Oak Ridge Today

Elks has Indoor Trick-or-Treat on Saturday

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Halloween Pumpkins

The Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks, Oak Ridge Lodge #1684, located at 684 Emory Valley Road, will be hosting an Indoor Trick-or-Treat on Saturday, October 31, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Elks Lodge #1684 is hosting this event in order to provide children of all ages with a safe, supervised, fun place to show off their costumes and receive candy on Halloween night, a press release said. Free hot chocolate and bottled water will also be given to everyone in attendance.

Don’t forget to bring a camera and have your picture taken with “Elroy” the Elk, the release said.

Kids Count 5k is Saturday in Oak Ridge

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Child Advocacy Center of Anderson County Kids Count 5k

Photo courtesy Child Advocacy Center of Anderson County

 

The 2015 Kids Count 5k!, a competitive road race to benefit the Child Advocacy Center of Anderson County, is Saturday in Oak Ridge.

The Child Advocacy Center of Anderson County is a nonprofit agency, and all proceeds will be used to provide services for abused children at the center, a press release said.

The 5k course starts and ends on the far south end of the marina peninsula at 697 Melton Lake Drive in Oak Ridge.

The race starts at 8 a.m. Plan to be there earlier to pick up your packet, or if you are registering that day, the release said. Onsite registration will start at 7 a.m. and close at 7:45 a.m. Packets and registration will be available at the marina pavilion. [Read more…]

ADFAC to honor Cande Seay with Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Award

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Cande Seay

Cande Seay

 

ADFAC will honor dedicated volunteer and advocate Cande Seay with its Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Award in a celebration and fundraiser on Tuesday.

It’s the Third Annual Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Celebration and Fundraiser. It will be held Tuesday, October 27, from 5:30-8 p.m. at St. Mary’s Parish Life Center in Oak Ridge.

“Our community will come together to honor this very special lady, and we hope family, friends, past coworkers, and the many admirers of Cande Seay will join us!” a press release said.

Seay was unanimously chosen earlier this year as the 2015 winner of ADFAC’s Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Award. Previous winners of the prestigious award have been Ray Smith and the late Tim Myrick. [Read more…]

Clinton Church of Christ has ‘Trunk-or-Treat’ on Halloween

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The Clinton Church of Christ has a “Trunk-or-Treat” on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31, starting at 5 p.m. in the parking lot of their facility at 500 North Main Street in Clinton.

“Stop by on your trick-or-treat route and join us!” the church said.

Thanksgiving community meal being organized in Oak Ridge

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A community meal is being organized on Thanksgiving (November 26) for those who are in need.

The meal will be held at the Robertsville Middle School Cafeteria from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Thanksgiving. It will be served by a group called @1558neighbor, which is a group that has a mission to help and give a hand up to our neighbors in need, an announcement said.

“This meal will be a community meal, and with that being said, we will be counting on the Oak Ridge community to help volunteer whether by donating money, time, or food,” the announcement said. [Read more…]

Pumpkin Festival is Saturday in Grove Center

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Pumpkin Fest 2015

By Jim Widener

The 13th Annual Pumpkin Festival in the Historic Grove Center on Halloween will feature live music, family-friendly activities, and food vendors. The Pumpkin Festival is from noon until 6 p.m. Saturday, October 31, at Oak Ridge’s Historic Grove Center. The community is invited to enjoy Halloween with us!

Dress up and get in the spirit. Kids are especially encouraged to enter the costume contest. Our celebrity judges will present prizes for the best costumes. Pets and their people are encouraged to dress in outrageous, fanciful costumes and join in the fun! Pets are allowed to come in on a foot-powered float, like a wagon or decorated bicycle. And don’t forget the pumpkin chunkin’ contest! [Read more…]

Democratic women host discussion on climate change on Monday

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Ellen Smith

Ellen Smith

Climate change will be the focus of a panel discussion presented by the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club at 6 p.m. Monday, October 26. The discussion will be at the Clinton Community Center, which is at 101 South Hicks Street in Clinton. Panel members will be Ellen Faby, Jo Ann Garrett, Jan Newsome, and Ellen Smith.

Mary Headrick, a retired physician who was a Democratic candidate for the Third Congressional District, will facilitate the discussion, which will focus on protecting the environment and the effects of climate change on health.  A question-and-answer session will follow presentations by the panelists.

Those attending are invited to bring a pot luck item to share. Beverages will be provided. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has annual Owl Prowl on Saturday

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UTAS Owl Prowl

Katie Cottrell, right, and Kathy Strunk are pictured at an earlier Owl Prowl at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

The Owl Prowl, one of the most popular events offered at the University of Tennessee Arboretum, will again be sponsored by the UT Arboretum Society on Saturday, October 24. It’s at the UT Arboretum, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue (Highway 62) in Oak Ridge.

Presented by the Clinch River Raptor Center, Kathy Strunk and Katie Cottrell will bring live owls for display and will give information about their natural history, a press release said.

The Raptor Center was started by John Byrd 30 years ago at Clinton Middle School. So far, 2,000 birds have come to the Raptor Center to be rehabilitated. Strunk and Cottrell have shared the responsibility as co-directors of the Raptor Center for more than 25 years, and they have given hundreds of programs in East Tennessee on birds of prey, the press release said. [Read more…]

One legally blind, the other in a wheelchair, racing duo trains for marathon Sunday

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Melissa Peplow and Vicky Wallace at Oak Ridge Marina on Oct. 21, 2015

Melissa Peplow, left, is legally blind, and Vicky Wallace, in wheelchair, has lost use of the left side of her body after four strokes. But together the two compete in running races. Here they train at the Oak Ridge Marina. On Sunday, they’ll compete in the 40th Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One running partner is legally blind. The other has had four strokes and lost control of the left side of her body.

But together, they’ve formed a racing duo that’s competed in 5ks, 10ks, 15ks, and half-marathons.

This weekend, the duo, Melissa Peplow and Vicky Wallace, will compete in the their longest race yet, a full marathon. It’s the 40th Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday in Washington, D.C.

Peplow is legally blind. She runs behind Wallace’s wheelchair and helps push it.

Wallace’s left side is paralyzed. She helps navigate and uses her right hand to help push her wheelchair, and her right leg to help pull it.

The two competed in back-to-back half-marathons in East Tennessee last November, racing in Farragut on a Saturday and then in Alcoa on a Sunday.

Wallace, who is co-owner of J&M Butcher Shop in Oak Ridge, keeps a sticker-box checklist of the races they’ve completed (5k, 10k, 15k, 13.1 (half-marathon)) on the back of her SUV. One box remains unchecked: 26.2. That’s short for 26.2 miles, the length of a marathon.

[Read more…]

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of atomic bomb book gives lecture Thursday

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Richard Rhodes

Richard Rhodes

Richard Rhodes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Making of the Atomic Bomb,” will be the featured speaker at a lecture in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

Rhodes will be the guest at the 18th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series on Thursday, October 22, at the American Museum of Science and Energy.

The title of his presentation is “The Light of New Fires: Energy Challenges Yesterday and Today.” This presentation is jointly sponsored as part of Nuclear Science Week in the Knoxville/Oak Ridge area by UT Battelle LLC, the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, and Friends of ORNL. The event is free of charge and will be held at the American Museum of Science and Energy at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Environmental scientist to discuss radioactive waste management Oct. 26

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Ellen Smith

Ellen Smith

Ellen Smith, environmental scientist and Oak Ridge mayor pro tem, will discuss radioactive waste management on Monday, October 26.

Smith will be the featured speaker at the luncheon meeting of AAUW (American Association of University Women). The meeting starts at 11:30 a.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church in Room 102 of the Activities Building.

Smith’s talk is scheduled to start at noon. [Read more…]

Memphis detective to speak here on sex trafficking

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Barbara Tolbert

Barbara Tolbert

By Carolyn Krause

Human trafficking—forcing people into sex acts or labor against their will—is a growing threat to children, students, and young adults worldwide. It’s present throughout Tennessee and our nation, regardless of economic, social, or racial background.

Teens who run away from abusive homes and those enticed to leave “good” homes by promises of a fun job or an exciting time may become victims of sex trafficking. Other youths are “rented out” as prostitutes or sold into sex slavery by their own parents, especially those addicted to drugs or challenged by economic stress.

Some 300,000 American kids are estimated to be victims, or at risk of becoming victims, of the multibillion-dollar sex trafficking industry. [Read more…]