Randy McNally
John Ragan
This year’s monthly “Breakfast with the Legislators” starts Monday, Jan. 28.
The series is held at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on the last Monday of each month while the Tennessee General Assembly is in session each year. It’s sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and it gives residents a chance to meet local representatives and ask questions about legislative issues.
A regional director for a national nonprofit organization will discuss national parks and a proposed Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which could include Oak Ridge, during a Tuesday meeting.
Don Barger, senior regional director for the Southeast Regional Office of the National Parks Conservation Association, will be the guest speaker at Lunch with League at noon Tuesday.
“In his presentation, Mr. Barger will discuss the state of the national parks, political and financial ramifications, the status of the Manhattan Project Historical Park, and issues facing the national park system,” a press release said.
Norman Mulvenon and Anne Adamson, co-presidents of the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, will mark the 221st anniversary of the adoption of the Bill of Rights on Saturday, Dec. 15, with a call for improved political discourse and greater civic participation in the community.
“For more than 92 years, members of the League of Women Voters of the United States have defended civil liberties and promoted balanced, nonpartisan discussions on issues that are important to our community, and we continue this work today,” Mulvenon said in a press release. “Our mission is to increase public participation—to help empower individuals to exercise the rights that are afforded to them through our democracy.”
Paula Flowers
Attorney and business executive Paula Flowers will discuss the effects of the new federal health care law during a Tuesday meeting in Oak Ridge.
Flowers will also discuss the U.S. Department of Energy’s recent announcement of an award to support a new project to design, license, and help commercialize small nuclear reactors in the United States. The award was given to Babcock & Wilcox in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bechtel.
Joan Cronan
Joan Cronan, University of Tennessee women’s athletic director emeritus, will be the speaker at the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge holiday brunch on Sunday, Dec. 2.
“Under the vision and direction of Cronan, the University of Tennessee Lady Vols have garnered a reputation as one of the most visible and respected programs throughout the nation,” a press release said.
Brunch reservations are due by Monday, Nov. 26. They can be made by calling Maryann Mulvenon at (865) 482-3153.
A board member of a local nonprofit organization that helps schools will give a Tuesday presentation on a program that uses grants to fund classroom projects in Oak Ridge.
The presentation by Cathy Toth of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.
“We are well aware of the ORPSEF efforts in the renovation of Oak Ridge High School,” Toth said in a press release. “Most of us are not aware that ORPSEF has quietly been making a difference with a grants program that has funded dozens of classroom projects in every school in Oak Ridge. The grants provide resources beyond what can be provided by tax dollars to help make the critical difference between adequate and outstanding academic experiences and performance.”
David Reidy
The head of the University of Tennessee Philosophy Department will discuss what moral principles, if any, ought to guide U.S. foreign policy during a Tuesday presentation to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.
The presentation by philosophy professor David Reidy is titled Toward a Just Foreign Policy,” and it starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.
Reidy’s presentation will also discuss the relevance of human rights to U.S. foreign policy, a press release said.
The presentation is part of the biweekly Lunch with the League, and it is open to the public. There is no cost to attend, and reservations are not needed.
Box lunches will be available starting at 11:30 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis for $7. Those who attend can also bring their own lunches. Coffee and tea will be provided.
Reidy received his doctorate from the University of Kansas and a law degree from Indiana University. He is a distinguished humanities professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tennessee.
The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Robert B. Cunningham
A retired University of Tennessee professor who has taught in Syria and Jordan will discuss the Arab Spring and its impact on the Middle East and the United States during a Tuesday lecture in Oak Ridge.
The talk by Robert Cunningham, UT political science professor emeritus, starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.
Cunningham’s research and teaching interests have focused on issues related to public administration and the politics of the Middle East. From 1959 to 1962, he taught at Aleppo College in Aleppo, Syria. He returned to the Middle East in 1986 through a faculty exchange program at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, and again in 1992 as a Fulbright Teacher and Scholar at Yarmouk University.
He has also conducted research in Marrakech, Morocco, and in Jordan.
Cunningham has a master’s degree and doctorate from Indiana University. He joined the UT faculty in 1972 and retired from full-time service at the end of the 2008-09 academic year.
Syd Ball
Two local supporters of President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will represent the candidates during a Tuesday afternoon presidential forum in Oak Ridge.
Syd Ball will offer the views of Obama, a Democrat seeking a second term as president in the Nov. 6 election. Ball is serving on the local Obama For America “Pen Points” (letters to the editor) committee, a press release said.
Joe Bailey, chairman of the East Tennessee campaign for Romney, will present the views of Romney, the Republican opposing Obama. The press release said Bailey was a delegate to the Republican Convention this summer.
The Democratic and Republican representatives will deliver opening statements and answer questions about the candidate they are representing, the press release said. The audience is encouraged to take part by submitting questions to the speakers.
Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, left, talks to Kay Brookshire and Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan.
Note: This story was updated at 9:50 a.m. Oct. 4.
With a boom in economic activity that includes billions of dollars worth of projects, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark S. Watson offered a dose of optimism about the city’s economic future on Tuesday, and he suggested commercial developments won’t be held up by the owners of the “inactive” Oak Ridge Mall or property owners who set sale prices too high.
Five retailers that might have wanted to locate at the mall are now talking to the developers of a $30 million Kroger Marketplace shopping center planned at the busy intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue, Watson said. He said the city and commercial developers are “going right on around” the privately owned, mostly empty mall, where redevelopment plans have languished for years.
“They’re starting to lose customers,” Watson said during an hour-long lunchtime speech to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. “They’re going to be left holding the bag if they don’t start moving—and moving quickly.”
Eight state and federal legislative candidates have been invited to take part in a Thursday evening forum at Oak Ridge High School.
The candidates could include the three running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Tennessee’s 3rd District: Republican Chuck Fleischmann, who is the incumbent; Democrat Mary M. Headrick, a physician; and Independent Matthew Deniston, a U.S. Army veteran. The district includes Oak Ridge.
They could also include the two candidates for Tennessee House of Representatives in the 33rd District: Republican John D. Ragan, the incumbent, and Democrat Jim Hackworth, who is trying to take back his old seat. The district includes much of Anderson County.
Also invited are candidates for the Tennessee House of Representatives in the 32rd District: Republican Kent Calfee, a former Roane County commissioner; Democrat Jack W. McNew; and Independent Allen R. Cole. The district includes Roane County and part of Loudon County.
Mark Watson
During a Tuesday afternoon speech, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will discuss economic challenges, the proposed Kroger shopping center at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue, and the redevelopment of Jackson Square.
Watson’s speech is titled “The State of the City: Past Accomplishments; Future Vision.” It’s scheduled to begin at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.
