Oak Ridge Today

Gaddis gets 300th coaching win

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Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis talks to the Wildcats football team after a 42-6 win over Clinton on Blankenship Field on Friday, Oct. 13, 2017. It was Gaddis' 300th coaching win. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis talks to the Wildcats football team after a 42-6 win over Clinton on Blankenship Field on Friday, Oct. 13, 2017. It was Gaddis’ 300th coaching win. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11 a.m.

Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis got his 300th win as a football coach during a 42-6 win over Clinton on Friday.

Gaddis is only the seventh football coach in Tennessee to get 300 career wins, and he is one of only two active coaches with 300 wins, Oak Ridge school officials said. Gary Rankin of Alcoa is the other. Rankin was the first in Tennessee to win 400 games, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported in September.

Fans and players, parents and coaches, and students and school officials celebrated Gaddis’ milestone 300th win with a brief ceremony on Blankenship Field on Friday that included fireworks and photos, and signs and a football painted with the number 300 that was presented to Gaddis.

More than half of Gaddis’ wins have been at Oak Ridge, where he is 162-36. Gaddis first coached at Oak Ridge for 11 seasons, from 1988 to 1998, and he is in his fifth season back, after returning in 2013.

“I’m coaching at the best place there is to coach,” Gaddis said. “This is just a special place.” [Read more…]

See the future home of the K-25 History Center

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Image courtesy DOE Oak Ridge Office

Image courtesy DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management

 

The public is invited to walk through the future home of the K-25 History Center on Thursday, October 19.

The K-25 History Center will be built on the second floor of Oak Ridge’s Fire Station Number 4. The fire station is at East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.

The public walk-through is scheduled from 2-4 p.m. October 19.

The K-25 History Center is expected to help preserve the history of the World War II-era Manhattan Project. Oak Ridge was built during that top-secret project to help build the world’s first atomic weapons.

K-25 was one of three major federal sites built in the city that is now Oak Ridge as part of the Manhattan Project. [Read more…]

Volleyball: Lady Wildcats win District 4 championship

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 4-AAA volleyball championship in Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 4-AAA volleyball championship in Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge won the District 4-AAA volleyball championship on Tuesday, sweeping Bearden in three straight sets. It’s the second year in a row the girls have won a district championship and the fourth district championship for Oak Ridge in five years.

The District 4-AAA tournament was played in Wildcat Arena at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday. The Lady Wildcats (24-9, 6-0 District 4-AAA) advanced to the championship game by beating Halls in three straight semifinal sets.

The scores of the Oak Ridge-Halls semifinal sets were 25-14, 25-17, and 25-18.

The scores of the Oak Ridge-Bearden championship sets were 25-12, 25-23, and 25-17.

Lady Wildcat senior Olivia Milloway was named most valuable player of the district tournament. Seniors Emily Lawless and Reagan Dickens were named to the All District Tournament Team. [Read more…]

Football photos: Oak Ridge-Karns

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Oak Ridge junior linebacker K-Juan Stacey-Wright (16) tackles Karns junior wide receiver Thomas Harper (10) during a 49-3 homecoming win for the Wildcats on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. Also pictured are sophomore linebacker Jacob Adams (44) and senior linebacker Matt Thompson (23). (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Oak Ridge junior linebacker K-Juan Stacey-Wright (16) tackles Karns junior wide receiver Thomas Harper (10) during a 49-3 homecoming win for the Wildcats on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. Also pictured are sophomore linebacker Jacob Adams (44) and senior linebacker Matt Thompson (23). (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

Nine Oak Ridge Wildcats scored in a 49-3 rout of Karns in the homecoming football game on Blankenship Field on Friday. Seven different Wildcats scored touchdowns, and two kickers added extra points. Here are photos by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]

Trombly resigns as soccer coach

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Jeff Trombly

Jeff Trombly

Jeff Trombly has resigned as Oak Ridge boys’ and girls’ soccer coach.

The resignation was effective immediately, Oak Ridge High School Athletic Director Mike Mullins said Tuesday.

Assistant Coach Katrina Williams will be the interim girls’ soccer coach for the rest of the season, Mullins said.

A search for boys’ soccer coach will begin as soon as possible, Mullins said.

It’s not clear why Trombly resigned. Oak Ridge Today has not been able to reach Trombly for comment, but we will update this story when we can. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Fire Department’s Then & Now Parade part of 75th anniversary celebration

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Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Ed Westcott

Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Ed Westcott

 

The Oak Ridge Fire Department will be hosting a fire prevention celebration on Saturday, October 7, as part of the city’s 75th anniversary.

In the 1940s, Oak Ridge hosted a parade during Fire Prevention Week every October to help spread the word about fire safety. ORFD hopes to rekindle this tradition in honor of the City’s milestone anniversary, a press release said.

The celebration will kick off with a Then and Now-themed parade at ORFD Fire Station Number 3 on Tuskegee Drive and end at Alvin K. Bissell Park. Lineup for participants will begin at 9 a.m., with the parade getting underway at 10 a.m., the press release said.

Following the parade, everyone is invited to gather in A.K. Bissell Park at 11 a.m. for opening ceremonies that will include static displays of emergency services equipment, bounce houses, safety information booths, and emergency services demonstrations. [Read more…]

Tennessee State Museum will have fall bus excursion to Oak Ridge

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The Oak Ridge History Room (Image courtesy American Museum of Science and Energy)

The Oak Ridge History Room (Image courtesy American Museum of Science and Energy)

 

The Tennessee State Museum will have its fall bus excursion to Oak Ridge on Saturday, November 4. It will be a one-day guided trip to the former “Secret City,” a press release said.

“Local historian Ray Smith will join the bus in Oak Ridge and accompany the group on its stops at the American Museum of Science and Energy, the Y-12 History Center, as well as drive by other locations,” the press release said. “Don’t miss this chance to see the museum before it closes at the end of the year and moves to a new, smaller location.”

Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachians, the area that is now Oak Ridge was created when the U.S. government started buying up more than 50,000 acres of land for one of three major sites for the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal project to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. (Besides Oak Ridge, the other two major sites were Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.)

“Even Governor Prentice Cooper didn’t initially know what was going on as he complained about 1,000 Tennessee families losing their homes,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Football photos: Oak Ridge-West

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Oak Ridge junior defensive back Herbert Booker (13) tackles West junior wide receiver Jackson Snodgrass (11) on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Oak Ridge junior defensive back Herbert Booker (13) tackles West junior wide receiver Jackson Snodgrass (11) on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

Here are photos by Luther Simmons from the Oak Ridge football game at home on Blankenship Field against West on Friday, September 15. Oak Ridge won 23-13. It was the third win of the season, out of five games total, and the second region win of two played. [Read more…]

Football photos: Oak Ridge-Farragut

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Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Kai'Reese Pendergrass (12) is pictured above at Farragut on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Kai’Reese Pendergrass (12) is pictured above at Farragut on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

Here are photos by Luther Simmons from the Oak Ridge football game at Farragut on Friday, September 8. Oak Ridge was shut out 41-0. It was the third non-region game and the fourth game of the season. [Read more…]

Football photos: Oak Ridge vs. Dobyns-Bennett

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Pictured above is Oak Ridge senior quarterback Johnny Stewart (2) at Dobyns-Bennett in Kingsport on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Allen Greene Photography)

Pictured above is Oak Ridge senior quarterback Johnny Stewart (2) at Dobyns-Bennett in Kingsport on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Allen Greene Photography)

 

Here are photos by Allen Greene Photography from the Oak Ridge and Dobyns-Bennett football game in Kingsport on Friday, August 25. Oak Ridge lost 28-25 in this non-region game, the second of the season. [Read more…]

Four Oak Ridgers to play in Region 2 golf tournament next week

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Green Meadow Country Club in Alcoa is pictured above. (Photo courtesy Green Meadow Country Club)

Green Meadow Country Club in Alcoa is pictured above. (Photo courtesy Green Meadow Country Club)

Four Oak Ridgers are scheduled to play in the Region 2-AAA golf tournament next week.

There are two Oak Ridgers in the boys’ high school golf tournament and two in the girls’ tournament. The boys are John Estep and Jacob Parton, and the girls are Susan Henderson and Keyanna Thompson, according to schedules posted online by Bearden High School Golf.

The boys’ tournament starts at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, September 26, on the number one tee at Green Meadow Country Club in Alcoa, and the girls’ tournament begins at the same time, 8:30 a.m., at the number 10 tee. [Read more…]

Soccer photos: Oak Ridge-Farragut

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Oak Ridge freshman Katelyn Mattus (13) is pictured above at Farragut on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Oak Ridge freshman Katelyn Mattus (13) is pictured above at Farragut on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

Here are photos by Luther Simmons from the Oak Ridge girls’ soccer game at Farragut on Wednesday. [Read more…]