Oak Ridge Today

Community forum on homelessness in Anderson County on Tuesday

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A Tuesday evening forum in Oak Ridge will focus on homelessness in Anderson County.

The free forum is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 18, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The forum has been organized by the Trinity Out-Reach Center of Hope, or TORCH, and ORUUC. It will bring together experts from social service agencies and the wider community for a panel discussion to explore how a 10-year plan to help reduce and alleviate homelessness could be effective in Anderson County, a press release said. [Read more…]

Second Technology Town Hall at ORHS on Nov. 25

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Oak Ridge Schools Logo

Oak Ridge Schools will have its second Technology Town Hall presentation and question-and-answer forum on Tuesday, November 25.

The presentation and forum are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. November 25 in the Oak Ridge High School Auditorium. Residents, parents, and students are all invited.

Superintendent Bruce Borchers will have a brief presentation talking about the benefits of Oak Ridge Schools launching an innovative learning platform that integrates technology, a press release said. Borchers’ presentation will be followed by a live classroom-based technology demonstration by teacher Chris Layton and his students at Jefferson Middle School. [Read more…]

First pageant for special needs girls on Saturday

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The first Miss Sparkle Princess Pageant for special needs girls will be Saturday at the Grove Theater in Oak Ridge.

Fifteen teenage girls from many area cities are entered in the pageant, which is sponsored by WVLT Local 8 news and many Oak Ridge and Knoxville businesses, a press release said. Erin Barnett, Local 8 news anchor will emcee the pageant, which is expected to become an annual event.

It’s scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Saturday, November 15. The cost to attend the pageant is non-perishable food items that will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.

The press release said the pageant was created and is being directed by 17-year-old Abigail Ridenour of Oak Ridge.

Small business workshop on government contracting on Dec. 2

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center will have a free workshop for small businesses on the basics of government contracting on Tuesday, December 2.

The workshop is being conducted in partnership with the University of Tennessee CIS-PTAC. It’s scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon December 2 at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

To sign up, call (865) 483-2668, email Jutta Bangs at jbangs@tsbdc.org, or visit www.roanestate.edu/tsbdc.

The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College advises and assists entrepreneurs and small business owners in the area at no cost to them.

Veterans Day Parade in Clinton tonight

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The 8th Annual Anderson County Veterans Day Parade is tonight in downtown Clinton.

This years’ theme is “Welcome Home for All Iraq/Afghanistan War Veterans.” This year’s grand marshal will be all Anderson County Iraqi/Afghanistan War Veterans.

The parade starts at 6 p.m. today (Tuesday, November 11). It’s presented by the director of veterans services for Anderson County and the Clinton American Legion Post #172 in partnership with the Tennesseans for Living History. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has annual dinner tonight

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The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Annual Dinner and Silent Auction will be held at 6 p.m. today (Tuesday, November 11) at the Elks Club in Oak Ridge.

The speaker will be Richard Evans, retired director of the Arboretum’s Forest Resources and AgResearch Education Center for 39 years. He will recap the Arboretum’s history, programs, research, and advancements during the first 50 years.

The evening will begin with at 6 p.m. with a social hour (cash bar) and silent auction followed by a buffet dinner at 7 p.m. A brief a brief business meeting will take place, followed by Evans’ presentation.

Silent actions items include fine crafts, gifts certificates, signed books, art, wine and accessories, hard tools, and much, much more, a press release said. “Arrive early for the best bidding and to chat with other Arboretum supporters!” [Read more…]

Photos: Fall leaves in Oak Ridge

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Fall Leaves at UT Arboretum 2014

Fall leaves at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge on October 31. (Photos by D. Ray Smith)

 

Here are four pictures of fall leaves in Oak Ridge by D. Ray Smith. [Read more…]

Sewer rehab work continues week of Nov. 10

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More rehabilitation work of the city’s sewer collection pipes is scheduled to continue this week, starting Monday, November 10.

The work is being done by Hurst Excavating and Morgan Contracting under contract with the City of Oak Ridge. It includes rehabilitating sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and in roadways, a press release said. [Read more…]

Science fiction authors, publishers panel at DoubleTree on Tuesday

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Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop Logo

There will be a panel of science fiction authors and publishers at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge on Tuesday night.

The panel will follow the Third Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop being held from Sunday to Tuesday this week in conjunction with the release of the movie “Interstellar.”

“See, hear, and meet Sarah Hoyt and Dan Hoyt, Tony Daniel, Toni Weisskopf, Les Johnson, and Paul Gilster,” a press release said.

The panel is free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale, and there will be a book-signing.

Senior Center has free Veterans Day pancake brunch

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The Oak Ridge Senior Center will honor the men and women who have served the United States both past and present with a pancake brunch on Veterans Day, Tuesday, November 11. Brunch will begin at 10:30 a.m. and be on a first-come, first-serve basis until the pancakes are gone.

This is a free event for seniors 50 and over, as well as veterans of any age.

For more information about this and other programs at the Oak Ridge Senior Center, like them on Facebook, call them at (865) 425-3999, or visit the website at orrecparks.org.

Suspect in alleged assault over pregnancy check turns himself in

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Aaron Eugene Seiber

Aaron Eugene Seiber

Information from WYSH Radio/Anderson County Sheriff’s Department

The Briceville man who allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, who wanted to go to the doctor to see if she is pregnant, turned himself in at the jail on Tuesday, authorities said.

Aaron Eugene Seiber, 25, remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Sunday afternoon. He has been charged with aggravated assault, and his bond has been set at $50,000.

Seiber is accused of hitting his 21-year-old girlfriend in the stomach and choking her after she asked if she should go to the doctor to see if she was pregnant. The Clinton woman reported that Seiber allegedly swung a hammer at her, choked her, and struck her in the stomach.

The woman told deputies that the attack happened at Seiber’s home near Rocky Top early Saturday morning, November 1, and that she intended to seek an order of protection against him.

Sheriff: Arrest made after indoor marijuana grow, other drugs found

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Nathan Allen Underwood

Nathan Allen Underwood

A Rocky Top man was arrested Tuesday when officers serving a search warrant found marijuana plants in various stages of a grow operation, along with indoor grow equipment such as lights, as well as other drug paraphernalia, authorities said. In addition, mushrooms and suspected prescription narcotics were also found, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said.

White said investigators with the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit, along with officers from the Rocky Top Police Department, and the 7th Judicial District Crime Task Force, served a search warrant at a home on Industrial Park Road in Rocky Top on Tuesday afternoon. The search warrant was the result of a joint drug investigation with these agencies.

Authorities arrested Nathan Allen Underwood, 32, of Rocky Top, and he was charged with several drug and weapons offenses, White said. The charges include manufacturing, delivering, selling, or possessing a controlled substance; possession of Schedule I drugs; possession of Schedule II drugs; possession of drug paraphernalia; and unlawful possession of a weapon.

The sheriff said charges on two other people are expected, pending more investigation into the case.

Underwood remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Sunday afternoon, and his bond has been set at $35,000.