A large crowd waits to hear music during the June 2012 festival.
Make plans to attend the 12th Annual Secret City Festival on Friday, June 13, and Saturday, June 14, in historic Oak Ridge. Join more than 20,000 visitors and residents to celebrate the end of World War II and the heritage of Oak Ridge from 1945 to the present.
Here’s an overview of some of the many activities and events taking place at this year’s festival: [Read more…]
Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge from Monday, June 9, and continuing through June 11.
This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]
By Atomic Heritage Foundation
On May 22, the House of Representatives approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2015, which includes a bipartisan provision to establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The new park will have units at Los Alamos, N.M., Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Hanford, Wash.
U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, has led efforts in the House and said: “This is a positive step toward establishing the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. There is strong, bipartisan support for this measure, and it enjoys broad support from local communities and national advocates for historic preservation and parks. The goal is to enact this into law before the end of this year and today’s action demonstrates real progress towards achieving it.” [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Schools are requesting a substantial property tax increase to fund items they see as essential to their future.
Yet an Oak Ridge tax hike will markedly reduce our city’s ability to recruit new U.S. Department of Energy workers. According to the latest DOE report, Anderson County is losing over $300,000 per week to Knox County in DOE payroll. That loss rate is increasing, and a tax hike would make this serious problem worse.
Unfortunately, our city has a DOE “isolation fence” around it. In most cases, new workers are sent by the DOE system directly to Knox County—mainly to Farragut. And as a result, their important housing decisions are made without talking to an Oak Ridge realtor. They never get an opportunity to find out how wonderful it is to live here.
The new Kroger store won’t affect this uneven playing field. A property tax hike (of any size) will simply make the problem worse—giving Farragut an even greater advantage over us. [Read more…]
A U.S. Department of Energy public bus tour in August 2012. (DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)
Visitors see Oak Ridge’s past and present
The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2014 Oak Ridge facilities public bus tour begins June 2 and continues through August 29. The tour offers visitors a first-hand look at the DOE’s Oak Ridge facilities and provides historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 70 years.
The reservation-wide tour is a popular attraction for tourists visiting the area. Since its inception in 1996, the DOE public tour program has attracted more than 30,000 visitors from all 50 states. The three-hour tour allows visitors to see the Oak Ridge Reservation and learn about its history. It also provides participants a chance to find out about the world-class missions underway in Oak Ridge.
Bus stops include: [Read more…]
Jimmy Bouchard, a candidate for Anderson County Commission, has announced that John Iacovino will serve as his campaign treasurer.
Bouchard is running for County Commission in District 7, and he said Iacovino also lives in that district and is a well-respected Oak Ridger.
“I am very blessed and appreciative to have someone of John’s character and reputation join me in the role as my campaign treasurer,” Bouchard said in a press release. “John will be a tremendous asset to me, and I look forward to working with him during the next few months as I work to earn the support of my District 7 neighbors. John is someone I’ve known nearly my entire life, through St. Mary’s Church, where we both attend, as well as through business relationships built between John and my grandfather.” [Read more…]
Thirty boats participated in the inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday at the Oak Ridge Marina at Melton Lake Park.
The event was organized by the three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge: Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary, and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club.
Organizers were pleased with the participation and turnout, and they’ve already announced that next year’s festival will be on May 30, 2015.
A dragon boat is a long, low boat adorned with a snarling dragonhead at the boat’s front end, as in the Chinese tradition. Dragon boat races have become popular events in many U.S. cities, ranging in size from Philadelphia to Knoxville. [Read more…]
New structure helps grille deliver on its mission
To the Editor:
Lincoln’s Sports Grille is first and foremost a family friendly, sports enthusiast haven. It is a place where families and sports fans can enjoy a quality place to eat and watch a game. Lincoln’s recognizes that public safety is their first priority and is taken very seriously. Also, Lincoln’s acknowledges that mistakes have been made in the past, and over the last few months, steps have been taken to ensure their mission statement is delivered.
“Lincoln’s is the place where families, sports enthusiasts, and especially baseball fans come to enjoy quality food and drink, with top notch sports entertainment,” said Mike Lincoln, owner of Lincoln’s Sports Grille. “We take public safety very seriously, and always have. I believe with the new structure we have put in place, Lincoln’s will move forward on a positive path.”
Lincoln’s Sports Grille has been operating in Oak Ridge since 2010. The grille serves lunch, Tuesdays through Sunday, and dinner seven days a week. There is a clubhouse room that is available for private parties. Lincoln’s desire is to transport the sports enthusiast/customer back to their favorite ballpark memory while enjoying great food in a casual environment. Lincoln’s is open for business.
Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge starting Thursday, May 29, and continuing through June 4.
This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Board of Education asked for a smaller rollout of a technology initiative in budget talks that will resume Wednesday evening. (File photo)
The Oak Ridge school board devoted most of its Tuesday night meeting to reviewing the proposed budget for next year, but members haven’t voted on it yet. Instead, the board has asked school administrators to bring back a budget that has a smaller rollout of a technology initiative known as 1:1, and the discussions will resume Wednesday evening.
The board agreed that the 1:1 integration is necessary, but they had reservations about how exactly to roll out the electronic devices to students. Several board members said they support the addition of the new technology, but they are unable to completely stand behind the changes because of the costs.
Board members spent nearly two hours going through expenditures Tuesday and discussing the changes they thought were needed before they would feel comfortable sending the budget to the Oak Ridge City Council.
“It includes some things that I’m not sure I’m ready to support,” said board member Jenny Richter. She suggested implementing a rollout among a smaller number of students at first so that “we can learn from our own experience and meet the whole thing halfway.” She said she could support the budget with modifications to the technology initiative. [Read more…]
Double rainbow (Photo by the Rev. Sharon Youngs)
Submitted
Hail, Double Rainbow!
“Notice that the colors in the rare secondary rainbow are reversed from those of the primary rainbow,” said Herb Krause, retired Oak Ridge National Laboratory physicist. “The primary rainbow is caused by a single reflection of sunlight in each raindrop, and the secondary rainbow is caused by a double reflection.”
The regional women’s youth champions, Atomic Rowing, practice six days a week in preparation for the national championship races in Sacramento, California. (Photos by Sara Wise)
About two months ago, the girls of Atomic Rowing’s youth team came to Shannon Moore, their coach, and said they wanted to go to the national championship race. Now, they’ve won the gold medal at regionals and are set to race at youth nationals in Sacramento, California, on June 21.
Since winning gold at regionals, in Florida earlier this month, they have been practicing six days a week. Moore said the team of girls, ranging from eighth to 10th grades, are hungry for a national championship title.
“They’re just determined,” said Moore, who started coaching the team in October of last year. She has been coaching professionally since 1998 and was even the assistant coach for Ivy League rowing at Columbia University in New York City. Now though, she thinks she’s found her niche with the juniors team here in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]
