The Oak Ridge Senior Center welcomed guests to its new temporary location at the Civic Center with a free Chili Cook-Off on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
The Oak Ridge Senior Center welcomed guests to its new temporary location at the Civic Center with a free Chili Cook-Off on Monday, January 30.
Around 70 people sampled chili and soup from area restaurants and assisted living facilities, a press release said. Participants providing food included Brookdale Senior Living, Greenfield Senior Living, Canterfield Assisted Living, Morning Pointe of Clinton, The Soup Kitchen, Pizza Inn, and Razzleberry Lab.
Lunch guests were able to check out the Senior Center’s new facility inside the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Oak Ridge Turnpike and register for door prizes before sampling and voting for their favorite dish, the press release said. The winner was chili from Greenfield Senior Living, represented by Leah Dailey and Mark Roseberry.
“The Senior Center would like to thank everyone who took part in the Chili Cook-Off for making this an excellent first day in the new location,” the press release said.
For more information on programs and special events offered by the Oak Ridge Senior Center, call (865) 425-3999.
The Senior Center moved to the Civic Center this month from a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road. The potential move was initially announced as city and county officials began studying whether to move Anderson County General County General Sessions Court, Division II, from a private building on Bus Terminal Road to the county-owned building on Emory Valley Road. Also as part of the move, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department offices housed at the Civic Center would move out of there, eventually to a city-owned building on Badger Road.
The city announced in December that January was its target date for moving the Senior Center from the county-owned building on Emory Valley Road to the Civic Center, which is near the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and South Tulane Avenue in central Oak Ridge.
The city said then that Senior Center activities will be held in a wing of the Civic Center near the indoor pool facility. Part of the area used to house administrative offices for Recreation and Parks employees. Most of those employees were expected to relocate to the Scarboro Center while the city-owned building on Badger Avenue is undergoing minor renovations, the city said in December. Once changes to the Badger Road building, the former Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, are complete, staff will move into the Badger Avenue location permanently.
An architectural firm retained by the city is working on plans for a brand new Senior Center, the city said in December. The aim is to locate it on the same property with the Civic Center. (See this previous story for more information.)
The City of Oak Ridge said senior citizens have had a facility dedicated to their needs since 1977. Once housed at the Midtown Community Center before moving to the county-owned building more than a decade ago, seniors have advocated for a new or renovated Senior Center for years and, among other things, they’ve looked at possible new homes across town, including the former YWCA building and the former Paragon fitness club, which has now been demolished.
You can learn more about the Senior Center on Facebook, check out the website, or call for more information on programs offered by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department.
Oak Ridge Senior Center Recreation Manager Linda McGhee, center, awards first place in the Chili Cook-Off to Leah Dailey, left, and Mark Roseberry, right, of Greenfield Senior Living on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
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