Oak Ridge Today

DOE’s public bus tour began in March, continues through November

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DOE Public Bus Tour

A U.S. Department of Energy public bus tour in August 2012. (File DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

Visitors see Oak Ridge’s past and present

The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2017 Oak Ridge facilities public bus tour began March 3 and continues through November 27. The tour offers visitors a first-hand look at the DOE’s Oak Ridge facilities and provides historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 70 years, a press release said.

The reservation-wide tour is a popular destination for tourists visiting the area, the release said. Since its inception in 1996, the DOE public tour program has attracted more than 40,000 visitors from all 50 states. The three-hour tour allows visitors to see the Oak Ridge Reservation and learn historical facts and updates on the world-class missions underway in Oak Ridge.

The bus tour itinerary includes: [Read more…]

St. Mary’s student participates in National Honor Choir in Minnesota

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Anna Kasemir, an eighth-grader at St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge, participated in the American Choral Directors Association 2017 National Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir in March in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was accompanied by her music teacher, music teacher, Carol Villaverde. (Photo courtesy St. Mary's)

Anna Kasemir, an eighth-grader at St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge, participated in the American Choral Directors Association 2017 National Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir in March in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was accompanied by her music teacher, Carol Villaverde. (Photo courtesy St. Mary’s)

 

Anna Kasemir, an eighth-grader at St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge, recently participated in the American Choral Directors Association 2017 National Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir.

More than 4,400 singers auditioned to participate in the three conference honor choirs. Of the 298 singers selected to sing in the Junior High/Middle School choir, Kasemir was the only singer from the state of Tennessee.

The ACDA National Conference was hosted at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from March 8-11. The event involved more than 5,000 attendees, in which all fifty states were represented as well as 30 foreign countries, a press release said.

The Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir performed in two concerts on Saturday, March 11. [Read more…]

UT professor to discuss last year’s wildfires on April 13 in Oak Ridge

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Henri Grissino-Mayer

Henri Grissino-Mayer

A University of Tennessee professor will discuss the devastating wildfires in the Southeast in 2016 during a talk in Oak Ridge on April 13.

The featured speaker will be UT professor Henri Grissino-Mayer, a renowned expert on ecosystems, a press release said. He will address the devastating fires, their cause, and what the future may be, a press release said.

The talk is titled “The 2016 Wildfires in the Southeastern U.S.: What Comes Next after Gatlinburg?” It will be presented by the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society.

It’s scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 13, in the UT Arboretum Auditorium at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Grissino-Mayer is a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and director of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Science. [Read more…]

Registration for 2017 Summer Camp began April 1

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Registration for the 2017 Summer Camp sponsored by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department began on Saturday, April 1. Online registration is available at https://apm.activecommunities.com/oakridgerecandparks/Home.

Space is limited, and the camp will fill up quickly, a press release said. Early registration is recommended.

In addition to online registration, walk-in registration for cash or check payment will be available during regular Oak Ridge Civic Center hours (8 a.m. to 10 p.m.). Walk-in registrants should complete an online profile/account before coming in to register. The staff will complete the registration at the front desk, the press release said.

The first session of camp will begin on June 5 and run for eight consecutive weeks, Monday through Friday. There will be no camp on Tuesday, July 4. Campers must be six to twelve years of age, or have completed kindergarten, the press release said. [Read more…]

Information about plans for new Friendship Bell site to be shared Monday

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oak-ridge-international-frienship-bell-interior-scaled

Design of the Peace Pavilion for the Oak Ridge International Friendship Bell by Demian\Wilbur\Architects, Washington, D.C.

 

Submitted

Peace. Can it be attained in 2017?

“My Faith’s Traditions/Teachings on Personal and World Peace” will be the topic of a panel discussion held by the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge, or WIDOR, on April 3 at 11 a.m. at the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge, the Beth El Center, at 101 West Madison Lane in Oak Ridge. Everyone is invited, a press release said.

The first speaker on the panel, Shigeko Uppuluri, will present on the peaceful intentions of those who arranged to bring the Friendship Bell to Oak Ridge from Japan and share information about the plans for its new site, the press release said. [Read more…]

Central Baptist has Easter Resurrection Celebration on Saturday, April 8

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Central Baptist Church of Oak Ridge

Central Baptist Church of Oak Ridge

Central Baptist Church of Oak Ridge has its annual Easter Resurrection Celebration on Saturday, April 8.

The celebration is from 12-1:30 p.m. April 8. Free hot dogs, games, blow ups, and the story of Easter, along with an egg hunt, will be available to all preschoolers and children through the sixth grade, a press release said. Activities will be held rain or shine.

Please enter the church at the west side of parking area, the press release said. For more information, call Central Baptist Church at (865) 483-7495 or email Darla Comeaux at dsc804@bellsouth.net.

Central Baptist Church is at 130 Providence Road.

This press release was submitted by Darla Comeaux.

Roane State Massage Therapy Club offering massages through end of April

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Roane State Massage Therapy Club members, from left, Mary Lewis, Brooke Lee, and Ciarra Wallace process the requisite paperwork for people seeking massages during the club’s Friday afternoon fundraising program. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Massage Therapy Club members, from left, Mary Lewis, Brooke Lee, and Ciarra Wallace process the requisite paperwork for people seeking massages during the club’s Friday afternoon fundraising program. (Photo by Roane State)

 

It’s a relaxing way to start a weekend, and the donations to this fundraiser also help Roane State club members obtain the licenses they need to launch their careers.

It’s the Roane State Massage Therapy Club’s program to offer one-hour, full-body massages. The cost is $25. Roane State students, faculty, and staff get a $5 discount.

The 17 students in the club provide the full-body massages from 1 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. on Fridays in the massage therapy area, located at the west end of the Goff Building on the Oak Ridge Campus.

This year’s edition of the annual fundraiser is being conducted through April 29, except on Good Friday. [Read more…]

Working together through community organizing topic at Lunch with the League

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A Tuesday lunch will focus on ways people within the community can create positive changes through community organizing, a press release said. The public is invited.

It’s Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday, April 4, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, or ORUUC. Reverend Jake Morrill will be the featured speaker.

ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

“Community organizing is a road-tested model of effective democracy in local communities,” Morrill said in a press release. “Building on relationships forged in one-on-one conversations, effective organizing helps neighbors form a network that gets big things done. How could this model for democracy work in Oak Ridge?” [Read more…]

Professor to discuss gay civil rights movements on Monday

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Roane State Community College professor Don Windham will be the guest speaker at the Monday, April 3, PFLAG meeting. In his presentation, Windham will explore the rise of early gay civil rights movements beginning with the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis to today, a press release said. The public is invited.

The meeting will be held at the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge located at 101 West Madison Lane. Social time will start at 6:45 pm. The meeting will be from 7-8 p.m.

Windham has been professor of psychology at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge since 1990, the press release said. He has a doctorate in psychology from the University of Tennessee. [Read more…]

Roane State health care job fair matches employers with students

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Covenant Health employees Nelson Leiser and Liz Floyd talk with Roane State students on the verge of graduating in healthcare fields during the annual Healthcare Job Fair, held March 29 at the college’s Oak Ridge campus. (Photo by Roane State)

Covenant Health employees Nelson Leiser and Liz Floyd talk with Roane State students on the verge of graduating in health care fields during the annual Healthcare Job Fair, held March 29 at the college’s Oak Ridge campus. (Photo by Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

When it comes to the burgeoning health care field, there are plenty of jobs out there.

That became obvious to some 200 Roane State students on the verge of graduating who took advantage of the college’s annual Healthcare Job Fair, held March 29 at the Roane State campus in Oak Ridge.

“There are a lot of potential job openings,” said Trista Murrell, set to graduate from the college’s physical therapist assistant program in August. She was handing out resumes to prospective employers and, she said, “everyone has been very helpful.”

Some 50 companies and institutions set up displays in the atrium and hallways of the college’s Coffey-McNally Building.

Employers included hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes, health care recruiting firms, and companies involved in medical record-keeping. Even representatives of the Army and the state’s prison system had displays. Prison nurses start out at $26.50 an hour, a spokeswoman said. [Read more…]

Soccer: Wildcats win second district game of season

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats traveled to Anderson County on Tuesday evening to play their second district match of the season and came away with a 7-3 victory over the Mavericks.

First half goals for the Wildcats came from juniors Casey Nigh and Carson McGhee as well as senior Austin Vinyard.

Seniors Matt Friedman and Matt Malagon, with one goal each, and Jonas Grayson, with two goals, finished the scoring in the second half for Oak Ridge.

The Wildcats travel to Clinton on Friday for a 6 p.m. kick off against the Dragons.

Tuesday scoring against Anderson County
[Read more…]

Road closure on Lafayette on Saturday for traffic signal repairs

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The City of Oak Ridge will temporarily close Lafayette Drive to northbound traffic at Emory Valley Road from approximately 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 1. Traffic will be detoured onto Emory Valley Road.

The closure is necessary to begin repairs on the traffic signal at that intersection, a press release said. The metal upright and mast arm that supports signal heads for northbound Lafayette Drive traffic was damaged during a car crash on January 13.

The repair will require the removal, inspection, and replacement of the metal upright and mast arm, the press release said. The complete repair will take between six and 18 weeks, depending on the degree of damage to the structural foundation of the pole. [Read more…]