Oak Ridge Today

Spotlight: Farley donates to ORHS boys’ basketball team for state tournament

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Michael Farley and Oak Ridge Wildcats

Michael Farley, center, donated $500 to the Oak Ridge Wildcats boys basketball team to help them travel to the state tournament in March. (Submitted photos)

Michael Farley, a candidate for Anderson County chancellor, made a $500 donation to the Oak Ridge High School boys’ basketball team in March to help them travel to the state tournament.

“The donation was extremely helpful in covering our cost, and myself and the team are very appreciative,” Coach Aaron Green said in a press release.

In the press release, Farley said he has always been a big donor to athletics in Anderson County, supporting individual athletes and teams at the optimist, middle, and high school levels for more than 20 years. [Read more…]

Battle of the Solway Bridge track meet in Oak Ridge on Tuesday

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Ben Martin Track

The Ben Martin Track at Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

Oak Ridge will host the first annual Battle of the Solway Bridge at the Ben Martin Track on Tuesday.

“This dual meet against Hardin Valley Academy pits two track powers against each other 1-1,” Oak Ridge Coach Allen Etheridge said. “We will line up our best people in our best events against theirs.

“There’s a gaudy 36-inch trophy for the winner.”

The field events start at 5 p.m., and track events begin at 6 p.m.

Several hundred compete in Ben Martin Middle School track meet

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Ben Martin Invitational

Several hundred students from five regional middle schools, including Jefferson and Robertsville, competed in the Ben Martin Middle School Invitational track meet in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

Several hundred students from five middle schools competed in the first-ever Ben Martin Middle School Invitational track meet in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

The meet was named after Ben Martin, a legendary Sports Hall of Fame coach who won seven state championships as track coach at Oak Ridge High School. Thursday’s meet was at Ben Martin Track at the high school.

Martin was the first ORHS track and football coach, and he won championships in both sports and began the entire athletic program at the high school, ORHS Cross Country Coach Allen Etheridge said.

“I talked with longtime Oak Ridge coach Winston Russell today, who told me that he remembered coach Martin as the guy who was always there, the guy who would coach anyone at any time,” Etheridge said Monday. “(Martin) was an assistant football coach and was head basketball coach.”

Athletes from Cherokee, Jefferson, Karns, Rhea County, and Robertsville middle schools competed in Thursday’s meet, which included events ranging from relays and hurdles to long jumps and high jumps. [Read more…]

ORHS students work on branding, design ideas with mall redevelopment company

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ORHS Students Work on Mall Redevelopment

Standing from left to right are Buddy McWilliams, Payne Adkins, Abigail Clanton, and Chris Giese. Seated from left to right are Wesley Robinson and Alex Tavangaran. (Photo courtesy J. Clint LaFollette)

Submitted

For three classes at Oak Ridge High School, the future of the old Oak Ridge Mall property is something the students are taking personally. Nearly 60 students in the Digital Arts and Design and Virtual Enterprise classes have been working on a branding strategy for the once-thriving retail site, and their top ideas will be presented to Crosland Southeast, the Charlotte-based firm that has been working with the City of Oak Ridge to develop a plan to establish a multi-use work-live-play-shop destination.

“It has been an exciting project to work on, because there have been several attempts to revitalize this property, and all have failed due to, among other things, the lack of focus on the specific interest of Oak Ridge residents,” said Buddy McWilliams, an ORHS senior who is working on the project. “Crosland Southeast has shown that they want to be successful by looking at the interest of students and others who will be using the property.”

Crosland Southeast approached Oak Ridge School Board Chairman Keys Fillauer with the idea to work with the students, and an enthusiastic Fillauer discussed it with ORHS Principal David Bryant and teachers Linda Ousley and Clint Lafollette, and the project was off and running.

Ousley is the facilitator of the school’s Virtual Enterprise program. Ousley said that Crosland Southeast will get a good cross-section of Oak Ridge opinion by talking with the students, and the students are getting excellent experience they can use on their future resumes. [Read more…]

ORHS cross country hosts middle school track meets named for legendary coaches

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On Thursday, the Oak Ridge High School cross country teams will host the first ever Ben Martin Middle School Invitational track meet at the Ben Martin Track at ORHS. The meet will include eight teams. Each event will contain two heats, and a new FinishLynx fully automatic timing system will be used to time them. Field events start at 4:30 p.m., and the meet begins at about 5:45 p.m.

“This is a great step for ORHS middle school track,” Coach Allen Etheridge said.

The teams will do the same on Thursday, April 10, at the Jim McNamee Middle School Invitational.

“We named these meets after two legendary Sports Hall of Fame coaches because they are important to the history of athletics at Oak Ridge High School,” Etheridge said. “Coach Martin was the first ORHS track and football coach who won championships in both sports and began the entire athletic program at ORHS. Coach Mac won eight state titles in cross country and one in girls track before retiring in 2004. We aim to do both coaches proud by hosting a top-quality track and field meet.”

ORHS Class of 1984 has 30th reunion in July

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The Oak Ridge High School Class of 1984 has scheduled a 30th Reunion Celebration for July 18-20. All 1984 ORHS graduates are asked to save these dates on their calendar and help spread the word to others, a press release said.

Class members who have not already received e-mail notification should contact Lynda Van Winkle at lvw@akcountrygirl.com to be added to the distribution list.

An evening event will take place at the Doubletree Hotel on Saturday, July 19.

Additional activities, including a tour of the renovated ORHS campus and a family picnic are currently being planned. All 1984 graduates are encouraged to participate in a weekend of great fun catching up with old classmates, a press release said.

ORHS Wildbots going to world championships after regional robotics win

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Secret City Wildbots FIRST Robotics Team

Oak Ridge High School’s “Wildbot” #4265 was among the winners at the Smoky Mountains Regional Robotics Challenge held this past weekend, and the team will now go to St. Louis for the World Championship. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)

By Mike Wehrenberg

The Smoky Mountains Regional High School Robotics Competition had an extremely successful event this past weekend, and Oak Ridge High School was one of the three regional winners. Collierville High School outside Memphis won the Rookie All Star award.

Both of these Tennessee high schools will receive an invitation to the world championships at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, where the Rams football team plays. About 50,000 people will be in attendance at the end of April for that competition.

This was our fourth year of competition at the Knoxville Convention Center in a game called Aerial Assist. Thirty-five teams from Tennessee competed, along with 14 teams from the surrounding states of Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It was a fantastic, “graciously professional,” and exciting event, with all the teams representing themselves, their STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs, and their ability to set and achieve goals in an powerful and emotional way.

Other Tennessee news of note: [Read more…]

Teen confesses to starting Linden car fire, police say

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Linden Elementary School Car Fire

An Oak Ridge teenager has confessed to starting a car fire at Linden Elementary School on March 8, and police are investigating other fires near the school that could be linked to the vehicle arson, authorities said Monday. (Photos by Tom Scott)

Note: This story was updated at 7:35 p.m.

An Oak Ridge teenager has confessed to starting a car fire at Linden Elementary School on March 8, and police are investigating other fires near the school that could be linked to the vehicle arson, authorities said Monday.

Jovon Brooks, 18, was identified through a combination of video surveillance tapes from Linden, independent information that the suspect could be an Oak Ridge High School student, and the work of Oak Ridge Police Department school resource officers and the Criminal Investigations Division, a press release said.

ORPD school resource officers reviewed video surveillance tapes from Linden Elementary School, and they showed a young man walking toward the car with a brick in his hand, the press release said.

“The Criminal Investigations Division then developed independent information the suspect was possibly an Oak Ridge High School student, which allowed school resource officers to positively identify the suspect as Jovon Brooks, 18 years of age,” the release said. “(He) resides in the neighborhood surrounding Linden school. Detectives interviewed Mr. Brooks, who confessed to starting the fire.”

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools selects Teacher Leaders

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The Oak Ridge School system has announced its selections for Teacher Leaders for the 2014-15 school year.

The Teacher Leader initiative was conceived and launched as a result of the Tennessee Department of Education’s push to create a differentiated pay scale for teachers in all counties. The department encouraged systems to either adopt a structure where teachers receive pay bonuses based on student test scores and eliminate increases in pay for advanced degrees or years of service, or adopt programs that ask teachers to take on greater responsibilities in schools.

“When presented with the opportunity to reward teachers for their dedicated and outstanding service, we decided not to get rid of our steps and lanes that reward teachers for their time and dedication to the classroom and earning advanced degrees, but rather recognize teachers that step up and take on greater leadership roles around STEM, analyzing data, and reinforcing professional learning communities,” said Bruce Borchers, Oak Ridge Schools superintendent. [Read more…]

Council does not extend traffic camera contract

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Traffic Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

The Oak Ridge City Council did not extend the traffic camera contract with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz., on Monday, and the current five-year contract expires April 21.

Note: This story was last updated at 8:30 a.m. March 25.

After five years, some vigorous opposition, and a few contentious meetings, the traffic cameras in Oak Ridge will be removed. The Oak Ridge City Council did not extend the five-year contract with the camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems, on Monday.

The vote to extend the contract for two years with a few changes was 3-4.

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller, and Council member Charlie Hensley voted in favor of the extension. Council members Trina Baughn, Anne Garcia Garland, Chuck Hope, and David Mosby voted “no.” The current contract expires April 21.

Among the proposed changes, if an extension had been granted, were mobile units, different camera locations, and a new revenue split between the city and Redflex.

[Read more…]

Redflex prepared to discuss options on traffic camera contract

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Traffic Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike

The traffic camera for the westbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike in front of Oak Ridge High School is pictured above. More than half of the speeding violations issued in 2013 were for vehicles driving west here.

Note: This story was last updated at 4:17 p.m. March 24.

Oak Ridge City Council could consider extending the controversial traffic camera contract on Monday, but not without some changes. Among the proposed changes are mobile units, different camera locations, and a new revenue split between the city and the camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., of Phoenix, Ariz.

On Thursday, Redflex said it is negotiating these and other issues with Oak Ridge officials.

“Redflex is very proud of our five-year public safety partnership with the City of Oak Ridge,” said Jody Ryan, Redflex communications director. “We are prepared to discuss various options to ensure the city’s traffic safety camera program is comprehensive and provides the highest public safety value.”

Council has been presented two options to consider during a special Monday night meeting. One would extend the five-year contract for two years with the changes. A second would end the program when the current agreement expires April 21. [Read more…]

Council considers ending, extending traffic cameras on Monday

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Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider extending or ending the traffic camera contract.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider extending a controversial traffic camera contract for two years, or ending it.

The Council postponed a vote earlier this month. It will now be considered during a special 7 p.m. meeting on Monday.

The current five-year contract with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. of Arizona expires April 21. If it’s not extended, the city staff has asked Council to consider installing a traffic signal in front of the Oak Ridge High School on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The high school stoplight would have to be approved by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. It could cost $150,000 to $200,000 and take nine months to install. [Read more…]