Oak Ridge Today

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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…]

Clinton 5k, 1 Mile Fun Run to benefit splash pad, playground

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Clinton 5k Banner

The 2015 Clinton 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run race on October 24 will benefit splash pad and playground efforts in Clinton.

The race is set for 9 a.m. Saturday October 24, at Lakefront Park on Riverside Drive in Clinton. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.

“The proceeds from the race benefit the splash pad and playground efforts brought to you by Clinton4Kids and the City of Clinton,” organizers said.

Online registration is now open at www.clinton5k.com. [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…]

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…]

Tennessee Fall Homecoming at Museum of Appalachia this weekend

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Tennessee Fall Homecoming Leroy Troy

Photo courtesy Museum of Appalachia

NORRIS—The annual Tennessee Fall Homecoming at the Museum of Appalachia in Norris this weekend will feature more than 70 musicians, authentic mountain and pioneer demonstrations, and dozens of artisans showcasing and selling handmade goods.

It’s a beloved and historic three-day event, organizers said.

This year, the Homecoming Marketplace, where festival-goers browse heritage arts and crafts from artisans showcasing their skills on site, has been selected as a feature representation of Tennessee Craft Week. Tennessee First Lady Crissy Haslam will be making a special appearance on Friday afternoon from 2:30-4 p.m. to promote Tennessee Arts programs.

The featured music lineup for this year’s event, now in its 36th year, includes the Del McCoury Band, multiple Grammy and International Bluegrass Music Award recipient and Bluegrass Hall of Fame member; previous two-time IBMA Entertainers of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year, the Gibson Brothers; and the multiple Grammy- and Dove-nominated band, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, also a 7-time IBMA Vocal Group of the Year and Bluegrass Hall of Fame Member. Also returning to the Tennessee Fall Homecoming this year is the legendary Larry Sparks, who was just inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame at the 2015 IBMA awards. [Read more…]

Evans to give update on Oak Ridge mall redevelopment Tuesday

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Oak Ridge Mall

The Oak Ridge City Center, which could be redeveloped as a multi-use town center known as Main Street, is pictured above. Also known as the former Oak Ridge Mall, the L-shaped building is at center. The white building at center left is Walmart, and it is not part of the proposed redevelopment. Neither is the white building at center top, the Tinseltown Theater. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Ray Evans, retail consultant for the City of Oak Ridge, will give an update on the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall during a lunchtime meeting on Tuesday.

Main Street Oak Ridge could redevelop the mall, now officially known as the Oak Ridge City Center, as a 60-acre mixed-use project that would include retailers, restaurants, a hotel, and residential units. The vacant enclosed space between the two remaining anchors, JCPenney and Belk, would be demolished, although those two stores would remain.

The goal has been to complete the first phase of the redevelopment in time for the Christmas season in 2016. [Read more…]

TORCH, Blossom Center have spaghetti dinner fundraiser on Saturday

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Torch Logo

Trinity Outreach Center for Hope, or TORCH, and the Blossom Center will have a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on Saturday, October 3, at Grace Covenant Church.

The church is located at 320 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge. Dine-in or carry out will be available between 5 to 8 p.m.

Tickets prices for adults are $10, children $5, and $25 for families, and they will be available at the door and in advance at Ruby Miller’s State Farm office, which is at 574 Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Telephone (865) 483-5663.)

Those who want to purchase tickets online may do so by sending a message to Blossom Center for Childhood Excellence Inc. or Creed Mushimbo on Facebook. [Read more…]

Atomic City Classic Car Show on Saturday

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Atomic City Car and Bike Show

The fundraising Atomic City Classic Car Show is on Saturday, October 3. The rain date is October 10.

All proceeds will benefit Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. The car show is sponsored by Atomic Speed Shop.

It’s scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Midtown Community Center (the Wildcat Den) at 102 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge. It is expected to include classic cars, trucks, street rods, motorcycles, and motor scooters up to 1975.

Dash plaques for each entry, people’s choice awards in each class, and door prizes will be given away. Barbecue, hamburgers, hot dogs, and sodas will be sold. [Read more…]