The Jackson Square fountain is pictured above on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)
Grace Covenant Church has community meal this evening
Grace Covenant Church of Oak Ridge will serve its regular third Thursday community meal on Thursday, December 17, from 5-6 p.m.
The menu includes Honey Baked ham, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, congealed salad, and dessert.
The meal is free, and all members of the community are welcome. Please park in the church’s upper parking lot at 320 Robertsville Road, and follow the sidewalk to the Social Hall on the lower level.
Disabled parking only is available in the lower parking lot.
AMSE foundation, park superintendent create fund for Manhattan Project Park in Oak Ridge
Wayne Stevenson, left, and Niki Nicholas sign an agreement to create a Friends of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park—Oak Ridge fund account. (Photo submitted by D. Ray Smith)
By D. Ray Smith
The American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation is pleased to partner with the Manhattan Project National Historical Park—Oak Ridge by creating a fund in which tax-deductible contributions can be received to support the specific and defined needs of one of the nation’s newest national parks.
As you may know, funding for the new park will be somewhat limited, as is funding for all our nation’s national parks. The amount planned for Fiscal Year 2016 is $180,000, which will cover the salary requirements of a superintendent and will begin the master planning initiative necessary to begin effective operations of the national park at three sites: Los Alamos, New Mexico; Hanford, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
We, in Oak Ridge, are fortunate to have Niki Nicholas, superintendent of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and of the Obed Wild and Scenic River, as the person the National Park Service has selected to manage the Manhattan Project National Historical Park—Oak Ridge. Ms. Nicholas is a dedicated professional with substantial experience managing national park units. [Read more…]
Reminder: Oak Ridge Christmas Parade is today
A float at the Oak Ridge Christmas Parade is pictured above. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)
Reminder: The annual Christmas Parade organized by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is today (Saturday, December 12). This year’s theme is “Winter Wonderland,” and it promises to provide spectators with plenty of music, lights, and beautiful floats, a press release said.
The parade will start at 6 p.m. December 12, and it will begin at Corporate Center, on the corner of Lafayette and Laboratory Road. From there, the parade will travel down Lafayette to the Oak Ridge Turnpike. It will continue west on the Turnpike to Oak Ridge High School. The judge’s stand will be located in front of the Chamber.
See previous story here.
AAUW has fundraising holiday tea on Sunday, Dec. 13
AAUW members Joanne King, Mayme Crowell, and Fay Martin are
among the hosts for the AAUW Holiday Green Tea Sunday, Dec.
13, 2015, from 3-5 p.m. in Room 102 of the Oak Ridge First Presbyterian
Church activities Building. (Submitted photo)
The AAUW Holiday Green Tea on Sunday will help raise money for scholarships for non-traditional female students; national fellowships, scholarships, and grants; and the AAUW Oak Ridge Branch’s Operating Fund.
The tea is scheduled from 3-5 p.m. Sunday, December 13, in Room 102 of the First Presbyterian Church Activities Building in Oak Ridge, a press release said.
Funds raised from the tea will go to the Local Education Projects Fund, which provides scholarship for non-traditional women students at Roane State Community College; the tax-deductible AAUW Educational Opportunities Fund, which provides national fellowships, scholarships and grants; and the AAUW Oak Ridge Branch’s Operating Fund. [Read more…]
Video: MIST in Oak Ridge pioneers program for drug-addicted mothers, drug-dependent babies
Screenshot from a video by Savanna Schubert
Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services in Oak Ridge is pioneering a program for mothers who are battling addictions, and East Tennessee Children’s Hospital has a state-of-the-art facility that specializes in helping babies born to mothers who have taken opioids.
Here is a video on the Ridgeview program and Children’s Hospital unit by Savanna Schubert.
Savanna Schubert is a freelance contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Ridgeview pioneers program for drug-addicted mothers, Children’s helps drug-dependent babies
Screenshot from a video by Savanna Schubert
Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services in Oak Ridge is pioneering a program for mothers who are battling addictions. MIST (Mothers and Infants Sober Together) is a program developed to help mothers who are struggling with drug and other addictions as well as babies with drug dependencies. This program was started seven years ago and is funded in part by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Michelle Jones, program director of MIST, has been working toward educating these mothers and other family members about the dangers of being addicted while pregnant.
“Children were being born drug exposed in this area…we started out in Anderson and Roane county but we have grown due to the specialized substance abuse treatment for this population,” Jones said.
Since their start in 2008, MIST has grown from two counties to five including Anderson, Campbell, Morgan, Roane, and Scott. [Read more…]
Santa makes early visit to Oak Ridge: Pancakes with Santa
Santa (aka: Lee Morris, of Oak Ridge) will be at Applebee’s Restaurant this Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, from 8 to 10 a.m. (Submitted photo)
Santa will make an early stop in Oak Ridge this Saturday, December 12, from 8 to 10 a.m. at Applebee’s Restaurant.
The public is invited to join Santa (aka: long time Oak Ridge resident Lee Morris) for a pancake breakfast to benefit CONTACT Care Line of East Tennessee. Breakfast and an opportunity for a picture with Santa is $5.
Applebee’s is at 1213 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.
Oak Ridge churches founded CONTACT in 1973, and the nonprofit agency now serves Knoxville and surrounding communities as well. Volunteers field approximately 10,000 calls per year. [Read more…]
‘Blue Christmas’ gathering at First Presbyterian on Tuesday
Sharon Youngs
The holiday season can be difficult for many folks. It can be marked by sadness and disappointment. The color of Christmas for some is blue, not “merry and bright,” red and green.
Recognizing this truth, the staff of First Presbyterian Church (Oak Ridge Turnpike at Lafayette Drive) will hold the third annual Service of Memory and Hope on Tuesday, December 8, at 6:30 p.m. in the church sanctuary.
The service will provide comforting words and music for those who find the holiday season difficult.
In addition, “Everyone who desires a quiet, reflective worship experience will find it in this service,” said the Rev. Sharon Youngs, church pastor.
“It is a helpful way to remember loved ones who are no longer with us, to gather strength for present challenges and to simply be still in the midst of a bustling, frantic season,” Youngs said.
Roane State dental hygiene students help at Ronald McDonald House
Roane State Community College dental hygiene students recently prepared breakfast for 27 family members staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Knoxville. Front row kneeling starting from left are Guerin Bearden, Leslie Setzer, Atoosa Aval, Lorelei Glenn, and Lubov Jestes. Back from left are program director Melinda Gill, Miranda Carpenter, Kim Palmer, Melissa McAllester, Angela Whipp, and Bruna Rose. (Photo by Roane State)
Roane State Community College dental hygiene students recently prepared breakfast for 27 family members staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Knoxville.
The Ronald McDonald House is open to any family with a child, age 21 or under, who is receiving medical treatment at an area hospital, including East Tennessee Children’s Hospital.
For more information, visit http://knoxrmhc.org.
Oak Ridge Schools employees wear jeans to work, donate $5 each to help veterans
Submitted by Oak Ridge Schools
On November 13, Oak Ridge Schools employees took part in the 2015 “Jeans For Troops” fundraising drive benefiting the GI Go Fund, a nonprofit organization that helps veterans returning home find employment, go to college, access their health care and financial benefits, and link to housing.
During the drive, in which schools and companies from all across the country participate, Oak Ridge Schools gave their employees the opportunity to wear jeans to work in exchange for a $5 donation to the GI Go Fund.
“I am so very proud of our staff who honored military veterans and their families through this fun event,” Superintendent Bruce Borchers said.
“For generations, America’s teachers have been responsible for educating America’s children,” said GI Go Fund Executive Director Jack Fanous. “They have always been individuals that mothers and fathers could rely on to set a positive example for their children. This Veterans Day, teachers around the country have set the example to our nation’s children that this is a day to remember the men and women who have fought and died to preserve our liberties, our freedoms, and the American way of life.” [Read more…]
Celebrate Christmas with Community Band on Dec. 13
Members of the Oak Ridge Community Band perform at Canterfield Senior Living in December 2014. (Submitted photo)
The Oak Ridge Community Band/Wind Ensemble will perform in a free sing-along concert on Sunday, December 13.
“Come ring in the Christmas season,” a press release said.
The performance begins at 3:30 p.m. December 13 in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church at 1101 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Dress is casual, and there will be refreshments at the end of the program, the press release said. [Read more…]
