Oak Ridge Today

Fireworks show, music on July 4

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A file photo of the annual fireworks show in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge on Thursday, July 4, 2019. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

Oak Ridge’s annual fireworks show is scheduled to being at dark Tuesday, around 9:45 p.m. on Independence Day, July 4. There will be music before the show.

The celebration, which is sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge, will be at Alvin K. Bissell Park in central Oak Ridge.

The Oak Ridge Community Band will perform prior to the fireworks. The concert is free, but donations are accepted by the band to help cover the cost of equipment and other expenses, a press release said. The music is expected to begin at 7:30 p.m.

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Library announces check-out changes

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The new outdoor book drop is pictured above at the Oak Ridge Public Library. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

Ten days after celebrating renovations, the Oak Ridge Public Library has announced changes to its check-out procedures and policies that take effect on Saturday, July 1. Among the changes:

  • The library will no longer charge overdue fees for materials that are returned late (interlibrary loans are an exception).
  • The library will automatically renew eligible items that have not been returned if the item does not have a hold. However, there is a limit to the renewals, and library patrons will still be charged for lost or damaged items.

The City of Oak Ridge described the new check-out procedures in a press release.

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USA Cycling Time Trial National Championships on Thursday

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Oak Ridge Traffic Impacts

Oak Ridge will host its fifth annual USA Cycling Individual Time Trial National Championships on Thursday, June 22. Elite cyclists nationwide will converge on the city, showcasing their skill and determination as they compete for the championship title, a press release said.

“Partnering with Visit Knoxville, the City of Oak Ridge and Explore Oak Ridge are proud to welcome back this prestigious championship,” the press release said. “The closed-loop course along Melton Lake Drive promises heart-pounding action and an unforgettable experience for spectators and media alike.”

“The nation’s top cyclists (will) go head-to-head, pushing their limits to claim victory,” the press release said.

The races, which are scheduled between 9:30 a.m. and about 5 p.m., will affect traffic in parts of east Oak Ridge near the Clinch River starting at 7 a.m. Thursday.

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Oak Ridgers celebrate library renovations

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Oak Ridge Public Library Director Julie Forkner, right, talks to a standing-room-only crowd about renovations to the library’s East Wing on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A standing-room-only crowd attended the grand re-opening celebration of renovations to the East Wing of the Oak Ridge Public Library on Tuesday.

The renovations include a brand-new Children’s Room and bathrooms that meet Americans with Disability Act standards.

The projects were made possible through a combination of funding from the City of Oak Ridge, a Support Grant to Local Governments, and the Friends of Oak Ridge Public Library administering a bequest (a personal property gift) on behalf of Jerry Kinnamon.

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Read Lavender Festival schedule, details

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Lavender Festival (Submitted photo)

The Lavender Festival has expanded. Here is a schedule of musicians and presentations, and information about additional events.

The free festival, the 23rd Jackson Square Lavender Festival, is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 17, in Jackson Square. Since 1999, the Lavender Festival has been held the third week of June, which is when the lavender is in bloom in Tennessee. In addition to several local lavender farms, the festival features 150 artisan and food vendors, live music, informative presentations, and free children’s activities.

For information about vendors, parking, road closures, children’s activities, and more, visit  www.JacksonSquareLavenderFestival.org. The festival is “rain or shine,” a press release said.

Here is what is new this year:

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Sholl named interim executive director of UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute

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David Sholl will serve as interim executive director of the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute. (Photo credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

David Sholl, director of the Transformational Decarbonization Initiative at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been appointed interim executive director of the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute. His appointment was effective Monday, June 12.

“Sholl’s background, passion, and expertise will ensure continued progress as the institute recruits exemplary joint research faculty, builds its research portfolio, develops students and prepares them to become leaders, and contributes to workforce development in areas important to Tennessee,” a press release said.

“The work UT faculty and students are doing in partnership with ORNL researchers is advancing the frontiers of knowledge and strengthening Tennessee’s leadership role in areas like clean energy, future mobility, advanced materials, and next-generation manufacturing,” said UT Chancellor Donde Plowman. “We look forward to working with David and to leveraging our strategic partnership with ORNL to advance discoveries, learning, and innovations that make life and lives better here in Tennessee and around the world.”

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Lavender Festival is June 17

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Lavender Festival (Submitted photo)

The 23rd Jackson Square Lavender Festival returns to Jackson Square this month. The Main Event is free to the public on Saturday, June 17, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lavender Festival was named Best Festival last year by the Middle East Tennessee Tourism Council, a press release said. It is presented this year by the City of Oak Ridge, which will have a booth for information about living, working, and playing in Oak Ridge.

Since 1999, Lavender Festival has been held the third week of June, which is when the lavender is in bloom in Tennessee. In addition to several local lavender farms, the festival features 150 artisan and food vendors, live music, informative presentations, and free children’s activities.

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Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool public input meeting set for June 13

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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will hold its first public open house for the Outdoor Pool Renovation Project this month.

On Tuesday, June 13, at 6 p.m., the public is invited to join the department for a brief presentation at the Scarboro Community Center followed by an interactive open house, a press release said.

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Oak Ridge Public Library East Wing grand reopening set for June 20

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Renovations of the East Wing of the Oak Ridge Public Library include a brand-new Children’s Room and bathrooms that meet Americans with Disability Act standards.

The library will celebrate with a June 20 grand reopening.

The projects were made possible through a combination of funding from the City of Oak Ridge, a Support Grant to Local Governments, and the Friends of Oak Ridge Public Library administering a bequest (a personal property gift) on behalf of Jerry Kinnamon.

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Local church choir to sing in London in July

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St. Stephen’s Parish Choir, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, July 2019 (Submitted photo)

The Parish Choir of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Oak Ridge will be heading overseas this summer to sing in some of London’s most historic churches.

The choir will lead worship at St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 10, Westminster Abbey on July 13, and St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on July 16 while the professional choirs there take their summer vacation.

St. Stephen’s will be visiting during a time of continued celebration following the coronation of King Charles III earlier this year, a press release said.

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City to repave Melton Lake parking lot beginning June 12

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Beginning the week of June 12, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department crews will begin repaving the Melton Lake Greenway parking lot located on Melton Lake Drive, just north of the intersection with Edgemoor Road.

These renovations will result in increased Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility and a better-defined parking area, a press release said. However, this means that from June 12 until the project’s completion, public access to this parking area will be closed and inaccessible.

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ORNL scientist to lead project studying permafrost thaw, climate processes in Alaska

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Colleen Iversen (Photo submitted by ORNL)

Submitted

Colleen Iversen—ecosystem ecologist, group leader, and distinguished staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory—has been named director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments Arctic, or NGEE Arctic. That is a multi-institutional project studying permafrost thaw and other climate-related processes in Alaska, a press release said.

Iversen has worked as a scientist on NGEE Arctic since 2012 and served as its deputy director from 2021-2023. She also leads a research team in the Plant-Soil Interactions Group at ORNL. Iversen succeeds Stan Wullschleger, founding director of NGEE Arctic, who retired as associate laboratory director for Biological and Environmental Systems Science at ORNL in April 2023.

Iversen, who took on the role of director and principal investigator for NGEE Arctic earlier this year, is excited about taking the reins of such a large, multidisciplinary project, the press release said.

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