Oak Ridge Today

Soiree Winds plays in free coffee concert on Sunday

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Soiree Winds

Soiree Winds is a wind quintet featuring local professional musicians: Shelby Shankland on flute, Marina Jaffe on oboe, Erin Bray on clarinet, Zach Milwood on bassoon, and Henry C. Hooker on horn. (Submitted photo)

 

Soiree Winds, a local wind quintet, will play in a free concert at Oak Ridge First Presbyterian Church on Sunday.

The concert is presented by the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association. It’s the final coffee concert of the season, and it starts at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 26. Refreshments will be served.

Soiree Winds is a wind quintet featuring local professional musicians: Shelby Shankland on flute, Marina Jaffe on oboe, Erin Bray on clarinet, Zach Milwood on bassoon, and Henry C. Hooker on horn. Special guest pianist Robert Bonham will also perform.

The group will play music by Debussy, Piazzola, Poulenc, and Saint Saens, among others.

“Come and support local musicians, friends, and classical music in Oak Ridge,” organizers said.

Police: Man found with suspected meth residue, $29K; charged with money laundering

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James Phillip Chase

James Phillip Chase

Police said they found large vacuum seal bags that contained suspected crystal methamphetamine residue and $29,000 in a pickup truck pulled over for speeding in Oliver Springs on Tuesday.

Also found in the vehicle were tracking numbers, numerous shipping envelopes and rubber bands, addresses, documents related to the sale of controlled substances, deposit slips, and packing tape, said Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Wilson, an investigator with the Seventh Judicial Crime Task Force in Anderson County.

The defendant, James Phillip Chase, 53, of Dutch Valley Road, has been charged with money laundering, simple possession of a Schedule II drug (methamphetamine), and speeding. He remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton early Saturday morning. [Read more…]

ORHS ranked No. 11 most challenging high school in Tenn.

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Oak Ridge High School

The main entrance at Oak Ridge High School is pictured above. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Oak Ridge High School was ranked number 11 on a list of the most challenging high schools in Tennessee, according to a ranking published by The Washington Post.

Other East Tennessee high schools on the list are West High School in Knoxville (#6), Farragut High School in Knoxville (#7), Morristown West in Morristown (#10), and Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport (#12).

The top five high schools are all in the Nashville area: Hume-Fogg Magnet in Nashville (#1), Martin Luther King Magnet in Nashville (#2), Brentwood in Brentwood (#3), Hillsboro in Nashville (#4), and Ravenwood in Brentwood (#5). [Read more…]

Gooch to discuss positive developments, challenges, community survey

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Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch will give an update on positive developments and identify challenges during a lunchtime meeting on Tuesday, May 5. Gooch will also discuss the results of a recent community survey and could discuss other issues that affect Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The mayor will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, May 5. The program will start at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The press release said Gooch ran for Oak Ridge City Council in 2014 because he believed in Oak Ridge, had great pride in a city with an unparalleled history of accomplishments, and wanted to be an active part of the city’s future. He was elected in November 2014 and then chosen by fellow City Council member to serve as Oak Ridge mayor. [Read more…]

Earth Day Festival is Saturday in Oak Ridge

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Earth Day Festival Oak Ridge

The annual Earth Day Festival is Saturday at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The eighth annual Earth Day festival in Oak Ridge is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at Alvin K. Bissell Park.

See this story for more information.

Update: Anderson Chamber job fair at New Hope on April 30

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New Hope Center

New Hope Center

The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce will host a job fair to recruit employees for local businesses and industries on Thursday, April 30, at the New Hope Center. This one-day event, which is scheduled from 3-7 p.m. April 30, allows job seekers to connect face-to-face with local businesses and industries seeking employees, a press release said.

The New Hope Center is at 602 Scarboro Road at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

Job fair exhibitors to date include: [Read more…]

Teen Battle of the Bands in Oak Ridge on Friday

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Teen Battle of the Bands

File photo/2014

 

The annual Battle of the Teen Bands is this evening (Friday, April 24).

It’s been organized by Y-12 Federal Credit Union and the Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board.

The Battle of the Bands is scheduled from 6-9 p.m. today at the Oak Ridge Civic Center Pavilion. The rain venue will be the Paradox Teen Center in Oak Ridge.

Prizes are studio time (a $1,000 value), $300, and $150.

Dogwood Regatta in Oak Ridge this weekend

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Dogwood Regatta

The Dogwood Regatta in Oak Ridge this weekend is expected to draw huge crowds of rowers and spectators from at least eight states, organizers said.

The rowers, who will range in age from teenagers to age 68, include high school and college-age competitors as well as adults, and they will travel from rowing clubs and schools across Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Texas.

The Dogwood Regatta is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 25, and 8 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 26, at Melton Lake Park and Oak Ridge Marina. [Read more…]

FIRST Robotics Competition streamed live online

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Live streaming of the First Robotics Competition in St. Louis, Missouri—a contest that includes the Secret City Wildbots from Oak Ridge—can be viewed here.

Secret City Wildbots (Team 4265) are in the Hopper Division. Today’s qualification rounds were scheduled for #12 at 9:47 a.m., #23 at 11:04 a.m., #38 at 2:44 p.m., and #48 at 3:54 p.m.

There are 600 teams competing in this year’s international championship.

ORPD review expanded to include all employees, some former workers

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Oak Ridge Police Department Cars

But MTAS will have to agree to changes

The review of the Oak Ridge Police Department has been expanded to include interviews with all employees. The review could also include interviews with former employees who have left the Police Department since Police Chief Jim Akagi started almost four years ago.

Initial plans had called for a limited review of the Oak Ridge Police Department and interviews of a random sample or cross-section of employees.

But the Oak Ridge City Council expanded the review during a special meeting on Tuesday. That special meeting was called after concerns were raised about the initial list of randomly selected interviewees being sent to the police chief, city manager, and all Police Department employees, which raised questions about the impartiality and confidentiality of the review.

By one estimate, the expanded review could include interviews with more than 100 people. And it’s not clear if the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee will agree to the expanded review, or if they might charge the city.

The City Council agreed to expand the review during a three-hour special meeting on Tuesday that included criticism of MTAS, accusations of collusion between Council members, and an attempt by Council member Trina Baughn to have resident Joe Lee, one of her chief critics, stop taking pictures during a public comment session. [Read more…]

ORPD arrests home intruder

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Thurman B. Bates

Thurman B. Bates

The Oak Ridge Police Department on Tuesday arrested a man who entered the home of his ex-girlfriend without permission and threatened to assault her, authorities said.

Officers responded to the home on Inn Lane at about 11:25 p.m. Tuesday. The man who allegedly entered without permission was later identified as Thurman Bates, 36, of Oak Ridge, a press release said.

Officers said the victim managed to escape the residence by crawling out a window and fleeing to a neighbor’s home to call the police. When they arrived, officers entered the victim’s residence in search of Bates, who had barricaded himself behind the door in the residence, the release said. Officers forced entry into the room and found Bates hiding in a closet.

The release said Bates was taken into custody with the assistance of a police canine after he briefly resisted arrest. Bates was arrested and transported to the Anderson County Detention Facility, where he was charged with aggravated burglary, domestic assault, and resisting arrest.

Arts Council asks for your support in United Arts Fund Drive

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Arts Council of Oak Ridge Logo

The Arts Council of Oak Ridge is asking for your support in this year’s United Arts Fund Drive.

The annual drive kicked off March 15 and ends April 30.

Here is the letter the Arts Council sent to arts supporters in March:

Dear Arts Supporter,

Oak Ridge has always had a strong arts community—even as a secret city—and the arts continue to be essential to the health and vitality of Oak Ridge and Anderson County today. They enhance community development, spur urban renewal, attract new businesses, draw tourism dollars, create an attractive environment for skilled, educated workers, and help make the Oak Ridge area a great place to live, work, worship, and play. The arts organizations in Oak Ridge are vital because they support and supplement school activities, attract tourists and visitors, and offer volunteer and participation opportunities. [Read more…]