Oak Ridge Today

Temptations Revue featuring Nate Evans at ORHS for Aug. 9 fundraiser

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Temptations Nate Evans Theater

The Temptations Revue featuring Nate Evans will perform at Oak Ridge High School on August 9 in a fundraiser for the proposed revitalization of Jack Armstrong Stadium and Blankenship Field.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. August 9. The Temptations Revue will perform Motown hits like “My Girl,” “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “Get Ready,” “Just My Imagination,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “I Wish It Would Rain,” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.”

The concert is presented by the Oak Ridge Quarterback Club, with all proceeds going to the revitalization effort.

You can buy tickets at www.temptationsrevueorhs.evenbrite.com.

Temptations Revue concert to kick off Blankenship fundraising campaign

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Temptations Nate Evans Theater

 

An August concert by the Temptations Revue will kick off the fundraising campaign to revitalize Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium into a world-class facility, organizers said.

The Aug. 9 concert will be in the Oak Ridge High School Auditorium. It’s sponsored by the Oak Ridge Quarterback Club.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9, and tickets must be purchased online. They went on sale to the public on Thursday.

All proceeds will be directed to the revitalization effort to revamp Blankenship Field/Jack Armstrong Stadium. [Read more…]

City to use traffic camera money for parking lot work at Blankenship Field

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Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed last week to use $180,000 in traffic camera money for improvements to the lower parking at Blankenship Field.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed last week in a 5-2 vote to use $180,000 in traffic camera money for improvements to the lower parking lot at Blankenship Field, which is used for football games and high school graduation.

The request from Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan was reviewed at a City Council work session on April 28.

The work could include resurfacing work at the lower parking lot and access to the lower levels and visitors bleachers under the American with Disabilities Act. The project has been reviewed by the city staff, and it could include resurfacing, ADA improvements, handicapped parking, and new pavement and striping.

The work would complement a project to replace the demolished visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field, a $455,000 project that was unanimously approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education in March. The bleachers had been deemed unsafe, and school officials are hoping to replace them before the first home football game on Aug. 29. The school board agreed to use the school system’s fund balance to pay for the replacement bleachers. [Read more…]

School board approves Blankenship bleacher replacement

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Blankenship Field Visitors Bleachers

Deemed to be unsafe, the visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been de, and replacing them could cost more than $500,000.

Note: This story was updated at 9:15 a.m. March 25.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday unanimously approved a $455,000 project to replace the visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field. The bleachers had been deemed unsafe, and they have already been demolished.

School officials are hoping to replace them before the first home football game on Aug. 29. In a unanimous voice vote Monday, the school board agreed to use the school system’s fund balance to pay for the replacement bleachers.

Board members plan to ask city officials for additional help to finish part of the project, including a $69,000 handicapped ramp with switchbacks from the city-owned parking lot below the field up to the city-owned field, which is at Jack Armstrong Stadium in central Oak Ridge. The ramp could be built when the city renovates the parking lot. [Read more…]

Low bid on Blankenship bleachers: $524,000

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Blankenship Field Visitors Bleachers

Deemed to be unsafe, the visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been removed, and replacing them could cost more than $500,000.

The low bid on the bleacher replacement project at Blankenship Field came in at $523,940, a school official said Friday.

The bid on the project to replace the demolished visitor bleachers includes grading work and a handicap sidewalk at Jack Armstrong Stadium. Proposals were accepted through Friday. The recommended proposal from Dant Clayton Corp. of Louisville, Ky., will be considered by the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday.

Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools maintenance and operations supervisor, said the project could cost another $40,000 if the Wildcat Crossing stairs on the home side of the field are reconditioned. That would make the total cost $563,940. It was the lowest of two qualified bids.

Thacker said funding for the project has not yet been identified. It’s been discussed at several recent meetings of the Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education. Municipal and education officials have said options include city funding, school funding, a mix of the two, and donations. Earlier this month, School Board Chair Keys Fillauer told City Council that a funding decision could be made Monday. [Read more…]

Schools seek bids to replace demolished Blankenship bleachers

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Blankenship Field Visitors Bleachers

Declared unsafe, the visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been removed, and the project to replace them has been put out for bids.

The visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been demolished, and the Oak Ridge Schools are scurrying to replace them by the start of the high school football season this fall.

Project bids are being accepted through March 21, although it’s not clear yet who will pay for the new bleachers and other improvements at Jack Armstrong Stadium. The bids could be considered by the Oak Ridge Board of Education on March 24.

The board could also make a funding decision then, School Board Chair Keys Fillauer told Oak Ridge City Council members during a Monday night meeting. There are a range of options that include city funding, school funding, and donations, among others. [Read more…]

Blankenship bleacher project could cost $550,000; funding not clear

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday will consider whether to demolish the visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field.

Demolition work has started at the visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field, which are pictured above in January. Replacing them could cost $375,00 with another $175,000 requested for related projects.

It could cost a total of $550,000 to replace the visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field and complete related projects ranging from repairing the Wildcat Crossing stairs on the home side of the field to replacing the retaining wall and removing trees behind the visitor bleachers.

Demolition work on the deteriorated bleachers has already started. The Oak Ridge Board of Education approved that project in January.

It could cost about $375,000 to replace just the bleachers, said Allen Thacker, maintenance and operations supervisor for Oak Ridge Schools. And the seating capacity would be reduced from 3,400 seats to 2,000.

But it’s not clear yet who will pay for the replacements or supply the extra $175,000 for related projects, which also include replacing stairs and sidewalks at the visitor restrooms. [Read more…]

City, schools could resolve high school debt, discuss Blankenship bleachers

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Oak Ridge High School

Municipal and school officials could resolve a long-running dispute over sales tax revenues and how they should be used to repay the debt on the $66 million renovation of the Oak Ridge High School, pictured above.

Oak Ridge municipal and school officials could resolve a long-running dispute over sales tax revenues and high school debt payments, and they will discuss a proposed resolution during a joint work session Friday.

The non-voting work session will include the Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education. Also on the agenda is an update on the visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field, which are being demolished. It’s not clear yet how replacement bleachers will be funded.

The meeting starts at noon Friday in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Training Room.

The sales tax dispute has centered on how to spend new revenues collected in Anderson County, but outside Oak Ridge, under a sales tax increase approved by county voters in a May 2006 referendum. School officials had argued they can keep that money, but municipal officials had said the revenues should be used for debt payments on the $66 million renovation of the Oak Ridge High School. [Read more…]

Pictures: Snow day in Oak Ridge

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Snow at South Illinois Avenue and Centrifuge Way

There are few cars on South Illinois Avenue near Centrifuge Way after a winter storm dumped eight to 12 inches of snow on parts of Oak Ridge and Anderson County.

More than eight inches of snow fell in parts of Oak Ridge between Wednesday night and Thursday morning as a major winter storm hit the Southeast. There were reports that up to 12 inches fell in parts of Anderson County. A National Weather Service meteorologist said it was the most snow in one storm in about 15 years.

Here are photos from across Oak Ridge on Thursday morning as some residents and workers cleared roads or shoveled sidewalks and driveways, while others enjoyed the day off by sledding at Blankenship Field.

Sledding at Blankenship Field

Adults and children enjoy sledding at Blankenship Field on Thursday.

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School board approves demolition of visitor bleachers at Blankenship

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday will consider whether to demolish the visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday approved the demolition of the deteriorated visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field.

The city’s school board on Monday unanimously agreed to demolish the deteriorated visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field.

Inspections have determined that the bleachers are no longer safe for fans, would cost too much to repair, and should be demolished immediately, a school official said this month.

“There is a very, very significant issue that we need to get on with,” said Bob Eby, Oak Ridge Board of Education vice chair, before the 5-0 voice vote on Monday.

The board hasn’t approved a replacement plan yet, but Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said the goal is to have new bleachers by the start of the next football season this fall. The school system is looking at all options in case the bleachers aren’t available by then, Borchers said. [Read more…]

School board to consider demolition of Blankenship visitor bleachers

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Visitor Bleachers at Blankenship Field

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday will consider whether to demolish the visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field.

The visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field are no longer safe for fans, would cost too much to repair, and should be demolished immediately, a school official said this month.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider the proposed demolition during a Monday evening meeting.

The visitor bleachers would be too much of a liability risk if they continue to be used, said Allen Thacker, maintenance and operations supervisor for Oak Ridge Schools. In addition, the main stairs from the dressing rooms to the field on the home side of Jack Armstrong Stadium/Blankenship Field are seriously aged and suffer from erosion. [Read more…]

Mavericks win district title 19-6 as Wildcats struggle on offense

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Mavericks Tyler Hicks and Wildcats Harry Boston

Harry Boston, senior defensive end for the Oak Ridge Wildcats, pursues Tyler Hicks, senior quarterback for the Anderson County Mavericks. The Mavericks won the district championship at Blankenship Field on Thursday. (Photos by Julio Culiat)

With a chance at a district championship hanging in the balance, the Oak Ridge Wildcats fell to the Anderson County Mavericks 19-6 on Blankenship Field on Thursday.

The Wildcats (7-3, 6-2 District 3) struggled offensively throughout the night, recording only 239 yards of total offense, 58 of which came from a single deep ball from Jaylin Henderson to Jiminquas Johnson late in the fourth quarter.

The offensive woes, however, did more than just keep Oak Ridge—who also saw their three-game district winning streak come to an end with the loss—off the scoreboard as they kept the defense out on the field and in tough situations for most of the game.

“We just didn’t get it done on the offensive side. If we do anything offensively, they probably don’t score 19 points, but we kept giving back to them over and over,” Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis said. “Our defense played pretty well, giving up 19 points while having to play defense all night long. I think their defense and our offense was the biggest key of the ball game.” [Read more…]