Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge starting Thursday, May 22, and continuing through May 28.
This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]
Guest column: Big Ed’s Memorial Golf Tournament a success
By Community Mediation Services of Anderson County
The successful 13th Annual Big Ed’s Memorial Golf Tournament on April 25, 2014, continued a long tradition that combines a great day of golf with active commitment to Anderson County youth and families through Community Mediation Services. The Oak Ridge Country Club provided a beautiful setting for 140 golfers. Team winners for the first flight were Mike Malicote, Jeff Golliher, Jake Reeves, and Roger Claiborn. The team winning the second flight included Benjie Shuler, Jackson Vaughn, Mark Bragg, and Luke Cabbage.
Community Mediation Services of Anderson County is the beneficiary of Big Ed’s Memorial Golf Tournament, emphasizing the importance David Neusel and Big Ed Neusel placed on helping youth and families in our area in a constructive and positive way. Community Mediation Services has worked with youth and families in Anderson County for 28 years, promoting the peaceful resolution of community conflicts, using community resources. Our four programs include Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP), Visitation Mediation, Teen/Parent Mediation, and Attendance Mediation. Mediators don’t take sides or make decisions, but do help people solve problems in ways that are decided and agreed upon by all. According to Executive Director Cindy Helton, the tournament raised more than $15,000, which enables CMS to continue to provide no-cost services to the families of Anderson County. [Read more…]
‘Fore’ the Girls!: Girls Inc. Golf Classic on May 30
Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge is hosting its 17th Annual Golf Classic on Friday, May 30, at the Oak Ridge Country Club.
The Golf Classic this year will feature a Hole-In-One Car Prize sponsored by Sexton Automotive, first- and second-place team prizes, division prizes, prizes for closest to the pin, longest drive, and a putting contest, a press release said.
“Our fun day on the course will include refreshments and snacks as well as a fabulous dinner from the Oak Ridge Country Club,” the release said.
This year, the funds received from the Golf Classic sponsors and team fees will all support the new Girls Inc. Golf Program, the release said. Girls Inc. will be starting their first-ever golf season for girls ages 5-15 years old who are interested in building skills, learning to play, and increasing their interest in golf. [Read more…]
Living Light solar-powered home moves to Children’s Museum
The University of Tennessee donated the Living Light House to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, and the 750-square-foot solar-powered home was moved Saturday.
The University of Tennessee in Knoxville has donated its Living Light House to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, and the 750-square-foot solar-powered home was moved Saturday.
The award-winning home makes more energy than it uses, said James Rose, senior lecturer in UT’s College of Architecture and Design.
Moving the 80,000-pound house was a daylong project. The Children’s Museum is in a residential area in Oak Ridge, so the museum had to move trees, excavate a slope, and create a temporary road to get to the site.
Rose said the one-room home, which has mechanical and laundry areas, will be used at the Children’s Museum for outreach and to showcase the latest energy-efficient technologies.
“This is the perfect place for this building,” said Rose, the architect of record on the project and the leader of the student architecture studio that designed it. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Land Bank to be discussed Tuesday
Charlie Jernigan, board chairman of the Oak Ridge Land Bank Corp., will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday.
The meeting will be in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The Oak Ridge Land Bank Corp. is a unique governmental organization in Tennessee that grew out of the need to address the problem of blighted housing in Oak Ridge, a press release said. The concept of a land bank was introduced in 2011 as part of the “Not in Our City” plan. It became a reality in September 2013 when City Council approved Ordinance 08-2013. The Land Bank Corp. will work to support economic revitalization through returning vacant, abandoned, and tax-delinquent properties to productive use, the press release said. [Read more…]
UT Career Services leader to discuss ‘Negotiating for Women’ at AAUW meeting today
Mary Mahoney, an assistant director for University of Tennessee Career Services, will discuss “Negotiating for Women” during an AAUW meeting at lunchtime today.
The AAUW Oak Ridge Branch meeting starts at 11:30 a.m. today in Room 102 of the Activities Building of First Presbyterian Church at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Lafayette Drive.
The public is invited to attend a potluck luncheon at 11:30 a.m. and the meeting, which begins at noon, a press release said. The luncheon will feature main dish salads prepared by AAUW members. Drinks, bread, crackers, and desserts will be provided. There is no cost, but donations to AAUW are welcome. Reservations may be made by calling either Mary Uziel at (865) 483-1043 or Marge Congdon at (865) 438-3120.
Mahoney has more than 20 years’ experience working as the assistant director of recruiting at the University of Tennessee, the press release said. She has certifications in salary negotiations and career coaching.
Before the program begins, Mayme Crowell, outgoing Tennessee State President of AAUW, will recognize the Education Award winner selected by Roane State Community College and will introduce the Roane State students who are winners of AAUW Educational Scholarships for this year.
Crowell will also install the Oak Ridge Branch AAUW officers for next year, including Peggy Emmett as president; Fay Martin as vice president for membership; Virginia Jones, vice president for programs; and Mary Uziel, treasurer. [Read more…]
Photos: Windrock Coal Miners Memorial
The Windrock Coal Miners Memorial Wall wall is 31 feet long and includes the names of more than 1,000 miners.
WINDROCK MOUNTAIN—Here are pictures from the dedication ceremony for the Windrock Coal Miners Memorial on Saturday and the groundbreaking ceremony in November.
Family members press forward to find, touch, and take pictures of the names of their loved ones on the Windrock Coal Miners Memorial after it was unveiled Saturday.
Windrock Memorial: ‘Proud to be a coal miner’s daughter’
Family members press forward to find, touch, and take pictures of the names of their loved ones on the Windrock Coal Miners Memorial after it was unveiled Saturday.
WINDROCK MOUNTAIN—Today, it’s home to giant wind turbines that tower high above the Tennessee Valley and off-road vehicles that race up and down its gravel roads and steep slopes.
But 50 years ago or more, this mountain a few miles north of Oliver Springs was home to as many as 700 coal miners and their families. The mines have been closed for decades, but the memories have lived on, mostly in fond recollections and old black-and-white photos.
Pictured above are Carl Lively, right, who started working in a mine in Windrock Mountain north of Oliver Springs in 1939, when he was 16, and Manuel Tinker, who was born on top of the mountain and later worked in the mines.
Now volunteers are taking action to help preserve the history of the miners and their families. As part of that effort, they unveiled a Windrock Coal Miners Memorial wall on Saturday. It includes the names of more than 1,000 miners who once worked on the mountain.
The red brick-and-granite wall has been under construction for about six months, and several hundred people turned out for Saturday’s dedication ceremony at Lower Windrock at the end of Windrock Road, about three miles from downtown Oliver Springs. Some wept softly as they gently caressed the names of their loved ones on the memorial wall. Others proudly posed for pictures. It was an important day for many.
“It’s one of the greatest things that’s every happened to me, to see this,” said Carl Lively, 91, who started working in the mines on Windrock Mountain in 1939 at the age of 16. “We’re happy as we can be today.” [Read more…]
Volunteers dedicate memorial to Windrock coal miners today
Pictured above are Carl Lively, right, who started working in a mine on Windrock Mountain north of Oliver Springs in 1939, when he was 16, and Manuel Tinker, who was born on top of the mountain and later worked in the mines.
WINDROCK MOUNTAIN—Volunteers who have worked for months to build a wall honoring more than 1,000 miners who once worked on Windrock Mountain north of Oliver Springs will have a dedication ceremony this afternoon.
The dedication and reception for the Coal Miners Memorial is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. today (Saturday) at Lower Windrock in front of Union Valley Baptist Church.
Descendants of Windrock coal miners, retired miners, and many others have worked together raising money to build the red brick and granite wall. The names of more than 1,000 Windrock coal miners have been engraved into the granite. [Read more…]
Clinton Public Library seeking teen volunteers for summer
Submitted
The Clinton Public Library is seeking teen volunteers to assist with its Summer Reading Club.
Volunteers are needed to register children for the Reading Club, assist at programs, help prepare for story times, and more! All teens interested in volunteering at the Library this summer must attend an informational session on Monday, May 19, at either 3 p.m. or 6 p.m. Please bring your calendar with you!
The Clinton Public Library is located at 118 S. Hicks Street in Clinton. For more information, call the library at (865) 457-0519.
UT solar house donated, moving Saturday to Children’s Museum
KNOXVILLE—The University of Tennessee in Knoxville is donating the Living Light House— its award-winning, solar-powered project—to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.
The Living Light House will move to its permanent home on Saturday, May 17. Starting at 7 a.m., the 750-square-foot, zero-energy structure, will be transported from the UT Gardens to the Oak Ridge museum at 461 W. Outer Drive. The move is expected to take several hours.
“The house has served as an ambassador for good design and energy efficiency,” said James Rose, UT architecture lecturer and lead faculty member of the Living Light project. “One of the most satisfying things about giving tours of the house is the response from children. Young people are always fascinated by the house and leave it excited about the future. I cannot think of a better place for the Living Light house to carry on this mission than at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.”
The Living Light House, which was built through the efforts of more than 200 UT students, was an entry to the 2011 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. It has traveled nearly 6,000 miles, been toured by more than 50,000 visitors, and was on exhibit at the 2012 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. [Read more…]
Combined choirs to sing ‘Sunrise Mass’ Sunday
Anna Thomas, FPC music director, will conduct the first half of the concert, and Andrew Duncan, FUMC music director, will conduct the four-movement “Sunrise Mass.” (Submitted photo)
The combined choirs of First Presbyterian and First United Methodist churches will sing the “Sunrise Mass” by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo during a concert on Sunday, May 18, at 6:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church.
String players from the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and FUMC’s Sandi Henry on piano will accompany the choirs. The 32-minute symphony mass will be performed in the second half of the concert.
The first half of the concert will include choral music by various composers, including “Ave Verum Corpus” by W.A. Mozart, Dan Forrest’s setting of John Wesley’s “Covenant Prayer,” and Mack Wilberg’s arrangement of Isaac Watts’ version of Psalm 23, as well as works by Kevin Siegfried, Philip R. Dietterich, and Stephen Paulus. [Read more…]
