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Band camp student tests positive for COVID-19

Posted at 2:36 pm July 25, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A student at the Oak Ridge High School band camp last week tested positive for COVID-19 this week, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to community members Wednesday.

The student learned of the positive test result Tuesday night. The student did not report any symptoms before learning of the diagnosis, Borchers said. But before learning of the positive test result this week, the student had been in contact with other students and staff members during band camp through Tuesday of last week, Borchers said.

The student’s positive test result this week follows a positive test result of a band camp instructor last week. Neither the student nor the instructor are being publicly identified.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: band camp, Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools

ORHS band camp instructor tests positive for COVID-19

Posted at 5:28 pm July 15, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 5:45 p.m.

An instructor at the Oak Ridge High School band camp has tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to parents on Wednesday.

The band camp instructor, who worked with multiple students and staff members, had no symptoms before learning of the positive test result Wednesday morning, Borchers said.

The instructor, who isn’t being publicly identified, was immediately separated from the band camp and told to contact the appropriate county health department to report the diagnosis and ask for guidance, Borchers said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: band camp, Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools

Peaceful protest, conversation about race planned Tuesday

Posted at 7:06 pm June 1, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Marriah, right, and Ziyah march for Black Lives Matter on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on Sunday, May 31, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A peaceful protest and a conversation about race relations are scheduled for Tuesday in Oak Ridge.

The conversation about race relations in the United States and Oak Ridge is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday. It’s between Oak Ridge City Council member Derrick Hammond, who is a pastor; Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith; and local youth. You can watch it live on Facebook at the Oak Ridge Police Department page and on the Oak Valley Baptist Church website at oakvalleybc.com.

The peaceful protest is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of Wildcat Arena at Oak Ridge High School. Participants will make signs and shirts there. At 5 p.m., they plan to march to the International Friendship Bell at Alvin K. Bissell Park, organizer Trevor King said in a Facebook post.

The Oak Ridge Police Department will be there and will participate, although it’s not a city event. Smith will walk across the street with everyone, and he has been asked to speak, City of Oak Ridge spokesperson Lauren Gray said Monday.

King said everyone is welcome to attend Tuesday’s event.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Federal, Front Page News, Government Tagged With: Black Lives Matter, Derek Chauvin, Derrick Hammond, Donald Trump, George Floyd, International Friendship Bell Peace Pavilion, Lauren Gray, Marriah, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Police Department, peaceful protest, race relations, Robin Smith, Trevor King, Walter Headley, Wildcat Arena

Drive-by graduation celebration at ORHS on Tuesday

Posted at 1:33 pm May 26, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

There will be a drive-by celebration to honor graduates at Oak Ridge High School this afternoon (Tuesday, May 26).

The drive-by celebration is scheduled from 3 to 3:30 p.m. on Providence Road. It’s a student-led event, not an official school event.

There are some rules for the celebration:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Front Page News, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: drive-by celebration, graduation, Oak Ridge High School, ORHS

Only those who meet CDC criteria can be tested Friday

Posted at 10:33 am April 17, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020, in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Only people who meet certain criteria can be tested for COVID-19 at Oak Ridge High School today (Friday, April 17).

The criteria, established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include only people with COVID-19 symptoms, first responders, health care workers, and patients who may have been exposed to the virus, the City of Oak Ridge said Thursday night.

COVID-19 symptoms include fever, cough, or shortness of breath. COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

Appointments for testing must be made online at KrogerHealth.com/COVIDtesting or by phone at (888) 837-8852.

If someone who meets CDC criteria is unable to register online or by phone, they can be registered on site, but they still need to meet the CDC criteria, the city said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Health, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, City of Oak Ridge, COVID-19, drive-through testing, Kroger Health, Oak Ridge High School

Updated: Kroger Health testing all, regardless of symptoms

Posted at 10:57 am April 16, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020 in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. Note: Some people’s faces have been blurred in the photo above to protect patient privacy. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Friday update: Only people who meet certain criteria can be tested for COVID-19 at Oak Ridge High School today (Friday, April 17). See newer story here.

Kroger Health is now testing everyone at an Oak Ridge site, regardless of whether they show symptoms of COVID-19, a city spokesperson said Thursday morning.

The testing site opened at Oak Ridge High School on Wednesday morning, and it is open through Friday afternoon.

Initially, those who wanted to be tested had to have symptoms and meet testing criteria. Symptoms of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly, include fever, cough, or shortness of breath.

But the testing criteria changed after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Wednesday announced free testing for all Tennessee residents.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, COVID-19, Government, Health, Health, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: Bill Lee, City of Oak Ridge, COVID-19, free testing, Kroger Health, Lauren Gray, Oak Ridge High School

COVID-19: Oak Ridge Schools cancel Safety Patrol trip

Posted at 12:11 pm March 12, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 5:35 p.m. March 15.

Oak Ridge Schools has cancelaed an elementary school Safety Patrol trip to Washington, D.C., but the Oak Ridge High School winter guard and percussion trip to Suwanee, Georgia, is still scheduled to occur.

Update: The WGI has canceled all future events, and the ORHS Indoor Percussion will not be traveling to Georgia. But they did perform at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Friday. It’s not clear if the status of the band and orchestra trip mentioned below has changed.

Regarding another trip, the Oak Ridge Board of Education did not vote in a meeting on Wednesday to cancel the ORHS band and orchestra trip to New York City at this time. But school officials plan to keep monitoring conditions in New York City.

The school board was considering the status of the trips because of concerns about COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: band and orchestra trip, coronavirus, COVID-19, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools, ORHS, Safety Patrol trip, winter guard and percussion trip

First ORHS Middle College class at Roane State about to graduate

Posted at 11:43 pm January 16, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School Roane State Community College Middle College 2020
Pictured is the first class of Roane State Middle College students from Oak Ridge High School. Seated from left are Aamariah Crow, Isabella Kelly, Chloe Mallett, Savannah Shropshire, Selena Sterling, and Christina Thomas. Standing from left are Caroline Webb, Katie Swigert, Haley Snyder, Jacob Wright, Shaelyn Deal, and Cameille Schubert. Not pictured: Cameron Malone and Marissa Colvais. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

One wants to be a doctor. Another, a lawyer involved in immigration cases. Two plan to become engineers, another wants to be involved in mission work, and one intends to work as an ultrasound technician.

They are among 14 Oak Ridge High School students who are members of the first Roane State Community College Middle College class, and they’re getting ready to graduate this spring, both from high school and college.

Although they have varying career goals, they have several things in common. They all say they have enjoyed their Middle College experiences, they’ve all been accepted to colleges and universities to continue their educations, and they’re fans of their advisor and English instructor, Assistant Roane State Professor Margaret “Maggie” Bouldin.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Education, Front Page News, K-12, Slider Tagged With: Aamariah Crow, Cameille Schubert, Cameron Malone, Caroline Webb, Chloe Mallett, Christina Thomas, David Lane, Haley Snyder, Isabella Kelly, Jacob Wright, Katie Swigert, Margaret "Maggie" Bouldin, Marissa Colvais, Middle College, Oak Ridge High School, ORHS, Roane State Community College, Savannah Shropshire, Selena Sterling, Shaelyn Deal

Reminder: ORHS Masquers presents ‘Little Women’

Posted at 8:51 am November 16, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

A reminder: Oak Ridge High School Masquers is presenting “Little Women” at the high school this weekend.

The first show was Thursday evening in the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center at ORHS.

The next two shows are at 7 p.m. Saturday, November 16, and 2 p.m. Sunday, November 17, also in the Performing Arts Center.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Entertainment, Front Page News, K-12, Theater Tagged With: Little Women, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge High School Masquers, ORHS Masquers

Soccer: Oak Ridge girls win district championship

Posted at 10:45 am October 21, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer team won the District 3-AAA soccer tournament championship with a 1-0 win over Powell at Oak Ridge High School on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge won the District 3-AAA girls soccer championship with a 1-0 victory over Powell at Oak Ridge High School on Thursday.

It was the first time the Lady Wildcats have won the district championship since 2016. The Lady Panthers won the title in 2015—the first-ever district title for the Powell girls—and again in 2017 and 2018.

Seniors on this year’s Oak Ridge team were freshmen the last time the Lady Wildcats won the district title. Oak Ridge and Powell have played for the district championship five years in a row.

On Thursday, Oak Ridge senior Katie O’Brien scored the winning goal on a breakaway after a pass from junior Katelyn Mattus in the center of the field in the 53rd minute. O’Brien, who has committed to play soccer at Maryville College, got behind the Powell defense, came into the center, and shot the ball into the left side of the net, Oak Ridge Coach Tom Gorman said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Slider, Sports, Sports Tagged With: Alyssa Tittsworth, District 3-AAA, district championship, Izzy Wang, Jaiden Weston, Jennie Pont Briant, Katelyn Mattus, Katie O'Brien, Lady Panthers, Lady Wildcats, Maddie Peters, Maryville, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge High School, Powell, Rachael Brewer, Region 2-AAA, Sade Lee, Sami Jaffery, Sarah Hammons, soccer, Taylor Del Toro, Tom Gorman

Benita Albert to highlight Oak Ridge schools in Aug. 27 talk

Posted at 10:09 pm August 15, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Benita Albert
Benita Albert

Noted educator Benita Albert will speak at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, August 27.

The talk is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. in the City Room (A-111) of the Coffey-McNally Building.

Titled “SPECIAL (Students, Parents, Educators: A Community’s Incredible Alliance with Learning),” the talk will highlight the decades in the Oak Ridge public school system from the 1940s to the present, a press release said. Albert will cite exceptional teachers’ contributions, share candid student observations, and relate stories of alumni of Oak Ridge Schools who have become important world citizens, the release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Front Page News, K-12 Tagged With: Benita Albert, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, Oak Ridge Schools, ORICL, Roane State Community College

Geothermal well system leaking under ORHS soccer field

Posted at 11:37 am August 2, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The geothermal well system is leaking under the soccer field at Oak Ridge High School, requiring emergency repairs to prevent classroom heat pumps from shutting down, school officials said.

“Recently, we lost a section of the geothermal wellfield to leaks in the well system that would require extensive exploratory excavation to locate and repair the leaks,” said Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools maintenance and operations supervisor. “This option is not possible due to the location of the wellfield under the soccer field and the extensive cost of excavation and replacement of field damage. The wellfield is now operating at below 80 percent capacity, and the need for the cooling tower to be the primary source of water cooling is imperative to prevent shutdown of the classroom heat pumps.”

Thacker said the heat pumps serve all of the Learning Center, most of Comprehensive Studies, part of the Wellness Center, Visual Arts, and administration areas.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Front Page News, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Allen Thacker, Bruce Lay, geothermal well, heat pumps, hydronic loop, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools, soccer field, wellfield

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