Oak Ridge Today

ORAU awards 35 research grants totaling $175,000 to junior faculty

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Oak Ridge Associated Universities has awarded competitive research grants totaling $175,000 to 35 junior faculty from its member institutions. The annual grants are made through the company’s Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards program that provides funds to enrich the research and professional growth of young faculty.

The recipients, each of whom is in the first two years of a tenure track position, will receive $5,000 in “seed money” for the 2015-2016 academic year to enhance their research during the early stages of their career. Each recipient’s institution also matches the ORAU award with an additional $5,000, making the total prize worth $10,000 for each winner. Winners may use the grants to purchase equipment, continue research or travel to professional meetings and conferences.

Since the program’s inception, ORAU has awarded more than 590 grants totaling more than $2.7 million, a press release said. Including the matching funds from member institutions, ORAU has facilitated grants worth more than $5.2 million. [Read more…]

Rep. Armstrong to discuss state legislative session on Thursday

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Joe Armstrong

Joe Armstrong

Tennessee Representative Joe Armstrong will discuss the recently ended state legislative session at the Thursday, May 28, dinner meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club. The club will meet at 6 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Power Squadron at 343 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

Armstrong, who represents the 15th House District in Knox County, began his political career in 1982 as a Knox County commissioner. He was elected vice chairman of the Knox County Commission in 1986. In 1988, he sought and won election to the Tennessee General Assembly.

Now serving in his 11th legislative term, Armstrong has served as chair of the House Consumer and Employee Affairs Committee and the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators. Currently, he is chair of the Tennessee Black Health Care Commission, which he helped establish in 1995. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Football Boosters have pancake breakfast on June 6

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Oak Ridge Football Boosters will have a pancake breakfast at Aubrey’s in Oak Ridge on June 6 from 8-10 a.m.

The cost per person is $5.

“Please come out and support our 2015 Oak Ridge football team!” organizers said. “Go Cats!”

ORUUC free community meal is Friday

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The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is inviting everyone to a free community meal on Friday, May 29.

The Stone Soup Ministry team will be serving a homemade meal of meatball and spaghetti soup, garlic bread, lemon bars, and fruit. Dine-in or take-out will be available in the ORUUC Social Hall from 5 to 6 p.m. The church is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

Some nonperishable family friendly groceries will be available for free to anyone in need, a press release said. [Read more…]

Dragon Boat Festival includes races, music, beer garden, kids area

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Four Dragon Boats

Dragon boats are pictured above at the Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival at Melton Lake Park on May 31, 2014. (Submitted photo) 

 

The second annual Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival this weekend will include dragon boat races, music, vendors, a youth area for kids, and a beer garden.

The Oak Ridge Marina boat ramp will be closed on Friday, May 29, and Saturday, May 30, for the festival, organizers said. They expect increased traffic congestion on Melton Lake Drive this weekend. Organizers are encouraging those who attend to park at Roane State Community College on Briarcliff Avenue and catch a ride in a bus or van to the waterfront.

Thirty or or more teams of 20 paddlers each are expected in Oak Ridge for the 2015 Dragon Boat Festival.

The festival, which will raise money for local charities, will start on Friday evening, May 29, with a “Lanterns on the Lake” ceremony, music, beer garden, and other festivities. [Read more…]

STEM-focused Boy Scouts program goes national; UT-Battelle helped pilot program

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Submitted

An after-school STEM education program, piloted in East Tennessee by the Great Smoky Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America, will now be offered in other parts of the country. STEM Scouts—which encourages interest in science, technology, engineering, and math through fun hands-on learning and interaction with STEM professionals—will be expanding to 12 other Boy Scouts of America councils starting this fall.

“We’ve been thrilled to be able to offer STEM Scouts in the Great Smoky Mountain Council this last year,” said Great Smoky Mountain Council Scout Executive David Williams. “It’s been great for the youth, the parents, the volunteers, and our staff. We’ve had a lot of fun and introduced a lot of new families to the world of Scouting.”

By increasing STEM learning opportunities and establishing partnerships with businesses and universities, STEM Scouts gives young people real experience in these fields and the opportunity to work one-on-one with STEM educators and experts. The program is open to boys and girls in grades 3 through 12. [Read more…]

ORHS graduation is Thursday

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Commencement for the Oak Ridge High School Class of 2015 will be held at Blankenship Field on Thursday, May 28, at 7 p.m.

In the event of rain, the graduation ceremony will be moved to Friday, May 29, at 7 p.m.

If it is raining on Friday evening, the ceremony will be moved into the Wildcat Arena.

Fire destroys Clinton home

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Clinton Fire Department Patch

Information from WYSH Radio

A fire early Friday morning destroyed an unoccupied home on Baker Avenue in Clinton.

The Clinton Fire Department was dispatched at 6:08 a.m. Friday and arrived within three minutes to find heavy smoke and fire coming from the rear of the home. The Clinton Utilities Board cut off electricity to the scene as fire crews began their attack.

After gaining entry into the house and battling flames in a back room, two firefighters were ordered back out due to the ferocity of the flames burning in the basement and the attic.

Continuing the battle from outside, crews eventually were able to get back in and finally brought the blaze under control.  Firefighters left the scene just after 8:15 a.m. No injuries were reported, but the house suffered extensive damage.

The owner’s son and some other family members arrived on scene and said that there were some items missing from the house, and the Clinton Police Department was called in to investigate.

Photos: Memorial Day Concert in Oak Ridge

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Oak Ridge Memorial Day Concert

Photo by Julio Culiat

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band performed its annual Memorial Day Concert on Monday, May 25, at at A.K. Bissell Park. Here are pictures by Julio Culiat, a contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

The Monday program included patriotic music and popular American favorites. The 2015 Memorial Day concert had a number of special guest vocalists and a guest announcer, former Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan. Guest vocalists included Charlie Blake, Mike Cates, Lettie Andrade De La Torre, Whitney Denton, Deidre Ford, Robert May, Brill Morrow, Roscoe Shipley, and Melody Turner. They sang “God Bless the USA,” “The Stars and Stipes Forever,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and “The Armed Forces Salute.”

Among other numbers performed on Monday were “Highlights from Showboat,” “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” Sousa’s “Semper Fidelis,” and “Black Granite,” which is a tribute to Vietnam War veterans. [Read more…]

Anderson County school board to discuss compromise on raises

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Board of Education will meet in a special-called session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night (May 26) in the boardroom on the fifth floor of the Jolley Building in downtown Clinton.

The board is expected to discuss a compromise put forward by its Budget Committee to seek 2 percent raises for county teachers instead of the 4 percent raises they initially called for in budget negotiations. Funding just those raises at 4 percent would require the equivalent of a 23.5-cent property tax increase, which is highly unlikely to be approved by the Anderson County Commission.

Budget deliberations are continuing, and adjustments are still being made to the system’s proposal for the new fiscal year that begins July 1, including a reported $800,000 in cuts made last week by school officials.

Following this evening’s special-called meeting, BOE members are expected to meet with county commissioners to continue working on the fiscal blueprint for 2015-2016.

Updated: Two found after going missing on off-road ride near Windrock

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Note: This story was updated at 1:15 a.m. May 27.

WINDROCK PARK—The two off-road riders who went missing Saturday evening were found at about noon Sunday. Their sister, Kara Ferguson, said the riders were her brothers, Travis Lampkin, 27, of Knoxville, and Austin Turner, 11, of Andersonville.

Ferguson said the two left her home near Windrock Park north of Oliver Springs at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. She started to worry at about 8 p.m. because the Polaris RZR side-by-side vehicle the two were riding had a half-tank of gas.

Unable to get help from authorities, Ferguson said, she and others spent Saturday night looking for her brothers.

They later learned that the Polaris RZR had flipped on a trail known as Trail 9. Ferguson’s brother Travis Lampkin managed to get it upright again, but then a tire went flat and it ran out of gas. It also got dark, and Lampkin and Austin Turner weren’t sure where they were, Kara said. [Read more…]

NAACP in Oak Ridge, Anderson County meets tonight

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The May meeting of the NAACP in Oak Ridge and Anderson County is at 6 p.m. today (Tuesday, May 26) at the Scarboro Community Center.

Organizers said past events and upcoming projects will be discussed.

“The political action committee has been working on developing a law enforcement summit and will provide an update,” a meeting notice said.