening (Thursday, March 21).
The Blueprint is meant to be a citywide vision and guide for future growth and development in Oak Ridge. It identifies the important issues that affect the community, desired goals and outcomes, and action steps that can be prioritized by city leaders each year, based on resources, according to the City of Oak Ridge.
After being considered by Planning Commission, the Blueprint will be considered by the Oak Ridge City Council.
The Blueprint has been developed in a planning process that lasted more than two years and started in January 2017. [Read more…]
As part of the “World Wise Wednesdays” series of programs, the Oak Ridge Public Library will host a Memoir Writing Class on Wednesday, March 20, beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the library auditorium.
Bonny Millard will lead the session. Millard is a writing coach, project development editor, and educator who worked for more than 15 years as a print journalist and freelance writer, a press release said.
Her journalism career and fiction writing has led her to help other writers explore the depths of their stories, the press release said. Millard also teaches composition at Pellissippi State Community College, and she has a master’s degree in creative writing. [Read more…]
K-25-69 Close up of welding in prefabrecation shop 1944 (bld.300) Photo by Ed Westcott
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present films from National Park Service sites that commemorate events and issues related to World War II and the nuclear deterrent used during the Cold War on Saturday, a press release said.
The film festival is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at the American Museum of Science and Energy.
National parks tell the stories of America’s World War II experience—from Pearl Harbor to the war’s atomic end, the press release said.
“The range of our nation’s national parks show how a resilient America mobilized its people to triumph over tyranny, explore places where technological and social barriers collapsed, confront the war’s darker legacies, and stand atop soils where American blood was shed, coastlines defended, and valor was memorialized forever,” the press release said. “Across the nation, national park sites help tell the story of our nation during World War II and help us ensure President Truman’s promise that ‘America will never forget their sacrifices’ will always hold true.”
National Park Service films on March 16, will come from: [Read more…]
