Oak Ridge Today

Leadership Roane County presents ‘How to run for elected office’

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Leadership Roane County will present a “How to Run for Elected Office” seminar on November 4. The seminar is scheduled from 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. at the O’Brien Theater at Roane State Community College at 276 Patton Lane in Harriman.

Speakers include Charles Holiway, Roane County administrator of elections, and Marilyn Calfee, campaign manager for Representative Kent Calfee (District 32), followed by a panel of Chris Mason, Roane County trustee; Becky Ruppe, Rockwood city administrator; Stacey Wilson, spouse of County Commissioner Ben Wilson; and Stephanie Wright, Kingston City Council.

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Security professionals at Oak Ridge, Amarillo honored

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Safeguards and Security personnel from Y-12 National Security Complex, the Pantex Plant, and the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Production Office were recently honored with 2020 Nuclear Security Enterprise security awards, a press release said.

The winners included Willis Ray, Dwayne Cunningham, and Ramiro Alaniz from Pantex; Kevin Mattern from Y-12; and Tim Alvarado, Blaine Westlake, and Dan Reeves of NPO.

Alaniz, Alvarado, Cunningham, Mattern, and Reeves were recognized as members of the NNSA 2020 Security Team of the Year. They were among 23 members of the Design Basis Threat Implementation Team, which was made up of contractors and federal personnel from every site in the NSE, plus the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Security Policy, who received this award, the press release said.

The Design Basis Team team finished the most comprehensive analysis of security risk ever completed in support of the U.S. DOE/NNSA mission, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, the release said.

“The team’s work resulted in security analysis that is more consistent, transparent, and understandable than ever before,” it said.

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ORHS Masquers to present ‘Clue’

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Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s extracurricular drama program, will present “Clue” in three performances in November. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s extracurricular drama program, will present “Clue,” the murderously funny play based on the classic film, for three performances in November, a press release said.

Two evening performances are scheduled at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 11, and Saturday, November 13. An afternoon performance is scheduled at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 14.

The play will be performed in the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center at ORHS.

“Seating is limited since we will be seating guests socially distanced by family groups,” the press release said. “Seating will be first come, first served.”

“Clue” is the story of a dinner party gone awry. Six guests are invited but told to use only the aliases assigned to them. When Colonel Mustard, Ms. Scarlett, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum, and Ms. White figure out they are all being blackmailed by their host, they are presented with a weapon and an option: pay the blackmailer or take the blackmailer out.

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Oak Ridge Chamber’s Christmas Parade is Saturday, Dec. 11

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Santa plans to participate in the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade. This year’s traditional parade will be held on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, beginning at 6 p.m. (Photo credit: Ray Smith.)

 

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will have its annual Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 11.

This year’s theme is “The 12 Days of Christmas.”

The sponsor of this year’s parade is The Cowperwood Company.

There is no cost to participate.

The Chamber will be accepting parade entries online through Tuesday, December 7. You can register by visiting the Chamber’s website: www.oakridgechamber.org. [Read more…]

Spa One Seventy has ribbon-cutting

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Spa One Seventy on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Spa One Seventy on Tuesday, October 26.

Spa One Seventy is located at 170 West Tennessee Avenue, Suite 200.

Medicaid expansion to be discussed at Tuesday forum

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Medicaid expansion will be discussed during a virtual forum Tuesday. It’s the first of two community forums about expanding Medicaid in Tennessee.

The first forum is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 2. It will feature professionals discussing the need for expanding Medicaid, a press release said.

The second forum, scheduled for November 16, will feature legislators discussing ways to achieve this goal, the press release said.

“Failure to expand Medicaid in Tennessee is severely impacting the health and welfare of Tennesseans,” the press release said. It said there are more than 300,000 uninsured Tennesseans, and Tennessee is second in the number of hospital closures and leads the nation in terms of hospital closures per capita. Also, many of the uninsured are essential workers whose lack of insurance places them at increased risk just to care for their families, the press release said. And Tennessee is failing to accept $900 million in federal money that would cover the cost of expansion for more than six years, the release said.

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ORNL’s top 10 tech transfer successes topic of FORNL talk

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Mike Paulus

 

Mike Paulus, director of technology transfer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will talk about ORNL’s top 10 technology commercialization successes during a talk next week.

The talk is scheduled for noon Tuesday, November 9, to Friends of ORNL.

The virtual lecture is open to the public. To watch it online, click on the talk title on the homepage of the www.fornl.org website and click on the Zoom link at the top of the page describing the lecture. Here is Paulus’s summary of what he will talk about.

“From high-temperature alloys to biomaterials to solid-state batteries, ORNL innovations have made a difference in the marketplace,” Paulus said. “Since the 1980s, ORNL has transferred technologies to the private sector through its technology transfer office. My talk will review ORNL’s top 10 commercialization successes and look at a few recently licensed technologies with the potential for future success.” [Read more…]

Temporary road closure for Halloween House

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A temporary road closure is planned along part of Nebraska Avenue for Sunday, October 31, between 4 p.m. and 12 a.m. for the annual Halloween House.

“The closure is necessary to create a safer environment for drivers and pedestrians expected to visit the annual Halloween House residential attraction on Nebraska Avenue, between Newridge Road and Newhaven Road,” a press release said.

The small stretch of road will be blocked to through traffic. However, residents will still be able to get to and from their homes during this time.

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City hosts Monster Mash Bash Halloween on Thursday

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host Monster Mash Bash, a citywide Halloween event, on Thursday evening. Monster Mash Bash is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 28.

“This year’s event will be a literal ‘walk in the park’ beginning between the Oak Ridge Civic Center and the Senior Center on the west side parking area and looping through the Oak Ridge Civic Center Plaza back to the west parking lot,” a press release said. “Bissell Park and the parking lots will close at 2 p.m. and should be vacated at that time. This is to allow our sponsors and vendors to finish getting ready for the event. Parking in the west parking lot in front of the Senior Center will fill first, then the east parking lot by the Library, secondly.”

Event participants will be able to enjoy Halloween scenes, and children ages 4 years to 4th grade will receive treats throughout the park trail and may participate in a stamped scavenger hunt, the press release said. All families wishing to attend this free event will need to register at Eventbrite.com to help ensure there are enough treats and goodies to go around, the release said.

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Secret City Half Marathon welcomes back runners

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The Secret City Half Marathon and 5K will be in person again this year with a regular start.

Last year’s race had a time trial-style start to help ensure social distancing among the runners along with a temperature check for participants.

The 2021 race is scheduled for Saturday, November 20.

“Available spots are filling up quickly as the autumn marathon season gears up, so interested parties are encouraged to sign up before the race hits maximum capacity,” a press release said.

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UT-Battelle donation supports Roane State’s Middle College program

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Roane State Community College President Chris Whaley and Alan Icenhour, deputy director of operations for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, hold a replica of the $34,000 check that ORNL contractor UT-Battelle awarded the Roane State Foundation to help with college expenses for Roane State Middle College students. Also pictured is Roane State’s Interim Middle College Director Susan Pearson, Roane State Vice President for Student Learning Diane Ward, Roane State Foundation Executive Director Scott Niermann, Deborah Miller of Roane State’s Grants Development Office, Roane State Foundation Board Member Joy Goldberg, former ORNL Community Relations Manager Wade Creswell, Roane State Foundation Scholarship Specialist Pam Rudnitzki, and several RSCC Middle College students. (Photo submitted by Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

The tradition of funding scholarships for Middle College students enrolled in Roane State Community College’s innovative program is going strong and continues to help participants reach long-term goals.

A $34,000 annual contribution from UT-Battelle helps cover tuition and other costs for students from Roane County’s five high schools to attend Middle College. This year, 57 Roane County students are enrolled in the curriculum.

UT-Battelle is the contractor that manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory, located in Roane County, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Middle College, now in its sixth year, is a two-year program for high-achieving high school students who want to get a head start on college.

High school juniors enrolled in Middle College take college courses at one of Roane State’s campuses in the mornings and return to their respective high schools in the afternoons. That way, they can graduate from high school at the same time they earn an associate degree from Roane State. Graduates can then transfer to other colleges and enroll as juniors.

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Street Painting Festival honors Scarboro 85, raises funds for Roane State scholarships

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The theme for the 2021 Street Painting Festival, “Honoring Scarboro 85,” recognized the first Black students from the former Scarboro School who integrated Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior High on Sept. 6, 1955. The Honoring Scarboro 85 award went to the team of Dawn and Her Guys. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

The 2021 Street Painting Festival, hosted by the Noon Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, is in the books having raised more than $14,000 to help fund scholarships for Roane State Community College students in Anderson County.

Held in Oak Ridge’s Historic Jackson Square each October, the festival blends art, history, and community for a fun event in support of local students. Nearly $300,000 in scholarships issued by the nonprofit Roane State Foundation have been provided since the start of the festival in 1999, a press release said.

Festival sponsors make a tax-exempt donation to the Foundation, with levels ranging from $5,000 for Platinum down to $100 for Individual. Sponsors’ names are assigned to sidewalk squares upon which the artists then paint pictures with chalk. Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. once again sponsored the event at the Platinum Level. 2021 marked the 20th consecutive year of festival sponsorship for the company.

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