Oak Ridge Today

OR, AC players compete in Kentucky-Tennessee Border Bowl

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Brandon Bonds Forced Fumble

Oak Ridge Wildcat Brandon Bonds (81) forces a fumble in the first half of the Kentucky-Tennessee National Guard Border Bowl in Williamsburg, Kentucky, on Saturday, January 10, 2015. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

Four players from Oak Ridge High School and Anderson County High School participated in the Kentucky-Tennessee National Guard Border Bowl in Williamsburg, Kentucky, on Saturday.

Oak Ridge senior Brandon Bonds—who played safety, wide receiver, and punt returner for the Wildcats—forced a fumble during the first half and recovered a Kentucky fumble in the second, said Melissa Livesey of ORHS Dance Cat Boosters.

Besides Bonds, other players who were picked to play were ORHS senior offensive lineman Isaac Chapman (Chapman also played on the defensive line for the Wildcats, especially toward the end of the season); and senior running back Matt Fox and defensive end Josh Edwards, both of Anderson County High School. [Read more…]

UT College of Engineering helps kick off robot season; Secret City Wildbots take part

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Secret City Wildcats

From left to right, Eli Charles, Olivia Mahathy, Steven Charles. and Moire Gabor, part of the Secret City Wildbots from Oak Ridge High School, work on the initial stages of their robot. (Photos courtesy UT)

 

KNOXVILLE—For many, the end of football season usually means attention turns to basketball, but for more than 400 budding scientists and engineers who came to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday it marks the start of something else: robot season.

FIRST Robotics kicked off its 2015 game, Recycle Rush, with a live reveal broadcast online to teams around the world, including 29 teams who gathered at Cox Auditorium on the UT campus.

“Saturday marks the first time that any of the teams get to see the challenge of this year’s game,” said L.J. Robinson, Tennessee’s regional director of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). “The kickoff event is a big deal in its own right, with gatherings held around the world to watch the announcement.

“Certainly, it’s an exciting moment for those new to the competition.” [Read more…]

Guest column: Glad she went on schools’ tour, encourages others to go

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Art and Science Class

The microscope pictured above was in a combined class taught by art teacher Jim Dodson and science teacher John Beard at Jefferson Middle School. (Photos courtesy Mary Layton)

 

By Mary Layton

On Tuesday, December 16, I went on the inaugural Oak Ridge School’s Community Tour.

We met at the American Museum of Science and Energy bright and early at 8 am. We were divided into two groups. The Einstein Group was hosted by Tracey Beckendorf-Edou, and the Curie Group had as its leader Chris Marczak.

We began with a short history of Oak Ridge given by Ken Mayes. We were reminded of the important role our city played in World War II.

Bruce Borchers, superintendent of Oak Ridge Schools, welcomed us to the tour. He told us about the Keys to College and Career Readiness. These goals were developed by interviewing and surveying Oak Ridge students, parents, staff, and community in late 2013. The goal of the keys is to prepare students to go to college, obtain industry certification in a skill, or receive military preparation by graduation. Borchers told us that our tour would show us how they were working to obtain these goals. [Read more…]

Letter: Encourage residents, businesses to help support basketball broadcasts

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Letter to supporters of the Oak Ridge community and Oak Ridge High School basketball:

We are writing this letter to encourage any Oak Ridge basketball supporters and supporters of the community in general to consider a contribution to help get the games on the radio.

The Oak Ridge boys’ team—state runner-up in March and coached by Aaron Green—is off to a school record 14-0 start and is an exciting and fun TEAM to watch play. [Read more…]

BOE, City Council to tour possible new preschool building

Posted at
By 5 Comments

161 Mitchell Road

The Oak Ridge Board of Education and City Council will tour this building at 161 Mitchell Road on Thursday afternoon. It’s a possible new home for the Oak Ridge Preschool.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education and City Council will tour a building on Mitchell Road on Thursday afternoon that could be a new home for the Preschool.

Built as a temporary building, the current Preschool on New York Avenue is 70 years old and in need of repairs.

A new School Administration Building and Preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years. But now education officials say the Preschool has to be renovated or vacated by next year in order for the school system to continue to receive federal Head Start funding.

They’ve recommended a long-term lease for the Preschool, with an option to purchase. Oak Ridge Schools has also recommended buying the Chamber of Commerce building for a new School Administration Building and remodeling the G Building at Oak Ridge High School to accommodate administration support services, a “better defined” Alternative School program, and the ROTC program. [Read more…]

Remembered as a model community volunteer, Myrick died Sunday

Posted at
By 4 Comments

Tim and Teresa Myrick with ADFAC Bow Tie Award

Tim Myrick, left, received the 2014 Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Award from ADFAC on Oct. 30. Pictured with Myrick at Y-12’s New Hope Center is his wife Teresa. (Photo courtesy ADFAC)

Note: This story was last updated at 3:30 p.m.

Tim Myrick, one of the area’s most active community volunteers, died Sunday morning. He was at home with his wife Teresa by his side.

Friends are remembering him as a model community leader and volunteer. Myrick, who had been battling prostate cancer, had provided decades of service to the church and to Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC, as well as to Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County. He played a key role in the renovation of Oak Ridge High School and modernization work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In 2012, he and Teresa pledged $25,000 to the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation’s “Making the Critical Difference” campaign for grants and scholarships.

“We sure lost a strong advocate for our community,” said friend D. Ray Smith, who serves on both the ADFAC and Habitat for Humanity boards. [Read more…]

Students illustrate children’s book, help raise awareness of homelessness

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Student Art for Homelessness Book

TORCH, a local nonprofit that works with homeless families and low-income people, hosted its second annual art show during National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week from November 17-23.

Anderson County art students (grades seven-12) were invited to submit PIT Poster Contest entries, while younger students (grades kindergarten-six) were invited to submit illustrations for a children’s book, “The Home for Carley.”

The PIT Count is an annual, nationally mandated count of the homeless by county over a 24-hour period in the month of January. TORCH directs the PIT Count for Anderson County each year. [Read more…]

Two ORHS students win UT scholarships in statewide math contest

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

KNOXVILLE—Two Oak Ridge High School students were among 10 from across the state who received $6,000 annual scholarships to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in this year’s UT-Pro2Serve Math Contest. More than 700 students from 51 schools all across Tennessee competed in the competition, held November 6 at UT.

The scholarship winners were:

  • Joseph Andress, Oak Ridge High, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
  • Christopher Dean, Cookeville High, Cookeville, Tennessee
  • Jason Fu, Farragut High, Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Gene Li, Ravenwood High, Brentwood, Tennessee
  • Remilia Li, Pope John Paul II High, Hendersonville, Tennessee
  • Ohm J. Patel, White Station High, Memphis, Tennessee
  • Daniel Tancredi, Memphis University School, Memphis, Tennessee
  • Barbara Xiong, University School of Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee
  • Albert Xue, Oak Ridge High, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
  • Chang Yu, Memphis University School, Memphis, Tennessee

[Read more…]

Lady Wildcats sweep CAK, West at home

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

By Coach David Scott

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats swept a pair of games against CAK and West on Saturday at the Oak Ridge High School Arena.

The Lady Wildcats defeated CAK 84-71 in their first basketball game of the day. The Lady Wildcats were led in scoring by freshman post Mykia Dowdell with 17 points, and freshmen Destiny Kassner, who is returning from a lengthy bout of illness, with 14 points, including three three-pointers. Junior captain Caelyn Thompson had 12 points, and finishing out the balanced scoring were Amara Howard and Jasmine Hembry with eight each and Courtney Ellison, a sophomore point guard, who had seven.

The Lady Wildcats had a five-point lead after one quarter, and the game was tied at 40 at the half. The Lady Wildcats exploded for 24 third-quarter points and pushed out to an 11-point lead. Ellison had seven points to help the Lady Wildcats take their first win of the year. [Read more…]

Second Technology Town Hall at ORHS on Nov. 25

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Schools Logo

Oak Ridge Schools will have its second Technology Town Hall presentation and question-and-answer forum on Tuesday, November 25.

The presentation and forum are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. November 25 in the Oak Ridge High School Auditorium. Residents, parents, and students are all invited.

Superintendent Bruce Borchers will have a brief presentation talking about the benefits of Oak Ridge Schools launching an innovative learning platform that integrates technology, a press release said. Borchers’ presentation will be followed by a live classroom-based technology demonstration by teacher Chris Layton and his students at Jefferson Middle School. [Read more…]

ORHS Math Bowl team finishes second in large school competition

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Oak Ridge Schools Logo

Thirty students from Oak Ridge High School competed in the annual Pro2Serv Fermat Competition and Math Bowl on Thursday, and the school’s Math Bowl A team finished second in the large school competition, a press release said.

“Our Math Bowl teams were very competitive, with our A team narrowly losing by one point,” the release said. The A team was comprised of Albert Xue, Tina Wang, and Katherine Zhang, along with alternate Sheichen Zhang.

The B team of Vincent Jodoin, Gabe Vacaliuc, and Joe Andress, with alternate Adi Sujithkumar, also had an amazing run, but came up a match short of placing, the release said. [Read more…]

2014 Election: School board candidates talk taxes, budgets, bus routes, Preschool

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Oak Ridge Board of Education Candidates 2014

Oak Ridge Board of Education candidates are, from right, Mike Mahathy, Laura McLean, Bob Eby, Andy Howe, Paige Marshall, and Jean Hiser. Not pictured are Laurie Paine and Aaron Wells.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:10 a.m. Nov. 3.

School board candidates at two forums this campaign season expressed optimism that school officials will be able to continue to provide school bus transportation to most students in the next school year, and several said they would support a property tax rate increase if it were deemed necessary.

Bob Eby, Oak Ridge Board of Education vice chair, cited delayed staff raises and textbook purchases as well as capital project needs. Eby helped lead moves this summer to restore bus transportation to preschool students and then other students after the area where bus service is not provided was temporarily expanded to 1.5 miles as part of cost-cutting measures in June.

In August, Karen Gagliano, Oak Ridge Schools director of business and support services, said the $500,000 in fund balance money used to restore transportation and the delayed purchase of textbooks, among other things, means the school system could start the Fiscal Year 2015 budget discussions with a $1.8 million deficit, before anything new is added.

“I will ask for a tax increase next year,” Eby said. “We’ve put (off) all we can put off.” [Read more…]