Oak Ridge Today

Health care employers invited to participate in Roane State job fair

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Employers are invited to participate in a March 29 job fair at Roane State Community College for students who are pursuing careers in health care and plan to graduate this year.

The fair is planned for Wednesday, March 29, from 12:30-3:30 p.m. at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. Setup begins at 11 a.m. in the Coffey-McNally building.

Employers are asked to register by March 24. There is no registration fee. To register, visit www.roanestate.edu/jobfair. Limited space is still available. [Read more…]

Regional symposium for community college leaders, educators

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The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship, the nation’s leading organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship through community colleges, and the Appalachian Regional Commission will co-sponsor a regional symposium for community college leaders and educators in Appalachia who are interested in enhancing economic growth in their areas.

The summit, “Leveraging Assets in Your Local Community to Promote Economic Development,” will be held March 30-31 at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville.

The keynote speaker for the event is Randy Boyd, former Tennessee Commissioner of Economic and Community Development.

Chris Whaley, president of Roane State Community College, and Anthony Wise, president of Pellissippi State Community College, are among those scheduled to present at the symposium. [Read more…]

Seminar on how to do business with the government

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College is offering a free seminar on how to do business with the government.

The seminar is from 9 a.m. to noon April 4 at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

To register, call (865) 483-2668 or send an email to jbangs@tsbdc.org.

Free seminar on government contracting, GSA schedule

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College is offering a free seminar on how to get on the GSA Schedule to do business with the government.

The seminar is from 1-4 p.m. April 4 at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

To register, call (865) 483-2668 or send an email to jbangs@tsbdc.org.

New Sears Hometown Store opens in Oak Ridge

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A Sears Hometown Store has opened in Oak Ridge. The store is at 142 Fairbanks Road, near the corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Florida Avenue. Pictured above in December 2016 are owner Leslie Agron, left; employee Dave Hetes, second from left; Bill Heavilin, right; and Lore Heavilin, second from right. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A Sears Hometown Store has opened in Oak Ridge. The store is at 142 Fairbanks Road, near the corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Florida Avenue. Pictured above in December 2016 are owner Leslie Agron, left; employee Dave Hetes, second from left; Bill Heavilin, right; and Lore Heavilin, second from right. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A Sears Hometown Store has opened in Oak Ridge. The store is at 142 Fairbanks Road, near the corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Florida Avenue.

Sears Hometown Store will celebrate its grand opening on Friday, March 17, and Saturday, March 18. During the grand opening, customers can enjoy an additional discount of 10 percent off almost everything in the store* plus special giveaways, including a $10 gift card for the first 20 customers on Friday, March 17.

Unlike most retail concepts, Sears Hometown Stores combine the value, selection, and services associated with larger retail stores, but they are owned and operated by a member of the local community, a press release said.

“As a native Oak Ridger, I am very happy to be bringing Sears back to Oak Ridge,” said Sears Hometown Store owner Leslie Agron. [Read more…]

Lunch with the League to feature the ‘alphabet soup’ of health care

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Matt Tillery

Matt Tillery

A guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday will help decipher the “alphabet soup” of health care, a press release said.

Guest speaker Matt Tillery, director of community services for Cherokee Health Systems, will give a brief history of the Affordable Care Act, Tennessee’s Medicare and Medicaid programs, and resources available to those who are eligible for these services, the press release said.

Tillery will speak specifically on community mental health clinics and federally qualified health care centers, and what these types of service locations mean to community members, the press release said. The program will start at noon Tuesday, March 21, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Harlem Ambassadors basketball show to benefit Habitat for Humanity

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Habitat for Humanity Harlem Ambassadors March 17 2017

Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County will host the Harlem Ambassadors basketball show at Oak Ridge High School on Friday evening. Oak Ridge firefighters have volunteered to be the opposing team.

The show is a benefit for Habitat for Humanity. It starts at 7 p.m. Friday, March 17, at Wildcat Arena.

“Please join us for an evening of entertainment, fun, and zany basketball,” organizers said. “The Ambassadors also bring the message ‘Stay in School, Stay off Drugs and Don’t be a Bully.'”

Tickets are only $5, and there will be plenty of food at the concession stand, organizers said. Advance tickets are available in Oak Ridge at TNBank at 401 South Illnois Avenue and at the Habitat ReStore at 105 Randolph Road. They can be purchased at the door on Friday night. [Read more…]

Steve Jenkins, former finance director and deputy city manager, dies after battling cancer

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Steve Jenkins, former Oak Ridge finance director and deputy city manager, died Tuesday after battling cancer, according to his obituary. He was 67.

Jenkins grew up in Middlesboro, Kentucky, where he became a life-long University of Kentucky basketball fan. “He enjoyed nothing more than watching and attending UK games with his children and grandsons,” his obituary said.

Jenkins graduated from Clinton High School (1967) and the University of Tennessee (1971).

After beginning his career in finance at Carson Newman College, he moved his family to Oak Ridge, where he began a 26-year career at the City of Oak Ridge as finance director and deputy city manager.

After retiring from the city in 2012, Jenkins took a finance position at ETHRA in Knoxville, making many new friends who very caringly supported him through his illness, the obituary said. [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge beats Brentwood in state quarterfinal

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Oak Ridge senior E.J. Bush (2), who is playing again after a knee injury sidelined him for several months, drives against Brentwood during a 53-45 win for the Wildcats in a Class AAA boys' state quarterfinal game at Murphy Center in Murfreesboro on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. (Photo by Kindell Moore)

Oak Ridge senior E.J. Bush (2), who is playing again after a knee injury sidelined him for several months, drives against Brentwood during a 53-45 win for the Wildcats in a Class AAA boys’ state quarterfinal game at Murphy Center in Murfreesboro on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. (Photo by Kindell Moore)

 

MURFREESBORO—Oak Ridge beat Brentwood 53-45 in a state quarterfinal basketball game on Wednesday to advance to a semifinal game against Memphis East on Friday. Here are photos from the quarterfinal game by Kindell Moore. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge beats Brentwood to advance to state semifinal

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Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5) had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats during a 53-45 win over Brentwood in a Class AAA state quarterfinal game at Murphy Center in Murfreesboro on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. (Photo by Kindell Moore)

Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5), shown going for a dunk here, had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats during a 53-45 win over Brentwood in a Class AAA state quarterfinal game at Murphy Center in Murfreesboro on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. (Photo by Kindell Moore)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6:35 p.m. March 16.

MURFREESBORO—Oak Ridge beat Brentwood 53-45 in a state quarterfinal basketball game on Wednesday to advance to a semifinal game against Memphis East on Friday.

It’s the farthest the Wildcats have made it in the Class AAA state tournament since 2014, when they finished as state runner-up, losing 60-58 to Blackman.

Oak Ridge and Brentwood hadn’t played before. The Wednesday afternoon quarterfinal game in Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro was the last of the four Class AAA games. It was the closest of those four games in the BlueCross Basketball Championships. Oak Ridge led by one point, 20-19, at halftime.

The Wildcats (31-2) were led by senior Tyshawn Young with 18 points and nine rebounds. Young was 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins, who has signed to play football at Clemson, had 16 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two spectacular blocks, and a dunk on a lob pass, as well as another one after driving up the lane. [Read more…]

Community meeting next Thursday to discuss site selection for new preschool

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The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge officials will have a community meeting in Scarboro on Thursday, March 23, 2017, to discuss building the Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge City Council chose to delay the vote on a new preschool location at its regular meeting on Monday in order to allow time for more community discussion and input.

Now, a public meeting to discuss the preschool site has been set for 6 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at the Scarboro Community Center.

“The City of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Schools have been working to choose a site for the new preschool for approximately two years,” a press release said. “The preschool would relocate from the School Administration Building on New York Avenue. Members of a committee formed to recommend possible sites looked at city-owned properties and a multitude of factors that would impact future students, their families, and the community as a whole. Two locations were ultimately identified as possibilities: Scarboro Park and Elm Grove Park.”

Scarboro Park is across Carver Avenue from the Scarboro Community Center, which was also considered as an option at one time. The Scarboro Community Center was removed from further consideration due to the challenges of converting the center for active school uses, the press release said. Residents living near Elm Grove Park, a site on East Tennessee Avenue that once housed a school, came out in support of preserving the park. Much of the feedback received about the Scarboro Park site has been very positive and welcoming of the new preschool, the press release said. [Read more…]

Chief Deputy Lucas running for Anderson County sheriff

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Mark Lucas

Mark Lucas

 

Anderson County Chief Deputy Mark Lucas announced Tuesday that he is running for sheriff in the 2018 election.

Anderson County Sheriff Paul White is retiring at the end of his third term, which ends in August 2018, a press release said.

The press release said Lucas is a veteran law enforcement officer with 39 years of experience. He began his career as a reserve deputy with Knox County in 1978. He joined the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department a year later and worked as a dispatcher and a jailer before being assigned to patrol in 1980. Lucas was promoted to patrol supervisor in 1986 and held that position until 1990. From 1990 until 1994, he worked for the Clinton Police Department, where he also served as patrol supervisor.

In 1994, Lucas was appointed chief deputy with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and he has held that position for more than 22 years. He has the unique distinction of serving as chief deputy under three different sheriffs, the press release said.

The release said Lucas has received extensive training in many areas of law enforcement throughout his career including command-level management and supervision.

“From community policing to criminal investigations, jail management, and court security, as well as communications, incident command, and emergency management, Mark has a vast knowledge of public safety operations,” the press release said. [Read more…]