Oak Ridge Today

Friday fundraiser benefits Emory Valley Center

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Derrick Michael Tennant

Derrick Michael Tennant

A Friday fundraiser will benefit the Emory Valley Center’s Capital Campaign. Proceeds will benefit the ongoing campaign for a new building to better serve children and adults with disabilities in the community, a press release said.

The Knights of Columbus and St. Mary’s “Spring Love and Laughter” fundraiser is scheduled from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, April 24, in the St. Mary’s Church Gym. It will feature a full-course meal prepared by the organizations.

Tickets have sold quickly, but there are still some available for purchase for $40 each or $70 for two, the press release said. Attendees will be served their buffet-style meal by youth of St. Mary’s Church, laugh with featured inspirational speaker and professional comedian Derrick Michael Tennant, and have the opportunity to participate in a silent auction. [Read more…]

Reminder: City, schools have Community Wellness Fair today (April 22)

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Reminder: The City of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Schools will have a Community Wellness Fair today (Wednesday, April 22).

The Wellness Fair is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 22 at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. It includes a wide range of activities that include blood pressure checks, doctor’s chats, exercise tips, shingle vaccines, breast and men’s health, and dental, hearing, and diabetic foot screenings.

There will be a Medic Mobile blood drive from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Civic Center. [Read more…]

Free Mental Health workshop at Grace Lutheran on Saturday

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“Art Therapy and Mental Health” is an interactive and hands-on workshop that will be hosted by the Grace Lutheran Church Mental Health Ministry on Saturday, April 18, at 10:30 a.m.  The church is located at 131 West Gettysburg Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The workshop is free and open to the public.

The program will be presented by community counselors Emma C. Burgin and Amanda DeDiego, both of whom are doctoral students in counselor education at the University of Tennessee. [Read more…]

City, schools have Community Wellness Fair on April 22

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The City of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Schools will have a Community Wellness Fair on Wednesday, April 22.

The Wellness Fair is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 22 at Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The Wellness Fair includes a wide range of activities that include blood pressure checks, doctor’s chats, exercise tips, shingle vaccines, breast and men’s health, and dental, hearing, and diabetic foot screenings. [Read more…]

Divas for a Cure: Day of pampering supports Relay for Life, Cancer Society

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Divas for a Cure 2015

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Calling all divas! Get together your girlfriends, your daughters, your mothers, and grandmothers, and come out for a day of pampering!

We have all been touched by cancer in some way. Some have fought the battle personally, and others have watched loved ones and friends go through the fight.

The American Cancer Society is making great strides in finding a cure for this devastating disease. They have come a long way, but still have much to do. This is where you come in. We would like to invite you to our first event called Divas for a Cure. The event will support the Relay for Life of Oak Ridge, and it is presented by team Got Hope. [Read more…]

City, school employees lose average of 7-10 percent in Biggest Loser challenge

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Biggest Loser Weigh-in April 7

City and school officials at Monday’s weigh-out for this year’s Biggest Loser challenge are pictured above. From left they are Chris Marczak, Oak Ridge Schools assistant superintendent; Mark Watson, Oak Ridge city manager; Bruce Borchers, Oak Ridge Schools superintendent; Bob Eby, Oak Ridge Board of Education vice chair; and Ellen Smith, Oak Ridge mayor pro tem.

 

They watched their diets, worked out and walked, and monitored their weights to lose an average of 7 to 10 percent. One unidentified city employee lost 18.44 percent of his weight, the highest percentage lost by any of the 79 Oak Ridge city and school employees who participated in this year’s Biggest Loser Challenge.

The weigh-out for the three-month competition was at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Monday. Results, including the name of the city employee who lost the most, will be announced during a Wellness Fair in the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 11. A winner from each organization will be awarded and so will the overall male and female winner, along with a second- and third-place winner.

The city and schools have both had the weight-loss contest before, but this is the first time they’ve teamed up to have a joint competition. It was coordinated by the City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee and Oak Ridge Coordinated School Health.

With one exception, all of those who weighed out on Monday morning had lost weight. [Read more…]

Sweating Saturday at Senior Center on Saturday

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Sweating Saturday

Sweating Saturday at the Oak Ridge Senior Center on Saturday will include a morning workout, followed by an optional walk along the Emory Valley Greenway.

Sweating Saturday is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. April 11 at the Oak Ridge Senior Center, which is at 728 Emory Valley Road.

Interval training will include 30-second workouts followed by 15-second recoveries. The workout will consist of three rounds of 20 exercises. Organizers said participants should complete them at their own fitness level. [Read more…]

Students, state, nonprofit ask students, staff to not text while driving

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ASAP Youth Coalition Oak Ridge Chapter

The ASAP Youth Coalition Oak Ridge chapter encourages students to pledge not to text and drive. (Photo by ASAP) 

 

Oak Ridge High School has teamed up with ASAP of Anderson County and the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office to host a campaign that asks students, teachers, and staff to pledge to not text and drive.

The campaign is called One Text or Call Could Wreck It All.

April is designated as national Distracted Driving Awareness Month by the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office. In recognition of that, Oak Ridge High School is taking a stand against texting and driving, a press release said.

The Oak Ridge High School ASAP Youth Coalition hosted the campaign this week along with ASAP of Anderson County, Oak Ridge Schools Coordinated School Health, and the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office. [Read more…]

Local organization to sponsor class, Q&A on vaccinations

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TLA Vaccination Decision Meeting

Image by Tennessee Liberty Alliance

 

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When it comes to childhood vaccines these days, it is hard to escape the near-constant media coverage and public debate that surrounds this highly controversial topic. One of the most “hot-button” issues regarding medical care in our country today, many people find that—after the dust of hysteria settles—they are left confused and unsure about how to gather real information that can be used to make educated, informed decisions about the care of themselves and their children. It begs the question: Can one truly give informed consent if one isn’t truly, fully informed?

On Saturday, April 18, the Tennessee Liberty Alliance is sponsoring “The Vaccination Decision—Replacing Fear With Facts to Make Empowered Decisions” to help provide this education with scientific insight and discussion that will help answer many of the concerns and worries created by media hype, social media rhetoric, and political rumors. Presented by Katie Caputo, this presentation is targeted for lay people who need to know more facts before making personal decisions for their individual families when it comes to the very important topic of vaccinations. [Read more…]

AC RAM Expedition offers free medical, vision, dental services on Saturday, Sunday

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Information from WYSH Radio

First Baptist Church of Clinton will be sponsoring another Anderson County Remote Area Medical Expedition on Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 12. The mission of the clinic is to serve those in need of vision, dental, and medical services. No identification is required, and translation services will be available on site to help with patient registration.

The clinic will provide the following free services to patients:

  • Medical—general medical support and diabetes testing
  • Vision—vision testing and diagnoses will be offered; glasses will be prescribed and made on-site at the clinic as time and supplies permit
  • Dental—extractions, fillings, and cleaning and general oral hygiene services will be provided (patients will choose one of these dental services)

[Read more…]

Police raising money for Officer Winningham for medical bills, other expenses

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Winninghams

Chris Winningham is a veteran member of the Oak Ridge Police Department, but he’s currently on leave and unable to work for an undetermined amount of time due to complications with pneumonia and pleurisy, friends say.

Officer Winningham has also been diagnosed with an enlarged heart and diabetes, and doctors are concerned that he may be going into congestive heart failure, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help raise money for his family.

The diagnoses affecting Officer Winningham come on the heels of the loss of his daughter Courtney to cancer in January, the page said. [Read more…]

Lunch with League: Impact of Affordable Care Act on Free Medical Clinic

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Teresa Brittain

Teresa Brittain

Teresa Brittain, executive director of the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, will discuss the continuing need for charitable healthcare facilities—even in the era of the Affordable Care Act—during a lunchtime meeting today (Tuesday, April 7).

Brittain will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]