Oak Ridge Today

Community meeting on May 25 to discuss new Oak Ridge Preschool

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Plans call for the new Oak Ridge Preschool to be located at Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge City Council voted during a special-called meeting on March 27 to select the Scarboro Park site as the location for a new Oak Ridge Preschool. As part of the ongoing dialogue with the community about this future facility, city leaders will host another public forum-style meeting at the Scarboro Community Center on Thursday, May 25, from 6 to 8 p.m., a press release said.

Two previous community meetings were held at the same venue, one on March 23 and another on April 20, to discuss the preschool. Members of the community who attended those meetings were able to see preliminary concepts, ask questions, and provide input on decisions, the press release said.

The City of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Schools have been working to choose a site for the new preschool for about two years. Once the building is complete, the preschool will relocate from the school administration building on New York Avenue. Members of a committee formed to recommend possible sites looked at city-owned properties and a multitude of factors that would impact future students, their families, and the community as a whole, the press release said. Scarboro Park, the site ultimately selected by City Council and the Board of Education, is across the street from the Scarboro Community Center on Carver Avenue. [Read more…]

Ray Smith selected to serve on Tennessee Historical Commission

Posted at
By 1 Comment

D. Ray Smith (Submitted photo)

D. Ray Smith (Submitted photo)

 

Ray Smith, historian for the City of Oak Ridge and the Y-12 National Security Complex, has been selected to serve on the Tennessee Historical Commission, a press release said.

It’s the first time an Oak Ridger has been selected to serve on the Tennessee Historical Commission, the press release said.

There are 20 members from across the state, and a balanced mix of members is maintained to best represent the entire state on the commission, the release said.

It said Oak Ridge contributes to the State of Tennessee in a number of significant ways, including economic development and heritage and science tourism. [Read more…]

ORNL: UT-Battelle Scholarship awarded to Bearden student

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

UT-Battelle Scholarship winner Allison Michelle Campbell of Bearden High School with Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason. (Photo by ORNL)

UT-Battelle Scholarship winner Allison Michelle Campbell of Bearden High School with Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Bearden High School senior Allison Michelle Campbell has been named recipient of the 2017 UT-Battelle Scholarship to attend the University of Tennessee.

The scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior planning to study science, mathematics, or engineering at UT. The competitive scholarship is presented annually to a graduating student with a parent employed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory by UT-Battelle, ORNL’s managing contractor, a press release said.

The scholarship is renewable for up to four years and is worth a total of $20,000. Campbell is the daughter of ORNL staff member Amy C. Campbell, who works in the Business Services Directorate, and Michael A. Campbell.

Among numerous activities at Bearden, Campbell is president of Bearden’s National Honors Society chapter and a member of the Mu Alpha Theta mathematics honors society. In the summer of 2015, she was selected for the Governor’s School for Science and Engineering and the National Science Foundation’s Young Scholars Program. [Read more…]

Education Foundation awarded more than $90,000 in grants in April

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation board members who were present with a big check at an grant awards ceremony at Oak Ridge High School on Wednesday, April 26, 2017. (Photo courtesy ORPSEF)

Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation board members who were present with a big check at an grant awards ceremony at Oak Ridge High School on Wednesday, April 26, 2017. (Photo courtesy ORPSEF)

 

In the final year of its “Making the Critical Difference” campaign, the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation awarded more than $90,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers. The grants were awarded during a ceremony at Oak Ridge High School on Wednesday, April 26.

Shirley Raines, president emeritus of the University of Memphis, was the featured speaker. Her talk was titled “Dreamers, Thinkers, Doers.” During her talk, Raines exhibited great appreciation and provided inspiration for teachers, a press release said.

“She asked teachers to think of the person who moved them to pursue their dreams, to be innovative thinkers, and to share their success stories which result from their grant awards in order to encourage their peers,” the release said.

The April 26 ceremony was open to the public with demonstrations of some of the projects and technology funded by the Foundation on display.

The 2017 grant recipients were: [Read more…]

UCOR awards 25 mini-grants for local school projects

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) on Monday, May 15, 2017, announced 20 winners from five East Tennessee counties in the 2017 UCOR Education Mini-Grant Program, which recognizes and supports excellence in teaching. (Photo courtesy UCOR)

URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) on Monday, May 15, 2017, announced 20 winners from five East Tennessee counties in the 2017 UCOR Education Mini-Grant Program, which recognizes and supports excellence in teaching. (Photo courtesy UCOR)

 

URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) on Monday announced 20 winners from five East Tennessee counties in the 2017 UCOR Education Mini-Grant Program, which recognizes and supports excellence in teaching.

Awarded annually since 2012, grant funds assist classroom teachers in developing specific projects or curricula, focusing primarily on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), a press release said.

“One of UCOR’s primary objectives is to support and encourage education initiatives,” said Ken Rueter, UCOR president and project manager. “The UCOR Mini-Grant Program enables teachers to enhance their students’ educational experiences. Selected projects funded by our program give students a greater insight into the essential STEM subjects in fun and exciting ways.”

Applications were screened and awardees selected using a blind process that prevented members of the selection panel from knowing the names of the teachers or the schools. Schools in Roane, Anderson, Loudon, Knox, and Morgan counties were eligible to submit proposals. [Read more…]

Dick Smyser Lecture on Thursday features science educator discussing total solar eclipse

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Chap Percival (Submitted photo)

Chap Percival (Submitted photo)

The 20th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series opens on Thursday, May 18, and it will feature Chap Percival, a science educator from Sarasota, Florida.

Percival will talk about the total solar eclipse that will occur on August 21. The title of his presentation is “Go See the Eclipse.”

This event is co-sponsored by the Oak Ridge Isochronous Observation Network (ORION), the National Park Sevice (NPS), and Friends of ORNL (FORNL), a press release said.

It’s free of charge, and it will be held at the American Museum of Science and Energy, which is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. A reception will be held in the museum lobby starting at 5:30 p.m. (snacks will be served), and the lecture will start at 6 p.m. in the museum auditorium.

“This talk should be of interest to students and the general public,” the press release said.

Percival is a lifelong educator. He lives in Sarasota, Florida. He has a BA in mathematics and physics from Taylor University, an MAT in planetarium education from Michigan State University, and an MEd in instructional technology from the University of Virginia, the press release said. [Read more…]

Area care line seeks volunteers to make calls to seniors

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

CNS Y-12 recently presented a check for launch of new program for Knox area senior citizens to Contact Care Line. Pictured from left are Alison Sides, secretary of the CNS-Y12 Advisory Committee; Helen Morton, vice president of the Board of Contact Care Line; Bruce Marshall, executive director of Contact Care Line; and Mike Fierley, chair of the CNS Y-12 Community Investment Fund Advisory Committee. (Submitted photo)

CNS Y-12 recently presented a check for launch of new program for Knox area senior citizens to Contact Care Line. Pictured from left are Alison Sides, secretary of the CNS Y-12 Advisory Committee; Helen Morton, vice president of the Board of Contact Care Line; Bruce Marshall, executive director of Contact Care Line; and Mike Fierley, chair of the CNS Y-12 Community Investment Fund Advisory Committee. (Submitted photo)

 

Reassurance Contact, an Oak Ridge-based service of local nonprofit Contact Care Line, is seeking caring individuals to volunteer a few hours each week to make calls to elderly Anderson and Knox County residents who live alone, a press release said.

“Volunteers donate a few hours one day a week to make social and safety calls to senior citizens who can use a cheerful moment in their day, a quick check that they are safe, and perhaps a reminder to take their medicine,” the press release said.

It said nearly 20 percent of the area’s population is 65 or older and 43 percent of those in this age group have a disability.

“Surveys reveal that seniors prefer to remain in their own homes as they age,” the press release said. “But safety concerns, coupled with social isolation, threaten the capacity of seniors to live on their own. Reassurance Contact addresses these issues, allowing senior residents to remain in the own residences as long as possible.”

The launch of this new program is helped by a $9,000 grant from the CNS Y-12 Community Investment Fund at East Tennessee Foundation, the press release said. [Read more…]

Roane State professor to lead May 25 cybersecurity seminar at Anderson County Chamber

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Roane State computer science professor George Meghabghab will lead a cybersecurity seminar on Thursday, May 25, at the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, which is at 245 North Main Street in Clinton.

The Snack-and-Share session will last from 3-4:30 p.m. Register for the seminar at www.andersoncountychamber.org.

Meghabghab is the director of Roane State’s Computer Information Technology program, a press release said. The program includes a programming concentration and a new cyber defense concentration.

Roane State cyber defense students will learn how to recover data using digital forensics techniques, perform computer forensics analysis and validation, design and configure firewalls, and configure and implement intrusion detection systems, among other skills. [Read more…]

Seven ORHS students among thousands at national scholastic chess championships

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Edward Moran

Oak Ridge High School freshman Edward Moran, left, bears down to win his last-round match against a senior from Maryland to clinch second place. (Submitted photo)

 

There were 1,585 high school category entrants among the 5,578 students from across the country competing in the 2017 USChess SuperNationals tournament, which was held May 12-14 at the Opryland Convention Center in Nashville. ORHS juniors Bronson Burdick, Andrew Chan, and Carson McGhee, as well as freshmen Justin Blanchard, Edward (“Bear”) Moran, Logan Ogle, and Mack Patrick were among them, joined by former world champion Garry Kasparov, who made the ceremonial first move.

The school’s top score was Bear Moran’s 6.5 of a possible 7 in the U800 category, which was a clear second overall behind only a junior from Florida who had the only perfect score of the 220 players in that division. The ORHS players overall had a winning percentage of more than 55 percentage against the top competition in the United States.

Each year, there are national competitions for elementary (K-6), junior high (K-9), and high school (K-12). Every four years, these championships are combined in one venue as “SuperNationals.” The organizers stated this was the largest chess tournament in history in terms of participants. [Read more…]

Diseased ash trees threaten Oak Ridge electric system

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

OakRidgeAshTree

Oak Ridge ash tree (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Ash trees in Oak Ridge are dead or dying due to a pest known as the Emerald Ash Borer, a press release said. Once compromised by the beetle, the trees pose a significant hazard to people, property, and the power lines in the community.

During the next few weeks, in order to prevent incidents due to fallen trees and branches, the Oak Ridge Electric Department will be identifying and, in some cases, removing ash trees found in the public rights of way adjacent to power lines, the press release said.

“One of our responsibilities is to maintain proper clearance between the City’s electric power lines and the area’s abundant urban forest,” Oak Ridge Electric Department Director Jack Suggs said. “We remove trees on public property when they are identified as a high hazard to our system. Unfortunately, the ash trees in Oak Ridge are presenting such a hazard. During an informal survey, it appeared that most, if not all, of the ash trees were experiencing some kind of distress and are in the process of dying.” [Read more…]

A first of its kind: UT, ORNL offer ‘big data’ doctorate

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The use of big data—collecting and interpreting vast amounts of information—has rapidly grown in importance across areas ranging from health care to nuclear security.

To help meet that demand, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created a first-of-its kind data science and engineering doctoral program, the only one in the United States to pair a university and national laboratory and one of just three such big data doctoral programs in the U.S. overall, a press release said.

The program, which was announced at the spring UT Board of Trustees meeting, hopes to enroll 15 Ph.D. candidates when it begins this fall, with the eventual goal of having 100 students at any given time.

In granting approval for the new program last week, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission noted that it is an answer to its call for the state’s higher education institutions to strengthen graduate-level education and address challenges befitting top research institutions, the press release said. [Read more…]

Landlord summit for Anderson County landlords on Friday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

There will be a free landlord summit for all Anderson County landlords in Oak Ridge on Friday.

The landlord summit is being hosted by Tennessee Valley Continuum of Care. It is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, May 19, at the Scarboro Community Center, which is at 148 Carver Avenue in Oak Ridge. The event will include a free continental breakfast, which will begin at 8:30 a.m., a press release said. Reservations are not required.

The press release said landlords are encouraged to attend because many helpful topics will be offered, including:

  • MORE2 (Make Oak Ridge Energy Efficient)—These are energy-saving upgrades available to Oak Ridge homes for lower income home owners and renters.
  • Housing Choice Voucher Program—Learn how landlords can secure rental payments by participating in this program.
  • Case Management—Learn how case management from various nonprofit organizations can help your tenant be successful in housing.
  • Free Legal Information—Learn about new housing laws, eviction requirements, fair housing, and other valuable topics.

[Read more…]