Oak Ridge Today

Palestinian Christian to speak at three area churches

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Amal Nassar at her family’s farm in the West Bank. (Submitted photo)

Amal Nassar at her family’s farm in the West Bank. (Submitted photo)

 

By Carolyn Krause

Amal Nassar, a Palestinian Christian who lives with her family on their 100-acre farm amid Israeli settlements in the West Bank, will speak in three area churches June 26 and June 28.

She will talk about her family’s dedication to making peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

On Sunday, June 26, she will speak in Oak Ridge at 9:45 a.m. in the fellowship hall at First United Methodist Church at 1350 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Then, at 11:15 a.m., she will speak in the fellowship hall at First Presbyterian Church at 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

On June 28, she will speak at 6:30 p.m. in the parish hall at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension at 800 South Northshore Drive in Knoxville. The public is invited to attend any of Nassar’s church presentations. [Read more…]

Green McAdoo hosting monthly Jazz on the Hill in Clinton this summer

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Green-McAdoo-Cultural-Center

The Green McAdoo Cultural Organization in Clinton will be hosting a Jazz on the Hill concert series on the first Saturday of each month this summer. The monthly concert series starts Saturday, July 2.

The free event is open to the public, and you are welcome to bring your families, blankets, and lawn chairs, a press release said.

Performance times will be 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Here are the groups scheduled to perform: [Read more…]

Summer menu starts at Unitarian Universalist Church free community meal on Friday

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The “it’s too hot for soup” summer-style menu will start at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Stone Soup free community meal on Friday, June 24. The homemade meal will include ham sandwiches, smashed potato salad, brownies, and fresh fruit.

ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge. Dine-in or take-out will be available from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday. An assortment of nonperishable family friendly groceries will be available for free to anyone in need.

“For some, attending is as much about the friendly atmosphere as it is about the meal. Everyone is welcome,” coordinator Jinx Watson said. The Stone Soup free community meal is offered on the final Friday of each month. [Read more…]

Methodist Wound Treatment Center: Celebrating 10 years of saving lives, limbs

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On June 8, the Methodist Wound Treatment Center celebrated its 10 year anniversary and Wound Care Awareness Week during an open house celebration and education event. Guests had a chance to meet the staff, tour the Center, enjoy refreshments and learn more about the services and specialized products used for treatment. (Submitted photo)

On June 8, the Methodist Wound Treatment Center celebrated its 10-year anniversary and Wound Care Awareness Week during an open house celebration and education event. Guests had a chance to meet the staff, tour the Center, enjoy refreshments and learn more about the services and specialized products used for treatment. (Submitted photo)

 

When vascular surgeon Dr. David Stanley was sent on a mission in 2005 to “look into” hyperbaric medicine as part of a new wound treatment center at Methodist Medical Center, he was skeptical. “I didn’t think it was much good,” Dr. Stanley recalls with a laugh.

Ten years later, Dr. Stanley serves as director of Methodist’s Wound Treatment Center and is an outspoken advocate of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The procedure is just one of many treatment options offered at the Wound Treatment Center, which celebrated its 10th anniversary with an open house and wound care education event on June 8.

The goal of the center is to improve patients’ quality of life by managing wounds to ensure that they heal quickly and completely. The Center’s staff of nine employees and four physicians bring their expertise to the challenge of non-healing wounds. [Read more…]

Boys & Girls Club has fundraising Reverse Raffle on July 30

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RAFFLE FLIER FB BOOST

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Clinch Valley will hold its annual Reverse Raffle on Saturday, July 30. The fundraiser will start at 6:30 p.m. July 30, and it will be hosted and catered by the Oak Ridge Country Club, which is completing renovations to its pool, outdoor bar, and entertainment area, a press release said.

“We are so excited to have the Raffle at the Country Club this year,” said Jennifer Pettyjohn, Boys & Girls Club chief executive officer. “It is just the perfect venue for this fun and casual event, with the best views in Oak Ridge!”

This year’s jackpot is again $10,000, the press release said. Numbers will be drawn during the evening on July 30, and the last number on the board will win.

For $100, the Reverse Raffle evening will include one entry into the raffle drawing, and admission for two to the live gaming, dinner, drinks, and live music event, the press release said. To keep the fun going, artists TRUK will be playing live on the new patio, and consolation prizes will be randomly awarded to losing raffle numbers by guest emcees. Not available on July 30? No problem. You do not have to be present to win, the press release said. [Read more…]

Black bears out in summer in East Tennessee, TWRA offers tips

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Black Bear at Anderson County High School on Oct. 6, 2015

No one was injured, and a black bear was chased away with rubber bullets and beanbag rounds after it spent three hours at Anderson County High School, mostly eating acorns, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

It’s not unusual to see black bears in East Tennessee in the summer, including in Oak Ridge, Anderson County, and the Great Smoky Mountains. Here is information and tips about black bears from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

Summertime brings about a plethora of outdoor activities including cookouts, camping, and fun on the water. It also brings out the black bears.

Reports of bear sightings are circulating around East Tennessee, which comes at no surprise considering this is bear country. Increased activity is also expected this time of year as bears continue their quest to replenish their energy and fatten back up from a long, lean winter.

Last fall, hard mast production was sparse and in particular, the acorn crop was very spotty. Black bears depend heavily on acorns as a food source to pack on those extra pounds before entering their winter dens.  Many bears went into their dens malnourished and some were so lean that they didn’t den at all. For example, Appalachian Bear Rescue in Townsend took in numerous cubs that were about 10 months of age that weighed a mere six and seven pounds.

Many bears emerged from their winter dens much leaner than in normal years and have been anxiously waiting the ripening of the summer berries. Fortunately, black berries, raspberries, dewberries, and mulberries are coming into season, and bears are reaping the bounties. Bears will also enjoy blueberries and huckleberries as the summer progresses followed by wild grapes, cherries, and other fruits that will hopefully carry them over until the hard mast matures this fall. [Read more…]

Woman, three children evacuate, no injuries in kitchen fire

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Jefferson Avenue Fire June 19 2016

A woman and three children evacuated and no one was injured in a kitchen fire on Jefferson Avenue on Sunday, June 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A woman and three children evacuated and no one was injured during a kitchen fire on Jefferson Avenue on Sunday, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 1:27 p.m. Sunday. It was believed to be the result of unattended cooking, authorities said.

Oak Ridge Fire Department Captain Ray Burney said the fire was contained to the kitchen. It burned cabinets, the stove, and the ceiling area, Burney said. There was also smoke damage in the house. [Read more…]

Robbery allegedly involved armed confrontation between two defendants, juvenile victim

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Xyrius Jaeren Dickerson

Xyrius Jaeren Dickerson

The alleged robbery reported in the Burger King parking lot on Thursday actually occurred at a home on Pennsylvania Avenue, and it allegedly involved an armed confrontation between a 21-year-old man, a juvenile co-defendant, and a juvenile victim, according to an arrest warrant filed Monday.

Xyrius Jaeren Dickerson, 21, of Osage Road in Oak Ridge, has been charged with aggravated robbery in the case. He was arrested Sunday afternoon.

The Oak Ridge Police Department Officer responded to the reported robbery at Burger King on Oak Ridge Turnpike at about 4:43 p.m. Thursday.

The juvenile victim said he had been invited to the home of the juvenile co-defendant to pick up his recovered cell phone, said the warrant, which was filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. He said he was picked up by Dickerson and the co-defendant at Burger King before being taken to the co-defendant’s house on Pennsylvania Avenue, ORPD Officer S. Perry Lewis said in the warrant. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge: Tennessee Paracycling Open is final event for Rio Paralympic hopefuls

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Tennessee Para Cycling Open in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Saturday, May 16, 2015

The Tennessee Para Cycling Open in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Saturday, May 16, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Tennessee Paracycling Open being held in Oak Ridge this weekend is a three-race event for disabled cyclists. It’s June 25-26, and there is a learn-to-race class on June 24 for new riders.

This year’s registration list includes many national champions and U.S. National Team members, who are using the event to prepare for the July 2 Rio Paralympic Trials, a press release said.

The athletes, many of whom are disabled veterans, compete in several classes, on handcycles (for those with amputations or paralysis), tandem bicycles (with visually impaired stokers on the back, and sighted pilots on the front, and both powering the bike), and upright bicycles, for those with amputations of one or more limbs, neurological deficits, or other disabilities.

TPO is one of six events in the USA Paralympic Cycling series. It is the final event in the series before the Paralympic Trial selection race in Charlotte on July 2, so it’s final preparation for many Rio Paralympics hopefuls, the press release said.

The events are: [Read more…]

KPD: Body of Oak Ridge man found in Ft. Loudoun Lake

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The body of an Oak Ridge man was found Saturday afternoon in Ft. Loudoun Lake, authorities said.

The man has been identified as Tomas Skyler Ledford, 25, and he has an Oak Ridge address, the Knoxville Police Department said.

The KPD said it responded to a report of a body being discovered in Ft. Loudoun Lake below the River Towne Condos in Knoxville at about 2:27 p.m. Saturday.

According to the preliminary investigation, a couple of male friends had gone to the bluffs overlooking the river, where they consumed alcohol late Friday night, the KPD said. The pair became separated at about 3 a.m. Saturday morning, authorities said. [Read more…]

New Chinese supercomputer named world’s fastest; ORNL’s Titan drops to No. 3

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Jeff Nichols and Titan at ORNL

Jeff Nichols, associate director for computing and computational sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in front of Titan, which was the world’s fastest supercomputer in November 2012 but is now ranked No. 3. (File photo courtesy ORNL/October 2013)

 

China maintained its number one ranking in the latest edition of the TOP500 list of the world’s top supercomputers, but with a new system built entirely using processors designed and made in China.

China now has the top two supercomputers on the semiannual TOP500 list, and Titan at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has dropped from number two to number three.

The new Chinese supercomputer, Sunway TaihuLight, is capable of 93 petaflops, or quadrillions of calculations per second, a press release said.

It displaced Tianhe-2, an Intel-based Chinese supercomputer that had claimed the number one spot on the past six TOP500 lists. Tianhe-2 achieved a speed of 33.86 petaflops, or more than 33,000 trillion calculations per second, in a test known as the LINPACK benchmark.

Titan, a Cray XK7 system installed at ORNL, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory, achieved 17.59 petaflops.

Titan was the top system for a short time. It was number one in November 2012, but it was bumped to number two behind Tianhe-2 in June 2013. This is the first time it has been number three.

The latest list marks the first time since the start of the TOP500 that the United States is not home to the largest number of systems. With a surge in industrial and research installations registered over the last few years, China leads with 167 systems and the U.S. is second with 165. China also leads the performance category, thanks to the number one and number two systems, the press release said. [Read more…]

Photos: Lavender Festival in Jackson Square

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Lavender Festival in Jackson Square June 18 2016 1

The Lavender Festival in Jackson Square on Saturday, June 18, 2016. The festival included artisan vendors in the square and on Broadway. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The 18th annual Lavender Festival on Saturday celebrated herbs, crafts, food, and music. Here are photos by Julio Culiat.

The festival celebrated the Herb of the Year, Capsicum, or hot peppers. New this year, “A Taste of Tennessee Wines” brought wine tasting to the festival. The tasting was hosted by Great Valley Wine Trail, which is made up of five independent wineries in East Tennessee.

The Lavender Festival also featured more than 100 artisan vendors, several informative presentations, children’s activities, and live musicians. Vendors lined the covered walkways of Jackson Square, the parking lot, and both sides of Broadway Avenue, which was closed to traffic.

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market was open as usual across from the square from 8 a.m.-noon Saturday.

Lavender Festival in Jackson Square June 18 2016 3

The Lavender Festival in Jackson Square on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Above, children stay cool playing in the interactive fountain in the center of Jackson Square. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

[Read more…]