Oak Ridge Today

Farm Fest in Jackson Square on Saturday

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Farm Fest in the Square is in Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The festival will be in Jackson Square from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, September 18.

“The event will be a celebration of life down on the farm,” organizers said. “We have a pie bake off, square dancers, animals from Little Ponderosa Zoo, music from Liza Jane and Curly Fiddler, an open bluegrass jam, and vendors! The Oak Ridge Farmers Market will be right across the street, so come get some great eats and learn a bit about the history of farm life.”

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Teen allegedly killed mother after she took away phone

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Shawn Willis

 

An Anderson County teenager allegedly shot and killed his mother while she was sleeping after she punished him by taking away his cell phone, according to court records.

Shawn Tyler Willis, 18, of Rocky Top, has been charged with first-degree murder.

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Shawn Willis

An Anderson County teenager allegedly shot and killed his mother while she was sleeping after she punished him by taking away his cell phone, according to court records.

Shawn Tyler Willis, 18, of Rocky Top, has been charged with first-degree murder. He allegedly shot his mother, Sandy K. Willis, 38, in the left side of her head as she lay in bed asleep on Andy’s Ridge Road between Briceville and Rocky Top on Monday morning April 20, 2020.


Shawn Willis

 

An Anderson County teenager allegedly shot and killed his mother while she was sleeping after she punished him by taking away his cell phone, according to court records.

Shawn Tyler Willis, 18, of Rocky Top, has been charged with first-degree murder.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member.

Already a member? Sign in here.

Not a member? Subscribe here:

Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Updated: Day of Peace features Symphony Orchestra on Tuesday

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Dan Alcott

Note: This press release has been updated to include information about event changes if it rains.

The Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra on Tuesday will present the Oak Ridge premiere of “Adaptation Variations” by Japanese American composer Takuma Itoh.

It will be the featured musical selection during the United Nations International Day of Peace observance Tuesday, September 21, at the International Friendship Bell and Peace Pavilion in Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The outdoor Music for Peace performance will follow Haiku for Peace presentations and children’s activities by Oak Ridge Girl Scouts during a program focused on the Friendship Bell, Peace Pavilion, and the adjacent karesansui garden. Ziad Demian, architect who designed the Peace Pavilion dedicated in 2018, will speak about the tradition and technology in the pavilion design, the press release said. [Read more…]

Berge selected as Public Works director

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Patrick Berge

The City of Oak Ridge has named Patrick Berge as its new public works director.

Berge, who previously served as Oak Ridge Public Works utility manager, has served as interim public works director since former Director Shira McWaters died in June.

Berge has overseen all water and wastewater operations since 2018, a press release said. He will now assume all public works operations including streets, stormwater, and engineering.

“As the next public works director, I’m looking forward to continuing Shira’s hard work,” Berge said in the press release. “Public Works has many major projects in progress, our biggest one being the new water plant.”

Among Berge’s many certifications, he is a professional engineer of environmental engineering in both Tennessee and Nebraska, the press release said.

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Oak Ridge Pharmacy named small business of month

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Pictured above are Saad Aqqad, Allyson Neal, Brittany Moser, and Lindsey Rowland of Oak Ridge Pharmacy.

 

Oak Ridge Pharmacy was named the small business of the month in September by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

The pharmacy is located at 854 Main Street West.

The award is sponsored by Enrichment Federal Credit Union, a press release said.

“Driven by the desire to better meet the needs of customers he had served for many years at a large pharmacy, Saad Aqqad opened Oak Ridge Pharmacy in July 2019,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Updated: Secret City Festival cancels daytime activities

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Note: This story was updated at 9:10 a.m. Sept. 12.

Daytime activities have been canceled at the Secret City Festival this month as the state and county experience a COVID-19 surge driven by the delta variant. However, the evening concerts, food trucks, and fireworks have not been canceled.

“Due to the ongoing resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Festival Board has been in discussions with the City of Oak Ridge, where concerns were raised about our ability to hold a viable, safe, and successful event,” Naomi Asher, marketing chair for the festival, said in response to questions Saturday. “Sadly, we must cancel all daytime festival activities, so that what we will be left with are the two evening concerts, food trucks, and fireworks.”

Asher said the Festival Board and City of Oak Ridge made the decision.

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Roane State grad now at ORNL, researching how to thwart vehicular cyberattacks

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Sam Hollifield (Submitted photo)

By Bob Fowler

Roane State staff writer

This Roane State Community College graduate now works at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researching what he told an interviewer is “the cat-and-mouse game that is modern cybersecurity.”

Specifically, Samuel Hollifield Jr. is looking into ways to defend vehicles’ computer systems from being hacked. He’s a cybersecurity hardware engineer. “Never in my life would I think I’d have a job defending automotive networks,” he said.

His education at Roane State played a huge role in his career path, Hollifield said. “It sounds like a cliché, but Roane State, it changed my life,” he said. “I’m a huge cheerleader.”

A Kentucky native, Hollifield initially attended a community college there but had to withdraw as his late father’s health declined. Employed in the coal-mining industry and afflicted with black lung disease, his father died at age 56.

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Roane State’s Lab-in-a-Box program hits major milestone

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Brothers Henry Kitts, left, and William Kitts help educators Britini Carter, left, and Nicole Hood as they assemble a robotics kit that’s part of the Lab-in-a-Box program administered by Roane State Community College. (Submitted photo)

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

Students were teaching the teachers to assemble complex robots as the Lab-in-a-Box program developed by Roane State Community College reached a major landmark.

The occasion was the latest session of showing teachers from rural middle schools how to include the innovative kits to instruct their students in scientific principles of friction, fossils, and robotics.

“The more hands-on lessons students have, the more they can grasp the concept,” Rockwood Middle School teacher Bernard McMahon said.

The Lab-in-a-Box program evolved from an initiative 11 years ago by the East Tennessee Economic Council to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in rural schools.

Roane State has been deeply involved in the program from its start. Faculty members developed the three kits, and each summer they introduce the components – contained in large plastic boxes – to area teachers.

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Vaccine clinic in Oak Ridge

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The Atomic Lodge 1301 and the Roberta Bohanon Temple 1381 in conjunction with New Direction Health Solutions will be hosting a vaccine clinic on Saturday, September 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the lodge hall on Wilberforce Avenue.

The clinic will also provide booster shots for those who would like to receive one.

The vaccine clinic is being offered at the same time that the 85 students who integrated Oak Ridge schools in 1955 are being honored in events. Those “Rooted in the Community” reunion events have been organized by the Scarboro Community Alumni Association. They are scheduled from Thursday, September 2, to Sunday, September 5.

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Oak Ridge Community Band has Labor Day concert

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The photo taken by Bill Dodge shows the clarinet section of the Oak Ridge Community Band at the July 4 concert. (Submitted photo)

 

Submitted

Labor Day is often considered the unofficial end of summer, and what better way to celebrate the beginning of fall as well as the holiday weekend than to go to Alvin K. Bissell Park on Monday evening and enjoy great musical entertainment in a casual and fun atmosphere.

The evening will feature a concert by the Oak Ridge Community Band, directed by band conductor Shaun Salem. The concert is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Monday, September 6. It is a free family-friendly event. Organizers recommend you bring lawn chairs or blankets for outdoor seating. Ice cream will be available for sale.

The Community Band will play a variety of music genres including familiar patriotic marches, novelty pieces, classical, and the all-time crowd pleaser, which is so special for Tennessee Vol fans, “Rocky Top,” the press release said. Among the compositions on the September 6 program will be Robert Smith’s “American Flourish,” John Philip Sousa’s “The Thunderer,” the very fast-paced novelty piece Warren Barker’s “A Galop to End All Galops,” and James L. Hosay’s “Black Granite,” which was written to commemorate the men and women who gave their lives in the Vietnam War, the press release said. [Read more…]

Scarboro-Oak Ridge 85 honored in events this week

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The 85 students who integrated Oak Ridge schools in 1955 are being honored in events this week.

The “Rooted in the Community” reunion events have been organized by the Scarboro Community Alumni Association. They are scheduled from Thursday, September 2, to Sunday, September 5.

“The event honors those Scarboro-Oak Ridge TN 85 students who integrated the schools as well as the Scarboro teachers,” said John Spratling in a recent interview. Spratling is the vice president of the organization and the Scarboro endowment fund established to honor the teachers and students by supporting enrichment programs such as ACT Prep Testing, leadership training, scholarships, and youth community service projects, a press release said.

“In 1955, 85 courageous young African American students from the Scarboro community were asked to be the first to enter all-white Robertsville junior and Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,” the press release said. “The reunion honors those 85 students and the Scarboro School teachers that provided inspiration and tools to prepare them for this new journey.”

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Governor appoints Spitzer as Circuit Court judge

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Ryan Spitzer
Ryan Spitzer (File photo)

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has appointed Ryan Spitzer to serve as Circuit Court judge for the Seventh Judicial District to fill the seat left vacant when former judge Don Elledge retired at the end of June.

Spitzer’s appointment is effective immediately, the governor said in an announcement Monday.

“Ryan is a dedicated public servant with an extensive background in criminal prosecution,” Lee said in his announcement. “I am proud to announce his appointment and confident he will serve Tennessee with integrity.”

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