Oak Ridge Today

Next City Blueprint meeting scheduled for Oct. 26

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Midtown Residential City Blueprint Oct 2017

The Oak Ridge Community Development Department is continuing the Oak Ridge City Blueprint effort with a discussion focused on the Midtown residential neighborhood. An open house will be held between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 26, at Robertsville Middle School.

Families living in this subarea are encouraged to attend and provide ideas and suggestions for possible neighborhood improvements, a press release said.

“Please note that no formal presentation is planned for this event,” the press release said. “Those attending can come and go anytime during the open house to meet, ask questions, and share thoughts with city staff and board representatives.” [Read more…]

U.S. Senate candidate Mackler will be in Oak Ridge on Thursday

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James Mackler

James Mackler

 

James Mackler, the first Tennessee Democrat to launch a 2018 U.S. Senate campaign, will be in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

Mackler, a Nashville attorney and Iraq War veteran, will be the keynote speaker at the Anderson County Democratic Party general meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 19, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, a press release said.

U.S. Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, is not seeking re-election in 2018. U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn, also a Tennessee Republican, has announced she will run for Corker’s seat.

A press release said Mackler left his job six months ago as a prosecutor and defense attorney to run for Corker’s seat. [Read more…]

Great American Eclipse in Oak Ridge Schools

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Glenwood Elementary School students worked with OBED Park Rangers and practiced safe use of a telescope for viewing during the total solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

Glenwood Elementary School students worked with Obed park rangers and practiced safe use of a telescope for viewing during the total solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Submitted by Oak Ridge Schools

The Great American Eclipse was unique in Oak Ridge, as we were on the coveted path of totality. Some solar eclipse fanatics will travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars just to get themselves into The Path. We took advantage of this rare opportunity that came to our back yard for the breathtaking experience of totality with our students and staff.

We had an interesting challenge, though. The edge of the path of totality cut through town in such a way that four of our schools would only experience a partial eclipse if students and staff stayed on campus. The total solar eclipse has several attributes that are not visible outside the path of totality, such as the sudden appearance of stars and planets, the solar corona becoming visible, and a temperature drop. To ensure all of our students had the opportunity for this rich total eclipse experience, we provided transportation to move everyone who wanted to participate into The Path. [Read more…]

Roane State college success course includes service learning

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Virtually all Roane State Community College freshmen have to take the college success course titled COLS 1010: Study-Organize-Succeed (SOS), and it now includes eight hours of public service.

Two college officials have compiled more than 100 volunteer opportunities with agencies and nonprofit organizations in the Roane State service area, and they are available via the college’s website.

Go to www.roanestate.edu/servicelearning to learn more.

Proceeds from a $2,000 college grant were used to research those opportunities, which span 10 counties: Anderson, Roane, Knox, Blount, Fentress, Campbell, Cumberland, Scott, Loudon, and Morgan. [Read more…]

Dental Hygiene Clinic at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus provides vital service

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Roane State Community College Associate Professor Melinda Gill, director of the college’s highly regarded dental hygiene program, stands outside the dental hygiene clinic, located in the Coffey/McNally Building on the Oak Ridge branch campus. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Community College Associate Professor Melinda Gill, director of the college’s highly regarded dental hygiene program, stands outside the dental hygiene clinic, located in the Coffey/McNally Building on the Oak Ridge branch campus. (Photo by Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

The doorway into Roane State’s Dental Hygiene Clinic can be overlooked at times. It’s D-107, off the atrium and across from the library of the college’s Oak Ridge campus.

Unbeknownst to the casual passerby, it’s the entrance to a college program regarded as one of the top in the nation.

Inside:

  • a classroom outfitted with the most current dental teaching implements;
  • six spotless operatories/treatment rooms containing dental chairs, computers for inputting patient records, and the latest treatment technology;
  • two X-ray rooms with digital X-ray capability—one with panoramic X-ray equipment—and a room where X-rays are developed; and
  • a receptionist’s area along with a small office.

[Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has Fall Plant Sale on Saturday, Oct. 21

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The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Fall Plant Sale will be held Saturday, October 21, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy UT Arboretum Society)

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Fall Plant Sale will be held Saturday, October 21, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy UT Arboretum Society)

 

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Fall Plant Sale will be held Saturday, October 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge.

“Fall is the ideal time to add plants to your landscape,” a press release said. “Beaver Creek Nursery, East Fork Nursery, Riverdale Nursery, Sunlight Gardens, as well as the UT Arboretum Society’s members and friends, will be offering a variety of high quality plants at this sale.”

Cash, checks, and credit cards will be accepted for payment. [Read more…]

Roane State dental hygiene program honored

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Members of the faculty of Roane State’s dental hygiene program are, from left, director Melinda Gill, Kimball Burkett, standing to Gill’s left; and from left, Kellye Wilson, Sondra Roberts, Natalie Schubert, Wesley Singer, DDS; Michelle Jones, Pete Ruyl, DDS; Ed Guion, DDS; and Debbie Taylor. Schubert is the receptionist for the program’s dental clinic. (Photo by Roane State)

Members of the faculty of Roane State’s dental hygiene program are, from left, director Melinda Gill, Kimball Burkett, standing to Gill’s left; and from left, Kellye Wilson, Sondra Roberts, Natalie Schubert, Wesley Singer, DDS; Michelle Jones, Pete Ruyl, DDS; Ed Guion, DDS; and Debbie Taylor. Schubert is the receptionist for the program’s dental clinic. (Photo by Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Roane State’s acclaimed dental hygiene program can add another recognition to its list of accomplishments.

The program, located in the Coffey-McNally Building on the college’s Oak Ridge campus, has received the 100% Faculty Award for 2017 from the American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

There are 30,000 members of the association, which is based in Chicago and more than 100 years old. Roane State was among only 25 higher education institutions nationwide to obtain the designation.

It’s bestowed when all faculty members in a dental hygiene program are also members of the ADHA. [Read more…]

Out of service for decades, barge area at ETTP used again

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UniTech equipment transported from Michigan is unloaded at the barge access area at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge in 2017. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

UniTech equipment transported from Michigan is unloaded at the barge access area at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge in 2017. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

 

This story, which has been lightly edited here, was originally published in the EM Update on October 17 by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.

Reindustrialization efforts at the East Tennessee Technology Park have brought new life to an old barge access area out of service for decades.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management is cleaning and converting the former uranium enrichment complex into a private sector industrial park, and companies are seeing significant signs of progress and potential.

In September, UniTech Services Group, a private business at ETTP, the former K-25 site, needed to transport large industrial equipment from Michigan and noted the site’s neglected barge area. The company worked with DOE and the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee to use this area, and successfully shipped the equipment to ETTP using the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee navigable river systems. [Read more…]

Roane State Dental Hygiene Program awarded grants

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Roane State dental hygiene program director Melinda Gill stands in the college’s state-of-the-art dental clinic at the Oak Ridge campus. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State dental hygiene program director Melinda Gill stands in the college’s state-of-the-art dental clinic at the Oak Ridge campus. (Photo by Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

The Roane State Community College Dental Health Clinic has received three grants for its free monthly clinics for area residents who have limited access to dental care, said associate professor Melinda Gill, director of the college’s dental hygiene program.

  • The clinic was awarded a $2,500 Community Action Grant from the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club to underwrite two Saturday morning clinics to serve Roane County residents.
  • The United Way of Anderson County has funded a $1,000 discretionary grant to purchase a high-speed handpiece used in filling cavities. With the addition of that second apparatus, it will increase the number of patients who can be treated, Gill said.
  • Trinity Health Foundation of East Tennessee has awarded a $5,000 grant to purchase dental equipment and materials to support the operation of the clinic to better serve the dental needs of the patients. This grant was in collaboration with Mid-East Community Action Agency.

[Read more…]

Roane State experience helped musician Devan Jones find his path

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Devan Jones (Submitted photo)

Devan Jones (Submitted photo)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Ask Roane State alumnus Devan Jones about working full-time in the music business, and he’ll pull no punches. “It’s a hustle and hard work 24/7,” he says. “It’s a tough business.”

“Sometimes it feels like it’s moving in slow motion, but things are getting better all the time,” says Jones, who credits educators in Roane State’s music department for helping inspire his career.

Jones grew up in Kingston, attended Roane State and the University of Tennessee, and performed at several Knoxville venues. He now lives in Austin, Texas, where he says there are “many different opportunities to play music that inspires me.”

While in Knoxville, he put together a band, “Devan Jones and the Uptown Stomp.” That moniker reflects his love of blues, as well as jazz and swing music of the 1940s and 50s. [Read more…]

Anderson County Trustee’s office now taking property tax payments

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The Anderson County Trustee’s office mailed 2017 property tax notices on September 28 and started taking payments on October 2.

The 2017 taxes paid after February 28, 2018, will accumulate interest charges, a press release said.

The Trustee’s office will also start taking tax relief and tax freeze applications on October 2, the press release said. [Read more…]

Housing Authority dedicates administration building in honor of James A. Carson

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A resident of Oak Ridge, James A. Carson served the Oak Ridge Housing Authority as its executive director for 33 years. Carson retired from OHRA in December 2016. On Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, the ORHA Board of Commissioners honored his many years of service through the dedication of the Administration building. (Submitted photo)

A resident of Oak Ridge, James A. Carson served the Oak Ridge Housing Authority as its executive director for 33 years. Carson retired from OHRA in December 2016. On Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, the ORHA Board of Commissioners honored his many years of service through the dedication of the Administration building. (Submitted photo)

 

A resident of Oak Ridge, James A. Carson served the Oak Ridge Housing Authority as its executive director for 33 years.

“He consistently showed a great respect for diversity, and in all things pursued fair policies and actions,” a press release said. “He worked tirelessly to make ORHA sustainable, and faithfully served the low-income and economically disadvantaged in our community.”

Carson retired from OHRA in December 2016. [Read more…]