Oak Ridge Today

UCOR awards 33 mini-grants for local school projects

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Leo Sain at K-25

Leo Sain, president and project manager for cleanup contractor UCOR, pictured in front of part of the former K-25 Building, which is now demolished, in January 2013.

The federal government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge last week announced 33 winners of the UCOR Education Mini-Grant Program in East Tennessee.

One of UCOR’s primary objectives is to support and encourage education initiatives, a press release said. The Mini-Grant Program was designed to recognize and support excellence in teaching by providing funds to assist classroom teachers for specific projects or curricula, focusing primarily on science, technology, engineering, and math, the release said..

UCOR is a partnership between URS and CH2M Oak Ridge LLC.

“Our Mini-Grant Program provides a unique way for teachers to enhance their students’ educational experiences,” said Leo Sain, UCOR president and project manager. “The hands-on projects funded by our program give students a greater insight into today’s science and technology in fun and exciting ways.”

The successful teachers, schools, and proposed projects are: [Read more…]

Farmers Market now open on Wednesdays in Oak Ridge

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Farmers Market

 

The East Tennessee Farmers Association for Retail Marketing, or FARM, opened the Wednesday FARM Market at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Oak Ridge market operates in the parking lot adjacent to historic Jackson Square. It is also the site of the popular Saturday FARM Market that operates from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturdays.

The market is open in Oak Ridge from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday each week.

FARM operates two market locations in Knoxville on Tuesdays and Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m. The Tuesday market is held at Ebenezer United Methodist Church at 1001 Ebenezer Road near Westland Drive. On Friday, farmers sell products at the Laurel Church of Christ, 3457 Kingston Pike across from Cherokee Boulevard.

Established in 1976, FARM markets run from mid-April through late November. For more information visit online at www.easttnfarmmarkets.org.

Girl Scouts host Japanese GS troop from sister city

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Girl Scouts Pancake Breakfast

From left to right, Oak Ridge Girl Scouts Jordan Oxendine, Becca Bahl, Ahna Wurm, and Zaeleigh Holbrook invite everyone to support the Girl Scouts Pancake Breakfast on Saturday. (Submitted photo)

 

Submitted

Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts invite the community to their Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, May 17. The event will be held at Aubrey’s, 481 S. Illinois Ave. from 8 to 10 a.m.

Guests will be greeted with “Brownie Smiles” and will enjoy stacks of fresh pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Special servers are the girl hostesses for the Japanese Girl Scouts from our sister city, Naka, Japan. Twelve Japanese Girl Scouts and leaders will be visiting Oak Ridge from July 28-Aug. 2. During this visit, the Naka girls and their hostesses will camp at GS Camp Tanasi and earn the Secret City Heritage patch.

Pancake breakfast tickets are $5 each. Proceeds benefit the Oak Ridge GS service unit and the Naka Girl Scout visit. To purchase tickets, call (865) 483-3958. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Experience the majestic Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony in Saturday concert

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Oak Ridge Community Orchestra Strings

String players in the Oak Ridge Community Orchestra are pictured above. (Photo courtesy of Travis Witherington) 

 

By Dale Gedcke

Don’t miss the majestic “Symphony No. 3 with Organ” by Saint-Saëns, performed by the Oak Ridge Community Orchestra at 2 p.m. Saturday May 17, in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church. This is probably the most impressive symphony that one can find. It is unique because of the dominant role played by the organ, especially in the finale, where it builds the foundation for a glorious finish.

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 – 1921) composed his third symphony at the pinnacle of his career when he was in his early 50s. The story of his life is as remarkable as the content of this symphony. Trained on the piano from a very early age, his first public performance came at the age of five, when he accompanied a Beethoven violin sonata. At 10, he played his first public recital, featuring works by Handel, Kalkbrenner, Hummel, and Bach. As an encore, Saint-Saëns offered to play any of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas from memory. [Read more…]

Anderson Chamber offers business counseling Wednesday

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Anderson County Chamber of Commerce Logo

The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce will host free and confidential business counseling sessions from 9–11 a.m. Wednesday.

Jutta Bangs, senior business specialist with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, will advise and assist future entrepreneurs and existing business owners, a press release said.

To make an appointment for May or future scheduled sessions, call (865) 457-2559 or email accc@andersoncountychamber.org. To learn more about the TSBDC, visit www.tsbdc.org.

Kiwanis Club talk to focus on Revolutionary War, Day One: Paul Revere, Lexington, Concord

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Don Edmands Jr.

Don Edmands Jr.

A Tuesday evening program with the Kiwanis Club of Oak Ridge will focus on the Revolutionary War, Day One. Topics to be included are the day that started the seven-year Revolutionary War, minute by minute: Paul Revere’s ride, lanterns displayed in Boston’s North Church, the British march to Lexington and Concord, and the battle at Lexington Green and Concord’s North Bridge.

The talk will feature Don Edmands, president of the Madisonville Kiwanis Club. It will start at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the smaller meeting room of the Golden Oak Grill Buffet.

The Golden Oak Grill Buffet is at 401 S. Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge.

Kiwanis members, friends, and the public are cordially invited, a press release said. The 6:30 p.m. talk follows a 6 p.m. dinner. The dinner buffet will be available for people who come to the Golden Oak Grill Buffet, pay for the dinner, get their food from the many choices, and go to the smaller meeting room nearer to the entrance and cashier station. The program presentation is available to persons who go directly to the smaller meeting room.

Free Document Shred Day at ORNL FCU on Saturday

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ORNL Federal Credit Union

The ORNL Federal Credit Union on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above in February. (File photo)

There is a free Document Shred Day from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Millertown Pike and Oak Ridge branches of ORNL Federal Credit Union.

It’s a partnership between ORNL FCU and Cintas Document Management Co., and it’s open to ORNL FCU members as well as the public.

People can bring unwanted documents, especially ones containing personal information, to one of the Document Shred Day locations and have it safely and securely destroyed at no charge, a press release said. A maximum of four boxes/bags per person will be accepted. [Read more…]

Student lights desk on fire; RMS bomb threat appears unfounded, ORPD says

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Note: This story was last updated at 3:58 p.m.

A 16-year-old student at the Alternative School used hand sanitizer and a lighter to ignite another student’s desktop on Wednesday, authorities said.

Students extinguished the fire, and the suspect was arrested at the Alternative School on Thursday. He was processed at the Oak Ridge Police Department on aggravated arson charges and taken to the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Facility in Knoxville, a press release said.

In a separate incident, authorities determined that a report of an alleged bomb threat at Robertsville Middle School on Monday was unfounded, and no criminal charges are expected.

The ORPD said the desk was set on fire just before dismissal at the Alternative School on Wednesday. The Alternative School is next to the Oak Ridge High School and on the same campus. Staff at the Alternative School notified School Resource Office Sherrill Selby about the incident via e-mail. [Read more…]

Roane Commission to consider ‘In God We Trust’ signs

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In God We Trust Courthouse Signs

Workers from Island Home Granite, Signs, and Monuments install the first of four granite “In God We Trust” signs over the entrances at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton in July 2013. (File photo)

Information from WYSH Radio

Roane County leaders are considering installing signs bearing the phrase “In God We Trust” at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston.

Roane County Commissioner Randy Ellis said his proposal would have one sign installed above the main entrance to the courthouse, and another in the commission chamber. The signs would have to be privately funded as Anderson County’s signs were when a similar proposal approved last year.

“In God We Trust” signs now hang above all four entrances to the Anderson County Courthouse as well as at the Oak Ridge General Sessions Court building. The Roane County Commission is set to discuss the proposal at 7 p.m. Monday.

TSSAA penalizes Clinton, Knox Central soccer teams after brawl

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Information from WYSH Radio

The TSSAA has penalized Clinton and Knox Central high schools for a fight that occurred late in the Bobcats’ 4-2 win Monday night in the District 3-AAA soccer tournament.

The fight broke out with about five minutes to play, apparently after some jawing back and forth between players. Central suffered the most immediate penalty, forfeiting the rest of its season, including Thursday night’s scheduled semifinal game at Gibbs. [Read more…]

Meth lab seizures in Tennessee down from 2013

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Federal Meth Prosecution

Flanked by local, state, and federal law enforcement officers, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian, center, announces that 42 people, including many Anderson County residents, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine. (March 2013 file photo)

Information from WYSH Radio

The Tennessee Meth Task Force says that the number of meth labs seized in the state in the first quarter of 2014 is down 52 percent from this time last year. Between January and March of 2014, 290 meth labs were seized, compared to the first quarter of 2013, when 612 meth labs were seized.

Officials attributed the decrease to several factors, including increased enforcement, like the federal indictments handed down in Anderson County last year against more than 50 people on meth-making and related charges. Officials also cite local ordinances passed by 17 communities that now require a prescription to purchase pseudoephedrine, which is the key ingredient used to make meth. Last year, however, the state Attorney General opined that such laws violate the state constitution.

In 2013, Anderson County led the state in meth lab busts. First quarter numbers for 2014 show that Anderson and Roane County have had the second highest number of seizures, with 10 meth lab busts each, and that Monroe County ranked first with the highest number, 14 meth lab seizures.

Clinton man charged after teen pierces tongue

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Clinton man was arrested Wednesday morning on charges of aggravated child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in connection to an incident that allegedly happened last fall.

Jeremy Vandinter, 36, is accused of posing as a 13-year-old girl’s father and signing a parental consent form that allowed the girl to get her tongue pierced at an Oliver Springs tattoo parlor, against her actual father’s wishes. The teen had apparently babysat for Vandinter in the past and approached him to sign the form so she could have the procedure done at Uptown Ink in Oliver Springs.

The incident allegedly occurred on Sept. 28 of last year but the girl’s father did not discover the tongue-piercing until late last month, when he called police. Vandinter will appear in court in Roane County on June 6.