Oak Ridge Today

City board recommends senior center at Civic Center; will ask for $50K for conceptual studies

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Oak-Ridge-Civic-Center-March-7-2016

A city board has recommended that the Oak Ridge Senior Center be located at the Civic Center on Oak Ridge Turnpike, and the board will ask the City Council to consider $50,000 for conceptual studies, possibly in April. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

An Oak Ridge board has recommended that the city’s senior center be located at the Civic Center and Alvin K. Bissell Park, and the board will ask the City Council, possibly in April, to consider $50,000 for conceptual studies.

The Oak Ridge Senior Center is currently located in a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road. It’s been there since 1999.

Some senior center users have been advocating for a new home for years, arguing that they didn’t voluntarily leave the former Wildcat Den (the Midtown Community Center) and that their current home has a number of deficiencies. But despite those efforts, the senior center remains on Emory Valley Road.

The current effort to find a new home has been under way since last year and picked up in January, said Linda McGhee, senior programs recreation manager in the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department. [Read more…]

Affordable Care Act enrollment rescheduled for Wednesday

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A rescheduled Affordable Care Act enrollment event will be Wednesday.

The enrollment event has been rescheduled from Saturday, January 23, to Wednesday, January 27, because of the weather last week.

The enrollment event is still at the Oak Ridge Public Library, and it’s from 4-8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Library Auditorium. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge recreational facilities, library closed Saturday; AC govt. offices close early Friday

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Note: This story was updated at 1:20 p.m.

Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks facilities and the Oak Ridge Public Library will be closed on Saturday, January 23, due to the forecasted winter weather, officials said.

This closure includes the Oak Ridge Civic Center, the Public Library, the Scarboro Community Center, and the Senior Center.

At this time, officials plan to reopen city facilities on Sunday, January 24, at normal operating hours, a press release said.

The Anderson County Courthouse and other county government offices closed early, at 1 p.m. Friday, due to winter weather already moving into Anderson County.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Oak Ridge Public Library has open house, new services described

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Oak Ridge Public Library

The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Public Library will host an open house on Saturday, August 29, from 3 to 5 p.m. All Oak Ridgers are invited to visit the Library to enjoy the newly renovated lights and to learn about two new services—digital magazines and streaming video.

Patrons with an active library card can now choose from 20 monthly magazines to read on their computer, phone, or other mobile device, a press release said. ESPN The Magazine is for the next generation of fans who want to stay on top of their favorite sport. Game Informer is the largest computer and video game magazine, with knowledge and insight into the games market. Taste of Home features real food from real home cooks, all made with easy, affordable ingredients. To read these digital titles and other magazines, the free Nook reading app and a free Barnes and Noble online account are required. [Read more…]

Opinion: Alarmed by proposal to privatize library, calls for feasibility study

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Dear Council Members:

I am both alarmed and dismayed at the current proposal to privatize the Oak Ridge Public Library beginning January 2016. I understand the City Council’s need to create a workable budget for the upcoming year, but we must beware of making sudden major changes to a valuable city resource on the vague promise of saving money. It is unconscionable that the city would make such a change without a full feasibility study of particulars, both positive and negative, along with full documentation of public comment and thoughtful analysis and response to those comments. Such a study is crucial because it would reveal the extent to which privatization would affect the city’s long-term ability to meet its citizens’ needs as well as its finances. More importantly, the study is necessary in order for our Council and citizens to exercise informed consent or dissent on the matter. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Library art exhibit in July features Ray Smith photos

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Ray Smith Wall of Photos

Ray Smith Wall of Photos (Submitted photo)

 

Submitted

The art exhibit at Oak Ridge Public Library for the month of July is a collection of 40 photographs by D. Ray Smith. Titled “Some of My Favorites,” this exhibit is a wonderful selection of images from Ray Smith’s archive of nature photographs. His images depict wildflowers, trees, rivers, and streams from various East Tennessee locations including the University of Tennessee Arboretum and Frozen Head State Park.

Smith is well-known to most Oak Ridgers. He is the historian at the Y-12 National Security Complex and a journalist for The Oak Ridger newspaper, and he serves on a number of boards of directors for local nonprofit organizations. A resident of Oak Ridge for 44 years, he and his wife Fanny have two sons and five grandchildren. He is often found at community events taking photographs that he generously shares with the public. [Read more…]

Friends of Library to sponsor local authors at Secret City Festival

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The Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library will sponsor local writers and authors at the Secret City Festival this weekend.

The Secret City Festival is Friday, June 12, and Saturday, June 13.

The authors will be in Room C of the Oak Ridge Civic Center (next door to the Oak Ridge Historical Preservation Association) autographing and selling their books at the following times: [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Public Library main area reopens May 4

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Oak Ridge Public Library

The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

The main area at the Oak Ridge Public Library will reopen Monday, May 4, with new lighting fixtures and will resume regular service hours. All services will be available at the main desk and reference desk, a press release said.

The Children’s Room will close on Monday, May 4, for the lighting renovation. Story times for Monday, May 4, and Tuesday, May 5, will be held in the Social Room at the Civic Center at 10:30 a.m. Limited Children’s Room services will be available in the library auditorium. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Public Library to undergo lighting project

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Oak Ridge Public Library

The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

Renovation of the lighting and ceiling tile will begin at the Oak Ridge Public Library on Monday, February 23. The renovation project is expected to last several weeks, and it consists of replacing the lighting with LED fixtures, which will provide better lighting and reduced energy costs, a press release said.

There will be limited availability of the building for library patrons during the renovation.

“City and library staff appreciates the community’s patience during this renovation project as the results should be worth the temporary inconvenience,” the press release said.

This renovation project is partially funded by the Clean Tennessee Energy Grant that was awarded to the City of Oak Ridge by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

For more information concerning the availability of the Library during the renovation, call (865) 425-3459.

Library has limited tax forms this year

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Submitted

The Oak Ridge Public Library has supplied the community with federal and state tax forms for the past several years. This year, the United States Internal Revenue Service is severely limiting the amount and types of forms the library and other institutions can order for the public.

For tax year 2014, only the 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ forms will be available at the Library. No instruction booklets or other forms or schedules will be received for the public. No employer tax forms will be available at the Library, including W-2, W-3, W-4, and instructions for these forms. Form 1096, Annual Summary, and Transmittal of U. S. Information Returns, and Form 1099, Miscellaneous Income, will not be available at the Library.

Most tax forms not available at the Library can be printed for the cost of 10 cents a page from the IRS website at www.irs.gov. [Read more…]

Friends of Oak Ridge Library has winter book sale Thursday-Sunday

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Oak Ridge Public Library

The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

The Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library has its winter 2015 Book Sale from Thursday evening, January 15, through Sunday, January 18.

The book sale will be held in the Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The sale will include fiction and nonfiction books, magazines, LP records, and other publications, a press release said. Most titles are 50 cents or $1 each. Titles withdrawn from the Library are half-price from Thursday through Saturday. [Read more…]

Letter: Questions candidate’s criticism of Library

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To the editor:

Sadly, as a voter I have come to accept a certain amount of hyperbole, half-truths, and skewed statistics from candidates for federal and state offices. I’m sorry to see it reach our municipal election.

I’m talking specifically about the candidate for City Council, Doc Savara, whose platform and door-to-door campaign includes sharp criticism of the Oak Ridge Public Library, the library director, and staff. He alleges inefficient use of taxpayer dollars, bloated fees, and over-staffing, and he bases his findings on a check of national statistics and a story he has heard from a library patron who obviously had an unhappy experience. [Read more…]