Oak Ridge Today





Y-12 donates $8,500 for Scarboro graduates, honoring Oak Ridge 85

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Dorothy Kirk Lewis and L.C. Gipson, members of the Oak Ridge 85, hold the check representing the $8,500 donation from Consolidated Nuclear Security given in their honor. (Photo courtesy CNS/Y-12)

At the conclusion of a school year during which Oak Ridge commemorated the 65th anniversary of the integration of Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior High, the Scarboro Alumni Association received an $8,500 donation for their scholarship endowment.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, the managing and operating contractor of Y-12 National Security Complex made the donation at the Scarboro Community Center on May 26 in honor of the 85 Black students who integrated Oak Ridge schools in 1955, a press release said. The endowment provides scholarships to selected high school seniors who have an association with the Scarboro community and who choose to continue their education.

Little-known history

The Oak Ridge 85, as they are known, consisted of 85 students who integrated Robertsville Junior High and Oak Ridge High School on September 6, 1955. They were the first students to integrate a public school in the southeastern United States, the press release said.

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Manhattan Project Park has tennis court dance on June 25

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Oak Ridge Tennis Court Dance NPS
This undated photo shows a tennis court dance in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will commemorate the tennis court dances that occurred in Jackson Square more than 75 years ago with a dance on Friday, June 25.

The dance is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. June 25 in the Jackson Square tennis courts. It has been organized by the National Park Service and Explore Oak Ridge.

“All ages are welcome to attend, and everyone is encouraged to participate,” a press release said. “This free event will feature swing dancing music from the 1940s World War II era as well as hits from every decade since then, including current music, so that all age groups will find something to tap their toes to. Music was chosen with the help of local Oak Ridge High School students and will make you want to get on the dance floor.”

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Help clean up East Fork Poplar Creek Greenway

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Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning and partners Clinch Valley Trails Alliance and Oak Ridge Greenways are sponsoring the second annual trash cleanup and hike on the East Fork Poplar Creek Greenway on Saturday, June 12, 2021. (Image by TCWP)

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning and partners Clinch Valley Trails Alliance and Oak Ridge Greenways are sponsoring the second annual trash cleanup and hike on the East Fork Poplar Creek Greenway.

“This wonderful new trail, developed by CVTA and Greenways Oak Ridge, was recently completed along the banks of East Fork Poplar Creek in west Oak Ridge,” TCWP said. “The trail meanders through a nice riparian woodland along the creek. This trail is subject to occasional flooding, and help is needed to remove litter left behind by the water. There are also a lot of old tires and other debris that have washed from places upstream.”

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First Presbyterian offers free meals, 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 p.m. Thursday, June 10, 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, the press release said. [Read more…]

FORNL talk Tuesday about manufacturing innovation

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Craig Blue

 

A Tuesday talk will focus on manufacturing innovation in the Oak Ridge area.

The featured speaker will be Craig Blue, manager of the Advanced Manufacturing Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He will present information about the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility model, science and technology breakthroughs, and quantitative impacts, a press release said. His talk is titled “ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility: Driving a Manufacturing Innovation Ecosystem.

Tuesday’s monthly meeting of Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be virtual, or online. It is open to the public, and it is scheduled to start at noon Tuesday, June 8. [Read more…]

Drive-through food giveaway scheduled for Saturday, June 19

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The Oak Ridge Hoofers Golf Group in conjunction with the Burlington Food Pantry and Second Harvest will be sponsoring a Drive-Through Food Giveaway on Saturday, June 19.

The drive-through will be in the parking lot of the Scarboro Community Center, and it will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a press release said.

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Registration open for summer reading at Clinton Library

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Clinton Public Library
Clinton Public Library

Registration is open for the 2021 Summer Reading Program at the Clinton Public Library.

“This year’s theme is ‘Tails and Tales,’ so join us at the library for a summer filled with exciting programs and activities,” a press release said.

The library, partnering with the Anderson County Animal Shelter, will kick off Summer Reading 2021 on Tuesday, June 8, with a special adoption fair on the front library lawn.

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Learn about Wheat, a community before the war, during Saturday walk

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Wheat Community Before the Manhattan Project
The Wheat community before the Manhattan Project during World War II in the area that is now west Oak Ridge. (Photo submitted by National Park Service)

You can learn about Wheat, a community before World War II, during a walk in west Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The walk will be led by a National Park Service ranger starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 5. The program will begin at Blair Road and the North Boundary Greenway.

Wheat was a community that existed in what is now west Oak Ridge before the city was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons, before Germany could.

Oak Ridge is one of three sites that are part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The other two are Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

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K-25 History Center re-opens

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Image courtesy K-25 History Center

After a long shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, the K-25 History Center re-opened Monday morning.

The K-25 History Center is located on the south side of the site where the K-25 Building used to be at what is now Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge. The K-25 Building was once the world’s largest. The K-25 History Center is on the second floor of the City of Oak Ridge fire station at Heritage Center.

The K-25 site was built during World War II, and it enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. The site was shut down in the 1980s. The site was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, and it was to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

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Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool re-opens this weekend

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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool opens for the season beginning Memorial Day weekend.

The pool will be open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 29, through Monday, May 31, a press release said. Beginning June 1, summer hours will be in effect. Public swim is Monday through Friday from noon to 7 p.m., Wednesday nights from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The pool will also be open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to noon for 100-meter lap swim.

“As a reminder, areas of the pool may be closed at times depending on activities, attendance, and staffing,” the press release said. “The kiddie pool will remain closed this season for repairs.”

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Murals celebrate Oak Ridge recreation, history

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A mural is being painted on an ORNL Federal Credit Union building on West Tennessee Avenue by artist Megan Lingerfelt, pictured above on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

Murals celebrating nature, diversity, history, and outdoor activities have been painted on or near several Oak Ridge buildings, including at the boathouse and at ORNL Federal Credit Union.

Three murals have been painted near the ORNL Federal Credit Union headquarters on Rutgers Avenue. Another mural has been painted on the Oak Ridge Rowing Association boathouse at Melton Lake Park.

A fifth mural is being painted on an ORNL Federal Credit Union building on West Tennessee Avenue.

The first three murals painted at the credit union headquarters building on Rutgers Avenue were designed by students at Oak Ridge High School, Jefferson Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School, according to JMS art teacher Jim Dodson, who is also an Oak Ridge City Council member. The murals were created by Bryan Wilkerson, art professor at Roane State Community College. For their work, each of the schools received a $500 contribution to their art departments, and the students received a cash award, Dodson said.

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AMSE re-opens

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The American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

After a long closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Museum of Science and Energy has re-opened.

AMSE re-opened at 9 a.m. Friday, May 21.

AMSE will be open to a limited number of visitors at a time, 50. Museum visitors will be asked to maintain an appropriate physical distance from others (the general guidance has been to maintain a distance of six feet or more, when possible, from people who live outside your home).

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