Oak Ridge Today

Sholl named interim executive director of UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute

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David Sholl will serve as interim executive director of the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute. (Photo credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

David Sholl, director of the Transformational Decarbonization Initiative at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been appointed interim executive director of the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute. His appointment was effective Monday, June 12.

“Sholl’s background, passion, and expertise will ensure continued progress as the institute recruits exemplary joint research faculty, builds its research portfolio, develops students and prepares them to become leaders, and contributes to workforce development in areas important to Tennessee,” a press release said.

“The work UT faculty and students are doing in partnership with ORNL researchers is advancing the frontiers of knowledge and strengthening Tennessee’s leadership role in areas like clean energy, future mobility, advanced materials, and next-generation manufacturing,” said UT Chancellor Donde Plowman. “We look forward to working with David and to leveraging our strategic partnership with ORNL to advance discoveries, learning, and innovations that make life and lives better here in Tennessee and around the world.”

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Lavender Festival is June 17

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Lavender Festival (Submitted photo)

The 23rd Jackson Square Lavender Festival returns to Jackson Square this month. The Main Event is free to the public on Saturday, June 17, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lavender Festival was named Best Festival last year by the Middle East Tennessee Tourism Council, a press release said. It is presented this year by the City of Oak Ridge, which will have a booth for information about living, working, and playing in Oak Ridge.

Since 1999, Lavender Festival has been held the third week of June, which is when the lavender is in bloom in Tennessee. In addition to several local lavender farms, the festival features 150 artisan and food vendors, live music, informative presentations, and free children’s activities.

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Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool public input meeting set for June 13

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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will hold its first public open house for the Outdoor Pool Renovation Project this month.

On Tuesday, June 13, at 6 p.m., the public is invited to join the department for a brief presentation at the Scarboro Community Center followed by an interactive open house, a press release said.

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Oak Ridge Public Library East Wing grand reopening set for June 20

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Renovations of the East Wing of the Oak Ridge Public Library include a brand-new Children’s Room and bathrooms that meet Americans with Disability Act standards.

The library will celebrate with a June 20 grand reopening.

The projects were made possible through a combination of funding from the City of Oak Ridge, a Support Grant to Local Governments, and the Friends of Oak Ridge Public Library administering a bequest (a personal property gift) on behalf of Jerry Kinnamon.

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Local church choir to sing in London in July

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St. Stephen’s Parish Choir, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, July 2019 (Submitted photo)

The Parish Choir of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Oak Ridge will be heading overseas this summer to sing in some of London’s most historic churches.

The choir will lead worship at St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 10, Westminster Abbey on July 13, and St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on July 16 while the professional choirs there take their summer vacation.

St. Stephen’s will be visiting during a time of continued celebration following the coronation of King Charles III earlier this year, a press release said.

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City to repave Melton Lake parking lot beginning June 12

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Beginning the week of June 12, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department crews will begin repaving the Melton Lake Greenway parking lot located on Melton Lake Drive, just north of the intersection with Edgemoor Road.

These renovations will result in increased Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility and a better-defined parking area, a press release said. However, this means that from June 12 until the project’s completion, public access to this parking area will be closed and inaccessible.

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Tim O’Brien to kick off Summer Sessions concerts

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Tim O’Brien Band (Submitted photo)

Tim O’Brien will kick off ORNL Federal Credit Union’s Summer Sessions concert series in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 10. Opening for Tim O’Brien will be the Po’ Ramblin Boys, who were a crowd favorite during the 2021 series, a press release said.

O’Brien is based in Nashville. He is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, and a lifelong devotee of bluegrass music with more than 40 years in the industry, the press release said. He started touring nationally in 1978 with Colorado bluegrass band Hot Rize, and his songs “Walk the Way the Wind Blows” and “Untold Stories” were bluegrass hits for Hot Rize, and country hits for Kathy Mattea. Artists like Nickel Creek, Garth Brooks, and The Dixie Chicks have covered O’Brien’s songs, and over the years, he has collaborated with his sister Mollie O’Brien, songwriter Darrell Scott, and noted old-time musician Dirk Powell, as well as with Steve Earle, Mark Knopfler, Dan Auerbach, and Sturgill Simpson.

O’Brien’s skills on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo make him an in-demand session player, the press release said. The International Bluegrass Music Association awarded him song of the year in 2006 and named him best male vocalist in 1993 and 2006. He was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2013 and into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2022. Notable O’Brien recordings include the bluegrass Dylan covers of “Red on Blonde,” the Celtic-Appalachian fusion of “The Crossing,” and the Grammy winning folk of “Fiddler’s Green.” His duet recording “Real Time” with Darrell Scott is a cult favorite, the press release said, and he won a bluegrass Grammy as part of “The Earls of Leicester.”

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ORNL scientist to lead project studying permafrost thaw, climate processes in Alaska

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Colleen Iversen (Photo submitted by ORNL)

Submitted

Colleen Iversen—ecosystem ecologist, group leader, and distinguished staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory—has been named director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments Arctic, or NGEE Arctic. That is a multi-institutional project studying permafrost thaw and other climate-related processes in Alaska, a press release said.

Iversen has worked as a scientist on NGEE Arctic since 2012 and served as its deputy director from 2021-2023. She also leads a research team in the Plant-Soil Interactions Group at ORNL. Iversen succeeds Stan Wullschleger, founding director of NGEE Arctic, who retired as associate laboratory director for Biological and Environmental Systems Science at ORNL in April 2023.

Iversen, who took on the role of director and principal investigator for NGEE Arctic earlier this year, is excited about taking the reins of such a large, multidisciplinary project, the press release said.

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Outdoor pool to re-open Friday

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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool is pictured above on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool will open for the season this weekend, Memorial Day weekend.

The pool will be open from 12 to 6 p.m. Friday, May 26, through Monday, May 30.

Then, beginning May 31, the pool will be open summer hours. Public swims will be Monday through Friday from noon to 7 p.m., Wednesday nights from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The pool will also be open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to noon for 100-meter lap swims.

As a reminder, areas of the pool may be closed at times depending on activities, attendance, and staffing. The pool schedule is subject to change due to weather, special events, and/or staffing, a press release said.

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Children’s Museum to celebrate 50 years with free admission

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The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge is pictured above in this file photo from 2017. (Photo by Manhattan Project National Historical Park)

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will celebrate its 50th anniversary with free admission on Saturday, June 10, and Sunday, June 11.

The free weekend and its activities are sponsored by Consolidated Nuclear Security, which manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

“Visitors will enjoy the museum’s many exhibits and a special scavenger hunt on both days, including a special exhibition that celebrates the museum’s golden anniversary year, ‘CMOR at 50: Past, Present, and Future,'” a press release said. The exhibition features photos from the museum’s 50-year history and a selection of objects from the museum’s collection.

On Sunday, June 11, visitors will also enjoy special activities including arts and crafts, a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) activity, selfie station, and complimentary refreshments. Also, on Sunday the museum’s mascot, Charlie the Curious Bear, will be on hand to interact with visitors, the press release said.

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Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival returning to Oak Ridge

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Lyn Ford, Bil Lepp, and Rev. Robert B. Jones (Images courtesy Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival)

The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival will return to the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge with nationally acclaimed storytellers Lyn Ford, Bil Lepp, and Rev. Robert B. Jones on June 2 and 3.

“Well-known to audiences throughout the country for their wit and wisdom, these three performers are guaranteed to make audiences laugh, cry, and reminisce,” a press release said. “The storytellers will perform different stories at each show on both days. In addition, two special workshops will be offered to precede the performances.”

The Friday, June 2, performance will be at 7 p.m. The next day, Saturday, June 3, will feature a memorable family show at 10 a.m. and shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children for each show, except for the June 3 Family Show at 10 a.m. Tickets for that show are $10 for adults and $5 for children. For the Flatwater Tales website, click here.

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City brush pickup continues

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The annual citywide brush pickup program continues this week. During the program, which began May 8, tree limbs and bagged yard clippings/leaves will be picked up.  

City collection efforts will follow the accompanying schedule as closely as possible, a press release said. The proposed schedule is a general guide and can vary considerably from the actual schedule due to weather conditions and/or the amount of participation by residents.

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