Oak Ridge Today

History teacher, ORHS grad to appear on Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament

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Lydia Cuffman

Lydia Cuffman, a 2004 graduate of Oak Ridge High School, will compete in the Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament on Tuesday. The show will air at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on WBIR-TV in Knoxville. (Photos courtesy Jeopardy Productions, Inc.)

 

Lydia Cuffman, a 2004 graduate of Oak Ridge High School, will compete in the Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament on Tuesday. The show will air at 7:30 p.m. on WBIR-TV in Knoxville.

Cuffman is now a history teacher at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California.

Her mother, Kym Cuffman, said 200,000 people sign up to take the Jeopardy test each year. One hundred fifty thousand actually take the test, and 400 make it to the final contestants’ pool, Kym Cuffman said. There were 15 K-12 teachers chosen to be in the Teachers Tournament. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools have health, wellness panel, screening on Saturday

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Oak Ridge Schools Logo

The Oak Ridge Schools Office of Coordinated School Health and the Allergy, Asthma, and Sinus Center are hosting a free Health and Wellness Panel Discussion and Health Screening this Saturday, January 31, at Oak Ridge High School Auditorium from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

The event will be hosted by Dr. Bob Overholt of the Dr. Bob Show. The panel will consist of Dr. Karthick Krishnan (asthma/allergy specialist), Dr. Chris Nolte (sleep specialist), Dr. Randy Robbins (orthopedic specialist), and Dr. Matthew McCallister (concussion/pediatric health). The panel will answer audience questions from 10:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m. [Read more…]

Akagi responds to criticism from former police chief

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Note: This story was updated at 8:20 p.m. Jan. 31.

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi on Friday responded to a critical letter written by his predecessor, former Police Chief David Beams, and published in part in two local newspapers and elsewhere online.

Akagi said he was surprised by Beams’ comments and disagreed with them, but he would be willing to sit down with the former chief to discuss his grievances.

In his Wednesday letter, Beams, who retired in March 2011, several months before Akagi started, took issue with what he said was Akagi’s lack of experience as a municipal police chief; his “irrational, erratic, and vindictive” behavior (as reported to Beams by “countless officers and supervisors”); and his relations with the media, among other criticisms. Beams, who no longer lives in Oak Ridge, said Akagi “needs to go.”

Akagi said he was surprised and dismayed by the comments and how they were delivered. [Read more…]

Watson has confidence in police chief, no further investigation planned

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Note: This story was updated at 8:35 p.m. Jan. 31.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson on Thursday said he has “absolute confidence” in Police Chief Jim Akagi and has no plans to further investigate concerns raised this week by City Council member Trina Baughn.

Baughn raised concerns about the turnover rate in the Oak Ridge Police Department and claims made in a grievance filed by former officer Chris Bayless. In a Sunday email, Baughn said her calculations showed that the police force had lost 30 members in 3.5 years under Akagi, and that equates to 11.7 per year, or an estimated 15 percent turnover rate.

Baughn said some officers who have resigned felt “forced out,” while others who remain are “just counting the days” until they can leave.

“I believe that our turnover issues are not a reflection on the character of the majority of our men and women in blue; rather they are attributable to leadership,” Baughn said in an email to Watson and carbon-copied to Oak Ridge City Council members and reporters.

Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

She said she is ready to help Watson “immediately address these problems and stabilize our police department.”

But city officials questioned Baughn’s numbers and said they don’t think the turnover rate is significantly out of line with what it has been previously. An average of 7.25 employees per year have left in the last four years due to resignations, retirements, or being asked to leave, Watson said Thursday.

“I don’t think it’s a significant change,” he said. [Read more…]

Cange named cleanup manager at DOE Oak Ridge

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Gov. Bill Haslam Visits ETTP/K-25

During a March 2014 tour, Sue Cange, center, gives Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, right, an update on the then-almost completed demolition of the K-25 Building, which was once used to enrich uranium in west Oak Ridge. (File photo)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday that Sue Cange will serve as the new manager for DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Congressman Chuck Fleischmann said.

“Sue has a strong background in environmental management and has done a great job as acting manager,” said Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican. “I look forward to continuing to work with her on nuclear cleanup in Oak Ridge.”

Fleischmann is chair of the Nuclear Cleanup Caucus, a group of lawmakers who have U.S. Department of Energy cleanup sites in their districts. Fleischmann’s district includes Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

AYSO: Register for Spring 2015 soccer season this week, next

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AYSO Region 390 Registration Jan-Feb 2015-600x280

Registration for AYSO’s Spring 2015 soccer season starts today. There are three registration dates:

  • Thursday, January 29, from 5-7 p.m.,
  • Saturday, January 31, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m., and
  • Thursday, February 5 from 5-7 p.m.

“It’s almost time to play soccer in the Spring 2015 season, and you’ve got be registered to play,” AYSO Region 390 said on its website. [Read more…]

Senior Advisory Board meets Monday, Feb. 2

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The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will meet at 9 a.m. Monday, February 2, in the Senior Center, Room 54.

Agenda items include electing officers for the new year and community garden possibilities for the Senior Center.

FBI, KPD arrest Kingston suspect in Y-12 Credit Union robbery

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Y-12 Federal Credit Union Robbery on Clinton Highway

A surveillance photo from the alleged robbery at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Clinton Highway on Friday, January 23. (Source: FBI)

The FBI and Knoxville Police Department on Saturday arrested a Kingston man suspected of robbing the Y-12 Federal Union on Clinton Highway on Friday.

Bryan Samples, 43, is being held without bail pending trial, said Marshall Stone, supervisory special agent for the FBI in Knoxville.

The robbery of the Y-12 Federal Credit Union at 6640 Clinton Highway was reported at about 4:49 p.m. Friday. A suspect entered the Credit Union and passed a teller a bank robbery demand note, obtained an undisclosed amount of money, and then fled. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge city calendar for Feb. 2015: City Council, boards, commissions

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Here is the calendar of meetings of the Oak Ridge City Council and boards and commissions for February 2015: [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Reservation Communities Alliance meets Feb. 4

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The Oak Ridge Reservation Communities Alliance will meet on Wednesday, February 4, at 2 p.m. in the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, DOE-Oversight Office, at 761 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

The Alliance includes Terry Frank, Tim Burchett, Garland Lankford, Don Edwards, George Thacker, Warren Gooch, Amy Fitzgerald, Ron Woody, and Scott Stout.

The meeting is open to the public.

NAACP has general membership meeting Tuesday, Jan. 27

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The general membership meeting for the Oak Ridge/Anderson County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will be held Tuesday, January 27, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Scarboro Community Center at 148 Carver Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The agenda is listed below: [Read more…]

Snow dusts Oak Ridge; Anderson, Roane schools closed

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Oak Ridge Snow January 27, 2015

A light layer of snow dusted Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning. (Photo by Sarah Johnson)

 

A light layer of snow dusted Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning, and schools were closed in Anderson and Roane counties.

The Anderson County Schools’ Central Office was following its bad weather procedures. The Roane County Schools’ Central Office opened one hour late.

Oak Ridge Schools opened on time.

Clinton City Schools reported that roads were clear in Clinton—”and school buildings are warm”—and schools would open on time. [Read more…]