Oak Ridge Today

DOE award recognizes UCOR safety performance

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UCOR President and Project Manager Ken Rueter is pictured above at the K-25 History Center on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

UCOR President and Project Manager Ken Rueter is pictured above at the K-25 History Center on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy for outstanding safety performance in its role as lead cleanup contractor for the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge, a press release said.

UCOR received the DOE Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star of Excellence at the VPP Participants Association national conference in Nashville. This is the second consecutive year UCOR has won the award, the press release said.

The Star of Excellence recognizes UCOR’s outstanding level of performance in meeting established safety and health goals, actively conducting outreach to others, and in achieving an injury and illness rate significantly below the average of similar businesses and operations, the release said.

“The work we perform every day is some of the most hazardous and challenging in the nation,” said Ken Rueter, UCOR president and chief executive officer. “As our work continues expanding to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex, we have continued our high level of safety performance despite having to tackle new challenges.” [Read more…]

Street Painting Festival at Jackson Square will include Ed Westcott Challenge

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The annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, is fun for artists of all ages. This year’s festival, which raises funds for Roane State Community College scholarships, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13, at historic Jackson Square. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)

The annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, is fun for artists of all ages. This year’s festival, which raises funds for Roane State Community College scholarships, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13, at historic Jackson Square. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)

 

In celebration of Oak Ridge’s 75th anniversary, the 19th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival will have two “firsts.”

The October 13 event will be held in historic Jackson Square, and it will offer the first-ever Ed Westcott Challenge for artists interested in chalking a creative interpretation of a famous photograph by Manhattan Project photographer Ed Westcott.

The festival will, as always, offer prizes for artists in each category. But this year, artists in any category can win an all-ages, all-categories bonus prize as part of the Ed Westcott Challenge, a press release said.

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge and a fundraiser for Roane State Community College scholarships, the annual art extravaganza will be held on Saturday, October 13, at historic Jackson Square. Chalking will begin at 8 a.m. Categories are available for all ages, teams, and families. Artist participation is free, the press release said. [Read more…]

Director to discuss how United Way addresses community needs

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Naomi Asher

Naomi Asher

Naomi Asher, executive director of the United Way of Anderson County, will speak at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, October 2. She will discuss how the United Way is addressing needs in the community and how United Way agencies work together to help people in need, a press release said.

The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

A long-time resident of Oak Ridge, Asher graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 2001. She attended Johnson University, where she graduated with a double major in music and theology. After working in several industries, Asher found her passion for nonprofit work when she served as office manager for CASA of the Tennessee Heartland. She became executive director of CASA in 2010 and received her master’s degree in marketing from King University in 2012.

Asher has served as United Way’s executive director since 2015. [Read more…]

Children’s Halloween Party set for Oct. 26; game booth sponsors, volunteers needed

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Halloween Party 2017 Star Wars Family Costume (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Halloween Party 2017 Star Wars Family Costume (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the 2018 Children’s Halloween Party on Friday, October 26, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. This annual event is now in its 36th year and will be attended by hundreds of local children and their families, a press release said.

Activities will be planned for every room in the Oak Ridge Civic Center, and a hay ride will be offered in Bissell Park, weather permitting, the press release said. There is no admission fee for the event, but participation in most activities requires one or more tickets. Tickets can be purchased at the Civic Center. The cost is 25 cents per ticket or $5 for a pack of 20. [Read more…]

Free Medical Clinic one of five organizations to receive total of $10,000 in grants

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The Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge was one of five local organizations to receive a total of $10,000 in grant funding on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. Pictured above, Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon officials present the grants to the organizations at Cool Sports in Farragut. Provided through the race event’s Community Contribution Program, the grant funds will support healthy living in East Tennessee. Pictured from left are David Black of Knoxville Track Club, Lana Burl of Bike Elf, Isabell Senft-Daniel of PJ Parkinson’s Support Group of Blount County, Jason Altman of Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, Jackie Clay DuBose of Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, and (front) Carly Pearson of Knoxville Sled Bears. (Not pictured: Girls on the Run of Greater Knoxville). (Submitted photo)

The Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge was one of five local organizations to receive a total of $10,000 in grant funding on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. Pictured above, Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon officials present the grants to the organizations at Cool Sports in Farragut. Provided through the race event’s Community Contribution Program, the grant funds will support healthy living in East Tennessee. Pictured from left are David Black of Knoxville Track Club, Lana Burl of Bike Elf, Isabell Senft-Daniel of PJ Parkinson’s Support Group of Blount County, Jason Altman of Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, Jackie Clay DuBose of Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, and (front) Carly Pearson of Knoxville Sled Bears. (Not pictured: Girls on the Run of Greater Knoxville). (Submitted photo)

 

The Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge was one of five local organizations to receive a total of $10,000 in grant funding on Friday.

The five grants were presented by Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon through its Community Contribution Program, a press release said. The grants support healthy living in East Tennessee, the press release said.

Besides Free Medical Clinic, grant recipients include Girls on the Run of Greater Knoxville, Knoxville Sled Bears, Bike Elf, and PJ Parkinson’s.

“These five programs make a difference in the community’s overall health and well-being” Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon Race Director Jason Altman said. “Reinvesting in our community is part of the mission of the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, and we applaud these groups for the work they do every day to encourage a better quality of life.” [Read more…]

Students from 75 years of Oak Ridge Schools share memories in new book

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Students from each of the 75 classes of Oak Ridge Schools have shared their school memories in a new book. There is a "reveal party" for the book, "Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in Education: Oak Ridge Schools, 1944-2018," on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, at Oak Ridge High School. (Submitted photo)

Students from each of the 75 classes of Oak Ridge Schools have shared their school memories in a new book. There is a “reveal party” for the book, “Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in Education: Oak Ridge Schools, 1944-2018,” on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, at Oak Ridge High School. (Submitted photo)

 

Students from each of the 75 classes of Oak Ridge Schools have shared their school memories in a new book.

There is a “reveal party” for the book, “Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in Education: Oak Ridge Schools, 1944-2018,” on Wednesday at Oak Ridge High School. The celebration is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 26, in the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater.

The celebration is being hosted by the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation.

Moira Kaye—ORHS graduate, former local television news anchor, and Miss Tennessee 1983—will lead a panel discussion with ORHS alumni across the decades from the 1940s to the 1980s, a press release said. The panelists and Kaye are book anchor authors for their ORHS graduation classes. Their stories and other reminiscing will be further highlighted by an ORHS choral presentation of the ORHS Alma Mater and the ORHS Fight Song and the presentation of colors by the ORHS JROTC Flag Corps. Also, volunteers who served on the book project will be recognized. [Read more…]

Young Kim to perform at First United Methodist

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Young Kim, pianist

Young Kim, pianist

 

First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge’s Newsong Concert Series is hosting Young Kim in a piano recital on Sunday, September 23, at 3 p.m.

Kim is an assistant professor of music at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, where she teaches applied piano, class piano, and music theory; she also directs the LMU Choir.

Kim received a doctor of musical arts in piano performance with a minor in music theory from Louisiana State University, where she studied with Willis Delony. Under the guidance of Delony and minor professor David Smyth, Kim completed her monograph, titled “Practical Performance Considerations for the Andante con moto of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in G Major, Op. 58.” [Read more…]

Sponsored: John McCutcheon concert to benefit Grove Theater

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John McCutcheon

John McCutcheon

 

In a special appearance benefiting the ongoing maintenance of the Historic Grove Theater, music lovers will have the opportunity to witness the artistry of John McCutcheon on Friday, September 28, at 7 p.m.

The concert will take place in the large auditorium of the Historic Grove Theater, which is located at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge. Local up-and-coming Americana player Eli Fox will open the show.

The Theater has an opportunity through the generous gift by a local anonymous donor to match dollar for dollar to build funding for the maintenance of this busy historic property. Proceeds from this performance, after expenses, will be going to this effort.

“John McCutcheon is not only one of the best musicians in the USA, but also a great singer, songwriter, and song leader. And not just incidentally, he is committed to helping hard-working people everywhere to organize and push this world in a better direction.”

— Pete Seeger

“The most impressive instrumentalist I’ve ever heard.”

— Johnny Cash [Read more…]

Calling all artists! Register for Street Painting Festival at Jackson Square

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The Rotary Club of Oak Ridge’s annual Street Painting Festival will, for the first time, be held at Jackson Square on Oct. 13, 2018. (Submitted photo)

The Rotary Club of Oak Ridge’s annual Street Painting Festival will, for the first time, be held at Jackson Square on Oct. 13, 2018. (Submitted photo)

 

The Rotary Club of Oak Ridge’s annual Street Painting Festival will, for the first time, be held at Jackson Square.

The festival gives artists of all ages an opportunity to showcase their talent and have fun, a press release said. Plus, the event raises funds that provide scholarships to Roane State Community College students who otherwise could not afford to attend college. More than $200,000 have been raised since the first festival in 2000, the press release said.

The festival will be held on Saturday, October 13. Chalking of sidewalk squares at Jackson Square will begin at 8 a.m. Categories are available for all ages, teams, and families. Artist registration is free, and chalk and other supplies will be provided, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Chamber to host information session on changing retail market

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Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce building is pictured above.

 

Retail Strategies, a national retail real estate consulting firm that partners with cities across the nation to expand retail opportunities, will have representatives in Oak Ridge on September 25, a press release said.

Retail Strategies will offer brief on-site consulting services for retail property owners/managers during the day on a first-come, first-served basis.

From 4-5:30 p.m., representatives of the firm will be on hand for an information session detailing Oak Ridge’s changing retail market, trade area, trends, and targets, the press release said. The session will take place at TownePlace by Marriott, which is 300 South Rutgers Avenue. The session will be hosted by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce and the Oak Ridge Economic Development Initiative. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge voters invited to meet election candidates

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Voters are invited to a Meet the Candidates event on Thursday, October 18, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the gymnasium at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

Democracy for East Tennessee is sponsoring this event so residents of Oak Ridge can become better acquainted with the candidates for offices in the upcoming November city, state, and federal general elections, a press release said. Early voting begins October 17, and the election is Tuesday, November 6. [Read more…]

TVA seeks public comment on Bull Run Environmental Investigation Plan

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The Tennessee Valley Authority's Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority is asking for public comment on a proposed Environmental Investigation Plan for coal combustion residuals at Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton, across the Clinch River from east Oak Ridge.

TVA is developing the plan and seeking public comment following direction from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation regarding coal ash and other coal combustion residuals stored at TVA’s coal plants in Tennessee, a press release said.

The Bull Run Fossil Plant Environmental Investigation Plan provides details on how TVA plans to investigate and assess the risks to soil, surface water, and groundwater from coal combustion residuals stored at Bull Run, the press release said.

This is not related to the review of generating assets announced at TVA’s August board meeting, the press release said. [Read more…]