Oak Ridge Today

Contract with Parrott, the next director of schools, approved by AC school board

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Tim Parrott

Tim Parrott

Information from WYSH Radio

Meeting briefly on Monday, the Anderson County Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a four-year contract with the next director of schools, Tim Parrott, who will take over for the retiring Larry Foster on July 1.

Parrott currently serves as the system’s deputy director of curriculum and instruction, and he will earn $134,000 a year plus a $750-a-month car allowance.

A committee made up of school board members Scott Gillenwaters and Dail Cantrell along with the schools’ finance director, Jim Woodward, conducted contract negotiations. [Read more…]

Clinton City Schools’ assistant director accepts director’s position

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Kelly Johnson

Kelly Johnson

By Jim Harris/WYSH Radio

On Monday, the Clinton City School Board voted to offer current assistant director of schools Kelly Johnson the director’s position, succeeding Vicki Violette, who is retiring after 10 years as Clinton’s top educator.

Johnson, a Clinton native and alumna of the city school system, has accepted the offer and will negotiate a contract with the School Board and take over on July 1.

Johnson also currently serves as the three-school system’s director of curriculum and has been with the system for three years. She began teaching in 1993 in Knox County, eventually moving on to school administrative positions and eventually spending three years supervising Knox County’s 18 elementary schools. [Read more…]

New stores at Main Street Oak Ridge appear unlikely by Christmas 2016

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Main-Street-Oak-Ridge-Sign-Dec-21-2015

Workers from Masstar Signs of Greenville, S.C., install a new shopping center pylon sign at South Illinois Avenue and East Tulsa Road announcing Main Street Oak Ridge, the planned $80 million redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall. Pictured above on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, is Will Biggs of Masstar Signs. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The developers haven’t confirmed it yet, but the construction of new stores at the former Oak Ridge Mall appears unlikely to be complete by the Christmas 2016 shopping season.

In November, RealtyLink said demolition at the 58-acre site could take four months and be complete by the end of this March or early next month, with construction possibly starting April 1.

RealtyLink had planned to turn over seven new stores to retailers in September 2016, and it was expected that they could open in October, in time for the holiday season.

But demolition has not started yet at the former mall property, now known as Main Street Oak Ridge.

Ray Evans, Oak Ridge retail consultant, said the opening before Christmas was predicated on demolition and construction starting in January 2016.

“For a variety of reasons, that couldn’t happen,” Evans said. [Read more…]

Summer theater program set at Oak Ridge Playhouse

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Josh-Cormany-Lauren-McCoig-Oak-Ridge-Playhouse-Camp-2014

Students Josh Cormany of Knoxville, then 15, and Lauren McCoig of Oak Ridge, then 12, perform a scene at the 2014 Oak Ridge Junior Playhouse Theater Camp showcase.
(Photo by Suzanne McNeil)

 

By Betsy Abernathy

The Oak Ridge Junior Playhouse is preparing for its annual summer program for young people interested in theater. The Oak Ridge Junior Playhouse Theater Camp will run from June 6 through June 17, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. each weekday. The camp is open to rising third through rising 12th graders and will be held in the studios of the Dance Centre of Oak Ridge, which is at 108 East Division Road in Oak Ridge. On the last day of camp, the participants will present a workshop showcase on the Oak Ridge Playhouse stage.

Former campers, many of whom continue to be involved in theater at their schools and communities, speak highly of the summer program. Josh Cormany, 17, of Knoxville, who stage managed the recent Junior Playhouse production of “The Snow Queen,” recommends the camp to kids interested in theater.

“My favorite thing about the Playhouse Theater Camp is that you get to have fun and learn about theater in a friendly and nonjudgmental environment,” Cormany said. “The camp is so enjoyable because you can just be yourself.” [Read more…]

Former NASA astronomy, relativity chief to discuss evolution of universe, from Big Bang to black holes

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Nancy Grace Roman

Nancy Grace Roman

A former chief astronomer at NASA will discuss the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang to black holes during a lecture on Thursday, March 24.

It’s the opening of the 19th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series.

It will feature Nancy Grace Roman, former chief of the NASA Astronomy and Relativity Programs in the Office of Space Science.

The free lecture is jointly sponsored by Friends of ORNL, or FORNL, and the American Association of University Women, or AAUW. 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 starts at 6 p.m. in the museum auditorium. [Read more…]

Wellness Fair is March 30 at Civic Center

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Wellness-Fair-2016

A city, schools, and community wellness fair will be offered at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Wednesday, March 30.

The free wellness fair is sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Schools Coordinated Health Wellness Committee. The wellness fair is from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 30 at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

Information on what will be offered is included in the image above.

Call (865) 425-3559 or 425-3414 for more information.

Fire ant hill in transformer causes major power outage on Clifton Circle

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Fire-Ant-Hill-Oak-Ridge-Transformer-March-2016-3

A fire ant hill in a transformer caused a major power outage on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, in the Clifton Circle area of Oak Ridge. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

A fire ant hill in a transformer caused a major power outage on Tuesday night in the Clifton Circle area, officials said.

If you see an ant hill near any of the city’s transformers, you are asked to please contact the Oak Ridge Electric Department at (865) 425-1803.

More information will be added as it becomes available. [Read more…]

IIa awarded U.S. Air Force contract in United Kingdom

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Kirk-Stoye

Kirk Stoye manages Information International Associates activities at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall bases in the United Kingdom. (Submitted photo)

Information International Associates has been awarded a contract to help the U.S. Air Force at two major installations in the United Kingdom through September 2020.

Information International Associates, or IIa, will provide base level human resource system management and base enlisted specialty training management services to the U.S. Air Force at the two sites in the UK, a press release said.

This is the fourth consecutive award of this contract to IIa, the press release said. Since 2003, IIa has provided all personnel, supervision, and other resources at Royal Air Force, or RAF, bases Mildenhall and Lakenheath in Suffolk County, UK, about one hour north of London. Kirk Stoye is responsible for activities at both RAF bases.

Kelly Callison, IIa’s senior vice president of operations, manages the UK contract from IIa’s corporate headquarters in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

“Under the leadership of Kirk Stoye, our UK employees have consistently received excellent and superior ratings for their performance,” Callison said. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the USAF for another five years.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Breast Center earns perfect FDA score for 20th year

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The Oak Ridge Breast Center received a perfect FDA score during a recent evaluation. This is the 20th year in a row that the Breast Center received a perfect score. (Photo by Covenant Health)

 

Once again, Oak Ridge Breast Center has earned a perfect score as the result of an annual inspection by the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. It marks the 20th consecutive year the center has achieved a perfect score and follows its elite designation as a Breast Center of Excellence, a press release said.

FDA inspections are an important component in enforcement of the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992, according to breast center manager Shari Blattner. The law was passed in response to concerns that mammography didn’t meet uniformly high standards throughout the United States.

Breast cancer centers must meet stringent guidelines. Standards cover quality assurance and quality control; radiology equipment; qualifications of technicians, physicians, and medical physicists; and medical record keeping. Inspections and certifications check everything from the mammography facility to the films for final images and the image quality.

“The FDA found that Oak Ridge Breast Center is in complete compliance with national mammography quality standards, and it had no recommendations for improvements,” Blattner said. [Read more…]

Controlled burns scheduled on DOE Oak Ridge Reservation

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Controlled burns of grassland areas are scheduled starting this week and continuing through April at East Tennessee Technology Park and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The controlled burns were announced by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

Beginning this week and continuing through April, the controlled burns will take place, weather permitting, at: [Read more…]

ORISE building earns EPA’s Energy Star certification for energy efficiency

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ORISE-EPA-Energy-Star-Certification-1

From left to right are Director of Facilities and Transportation Department Chad Becker, Facilities Management Services Manager Eddy Whitson, and Sustainability Manager Kevin Fritts display the new EPA Energy Star certification for the ORISE Facilities and Transportation Department office in background behind them. (Photo by ORAU)

 

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education’s Facilities and Transportation Department office building, managed by ORAU, has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star certification, which signifies that the building, located off Bethel Valley Road in Oak Ridge, performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy-efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.

“We are pleased to accept the EPA’s Energy Star certification in recognition of ORISE’s energy-efficiency efforts,” said ORISE Director and ORAU President Andy Page. “Through this achievement along with our corporate office building earning the first new, gold-level LEED-certified office building in Tennessee, we have demonstrated our commitment to environmental stewardship while also lowering our energy costs.”

The EPA works with organizations to help them save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by making their buildings more energy-efficient, a press release said. [Read more…]

Sheriff’s Department helps capture two felons who escaped from Kentucky

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Escapee Pursuit

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department on Monday helped capture two felons who had escaped from Kentucky after stealing a truck and fleeing from a work detail, authorities said. (Photo by ACSD)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:38 p.m.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department on Monday helped capture two felons who had escaped from Kentucky after stealing a truck and fleeing from a work detail, authorities said.

The two escaped felons were captured Monday afternoon, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. They had allegedly stolen a truck and fled from a work detail in Whitley County, Kentucky.

Justin Jerald Jaynes

Justin Jerald Jaynes

Kentucky authorities sent out an alert, and the truck was spotted later in Campbell County, Tennessee. Jacksboro and Caryville police departments along with the Eighth Judicial Drug Task Force began a pursuit that traveled south on Interstate 75, Lucas said.

He said the two escapees exited at Rocky Top and came down Lake City Highway into Clinton. [Read more…]