Oak Ridge Today

Tanasi Winds featured at ORCMA coffee concert on Sunday

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ORCMA Tanasi Winds

Tanasi Winds features Dave Greenwood on clarinet, Dana Fox on oboe, RaNaye Dreier on flute, Bill Schwenterly on French horn, and Ardyce Lee on bassoon. (Submitted photo)

 

Tanasi Winds will be featured at an Oak Ridge Civic Music Association coffee concert on Sunday.

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 24, at the First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, which is at 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The concert is free, and refreshments will be served following the performance, a press release said. [Read more…]

Animal Shelter cat, rat to appear on ‘Unlikely Animal Friends,’ a National Geographic show

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Batman and Pumpkin

Batman, a Dumbo rat, left, and Pumpkin, a FIV-positive cat, two mascots at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, will be featured on National Geographic (Nat Geo) WILD’s “Unlikely Animal Friends” airing 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

A cat and a rat, both mascots at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, will be featured on National Geographic (Nat Geo) WILD’s “Unlikely Animal Friends” airing 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21.

In September 2015, the Nat Geo WILD team spent a full day at the shelter filming, a press release said. Their focus was to show the unlikely friendship between Pumpkin, a FIV-positive cat, and Batman, a Dumbo rat. Aside from showing the friendship between the two animals, the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter hopes to educate the public on FIV-positive cats and promote adopting from local animal shelters.

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter is located on the east end of town at 395 Belgrade Road, and it currently holds a no-kill status, the press release said.

For more information about the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, visit http://animalshelter.oakridgetn.gov/ or call (865) 425-3423.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Comedy at the Grove with Blayr Nias is Saturday

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Comedy at the Grove April 23, 2016

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Comedy at the Grove is back with the amazingly funny Blayr Nias. She has worked with the best well-known comedians, making her mark in the comedy world. Also featured will be Asheville’s own Tom Scheve and Art Sturtevant, with Knoxville’s comedic son, Sam King, rounding out the funny as the host. Birdwell Catering will be available for your beverage needs. You must be 18 to enter and 21 to purchase and consume alcoholic beverages.

Headliner: Blayr Nias

Blayr Nias is not your average female comic. She lives by the credo “If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll have to be a horrible warning.” When she hits the stage, it’s with manic energy, high-octane humor, and her trademark mega-watt smile giving her the nickname “GummyBlayr.” Winning audiences over across the country with a dynamic stage presence, she shares tales of her misadventures as “the bad girl next door.”

This Massachusetts native graduated from the George Washington University with a degree in theater and creative writing. In 2012, she was featured in the Pink Collar Comedy Tour at the Piccolo Spoletto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina and performed in the Laugh Your Asheville Off Festival in Asheville, North Carolina, headlined by Jim Gaffigan. She was a featured artist in the Charlotte Video Project, a collection of short films about the culture of the city. In September 2013, Blayr was named a finalist in Comedy Central’s Up Next Comedy Competition. [Read more…]

Volunteers raising money for community playground at Robertsville Middle

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Robertsville Middle School

Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

Robertsville Middle School is in the process of building a community playground, and volunteers have scheduled a May 6 fundraiser that will feature food and music.

This playground will be available for use by all students but also will be built to accommodate the needs of the special education students. The playground will also be available after school and on the weekends for families in the community of the school and families in Oak Ridge.

Robertsville serves more than 700 students in grades 5-8 and presently has no playgrounds available.

“This truly will be a community playground, not only by those who use it, but by how it will be paid for,” a press release said.

The school is partnering with individuals, private businesses, and local companies to raise the $20,000 to build the playground, the safety chips, border around playground, and benches, the release said. RMS donated $4,500 to get the project started, and so far, more than $8,000 has been raised. [Read more…]

CORRECTED: Pre-registration for Oak Ridge Schools kindergarten is May 2-6

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Oak Ridge Schools will have pre-registration for kindergarten during the week of May 2-6. The pre-registration is scheduled from 8:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. at Glenwood, Linden, Willow Brook, and Woodland elementary schools.

This will be the beginning of a two-part registration process that will be completed just prior to school entrance this summer. If you have a child who will be 5 years old on or before August 15, 2016, you should pick up a registration packet the week of pre-registration from the school in the district of your residence. This packet will include information about the required physical examination and changes to the immunization requirements that are mandated by the State of Tennessee for entrance to school. [Read more…]

Art gallery opens at ORUUC on Sunday

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Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

A new art exhibit space will open to the public on Sunday, April 24, at 5:30 p.m. at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. The opening exhibit is a retrospective of Oak Ridge artist Kristina Henderson Holland, who is also a member of ORUUC.

The exhibition and opening reception are organized by ORUUC’s Art Display Team.

Kristina Henderson Holland studied art at New York’s Adelphi University and Fashion Institute of Technology, including studying abroad in London. The ORUUC retrospective exhibit features 20 of her works, including 10 Tennessee landscape paintings. [Read more…]

Breakfast with the Legislators scheduled Monday

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The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge will host Breakfast with the Legislators on Monday morning, April 25. The breakfast is scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, which is at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Senators Ken Yager and Randy McNally and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to give an up-to-date as the 109th General Assembly comes to a close, a press release said.

During Breakfast with the Legislators, audience members can ask questions and give opinions. A light continental breakfast is provided at no charge. The public is encouraged to attend. [Read more…]

Running for Office Workshop offered at Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

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Oak-Ridge-Schools-Bob-Eby-March-28-2016

Bob Eby

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is offering a workshop for anyone interested in running for local office on May 19 from 7-8 p.m. in the Joyce Conference Room at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The workshop is free and is open to the public.

Participants will learn about the process of running for office, gain helpful tips, and will have the opportunity to ask questions about what to expect.

The workshop will be conducted by Bob Eby. Eby has successfully run four campaigns over four decades and currently serves on the Oak Ridge Board of Education. He will share advice he has received from elected officials over the years as well as his own observations collected over the past 30 years. Eby will share his list of things you must do, the things to avoid, and things to consider in order to run a successful campaign. [Read more…]

Hospitality Houses welcome next generation of volunteers

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TN-Fury-team-donation-pic

The Gold TN Fury girls team donated personal and household products for use by guests of the two Hospitality Houses. Team members include Emmaline Estep, Navy Gentry, Kannon Green, Caton Harris, Cadha Kirkland, Faith McGhee, Camayah Moore, Vivian Newton, Amari Stewart, and Kylee Thompson. Team coaches are Paige Green and Aaron Green. (Photo courtesy MMC)

 

A fifth-grade basketball team recently visited the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center to deliver items they had collected as part of their team’s service project. The Gold TN Fury girls team donated personal and household products for use by guests of the two Hospitality Houses.

Tennessee Fury is a faith-based AAU basketball organization founded to physically and spiritually impact youth in East Tennessee through competitive athletics. As part of the program, teams complete a service project. The 10 members of Gold TN Fury chose the Hospitality Houses as their project and learned a lot about the Houses and volunteering during the process.

The Hospitality Houses are offered free of charge to patients who must travel for cancer treatment or wound therapy, both of which require frequent trips to Oak Ridge for extended periods. The Houses are also open to families who have traveled to be with loved ones in the Acute Care Unit at Methodist. The houses are supported solely through charitable contributions. [Read more…]

Two ORHS seniors win Brad Sturm scholarships

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Sean Badurina, Mel Sturm, and Jade Lesher

Sean Badurina and Jade Lesher are winners of the Brad Sturm Memorial Scholarships established by businessman Mel Sturm (center). (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Sean Badurina and Jade Lesher, two seniors at Oak Ridge High School, were selected by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge as recipients of the Brad Sturm Memorial Scholarships for 2016.

Sean, who likes to build machines and take them apart to see how they work, said he plans to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and major in mechanical engineering.

Jade, president of the ORHS drama club with eight years of theater experience and section leader in the marching band, plans to attend UT in Knoxville and major in political science.

To qualify for the scholarships, first established 40 years ago by 92-year-old businessman Mel Sturm, ORHS students this year had to read Larry Arnn’s 2015 book “Churchill’s Trial: Winston Churchill and the Salvation of Free Government.” [Read more…]

Reichert: CNS hiring for more than 1,150 positions this fiscal year

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Michelle Reichert

Michelle Reichert

From CNS Connect with Michelle Reichert

The NNSA is planning for Pantex and Y-12 to perform a greater amount of mission work in the upcoming years. This increased workload will help ensure the safety and reliability of our nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, provide capabilities to draw down global weapons inventory, reduce the spread of nuclear weapons and terrorism, and provide highly specialized fuel for the nuclear navy.

Pantex and Y-12 are two of our nation’s key production facilities, and we form the cornerstone of the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise. While we always look to maximize your valuable skill sets to meet mission needs, our future mission success also requires creating new jobs.

As Morgan (Smith) mentioned when he shared the 9 in 90 list, we are completing the study and implementing the plan to address increased demand for our products and services in Fiscal Year 2017 and beyond. As a result of this plan, CNS is hiring for more than 1,150 positions this fiscal year. These new employees will include production, operations, and trades workers; security personnel; and science, engineering, and technology professionals, totaling 650 positions at Pantex and 500 positions at Y-12. To date (as of early March), we have successfully filled 507 positions. As part of our 9 in 90 Plan, we are striving to fill 300 positions within the next few months. [Read more…]

ORPD investigating ‘skimmer’ found at credit union ATM

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ORPD Pic of ATM Skimmer

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a case where a “skimmer” was found attached to an ATM at the ORNL Federal Credit Union on South Illinois Avenue. (Photo by ORPD)

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a case where a “skimmer” was found attached to an ATM at the ORNL Federal Credit Union on South Illinois Avenue on Sunday, authorities said.

A “skimmer” is an unauthorized device that is attached to the credit/debit card slot on an ATM, or automated teller machine, to fraudulently capture customers’ account information, the ORPD said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department recommends that consumers exercise caution when using ATMs. If you notice anything unusual about the ATM, contact the bank or credit union that operates the ATM, the ORPD said. [Read more…]