Oak Ridge Today

ORUUC free community meal is Friday

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The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is inviting everyone to a free community meal on Friday, May 29.

The Stone Soup Ministry team will be serving a homemade meal of meatball and spaghetti soup, garlic bread, lemon bars, and fruit. Dine-in or take-out will be available in the ORUUC Social Hall from 5 to 6 p.m. The church is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

Some nonperishable family friendly groceries will be available for free to anyone in need, a press release said. [Read more…]

Dragon Boat Festival includes races, music, beer garden, kids area

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Four Dragon Boats

Dragon boats are pictured above at the Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival at Melton Lake Park on May 31, 2014. (Submitted photo) 

 

The second annual Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival this weekend will include dragon boat races, music, vendors, a youth area for kids, and a beer garden.

The Oak Ridge Marina boat ramp will be closed on Friday, May 29, and Saturday, May 30, for the festival, organizers said. They expect increased traffic congestion on Melton Lake Drive this weekend. Organizers are encouraging those who attend to park at Roane State Community College on Briarcliff Avenue and catch a ride in a bus or van to the waterfront.

Thirty or or more teams of 20 paddlers each are expected in Oak Ridge for the 2015 Dragon Boat Festival.

The festival, which will raise money for local charities, will start on Friday evening, May 29, with a “Lanterns on the Lake” ceremony, music, beer garden, and other festivities. [Read more…]

STEM-focused Boy Scouts program goes national; UT-Battelle helped pilot program

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An after-school STEM education program, piloted in East Tennessee by the Great Smoky Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America, will now be offered in other parts of the country. STEM Scouts—which encourages interest in science, technology, engineering, and math through fun hands-on learning and interaction with STEM professionals—will be expanding to 12 other Boy Scouts of America councils starting this fall.

“We’ve been thrilled to be able to offer STEM Scouts in the Great Smoky Mountain Council this last year,” said Great Smoky Mountain Council Scout Executive David Williams. “It’s been great for the youth, the parents, the volunteers, and our staff. We’ve had a lot of fun and introduced a lot of new families to the world of Scouting.”

By increasing STEM learning opportunities and establishing partnerships with businesses and universities, STEM Scouts gives young people real experience in these fields and the opportunity to work one-on-one with STEM educators and experts. The program is open to boys and girls in grades 3 through 12. [Read more…]

Updated: Two found after going missing on off-road ride near Windrock

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Note: This story was updated at 1:15 a.m. May 27.

WINDROCK PARK—The two off-road riders who went missing Saturday evening were found at about noon Sunday. Their sister, Kara Ferguson, said the riders were her brothers, Travis Lampkin, 27, of Knoxville, and Austin Turner, 11, of Andersonville.

Ferguson said the two left her home near Windrock Park north of Oliver Springs at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. She started to worry at about 8 p.m. because the Polaris RZR side-by-side vehicle the two were riding had a half-tank of gas.

Unable to get help from authorities, Ferguson said, she and others spent Saturday night looking for her brothers.

They later learned that the Polaris RZR had flipped on a trail known as Trail 9. Ferguson’s brother Travis Lampkin managed to get it upright again, but then a tire went flat and it ran out of gas. It also got dark, and Lampkin and Austin Turner weren’t sure where they were, Kara said. [Read more…]

Anderson County school board to discuss compromise on raises

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Board of Education will meet in a special-called session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night (May 26) in the boardroom on the fifth floor of the Jolley Building in downtown Clinton.

The board is expected to discuss a compromise put forward by its Budget Committee to seek 2 percent raises for county teachers instead of the 4 percent raises they initially called for in budget negotiations. Funding just those raises at 4 percent would require the equivalent of a 23.5-cent property tax increase, which is highly unlikely to be approved by the Anderson County Commission.

Budget deliberations are continuing, and adjustments are still being made to the system’s proposal for the new fiscal year that begins July 1, including a reported $800,000 in cuts made last week by school officials.

Following this evening’s special-called meeting, BOE members are expected to meet with county commissioners to continue working on the fiscal blueprint for 2015-2016.

NAACP in Oak Ridge, Anderson County meets tonight

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The May meeting of the NAACP in Oak Ridge and Anderson County is at 6 p.m. today (Tuesday, May 26) at the Scarboro Community Center.

Organizers said past events and upcoming projects will be discussed.

“The political action committee has been working on developing a law enforcement summit and will provide an update,” a meeting notice said.

School board to discuss renaming Alternative Program as Secret City Academy

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Oak Ridge school officials will discuss renaming the Oak Ridge Alternative Program as the Secret City Academy during a meeting tonight (Tuesday, May 26).

Here’s the rationale, according to the meeting agenda for the Oak Ridge Board of Education: [Read more…]

Greenhalgh, girls relay team finish 11th at state track meet

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ORHS Wildcats Abbey Greenhalgh at State Track Meet 2015

Oak Ridge High School sophomore Abbey Greenhalgh, left, finished 11th in the girls 800-meter run during the Class AAA state track meet, the Spring Fling, at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro on Thursday, May 21, 2015. (Photo by Kindell Moore)

 

Note: This story was updated with a correction at 7:06 p.m.

MURFREESBORO—Sophomore Abbey Greenhalgh finished 11th in the 800-meter run, and the Oak Ridge High School girls relay team finished 11th in the 4×100-meter relay and 4×200-meter relay during the Class AAA state track meet in Murfreesboro on Thursday, May 21.

And ORHS senior Lauren Smallwood finished 13th in the 200-meter dash.

There were 16 competitors in each race.

Greenhalgh (11th) had a time of 2:26.13 in the 800-meter run. The top three runners were Celine Rone, a senior at Arlington (2:16.35); Hailey Hendry, a junior at Brentwood (2:17.85), and Shian Mallory, a junior at Houston (2:18.33). [Read more…]

JMS girls selected as regional winners in national computer science competition

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Jamie Lindsley and Klara Proffen

Jamie Lindsley, left, and Klara Proffen, right, students at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, have been selected as regional winners in a national computer science competition for middle school girls. (Submitted photo)

 

Two students at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge have been selected as regional winners in a national computer science competition for middle school girls.

The students, Jamie Lindsley and Klara Proffen, wanted to help patients overcome their anxiety before a MRI scan, so they developed a virtual reality MRI simulator for the national online ProjectCSGirls competition. This online competition promotes computer science among middle school girls and has attracted hundreds of students from around the United States who submit their projects, a press release said.

Lindsley and Proffen have been invited to attend the competition’s national awards gala in June in the Washington area, the press release said.

More on the competition is available here: www.projectcsgirls.com.

More on the project is available here: https://sites.google.com/site/mrisimulator/.

ORHS AP Chemistry students place third in nation in science competition

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Eddie Anderson

Eddie Anderson

Advanced Placement Chemistry students at Oak Ridge High School placed third in the nation in chemistry in the National Science League competition, the school’s Science Department said.

The students are in the AP Chemistry class taught by Eddie Anderson at ORHS.

The test was given to all AP Chemistry students, the Science Department said. [Read more…]

Memorial Day concert on Monday dedicated to veterans

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Oak Ridge Community Band July 4, 2014 Concert

The Oak Ridge Community Band performs during a July 4, 2014 concert. (Photo by Larry Perry)

 

Special recognition will be given to area veterans and those currently serving in the military during an annual Memorial Day Concert by the Oak Ridge Community Band on Monday. The concert will start at 7 p.m. Monday, May 25, at A.K. Bissell Park.

During the show, the Oak Ridge Community Band will “kick off” its 71st season of outstanding band music with a program of patriotic music and popular American favorites, a press release said.

“The Memorial Day concert is an excellent way for area residents, families, and friends to end the holiday weekend and have the opportunity to honor the men and women who have served in the military to maintain our freedom,” the release said. [Read more…]

Kent named HR director for DOE Oak Ridge

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Melanie Kent

Melanie Kent

Melanie M. Kent was recently named director of the Human Resources Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

In her new position, Kent has the responsibility for providing leadership and direction for the development and implementation of comprehensive Human Capital Management strategies, a press release said.

Kent has more than 30 years of experience in federal human resources providing the full range of services to multiple DOE program organizations, including Science, Environmental Management, Nuclear Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Fossil Energy.

Kent began her federal career in 1979 in the human resources arena. She served as the chief of the Federal Human Resources Branch in the DOE ORO from May 2001 to April 2015. [Read more…]