Oak Ridge Today

See Oak Ridge qualifiers, schedule for state track meet

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Track Class AAA Sectional 2015

Ten Oak Ridge High School students will compete in 10 track and field events at the state meet in Murfreesboro this month after finishing in the top four in a sectional meet at Hardin Valley on Saturday, May 9. (Photos by Luther Simmons)

 

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association has published the list of qualifiers, their performances in sectionals, and the schedule for the state track meet in Murfreesboro this week.

Here are the top qualifiers for Oak Ridge, starting with the boys, from the four sectionals, or sub-state competitions. Oak Ridge competed at a sectional at Hardin Valley Academy on Saturday, May 9. The top four competitors at sectionals moved on to the state meet.

The state track meet events have fields of 16 competitors from across Tennessee.

Boys long jump—3rd, Malik Hardy, a senior at Oak Ridge High School, with a jamp of 22-01.25. The top two seeds are Weldon Wright, a senior at Hardin Valley (22-08.25), and Bailey Overbay, a senior at Morristown-East (22-04.50).

Boys 4×800-meter relay—4th, Oak Ridge High School, with a time of 8:02.79. The top three seeds are Daniel Boone (8:00.08), Hardin Valley Academy (8:00.47), and Science Hill (8:01.71).

Boys 100-meter dash—12th, Malik Hardy, with a time of 10.99. The top three seeds are Johnathon Johnson, a senior at Melrose (10.57); Zeandre Floyd, a senior at West Creek (10.69); and Terry Wright, a senior at White Station (10.84). [Read more…]

OR, AC players compete in Kentucky-Tennessee Border Bowl

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Brandon Bonds Forced Fumble

Oak Ridge Wildcat Brandon Bonds (81) forces a fumble in the first half of the Kentucky-Tennessee National Guard Border Bowl in Williamsburg, Kentucky, on Saturday, January 10, 2015. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

Four players from Oak Ridge High School and Anderson County High School participated in the Kentucky-Tennessee National Guard Border Bowl in Williamsburg, Kentucky, on Saturday.

Oak Ridge senior Brandon Bonds—who played safety, wide receiver, and punt returner for the Wildcats—forced a fumble during the first half and recovered a Kentucky fumble in the second, said Melissa Livesey of ORHS Dance Cat Boosters.

Besides Bonds, other players who were picked to play were ORHS senior offensive lineman Isaac Chapman (Chapman also played on the defensive line for the Wildcats, especially toward the end of the season); and senior running back Matt Fox and defensive end Josh Edwards, both of Anderson County High School. [Read more…]

League, AAUW have registration events on Voter Registration Day

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The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge and the American Association of University Women, Oak Ridge Branch, will host National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, September 23.

“This major registration event will help people to register to vote or update their voter registration if they have moved or changed names,” a press release said.

The registration will be held at Oak Ridge High School, Clinton High School, and Anderson County High School during lunch periods. Roane State Community College registration will be held on both September 23 and 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration at this site will be open to the public.

“Voter registration is the front door to voting in U.S. elections,” the press release said. “Research has shown that the majority of eligible voters who register, turn out to vote. Oak Ridgers and Tennesseans have much at stake this year with our many community elections and with the proposed amendments to the Tennessee Constitution.” [Read more…]

ASAP Youth Coalition joins other young leaders at Teen Institute

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ASAP Youth Coalition at Tennessee Teen Institute

Front row from left to right are Olivia Kelly, Reagan Wolfe, and Courtney Sharp.
Second row from left to right are Emma Berry, Hope Hicks, Jake Wade, and Kaylee Hunley.
Third row from left to right are Mary Tuskan, Jacob Reed, Ryan Wiggins, and Gabe Merritt.
Top row from left to right are Michael Beal, Cameron Moore, and Michael Foster. (Photo courtesy ASAP)

 

Students from Anderson County joined more than 400 youth leaders from across the state at a recent Tennessee Teen Institute. The Tennessee Teen Institute is a five-day youth leadership and prevention camp sponsored by the Jackson Area Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency.

The Anderson County Health Department and ASAP (Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention) sponsored two teams of six youth to participate in TTI, one from Anderson County High School and one from Clinton High School.

“This is the third year we have been able to sponsor youth to attend the Teen Institute, and it has shown an excellent return,” said Stephanie Strutner, ASAP executive director. “Students return energized to serve as peer leaders and make positive changes in their schools.”

This was the 27th year of the Teen Institute Program in Tennessee, a press release said. The program addresses teen issues such as bullying, violence, suicide, teen pregnancy, distracted driving, teen health, and substance abuse prevention through a five-day, peer-led prevention camp designed to provide teen participants with the skills and education necessary to develop and implement alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs in their own communities. [Read more…]

Fox scores three as Mavericks win another Battle of the Bridge

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Anderson County Mavericks and Clinton Dragons Battle of the Bridge

The Anderson County Mavericks won the sixth consecutive Battle of the Bridge 35-19 over the Clinton Dragons at Anderson County High School on Friday. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Schools)

 

Star running back Matt Fox rushed for more than 200 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Anderson County Mavericks opened the regular season with a 35-19 win over the Clinton Dragons on Friday night.

The crosstown rivals traded touchdowns in the first half, and the Mavericks had a slight 14-13 lead at halftime.

But the momentum quickly shifted at the start of the second half, when the Mavericks scored on a 21-yard run by Fox after only two plays and 29 seconds. That run followed a roughly 50-yard pass from Anderson County quarterback Zane Smith to Aaron Sharp.

Anderson County held the lead and scored twice more, once on a five-yard run by Fox midway through the third quarter and again after Garrett Johnson intercepted a pass from Clinton quarterback Tyler Thackerson and returned it for a touchdown with 11:01 remaining.

The final score was 35-19. [Read more…]

Norris Bulletin to host candidate forum at ACHS

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Information from WYSH Radio

All of the candidates in the upcoming Democratic and Republican contested primary elections scheduled for May 6 are being invited to a public forum to be hosted by The Norris Bulletin and moderated by publisher Jack Mitchell. The event will be held next Thursday, April 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the auditorium of Anderson County High School.

Unopposed candidates are also invited and, after a brief introduction, will be given an opportunity to make a brief statement, but they will not participate in the question and answer session of the forum.

For each of the contested primaries, candidates will be granted two to three minutes for an opening statement, after which 20 minutes will be allocated to a question and answer session where the moderator will pose four questions to each candidate, who will have two minutes to answer. Opponents will then be granted two minutes for rebuttal. The moderator, at his discretion, may permit an additional one minute to the candidate who was originally asked the question. [Read more…]

Spotlight: Youth Leadership Anderson County visits Nashville

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Anderson County Youth Leadership Visits Nashville

Youth Leadership Anderson County visited Nashville for a state government trip on March 12. (Submitted photo)

Youth Leadership Anderson County—sponsored by the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce and consisting of high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors from Anderson County High School and Clinton High School—visited Nashville for their State Government Trip on March 12.

The class had an opportunity for a “photo op” with Gov. Bill Haslam, Sen. Randy McNally, Rep. Dennis Powers, and Rep. John Ragan. The class visited the Titans Stadium and the Capitol, and participated in a mock session led by McNally, Powers and Ragan.

Those attending were Amber Bumgardner, Ivey Cates, Ryan Collinsworth, Rachel Crabtree, Jacob Craft, Hope Gass, Autumn Hicks, Sam Horn, Madison Ivey, Sami Joy, Olivia Kelly, Morgan Labelle, Tiffney Littlejohn, Matthew Lloyd, Matthew Longmire, Ali Matteson, Sarah Mawhinney, Victoria Parray, Erika Seiber, Taylor Spradlin, Sean Wallace, Brooklyn Webster, and Matthew Wilson. [Read more…]

AC Mavericks baseball standout signs to play at Auburn

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Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County High School baseball standout Hunter Tackett signed his scholarship papers on Wednesday to continue his athletic and academic careers at Auburn University.

Congratulations to Hunter Tackett and his family and good luck down on “The Plains!”

ORAU awards $39,000 in education grants to East Tennessee schools

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ORAU Education Grants

Oak Ridge Associated Universities awards 27 teachers from 17 East Tennessee schools more than $39,000 during a recent grants ceremony. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge Associated Universities awarded more than $39,000 to more than two dozen teachers in 17 schools in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Norris, and Anderson County in a recent grants ceremony.

It was the 12th annual ORAU Education Grants ceremony, and 27 teachers received awards, a press release said.

The grant money can be used to buy educational materials and equipment such as microscopes, iPads, robotics kits, and computers that will help teachers “continue to meet rigorous, state-wide curriculum standards and enhance the learning experience of their students,” the release said. [Read more…]

Teen indicted in crash that killed classmate has Sept. 9 court hearing

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Evan Nathaniel Weaver

Evan Nathaniel Weaver

The Andersonville teen indicted on charges connected to a fatal accident in January that killed a passenger in the car he was driving will be arraigned on Sept. 9.

Evan Nathaniel Weaver, 18, was indicted by an Anderson County grand jury on Aug. 13 and arrested last week. He faces four felony charges: vehicular homicide by intoxication, vehicular homicide by recklessness, and two counts of reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon was involved. He also faces misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and possession of drug paraphernalia. [Read more…]

Anderson County Fair starts Sunday with pageants

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Fair starts Sunday at Anderson County High School with the Tiny Miss and Fairest of the Fair pageants.

The Tiny Miss pageant will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday and the fairest of the Fair—including the Princess, Junior, and Senior divisions—will be held at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 and kids ages six and under will get in free. For more information, visit www.andersoncountyfairtn.com.

Now ex-ACHS teacher nabbed in Knox prostitution sting

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Anderson County High School teacher was arrested this past weekend in an online prostitution sting.

Brian Dean Justice, 40, also a former assistant principal at Clinton Middle School, was arrested by Knox County Sheriff’s Department deputies Friday after he allegedly contacted a person he thought was a prostitute after answering an online ad on a website called backpage.com and arranging to meet the person at a motel in Knox County. That person turned out to be an undercover deputy, and Justice was arrested and charged with patronizing prostitution. [Read more…]