Oak Ridge Today

More than 100 COVID cases in schools this year, most mild. Four staff members hospitalized during pandemic.

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This chart by Oak Ridge Schools shows the total and current number of COVID-19 cases by school and by student or staff on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.

There have been more than 100 COVID-19 cases among students and staff members this school year, with most reporting mild symptoms, and a total of four staff hospitalizations reported since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oak Ridge Schools said Monday.

There have been no student or staff fatalities since the pandemic began, the school system said.

Monday morning, there were more than 200 students who were restricted from attending school. There were 109 cases of COVID among students and staff members on Monday evening, mostly among students. The largest number of COVID-19 cases is now at Robertsville Middle School. Until Friday, it had been at Willow Brook Elementary School.

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said the source of exposure to COVID-19 varies.

“A high percentage of students are unable to identify the source of exposure, while others feel the source was a family member, family gathering, or friend,” Borchers said in a response to questions Monday.

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Masks will be required at JMS, RMS

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This graph shows the total number of COVID-19 in Oak Ridge Schools between Wednesday, Aug. 4, and Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Twenty-one new cases were reported Friday. The number of cases this fiscal year increased 10 times in nine days, from nine to 90. Total cases include both current cases and recovered, and they include both student and staff cases. (Data from Oak Ridge Schools/Chart by Oak Ridge Today using Flourish)

Face masks will be required at Jefferson and Robertsville middle schools starting Monday as they each reported at least seven new COVID-19 cases since Thursday, and 21 new cases were reported in all Oak Ridge schools, including among students and staff members. Eighty-one new cases have been reported in the past 1.5 weeks.

There are now three Oak Ridge schools that require face masks: Jefferson Middle School, Robertsville Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School. Willow Brook, which had the first outbreak of COVID-19 cases, required face masks starting this past Monday.

Willow Brook still has the largest number of cases: 27. Nineteen of those are current student cases, and one is a current staff case. Willow Brook reported four new cases between Thursday and Friday.

Robertsville has the second-largest number of cases: 24. Twenty of those are current student cases, and one is a current staff case. Robertsville reported seven new cases between Thursday and Friday.

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Roane State announces winner of annual adjunct faculty teaching excellence award

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Roane State Community College English instructor Wendy Bennett is the recipient of the college’s annual award for teaching excellence by an adjunct faculty member. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Community College English instructor Wendy Bennett is the recipient of the college’s annual award for teaching excellence by an adjunct faculty member.

The announcement that Bennett won the Clyde James “Jim” Dunigan Adjunct Faculty Award was made during fall convocation on Wednesday, August 11, a press release said. The event was held on the Roane County campus and streamed live online.

Originally titled the Adjunct Faculty Award, the honor was renamed for Dunigan, who was the first recipient of the accolade. He taught as an adjunct from Spring 1989 to Spring 2016. He died in June 2016.

His widow, Flory Dunigan, an advisory member of the Roane State Foundation, presented Bennett with the award, which includes a plaque and $250. Finalists Martha Trisler, Scott Jamison, and Debby Sexton received $150 checks, also courtesy of the Roane State Foundation.

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ESPN writer to speak at benefit for AC Middle College students at Roane State

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ESPN Senior Writer Chris Low will be the featured speaker at a September luncheon to benefit Anderson County Middle College students attending Roane State Community College.

The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Roane State Community College Foundation and Anderson County Schools to host the luncheon. It’s scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, September 15, at The Hollingsworth Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, also known as Junior Achievement of East Tennessee, at 2135 North Charles Seivers Boulevard in Clinton. Individual tickets are $30, and tables of 8 are $250, a press release said. Tickets are available at https://tinyurl.com/RSCCMiddle.

Low has been covering college sports for more than 34 years, a press release said. Before he joined ESPN in 2007, Low worked at The Tennessean in Nashville for 10 years covering University of Tennessee athletics. A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Low was born in St. Charles, Missouri, and he grew up in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He lives in Knoxville will his wife Julie, and they have three sons, Josh, Adam, and Sean.

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Anderson County Democratic Party to elect new leaders at convention

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The Anderson County Democratic Party will hold a Biennial Reorganization Convention to elect new leaders on Saturday, August 21.

The meeting will take place at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge, a press release said. Doors open for registration at 1 p.m. The convention will start promptly at 2 p.m.

Local Democrats will elect a chair, vice chairs, secretary, treasurer, and executive committee members from all areas of the county for a two-year term, the press release said.

“All Democrats who are residents of and who are registered voters of Anderson County are urged to attend to discuss the party’s agenda and events for 2021-2022,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Secret City Crossfit celebrates ribbon-cutting ceremony

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, for Secret City Crossfit, located at 2388 Brisbane Road. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, August 6, for Secret City Crossfit, located at 2388 Brisbane Road.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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USRowing Masters National Championships begins Thursday

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The USRowing Masters National Championships is in Oak Ridge from Thursday to Sunday.

The regatta is hosted by the Oak Ridge Rowing Association.

The event draws competitors who are 21 years old and older from all across the United States. For many rowers, it will be their first big regatta in two years, a press release said. The regatta was last hosted by ORRA in 2017.

Racing will run each day from about 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Setup for the four-day regatta began on Saturday, August 7. Teams began to arrive Tuesday, August 10. and practice Wednesday, August 11.

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COVID cases quintuple in schools in one week

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This graph shows the total number of COVID-19 in Oak Ridge Schools by school between Wednesday, Aug. 4, and Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. Schools not shown have reported no COVID cases. The number of cases in the school system quintupled in one week. There were nine total cases in the schools on Wednesday, Aug. 4, and five times as many, 45, on Tuesday, Aug. 10. Total cases include both current cases and recovered, and they include both student and staff cases. (Data published by Oak Ridge Schools/Chart by Oak Ridge Today using Flourish)

The number of COVID-19 cases quintupled in one week in Oak Ridge Schools. There were nine total cases in the schools on Wednesday, August 4. There were five times as many, 45, on Tuesday, August 10. Total cases include both current cases and recovered, and they include both student and staff cases.

Almost half of the school system’s total cases, 20, have been at Willow Brook Elementary School. Sixteen of those are considered current cases. Face masks are now required at Willow Brook. That change went into effect on Monday.

The next largest group of cases, 11, has been at Robertsville Middle School. Ten of those are current. No change in the face mask policy has been announced at Robertsville. With the exception of Willow Brook, face masks are optional in Oak Ridge Schools this school year after being required last year.

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City wants to replace 74-year-old water line that failed nine times

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West Outer Drive Water Main Break
A water main break along West Outer Drive is pictured above in August 2015.

The Oak Ridge Public Works Department wants to replace a critical 74-year-old water line along West Outer Drive that has failed nine times since 2014.

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider a contract this evening for engineering services to replace the 14-inch cast iron water line between North Illinois Avenue and Wellington Circle. The contract for engineering services with LDA Engineering would be worth up to $120,000.

The city said the water line was installed around 1947. It is about 2,800 feet long and about three feet behind the curb on the north side of West Outer Drive.

“This section of waterline that Public Works proposes to replace has proven to be very unreliable,” Oak Ridge City Engineer Roger Flynn told City Manager Mark Watson in a memo on Monday.

The city staff found one failure in 2014 and eight more since 2018. The failures have been between 648 and 740 West Outer Drive.

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Park Board work plan includes swimming pool, greenways, rails to trails

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Advisory Board is scheduled to discuss its work plan on Thursday, and agenda items include the Oak Ridge Swimming Pool; the greenway system, including the Rails to Trails Project; and the position and policy about E-Bikes.

The board will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 12, in the Oak Ridge Recreation Center Social Room.

Face masks required at Willow Brook Elementary starting Monday

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The COVID-19 case count dashboard by Oak Ridge School on Friday afternoon, Aug. 6, 2021.

Note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. Aug. 7.

Face masks will be required at Willow Brook Elementary School starting Monday as the number of COVID-19 cases has jumped in a few days from one case to 12. That’s more than half of the 22 current cases in Oak Ridge Schools.

The first case at Willow Brook was a staff member who had been infected, according to a report around Tuesday or Wednesday. On Friday, the outbreak at Willow Brook had grown from one COVID-19 case to 12. Eight of those were student cases, and four were staff cases.

“At this point in time, our data supports mandating masks for students and staff at Willow Brook Elementary School starting on Monday,” Oak Ridge Schools told families in an email Friday. “When active cases and transmission decrease, we will have the option to lift this mandate and return to making the wearing of masks optional.”

The overall number of current cases in Oak Ridge Schools has almost tripled from eight current cases on Tuesday or Wednesday to 22 on Friday.

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Oak Ridge Land Bank has news conference about downtown development

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The Oak Ridge Land Bank will host a gathering on Friday, August 6, at 5 p.m. on Wilson Street near Rice Road. At 5:30 p.m., there will be a news conference regarding the land bank’s Request For Proposals to develop Downtown Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The Land Bank, representing the community interest with respect to the development of a downtown district, is releasing a RFP for the purchase and development of property in accordance with the adopted “vision” for this district, the press release said.

Over the decades, multiple plans have called for creating a place where Oak Ridgers can live, work, and play, the press release said. The Wilson Street corridor borders Main Street shopping near the new American Museum of Science and Energy and planned conference center, and it is easily accessible from Oak Ridge Turnpike and Alvin K. Bissell Park, the press release said. It provides a “great opportunity to finally have a distinctive, uniquely Oak Ridge place for people to gather,” the release said. “The existence of a more urban, densely-developed environment, featuring apartments, condos, restaurants, local shops, offices, and beautiful green space, will attract new and different businesses to Oak Ridge.”

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