Oak Ridge Today

Wanda Crowe named hospital’s MMCer of the Year

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Wanda Crowe

Wanda Crowe

Wanda Crowe, anesthesia tech in the Surgery department at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, has been named the 2014 MMCer of the Year.

Hospital employees cast their votes for MMCer of the Year among the candidates who received MMCer of the Month during 2014, and Crowe, who was named MMCer of the Month in October, received the greatest number of votes to earn this special distinction.

As an anesthesia tech, Crowe’s duties include transporting patients for surgery, maintaining a clean environment for the operating rooms and assisting her coworkers with a variety of tasks to ensure a high quality of care for all patients. Crowe has been with Methodist since 1995. [Read more…]

Former ORNL employee in inaugural engineering Hall of Fame at UT

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UT Mabe Hall of Fame

Clockwise from upper left are William Snyder, Richard Rosenberg, Rinehart Bright, and Henry Hartsfield. (Photo courtesy UT)

 

Former chancellor, astronaut also honored

KNOXVILLE—In 1847, a course offering studies in mechanical philosophies and mechanics appeared in what was then East Tennessee University.

Now, almost 170 years later, the school is the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and the course has grown into the College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, or MABE, two-thirds of which would have been considered science fiction to those many years ago.

Now, the department is calling upon that legacy as it prepares to open its Hall of Fame.

The honor of being in the inaugural class belongs to a chancellor, an astronaut, an automotive pioneer, and a person who had a longtime presence in various Oak Ridge facilities. [Read more…]

ASAP coalition wins award for work to reduce underage drinking

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ASAP Logo

Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County (ASAP) has won a GOT OUTCOMES! Coalition of Excellence award by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, or CADCA. ASAP won in the “Milestones Award” category for their efforts to reduce underage drinking rates in the community, a press release said.

Sponsored by CADCA’s National Coalition Institute, the GOT OUTCOMES! Awards give national recognition to coalitions that make a strong case for their contribution to population-level substance outcomes by using an inclusive, data-driven, and comprehensive community problem-solving process. Coalitions complete a competitive and rigorous two-phase application process and are judged by a panel of experts at the federal, state and local levels.

The Milestone category provides newer coalitions—or those with more recently implemented strategies—the opportunity to highlight their contributions toward achieving community-level reductions in one or more substance abuse or substance abuse-related issues, the press release said. [Read more…]

Honors: Roane State student’s GIS project earns recognition

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Joe Pyle Winning GIS Poster

Images courtesy of Roane State Community College

 

Roane State Community College student Joe Pyle enjoys working with his hands.

As a student in the college’s geographic information systems, or GIS, program, his raw material of choice is data, and his craftsmanship has received statewide recognition.

Pyle’s map predicting cell phone coverage along the Cumberland Trail won in the Best Analysis category at the East Tennessee Geographic Information Council Forum. Pyle’s map depicts the Cumberland Trail from Frozen Head State Park to LaFollette. The map is overlaid with markers predicting cell phone signal strength at points along the trail. [Read more…]

Spotlight: Oak Ridge firefighter completes grueling smoke diver class

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Steve London

Steve London

Part of being a successful firefighter is the ability to control fear—and rely on skills that must be constantly renewed and sharpened.

An Oak Ridge firefighter recently completed one of the most grueling courses designed to teach survival techniques, and he will be training other Oak Ridge firefighters soon.

Thirty-nine firefighters from several departments qualified to begin this punishing six-day course, but only 12 of those finished the class. The Georgia Smoke Diver course, conducted by the Georgia Fire Academy and the Georgia Smoke Diver Association, is a six-day, 60-hour program designed for experienced firefighters who want realistic training in skills including firefighter rescue, thermal imaging, teamwork, discipline, and situational awareness.

One of the 12 firefighters who finished the class was Steve London of the Oak Ridge Fire Department. London holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee in environmental studies, and he is a firefighter/paramedic for the City of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Honors: St. Mary’s teacher wins Air Force award

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St. Mary's Teacher wins Air Force Award

Teacher of the Year Marsha Sega receives a check from Steven Dillenburg, chapter president on September 24 in the St. Mary’s School library. (Submitted photo)

 

Marsha Sega is the middle school science and math teacher at St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge. Her work preparing her students to use and excel in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) won her the local Air Force Association chapter’s Teacher of the Year Award earlier this year.

The second part of the award was presented in the form of a check from Stephen Dillenburg, chapter president of the local Air Force Association on September 24 in the St. Mary’s School library, a press release said. [Read more…]

Clinton school board member inducted into TSBA Quarter Century Club

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Jim Webster Retires

Longtime Clinton Board of Education member Jim Webster, center, was honored for his dedicated service to Clinton City Schools at a reception before the November school board meeting. Among those who gathered to honor Webster were past Board Chairman Don Elledge, third from right; Mayor Scott Burton, second from left; City Manager Roger Houck, right; Councilman Jerry Shattuck, left; other longtime friends, and four of his children. (Photo courtesy Clinton City Schools)

 

Longtime Clinton Board of Education member was inducted into the Tennessee School Board Association’s Quarter Century Club during a recent TSBA Annual Convention awards luncheon in Nashville.

The two school board members who were inducted have served 25 years on their local boards of education. Those individuals received honorary life membership in the Tennessee School Boards Association. The other 2014 inductee was Harold Garrett of Haywood County.

[Read more…]

Honors: Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame inductees

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Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame 2014

Pictured above in bottom row from left to right are Jennifer Goff, Mike Morris, and John Murphy. In the back row are Chad Ridings and Ty Ridings, who accepted on behalf of their father, Jim Ridings. (Photo courtesy Mike Kelly)

 

New members of the Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame were inducted during halftime of the October 3 football game between Oak Ridge and Campbell County.

The recent inductees are pictured above. They include Jennifer Goff, Mike Morris, John Murphy, and Jim Ridings.

Honors: ORAU director receives Top Professionals Under 40 award

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ORAU Heidi Timmerman Award

Heidi H. Timmerman, center, accepts the Top Professionals Under 40 in Contract Management Award during the National Contract Management Association’s 33rd Annual Government Contract Management Symposiusm Fall Chapter Leader Summit 2014 Awards Reception. The award was presented by NCMA Executive Director Michael Fischetti, left, and NCMA President Larry Trowel. (Submitted photo)

 

Heidi H. Timmerman, director of procurement and contracts for Oak Ridge Associated Universities, was recently awarded the Top Professionals Under 40 in Contract Management distinction from the National Contract Management Association, a press release said.

Timmerman—who is responsible for overseeing ORAU’s activities related to prime contract administration, the Work for Others program under the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education contract, subcontract administration, and small business outreach—was recognized for being a top performer in the contract management profession under the age of 40.

This honor recognizes Timmerman for her contract management knowledge and willingness to mentor others, as well as her involvement with various community organizations such as NCMA and the United Way of Anderson County, the press release said. [Read more…]

Archer named president of Tennessee County Trustee’s Association

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Rodney Archer

Rodney Archer

Anderson County Trustee Rodney Archer has been named president of the Tennessee County Trustee’s Association. Archer was voted into the office during an annual business meeting last week at the County Officials Conference in Chattanooga.

Archer has been Anderson County trustee since 2006, and he has been an active leader in the Trustee’s Association, a press release said. He previously served as the secretary of the statewide organization and was also recognized as Outstanding Trustee for the East Tennessee division in 2010.

The Association is not just a network; it is also an essential component of professional development for trustees across Tennessee, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORHS Math Bowl team finishes second in large school competition

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Oak Ridge Schools Logo

Thirty students from Oak Ridge High School competed in the annual Pro2Serv Fermat Competition and Math Bowl on Thursday, and the school’s Math Bowl A team finished second in the large school competition, a press release said.

“Our Math Bowl teams were very competitive, with our A team narrowly losing by one point,” the release said. The A team was comprised of Albert Xue, Tina Wang, and Katherine Zhang, along with alternate Sheichen Zhang.

The B team of Vincent Jodoin, Gabe Vacaliuc, and Joe Andress, with alternate Adi Sujithkumar, also had an amazing run, but came up a match short of placing, the release said. [Read more…]

Spotlight: Rotary leads fight against polio

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‘We are this close to ending polio’

Rotary International, which includes some 1.3 million members in 33,000 clubs in more than 200 countries around the world, celebrated October 24 as World Polio Day.

Since 1985, Rotary has led the battle against polio, as worldwide cases plummeted from 350,000 per year to several hundred—a 99 percent reduction.

“This is a source of pride to Rotarians everywhere,” says District Governor Jerry Wear of Rotary District 6780, which includes East Tennessee. “In our relentless fundraising efforts and our participation in inoculation days around the world, Rotarians are committed to carrying this important mission to completion.”

Today, polio is endemic in only three countries—Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. When India came off that list in 2012, it was an important step toward eradicating a human disease from the earth for only the second time in history. (The first disease so eradicated was smallpox.) [Read more…]