Oak Ridge Today

UT Arboretum Society has spring plant sale in April

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​The ​2016 University of Tennessee Arboretum Society Spring Plant Sale will be held April 15 and 16 on the grounds of the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge. The 15th is a members-only sale, but you may choose to join the Society on the spot to attend the sale on that date. (Photo courtesy UTIA)

 

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s 50th annual Spring Plant Sale will gather the best of four local nurseries in one location in Oak Ridge in April.

Beaver Creek and Riverdale Nurseries from Knoxville, Sunlight Gardens from Andersonville, and East Fork Nursery from Sevierville will be offering a large and varied selection of shrubs, trees, wildflowers, perennials, annuals, and edibles, a press release said. Brad Greenwood Designs will have unique botanically themed copper garden ornaments and steel features for the home and yard. Dano’s Hot Dogs, with an expanded menu, will again be at this event.

Back by popular demand, the Society will be offering ‘The Rising Sun” Redbud. This new Redbud displays brilliant, golden tangerine and lime-colored, heart-shaped foliage all summer and was a quick sell-out plant last year. The Society will also be offering a limited supply of another new redbud tree: “Alley Cat.” “Alley Cat” was literally discovered in an alley in Kentucky and has beautiful green and white variegated foliage that is stable and scorch-resistant, the press release said. [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats in Class AAA championship

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Oak Ridge sophomore Mykia Dowdell (34) was named to the Class AAA Girls’ All-Tournament team in the 2016 BlueCross Basketball Championships in Murfreesboro on Saturday, March 12, 2016, when the Lady Wildcats finished as state runner-up. Also pictured are Riverdale sophomore Brinae Alexander (32), junior Anastasia Hayes (3), and sophomore Alexis Whittington (25). (Photo by Paul Ward)

 

MURFREESBORO—The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats finished as state runner-up in the Class AAA girls’ basketball championship in Murfreesboro on Saturday. We published 11 pictures by Paul Ward in our Saturday story on the game. Here are a dozen more photos.

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Oak Ridge freshman Jada Guinn (24) was named to the Class AAA Girls’ All-Tournament team in the 2016 BlueCross Basketball Championships in Murfreesboro on Saturday, March 12, 2016, when the Lady Wildcats finished as state runner-up. Also pictured are Riverdale sophomores Amanda Whittington (12) and Brinae Alexander (32). (Photo by Paul Ward)

 

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Oak Ridge junior Courtney Ellison (10) scored seven points during the Class AAA girls’ state basketball championship in Murfreesboro on Saturday, March 12, 2016, when the Lady Wildcats finished as state runner-up. (Photo by Paul Ward)

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UCOR awards three small business contracts worth close to $1 million

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UCOR has awarded three contracts worth nearly $1 million to small businesses for services associated with the cleanup of the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge.

One contract was awarded to ESG Construction LLC of Knoxville, and two were awarded to Construction Technology Specialists Inc., or CTSI, which is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

ESG was awarded a contract for $450,000 to replace the heat-trace controls at the Liquid and Gaseous Waste Operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A general and electrical contractor, ESG is an Small Business Administration-certified Historically Underutilized Business, or HUBZone, firm. Work is expected to be completed by the end of the year. [Read more…]

Fox News editor to be keynote speaker at Oak Ridge Chamber luncheon

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Chris Stirewalt

Chris Stirewalt

Chris Stirewalt, digital politics editor for the Fox News Channel, will be the keynote speaker for the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Program of Work Kickoff luncheon at noon on Monday, March 21. The luncheon will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 201 South Illinois Avenue.

At the luncheon, the Chamber’s 2016 Program of Work will be introduced. The Chamber’s Eugene L. Joyce Lifetime Achievement Award and the Kerry Trammell Volunteer of the Year award will be presented as part of the program.

Stirewalt has worked in the FNC’s Washington Bureau since 2010. He helps coordinate political coverage across the network, a press release said. His daily newsletter, “Fox News First,” has nearly 300,000 subscribers. [Read more…]

CapitalMark Bank now Pinnacle Financial

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CapitalMark Bank and Trust changed its name and identity to Pinnacle Financial Partners on Monday, March 14, 2016, in a sign unveiling event at its Oak Ridge office in Jackson Square. (Submitted photo)

 

CapitalMark Bank and Trust changed its name and identity to Pinnacle Financial Partners on Monday in a sign unveiling event at its Oak Ridge office in Jackson Square.

CapitalMark was merged with Pinnacle on July 31, 2015, giving the firm a presence in three additional East Tennessee counties. CapitalMark had continued to operate under its brand until the systems and operations of the companies were totally integrated with Pinnacle.

Clients from both firms will enjoy more benefits as a result of the integration, including the convenience of accessing 43 offices in Tennessee’s four urban markets—Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis, and Chattanooga, a press release said.

For the past month, Pinnacle has communicated extensively with clients to explain the changes they will see in procedures, materials, and the website, www.pnfp.com, the release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge woman charged with murder in death of infant daughter in Knoxville

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Heather Renee Keylon

Note: This story was last updated at 1 p.m.

A woman listed as an Oak Ridge resident was arrested Saturday on murder and child abuse charges for the death of her three-month-old daughter due to a drug overdose in Knoxville in April 2015, authorities said.

Heather Renee Keylon, 31, of 134 Waddell Circle in Oak Ridge, is facing charges of felony murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated child neglect, the Knoxville Police Department said. She was arrested Saturday and taken to the Knox County jail, where her bond has been set at $1 million.

Police responded to an unresponsive infant call at 3534 Old Valley View Drive, Apartment Number 12, in north Knoxville at about 12:39 p.m. April 21, 2015.

Keylon told police that her infant daughter, Skylar Brewer, had stopped breathing, the KPD said. The child had gone to sleep on the sofa, Keylon said, but she realized a short time later that Skylar wasn’t breathing and she called 911, authorities said. [Read more…]

Support ADFAC through ‘Dine and Donate’ on Monday

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Gondolier and Hoskins, both in Clinton, are two of March’s Dine and Donate restaurants. (Submitted photo)

 

On Monday, March 14, six local restaurants will donate a generous portion of their sales to support Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC.

Restaurants participating on Monday, March 14, are:

  • Gondolier in Clinton
  • Hoskins in Clinton
  • Mediterranean Delight in Oak Ridge
  • Outback Steakhouse in Oak Ridge
  • Razzleberry’s in Oak Ridge
  • Papa Murphy’s in Oak Ridge

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Man injured, facing charges after pursuit ends with crash into power pole

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A 32-year-old man was injured and is facing a half-dozen charges after he allegedly went off State Route 62 in a pickup truck while fleeing from Morgan County officials early Sunday, struck a utility pole and broke it in half, and then traveled down an embankment and rolled over in a ditch, authorities said. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

Note: This story was updated at 8:50 p.m.

OLIVER SPRINGS—A 32-year-old man was injured and is facing a half-dozen charges after he allegedly went off State Route 62 in a pickup truck while fleeing from Morgan County officials early Sunday, struck a utility pole and broke it in half, and then traveled down an embankment, where the vehicle he was driving rolled over onto its top in a ditch, authorities said.

Travis Lyles, 32, of Oliver Springs, was driving east on SR 62 in a 2004 Ford F-250 when his pickup truck went off the westbound side of the road at about 12:35 a.m. Sunday, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said. The crash occurred while Lyles was evading arrest and being pursued by the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, which was trying to stop him for speeding and swerving on the roadway, the THP said.

The crash occurred in the Morgan County portion of Oliver Springs on Winter Gap Road near Lookout Avenue. [Read more…]

Photos: Cardinal Invitational Regatta in Oak Ridge

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Twelve of the nation’s best NCAA Division I women’s rowing teams competed this weekend in the Cardinal Invitational Regatta in Oak Ridge. Pictured above, a Notre Dame team competes at Oak Ridge Marina on Saturday, March 12, 2016. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Twelve of the nation’s best NCAA Division I women’s rowing teams competed this weekend in the Cardinal Invitational Regatta in Oak Ridge. Here are photos by Julio Culiat.

The rowing races were hosted by the University of Louisville at the Oak Ridge Rowing Association on Melton Hill Lake.

The 2016 Cardinal Regatta included the following rowing teams: [Read more…]

Young Lady Wildcats, first-year coach advance to state championship

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats celebrate a 38-31 Class AAA semifinal win over Bradley Central in the state basketball tournament in Murfreesboro on Friday, March 11, 2016. (Photo by Paul Ward)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3:40 p.m.

First-year Oak Ridge Coach Paige Green and her young Lady Wildcats advanced to the state basketball championship game on Saturday after beating Bradley Central 38-31 in a Class AAA semifinal game in Murfreesboro on Friday.

It was a success story that few, if any, had predicted. Wildcats broadcasters called it a “miraculous journey” and a “Cinderella run.”

The Lady Wildcats were led by sophomore Mykia Dowdell with 15 points, nine rebounds, and two steals. Freshman Jada Guinn had nine points, two rebounds, and two assists, and sophomore Jaymi Golden added eight points, including late free throws that helped seal the win.

Oak Ridge (30-4) trailed by as many as eight points in the third quarter, but they rallied starting late in that quarter and continuing through the fourth to knock off Bradley Central (32-4). The Lady Wildcats took a 26-25 lead with about 3.5 minutes left in the game on a feed across the lane from Golden to Guinn, who scored a layup.
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Council to consider applying for state grant for synthetic turf at Blankenship

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Wildcats Tee Higgins Catch against Campbell County Oct. 30, 2015

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider applying for a state grant worth up to $500,000 to install synthetic turf at Blankenship Field. Pictured above, Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) hauls in a catch near the left sideline during a 45-6 win over Campbell County on Blankenship Field on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015. (File photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider applying for a state grant worth up to $500,000 to install synthetic turf at Blankenship Field. It’s the first phase of a multi-million-dollar proposal to renovate Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium.

The application that City Council will consider is a Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The grant requires a 50 percent match, which would be provided by the nonprofit Blankenship Field Revitalization Foundation. The requested grant funding could range between $250,000 and $500,000.

The Local Parks and Recreation Fund, or LPRF, grant provides state funding for parks and recreation development and capital projects, said Jon Hetrick, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks director. It requires the facility to be maintained as a public recreational facility and open to the public. Grant reports must be filed with the state every five years to document ongoing use as a public recreational facility. [Read more…]

Healthcare employers invited to participate in Roane State job fair

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Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building

Roane State Community College is having a job fair from 12:30-3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, in the Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building at the Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Employers are invited to participate in a March 30 job fair at Roane State Community College for students who are pursuing careers in health care and plan to graduate this year.

The fair is planned for Wednesday, March 30, from 12:30-3:30 p.m. at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus, which is at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. Setup begins at 11 a.m. in the Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building.

Employers are asked to register by March 18. There is no registration fee. To register, visit www.roanestate.edu/jobfair. [Read more…]