Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge fraternal lodges donate to Ben Atchley State Veterans Home

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Donation To Ben Atchley Home 2013

Pictured above in front row are Ginny Howe, Gene Wenzel, and Elizabeth Shirley; second row, Jeff McDonald, Daniel Humphreys, Donna Forstrom, Joy Brown, Jim Lutrell, and Mary Lutrell; and third row, Ralph Pate and Sarah Pate.
Not pictured is Bobby Hensley. (Submitted photo)

In a combined effort, Veteran’s Day committee members from three Oak Ridge fraternal lodges donated $780 in gift cards to Ben Atchley State Veteran’s Home. The Fraternal Order of the Eagles, Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks, and the Loyal Order of the Moose worked to collect donations during each lodge’s Veteran’s Day events. Ben Atchley State Veteran’s home was the charity of choice for each lodge’s Veteran’s Day committee.

On Thursday, Dec. 12, members from each lodge met at the Ben Atchley Home to deliver the gift cards. The gift cards purchased included Regal Cinema and three local restaurants. The veteran residents will enjoy several outings for dinner and a movie thanks to the donation.

“Thank you all so much for your overwhelming kindness and generosity of the gift cards for our well-deserving veterans,” said Ginny Howe, Ben Atchley’s programs coordinator. “We appreciate you more than you will ever know.”

ORNL devises recipe to fine-tune silica rod diameters

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By controlling the temperature of silica rods as they grow, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could be setting the stage for advances in anti-reflective solar cells, computer monitors, TV screens, eye glasses, and more.

The goal of fabricating fixed-size one-dimensional silica structures and being able to precisely control the diameter during growth has long eluded scientists. Now, Panos Datskos and Jaswinder Sharma have demonstrated what they describe as the addressable local control of diameter of each segment of the silica rod.

“In nature, many intricate structures develop and grow in response to their environments,” said Sharma, a Wigner Fellow and corresponding author of the Angewandte Chemie International Edition paper that outlines the process. “For example, in addition to genotype, shell shape is also controlled by the local environment in many oysters and scallops.” [Read more…]

Christmas coffeehouse at First Presbyterian for Free Medical Clinic

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Ellen Bast Performs Modern Dance at a Coffeehouse

Ellen Bast will perform modern dance at tonight’s Christmas Coffeehouse. (Submitted photo)

College students who are home for the holidays are hosting a coffeehouse fundraiser with live music on tonight (Friday night) from 7 to 10 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge.

The young adults hope to generate enough proceeds tonight to give a “very merry” Christmas to the clinic. The coffeehouses have become a reliable and persistent funding source for the clinic. The students have donated more than $12,000 since 2011 from the coffeehouse.

“We give them 100 percent of what we bring in, ” said Sumner Byrne, George Washington University student and event organizer. “It feels great to be making a difference.”

Byrne said many students who participate attend different colleges.

“This is a great place to get together, enjoy old friends, and make some new ones,” Byrne said. “The coffeehouse music provided by local musicians is always superb, and we raise money for a good cause. How much better can it get?” [Read more…]

Comedy show at Back 2 Brewski’s on Friday

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Laughs on Taps Comedy Show at Brewski's

A free comedy show at a Grove Center bar on Friday will feature a half-dozen comedians.

The Laughs on Tap Comedy Show starts at 9:30 p.m. Friday at Back 2 Brewski’s. It’s hosted by Danny Whitson.

The comedians include Dallas Delaney, Gail Ann Grantham-Moore, Sam Donnelly, and Leo Russell. The show features Trae Crowder, and the headliner is John Upton.

You must be 21 years old or older to enter. [Read more…]

Keep your holidays from going up in flames!

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State fire marshal offers tips for a safely decorated home

NASHVILLE—The winter holiday season should be a joyous time of year. However, certain types of fires and injuries associated with decorating are all too common and can put a damper on holiday celebrations.

“Nearly half of holiday decoration fires happen because decorations are placed too close to a heat source,” says State Fire Marshal and Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak. “To decrease your risk for a home fire, keep fire safety in mind as you deck the halls this season.”

Candles are widely used in homes throughout the holidays, and December is the peak month for home candle fires. The National Fire Protection Association’s statistics show that two of every five home decoration fires are started by candles.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office encourages Tennesseans to consider using flameless candles, which look and smell like real candles. However, if you do use traditional candles, keep them at least 12” away from anything that can burn, and remember to blow them out when you leave the room or go to bed. Avoid using candles in the bedroom, where one-third of U.S. candle fires begin or other areas where people may fall asleep. [Read more…]

Roane State campuses will be closed Dec. 19-Jan. 1 for holidays

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All Roane State Community College campuses will be closed Thursday, Dec. 19, through Wednesday, Jan. 1, for the holidays.

The Cumberland Business Incubator, located on the Cumberland County campus, will be closed Monday, Dec. 23, through Wednesday, Jan. 1.

All campuses and locations will reopen on Thursday, Jan. 2, and spring classes will begin on Thursday, Jan. 16. [Read more…]

What’s happening in Oak Ridge from Dec. 19-25

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Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge starting Thursday, Dec. 19, and continuing through Dec. 25, Christmas Day.

This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau.

[Read more…]

Sponsored: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Noble Metals

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Noble Metals Christmas and New Year 2013

The staff at Noble Metals wishes you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The staff at Noble Metals wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Noble Metals is on Belgrade Road in Oak Ridge, and the company pays cash to recycle your metals, including cars, jewelry, appliances, batteries, wires, pots and pans, scrap iron and steel, and silver and gold.

Pick-up service is available for commercial customers, and a drive-through scale is available to weigh loads or vehicles.

The staff at Noble Metals is involved in the community, and this year employees participated in the Feed the Need Thanksgiving Dinner at High Places Community Church.  [Read more…]

Supercomputers help ORNL researchers identify molecular switch that controls cell behavior

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E. coli Chemoreceptor Switch

Red and blue molecules represent a conformational switch essential to the signaling mechanism of an E. coli chemoreceptor that researchers discovered using computational molecular dynamics simulations. (Image credit: Davi Ortega)

If scientists can control cellular functions such as movement and development, they can cripple cells and pathogens that are causing disease in the body.

Supported by National Institutes of Health grants, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee, and the UT-ORNL Joint Institute for Computational Sciences discovered a molecular “switch” in a receptor that controls cell behavior using detailed molecular dynamics simulations on a computer called Anton built by D.E. Shaw Research in New York City. To study an even larger signaling complex surrounding the switch, the team is expanding these simulations on Titan—the nation’s most powerful supercomputer, managed by the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility at ORNL.

Researchers identified the molecular switch on Anton (which was designed to perform speedy molecular dynamics simulations) by simulating 140,000 atoms that make up the signaling part of the Tsr chemoreceptor that controls motility in E. coli. Like other receptors, Tsr spans the cell membrane, communicating to proteins inside the cell in order to respond to threats or opportunities in the environment. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge auctioneer named to state auctioneers’ Hall of Fame

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Dave Fall and Tennessee Auctioneers Hall of Fame

Auctioneer Dave Fall, left, of Oak Ridge, receives a plaque recognizing him as a member of the Tennessee Auctioneers Association Hall of Fame. He received the plaque from Clinton auctioneer William “Bear” Stephenson, right. (Photo courtesy of Tennessee Auctioneers Association)

Dave Fall of Oak Ridge was recently inducted as a member of the Tennessee Auctioneers Association Hall of Fame.

Fall is the broker, lead auctioneer, senior appraiser, and owner of Dave Fall Realty and Auction in Oak Ridge.

Fall, who served as vice president of the TAA, as well as the organization’s president in 2004-2005, is also a member of the National Auctioneers Association.

Auctioneer William “Bear” Stephenson, of Clinton, presented the Hall of Fame plaque to Fall during the state organization’s recent winter convention in Nashville, a press release said. [Read more…]

Roane Alliance receives TVA sustainable community award for 
Roane County

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Roane Alliance Sustainability Award

Pictured from left are John Bradley, Tennessee Valley Authority; Danice Turpin, Tennessee Applied College of Technology; Teresa Jackson, The Roane Alliance; Leslie Henderson, The Roane Alliance; and Del Boyette, Boyette Strategic Advisors. (Submitted photo)

The Roane Alliance received a Silver Award on behalf of Roane County at a recent Tennessee Valley Authority sustainable communities luncheon.

The TVA Valley Sustainable Communities Program Recognition Luncheon was Dec. 3 in Nashville. The award ceremony honored 13 communities from across the Tennessee Valley Region.

Roane County’s trophy was presented by Heidi Smith, a general manager in TVA’s economic development program, to Leslie Henderson, president and chief executive officer of The Roane Alliance; Teresa Jackson, Roane’s sustainable officer of The Roane Alliance; and Danice Turpin, director of Tennessee Applied College of Technology, a member of the Roane Green Team. [Read more…]

ORHS CDC/Special Olympics raising money through Papa Murphy’s, Food City

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Programs also helped by purchases that use Food City ValueCards

Twenty percent of purchases at Papa Murphy’s today (Tuesday) will be donated to the Oak Ridge High School’s Comprehensive Development Class and Special Olympics programs, a teacher said.

The sales must be checked out a dedicated register, and the offer cannot be combined with coupons or special offers, according to information provided by Angela Leach, ORHS CDC teacher and Special Olympics coach.

Papa Murphy’s Take ‘n’ Bake Pizza is located at 1133 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Call (865) 425-9919 for more information.

Leach also said purchases with Food City ValueCards can be used to help the CDC. Supporters can link their cards to the ORHS CDC class code at left below. [Read more…]