Oak Ridge Today





New Emerge Tennessee executive director to speak with Democratic women

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Freda Player-Peters

Freda Player-Peters, the new executive director of Emerge Tennessee, will discuss the candidate training organization’s new programs at the Monday, March 15, meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club. The virtual meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom.

Emerge Tennessee aims to increase the number of Democratic women leaders from diverse backgrounds in public office through recruitment, training, and networking. Participants learn about public speaking, fundraising, campaign strategy, voter contact, and media and messaging from a team of experts who have worked on successful campaigns, a press release said.

Player-Peters was political director of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205 from 2010 to 2018. She was responsible for all lobbying, advocacy, and electoral efforts for Local 205 in Tennessee and served on the International Public Division Leadership Board. [Read more…]

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Breakfast with Legislators next Monday

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The Oak Ridge League of Women Voters will have its second Breakfast with the Legislators of the year on Monday.

The breakfast is scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Monday, March 22. The meeting will be virtual, and it’s open to the public.

Tennessee senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to share an update about the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly, a press release said.

[Read more…]
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Oak Ridge’s first female Eagle Scout expands church’s community garden

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Haley Snyder and the Welcome Garden she built at First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, earning her the rank of Eagle Scout. She is the first female to achieve this honor in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

Haley Snyder, a graduate of Oak Ridge High School and currently a freshman at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, is the first female in Oak Ridge to have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. She is a member of Troop 42G of the Boy Scouts of America, which is chartered by First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge.

In 2019, the Boy Scouts of America changed its policies to allow girls to form their own Scouts BSA troops and follow the path to Eagle Scout. The session of the Oak Ridge church voted that year to support Troop 42 in forming a female troop.

Haley’s Eagle Scout project was to expand the church’s community garden by building fenced-in garden plots beside the church’s education building, which houses the Early Head Start of Anderson County program. “The new garden consists of seven garden beds, each 4 feet by 16 feet, and a chain link fence surrounding it,” Haley said.

She added that the new garden will allow food-insecure community members access to fresh vegetables distributed through the church’s Welcome Table monthly meal-and-groceries program, as well as provide learning opportunities for Early Head Start students. Early Head Start programs provide family-centered services for low-income families with young children. [Read more…]

Scott Jamison receives Children’s Museum Friend of the Child Award

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Scott Jamison, a Children’s Museum volunteer who received the Friend of the Child Award, teaches a summer camp annually in the Museum’s Craft and Science Room. (Submitted photo)

Submitted

When Scott Jamison is teaching children about crime scene investigation or sharing his telecommunications skills at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, he arrives with a smile that shows his selflessness and generosity.

Jamison recently received the museum’s annual Friend of the Child Award for volunteering his business and telecommunications skills, as well as his teaching skills, when the staff seeks his help.

“When Scott walks in the door, frequently responding to urgent pleas for help, there is only one desire—and that is to make things work,” said Ronnie Bogard, former museum board member who presented the award to Jamison.

The award is presented in memory of Selma Shapiro, Bogard’s mother and the museum’s executive director for its first 31 years. With her vision and resourcefulness, Shapiro built the museum from a its single-room beginnings to fill a former school building. The award was established to honor an individual who has contributed in a big way to the success of the museum. [Read more…]

First Presbyterian offers free meal & groceries Thursday

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First Presbyterian Church will provide a free meal and bag of groceries to food-insecure guests who drive by the church between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 11, a press release said.

The church’s monthly “Welcome Table” community meal program plans to supply each guest with a hot meal consisting of taco soup, Fritos chips, fresh fruit, and brownies or cookies.

In addition, a bag of groceries will be delivered to each car. The bag contains these ingredients for an Easter meal: canned ham, macaroni and cheese, canned vegetables, canned fruit, and cookies or Little Debbie cakes for dessert, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Library to re-open in phases starting March 29

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Oak Ridge Public Library
The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

After a year of the coronavirus pandemic and renovations to the building, Oak Ridge Public Library will re-open on March 29. The library will re-open in two phases, the city said in a press release.

The first phase, from March 29 through May 29, will allow patrons to browse the main library and Children’s Room, use public computers, and enjoy the newly renovated library space, the press release said. Library hours will be limited to Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Curbside pickup will continue during this first phase. Curbside hours, however, will change to Monday through Saturday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., the press release said.

[Read more…]

Breakfast with Legislators resumes Monday

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The first Breakfast with the Legislators of this year will be Monday morning, and it will be an online meeting.

The meeting, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, is scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. Monday, February 22.

Tennessee senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to speak about the legislative outlook for the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly, a press release said.

[Read more…]

CASA coordinator to discuss programs to help children

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Amanda Brackett

A CASA coordinator will discuss programs to help children during an online meeting at noon today (Tuesday, February 16).

The speaker will be Amanda Brackett, Program Coordinator for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Anderson County.

She will speak during the lunchtime meeting of the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. To watch the presentation, send an email to [email protected]. Later, you will be able to watch the recorded session on the League’s website at https://my.lwv.org/tennessee/oak-ridge.

[Read more…]

Little Ponderosa Zoo has memorial for James Cox on Saturday

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A notice of a memorial ceremony for James Cox, founder of Little Ponderosa Zoo and Rescue, posted by the zoo.

There will be an outdoor memorial ceremony for James Michael Cox, founder of the Little Ponderosa Zoo and Rescue, on Saturday.

Cox, 61, of Clinton, died Tuesday at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville.

The memorial is scheduled from 12 to 6 p.m. Saturday, February 13 (see the flyer above). In place of flowers, Cox’s family is asking that you honor his legacy and work by donating to the Little Ponderosa Zoo and Rescue at 629 Granite Rd, Clinton, TN 37716, or through the website at www.littleponderosazoo.com.

“Our hearts are broken and our lives forever changed,” the zoo posted online this week. “There aren’t words to express what this man meant to us, to our community, and to the animal and rescue community…His devotion to animals was a lifelong passion surpassed only by his love of family and friends.”

[Read more…]

James Cox, founder of Little Ponderosa Zoo, dies

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James Cox (Photo via Anderson County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook)

James Cox, the founder of Little Ponderosa Zoo and Rescue in Anderson County, died Tuesday.

The cause of his death wasn’t clear, although the zoo had said in late January that Cox had had pneumonia and a weak heart and was in the hospital, moving from critical care to the heart floor. At that time, he was expected to be discharged in a few days to recover before heart surgery.

Many people in Anderson County and across the region said they were heartbroken to hear the news of his death on Tuesday.

“Today, we mourn the loss of a very special man,” the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post. “James had a deep passion to help the people of Anderson County and the countless animals he rescued. His heart was pure, and his love for humanity will be remembered for generations to come. There is not enough room on Facebook to list all of the tremendous ways he made an impact. He was truly that special. James, we are forever grateful for your friendship.”

[Read more…]

First Presbyterian offers free meal, groceries on Feb. 11

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First Presbyterian Church will provide a free meal and bag of groceries to food-insecure guests who drive by the church between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 11, a press release said.

The church’s monthly Welcome Table community meal program plans to supply each guest with a hot meal consisting of taco soup, Fritos chips, fresh fruit, and brownies or cookies.

In addition, each family in a car will receive a grocery bag containing two cans of spaghetti sauce with meat, one package of spaghetti noodles, one container of Parmesan cheese, one can of fruit, one can of vegetables, crackers, peanut butter, and two cans of soup. [Read more…]

Volunteer to discuss working with immigrants at the border

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Rachel Bohstedt Estes

Rachel Bohstedt Estes will discuss her work with immigrants at the Texas-Mexico border as guest speaker at the Wednesday, February 10, meeting of Altrusa International of Oak Ridge, hosted by the International Relations Committee.

Her topic is “Learning and Listening at the Border.” The meeting will be virtual, hosted on Zoom, beginning at noon, a press release said.

Estes, director of outreach and missions at Canterbury United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, began volunteering at the border in the summer of 2018, when immigrant children were being separated from their families at the border.

“I began thinking of how we can be the best community for each other,” she said. Estes called a friend and said: “I think we need to go there and make sure they know people with love are around them. Even if we can’t extract them from the horror, we can be present.” [Read more…]

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