Oak Ridge Today

Despite federal shutdown, Museum of Appalachia still open, Fall Homecoming happening

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Museum of Appalachia Wilson Barn Stage

Despite the federal shutdown, the Fall Homecoming is still happening this weekend at the Museum of Appalachia near Norris. (Submitted photo)

Despite the federal shutdown, the Museum of Appalachia near Norris is still open, and the 34th annual Tennessee Fall Homecoming is happening this weekend, officials said.

The Fall Homecoming is scheduled from Friday, Oct. 11, to Sunday, Oct. 13. It will feature more than 400 traditional musicians, singers, cloggers, and buck dancers, a press release said.

It said the three-day Homecoming is one of the nation’s largest, most authentic music and folk festivals.

“Each day, all day, musicians perform on five unique stages, filling the air with bluegrass, old-time, Southern gospel, and Americana music,” the release said. “Homecoming includes historic demonstrations of mountain skills, Revolutionary War and Civil War encampments, and a large arts and crafts fair featuring authentic Appalachian artisans. Pinto beans cooked over an open fire, home-made ice cream, Dutch oven cobbler, sassafras tea, and barbecue are some of the southern delicacies available for purchase.” [Read more…]

ORFD has fire demonstration Tuesday for Fire Prevention Month

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Oak Ridge Fire Department Burn Cell

A burn cell flashes over during a recent Oak Ridge Fire Department open house. (File photo)

The Oak Ridge Fire Department will have a fire demonstration Tuesday as part of Fire Prevention and Public Education Program month.

The demonstration is at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Fire Station No. 3, located at 333 Tuskegee Drive.

It’s the official kick off for remembering the Great Chicago Fire, which burned from Sunday, Oct. 8, to early Tuesday, Oct. 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying thousands of acres of property and buildings, a press release said. [Read more…]

Tennessee officials announce commitment to increase teacher pay

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Tennessee officials on Thursday announced a goal of becoming the fastest-improving state in the nation when it comes to teacher salaries.

The announcement was made by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman.

“We’re asking our students to be the fastest improving in the nation in education achievement, and the data is showing that we’re making real progress,” Haslam said in a press release. “Teachers are the single most important factor in student achievement, and higher accountability for teachers and proven results should be met with better rewards.” [Read more…]

Humor columnist Sam Venable featured speaker at Altrusa meeting on Wednesday

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Sam Venable

Sam Venable

Humor columnist Sam Venable will be the featured speaker at a Wednesday meeting of the Altrusa Club of Oak Ridge.

Venable’s presentation is titled “You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up (truisms from modern life),” a press release said.

Venable is a humor columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. He began his humor column in 1985, and he is the author of 10 books and  a contributing author for many other books and magazines, the press release said. [Read more…]

CPD: One dead in Friday morning crash

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Information from WYSH Radio

One person died in a two-car crash on Friday morning in Clinton.

The collision happened at about 7 a.m. near the intersection of Highway 61 and the on-ramp to Interstate 75 North. Christopher Strunk, 32, of Oneida died as a result of his injuries.

Initial information indicated that the vehicle, in which Strunk was a passenger, was “T-boned” by another car on North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard at the northbound entrance to I-75. [Read more…]

Blasting scheduled Monday, Thursday at Kroger construction site

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Kroger Marketplace Site Work

Blasting is scheduled at the Kroger Marketplace construction site at Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike on Monday and Thursday afternoon. Pictured above is site work that started this summer.

Blasting is scheduled at the Kroger Marketplace construction site at 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, and Thursday, Oct. 10. Oak Ridge Police Department officers will stop traffic on Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike during the blasting, which is scheduled to last about three to five minutes, a press release said.

Illinois Avenue traffic will be blocked from Robertsville Road to Oak Ridge Turnpike, and the Turnpike will be blocked from the Illinois Avenue/Turnpike intersection east to Robertsville Road, the release said.

Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley will send two advisement/informational calls to the businesses and residents in the area on Saturday, Oct. 5, and Tuesday, Oct. 8, the press release said. For more information, visit the city’s website at www.oakridgetn.gov.

‘Night in Paris’ features music, wine, auction; raises money for CASA

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CASA Evening with the Arts

An Oct. 11 fundraiser will feature music, wine, and an art auction, and it will raise money for CASA of the Tennessee Heartland.

It’s the Fourth Annual Evening with the Arts—A Night in Paris, and it will be held Friday, Oct. 11, from 7-10 p.m. at Pollard Auditorium in Oak Ridge.

The evening will include wine, finger foods from The Market House, and sweets from Emma Lou Bakery.  Jazz and blues singer Sarah Clapp will perform, and the evening will be emceed by Hallerin Hilton Hill. A silent auction will feature local art pieces including a Bill Capshaw raku vase, several original numbered prints, and several “unique and beautiful pieces,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Grace Lutheran Church has pet fest, blessing on Saturday

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Pet Fest and Blessing

Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge has its 12th annual Pet Fest and Blessing from 1-5 p.m. Saturday. (Submitted photo)

Submitted

Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge will have its 12th annual Pet Fest and Blessing from 1-5 p.m. Saturday. The church is located at 131 W. Gettysburg Ave., and parking will be available at the church or in the Woodland Elementary School parking lot behind the church. (Follow the pink puppy paw print signs!)

“Gather up your leashes or carriers and schedule a grooming for your pets to look their best,” a press release said. “Then bring them, one and all, to enjoy an afternoon of fun with you.”

Admission is free, and you can have a free picture taken with your pets too, the release said. If you come early, there will be a pet walk around the area at 12:30 p.m. If you’d like, you also can have your pet implanted with a microchip, courtesy of Dr. Paul Szluha of McArthur Animal Hospital, for a $20 fee. Proceeds from this, above the costs, will be donated to the Heifer Project. [Read more…]

Knoxville attorney to discuss women’s suffrage

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Wanda Sobieski

Wanda Sobieski

Knoxville attorney Wanda Sobieski will discuss women’s suffrage during a presentation next week.

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, is titled “The Legacy and Challenges of Women’s Suffrage.” It starts at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 7, at Grace Covenant Church at 320 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge.

Sobieski, who has been deeply involved in the effort to recognize and honor the early 20th century suffragists that won for women the right to vote, will show images from that time and discuss their struggles, relating them to the important contributions of Tennessee women, a press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge basketball organizational meetings this month

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will have two organizational meetings this month for teams interested in playing basketball.

There is an Oct. 14 meeting for teams interested in playing in the Men’s Recreational Leagues. The meeting will be in the Club Room at the Civic Center at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 14. League play is scheduled to begin the week of Dec. 2.

There will be an Oct. 29 meeting for teams interested in playing in the Youth Basketball Leagues. That meeting starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Club Room at the Civic Center. All interested teams are invited to attend. [Read more…]

Pictures: Neon Vibe 5K

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Neon Vibe 5K

About 1,600 runners and walkers participated in the Neon Vibe 5K in Oak Ridge on Sept. 21.

There were also about 800 volunteers and spectators, for a total of roughly 2,400 people, according to the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, which helped organize the event, the first-ever in Tennessee.

“It was hugely successful,” ORCVB President Katy Brown said.

[Read more…]

Community Band presents ‘Early Music’ concert on Oct. 13

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Oak Ridge Community Band

The Oak Ridge Community Band performs earlier at the pavilion at A.K. Bissell Park. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Community Band)

The Oak Ridge Community Band will present an “Early Music” Concert on Oct. 13 at Oak Ridge High School.

The concert starts at 3:30 p.m. in the ORHS Performing Arts Center at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

This concert is the first of six indoor concerts in the “Music for a Lifetime” series scheduled for October, November, December, January, February, and April. These concerts will take the audience from early compositions up to the 1890s, then continue through the 20th century featuring the roaring ’20s, Big Band era on through the Nifty Fifties, Swinging Sixties, Generation X, and ending with music representing the New Millenium. [Read more…]