Oak Ridge Today

Job cuts proposed to balance schools budget

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The equivalent of 9.7 full-time teaching positions could be cut to balance the Oak Ridge school system’s budget, Superintendent Tom Bailey said Monday.

Those cuts would save about $687,000.

Other proposed staffing cuts to reduce spending by a total of $912,000 include the full-time equivalent of 6.5 teaching assistants, one maintenance staff member, and one district-wide custodian.

It’s a “very tough position to be in,” Bailey told Oak Ridge Board of Education members during a half-hour budget presentation Monday.

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City Council approves no-tax-increase budget

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The Oak Ridge City Council has unanimously approved a budget that does not raise the property tax rate.

It would be the fourth year in a row without a tax rate increase if Council approves the budget on second and final reading May 29.

Passed on first reading Monday night, the budget includes a 1.5 percent pay raise for city employees in the fiscal year that starts July 1. It would keep the property tax rate at  $2.39 per $100 of assessed value.

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County crime prevention meeting Tuesday

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is having a crime prevention meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Anderson County High School cafeteria.

The meeting will feature current Neighborhood Watch groups as well as those interested in forming their own Neighborhood Watch groups.

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Historic preservationists tour Freels Bend Cabin

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ORHPA at Freels Bend Cabin

Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association member D. Ray Smith, left, starts a Thursday evening tour of Freels Bend Cabin, the oldest structure in Oak Ridge.

Built in 1844, the Freels Bend Cabin is the oldest structure in Oak Ridge, and Ruby Shanks lived there for a few years in the 1940s, when she was a teenager.

“It was a beautiful place,” Shanks told historic preservationists during a meeting at the cabin in south Oak Ridge last week. “We loved it.”

The unusual setting for last week’s Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association meeting gave about 60 people a rare opportunity to see the cabin, which is on restricted U.S. Department of Energy land.

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City Council, School Board consider budgets tonight

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The Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education will consider their budgets for the next fiscal year during two separate meetings tonight.

Oak Ridge Superintendent Tom Bailey will present his proposed budget to the school board during a 5:30 p.m. work session today at the School Administration Building on New York Avenue.

The City Council will consider the municipal budget in the first of two readings at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Building Courtroom on South Tulane Avenue. There will also be a public hearing.

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Oak Ridge Today switches to new layout

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We changed the layout of our website early this morning.

The new wider layout provides more information closer to the top of the screen, meaning you shouldn’t have to scroll down as far to read the most recent stories, especially on the home page.

It also keeps our site mobile-friendly, and it gives us a wider sidebar, making it easier to add advertisements.

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Aftah Party plays Secret City

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Aftah Party Crowd

Several hundred people enjoy a Friday evening musical performance by Aftah Party during this year's second Secret City Sounds concert at A.K. Bissell Park. The third concert, on Saturday, May 19, will feature the United States Air Force Band of Mid America with the ensemble Starlifter.

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Fleischmann, Hastings support cleanup work, national park

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Fleischmann and Hastings

Congressmen Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., and Doc Hastings, R-Wash., talk to the media before a Friday tour of the three local U.S. Department of Energy sites.

During a brief press conference this morning, Congressmen Chuck Fleischmann and Doc Hastings said they are advocating for more money for cleanup work at U.S. Department of Energy sites and a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that could include Oak Ridge and Hanford.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

“There’s so much history that was involved in what we did,” said Hastings, a Washington Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

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City announces road, dock closures

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Oak Ridge officials have announced that they have temporarily closed the gravel road extension of Tuskegee Drive and plan to temporarily close the Gallaher Recreation Area boat ramp on Monday.

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Music, rowing, politics, fundraisers this weekend

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Activities this weekend include a Friday morning visit to Clinton by Gov. Bill Haslam, music (some of it free), nonprofit fundraisers, and a regatta at Oak Ridge Marina.

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Gov. Haslam in Clinton today

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Gov. Bill Haslam will be in Clinton at 9:45 a.m. today for the signing of a prescription drug bill at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

The courthouse is located at 100 N. Main St.

Farm Bureau celebrates new location

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Farm Bureau

Farm Bureau representatives, economic development leaders, and local officials celebrate the opening of a new 2,200-square-foot office at Manhattan Place Shopping Center on Thursday with food and a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The insurance agency, which has been in Oak Ridge since 1996, used to be located farther west on Oak Ridge Turnpike in a 1,300-square-foot office.