Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Schools has Technology Town Hall on Sept. 30

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers will host a Technology Town Hall on September 30.

The town hall will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 30, in the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center.

“Oak Ridge Schools would like to invite all community members, parents, and students to attend,” a press release said.

The town hall will include a presentation by Borchers, followed by a question-and-answer forum.

The release said Borchers’ short presentation will discuss the benefits of Oak Ridge Schools launching a Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, platform starting the second nine weeks of school, on October 20, and the future of Oak Ridge Schools’ technology plan with a continued move towards integrating 1:1 (district-purchased devices for all students). [Read more…]

Updated: Andy Allen, missing ORHS senior, had been lost in woods

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Andy Allen

Andy Allen

Note: This story was updated at 11:20 a.m.

Andy Allen, the 17-year-old Oak Ridge High School senior who had been missing since Saturday night, has been found safe after getting lost in the woods, authorities said Tuesday morning.

Allen told deputies that he was unable to find his way out of the woods, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said.

Allen had been missing since early Sunday morning after leaving his father’s home in west Knox County on foot. He was reunited with his parents on Tuesday morning.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office said a witness saw Allen walk out of the woods on Hart Road in Knox County around 8 a.m. He then walked to the Weigel’s on Northshore Drive off Pellissippi Parkway.

“A second person identified him and called 911,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “When Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived, he had been taken to a back room at the store. Rural Metro examined him and then he was sent home with his parents.”

[Read more…]

Knox County Sheriff helps hunt for missing ORHS senior

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Andy Allen Search Party

Volunteers meet Monday morning at Concord Park to help search for Andy Allen, an Oak Ridge High School senior who was last seen at his father’s home in west Knox County on Saturday night. (Photos by Kathryn Howe)

 

Andy Allen Missing Poster

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is helping to hunt for Andy Allen, a 17-year-old senior at Oak Ridge High School.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is helping in the hunt for a west Knox County teenager and Oak Ridge High School senior who has been missing since early Sunday morning, authorities said.

Andy Allen, 17, left his home at Westland and Northshore on foot around 1 a.m. Sunday, and he was last spotted in the Northshore/Pellissippi area around 3 a.m. Sunday, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Airwatch is assisting in the search.

Allen is a white male, 5’9”, and 165 pounds, and he attends ORHS, where he is a senior.

Anyone with information is asked to call the KCSO at (865) 215-2243.

Volunteers are also helping in the search effort. Family friend Betsy Coleman and ORHS teacher Deni Sobek have coordinated that effort.

See previous story here.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

ORHS Class of 1969 has Band and BBQ Bash on Sept. 20

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The Oak Ridge High School Class of 1969 has its 45th year reunion on September 20, and the celebration will feature music, barbecue, and fun, a press release said. The event is open to everyone that would like to come.

The band Boys Night Out will perform and so will special guests: Bill Capshaw (Soul Sanction), Joe Fincher (Impacts), and Kathy Hill of Claytons’ Star Time fame.

“It’s a night of music from the ’60s and ’70s showcasing the sounds of the Temptations, Four Tops, Tams, and many others,” the press release said. Buddy’s BBQ will cater the event.

“For only $35, this will be a night to remember,” the release said. [Read more…]

Searchers hunt for missing ORHS student

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Andy Allen

Andy Allen

Note: This story was last updated at 10:10 a.m. September 2.

Friends and family are searching for a 17-year-old Oak Ridge High School student who hasn’t been seen since he left his father’s house in west Knox County on foot at midnight Saturday, a family friend said.

Searchers are meeting at 9:30 a.m. today (Monday) at Concord Park on Northshore Drive to hunt for Andy Allen, an ORHS senior, family friend Betsy Coleman said.

Allen is 5’9″ and has blue eyes, dark hair, and a shaved head, Coleman said.

Allen’s father, Kevin Allen, is an assistant district attorney general for Knox County who lives in the Northshore Drive and Westland Drive area, Coleman said.

She said the last ping from Andy’s cell phone came at about 3 a.m. between Northshore Elementary School and George Williams Road, near Concord Park. [Read more…]

ORHS Basketball Boosters have Sept. 13 golf classic

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The Oak Ridge High School Basketball Boosters have their 17th Annual Basketball Golf Classic on September 13.

All proceeds will benefit the ORHS boys’ basketball program.

The tournament is $75 per player (four-person scramble). It’s at Centennial Golf Course, and there is an 8 a.m. shotgun start. Lunch is provided, and there is a breakfast from 7:30-9 a.m. ($5 donation).

There are prizes, a free gift bag, and a hole-in-one prize.

There are sponsorship opportunities.

See this flyer for more information: 2014 Golf Tournament Flyer.

ORHS Class of 72 has 60th b-day party at Concord Yacht Club

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The Oak Ridge High School Class of 72 is hosting a 60th birthday party on Saturday, September 13, from 7-11:30 p.m. at Concord Yacht Club in Farragut.

All ORHS classes are welcome, a press release said.

“Come help us celebrate our birthday!” the release said. “There will be a live band (The Blair Xperience), plenty of food, and casual dress.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge High School has open house on Thursday

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Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

Oak Ridge High School will have an open house on Thursday, August 28, beginning at 5:15 p.m. in the Food Court. Parents are asked to print their student’s schedule prior to the event from Skyward Family Access.

From 5:15 to 6 p.m., school guidance counselors will have PSAT sign up, freshman TCAP results, and senior information tables. School clubs and community organizations will have information tables set up during this time. Pizza will be available for $2 and drinks for $1. PTSO will be accepting donations of Kleenex and hand sanitizer for teacher use.

Beginning at 6 p.m., parents will meet in the Auditorium for a short welcome from Principal David Bryant and the PTSO officers. Then, parents will follow their children’s schedule, period by period, spending about 10 minutes with each teacher. Hall guides will be provided to direct parents.

Parents are encouraged to take this opportunity to join the Parent Teacher Student Organization at the PTSO membership table. The majority of PTSO funding comes from membership dues and donations. All donations are tax-deductible. All money raised remains in the school and is used to communicate important information and dates via newsletters, express appreciation to teachers, fund teacher grants, and make contributions to various academic departments and activities.

ORPD: Intoxicated man poses as ORHS student

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William Edward Lay

William Edward Lay

A 25-year-old Sunbright man who was intoxicated tried to “pass himself off” as an Oak Ridge High School student in at least two classrooms last week, the first week of school, before being stopped in a second floor hallway during a class change, authorities said.

William Edward Lay had obtained a student’s classroom schedule, but he had no identification and continuously gave School Resource Officer Sherrill Selby the wrong birth date, Social Security number, and other identifying information, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

Selby, an Oak Ridge Police Department officer, said Lay was unsteady on his feet and fell into the wall several times. She had been called to investigate a report of a suspicious male walking around and into classrooms at ORHS.

“Defendant’s eyes were red and glassy looking,” Selby said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools announces ACT results for 2013-2014 graduates

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Submitted

The ACT college entrance examination “assesses high school students’ general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work.” Students are tested in English, mathematics, reading, and science. They receive a score between one and 36 for each test and also a composite score, which averages the performance on all four subject tests.

The ACT is widely accepted as the premier college entrance examination.

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said: “In the Oak Ridge Schools, we believe it is crucial for our students to perform well on the ACT examination. It is one of our Seven Keys to College and Career Readiness, and we are proud of how students perform on the ACT and of our teachers who prepare them. This year is no exception.”

The 2014 Oak Ridge High Schools graduating class significantly outperformed the state and national averages on each of the subject components of the ACT examination as well as the overall composite. In fact, Oak Ridge’s 2014 graduating class achieved higher in English, mathematics, reading, and composite than any other ORHS graduating class in the past five years. In addition, the percent of ORHS’s 2014 graduates that met or exceeded all four of the ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores was far higher than the state and nation. [Read more…]

‘Cats host Atomic Play Day

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Powell and St. Mary's Volleyball

Powell #4 defensive specialist receives a hard hit ball from St. Mary’s. (Submitted photos)

 

The Oak Ridge High School VolleyCats hosted their 5th Annual Atomic Play Day earlier this month.

The Atomic Play Day is a play day for local middle school teams. Oak Ridge High School started a tradition of bringing local middle schools together to play in an all-day tournament format. The Atomic Play Day, which began in 2009, hosted eight teams.

This year, 21 middle school teams from Anderson, Knox, and Roane counties played lots of great volleyball in an all-day scrimmage, a press release said. [Read more…]

Second annual Wildcat Day to feature pep rally, pizza, fireworks

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Wildcat Day 2014

The second annual Wildcat Day on Saturday, August 23, will feature a pep rally, free pizza and hot dogs, and fireworks, a press release said.

The 2014 Oak Ridge High School football squad will also be introduced.

Wildcat Day starts at 7 p.m. August 23 at Ben Martin Track at Oak Ridge High School. It’s been organized by members of the Oak Ridge Quarterback Club.

“Although the planning window is short, the organizers hope to recreate the success of last year’s community pep rally that drew over 3,000 Wildcat fans,” said Len Hart, president of the Quarterback Club. “The Quarterback Club has been busy this summer with fundraising efforts, including the recent success with the Temptations concert. We just wrote a check to complete the grading and reseeding of the bank at Blankenship’s north end zone. Before we knew it, Wildcat Day was upon us—something Coach Gaddis assured us he wanted to do the week before the first football game.” [Read more…]