Oak Ridge Today

ORHS: Four state winners, one national winner in computing awards for young women

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NCWIT Awards to Oak Ridge High School

Pictured above from left to right are Olivia Bookout, Patricia Edou, Serena French, and Keith Jackson. Indigo Jackson is not pictured. (Submitted photo)

 

Four Oak Ridge High School students won state honors, and one student was a national winner—the first from East Tennessee—in computing awards given to young women in 2015.

The Award for Aspirations in Computing by the National Center for Women and Technology honors young women at the high-school level for their computing-related achievements and interests, a press release said. Awardees are selected for their computing and IT aptitude, leadership ability, academic history, and plans for post-secondary education.

The four ORHS students were among 11 state winners from Tennessee. The Oak Ridge students are Olivia Bookout, Patricia Edou, Serena French, and Indigo Jackson. [Read more…]

ORAU wins contract worth up to $89 million from EPA

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Oak Ridge Associated Universities Building MC-100

The Oak Ridge Associated Universities Building MC-100 is pictured above.

Oak Ridge Associated Universities recently won a five-year contract worth up to $89 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to manage the EPA Environmental Research and Business Support Program, which provides opportunities for exceptional undergraduate and recent bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral graduates to participate in the EPA-sanctioned research and administrative projects.

Through this work, ORAU will recruit and place employees at 13 EPA Office of Research and Development laboratories and research centers across the U.S.  These participants in both business and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields will receive hands-on training in real-world settings at these laboratories and research centers while contributing to EPA’s mission, a press release said. [Read more…]

Superintendent Borchers at Lunch with League on Tuesday

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

During a lunchtime meeting Tuesday, Superintendent Bruce Borchers will review areas of focus for Oak Ridge Schools and share data on the past year’s achievements of students and staff members.

Borchers will also highlight future plans and programs, including the plan to transform Oak Ridge Schools into the premier preK-12 STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) school district in the nation. There will also be an update on the status of the recommendations for the Preschool and the School Administration Building, a press release said.

Borchers will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, January 20. The program starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

KnoxWorx hosts community job fair Tuesday

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KnoxWorx Logo

KnoxWorx, a workforce development initiative of Knoxville Leadership Foundation, is hosting a community job fair on Tuesday with help from area churches.

The job fair is at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in Knoxville from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday, January 20. The church is at 9132 Kingston Pike.

“Knoxville Leadership Foundation’s KnoxWorx program will host a community job fair and motivational seminar on January 20,” a press release said. “Several motivational speakers who have ‘been there, done that’ on the road to their career will give words of wisdom to attendees and advice on creative ways to land the job of their dreams. More than 30 local employers and HR representatives will be on hand to accept resumes and answer questions.” [Read more…]

Anderson County, Clinton schools closed Friday due to icy conditions

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Light Snow Image

Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown.

 

Anderson County Schools will be closed Friday, January 16, due to icy conditions in many parts of the county, officials said. The Central office will follow the inclement weather procedure.

Clinton City Schools will also be closed Friday, January 16, because of the expected weather conditions, officials said.

The forecast near Oak Ridge calls for decreasing clouds and a low of 29 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday night. Friday is expected to be sunny, with a high near 47 and a calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.

Video from Friday’s presidential visit by 134th Air Refueling Wing

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President Obama Visits McGhee Tyson

This is a still image from a video of President Obama arriving at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa during a 5.5-hour visit to East Tennessee on Friday afternoon, January 9, 2015. (Video by 134th Air Refueling Wing)

 

The 134th Air Refueling Wing gave assistance to Air Force One during landing and takeoff at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa when President Barack Obama visited East Tennessee on Friday afternoon, January 9.

Air Force Two, carrying Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden, also landed and departed from McGhee Tyson on Friday.

A third plane, a C-17, was also at McGhee Tyson to carry the presidential motorcade.

Here is a short video Friday’s visit at McGhee Tyson by the 134th Air Refueling Wing and Airman 1st Class Darby Arnold and Senior Airman Jackie Keeney. The video is posted online at DVIDS, the Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System. It includes a short excerpt of Air Force One taking off from McGhee Tyson.

Password storage programs to be discussed at PC Users Group meeting Thursday

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Tired of trying to find where you saved your computer passwords? In these days of hacks, we need a strong, unique, and often-changed password for every site. Using the same password over and over is a really bad idea, but remembering dozens of passwords just isn’t feasible. That’s where a password storage program can help.

The Oak Ridge PC Users Group will be discussing their favorite password storage programs at the monthly meeting on Thursday, January 15, at 7 p.m. at New Life Church of the Nazarene at 200 Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge. The meeting begins with a question-and-answer session on computer problems and solutions. All PC users are invited to attend.

ORPCUG strives to provide an opportunity for computer users to exchange ideas, knowledge, and experience in order to increase the understanding and use of personal computers. For more information, contact George Murphy at (865) 482-9175.

Cold hands, warm hearts: Leaders to sleep outside to raise awareness of homelessness

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Several community leaders will spend the night of Thursday, January 15, sleeping outside at First United Methodist Church in Oak Ridge to raise awareness of homelessness and to collect linens and personal care items for the upcoming Warming Center project and bring attention to the need for volunteers to help with the Point in Time Count.

The community is invited to participate by coming out to support the sleep-out participants from 6-7 p.m. Thursday. There will be a free soup dinner. All community members are invited to attend.

Local homeless providers will be present to talk about their agencies and what they are providing to homeless individuals in our community. Information on the warming center project and the Point in Time Count will also be available. [Read more…]

ORAU, MCLinc donate services to Emory Valley Center Capital Campaign

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ORAU Survey Team

An environmental survey team from ORAU partnered with Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. to provide sampling and laboratory analysis for Emory Valley Center, which is in the initial stages of demolishing an old building on its campus to make room for a new facility. The ORAU survey team consisting of Tim Vitkus, Adam Kirthlink, Jason Lee, Daniel Edds, Evan Harpeneau, and Mark Berkheimer donated their time and performed sampling to identify any contaminants that may be present at the site. (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge Associated Universities and Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. recently joined together to donate a total of $9,000 in services to Emory Valley Center in support of their Capital Campaign for a new facility.

The new building will incorporate many features to enhance the lives of people with disabilities being served, including a Job Training Center, Life Enrichment Classrooms, Adult Day Center, Medical Clinic, Speech, Physical and Occupational Services, Gym, and more, a press release said.

An environmental survey team from ORAU partnered with Oak Ridge-based Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc., or MCLinc, to provide sampling and laboratory analysis for Emory Valley Center, which is in the initial stages of demolishing an old building on its campus to make room for the new facility. [Read more…]

Friends of Oak Ridge Library has winter book sale Thursday-Sunday

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Oak Ridge Public Library

The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

The Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library has its winter 2015 Book Sale from Thursday evening, January 15, through Sunday, January 18.

The book sale will be held in the Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The sale will include fiction and nonfiction books, magazines, LP records, and other publications, a press release said. Most titles are 50 cents or $1 each. Titles withdrawn from the Library are half-price from Thursday through Saturday. [Read more…]

ORNL Federal Credit Union raises $65K for United Way

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ORNL FCU Donation to United Way

Pictured above from left to right are Chris Outland (ORNL FCU title services manager), Lydia Birk (2014 UWAC campaign chair), Ben Jones (ORNL FCU Maryville Branch manager), and Bethany Rush (branch floater). (Photo courtesy United Way)

 

ORNL Federal Credit Union raised $64,861 for the United Way of Anderson County’s annual giving campaign, bringing the total for the last two years to more than $131,000, a press release said.

“At ORNL Federal Credit Union, we are committed to making a difference by giving back and helping to improve the quality of life for others in our communities,” said Colin Anderson, ORNL FCU executive vice president and chief financial officer. “An investment in the United Way is an investment in our community.”

Donations to UWAC are an investment in the community, a United Way press release said. [Read more…]

THP: Man injured in December crash dies

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Note: This story was updated at 2:41 p.m. Jan. 18.

A man injured in a late December accident on Interstate 40 in Roane County died from his injuries, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The crash happened on I-40 near Gallaher Road in Kingston on Saturday, December 27.

Troopers said that Josephine Yeager, 18, of Dayton, was driving a 2004 Kia minivan in the far right eastbound lane near mile marker 356 and was trying to change lanes into the far left lane when she hit a 2014 Cadillac sedan driven by Norma L. Craig, 70, of Cookeville. The collision forced the Cadillac off the left side of roadway into the center median, THP Trooper Alexander Evans said in a report. [Read more…]