Oak Ridge Today

Emory Valley Center fundraiser features rock band Jada Blade

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jada Blade

Popular local rock band Jada Blade will play at a Friday fundraiser for Emory Valley Center. (Photo courtesy of Jada Blade)

Jada Blade, a popular local band that plays original music and classic rock songs, will help raise money for the Emory Valley Center during a Friday fundraiser at the Grove Theater

The “Rock-A-Moolah” fundraiser starts at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge. It’s a benefit for the Emory Valley Center Capital Campaign.

The Emory Valley Center serves 140 mentally, physically, and emotionally disabled (autistic) adults and about 450 developmentally delayed toddlers and children in 13 East Tennessee counties, a press release said. They are losing their home at the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center on Emory Valley Road, which has housed their programs for more than 50 years, the release said.

Plans are under way to build a new Center on the opposite side of Emory Valley Road.

“Many of these clients have been at the Emory Valley Center or at Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center most of their lives and are dependent on the Center for their entire support,” the press release said. “It serves the most vulnerable members of society who cannot help themselves.”

Gene Caldwell, co-chair of the Capital Campaign, said the campaign is almost two-thirds of the way to its fundraising goal.

“The area communities of Oak Ridge, Anderson County, and Knox County have given us tremendous support,” Caldwell said. “’Rock-A-Moolah’ will give us new energy to keep us headed to the top. So we want to invite everyone to come support the new Center and have a fabulous night of rock ‘n’ roll with Jada Blade.”

The press release said Jada Blade plays crowd-pleasing rock music ranging from Adele and Lady Gaga to Ozzy Osbourne and Halestorm. The band includes vocalist Leslie England, guitarist Bruce England, drummer Kenny Smith, and bass player Jim Johnston.

Tickets for “Rock-A-Moolah” can be purchased in advance for $20 or at the door for $25. Tickets can be purchased at TNBank in Oak Ridge or online at www.emoryvalleycenter.com.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Friday, and a cash bar will be available throughout the evening.

Federal agencies launch Spanish version of Science.gov

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy, have launched a Spanish version of a scientific website that provides free access to more than 55 scientific databases and 2,100 websites.

The Spanish version of the Science.gov website is available online at Ciencia.Science.gov.

Science.gov is hosted by the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information, which has offices in Oak Ridge and Washington, D.C.

“Ciencia.Science.gov provides the same breadth and depth in science search as does Science.gov, covering over 200 million pages of authoritative U.S. government science information including research and development results from 17 organizations within 13 federal science agencies,” an OSTI press release said.

Ciencia.Science.gov uses Microsoft’s Translator, the press release said. It accepts Spanish-language queries and returns results in Spanish.

“The Ciencia.Science.gov web site will help increase the vital role of U.S. scientific information in education, innovation, and discovery, and will help encourage Latino communities to promote careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.

[Read more…]

UT professor discusses Arab Spring in Tuesday Lunch with the League

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Robert B. Cunningham

Robert B. Cunningham

A retired University of Tennessee professor who has taught in Syria and Jordan will discuss the Arab Spring and its impact on the Middle East and the United States during a Tuesday lecture in Oak Ridge.

The talk by Robert Cunningham, UT political science professor emeritus, starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

Cunningham’s research and teaching interests have focused on issues related to public administration and the politics of the Middle East. From 1959 to 1962, he taught at Aleppo College in Aleppo, Syria. He returned to the Middle East in 1986 through a faculty exchange program at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, and again in 1992 as a Fulbright Teacher and Scholar at Yarmouk University.

He has also conducted research in Marrakech, Morocco, and in Jordan.

Cunningham has a master’s degree and doctorate from Indiana University. He joined the UT faculty in 1972 and retired from full-time service at the end of the 2008-09 academic year.

[Read more…]

Committee drafts two designs for dog park at Big Turtle

Posted at
By 6 Comments

Dog Park Proposal 1

The first, larger layout for a proposed dog park at Big Turtle Park would be closer to the Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Submitted images)

A city committee has drafted two possible designs for a dog park at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge.

The proposals were presented to the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Advisory Board on Thursday by Bridgett Ellis, a parks board member and chair of the Dog Park Committee.

The parks board will fine-tune construction and maintenance costs for the dog park by the end of the year, and members could pick one of the two concept plans presented Thursday, said Josh Collins, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks director. Then, advocates will have to start looking for money.

That’s been the primary obstacle to building the dog park, a project that’s been in the works for about four to five years, Collins said.

He said the park is well-supported by many people. During Thursday’s meeting, Oak Ridge City Council member Chuck Hope said the dog park could have sponsorships, and people in the community might donate, Collins said.

“I think there’s a fair amount of grassroots support for it,” Collins said.

Dog Park Proposal 2

The second, smaller layout would be located closer to the back of the park and near a parking area.

He said the cost of the dog park would depend upon its size, but expenses could exceed $50,000 for such items as water fountains, park benches, and hundreds of feet of fencing.

The two proposals presented Thursday both include a large area for all dogs and a smaller area for small dogs.

One layout that would be closer to the Oak Ridge Turnpike would be larger, Collins said. Since it would have more fencing, it would cost more, Collins said.

But there are pros and cons to each site, he said. For example, the second location closer to the back of Big Turtle Park would be closer to parking spaces but would require the city to run a longer water line.

Collins said any recommendation developed by the Parks Board would still have to be considered by the Oak Ridge City Council.

Atomic Art exhibit opens at AMSE today

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Doomtown XI: The Technicolor Dinner Party

Doomtown XI: The Technicolor Dinner Party, 2011, Oil on canvas by Doug Waterfield (Submitted)

An art exhibit that opened at the American Museum of Science and Energy today features paintings based on the Atomic Age and “Doomtowns,” replica cities built in Nevada to test the effects of atomic bombs in the 1950s.

This exhibit—”an exploration of atomic testing phenomena and subsequent 1950s atomic culture”—is called “DOOMTOWN.” It features original paintings by Doug Waterfield, an associate art professor at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

“It is a commentary on a bygone age of American history, and is an effort to bring awareness to the past known as the Atomic Age—an age of optimism, technological advances, and unmitigated paranoia,” an AMSE press release said.

The press release said the Atomic Energy Commission, which preceded the U.S. Department of Energy, built the “Doomtowns,” also known as “Survival Towns,” at the Nevada Test Site. Warfield’s paintings were influenced by the photos and film footage that survive from those tests.

“I first became interested in atomic testing while watching some documentaries on the Trinity test and the Nevada Test Site,” Waterfield said. “I was particularly interested in the ‘survival towns.’ These were recreations of what was considered to be the quintessential American town, populated by mannequins, and then lit up by atomic blasts to see what the effects would be. I couldn’t get that idea out of my head.”

Part of his mission, Waterfield said, is to educate the public.

“I don’t want to take a political view on the morality of atomic testing; people already know what to think of that,” Waterfield said. “I want to take this little known aspect of our history as a world power and shed a little light on it—that’s all.”

Waterfield is an Arkansas native who now lives in Nebraska with his family, and his work has been shown nationally for the past 25 years, the press release said.

“DOOMTOWN” is at AMSE from Oct. 12—Jan. 20.

AMSE is located at 300 S. Tulane Ave.

For more information, visit www.amse.org.

Board orders home demolition, clean-up

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Lawton Road House Fire

A city board on Thursday ordered the demolition of a Lawton Road duplex that burned in July. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A city board on Thursday ordered the demolition of a burned duplex on Lawton Road and the clean-up of a duplex unit on Bettis Lane.

The Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals also agreed to dismiss the case against a Tuskegee Road warehouse if the owners install boards known as fascia, maintain the property, and paint the building within 30 days.

The Lawton Road duplex burned in July. The fire was caused by a window-mounted air conditioning unit that overheated and caught fire, board members learned Thursday. The owners are reportedly interested in selling the property to the city.

The city staff reported that the Bettis Lane duplex unit is abandoned and neglected, and a city inspection found debris, spoiled food, and roaches inside, said Matt Widner, who works in Oak Ridge Codes Enforcement. The board ordered the unit cleaned within 30 days.

The board had discussed the case against the Tuskegee Drive warehouse in meetings in June and September. They could hear it again in 90 days if the owners don’t follow the board order.

[Read more…]

No one injured, but families displaced in Royce apartment fire

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Royce Circle Fire

No one was injured but five families were displaced after a stove fire in an apartment complex on Royce Circle on Thursday night. (Photos by Tom Scott)

No one was injured in a Thursday night stove fire in an apartment building on Royce Circle, but five families were displaced, authorities said.

An Oak Ridge press release said the third-floor apartment was filled with smoke when firefighters arrived at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday. The fire had been contained by the building’s sprinkler system, and firefighters extinguished it.

“The fire was determined to be accidental due to cooking,” the press release said.

The five families displaced at the Royce Garden Apartments Complex included six adults and eight children. The American Red Cross was called to the scene and provided standard lodging and meal help to the displaced families for the next two days, the press release said.

A total of 20 emergency responders were at the apartment complex for about two hours. They included Oak Ridge firefighters and the Anderson County ambulance service.

[Read more…]

ORNL director gives lab update during Tuesday lecture

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Thom Mason

Thom Mason

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason will give an update on the lab during a Tuesday lecture at the American Museum of Science and Energy.

It’s the 15th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series, and the talk is sponsored by Friends of ORNL.

There will be a 6 p.m. reception on Tuesday, and the lecture starts at 6:30 p.m.

“This talk should be of interest to the general public, and high school science students and teachers are especially invited,” a press release said.

AMSE is located at 300 S. Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

City board recommends tax break for Alexander Inn project

Posted at
By 5 Comments

Note: This story was updated at 11:16 p.m.

An Oak Ridge board has endorsed a 90 percent, 10-year tax break for a project to convert the vacant, run-down Alexander Inn into an assisted living center.

The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board recommended the tax break, officially known as a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, in a 6-0 vote during a special meeting Thursday. It will now be considered by Oak Ridge City Council on Oct. 22.

Even with the temporary tax break, Oak Ridge and Anderson County will continue to receive at least as much in property taxes as they do now, said Ray Evans, an economic development consultant for the city.

The project to redevelop the two-story hotel on three acres in Jackson Square has been proposed by Family Pride Corp. of Loudon and InSite Development Corp. of Knoxville.

Construction of the $4.5 million, 60-unit assisted living center could take roughly a year.

The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, or PILOT, could help with public improvements that include a new road for cars that now drive through the Alexander Inn property, relocation of a storm sewer under the building, environmental remediation, building stabilization, and code compliance. Family Pride has said the project is not economically feasible without the tax break.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra starts new season Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Josh Davis

Josh Davis

The Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra has its first concert of the 2012-2013 season on Saturday.

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Oak Ridge High School Auditorium.

It features Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto played by Josh Davis, a Tennessee teenager and concerto competition winner. The orchestra will end the concert with Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

Visit the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association website for more information.

Pet Ownership Festival on Saturday at A.K. Bissell Park

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The 3rd Annual Responsible Pet Ownership Festival will be at A.K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The festival will feature animal rescue groups, local dog organizations and agility, rally, and obedience demonstrations.

Send an e-mail OakRidgeAKCRDO@gmail.com for more information or if you are interested in participating.

Information is also available at https://sites.google.com/site/oakridgerdo/activities and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Responsible-Pet-Ownership-Day/131046483577199

Houston Avenue resident burned when gasoline used on fire

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A Houston Avenue resident suffered facial burns and was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center on Wednesday with non-life threatening injuries after gasoline was used on a fire in Scarboro, authorities said.

The patient, who was not identified in an Oak Ridge Fire Department report, reportedly suffered second-degree burns from the fire at about 3:20 p.m. Wednesday.

Although he didn’t have more information on this particular incident, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said gasoline is generally dangerous to use on fires.

“Gasoline should never be used to start or enhance open burning,” Kerley said Thursday.

He cited a couple of examples to illustrate the dangers.

[Read more…]