Oak Ridge Today

Obama’s visit: Education, manufacturing, a chance to see the president

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President Barack Obama at Pellissippi State Community College

President Barack Obama announces a proposal to offer two years of free community college to responsible students during a half-hour speech at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley on Friday. (Photo by Rob Welton)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 15.

HARDIN VALLEY—It was a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for some, a chance to shake hands with the president of the United States of America or wave at his heavily guarded motorcade as it passed by on a local roadway.

For others, it was a chance to hear about a presidential proposal modeled after a Tennessee program that would make the first two years of community college free to students who maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average. That proposal, officially announced at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley on Friday, expands on the 20th century idea that all children in the United States are entitled to a public education. In the 21st century economy, the White House said, 12 years of school is no longer enough.

For a much-smaller group, Friday’s visit by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and his wife Jill Biden offered an opportunity to hear an in-person announcement of a new advanced manufacturing hub, the country’s fifth, that will be led by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and have Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a founding partner. That announcement at Techmer PM in Clinton was highlighted by a 3-D printed carbon fiber replica of a Shelby Cobra that the president joked about receiving for his birthday. [Read more…]

Obama visit spotlights sports car printed by UT engineers at ORNL

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Shelby Cobra 3D Printed Cobra

University of Tennessee engineering students Andrew Messing and Alex Roschli printed this Shelby Cobra at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. The car was on stage during President Obama’s visit to Techmer PM in Clinton on Friday. (Photo courtesy UT)

 

CLINTON—President Obama took the stage at Techmer PM in Clinton on Friday to announce that the University of Tennessee in Knoxville will head a $259 million advanced manufacturing project and that Oak Ridge National Laboratory will play a key role. The president shared the spotlight with a shiny example of innovation, research, and collaboration between the two—a Shelby Cobra 3D printed car.

The car was highlighted during Obama’s visit as an example of the changing world of manufacturing. It was produced with major contributions from a pair of student interns from UT’s College of Engineering—Alex Roschli and Andrew Messing, a press release said.

Roschli and Messing, both seniors in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, are doing internships at ORNL, where the car was printed at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. [Read more…]

UT College of Engineering helps kick off robot season; Secret City Wildbots take part

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Oak Ridge Secret City Wildcats

From left to right, Eli Charles, Olivia Mahathy, Steven Charles. and Moire Gabor, part of the Secret City Wildbots from Oak Ridge High School, work on the initial stages of their robot. (Photos courtesy UT)

 

KNOXVILLE—For many, the end of football season usually means attention turns to basketball, but for more than 400 budding scientists and engineers who came to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday it marks the start of something else: robot season.

FIRST Robotics kicked off its 2015 game, Recycle Rush, with a live reveal broadcast online to teams around the world, including 29 teams who gathered at Cox Auditorium on the UT campus.

“Saturday marks the first time that any of the teams get to see the challenge of this year’s game,” said L.J. Robinson, Tennessee’s regional director of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). “The kickoff event is a big deal in its own right, with gatherings held around the world to watch the announcement.

“Certainly, it’s an exciting moment for those new to the competition.” [Read more…]

BOE, City Council to tour possible new preschool building

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161 Mitchell Road

The Oak Ridge Board of Education and City Council will tour this building at 161 Mitchell Road on Thursday afternoon. It’s a possible new home for the Oak Ridge Preschool.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education and City Council will tour a building on Mitchell Road on Thursday afternoon that could be a new home for the Preschool.

Built as a temporary building, the current Preschool on New York Avenue is 70 years old and in need of repairs.

A new School Administration Building and Preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years. But now education officials say the Preschool has to be renovated or vacated by next year in order for the school system to continue to receive federal Head Start funding.

They’ve recommended a long-term lease for the Preschool, with an option to purchase. Oak Ridge Schools has also recommended buying the Chamber of Commerce building for a new School Administration Building and remodeling the G Building at Oak Ridge High School to accommodate administration support services, a “better defined” Alternative School program, and the ROTC program. [Read more…]

Roane State educators complete record-breaking 73-day underwater stay

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Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain Surface

Roane State professors Jessica Fain and Bruce Cantrell enjoy their first moments of sunlight after living underwater for 73 days. (Photos by Roane State Community College) 

 

KEY LARGO, Florida—After a record-breaking 73 days living underwater, two local college professors surfaced Monday and enjoyed the feel of sunlight for the first time in more than two months.

They also celebrated the end of their mission to educate the public about ocean conservation, to inspire young people’s interest in science, and to make history.

Biology professor Bruce Cantrell and adjunct professor Jessica Fain from Roane State Community College in East Tennessee spent the fall living and working in Jules’ Undersea Lodge, an underwater habitat on Key Largo in Florida. Their underwater stay lasted 73 days, two hours, and 34 minutes, breaking the world record for longest time spent living underwater.

The two educators submerged October 3 at 12:08 p.m. EDT and surfaced on Monday, December 15, at 1:42 p.m. EST.

“There is a sun,” Cantrell said with a laugh as he and Fain broke the surface of the water. [Read more…]

School Board winners: Eby, McLean, Marshall

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Four Oak Ridge Board of Education Candidates

The three winning Oak Ridge Board of Education candidates are pictured above. Bob Eby, second from right, the only incumbent, was the top vote-getter. He was followed by candidate Laura McLean, right, and Paige Marshall, left. Also pictured is Andy Howe.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:35 a.m. Nov. 5.

Imagine this: A politician runs for re-election and tells voters he wants to raise taxes—and they re-elect him anyway. Seems unlikely, right?

Well, that’s what happened Tuesday night in Oak Ridge.

Bob Eby, the only incumbent in the eight-person race for the Oak Ridge Board of Education, hasn’t been afraid to tell voters that he thinks Oak Ridge Schools need more money—and he intends to ask for a tax increase next year to help the school system.

His honesty hasn’t hurt him with voters; Eby was the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s municipal election. He finished with 4,635 votes in Anderson and Roane counties, according to unofficial results. That was almost 900 votes ahead of the second-place finisher, newcomer Laura McLean. She ended the night with 3,774 votes.

Another newcomer, Paige Marshall, was about 400 votes behind McLean, picking up the third of the three available seats with 3,345 votes. [Read more…]

2014 Election: School board candidates talk taxes, budgets, bus routes, Preschool

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Oak Ridge Board of Education Candidates 2014

Oak Ridge Board of Education candidates are, from right, Mike Mahathy, Laura McLean, Bob Eby, Andy Howe, Paige Marshall, and Jean Hiser. Not pictured are Laurie Paine and Aaron Wells.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:10 a.m. Nov. 3.

School board candidates at two forums this campaign season expressed optimism that school officials will be able to continue to provide school bus transportation to most students in the next school year, and several said they would support a property tax rate increase if it were deemed necessary.

Bob Eby, Oak Ridge Board of Education vice chair, cited delayed staff raises and textbook purchases as well as capital project needs. Eby helped lead moves this summer to restore bus transportation to preschool students and then other students after the area where bus service is not provided was temporarily expanded to 1.5 miles as part of cost-cutting measures in June.

In August, Karen Gagliano, Oak Ridge Schools director of business and support services, said the $500,000 in fund balance money used to restore transportation and the delayed purchase of textbooks, among other things, means the school system could start the Fiscal Year 2015 budget discussions with a $1.8 million deficit, before anything new is added.

“I will ask for a tax increase next year,” Eby said. “We’ve put (off) all we can put off.” [Read more…]

Repairs needed, school system considers three options for Preschool

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Oak Ridge Preschool and School Administration Building

The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider three options for the Oak Ridge Schools Preschool on New York Avenue during a Monday night meeting. The building—which has lead paint that needs to be repaired, replaced, and painted, among other things—has to be renovated or vacated for the Head Start program to receive funding in the 2015-2016 school year.

 

It’s 70 years old and in need of repairs. Federal officials want it renovated or vacated by next year in order for the school system to continue to receive Head Start funding.

So, on Monday, the Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider what to do about the Oak Ridge Preschool, a building on New York Avenue that’s been on the repair wish list for years.

The school board will consider three options:

  • stay in the building and renovate it;
  • move the Preschool and its roughly 200 students to a different site, possibly by leasing space;
  • move the Preschool classes and split them up among the elementary schools.

There is one option that is not on the table, school officials said Thursday.

“We have no intention…of shutting down the Preschool in any form or fashion,” said Chris Marczak, Oak Ridge Schools assistant superintendent. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum begins construction on auditorium

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University of Tennessee Arboretum Auditorium

Construction on the new auditorium for the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge is now under way. The building’s open design, wooden beams, and stone fireplace will complement the site’s woodland setting. The building is expected to be completed in June 2015. (Image courtesy UT Institute of Agriculture)

 

Construction work has started on the auditorium at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge.

The auditorium will complement the existing outdoor pavilion, but it will be a stand-alone facility capable of accommodating gatherings of up to 120 people, said Kevin Hoyt, director of the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center and UT Arboretum.

Hoyt described the facility, which will be more than 2,400 square feet, as a good fit for the Arboretum’s environment. It will have large windows that overlook the Arboretum’s hardwood forest, and the design includes a unique two-sided stone fireplace that can add ambiance to events that spill over from the indoor space to a large outside patio, a press release said. [Read more…]

RMS one of three new STEM Scouts Labs in East Tennessee

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Robertsville Middle School

Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge is one of three additional schools in East Tennessee that have opened STEM Scouts labs.

Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge is one of three other schools in East Tennessee that have opened STEM Scouts Labs. The other two new participants are Karns Middle School and Stanford Eisenberg Knoxville Jewish Day School.

That brings the total number of STEM Scouts Labs in the area to seven, a press release said. Oak Ridge High School and Clayton-­Bradley STEM Academy already have STEM Scouts Labs.

STEM Scouts is a co-­ed after-­school program by the Boy Scouts of America that uses hands-­on learning to show youth from elementary through high school how to apply STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) in their everyday lives and encourages them to develop those experiences into a future career, the press release said. The program uses the Scout Oath and Scout Law as its cornerstone.

“We are very happy to see STEM Scouts growing, “ said April McMillan, national co-director of STEM programs for the Boy Scouts of America. “We are the first in the nation to test this program, so we are pleased to see it taking off like this. We’ve had very positive feedback from students, teachers, and parents. We hope to open several more labs before the end of the year.” [Read more…]

School board candidates field questions on technology, tax increases

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Oak Ridge Board of Education Forum

A. Paige Marshall, left, one of eight candidates for the Oak Ridge School Board, answers a question during the League of Women Voters’ Candidate Forum Wednesday night. To her right are candidates Mike Mahathy, Andrew Howe, Jean Hiser, and incumbent Bob Eby, with WUOT radio host Matt Shafer Powell, who posed the questions. (Photo by Rebecca D. Williams)

 

Fielding public school questions about technology, tax increases, and the teaching of science versus religion, eight candidates for the Oak Ridge School Board tried to distinguish themselves from one another Wednesday night at the League of Women Voters’ Candidate Forum held at the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater, to a crowd of about 150.

Board candidates offered largely similar answers, with the greatest difference of opinion posed by Aaron Wells. He spoke against school tax increases and one-to-one technology in schools.

“The biggest impact on me growing up was when my teachers gave me one-to-one education,” Wells said. “How many hours a day are kids staring at a screen? It’s too many. We need to do more with less, because money’s tight. We’ve got to get back to the basics.”

Also participating in the forum were two candidates who are opposing incumbent Chuck Fleischmann, a Republican, for the District 3 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mary M. Headrick, a Democrat, and Cassandra J. Mitchell, an Independent, answered questions. Fleischmann was not present.

Also, Tennessee House Representative for District 32, Kent Calfee, the Republican incumbent, and Joe Kneiser, his Democratic opponent, fielded questions about four referendum questions on the ballot Nov. 4.

Three seats on the five-member Oak Ridge Board of Education are open. Bob Eby is the only incumbent running for re-election. Other candidates include Jean Hiser, Andrew Howe, Mike Mahathy, A. Paige Marshall, Laura McLean, Laurie Paine, and Wells. [Read more…]

School bus service restored Sept. 15; new routes announced

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Oak Ridge School Buses at the Central Services Complex

The 1.5 parent responsibility zone, or PRZ, approved in June will end September 15. There will still be a .15-mile PRZ for elementary school students and a .25-mile zone for middle and high school students.

 

Note: This story was updated at 1:08 p.m.

The 1.5-mile parent responsibility zone approved by Oak Ridge school officials in June will end September 15. School bus service then will be the same as it was during the 2013-2014 school year.

There will still be a .15-mile PRZ for elementary school students and a .25-mile zone for middle and high school students, which is the same as last year. In that zone, parents are responsible for getting their children to and from school; bus service is not provided.

In a press release Monday, Oak Ridge Schools said parents and family members should check the appropriate school website for new bus route information. Times are approximate.

Students should be prepared to board the bus 10 minutes before the scheduled time, the press release said. All routes are dependent upon regular ridership and may be altered or suspended at any time.

“As a reminder, please make sure your child is registered for bus service at their school prior to September 15,” the press release said. [Read more…]