Oak Ridge Today

Thanks to Tennessee Reconnect grant, school bus driver pursuing her dream to become a teacher

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Gioconda "Gio" Duran

Gioconda “Gio” Duran

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

This school bus driver is hitting the books in between routes in her quest to become a teacher.

Gioconda “Gio” Duran, 44, is a Tennessee Reconnect student at Roane State Community College. Thanks to the Tennessee Reconnect grant, eligible adults can now attend Roane State tuition-free.

Duran said Tennessee Reconnect “is a big reason why I wanted to go back to school.”

Her 19-year-old son, John Duran Jr., is also enrolled with scholarships at the college’s Roane County campus. [Read more…]

Celebrity jewelry featured in show at Karen’s Jewelers

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Estate jewelry, including many pieces previously owned by celebrities, will be on display on Thursday, April 11, and on Friday, April 12, at Karen’s Jewelers in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

Estate jewelry, including many pieces previously owned by celebrities, will be on display on Thursday, April 11, and on Friday, April 12, at Karen’s Jewelers in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

A necklace that once belonged to Prince—the late singer, songwriter, and musician—and a money clip owned by actor and dancer Patrick Swayze, famed for his roles in “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost,” will be among celebrity items featured at an Estate Jewelry Show and Sale on Thursday and Friday, April 11 and 12, at Karen’s Jewelers in Oak Ridge.

The show and sale will offer hundreds of jewelry pieces priced from $500 to more than $50,000, including rings, bracelets, earrings, brooches, pendants, and necklaces. The event will take place from 1-7 p.m. Thursday, April 11, and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, April 12, at Karen’s Jewelers, which is located at 1120 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

“The show will feature an array of precious and semi-precious gems, as well as platinum and a wide selection of colors and karats of gold, reflecting the beauty and craftmanship of bygone eras,” said Martha Hart, of Karen’s Jewelers. Jewelry is considered estate jewelry if it is previously owned, though not always from an estate, she said. Such jewelry is considered antique if it is more than 100 years old.

Among other celebrity jewelry featured at the show and sale will be pieces that belonged to actors Bette Midler, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Basinger, Bea Arthur, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Linda Gray, and child star Shirley Temple. Other famous names represented in the show and sale are Gene Autry, Elvis Presley, Hugh Hefner, Joan Rivers, Dean Martin, and Jerry Lewis. [Read more…]

Fiberology Lab has grand opening today

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The Fiberology Lab

A new business in Jackson Square, The Fiberology Lab, has a grand opening today (Saturday, March 30).

The grand opening is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was scheduled at 9 a.m. with the Jackson Square Business Association.

Demonstrative activities will be available throughout the day for all ages, including spinning, sewing, scissor sharping, making a mini project, and more, a press release said.

“The Fiberology Lab is a locally owned business that will cater to all fiber enthusiasts,” the press release said. “There will be yarn and fabric in a variety of colors and textures. The Fiberology Lab will offer classes to learn techniques for all skill levels.” [Read more…]

ASAP to host Opioid Alternatives Lunch and Learn Series

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ASAP of Anderson Opioid Alternatives Lunch and Learn 2019

ASAP partners with local providers to educate on opioid alternatives

ASAP of Anderson is hosting a bi-monthly Opioid Alternatives Lunch and Learn Series at Methodist Medical Center. Each Lunch and Learn will provide information about a specific opioid alternative treatment from a qualified professional, a press release said.

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) on April 23
  • Massage Therapy on June 25
  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on August 27
  • Physical Therapy/Wellness on October 29
  • Acupuncture on December 17

The Opioid Alternatives Lunch and Learn Series is a follow-on to two continuing medical education trainings hosted by ASAP in March 2018 and early March 2019, the press release said. These trainings covered opioid prescribing and pain management, including behavioral aspects of pain management. [Read more…]

‘HerStory’ photo exhibit at Oak Rige History Museum

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K-25-69 Close up of welding in prefabrecation shop 1944 bld.300 (Photo by Ed Westcott)

K-25-69 Close up of welding in prefabrecation shop  1944  bld.300 (Photo by Ed Westcott)

 

The Oak Ridge History Museum will host “HerStory: A Photography Exhibition of Women in the Secret City.” The exhibit will open Friday, March 29, and will be open every Friday and Saturday during the month of April.

“From janitor to homemaker to chemist, the women of the Manhattan Project worked hard and talked little,” a press release said. “During World War II, Oak Ridge was a government town of 70,000 workers, primarily women who lived in a camp-like environment of barbed wire, security checkpoints, and code words.  Workers were fingerprinted, interviewed, assigned a job, and given a clearance badge. Housing was limited and cramped and often unheated. Food at the cafeterias was in short supply and lines were long.” [Read more…]

CSX held train traffic out of area during Elza Gate fire

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Firefighters used back burns, controlled fires that eliminate fuel, to help contain a large fire that burned grass and brush near the railroad tracks at Elza Drive in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019. This view is looking north toward Elza Drive. The line at right crosses over Elza Drive. The line at left is now partially dismantled, and it ran through east Oak Ridge, past Jefferson Middle School, and to Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

CSX said it held train traffic out of the area during a brush and grass fire near the railroad tracks in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019. This view is looking north toward Elza Drive. The line at right crosses over Elza Drive. The line at left is now partially dismantled, and it ran through east Oak Ridge, past Jefferson Middle School, and to Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

 

CSX said it held train traffic out of the area during a brush and grass fire near the railroad tracks in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.

The large fire was reported at about 3:30 p.m. Friday along the railroad tracks south of Elza Drive, just east of Elza Gate Park. The fire burned grass on the side of a steep embankment supporting the railroad tracks that cross over Elza Drive. It also appeared to spread to nearby brush and grass near an unused rail line that splits off near the Clinch River to enter east Oak Ridge at Melton Lake Drive. The fire sent up a large plume of black and gray smoke that was visible for miles.

“Flames were moving quickly, fueled by strong winds and excess brush in the area,” the Oak Ridge Fire Department said.

CSX and the City of Oak Ridge said the cause of Friday’s fire remains under investigation. The Oak Ridge Fire Department said it believes the fire was unintentional. [Read more…]

(For members) HHS designates class of Y-12 workers to be added to compensation program

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has designated a class of Y-12 employees to be added to a federal worker compensation program that involves certain illnesses and work at sites like Y-12 that are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The employees who could be added, unless Congress says otherwise, would have worked at Y-12 between January 1, 1958, and December 31, 1976, when the plant was manufacturing nuclear weapons components during the Cold War. They would have had an aggregate total of at least 250 work days. They could have been employees of DOE, its predecessor agencies, or their contractors and subcontractors.

Oak Ridge Today has previously reported that the workers could be added to the compensation program based on exposure to radiation from thorium metal parts and plutonium-241 isotopes.

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Firefighters use back burns to help contain Elza Gate fire

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Firefighters used back burns, controlled fires that eliminate fuel, to help contain a large fire that burned grass and brush near the railroad tracks at Elza Drive in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019. This view is looking south toward Melton Hill Lake/Clinch River from near Elza Drive. There is a Y intersection in the train tracks in the area of the black smoke. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

Firefighters used back burns, controlled fires that eliminate fuel, to help contain a large fire that burned grass and brush near the railroad tracks at Elza Drive in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019. This view is looking south toward Melton Hill Lake/Clinch River from near Elza Drive. There is a Y intersection in the train tracks in the area of the black smoke. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

 

Firefighters used back burns, controlled fires that eliminate fuel, to help contain a large fire that burned grass and brush near the railroad tracks at Elza Drive in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.

The large grass fire was reported on the steep embankment along the railroad tracks east of Elza Gate Park at about 3:30 p.m. Friday. The fire sent up a large plume of black and gray smoke that was visible for miles.

“Flames were moving quickly, fueled by strong winds and excess brush in the area,” the Oak Ridge Fire Department said.

Crews started attacking the fire from several locations, the ORFD said. When flames spread to the railroad bridge over Elza Drive, firefighters were able to save it by walking out onto the bridge and extinguishing the flames. [Read more…]

Four families displaced by apartment fire

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Four families were displaced by a fire in an apartment on Waddell Circle on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

Four families were displaced by a fire in an apartment on Waddell Circle on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

 

Four families were displaced by a fire in an apartment on Waddell Circle on Friday afternoon, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said.

The fire was reported at about 2:10 p.m. Friday, March 22, in the 200 block of Waddell Circle. Firefighters reported heavy smoke and fire coming from one of the second-floor apartments when they arrived.

The flames were quickly extinguished, and crews confirmed that all occupants made it out of the building safely, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. The occupants told first responders they heard a “whooshing” sound while watching television. When they opened the back door, they found the deck on fire. [Read more…]

Updated: Fire crews battle brush fire near railroad tracks at Elza Gate

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Fire crews battle a brush fire near the railroad tracks at Elza Gate in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Fire crews battle a brush fire near the railroad tracks at Elza Gate in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 p.m.

Fire crews battled a brush fire near the railroad tracks at Elza Gate in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.

The fire was burning in brush on a steep embankment about 20 feet high along the railroad tracks. It had also spread to nearby brush.

Smoke was visible over the east end of Oak Ridge at about 3:30 p.m., in the area east of Elza Gate Park.

Firefighters responded from the Oak Ridge Fire Department, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department, and Oliver Springs Fire Department. The Oak Ridge Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and Tennessee Department of Agriculture also responded.

Witnesses told authorities that some railroad equipment had sent sparks flying around the time of the fire, but the City of Oak Ridge wasn’t able to confirm a cause on Friday night. [Read more…]

Student receives award for extinguishing kitchen fire

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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, 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…]

Women’s Interfaith to focus on protecting youth from opioid crisis

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BeaThomas

BeaThomas

Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge will learn more about the opiod crisis afflicting the nation and its communities during a meeting on Monday, April 1.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Monday, April 1, at the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge, which is at 101 West Madison Lane.

Reverend Bea Thomas, an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church, will speak on “The Impact of the Opiod Epidemic upon Our Youth and How We Can Protect Them,” a press release said.

Thomas has served as pastor of four churches in the Tennessee Conference of the A.M.E. Zion Church. Since 2016, she has been involved in correctional ministry, first at the Anderson County Jail and currently at Roane County Jail, the press release said. She holds a M.A. in Evangelism and Church Planting from Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia, and is currently completing courses toward a Chaplaincy Certificate in Correctional Ministry through the Institute of Prison Ministry at Christian University GlobalNet. [Read more…]