Community Archives - Oak Ridge Today

City celebrates two major projects—Preschool, Senior Center—with groundbreakings

Posted at 12:53 pm January 21, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The City of Oak Ridge held ceremonial groundbreakings on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, to celebrate the start of two major projects: the new Oak Ridge Preschool, pictured above, with Scarboro Park improvements and the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. Construction activity is already under way at both sites, and the buildings are slated for completion later this year. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge held ceremonial groundbreakings on Monday, January 14, to celebrate the start of two major projects: the new Oak Ridge Preschool with Scarboro Park improvements and the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. Construction activity is already under way at both sites, and the buildings are slated for completion later this year.

“These projects have been in the planning stages for decades and we are making good on promises to deliver them,” Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch said in a press release. “The Preschool and the Senior Center will have a positive impact on our citizens and their families for generations to come. We are excited to see construction begin.”

Studio Four Design Inc. was chosen to design the Preschool and the Senior Center. At a special meeting in October 2018, Oak Ridge City Council unanimously approved resolutions awarding construction contracts to Jenkins and Stiles LLC totaling just more than $11 million ($8.4 million for the new Preschool and Scarboro Park improvements and $2.68 million for the new Senior Center). General obligation bonds were sold in late November to completely fund the projects.

“After years of discussion, plans for these important facilities are coming to fruition,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said in the press release. “The Preschool and Senior Center are welcome additions to our community. We are appreciative of all the hard work that has gone into making these amenities a reality for Oak Ridge.” [Read more…]

Director of National Museum of Nuclear Science & History to speak in Oak Ridge

Posted at 11:45 am January 21, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Jim Walther (Photo courtesy ORHPA)

The director of the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in New Mexico will speak in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The talk by the director, Jim Walther, is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, January, 22, at the American Museum of Science and Energy, which relocated to renovated space near JCPenney at Main Street Oak Ridge in October.

The talk is hosted by the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association and AMSE.

“Make your plans now to attend this exceptional event,” a press release said. “The evening public forum meeting is free, and the public is encouraged to attend. Jim Walther will provide unique museum insights to help us learn more about the opportunities that may be available to Oak Ridge and our museums from an experienced museum professional of 39 years. [Read more…]

Asian garden specialist to introduce dry landscape gardens Thursday at UT Arboretum

Posted at 11:08 am January 21, 2019
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

Martin McKellar will speak on dry landscape gardens at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. (Submitted photo)

Martin McKellar will discuss dry landscape gardens at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. (Submitted photo)

Artistic designs raked in fine gravel around carefully placed boulders offer peaceful settings for contemplation gardens. Known as karesansui (pronounced car-uh-san-swee), the dry landscape gardens are a centuries-old tradition in Japan but rare in the United States.

Soon, however, Oak Ridge will have its own karesansui garden. As landscaping begins around the International Friendship Bell Peace Pavilion in Oak Ridge, the Japanese karesansui gardens will lend a distinctive and contemplative element to the Oak Ridge landmark.

Introducing the gardens to Oak Ridge will be Martin McKellar, retired from the University of Florida International Center and now a volunteer as the Asian garden specialist at the university’s Harn art museum. He will present a public talk at 7 p.m. Thursday, January 24, on “Dry Landscape Gardens around the World and in Oak Ridge” at the University of Tennessee Arboretum auditorium, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The karesansui gardens at the Friendship Bell site will be maintained by volunteers who learn the skills to create the designs and maintain the gardens for the city. McKellar will hold four-hour training sessions for volunteers interested in designing, raking, and taking care of the Oak Ridge karesansui gardens on at 1 p.m. Friday, January 25, and at 8:30 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, January 26. [Read more…]

Green McAdoo has MLK Prayer Breakfast on Monday

Posted at 12:28 pm January 20, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Green McAdoo Cultural Organization and its board members will host their annual Martin Luther King Prayer Breakfast on Monday morning in Clinton.

The Prayer Breakfast is to observe the Martin Luther King Holiday. It will be at the Green McAdoo Recreation Center in Clinton.

The event will begin with breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and the prayer service beginning at 9. The community is invited and there is no charge, a press release said.

If you have questions or need more information, please contact the Green McAdoo Center at (865) 463-6500.

Martin Luther King Fellowship Breakfast is Monday in Oak Ridge

Posted at 12:21 pm January 20, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Judy Gooch

The Atomic City Sportsmen Club is having its 31st annual Martin Luther King Fellowship Breakfast on Monday morning. The community is invited, a press release said.

The Breakfast will be held on Monday, January 21, at Spurgeon Chapel AME Zion Church at 100 South Benedict Avenue in Oak Ridge. The program begins at 8 a.m., and this year’s keynote speaker will be Judy Gooch, owner of Judy Gooch Interiors of Oak Ridge.

Gooch has been active in community affairs for the past 25 years.

In 2005, she was appointed to serve on the Tennessee Board of Regents by Governor Phil Bredesen. In 2008, Tennessee State University, formerly known as Tennessee A & I, requested that honorary degrees be awarded to the university’s fourteen Freedom Riders from the early 1960s. [Read more…]

Today: Human Rights Rally at ORUUC

Posted at 11:05 am January 19, 2019
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

Members of the Human Rights Rally planning committee are, from left, Sue Byrne, Ann Mostoller, Nancy Highfill, Anne Backus, and Mary Zuhr. (Submitted photo)

A Human Rights Rally and March for Equality, Justice, and Inclusivity will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, January 19, at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The program will begin with inspirational talks, readings, and music. Then, all participants are encouraged to march from the Unitarian Church to the First Presbyterian Church along Oak Ridge Turnpike, weather permitting, a press release said.

Several organizations are sponsoring the event, which is hosted by the Unitarian Church and the Presbyterian Church. The Reverend Jake Morrill of the Unitarian Church will welcome participants. The Reverend Derrick Hammond of Oak Valley Baptist Church, the Reverend Sharon Youngs of First Presbyterian Church, and the Reverends Mark and Annette Flynn of First Methodist Church will be among speakers, and choirs from those churches will provide music. The Reverend Carol Dipboye of Grace Covenant Church will also participate. [Read more…]

Women in U.S. politics to be discussed Tuesday

Posted at 12:18 am January 15, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Women in U.S. politics will be discussed at “Lunch with the League” on Tuesday.

The speaker will be Patricia Freeland, professor of political science at the University of Tennessee. The title of her talk will be “Women in U.S. Politics: What’s Changing?”

The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m.. to 1 p.m. in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Today: Dine and Donate to support ADFAC

Posted at 9:14 am January 14, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Dine out on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, to support ADFAC! Our featured restaurants this month are the five local Subway locations in Clinton, Oak Ridge (1968 Oak Ridge Turnpike), Rocky Top, and Oliver Springs (shown in photo). Additional participating restaurants are Burchfield’s, Dean’s, Gallo Loco, Hoskins, Mediterranean Delight, Razzleberry’s, and The Soup Kitchen. Dine & Donate is also supported by Leidos, State Farm – Randy McNally, and Oak Ridge Today. ADFAC exists to support and serve those in need by assisting them in becoming stable and self-sufficient. Please visit adfac.org for more information. (Submitted photo)

Dine out on Monday, January 14, to support ADFAC!

The featured restaurants this month are the five local Subway locations in Clinton, Oak Ridge (1968 Oak Ridge Turnpike), Rocky Top, and Oliver Springs.

Additional participating restaurants are Burchfield’s, Dean’s, Gallo Loco, Hoskins, Mediterranean Delight, Razzleberry’s, and The Soup Kitchen.

Dine & Donate is also supported by Leidos, State Farm – Randy McNally, and Oak Ridge Today.

ADFAC exists to support and serve those in need by assisting them in becoming stable and self-sufficient. Please visit adfac.org for more information.

Government shutdown affects National Park Service in Oak Ridge

Posted at 7:59 pm January 11, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The partial government shutdown that started three weeks ago has affected the National Park Service in Oak Ridge. There are no National Park Service staff members or volunteers working at the Park Service desk at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, as pictured above on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The partial government shutdown that started three weeks ago has affected the National Park Service in Oak Ridge.

There are no National Park Service staff members or volunteers working at the Park Service desk at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The Park Service left maps and brochures for visitors to pick up at the museum, but there is no one there to give a certain type of stamp that visitors can use to log visits to national parks.

A sign on the National Park Service desk on Friday said “Closed until further notice,” with a simple sketch of a frowning face underneath it.

Oak Ridge is part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. Established about three years ago, the park commemorates the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. Besides Oak Ridge, the park includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has New Year’s Hike on Tuesday

Posted at 5:47 pm December 30, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

University of Tennessee Arboretum hike in Oak Ridge (Submitted photo)

Do you get overloaded on football, food, and festivities on the first day of the new year? The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society is offering a great alternative, a press release said: the Fifth Annual New Year’s Hike at the UT Arboretum.

The hike will be at the Arboretum, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge, on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.

“Start out the year on the ‘right foot’ by joining the walk that begins at 9:30 a.m. at the UT Arboretum Auditorium, where you will be greeted by fellow hikers and offered coffee, hot chocolate, and snacks,” the press release said.

At 10 a.m. the group will leave for a guided hike that will last about 45 minutes. The hike will follow a forest trail and will visit the Elmore Holly Collection. [Read more…]

MCLinc gives OR schools history book to assisted living facilities, nursing homes

Posted at 5:24 pm December 30, 2018
By Jessica Steed Leave a Comment

Pictured above at the Alexander Guest House are, from left, LuAnn Hanchett, community relations and activity director; MCLinc President Barry Stephenson; resident Muriel Bogardus; and Executive Director Amy Duncan. (Submitted photo)

This holiday season, Oak Ridge’s assisted living facilities and nursing homes received a special gift to help residents remember the history of Oak Ridge schools, a press release said. Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. (MCLinc) provided the facilities with collector’s edition copies of the book “Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in the Oak Ridge Schools 1944-2018,” which includes the history of the Oak Ridge school system, photographs, and memories from 1944 through the present.

The book was developed by the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, and it includes anchor authors from each of the 75 classes who shared their memories and helped collect those of their classmates.

MCLinc donated more than 20 books to six facilities in Oak Ridge, including Brookdale, Canterfield, Alexander Guest House, Greenfield, The Courtyards, and NHC, the press release said.

“Each year MCLinc looks for ways that we can give back to the community where we live and work, and what better way to support our schools and provide cherished memories to residents than to make these books available,” said Barry Stephenson, president and chief executive officer of MCLinc. [Read more…]

Christmas tree recycling available in Oak Ridge

Posted at 5:11 pm December 30, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Employees to assist with drop-offs on two Saturdays in January

The City of Oak Ridge has two drop-off locations available for citizens to recycle their Christmas trees after the holidays. Signs will be posted in both locations. The drop-offs are:

Big Turtle Park, 2525 Oak Ridge Turnpike (parking lot)
Solway Park, 205 Edgemoor Road (parking lot adjacent to the boat launch)

Trees will be accepted any time through the end of January 2019. On Saturday, January 12, and Saturday, January 19, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department employees will be on site to assist with unloading trees at the Big Turtle Park drop-off location from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Please be sure to remove all tinsel and decorations from Christmas trees before dropping them off for recycling, a press release said. Wreaths and garland will also be accepted, but no brush.

For more information, contact the Recreation and Parks Department by phone at (865) 425-3450 or visit their departmental website at orrecparks.oakridgetn.gov.