Oak Ridge Today

Are We There Yet? A glance in rearview mirror on winding journey to liberty, justice, equality

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Gina Grubb and Beth Meyer

Submitted

“Are We There Yet? A glance in the rearview mirror on the winding journey to liberty, justice and equality” will be the topic of the next Oak Ridge PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) meeting.

The meeting, held at the new Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike on Monday, April 6, is open to all who are interested. Social Hour will begin at 6:45 p.m., with the meeting scheduled from 7-8 p.m.

Partners Gina Grubb and Beth Meyer will share their perspectives and  experiences as gay rights activists during the past 16 years. Grubb is a native Oak Ridger and served nearly 15 years in the Oak Ridge Police Department. She is currently a STEM and science teacher at Eagleton Middle School in Blount County. Meyer has lived in Oak Ridge for 23 years and teaches fourth grade at Webb School of Knoxville. [Read more…]

Music at the Grove on Saturday, April 4

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R&M Tribute Entertainment at Grove Theater April 2015

A concert at the Grove Theater in Oak Ridge on Saturday, April 4, will feature several performers.

Those scheduled to perform include Brandon E., Ronnie Miller, and special guest Erin Ott, 2015 NACMAI Classic Country Female Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year.

The concert starts at 7 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $15 for adults, $7.50 for children 6-12 years old, and free for kids 5 and under.

The Grove Theater is at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge.

If you have any questions or would like to reserve seats, call Missy at (865) 684-6082.

Secret City Wildbots ranked No. 9 in Smoky Mountain Regionals

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Smoky Mountain Regionals Team 4265

Photos by Angi Agle

 

By Angi Agle and University of Tennessee

With the first day of competition complete, the Secret City Wildbots are ranked Number 9 in the Smoky Mountain Regionals competition held at the Knoxville Convention Center. Continuing competition Saturday morning will determine final standings for the elimination rounds Saturday afternoon.

Team selection for the elimination rounds are based partly on standing (the top eight teams are automatically entered and choose two other schools for their teammates), but partly on individual capabilities and other factors.

At the end of the elimination rounds, the winning team of three robots earns the right to enter the World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, from April 22-25. [Read more…]

Smoky Mountain Regional robot competition kicked off Thursday with practice

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Smoky Mountain Regionals Team 4265

Photos by Angi Agle

 

By Angi Agle

The Smoky Mountain Regional robotics competition kicked off Thursday with practice rounds, and qualification matches began Friday morning.

The theme of this year’s game is “Recycle Rush.” Robots are to pick up recycle bins, put foam noodles in trash cans, and stack all of them in the center of the field. Additional points are gained for the number of containers stacked.

Human players feed foam noodles into the trash cans as the robots hold them up to a hole in the plexiglas, as well as feeding gray recycle bins into the field for the robots to stack.

Team 4265, the Secret City Wildbots, experienced some technical challenges, which were expected to be resolved Friday morning. [Read more…]

The Mounds, a disc golf course, hosts annual Chuck tournament Saturday

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The Mounds, which is an Oak Ridge disc golf course, will host the annual Chuck tournament this Saturday, April 4. Sign up is at 11 a.m., and tee off is at noon.

“Come out and support the local disc golf club,” organizers said. “Disc golf is the fastest-growing sport and is fun for the whole family.”

See this Facebook event notice for more information, including a link to a map.

Concert of Darkness at Unitarian Universalist Church on Good Friday

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The annual Concert of Darkness at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will feature a variety of choral, instrumental, and solo selections that offer a time to reflect on the somber occasion of Good Friday, a press release said.

The concert starts at 4 p.m. Friday, April 3, at the church, which is at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Three Dog Night to headline Saturday night concert at Secret City Festival

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Three Dog Night

Three Dog Night (Submitted photo)

 

Three Dog Night will headline the Saturday night concert at the Secret City Festival in June.

The band’s hits include “Joy to the World,” “An Old Fashioned Love Song,” “Mama Told Me (Not To Come),” “Black and White,” “Shambala,” and “One.”

The 13th Annual Secret City Festival is June 12-13. Three Dog Night will play on Saturday, June 13. [Read more…]

Marshall Tucker Band to headline Friday night concert at Secret City Festival

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The Marshall Tucker Band

The Marshall Tucker Band (Submitted photo)

 

The Marshall Tucker Band will headline the Friday night concert at the Secret City Festival in June.

The band’s hits include “Heard It in a Love Song” and “Can’t You See.”

The Marshall Tucker Band started in Spartanburg, South Carolina, signed with Capricorn Records in 1972, and opened shows for The Allman Brothers in 1973, a press release said.

In 1974, the band began to headline its own shows across America due to the strong sales of its debut album, which went platinum, the release said. The Marshall Tucker Band toured rigorously over the years, playing sheds, stadiums, theaters, fairs, and festivals. [Read more…]

Four charged with aggravated robbery in alleged plot to steal rent money

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Raymond R. Gray

Raymond R. Gray

Four young Oak Ridge adults have been charged with aggravated robbery and criminal conspiracy in an alleged plot to rob a woman for rent money, authorities said.

The alleged armed robbery occurred on Highland Avenue at about midnight April 1, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins said in warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

The victim said three men who had their faces covered had robbed her at gunpoint and fled in a black Chevy sedan, the warrants said. The victim followed them north on Highland Avenue. [Read more…]

City, schools to discuss budget in joint work session on April 8

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The City of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Schools will discuss the budget for the fiscal year that starts in July during a joint work session at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 8, in the Robertsville Middle School Library.

See an updated budget timeline here: Oak Ridge Schools 2015-2016 Budget Timeline.

Tech 2020-led team receives $250K grant for investment capital effort

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Tech 2020 Logo

A proposal team led by Technology 2020, or Tech 2020, in Oak Ridge has received a $250,000 federal grant to create a seed capital fund. The goal is to establish a permanent source of professionally managed, seed-stage investment capital focused on technology-generating institutions, entrepreneurs, and young companies in Tennessee, a press release said.

The grant was announced this week by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

Tech 2020 led a proposal team that included Memphis Bioworks Foundation, Meritus Ventures, and Innova Memphis. The team proposed to create the “TennesSeed Fund.”

The TennesSeed Fund team will receive the $250,000 grant, and it will be supported by Meritus and Innova to conduct an assessment of best practices, and then organize and launch a new seed fund focused on “proof of concept” financings in Tennessee. The initial focus of investments will be intelligent and sustainable transportation and logistics, which is an industry cluster where Tennessee has a competitive advantage bolstered by strong research, development, and commercial activity, a press release said. [Read more…]

Artwork by JMS sixth-grader chosen for homeless coalition poster

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JMS Misty Greenhalgh

Misty Greenhalgh holding the 2015 PIT Count Poster with art teacher, Jim Dodson; JMS Principal Phil Cox; and TORCH Art Show Director Sheila Michel. (Submitted photo)

 

Misty Greenhalgh, a sixth-grade art student of Jim Dodson at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, submitted artwork to the Second Annual TORCH Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Art Show that was then submitted to the TVCH (Tennessee Valley Coalition for the Homeless) Point in Time Count Poster Contest.

In the past, TVCH chose one piece of art from each county to be that county’s PIT poster. This year, they created the same poster for all 12 counties they serve. Faces from artwork used in past year’s posters as well as the face from Greenhalgh’s work were used for this year’s poster.

The 2015 poster states: “We are more than just faces. Everyone counts.”

Greenhalgh was recognized at the Monday night meeting of the Oak Ridge Board of Education. [Read more…]