Oak Ridge Today





‘Secret is Out: Discover Oak Ridge’ activity book for sale with proceeds benefitting ADFAC

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Left to right, ADFAC Committee member Ray Smith is joined by Barbara Ferrell, The Ferrell Shop; Denise Parten, Southern Bliss; Annie Cacheiro, ADFAC executive director; Becky Hook, ADFAC school supply coordinator and activity book chair; and Jim Dodson, ADFAC board of directors and committee member. (Photo courtesy ADFAC)

Looking for a great summer activity for your family or perhaps visiting relatives? ADFAC (Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties) has the answer, a press release said.

“The Secret is Out: Discover Oak Ridge” is an activity book designed to present the history of Oak Ridge through pictures and activities for children ages 5-13, the press release said. Art work, poems, puzzles, and short stories created by students from Oak Ridge schools were submitted for publication. Area adult artists and photographers also donated their services to benefit ADFAC.

Developed in conjunction with ADFAC’s 30th anniversary and Oak Ridge’s 75th anniversary, “The Secret is Out: Discover Oak Ridge” gives a pictorial history of the city and includes organizations of interest to children. Graphic designer Ariana Rector created the cover, which highlights Oak Ridge’s historically significant accomplishments in a timeline from black and white to color, the press release said. She is also credited with illustrating many of the coloring pages and compiling the submitted works. [Read more…]


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Imagination Station Summer Camps begin June 10 at Children’s Museum

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Children enjoy Wizarding World summer camp at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge in 2018. (Submitted photo)

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge invites children to explore a rainforest, become CSI investigators, combine art with poetry, make sweets in the kitchen, launch model rockets, and ride the rails, among other adventures, during Imagination Station Summer Camps.

Summer camps, from June 10-July 26, are for children from age 3 through rising fifth-graders. The Children’s Museum’s enriching environment provides the backdrop as an experienced staff helps campers learn and grow through play in fun and safe surroundings. Each camp is created with age-appropriate activities aligned with the child’s developmental stage.

The fee for Monday-Friday half-day camps is $115 for members and $135 for non-members. A discount is available if two siblings register for camp during the same week or if a child registers for two half-day camps in the same week. A limited number of scholarships for camp are available, thanks to a grant from the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club. Download the scholarship application from the museum’s website. [Read more…]

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ADFAC’s Dine and Donate is Monday

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Razzleberry’s is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

Enjoy fantastic food and support an amazing organization at the same time!

On Monday, June 10, you can beat the heat by staying out of the kitchen while supporting a fantastic organization serving the community, a press release said. Several area restaurants are donating a portion of their sales on Monday to Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC.

The featured partner restaurant for June is Razzleberry’s, located in historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. This fun restaurant has become an important part of the Oak Ridge community, the press release said.

“Come play in the splash pad in Jackson Square, take your picture with the pigs all around the restaurant, and get some fantastic ice cream, too,” the press release said. “It’s a perfect day!” [Read more…]

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Tonight: Learn about microplastics in Tennessee River

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Martin Knoll

You can learn about water quality and microplastics in the Tennessee River during a meeting in Oak Ridge tonight (Thursday, June 6).

The program is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Thursday at the University of Tennessee Arboretum Auditorium. It’s a free program offered by the UT Arboretum Society and co-sponsored by Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning. No registration is required.

Microplastics have been in the news recently, a press release said. Martin Knoll, a professor of geology and hydrology at Sewanee: The University of the South, will explain why microplastics are an issue, and he will present his findings on the water quality of the Tennessee River during the program this evening.

As project manager for the Tenneswim in 2016, Knoll directed the most detailed analysis of Tennessee River water quality ever conducted, the press release said. During this project, Knoll and his colleagues found the highest levels of microplastics recorded in any river of the world to date.

[Read more…]

Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival this weekend

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Pictured above from left to right are Carmen Agra Deedy, Bill Lepp, and Bobby Norfolk.

The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival will feature three world renowned storytellers in Oak Ridge this weekend.

This annual event is led by the three Rotary Clubs in Oak Ridge, all volunteers. This second annual storytelling festival will be held at the Historic Grove Theater. Due to public demand at the 2018 performances, a larger venue and an additional performance have been added, a press release said.

Bil Lepp, Carmen Agra Deedy, and Bobby Norfolk will perform for the 2019 festival. They have achieved national and international recognition and appear regularly at festivals, including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, the press release said.

On Saturday, June 1, the Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival will present the art and magic of live storytelling with three performances at the Historic Grove Theater: 10 a.m. to noon, 2 to 5 p.m. (with intermission), and 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. (with intermission). There will be different stories at each session. Although the stories would be rated PG, it is suggested that the 10 a.m. performance would be most enjoyable for children five and older as it is a special family-oriented performance, the press release said. A free crafts-for-kids activity will be offered beginning at 9 a.m. at the Grove Theater.

[Read more…]

South’s only human-powered wine barrel race benefits charities at Tennessee wine festival

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The third annual Nine Lakes Wine Festival will be held Friday, May 31-Saturday, June 1, in Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge. It will include the South’s only human-powered wine barrel race. Girls Inc. is shown participating in the race above in 2018. (Photo courtesy Nine Lakes Wine Festival)

The third annual Nine Lakes Wine Festival will be held Friday, May 31-Saturday, June 1, in Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge. The festival will include two events celebrating Tennessee wines and ciders that are 100 percent locally made. The festival will benefit up to 24 charities in East Tennessee, and it will also include food trucks, shaded seating, live music, and the South’s only human-powered wine barrel race.

“Rollers can earn cash for their favorite East Tennessee charity, and the fastest rollers each hour win a bottle of wine!” a press release said.

The festival’s Grand Tasting is from 3 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 1. It will feature 17 wineries sampling more than 100 Tennessee wines and ciders, along with live music and the Barrels of Fun Charity Race.

Live music will be featured in the park’s pavilion throughout the day by Wild Blue Yonder, Josh Cottrell, and Carolina Story. Food vendors will be at the festival, and festival goers are encouraged to bring a lawn chair and enjoy the evening by Melton Lake, the press release said.

[Read more…]

‘The Polio Epidemic: A Personal Story’ topic of Lunch with League today

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Jerry Creasey

Anderson County Commissioner and longtime Oak Ridger Jerry Creasey will talk about the history of polio in the United States, and his childhood experience with the polio epidemic of 1944 during a meeting today (Tuesday, May 21).

Creasey will be the featured speaker at Lunch with the League, which starts at noon at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

[Read more…]

Learn about civil rights movement in lecture by Booker at Roane State

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Robert Booker

Robert J. Booker, local civil rights historian and Knoxville News Sentinel columnist, will present a talk titled “100 Years of the Civil Rights Movement” on Thursday, May 23, at 3 p.m. in the City Room at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge.

A Knoxville native, Booker is a graduate of Knoxville College, where he initiated and led the Sit-in Movement to desegregate lunch counters and movie theaters in Knoxville, a press release said. He was the first African American representing Knox County to be elected to the state legislature, where he served three terms, the press release said. He was administrative assistant to the Knoxville mayor for seven years and was executive director of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center for 17 years. He has also held positions on the State Civil Service Commission and the Tennessee Committee on Humanities. [Read more…]

More than 550 pounds of medicines collected during Drug Take Back Days

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More than 550 pounds of unused and expired medications were collected during Drug Take Back Days in April, according to ASAP of Anderson.

ASAP of Anderson partnered with local businesses and police departments to collect unused and expired medications throughout the community, a press release said.

“A total of 582.2 pounds of medication was collected at six different Drug Take Back sites in April,” ASAP said in the press release. Collected medications are safely handled by police officers, turned over to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration representatives, and then incinerated to ensure they do not find their way back into the community.

[Read more…]

Drug Take Back Day is Saturday

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ASAP of Anderson and police departments in Anderson County have formed a partnership to take back expired or unused medicines on Saturday.

It’s part of the 2019 Drug Enforcement Administration Rx Drug Take Back Day.

“Community members can bring their expired or unused medicines to one of the Anderson County Take Back locations anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. this Saturday,” a press release said.

[Read more…]

Atomic Heritage Foundation launches “Oak Ridge Innovations” program

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“Nuclear medicine, nuclear energy, nuclear weapons. All of that goes back to Oak Ridge,” explains Denise Kiernan, bestselling author of “The Girls of Atomic City.” Oak Ridge, Tennessee has been a center for nuclear research since General Leslie Groves selected it as the Manhattan Project’s uranium enrichment site in 1942. Today, Oak Ridge is the home of many leading scientific and engineering research facilities, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The Atomic Heritage Foundation has launched a new online interpretive program, “Oak Ridge Innovations,” to explore Oak Ridge’s legacies for science and society today. Available on AHF’s “Ranger in Your Pocket” website, “Oak Ridge Innovations” includes more than 30 video vignettes describing ORNL’s history and current research in fields such as energy, particle physics, computer science, and medicine, a press release said. The program was developed in partnership with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers East Tennessee Section and funded by the IEEE Foundation. Featuring perspectives from current ORNL scientists and Manhattan Project veterans, the program illuminates Oak Ridge’s history and how the laboratory responds to some of today’s biggest challenges, the press release said.

[Read more…]

13th Annual Run for Autism supports autism breakthrough

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Tim Younkin, top left, of Volunteer CrossFit in Oak Ridge, is joined by other members of the Volunteer CrossFit team who participated in last year’s Breakthrough Run for Autism. From left, they are Soly Beehan, her parents Michael Beehan and Lissie Meza Beehan with their son Gus, and Lissie’s father Roberto Meza. The Beehans are avid supporters of Breakthrough and the run because their son has been diagnosed with autism and their cousin receives services provided by Breakthrough for adults with autism. (Submitted photo)

The 13th annual Breakthrough Run for Autism will be held Saturday, April 27, with Autism Breakthrough of Knoxville inviting individuals, teams, and those with intellectual and developmental disabilities to participate.

Breakthrough’s 5K Run/Walk and 1-Mile Fun Run begins at 8:30 a.m. that Saturday at Regal Cinemas Pinnacle Stadium 18 in Farragut’s Turkey Creek.

The run, held during National Autism Awareness Month, supports Autism Breakthrough of Knoxville, a nonprofit organization committed to helping adults facing the challenges of autism in the East Tennessee region.

Lori Tucker, WATE-TV news anchor, will serve as honorary chair of the run and will be the emcee during the awards ceremony. Happy Lee, a Breakthrough volunteer, is the race director. [Read more…]

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