Oak Ridge Today

Local church choir to sing in London in July

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St. Stephen’s Parish Choir, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, July 2019 (Submitted photo)

The Parish Choir of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Oak Ridge will be heading overseas this summer to sing in some of London’s most historic churches.

The choir will lead worship at St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 10, Westminster Abbey on July 13, and St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on July 16 while the professional choirs there take their summer vacation.

St. Stephen’s will be visiting during a time of continued celebration following the coronation of King Charles III earlier this year, a press release said.

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City to repave Melton Lake parking lot beginning June 12

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Beginning the week of June 12, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department crews will begin repaving the Melton Lake Greenway parking lot located on Melton Lake Drive, just north of the intersection with Edgemoor Road.

These renovations will result in increased Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility and a better-defined parking area, a press release said. However, this means that from June 12 until the project’s completion, public access to this parking area will be closed and inaccessible.

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Tim O’Brien to kick off Summer Sessions concerts

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Tim O’Brien Band (Submitted photo)

Tim O’Brien will kick off ORNL Federal Credit Union’s Summer Sessions concert series in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 10. Opening for Tim O’Brien will be the Po’ Ramblin Boys, who were a crowd favorite during the 2021 series, a press release said.

O’Brien is based in Nashville. He is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, and a lifelong devotee of bluegrass music with more than 40 years in the industry, the press release said. He started touring nationally in 1978 with Colorado bluegrass band Hot Rize, and his songs “Walk the Way the Wind Blows” and “Untold Stories” were bluegrass hits for Hot Rize, and country hits for Kathy Mattea. Artists like Nickel Creek, Garth Brooks, and The Dixie Chicks have covered O’Brien’s songs, and over the years, he has collaborated with his sister Mollie O’Brien, songwriter Darrell Scott, and noted old-time musician Dirk Powell, as well as with Steve Earle, Mark Knopfler, Dan Auerbach, and Sturgill Simpson.

O’Brien’s skills on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo make him an in-demand session player, the press release said. The International Bluegrass Music Association awarded him song of the year in 2006 and named him best male vocalist in 1993 and 2006. He was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2013 and into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2022. Notable O’Brien recordings include the bluegrass Dylan covers of “Red on Blonde,” the Celtic-Appalachian fusion of “The Crossing,” and the Grammy winning folk of “Fiddler’s Green.” His duet recording “Real Time” with Darrell Scott is a cult favorite, the press release said, and he won a bluegrass Grammy as part of “The Earls of Leicester.”

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ORNL scientist to lead project studying permafrost thaw, climate processes in Alaska

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Colleen Iversen (Photo submitted by ORNL)

Submitted

Colleen Iversen—ecosystem ecologist, group leader, and distinguished staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory—has been named director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments Arctic, or NGEE Arctic. That is a multi-institutional project studying permafrost thaw and other climate-related processes in Alaska, a press release said.

Iversen has worked as a scientist on NGEE Arctic since 2012 and served as its deputy director from 2021-2023. She also leads a research team in the Plant-Soil Interactions Group at ORNL. Iversen succeeds Stan Wullschleger, founding director of NGEE Arctic, who retired as associate laboratory director for Biological and Environmental Systems Science at ORNL in April 2023.

Iversen, who took on the role of director and principal investigator for NGEE Arctic earlier this year, is excited about taking the reins of such a large, multidisciplinary project, the press release said.

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Community Band has Memorial Day concert

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Oak Ridge Community Band (File photo/submitted)

The Oak Ridge Community Band will perform in a Memorial Day concert on Monday evening, May 29.

The free concert is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Monday at the Alvin K. Bissell Park Pavilion in the center of Oak Ridge.

The concert will include a mix of classical masterpieces, contemporary hits, big band tunes, infectious marches, patriotic anthems, and toe-tapping jazz melodies, a press release said.

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Children’s Museum to celebrate 50 years with free admission

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The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge is pictured above in this file photo from 2017. (Photo by Manhattan Project National Historical Park)

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will celebrate its 50th anniversary with free admission on Saturday, June 10, and Sunday, June 11.

The free weekend and its activities are sponsored by Consolidated Nuclear Security, which manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

“Visitors will enjoy the museum’s many exhibits and a special scavenger hunt on both days, including a special exhibition that celebrates the museum’s golden anniversary year, ‘CMOR at 50: Past, Present, and Future,'” a press release said. The exhibition features photos from the museum’s 50-year history and a selection of objects from the museum’s collection.

On Sunday, June 11, visitors will also enjoy special activities including arts and crafts, a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) activity, selfie station, and complimentary refreshments. Also, on Sunday the museum’s mascot, Charlie the Curious Bear, will be on hand to interact with visitors, the press release said.

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Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival returning to Oak Ridge

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Lyn Ford, Bil Lepp, and Rev. Robert B. Jones (Images courtesy Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival)

The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival will return to the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge with nationally acclaimed storytellers Lyn Ford, Bil Lepp, and Rev. Robert B. Jones on June 2 and 3.

“Well-known to audiences throughout the country for their wit and wisdom, these three performers are guaranteed to make audiences laugh, cry, and reminisce,” a press release said. “The storytellers will perform different stories at each show on both days. In addition, two special workshops will be offered to precede the performances.”

The Friday, June 2, performance will be at 7 p.m. The next day, Saturday, June 3, will feature a memorable family show at 10 a.m. and shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children for each show, except for the June 3 Family Show at 10 a.m. Tickets for that show are $10 for adults and $5 for children. For the Flatwater Tales website, click here.

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City brush pickup continues

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The annual citywide brush pickup program continues this week. During the program, which began May 8, tree limbs and bagged yard clippings/leaves will be picked up.  

City collection efforts will follow the accompanying schedule as closely as possible, a press release said. The proposed schedule is a general guide and can vary considerably from the actual schedule due to weather conditions and/or the amount of participation by residents.

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ORAU employees donate more than 300 pounds of toys and household items to Holiday Bureau

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ORAU donation to Holiday Bureau (Submitted photo)

ORAU employees recently dropped off 337 pounds of toys, holiday decorations, and household items that were donated during their annual recycling event to the Holiday Bureau.

The ORAU recycling event is held over two days and gives employees an opportunity to recycle their technotrash, batteries, medication, and other household items. An additional aspect of the event is the chance for employees to donate gently used items, diverting these items from the landfill, and giving them to local families in need, a press release said. Employees collected more than 10,000 pounds of recyclables and donations at the event, and 337 of those went to the Holiday Bureau. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge hosting three regattas this month

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A mural by artist Megan Lingerfelt is pictured above on the Oak Ridge Rowing Association boathouse at Melton Lake Park. (Photo courtesy Jim Dodson)

Oak Ridge is in the middle of hosting three championship regattas this month.

The regattas began May 12-14 with the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship. SMU (Southern Methodist University) of Dallas won all four races at the AAC Women’s Rowing Championship and captured the team title for the third consecutive season, according to Rowing News. The Mustangs finished with 168 points to finish first, while Tulsa placed second with 140. UCF (University of Central Florida) was third with 112 points.

Those three teams were in the top three last year also, with SMU, the champion, powering away from UCF and Tulsa in an intense matchup, a press release said.

This weekend’s regatta is the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) Championship.

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Learn about alternatives to death penalty

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You can learn about alternatives to the death penalty during Lunch with the League on Tuesday, May 2.

Reverend Stacy Rector, executive director of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, will be the guest speaker.

The meeting will take place at noon Tuesday in the Social Room of the Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. It may also be accessed on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89723362660?pwd=UkMxOVdzZExKamVwRWJxWHp0SlpjZz09

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Guided paddle trip on Melton Hill Lake on Sunday

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A guided scenic paddle trip on Melton Hill Lake from Clark Center Park is scheduled for Sunday, April 30.

It will begin at the Clark Center Park boat ramp, a press release said. After paddling across the lake, there will be a stop at Knox County’s Melton Lake Park, where Knox County is sponsoring a weekend camporee. Along the way, participants can pick up and haul back manageable trash, a press release said. [Read more…]