Oak Ridge Today

Community Mediation Services has Giant Garage Sale this weekend

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Community Mediation Services of Anderson County, or CMS, is having its annual Giant Garage Sale on Friday and Saturday.

The garage sale is scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the yellow Eagle building at 1650 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

For more than 28 years, CMS has helped hundreds of juveniles and families come up with their own solutions to difficult conflicts and concerns, using well-trained, community volunteer mediators, a press release said. This fall, in addition to its three other mediation programs, CMS will be working with the Anderson County Schools on school attendance (truancy) issues. [Read more…]

Business executive, community volunteer running for City Council

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Kelly Callison

Kelly Callison

Business executive and community volunteer Kelly Callison is running for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 4 municipal election.

Callison is chief operating officer of Information International Associates Inc. He is also vice chairman of the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission.

In a press release, Callison said he thinks his community, business, and military experience will enable him to bring a cooperative and positive approach to city government. Callison said he will focus on “maintaining our great schools, improving housing, and increasing retail and commercial business.”

Callison and his family came to Oak Ridge seven years ago and have been active in the community from the beginning, the press release said. Besides serving as vice chair of the Municipal Planning Commission, Callison is a member of the East Tennessee Economic Council, a member of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Advocacy Task Force, a board member of Contact CareLine, president of the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, and a member of the Oak Ridge Chapter of the League of Woman Voters. [Read more…]

Forum to feature candidates for school board, TN House, Congress

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Vote Logo

A Wednesday evening forum will feature candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education, U.S. Congressional District 3, and Tennessee House District 32.

The forum starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike. It’s been organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.

Candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education have been invited to speak and answer questions. They include  incumbent Bob Eby and seven other candidates: Jean Hiser, Andrew Howe, Mike Mahathy, A. Paige Marshall, Laura McLean, Laurie Paine, and Aaron Wells.

There are three school board seats available in the November 4 municipal election. Eby is the only incumbent seeking re-election; Dan DiGregorio and Jenny Richter are not.

Candidates with opposition in the state and federal general election have also been invited to speak and answer questions. In the U.S. House, Republican Representative Chuck Fleischmann of District 3, which includes Oak Ridge, faces challenges from Democrat Mary M. Headrick, who also ran two years ago, and Independent Cassandra J. Mitchell. [Read more…]

Food, music at Taste of Oak Ridge to benefit Free Medical Clinic

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Taste of Oak Ridge

 

The format will be the same, but this year’s Taste of Oak Ridge will be held at the new Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church on Oak Ridge Turnpike—instead of in Jackson Square. It was moved because organizers weren’t sure when construction work might start on a revitalization project at Jackson Square.

Taste of Oak Ridge features food from Oak Ridge restaurants and performances by local musicians.

The sixth annual festival, scheduled from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday, will raise money to benefit the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge. The Free Medical Clinic provides free medical care to residents of Anderson, Roane, and Morgan counties who don’t have insurance and can’t afford to pay for care.

Area restaurants will showcase some of their finest food in small portions. The price range for the “tastes” from each vendor will be $1 to $4 per item. Tickets will be available for purchase at entrances to the event. Attendees can buy as many tickets as they want for $1 each. In addition, beer and wine will be available to buy.

This year’s Taste of Oak Ridge will be held in the parking lot of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at its new address at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike, north of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building. [Read more…]

U.S. SBA honors Street Legal Industries with small business award

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Street Legal Industries Inc. has received the highest recognition by the U. S. Small Business Administration in Tennessee, a press release said. The company was proclaimed “Tennessee Historically Underutilized (HUB) Zone Small Business of the Year.”

Every year since 1963, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight, through National Small Business Week, the impact of outstanding small businesses.

“These award winners represent the many excellent small businesses that we have in the Volunteer State,” said Walter Perry, district director of SBA’s Tennessee District Office.

The award will be presented to Street Legal Industries Inc. at 3 p.m. Thursday, September 25, at their offices at 102A Jefferson Court in Oak Ridge. The presentation will be combined with an open house. Customers and partners of the company are invited to attend. [Read more…]

Tech 2020 announces interim CEO

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David Snider, the chief financial officer for Tech 2020, will serve as interim chief executive officer effective October 1, succeeding John Morris, who recently resigned.

The agreement was announced Tuesday by Tom Rogers, chair of the Tech 2020 board of directors.

Snider has been with Tech 2020, a nonprofit regional venture development organization, for 14 years as CFO. He will maintain his duties as CFO and fulfill the role of interim CEO until a new, permanent CEO can be recruited and hired, the press release said. [Read more…]

Abolitionist, women’s rights leader to be portrayed at AAUW meeting

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Teresa Collard and Lisa LeBleu

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an abolitionist and women’s rights leader, will be remembered in a historical portrayal during a Monday, September 22, meeting of the Oak Ridge Branch of the AAUW.

The presentation is titled “In Her Own Voice: Elizabeth Cady Stanton Remembers.”

The AAUW will meet at 11:30 a.m. in Room 102 of the Activities Building of First United Presbyterian Church. A catered luncheon will be served at 11:30 a.m., with the program beginning at noon.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, along with Susan B. Anthony, headed a group, which was also interested in women’s rights, that gathered 400,000 signatures on a petition to bring about the immediate passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to end slavery in the United States, a press release said. [Read more…]

Lunch with League: tnAchieves paves path to higher education

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Graham Thomas

Graham Thomas

Graham Thomas, tnAchieves director of community partnerships, will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday, September 16, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

tnAchieves, a partnering organization to Governor Bill Haslam’s Tennessee Promise, serves primarily first-generation, low-income students in an effort to increase this population’s likelihood of earning a college credential. While the funding provided by Tennessee Promise is critical to increased post-secondary access, tnAchieves data confirms that working with a mentor further enhances a student’s likelihood of entering the post-secondary pipeline, a press release said. In fact, the University of Tennessee’s Center for Business and Economic Research found that students participating with tnAchieves are nearly 21 percent more likely to enter college. [Read more…]

Sewer rehab work continues week of Sept. 15

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More rehabilitation work of the city’s sewer collection pipes is scheduled to continue this week, starting Monday, September 15.

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.

Residents should already have received color-coded letters and door hangers (orange for Hurst Excavating and purple for Morgan Contracting) providing general information and each contractors’ contact information.

Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists are urged to use extra care and caution when traveling on the streets with sewer work areas, a press release said. Temporary road repairs will be made, and loose gravel should be expected until the patches are permanently paved. [Read more…]

Gov. Haslam, Bredesen to discuss Amendment 2 at UT on Wednesday

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and former Governor Phil Bredesen will discuss a constitutional amendment that could affect the judicial system during a Wednesday celebration of Constitution Day at the University of Tennessee.

Amendment 2 to the Tennessee Constitution will be on the ballot in November. It proposes new checks and balances to the governor’s appointment of Supreme Court and intermediate appellate court judges. It also protects the rights of Tennesseans to vote to retain or replace those judges in retention elections, UT said in a press release.

Haslam and Bredesen will discuss the amendment at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Toyota Auditorium of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy. The discussion will be moderated by Doug Blaze, dean of UT’s College of Law.

It’s part of the Baker Center’s celebration of Constitution Day on Wednesday. Free and open to the public, the day’s events will also include: [Read more…]

Candlelight vigil for Erin Corwin in Oak Ridge on Friday

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Erin Corwin

Erin Corwin

Erin Renae (Heavilin) Corwin of Twentynine Palms, California, went to be with the Lord on August 16, 2014. Erin, originally from Oak Ridge, was a doting wife, daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend.

Erin’s friends remember her as being a great confidant who was always willing to go above and beyond to help anyone she knew. Erin’s love for animals, especially horses, will live on in the memories of those closest to her. Erin’s nurturing soul led her to become the mother of dozens of animals in her short life. Her “children” ranged from fish and guinea pigs to cats and dogs.

Before her husband Jon’s career in the United States Marine Corps took them to California, Erin worked at Tractor Supply in Oak Ridge and spent most of her free time with her horse or checking out the latest yard sales with her mom and brother. Though Erin enjoyed being in California, she and Jon were looking forward to being able to move back to East Tennessee next year. [Read more…]

Volley ‘Cats sweep Dragons, 5-0 in district play

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Lady Wildcats Volleyball, Clinton, and Emma and Olivia Milloway

Sisters Emma and Olivia Milloway get a block for the Lady Wildcats against the Clinton Lady Dragons on Thursday. (Photos by Loren Bonds)

 

By Carmen Foster, Head Coach

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcat volleyball team took on district rival Clinton High School on Thursday night.

The Lady Wildcats beat the Lady Dragons in straight sets: 25-10, 25-22, and 25-15. They were led by seniors Rachel Card (#27), Mattie Livengood (#12), Sami Viau (#3), Emily Campbell (#30), and Rachel Loeffler (#21).

It was a well-played match, with contributions coming from all of the varsity players.

Standouts included seniors: [Read more…]