A reminder—There are three events happening this evening: the Harlem Ambassadors Basketball Show in a benefit for Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County, a former chief astronomer at NASA who is referred to as the “mother of the Hubble Telescope” discussing the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang to black holes, and local historian and writer Ray Smith discussing the Three Bend Scenic and Wildlife Management Refuge Area of the Oak Ridge Reservation.
The Harlem Ambassadors Basketball Show starts at 6 p.m. today (Thursday, March 24) at Wildcat Arena at Oak Ridge High School. This show is not only entertaining, organizers said, it also brings an important message to kids: “Stay off drugs, stay in school, don’t be a bully!”
Individuals have sponsored tickets so that student-athletes in Anderson County can come to the game for free.
The “opposing” team, the Habi-bats, is made up of local coaches and other local basketball standouts.
“We hope to fill the arena and sell lots of hotdogs, all in an effort to raise money to build and repair homes in Anderson County,” a press release said.
Tickets are available online at www.hfhac.org, at TNBank on Illinois Avenue, and the ReStore in Grove Center in Oak Ridge. Student and group discounts are available at TNBank and the ReStore, or you may call Charlotte Bowers at (865) 482-7713 at the Habitat for Humanity office.
The talk by a former chief astronomer at NASA starts at 6 p.m. at the American Museum of Science and Energy, which is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. A reception will be held in the museum lobby starting at 5:30 p.m. (snacks will be served), and the lecture starts at 6 p.m. in the museum auditorium.
It will feature Nancy Grace Roman, former chief of the NASA Astronomy and Relativity Programs in the Office of Space Science.
The free lecture is jointly sponsored by Friends of ORNL, or FORNL, and the American Association of University Women, or AAUW.
It’s the opening of the 19th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series.
Roman is often referred to as “the mother of the Hubble Telescope” because she helped in its development and shepherded it from concept to realization, including many hours securing funding for it from Congress, a press release said. She initiated the NASA program in space astronomy in 1959, shortly after NASA was organized, and she was NASA’s chief astronomer for 20 years. She was responsible for developing the programs and organization of the scientific participation in the space observation program, including numerous missions, which included the Orbiting Astronomical Observatories, the International Ultraviolet Explorer, and the Hubble Space Telescope.
The talk by Smith on Three Bend starts at 7 p.m. in the City Room at the Roane State Community College campus in Oak Ridge. It is free and open to the public. Networking with refreshments will begin at 6:30 p.m.
It’s the annual meeting of Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation, or AFORR.
There will also be a roundtable discussion about the cultural and historical values of the Solway, Freels, and Gallaher bends, a press release said.
The Three Bend area was the site of traditional farming for many decades. When the Manhattan Project started, the farm became home to cattle from Alamogordo, New Mexico. Those cattle and their descendants were studied for long-term radiation effects, the press release said.
A 1999 agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency formalized that the 3,000 acres will be managed as a wildlife management area. The area provides an important habitat and home for numerous threatened, endangered, and rare animal species, including bald eagles, ospreys, and migrant songbirds. The parcel contains an 80-acre recreational area known as Clark Center Park and the historic Freels Cabin, built in the 1820s and one of the earliest settlements in the area.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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