Oak Ridge Today

UT professor to discuss impact of COVID-19 on ecology, evolution

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Nina Fefferman

A University of Tennessee professor will discuss the effects of COVID-19 on ecology and evolution during an online presentation on Tuesday.

Nina Fefferman will be the speaker at the League of Women Voters event. Fefferman is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Mathematics at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Fefferman is the associate director of UT’s One Health Initiative, and she is a member of the Covid-19 Outbreak Response Experts (CORE-19) at UT.

The principle investigator at the Fefferman Lab at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville since 2008, Fefferman focuses on disease in the human population and how disease and disease-related behavioral ecology can affect the short-term survival and long-term evolutionary success of a population during and after a pandemic, a press release said. She has done extensive work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on pandemic preparedness and has drawn on her expertise to develop models to shape policy to keep populations safe during and after pandemics.

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Anderson County man charged with robbing credit union

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Joshua Ryan Hutchins

An Anderson County man was arrested Tuesday night after he allegedly robbed a credit union in Oak Ridge.

The alleged robbery of Enrichment Federal Credit Union on South Illinois Avenue was reported at about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Joshua Ryan Hutchins, 27, was arrested less than seven hours later, just before midnight, by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force.

According to a court affidavit, Hutchins allegedly entered the credit union during the Tuesday evening robbery and presented a note to a teller that said, “This is a Robbery…”

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ORPD, FBI investigating robbery at credit union

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Law enforcement officers are investigating a robbery at Enrichment Federal Credit Union.

The robbery was reported at about 5:24 p.m. Tuesday at the credit union on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. It’s being investigated by the Oak Ridge Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

During the alleged robbery, a suspect handed a note to tellers demanding money, a press releases said. No weapon was displayed or threatened, the press release said.

The suspect left with an undisclosed amount of money and is described as a white male in his 30s with brown hair. He was last seen wearing a grey/white ball cap, black face mask, and a grey hooded sweatshirt, the press release said.

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After falling in August, new COVID cases have plateaued

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A graph shows confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in Anderson County through Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. (Image courtesy Tennessee COVID-19 Case Tracking Coronavirus-19 Outbreak Response Experts (CORE-19) at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville)

After falling in August, the average number of new daily cases of COVID-19 appears to have plateaued in Anderson County.

But there is at least one complication in the data. More than 30 cases reported in Anderson County in mid-September had been assigned to a different county earlier, or the the county of residence had not yet been reported, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

So, for at least a few days, the data seemed to include an unusually high number of new cases per day (20-29 new cases per day on September 10 and 11, compared to one to six new cases per day other days that week).

Since then, though, the average number of new cases per day has remained about the same, in a range between 11.1 and 13.7 new cases per day. Fourteen new cases were reported Saturday.

The seven-day average number of new cases in Anderson County had fallen to 5.4 per day on September 1, according to calculations by Oak Ridge Today. That was a low that the county hadn’t had since early July, before new case growth peaked later that month.

But since then it’s gone back up to an average of more than 10 new cases per day, where it appears to have plateaued. It’s not clear why.

Anderson County has reported five deaths due to COVID-19 this month. That’s more than one-third of the 13 deaths reported in the county since the pandemic began March 20. Two of the deaths were reported by state health officials in the past few days, on Thursday and Friday.

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Veterans Day Parade canceled due to COVID-19

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This year’s Veterans Day Parade in Anderson County has been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision to cancel the annual parade because of uncertainties related to the pandemic was made by the Clinton American Legion Post #172, in partnership with The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #12051, AMVETS Post #2, and Disabled American Veterans Chapter 26, a press release said.

“With the COVID-19 concerns and issues throughout the county and within the schools, the American Legion membership felt, ‘due to safety of spectators and participants alike,’ it is best to forego the parade this year and plan for a bigger and better parade in 2021,” the press release said.

While this year’s parade has been canceled, discussions are under way to develop a program to celebrate Veterans Day and follow proper social-distancing restrictions and guidelines, the release said.

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Children’s Halloween Party will be drive-through this year

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Submitted

The Children’s Halloween Party hosted by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will be a drive-through event this year.

The Children’s Halloween Party (Halloween Hollow) is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 29. It will begin at the field on the west side of Alvin K. Bissell Park and end at the parking area on the west side of the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

It’s a drive-through event because of COVID-19.

“Event participants will be able to enjoy Halloween scenes and pick up pre-ordered T-shirts, and children four years old to 4th grade will receive treats,” a press release said.

Employees and volunteers will sanitize frequently and be required to wear masks or face coverings when approaching a car and when within six feet of another person, the press release said. Any participants who want to come in to view the spooky scenes and receive treats will also be required to wear masks or face coverings, the release said.

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After break, schools will continue mix of in-person, staggered schedules

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Bruce Borchers
Bruce Borchers

After fall break, Oak Ridge Schools will continue using in-person instruction for students from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade and staggered schedules for students in fifth grade to 12th grade, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Tuesday.

The younger students have five days of in-person instruction per week, while the older students have staggered schedules: two days of in-person instruction and three days of online learning per week.

In a letter to staff members and families on Tuesday, Borchers said school staff and students have kept the spread of COVID-19 low during the first term using contact tracing, isolation, quarantine, and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; practicing good personal hygiene such as hand washing; maintaining physical distances and wearing face masks; and providing or being able to use hand sanitizing stations and clean facilities.

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UT Arboretum Society has online fall plant sale from Sept. 25-Oct. 10

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Conifers from East Fork Nursery of Sevierville (Submitted photo)

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Annual Plant Sale will be online only this year. It is scheduled from September 25 to October 10. You can shop for new plants from home.

The UT Arboretum Society’s plant sales are some of their biggest fundraisers of the year. They help support the arboretum’s community education, trail improvements such as its Nature Book Trail, and children’s programs, a press release said.

The online plant sale will give you a chance to enhance your garden this fall.

“Fall is always a wonderful time for planting as it gives your plants time to establish great root systems for the spring,” the press release said.

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Oak Ridge Chamber selects new president/CEO

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Christine Michaels

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has selected Christine Michaels as the new president and chief executive officer of the organization.

Michaels replaces Parker Hardy, who retired this summer after a 24-year career at the Chamber.

As president/CEO, Michaels will be responsible for advancing the business interests in the community and serving the membership in the areas of leadership growth, residential growth, advocacy, economic growth, and community alignment, a press release said.

Michaels comes to the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce from within the chamber of commerce industry as president and CEO of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber in Fayetteville, North Carolina. While at the 700-member Greater Fayetteville Chamber, Michaels introduced new entrepreneurship opportunities for exiting military personnel and served on several task forces for city development, including as a member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization advisory committee. During her tenure, she increased member retention by 15 percent, supervised a staff of five employees, and managed a $700,000 budget.

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Roane State Foundation receives $75,000 grant to help small businesses and students affected by COVID-19

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The Roane State Foundation recently received a $75,000 Tennessee Community CARES grant to help Roane State students affected by COVID-19 and provide training for local small businesses, entrepreneurs, and contractors to help them build their businesses and be more responsive during the pandemic, a press release said.

Scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis for the following programs:

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Two weeks left to respond to 2020 Census

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Time is winding down for the City of Oak Ridge to get as close to a complete census count as possible. As of September 11, 72.2 percent of households in the city had responded online, by mail, or phone, a press release said.

“With an estimated population of 30,000, this means only about 21,000 of our residents have been counted,” the press release said.

Census takers are still working their way through the community with the goal of boosting that response rate and getting it as close to 100 percent as possible, the release said.

“That doesn’t mean that you can’t still self-respond now,” it said.

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City hires new personnel director

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Janice Harris

The City of Oak Ridge has selected Janice Harris as its new personnel director.

Harris, a retired Air Force master sergeant, was among 68 applicants. Five people were selected to advance to a final round before she was ultimately chosen for the role, a press release said.

“She is no stranger to the City of Oak Ridge, and she’s excited to get started,” the press release said. She has lived in the city since 2018.

“I’m excited for everything—just being able to work for the city,” Harris said in the press release. “Even though we’ve been living here for two years, I’ll get to see the city through a different set of eyes now.”

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