Oak Ridge Today

COVID-19 city updates; Oak Ridge Library re-opens June 1

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Oak Ridge Public Library
The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

City government facilities are returning to normal operations after more than a year of trying to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and the Oak Ridge Public Library will return to normal operating hours on Tuesday, June 1.

However, not all Oak Ridge municipal departments and services have returned to full capacity, a press release said.

Here is a COVID-19 update provided by the City of Oak Ridge on Friday:

Departmental services are continuing. City officials strongly urge citizens to conduct their business electronically, over the phone, and by mail whenever possible. Financial transactions can be handled electronically and via mail. If you need to reach a department, call the number listed below for each department or click here for a list of all departments. You can also reach a department by email or social media.

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K-25 History Center re-opens

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Image courtesy K-25 History Center

After a long shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, the K-25 History Center re-opened Monday morning.

The K-25 History Center is located on the south side of the site where the K-25 Building used to be at what is now Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge. The K-25 Building was once the world’s largest. The K-25 History Center is on the second floor of the City of Oak Ridge fire station at Heritage Center.

The K-25 site was built during World War II, and it enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. The site was shut down in the 1980s. The site was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, and it was to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

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Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool re-opens this weekend

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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool opens for the season beginning Memorial Day weekend.

The pool will be open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 29, through Monday, May 31, a press release said. Beginning June 1, summer hours will be in effect. Public swim is Monday through Friday from noon to 7 p.m., Wednesday nights from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The pool will also be open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to noon for 100-meter lap swim.

“As a reminder, areas of the pool may be closed at times depending on activities, attendance, and staffing,” the press release said. “The kiddie pool will remain closed this season for repairs.”

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Roane State professor wins Outstanding PTA Educator award

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Roane State Community College Associate Professor Emily A. DeLozier has been awarded the Outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant Educator of the Year Award for 2021. (Photo by Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Roane State Community College Associate Professor Emily A. DeLozier has been awarded the Outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant Educator of the Year Award for 2021.

The Tennessee chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association recently announced the award during its virtual spring business meeting.

“It’s a great honor, and I’m very humbled to receive it,” said DeLozier, who is also the academic coordinator of clinical education for Roane State’s PTA program. “Every opportunity I’ve had has been as part of a team,” the Knoxville resident said.

There are more than 2,250 members of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Tennessee chapter. DeLozier said Associate Professor Beth Vowell, director of Roane State’s PTA program, “deserves as much credit as I do.”

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For members: Man who tried to shoot deputy sentenced to 25 years

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Charles Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and aggravated assault in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, May 24, 2021, for trying to shoot a deputy in April 2019, and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—An Anderson County man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder for trying to shoot a deputy northeast of Oak Ridge in April 2019 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.

Charles Edward Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to one felony count of attempted first-degree murder and five felony counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. He also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of interfering with a 911 call and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

One person injured in Monday shooting in Clinton

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One person was injured in an early morning shooting in Clinton on Monday, according to the Clinton Police Department.

The shooting was reported just after 5 a.m. Monday at the Git ‘N Go Market on Clinch Avenue in South Clinton.

The CPD said one adult male was shot during the incident, and he was transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening. Police said the man had at least one gunshot wound to his lower body, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton, which cited CPD Assistant Chief Jim Campbell.

Preliminary information from witnesses indicated that a car pulled into the store parking lot, fired multiple shots at the victim, and fled before officers arrived, WYSH Radio said.

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Two die in crashes in Anderson County

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Two people died in crashes in Anderson County this past weekend. One was a student at Hardin Valley Academy, and the other was a 43-year-old Knoxville woman.

The first crash, which killed the HVA senior, was reported in the Claxton area on Friday night. Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said it was a graduation season tragedy involving some young people who had been celebrating in Knox County.

“Whether they were served alcohol at a commercial establishment is being investigated,” Clark said in a social media post on Saturday.

Clark said it appeared that eight people were riding in a pickup truck when it crashed in the Claxton area on New Henderson Road at Henderson Bend Road.

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Murals celebrate Oak Ridge recreation, history

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A mural is being painted on an ORNL Federal Credit Union building on West Tennessee Avenue by artist Megan Lingerfelt, pictured above on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

Murals celebrating nature, diversity, history, and outdoor activities have been painted on or near several Oak Ridge buildings, including at the boathouse and at ORNL Federal Credit Union.

Three murals have been painted near the ORNL Federal Credit Union headquarters on Rutgers Avenue. Another mural has been painted on the Oak Ridge Rowing Association boathouse at Melton Lake Park.

A fifth mural is being painted on an ORNL Federal Credit Union building on West Tennessee Avenue.

The first three murals painted at the credit union headquarters building on Rutgers Avenue were designed by students at Oak Ridge High School, Jefferson Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School, according to JMS art teacher Jim Dodson, who is also an Oak Ridge City Council member. The murals were created by Bryan Wilkerson, art professor at Roane State Community College. For their work, each of the schools received a $500 contribution to their art departments, and the students received a cash award, Dodson said.

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AMSE re-opens

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The American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

After a long closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Museum of Science and Energy has re-opened.

AMSE re-opened at 9 a.m. Friday, May 21.

AMSE will be open to a limited number of visitors at a time, 50. Museum visitors will be asked to maintain an appropriate physical distance from others (the general guidance has been to maintain a distance of six feet or more, when possible, from people who live outside your home).

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Friends of Library Book Sale returns

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Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library Spring 2021 Book Sale will be Friday, May 21, and Saturday, May 22. Pictured above are FOL President Nancy Hardin, right, and Treasurer Jan Pierce sorting books from a previous year. (Submitted photo)

The Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library Spring 2021 Book Sale is returning after more than a year.

The Book Sale is Friday, May 21, and Saturday, May 22. It will be a smaller sale at a different location because the Oak Ridge Public Library is not yet fully open to the public, a press release said.

“But we are ready to have a sale to share with you the many items we have received since our last sale in March 2020,” the press release said.

The sale will be held in two rooms on the lower level of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore building in Grove Center. The entrance is on Robertsville Road.

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For members: Council approves purchase of 3 drones for police, fire

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The Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Tuesday approved the purchase of three drones that will help police officers and firefighters battle blazes, find lost people, and respond to calls about people barricaded with weapons.

The seven-member Council had deferred a vote on the drones during its May 10 meeting after members raised questions about privacy, civil liberties, and requests for images or videos inadvertently captured by the drones.

ORHS Concert band to perform at Civic Center Amphitheater

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Oak Ridge High School Concert Band (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge High School Concert Band will perform on stage in public for the first time this year Thursday evening.

The concert is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 20, in the Amphitheater at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. The concert will move to Oak Ridge High School if if necessary because of rain.

“The students have been rehearsing and performing virtually from the ORHS Performing Arts Center auditorium seats since December!” a press release said.

The band’s “Jazz Journey: 1941” halftime music during football season along with the virtual Christmas and winter concerts have kept the group strong musically, and they are looking forward to entertaining their families and the community with that talent for their final concert performance this year, the press release said.

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