Oak Ridge Today

Wetland restoration project on Melton Lake Greenway on March 5

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Melton Lake Wetland Restoration

The Healthy Waters Program in Oak Ridge will be conducting an invasive plant removal on the Melton Lake Greenway, under the Edgemoor Road bridge, on Sunday, March 5, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

This is in an effort to restore a wetland along the greenway by removing non-native invasive plants, cleaning up trash, and planting native trees, grasses, and flowers, a press release said.

Tina Ball and Caitlin Craighead, the AmeriCorps members serving in Oak Ridge with the Public Works Department’s Stormwater Management Program, have received a grant through the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, or TWRA, to make this project possible, the press release said. [Read more…]

Help identify photos in Oak Ridge Library’s Ruth Carey collection

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From the Oak Ridge Public Library Ruth Carey photo collection (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

From the Oak Ridge Public Library Ruth Carey photo collection (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Public Library needs your help. The library is privileged to house the photography collection of Ruth Carey, an original Oak Ridge resident and longtime photographer for The Oak Ridger from the 1960s to the mid-1990s. Her photo collection is vast and varied, including pictures of key political and cultural figures, community events, and weddings. Figures such as Alex Haley and Guilford Glazer, for instance, appear in several photos. Unfortunately, many of the photographs do not include notes about who is in the photo or when or where it was taken.

With the help of volunteers, Oak Ridge Public Library staff members Teresa Fortney and Jordan Reed have begun digitizing the collection. Some of the photographs that have been digitized are available for public viewing online at www.orpl.org. However, Carey’s collection was so comprehensive, only a portion of the total number of photographs have been digitized. As the library continues its digitization efforts, it is important that the people and places are identified so as not to lose this important part of our history. [Read more…]

Girls basketball photos: Oak Ridge-Powell

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Oak Ridge junior forward Mykia Dowdell (34) was named most valuable player and she led the Lady Wildcats with 21 points during a 59-34 win over Powell at Clinton during the District 3-AAA championship at Clinton on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Oak Ridge junior forward Mykia Dowdell (34) was named most valuable player and she led the Lady Wildcats with 21 points during a 59-34 win over Powell at Clinton during the District 3-AAA championship at Clinton on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

CLINTON—Oak Ridge junior Mykia Dowdell was named most valuable player and the Lady Wildcats won their second straight District 3-AAA championship with a 59-34 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday. Here are photos from the basketball game by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]

Basketball: Wildcats, Lady Wildcats to play for district championships today

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats will play for the District 3-AAA basketball championship against Powell at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 21, at Clinton High School. The Lady Wildcats are pictured above with Coach Paige Green in the championship game of the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic in Greeneville on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—The Oak Ridge Wildcats and Lady Wildcats will both play Powell for District 3-AAA championships today. The girls’ game starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 21, at Clinton High School, and the boys’ game begins at 7:30 p.m.

The Lady Wildcats (25-3) advanced to the championship game by beating Anderson County 61-45 in a District 3-AAA semifinal game at Clinton on Saturday.

It’s the second year in a row that Oak Ridge is playing for the district championship. Last year, the Lady Wildcats won the title by beating Campbell County 52-34 at Anderson County High School. That was their first district championship since 2010.

Oak Ridge went on to play in the state tournament and finished as runner-up in Class AAA. [Read more…]

Wildcats put on show. The highlight: A between-the-legs dunk

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Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5) crosses the ball between his legs, from his left hand to his right, on a dunk during a 111-77 semifinal win at Clinton in the District 3-AAA tournament on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—You’ve probably never seen this in a high school basketball game before. You might not ever seen it again. A between-the-legs dunk.

It happened Saturday night in Clinton. Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins told Coach Aaron Green at halftime during a District 3-AAA semifinal game that he was going to do the between-the-legs dunk if he had a chance.

That was okay, Green said, as long as Higgins made it. He did.

Higgins was wide open on a break from half court, and after launching into the air, he moved the basketball between his legs from his left hand to his right before winding up and slamming it through the hoop with his right.

The move fired up fans. Even Clinton fans enjoyed it.

Green said you might not even see that kind of dunk in college or NBA games.

“Those are dunks that are done in dunking contests,” he said. “I wish I could do that, to be honest with you.” [Read more…]

Basketball photos: Wildcats at Fulton

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Oak Ridge Higgins Layup Fulton Feb 11 2017 Simmons Web

Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5), making a layup here, scored a career-high 33 points during a 76-65 win at Fulton on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

KNOXVILLE—Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins scored 33 points, a career high, during a 76-65 win at Fulton on Saturday. Here are photos from the basketball game by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]

Higgins scores 33, a career high, during win over Fulton

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Oak Ridge Higgins Shoots Fulton Feb 11 2017 Simmons Web

Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5) scored 33 points, a career high, during a 76-65 win at Fulton on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

KNOXVILLE—Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins scored 33 points, a career high, during a 76-65 win at Fulton on Saturday.

Higgins hit three three-point shots, made 12 free throws (he had 14 attempts), and pulled down 10 rebounds.

“He told me on the way over here he was ready to go,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.

Falcons fans remember Higgins. In the last game at Jody Wright Arena two years ago—the gym was loud, hot, and packed that night, too—Higgins hit a three-point shot with 3.1 seconds left to give Oak Ridge a one-point victory. The Wildcats had been down by two, but Higgins, who was then a sophomore, finished the dramatic all-out battle between the two top-five teams. Besides the game-winning three-pointer, he had 20 points and 14 rebounds in that classic game.

The Wildcats didn’t get off to a great start this year in the non-district game on Saturday, the last of the regular season for Oak Ridge. Fulton jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and led for much of the first quarter.

“We gave up some easy points defensively,” Green said. [Read more…]

Basketball photos: Lady Wildcats at Fulton

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Oak Ridge Kassner Fulton Feb 11 2017 Simmons

Oak Ridge junior forward Destiny Kassner (30) grabs a rebound during a 48-47 loss at Fulton on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. The game was decided on a free throw with 0.2 seconds left. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats lost a close 48-47 game that was decided by a free throw in the final 0.2 seconds at Fulton on Saturday. Here are photos by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]

Tied with Oak Ridge, Fulton wins on free throw with 0.2 seconds left

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Oak Ridge Guinn Drive Fulton Feb 11 2017 Simmons

Oak Ridge sophomore Jada Guinn (24), shown driving to the basket here, scored a game-high 27 points during a 48-47 loss at Fulton on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. The game was decided on a free throw with 0.2 seconds left. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

KNOXVILLE—It was the closest game of the year for the Lady Wildcats, and it was decided on a free throw after a controversial foul was called with 0.2 seconds left.

The half court foul, beyond the three-point line, sent Fulton junior LayLay Manning to the line to shoot three times. Giving hope to Oak Ridge fans, who wanted overtime, she missed the first two. But after timeouts were called, Manning dropped in the third free throw, giving the Lady Falcons a 48-47 win over Oak Ridge in a non-district game on Saturday, the last of the regular season.

It was a battle throughout, with the two teams regularly trading leads. Most of the time, neither team led by more than four points. One reporter compared it to a state championship game.

Fulton (22-4, 7-2 District 3-AA) was led by Keke McKinney, a 6-foot-1 senior forward who announced in October that she is going to Kentucky. She scored 22 points in the hot, loud, packed Jody Wright Arena on Saturday.

Oak Ridge (24-3, 16-0 District 3-AAA) was led by Jada Guinn, a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard. She scored a game-high 27 points, with 18 in the second half alone. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Graduation Celebration needs your help

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Students always enjoy the “photo booth” at Graduation Celebration. This was taken at the June 2016 party. (Submitted photo)

Students always enjoy the “photo booth” at Graduation Celebration. This was taken at the June 2016 party. (Submitted photo)

 

For 20 years, the Oak Ridge community has hosted Graduation Celebration, a safe, all-night party for high school graduates at the Civic Center in Oak Ridge. And for 20 years, there has not been even one car accident involving a student on graduation night in Oak Ridge. Isn’t that amazing? That’s something to celebrate.

And we’re set to do it again June 1, 2017, with games, food, $13,000 in prizes, and scholarships, all night long in a party that has no drugs or alcohol and welcomes every student who graduates. About 85 percent or more of the ORHS senior class attends each year.

And yet today, Graduation Celebration needs your help. Donations were down last year, and volunteers have moved on as their children have graduated. The organization needs more of both! Can you help? [Read more…]

Here’s what people said they’d like to see in Oak Ridge

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An estimated 400 people attended a kick-off meeting for an Oak Ridge City Blueprint at Grove Theater on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

An estimated 400 people attended a kick-off meeting for an Oak Ridge City Blueprint at Grove Theater on Thursday.

Among other things, people were asked what type of project they would like to see in the community. Here are some responses. This list does not include all responses.

  • A bicycle path or greenway on the old railway that runs from the Y-12 National Security Complex, through central Oak Ridge past Jefferson Middle School, and to Melton Lake Drive.
  • A roundabout at the five-way intersection of Providence and East Pasadena roads, and East Tennessee, North Tulane, and Pennsylvania avenues (many residents refer to it as “malfunction junction”). This proposal had both support and opposition.
  • A roundabout or light at Melton Lake Drive and Emory Valley Road (this roundabout also had support and opposition).
  • Remove unused or dilapidated buildings.
  • An airport.
  • Sidewalks and crosswalk lights in downtown Oak Ridge.
  • A box culvert to connect Ernie’s Creek in east Oak Ridge to Melton Hill Lake.
  • A handicap-inclusive playground at Melton Lake Park.
  • A senior center and active senior living.
  • City-wide high-speed wireless Internet.
  • An improvement to the crosswalk on Melton Lake Drive because drivers are not stopping.
  • Upgrade or modify a different building for the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter.
  • Keep Elm Grove Park as a park.
  • Make city parks more inviting, including with picnic tables, benches, and recycling containers.
  • Maintain and clean roads and sidewalks for “curb appeal.”

[Read more…]

Get update on Manhattan Project National Park on Thursday

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Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson

 

You can hear an update on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, during a Thursday evening meeting.

The meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 9, at the Midtown Community Center’s Wildcat Den at 102 Robertsville Road. It’s open to the public.

Robert Johnson will present an update on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge. He will discuss the status of the park and announce upcoming events, a press release said.

Here are some links to website pages on the park, which also includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico: [Read more…]