Oak Ridge Today

Retired CIA officer to discuss Middle East foreign policy

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Tony Jordan

Tony Jordan

Tony Jordan, retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service officer, will discuss what he sees as failures in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East during Lunch with the League on Tuesday, a press release said.

Jordan has extensive experience as an operations manager in the Middle East and South Asia, a press release said.

The Tuesday, October 7, program will start at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church’s new location at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Grace Lutheran has Pet Fest, Blessing, 5k Run/Walk on Saturday

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Pet Blessing

A file photo from a previous pet blessing.

Submitted

For all who love animals, Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge presents the 13th annual Pet Fest and Blessing on Saturday, October 4.

Activities commence with the Pets are Blessings 5K Run/Walk at 8 a.m. at Melton Lake.

More festivities follow at the church from 1-5 p.m. The church is located at 131 West Gettysburg Avenue in the Woodland neighborhood. Parking will be available for the mobility-impaired at the church or in the Woodland Elementary School parking lot behind the church. (Follow the pink puppy paw print signs!)

For the second year, the church is offering a 5k run/walk at Melton Lake at 8 a.m. This year, the Pets are Blessings 5K Run/Walk will invite humans to run with their dogs, if desired. [Read more…]

Come watch artists chalk the walks Saturday

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Street Painting Festival Einstein

Sidewalk chalk painting of Einstein by a high school student at last year’s Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival at Roane State Community College. (Submitted photo)

The 15th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival is from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday (rain day on Sunday) at the Oak Ridge Campus of Roane State Community College.

Dozens of artists will be brushing up on their skills as they transform concrete sidewalk squares into colorful chalk paintings. The public is invited to this free festival organized by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge.

While would-be Rembrandts are chalking the walks, young children will enjoy face painting, chalking, and other free activities from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the Kid Zone.

Music will be provided by the Roane State Celebration Singers at 9 a.m. [Read more…]

Hidden needs in our community—filling the gaps

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Altrusa Oak Ridge, TN

A panel of community organizations assisting the homeless and precariously housed will be presenting to the Altrusa Club at their lunch meeting on Wednesday, October 8. This panel will be comprised of Annie Cacheiro from ADFAC, Zabrina Minor from TORCH, Teresa Brittain from the Free Medical Clinic, and Jennifer Enderson of Emory Valley Center. The meeting will take place at the Doubletree Hotel Oak Ridge.

“ADFAC places emphasis on the prevention of homelessness and the development of self-sufficiency,” Cacheiro said of ADFAC’s services here in Anderson County. “Short-term financial assistance and counseling are provided with the goal of stabilizing the family during times of crisis. We respond to over 6,000 requests each year.”

“Everyone should have access to health care, regardless of their ability to pay or insurance status,” Brittain said. “These clients exist here in Anderson County, and these services must be provided.” [Read more…]

Church Women United has Friday program on Big Brothers, Big Sisters

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Church Women United of Oak Ridge is hosting a program about Big Brothers and Big Sisters of East Tennessee on Friday, October 3, at First Presbyterian Church at 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Vivian Gwinn will be the guest speaker.

Fellowship begins at 11:30 a.m. with refreshments, followed by a short meeting and program at noon, a press release said. Visitors are welcome to drop in and stay however long they can. The program will be held in Room 102 of the Activities Building at the southeast corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Lafayette Drive. The building is handicap-accessible. [Read more…]

Education Foundation scholarship helps student with Hong Kong study abroad

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Patricia Garland in Hong Kong

Patricia Garland in Hong Kong (Submitted photo)

 

A cross-cultural learning experience in Hong Kong this summer helped Patricia Garland view sustainability problems and solutions from a new perspective.

“Culturally, it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I had never been able to work with other cultures in this capacity,” said Garland, the 2014 spring recipient of the Dr. Adrian R. Lawler Exchange Scholarship. “It was fascinating.”

The Lawler Scholarship supports international study programs and is administered by the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation. Lawler, an Oak Ridge High School graduate and the second student here to participate in an American Field Service international program in 1957, established the scholarship in 2008 to offer students here similar opportunities to gain tolerance and understanding of people from other cultures.

Garland, 23, a 2009 ORHS graduate, studied abroad through a program at Arizona State University, where she is working on her master’s degree in sustainability. She received her bachelor’s degree in environmental science, with a concentration on sociology and anthropology, from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is the daughter of Sid and Anne Garland. [Read more…]

ORAU donates to new foundation for fallen, injured officers

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ORAU Donates to Scott Foundation

ORAU Executive Vice President Eric Abelquist, left, and ORAU Senior Associate Director for Scientific Assessment and Workforce Development Tony Lester, right, present ORAU employee Jody Crisp with a $1,000 check to help her new nonprofit organization that supports local police officers and their families, the SCOTT Foundation, named in honor of her late husband. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

 

SCOTT Foundation provides support to area police officers and their families

Oak Ridge Associated Universities donated $1,000 to help jumpstart a new nonprofit organization, the SCOTT Foundation, founded by one of its employees in honor of her late husband.

After Jody Crisp’s husband, Scott, died in 2013 following a swimming pool accident, she said she wanted to make something good come of it. She founded the Sharing Compassion for Officers Through Tributes, or SCOTT, Foundation, named in honor of her late husband. Established in 2013, the SCOTT Foundation provides financial assistance for various expenses of fallen, seriously injured, or ill police officers and their families throughout East Tennessee.

Allen “Scott” Crisp spent his career in law enforcement. He served with the Clinton Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Air Marshal, and B&W Y-12 as a special response team security police officer. [Read more…]

Still time to sign up, sponsor Acorn Classic golf tournament for MMC Foundation

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ORHS Cheerleaders Decorate Hospitality House

Cheerleaders from Oak Ridge High School helped to decorate the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center for Christmas last year. The houses offer temporary lodging to patients and families who must travel for extended care at Methodist, even during the holidays. (File photo)

Player spots and sponsorship opportunities are still available for the Methodist Medical Center Foundation’s 2014 Acorn Classic. The annual golf tournament will take place on Monday, October 20, at the Oak Ridge Country Club with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. Registration is open for individual players and teams, and a limited number of sponsorship opportunities are also available.

The Acorn Classic is a four-person scramble tournament open to 120 amateur players, a press release said. The entry fee is $150 per player or $600 per team of four, and it includes green fees, cart, lunch, four contest holes, and a dinner awards banquet. Proceeds will benefit the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center, which provide free lodging to cancer patients who must travel for treatment, as well as other outpatients and families as space allows.

“Join us and help the Hospitality Houses provide a home away from home to patients and their families when it’s needed most,” Acorn Classic Chair Tom Hilton said. [Read more…]

Sponsored: Dunk your insurance agent to help nonprofits

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Dunk Your Insurance Agent

Three local insurance agents are volunteering to get wet in a dunking booth on Saturday to raise money for local nonprofits.

The agents are David A. Vudragovich, Matt Libby, and Melanie Heiberg. The Saturday event is sponsored by Pellissippi Rowing, and and it will be at the Clinton Park behind the ball field from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Besides the dunking booth, it will include food, horse rides, and good community fun, organizers said.

“Buy your tickets from your favorite nonprofit and trade them in for balls to dunk your insurance agent,” organizers said. [Read more…]

What’s happening in Oak Ridge from Oct. 2-8

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Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge from Thursday, October 2, and continuing through October 8.

This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]

Award-winning author of ‘Bomb’ to visit Oak Ridge, stop at AMSE

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Bomb

By Scot Smith

The American Museum of Science and Energy will host award-winning author Steve Sheinkin on Tuesday, October 7. Among other books, Sheinkin has written “Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon.”

Sheinkin’s presentation at AMSE is scheduled for 6 p.m. October 7. His other public presentation will be for the University of Tennessee’s Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature. That lecture will take place on Monday, October 6, at 7 p.m. in the Hodges Library Auditorium on the UT campus, a press release said. Books will be available for purchase and signing at both events.

During his stay in East Tennessee, Sheinkin will also present programs for students at Oak Ridge School and Jefferson and Robertsville Middle Schools, the Webb School, and the Episcopal School of Knoxville. [Read more…]

The ABCs of giving—Y-12 donates school supplies to ADFAC

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Y-12 School Supplies Donated to ADFAC

CNS Security Police Officer John Fellers, left, and Y-12 Site Manager Bill Tindal deliver school supplies to the Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties office. (Submitted photo)

 

Y‑12 National Security Complex employees donated more than $2,000 and numerous school supplies to ensure students in need are starting the school year with what they need. Working with Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC, employees donated money along with some 144 wide-ruled notebooks, 132 packs of crayons, 111 packs of pencils, 80 packs of paper, and 66 packs of glue sticks.

“Employees once again shared their giving spirit with those in our communities,” Y‑12 United Way Chair Yvonne Bishop said.

While the event precedes the site’s formal United Way campaign kickoff, Bishop said site employees always are ready to respond. ADFAC volunteers use the donations to provide backpacks and school supplies to fulfill more than 7,000 requests for assistance. [Read more…]