Oak Ridge Today

Clinton Police officer receives state DUI enforcement award

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Clinton Police Department Officer Dustin Hensley, left, and Chief Rick Scarbrough are pictured above. (Submitted photo)

Clinton Police Department Officer Dustin Hensley, left, and Chief Rick Scarbrough are pictured above. (Submitted photo)

Officer Dustin Hensley of the Clinton Police Department was recently recognized by the Governor’s Highway Safety Office for his persistence in keeping drunk drivers off the streets of Clinton, a press release said.

Hensley received a DUI/Impaired Driving Enforcement award for his work from Jan. 1 through Oct. 1, 2013, the release said. He was nominated by Lt. Larry Miller, who heads up CPD’s Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

The special award plaque was presented Dec. 9 during the GHSO joint network meeting at the Holiday Inn in Knoxville. [Read more…]

Service of Memory and Hope at First Presbyterian on Tuesday

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Sharon Youngs

Sharon Youngs

The First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge will hold its second annual Service of Memory and Hope at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the sanctuary.

“This candlelight service is for those who seek a peaceful setting to remember loved ones and friends who are no longer with us, those who are currently going through a difficult time in their lives, and those who, for whatever reason, find this time of year to be particularly hard,” said the Rev. Sharon Youngs, church pastor.

The service will feature an opportunity to light candles in memory of loved ones, prayer, and comforting music presented by the Rev. Youngs on guitar and Music Director Anna Thomas on flute.

Child care will be offered during the service. The church is located at the northeast corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Lafayette Drive.

Anderson Chamber offers business counseling on Wednesday

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center is offering a free and confidential counseling session on Wednesday, Dec. 18, from 9 a.m.–noon at the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce in Clinton.

TSBDC advises and assists future and existing business owners. Senior Business Specialist Jutta Bangs will  lead the Wednesday session.

To make an appointment for this or another day, call (865) 457-2559 or e-mail accc@andersoncountychamber.org. [Read more…]

ETEC presents 2013 Muddy Boot Awards

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On Friday, the East Tennessee Economic Council named three new recipients of the Muddy Boot Award: Bill Biloski, Ray Smith, and Barry Stephenson.

The Muddy Boot Award is a tribute to people who, through their work and community activities, make East Tennessee a stronger region.

Also Friday, ETEC presented two Postma Young Professional Medals to husband and wife Colin and Sherith Colverson.

The council’s annual celebratory event was keynoted by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. [Read more…]

Colversons win 2013 Postma Young Professional Medals

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Sherith and Colin Colverson were presented the 2013 Postma Young Professional Medals on Friday for their outstanding accomplishments at work and in the community, a press release said.

The Postma Medal was created by the East Tennessee Economic Council to honor the accomplishments of young professionals who have made an impact and fostered a community culture in the region. Former Oak Ridge National Laboratory director Herman Postma epitomized this spirit during his life, and his wife Pat continues the tradition of service today through her involvement in the Oak Ridge community, the press release said.

Pat Postma and Tim Myrick presented the awards to the Colversons at ETEC’s annual meeting on Friday at the DoubleTree Hotel. [Read more…]

Anderson County Toy Run raises money for children at Christmas, helps them shop

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Santa Claus at Kmart

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Each year for 21 years, the Anderson County Toy Run has worked hard to raise funds for children at Christmas.

In February, there is a Chili Cook off; in April, June, and August, there are poker runs; and in October, there is a Parade Run and final effort to raise funds for that year.

Local churches help gather the list of the children, and at 7 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Oak Ridge Kmart and Clinton Walmart, 150 children were greeted by Santa Claus and volunteers and staff of the Anderson County Toy Run and local football teams, churches, and other organizations who helped the children shop. [Read more…]

League of Women Voters to mark Bill of Rights Day on Sunday

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League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge will join with chapters across America to mark the 222nd anniversary on Dec. 15 of the adoption of the Bill of Rights with a call for improved political discourse and greater civic participation in our community.

The Bill of Rights—the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution—is generally considered to be the mainstay of our constitutional freedom, a press release said. They are said to guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public. The League of Women Voters believes the best way to honor this historic document is to protect the freedom it guarantees.

For more than 90 years, the League of Women Voters of the United States has defended civil liberties and promoted balanced civic discourse on important community issues. Its mission is to increase civic participation—to help individuals recognize the critical importance of protecting and honoring our most cherished constitutional rights because they impact our everyday lives. [Read more…]

Weekly memorial for veterans moves to Municipal Building on Sunday

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Friendship Bell Repairs

A symbol of the friendship between Oak Ridge and Japan, the 20-year-old Friendship Bell at Alvin K. Bissell Park is closed while the city make repairs to the structure holding up the bell.

Since the structure housing the Friendship Bell is under repair for an indeterminate amount of time, the group that has met each week for more than 400 Sundays to ring the Friendship Bell in remembrance of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in recent years, for Anderson County veterans of American wars, will meet Sunday, Dec. 15, at the Veterans Memorial/Flag Pole in front of the Oak Ridge Municipal Building.

The memorial is at 12:20 p.m. Sunday.

The group, which varies in composition and number, plans to meet each week when the weather forecast is dry, a press release said. When the weather forecast is wet, the names to be read in memorium will be saved for the next gathering. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Christmas Parade still on—rain or shine

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Oak Ridge Christmas Parade

The Oak Ridge Christmas Parade is at 6 p.m. Saturday. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)

The Oak Ridge Christmas Parade will take place rain or shine Saturday evening, officials said.

The parade is organized by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, and it starts at 6 p.m. Saturday.

“According to the hour-by-hour forecast, the rain should be out of here before the parade takes place—keep your fingers crossed!” the chamber said.

This year’s theme is “Inside Santa’s Workshop,” and the parade promises to provide spectators with plenty of music, lights, and beautiful floats, a press release said. [Read more…]

State trooper, former marshal running for Anderson County sheriff

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Anthony Lay

Anthony Lay

An Anderson County man who is a state highway patrolman and former federal deputy U.S. marshal has announced he is running for sheriff.

Anthony Lay is seeking the Republican nomination for Anderson County sheriff in May 2014.

Lay is an officer with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a press release said. He has served as Scott County sheriff, and when he was 33, was appointed as a federal U.S. marshal in Atlanta.

Lay returned to Anderson County to help his parents after his father suffered a health event, the release said.

“I am announcing my candidacy out of my love for public service and the people who live here,” Lay said in the press release. “Anderson County is a wonderful place to live and work, and the people of Anderson County deserve a safe community and leadership they can trust.” [Read more…]

Holiday concert on Sunday features Oak Ridge Symphony, Chorus, Sound Company

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Sound Company Children's Performing Choir

The Sound Company Children’s Performing Choir of Oak Ridge is pictured above singing in an earlier concert. (File photo)

The Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra will join Sound Company and the Oak Ridge Chorus to “ring in” the holiday season during a concert on Sunday.

The concert starts at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center.

The holiday concert is presented by the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association.

The orchestra, under the direction of Dan Allcott, will open the concert with the “Hanukah Festival Overture,” composed by Knoxville’s own Lucas Richman. Music from “Mass of the Children,” and “Colors of Christmas,” will feature the children and the civic choruses. The performance will be dedicated to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Connecticut last year. [Read more…]

ORHS Madrigal Singers at library at lunchtime Friday

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Shepards Pipes

The Oak Ridge High School Madrigal Singers will perform at the Public Library at noon Friday.

“These students sing routinely in many languages and perform music from many time periods, Renaissance to modern,” a press release said. “Several participate in All East and All State choirs, and many receive college scholarships to help them pursue their music studies.”

Choir director Amanda Ragan is a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and has a bachelor’s degree in music education, and she has her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. She has been teaching at ORHS for the past 15 years, and her choirs are well-known and consistently earn superior ratings at local, state, and national competitions, the press release said. [Read more…]