Oak Ridge Today

New Windrock Bike Park has first pro event, Pro Gravity Tour, in March

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Photo courtesy Adventure Anderson County/Explore Oak Ridge

Photo courtesy Adventure Anderson County/Explore Oak Ridge

 

The new mountain bike park at Windrock Park has recruited its first professional event, tourism officials said Tuesday.

The Pro Gravity Tour will take place at the the mountain bike park on March 11 and 12.

Windrock Park is north of Oliver Springs. The mountain bike park was designed and built by professional mountain bikers Neko Mulally and Sean Leader, according to Adventure Anderson County and Explore Oak Ridge. It’s laid out on 550 acres of Windrock Park and includes nine trails ranging from one to 1.5 miles long. Shuttles are available on the weekends, and riders can self-shuttle through the week.

Visit windrockbikepark.com for more information.

Spring training on Oak Ridge rowing course starts Feb. 9

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Cardinal-Invitational-Regatta-West-Virginia-Rowing-March-12-2016

Spring training on the Oak Ridge rowing course runs from February 9 to March 5, 2017. Pictured above is a West Virginia University team competing in the Cardinal Invitational Regatta in Oak Ridge on Saturday, March 12, 2016. (File photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Spring training on the Oak Ridge rowing course runs from February 9 to March 5.

Oak Ridge and Anderson County tourism officials said there will be 31 different teams coming to town this year, with 40 to 50 rowers on each team. Each team generally stays in town for a week at a time.

Rowing has a $2 million impact on the community, according to Adventure Anderson County and Explore Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge students advance to state chess championship

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More than 100 students from 35 schools and home school groups in East Tennessee competed in the Tennessee Chess Association regional tournament at Oak Ridge High School on January 28.

Forty-two of the 115 participants represented schools in Oak Ridge: Jefferson Middle School, Linden Elementary School, Oak Ridge High School, Robertsville Middle School, St. Mary’s, Willow Brook Elementary School, and Woodland Elementary School. Those who qualified for the state tournament to be held February 18 at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville are: [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Civic Music Association has new choral director

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Jaclyn Johnson

Jaclyn Johnson

 

The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association has a new choral director, Jaclyn Johnson.

A press release said Johnson has made it her life goal to share her passion for music with ensembles and audiences around the world. Before completing her doctoral degree in choral conducting at the University of Michigan, Johnson had a thriving career as a high school choral educator and church musician, the press release said.

Ensembles under her direction have received numerous honors and awards, including performances at the American Choral Directors Association National Conference (2011), Western Division Conference (2010), and Central Division Conference (2014), the press release said. In 2014, Johnson represented the United States as an international exchange conductor to China. She is currently the associate director of choral activities at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

“I am honored to be the new choral director for ORCMA and to work with such brilliant individuals,” Johnson said in the press release. “Oak Ridge has a rich and unique musical history, and I aspire to further this excellence with inspiring and exciting programs. We welcome any new members who have a passion for singing!” [Read more…]

GIS stormwater data collection to occur in February

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Photo by City of Oak Ridge

Photo by City of Oak Ridge

 

Geographical information system, or GIS, storm drain inlet mapping will take place in Oak Ridge during the month of February in the following areas: Michigan Avenue, Outer Drive, and New York Avenue.

Representatives of the city will be mapping these inlets with GPS units and/or making visual assessments, a press release said. Residential property will only be accessed during reasonable hours to identify stormwater inlets, the press release said.

“This is not a request to enter into any building or structures on the property,” the press release said. “No construction will be taking place.”

The city is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, or TDEC, under the Phase II Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit, to monitor certain streams or tributaries to those streams. The goal of this mandate is to protect and rehabilitate our natural water resources, the press release said. [Read more…]

Opinion: How far can we move the needle?

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Ron Woody

By Ron Woody

The buzz around the Roane County Courthouse and School Board has been what will our leaders do about the future of education in Roane County? The initial discussions were about consolidation of high schools with an acceptable debate change to: What should the delivery of future education services look like? I applaud both the School Board, the County Commission, and the public for focusing the discussion on the future of education and not on consolidation.

So, here we are in 2017 having a discussion that we should have had in the late ’80s and early ’90s. What does education look like today? What should it look like the next 15 to 20 years? Two important meetings have taken place within the last eight months in order to answer these questions. Excerpts of these meetings can be found on http://www.roaneschools.com under district, then High School visioning process. Please take the time to read through these meeting notes to help arrive at your own conclusions. Here are a few of my conclusions from attending the meetings and reviewing the minutes. Roane County should work to:

  1. expose students to more career opportunities,
  2. expand the mentoring programs, and
  3. expand vocational class opportunities.

[Read more…]

Two Oak Ridge residents part of Knoxville tennis team that wins national title

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Pictured above are, from left to right in front, Melanie Dodson (Knoxville), Barbara Miller (Knoxville), Kim Lee (Oak Ridge), and Cindi Mooney (Knoxville); and left to right in back, Bill Padgett (Alcoa), Trips Dawson (Loudon), Tony Lee (Oak Ridge), and Jay Huffman (Knoxville). (Photo credit: Juan O’Campo)

Pictured above are, from left to right in front, Melanie Dodson (Knoxville), Barbara Miller (Knoxville), Kim Lee (Oak Ridge), and Cindi Mooney (Knoxville); and left to right in back, Bill Padgett (Alcoa), Trips Dawson (Loudon), Tony Lee (Oak Ridge), and Jay Huffman (Knoxville). (Photo credit: Juan O’Campo)

 

Knoxville team crowned national champions at USTA League Mixed 40 and Over 6.0 National Championships

SURPRISE, ARIZ.—A tennis team from Knoxville, representing the USTA Southern Section, captured the national title at the USTA League Mixed 40 and Over 6.0 National Championships held at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona.

The Knoxville team defeated a team from Arcadia, California, 2-1 in the Championship match. Earlier in the day, the Knoxville team defeated a team from Concord, California, 3-0 in the semifinals. They advanced that far by winning their round-robin flight contested during a weekend in the fall.

The team is captained by Jay Huffman and features Barbara Miller, Melanie Dodson, Cindi Mooney, Tony Lee, Kim Lee, Trips Dawson, Katherine Evans, Timmy Cuesta, Bill Padgett, and Justin Chaniott, and plays at the Cedar Bluff Racquet Club. The Lees live in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Schools give Year Two progress report on Access Oak Ridge

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These charts depict the increase in use of the Canvas learning management system, or LMS, since its adoption in 2015 in Oak Ridge Schools. Dips in usage occurred in June and July of 2016 when school was not in session. (Image by Oak Ridge Schools)

These charts depict the increase in use of the Canvas learning management system, or LMS, since its adoption in 2015 in Oak Ridge Schools. Dips in usage occurred in June and July of 2016 when school was not in session. (Image by Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Submitted

During the past two years, the Oak Ridge school district has been making new strides in our Access Oak Ridge digital learning initiative by putting Lenovo Yoga laptop computers into the hands of every student in grades 5-10.

Our vision in this initiative is “to empower all Oak Ridge students with equitable access to digital learning opportunities, and to innovate, design, collaborate, and ultimately succeed in local and global communities of the future.” Within this vision, we believe that learning should be student-centered, with technology that enables exploration of content with greater depth and breadth.

Our aim is to continue to grow Access Oak Ridge to provide opportunities that lead to substantial benefits for both students and staff. Fostering innovative thinking expands the classroom beyond the school walls for our students.

Prior to embarking on the Access Oak Ridge initiative, dedicated information technology (IT) staff and instructional technology coaches had been preparing our students and teachers with digital tools and software for more than a decade. In 2014-15, our instructional technology coaches worked with a team of teachers to research and select a learning management system, or LMS, to securely house all of our online content for courses such as soft copies of textbooks, course readings, designated internet content links, software, and videos, as well as student and family progress monitoring (course grading). The LMS the teacher team selected is Canvas by Instructure. [Read more…]

Pull For Our Veterans presents checks to Honor Air, Fisher House

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Dual Presentation1

Richard Stouder, center, president of Pull For Our Veterans, presents checks for $19308.50 to Megan Wynn of the Fisher House Foundation Inc, left, and to Eddie Mannis of Honor Air Knoxville. Pull For Our Veterans is an Oak Ridge-based 501(c)(3) dedicated to helping veterans and their families. (Submitted photo)

 

Pull For Our Veterans, an Oak Ridge-based nonprofit organization dedicated to helping veterans and their families, presented checks in the amount of $19,308.50 to both Honor Air Knoxville and the Fisher House Foundation Inc. in a ceremony at the Oak Ridge Sportsmen’s Association in Oak Ridge on November 29.

“Honor Air Knoxville and The Fisher House Foundation are two great organizations that do a lot, but they need help and we’re proud to support them,” said Richard Stouder, president of Pull For Our Veterans. “It’s gratifying to know that the money we raised in 2016 will be used by them to help support our veterans and their loved ones. We want to thank our corporate sponsors, Consolidated Nuclear Security, National Strategic Protective Services, Enrichment Federal Credit Union, and Clayton Homes as well as the many other sponsors, participants, and all of our wonderful volunteers who worked tirelessly to make these events happen. They are the ones that are making a difference in the lives of our veterans and their families.”

Honor Air Knoxville is a 501(c)(3) that is dedicated to honoring World War II, Korean, and Vietnam veterans from East Tennessee and the sacrifices they made to ensure our freedoms. Each Honor Air trip costs approximately $500 per veteran. Every dollar donated is applied directly to the cost of the trip. No donation dollars are applied to administrative expenses. [Read more…]

Haslam visits ORNL to highlight state’s role in discovering tennessine

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Bill Haslam at ORNL Tennessine Martin McDonald Thom Mason ORHS Students

Principal Martin McDonald, left, and students from Oak Ridge High School accepted the first new chart of the periodic table featuring element tennessine and signed by Governor Bill Haslam, right, and ORNL Director Thom Mason, second from left. To mark the discovery of tennessine, UT-Battelle is donating a new chart to all public middle and high schools in Tennessee. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam visited the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Friday to congratulate the ORNL team involved in the discovery of the element tennessine, named in recognition of the vital contributions of the state of Tennessee to the international search for new superheavy elements.

UT-Battelle, the managing contractor of ORNL, is marking the discovery by providing more than 1,000 public middle schools and high schools in Tennessee with new charts of the periodic table. Tennessine—the official name for element 117—completes the seventh row of the table and the column of elements classified as halogens.

The charts will include the signatures of Haslam and ORNL Director Thom Mason.

“We had two very significant announcements in Tennessee this fall as it relates to science,” Haslam said. “In October, the Nation’s Report Card announced that Tennessee students are the fastest improving in the nation in science, and in November, Tennessee became only the second state to be recognized in the periodic table of elements. Having an element named in our honor is further evidence of the scientific excellence that exists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University, and other institutions throughout our state, and by UT-Battelle donating new periodic tables to every middle and high school in Tennessee, students can feel proud of our state’s important role in the scientific community and inspired to play a role in its future.” [Read more…]

Forty-nine Atomic City Aquatic Club swimmers compete in Knoxville

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Atomic City Aquatic Club coaches pose with young swimmers. (Submitted photo)

Atomic City Aquatic Club coaches pose with young swimmers. (Submitted photo)

 

Forty-nine Atomic City Aquatic Club, or ACAC, swimmers competed in the Tennessee Aquatics January Classic Invitational this past weekend in Knoxville.

ACAC trains year-round for a series of meets where they can test their achievement and developments. This past meet was meant to measure improvements from holiday training plans, and see how the swimmers have handled their increased training load.

Abigail King, 12, headlined the event for ACAC with an outstanding meet that included four team records: 400 IM, 50 Fly, 200 Fly, and 100 Back. She made Southeasterns in all five races for which she could qualify, and also swam age group qualifying times in the 200 Fly and 400 IM.

In total, 40 of the 49 ACAC athletes entered achieved best times, and nine swimmers acquired Southeastern Time Standards throughout the weekend: [Read more…]

Cybersecurity brown bag lunches start Tuesday in Oak Ridge

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The Cyber and Information Security Consortium, or CISC, and the University of Tennessee’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy have partnered together to hold monthly brown bag lunches to hear talks on key topics regarding cybersecurity.

The first official lunch will take place next week in the UT Outreach Center in Oak Ridge.

The second lunch will be held on February 17 in the Toyota Auditorium at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy on UT’s campus. [Read more…]