Oak Ridge Today

St. Mary’s Fall Festival this weekend

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The 65th Annual St. Mary’s Fall Festival is this weekend.

“The public is welcomed and wholeheartedly invited to join us,” a press release said. “We will be celebrating this tradition and community celebration the weekend of October 16-17, and we look for the turnout to be the best yet!”

The festivities begin on Friday, October 16, with the Knights of Columbus Spaghetti Dinner kicking off at 5 p.m. The dinner will be held in the family life center/Columbus Hall until 7 p.m., with “take out dinners” available.

“The most exciting part of Friday evening is the live auction that begins at 7 p.m.,” the release said. “Attendees thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to bid on those prized items! Some up for bid this year are date nights and family fun packages, artwork, vintage glass and silver serving pieces, exercise equipment including a bow flex and elliptical, living room, bedroom, dining and outdoor furniture, handmade quilts and afghans, jewelry, golf clubs, and a craftsman 42” riding mower. And this is to name just a few!” [Read more…]

Can a robot have a mind? Learn more Tuesday

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On Tuesday, October 13, Friends of ORNL will have a lunch meeting and an interesting program. This month, Bruce MacLennan of the University of Tennessee Electrical and Computer Science Department in Knoxville will speak on the topic “Can a Robot Have a Mind?”

This meeting is open to the public.

The meeting location in Oak Ridge will be at the UT Resource Center (the white-colored building at 1201 Oak Ridge Turnpike (State Highway 95) between Taco Bell and Applebee’s at the intersection of the Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue. Use the canopy entrance at the southwest (back) corner of the building.

The lunch begins at 11:30 a.m., and the presentation is at noon.

Learn how music therapy can help treat mental illness, health on Oct. 17

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Erica Buchhammer Music Therapy

Erica Buchhammer, music therapist (Submitted photo)

“Music Therapy and Mental Health” is the topic for the Mental Health Ministry program to be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, October 17, at Grace Lutheran Church.

The presenter, certified music therapist Erica Buchhammer, will discuss and demonstrate with numerous musical instruments how music may be used in the treatment of individuals challenged by mental illness or other health issues.

In her synopsis about the presentation, Buchhammer describes music therapy as “a psychotherapeutic method that uses musical interaction as a means of communication and expression, with the goal of developing relationships and addressing issues where words alone may not suffice.”

A part of the presentation will be interactive, demonstrating the various categories of music activities used in the therapy from listening and responding to playing and composing to movement, recreation and relaxation, or combined with other expressive arts. [Read more…]

Dale Carnegie Leadership Essential Workshop Series starts October 15

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has once again teamed up with Dale Carnegie of Tennessee to offer a six-workshop series on Leadership Essentials. A discount is available for members of the Chamber and for those who register for all six sessions.

The first session will be held on October 15 from 8-10 a.m. at the Chamber, located at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Session one is entitled “Present With Impact.” Effective presentation begins with establishing the objectives of the message and narrowing down to the key points a presenter wants to leave with listeners, a press release said. It is also important to open with impact to create a positive first impression and close with power to leave a lasting final image. Good facilitators use a variety of evidence to support their key points and link the message together to communicate with logic and precision.

Cost for members of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is $30 per session or $150 for all six. Cost for non-members is $50 per session or $250 for all six. If one person from an organization isn’t available to attend all six, another person from that organization may attend instead for no additional fee. [Read more…]

Retired DOE contractor employees, spouses have annual meeting Oct. 19

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The Coalition of Oak Ridge Retirees, or CORRE, will have its annual meeting on Monday, October 19.

CORRE is an organization of retirees that works to improve the welfare of more than 12,000 former employees and surviving spouses of the various managing contractors of U.S. Department of Energy facilities in Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The October 19 meeting starts at 2 p.m. at the Heritage Fellowship Church at 121 North Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. Parking is available at the Heritage Fellowship Church.

“All retirees, their spouses, and surviving spouses are urged to attend and are encouraged to bring other retirees,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Fall Festival at Boys, Girls Club features games, costume contests, candy, Haunted Forest

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2015 Enchanted Forest Flyer

The Fall Festival at the Boys and Girls Club of Oak Ridge on Friday will feature games, costume contests, candy, and a Haunted Forest. The community is invited.

The annual festival will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, October 16, at the club, which is at 102 South Jefferson Circle in Oak Ridge.

Attendees can expect a fun and spooky evening,” a press release said.

Admission is $3.00 per child. Concessions will be available.

The Boys and Girls Club of Oak Ridge, a unit of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Clinch Valley, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the youth of Oak Ridge and surrounding communities.

For more information, call Sara Baker, Unit Director, at (865) 482-4433.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Hardin, former foster youth, to speak at CASA Lunch and Learn

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Genesis Hardin

Genesis Hardin

CASA of the Tennessee Heartland will host a free Lunch and Learn titled “Step Up. Speak Up.” featuring former foster youth Genesis Hardin.

The event will be held at the Clinton Community Center on October 23 from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. It is sponsored by Secret City BBQ and Pies, Shop Rite Foods, and Fox and Farley Attorneys at Law.

Hardin, the keynote speaker, spent 13 years in foster care before aging out without a permanent home, a press release said. She is now a student in the University of Tennessee College of Social Work, and she has made it her mission to advocate for children and youth in the local foster care system.

The press release said Hardin has a passion for duly-enrolled youth (youth in foster care with delinquent charges) and believes that all children deserve a voice. [Read more…]

Free ‘Sparky and Rhonda Rucker’ concert, Oak Ridge climate prayer vigil Sunday

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Oak Ridge Climate Prayer Vigil 2015

A first-of-its-kind climate prayer vigil in Oak Ridge on Sunday will feature a free concert and faith leaders, scientists, and citizens concerned about climate change, a press release said.

The concert at Melton Lake Park will feature Sparky and Rhonda Rucker of Maryville. Others participating in Sunday’s vigil and concert are Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light, or TIPL; Citizens Climate Coalition, or CCC; and prominent Tennessee climate organizers, faith leaders, lawmakers, environmental and municipal organizations, and concerned citizens, the press release said.

It’s the first Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light​ Climate Prayer Vigil in Oak Ridge. Sunday’s event will include statements on the urgency of climate action, music, candles, prayers by three faith leaders, a silent meditation, and a benediction.

Then, hosted by the Citizens Climate Coalition, climate organizations, scientists, and others will offer opportunities for effective action, the press release said. [Read more…]

Community Band concert on Sunday features music for adults, children

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Oak Ridge Community Band Spring Concert April 19, 2015

The Oak Ridge Community Band is directed by Dale Pendley in concert in April 2015 at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center. (Submitted photo)

 

A concert by the Oak Ridge Community Band on Sunday will feature music for adults and children.

It’s the start of the new 2015-2016 series of indoor concerts, and it will open with the Children’s Concert scheduled for Sunday afternoon, October 11. The performance will begin at 3:30 p.m at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center.

Along with the new season will come some new changes, a press release said. Tickets at the door will be only $5 per person for all adults over 18, and children through age 18 will be free.

In addition, the public will have the opportunity at the October 11 concert to purchase season member cards allowing admission to concerts held in October, November, January, February, and April for only $15 per person, which is a savings of the cost of tickets to two out of the five concerts listed above. [Read more…]

Opinion: Community leaders convene Community Matters forums

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Editor’s Note: We are including this column on our news page in addition to our opinion page because it includes information about upcoming community forums.

Last November, a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the death of Michael Brown. Given the many strong feelings all over the country, several clergy in Oak Ridge decided to address our community. In our public statement, we called for “inspiration, perspiration, and collaboration” in our shared efforts for racial justice. We concluded, “We, the faith community, look forward to partnering in 2015 to foster holistic, long-term, and systemic solutions to the complex set of social, economic, and community challenges that plague our great society.”

In the 11 months since, painful conversations about race across our country have continued in Baltimore, Maryland; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dallas, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; and even now, in Oak Ridge.

This summer, the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church began to display a message on its electronic Oak Ridge Turnpike sign, which reads, “Black Lives Matter.” Given the national scope of this slogan, people have taken this to mean different things. Some have responded, “All lives matter,” while others have answered with, “Police lives matter.” One thing is sure: It has stirred conversation and fostered what Martin Luther King Jr. called “a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth.” [Read more…]

Council to hear results of ORPD review during special meeting Thursday

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Oak Ridge City Council on July 27, 2015

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above during a meeting on July 27, 2015. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will hear the results of the six-month review of the Oak Ridge Police Department during a special meeting on Thursday, October 15.

The special work session—work sessions are non-voting meetings—will feature a presentation by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee, which was hired to conduct the review in March. The review was expected to focus on turnover, morale, and administrative policies.

The work session, which was called by Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch and City Manager Mark Watson, is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue.

MTAS will present the conclusions of its review of the Oak Ridge Police Department. Also, MTAS will submit their final report of the review to the City Council. [Read more…]

Rescheduled: Atomic City Classic Car Show is Saturday

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Atomic City Car and Bike Show

A flyer for the Atomic City Car and Bike Show. It had originally been scheduled for Saturday, October 3, but it was rained out and rescheduled for Saturday, October 10.

 

The rescheduled Atomic City Classic Car Show is Saturday, October 10.

The car show, a benefit for Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, had been scheduled for October 3, but it was rained out.

The show is sponsored by Atomic Speed Shop. It will be at the Midtown Community Center (Wildcat Den) at 102 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Organizers said the show will feature classic cars, trucks, street rods, motorcycles, and motor scooters up to 1975. There will be dash plaques for each entry, people’s choice awards in each class, and door prizes. [Read more…]