Oak Ridge Today

CNS awards $120K in grants

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CNS Community Investment Grant Recipients are pictured following a grant ceremony on Oct. 17, 2022. (Submitted photo)

Twenty-two East Tennessee nonprofits received a total of $121,600 from the Consolidated Nuclear Security Community Investment Fund at a ceremony October 17.

Since 2015, the fund has awarded 180 grants to more than 120 nonprofit organizations and educational institutions in 20 East Tennessee counties, totaling a combined $1.04 million, a press release said.

The Community Investment Fund is a partnership between CNS, the managing and operating contractor of Y-12 National Security Complex, and the East Tennessee Foundation.

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League presentation today: ‘Taliban rule and Afghan women’

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On Tuesday, the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge will host Masooma Hussaini, a graduate student in journalism at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She will share first-hand information about the destruction of human and female rights in Afghanistan after the take-over by the Taliban.

This virtual event will be held at 12 p.m. Eastern time via Zoom.

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Children’s Halloween Party is Oct. 27

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Oak Ridge Monster Mash Bash 2021 (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the 2022 Children’s Halloween Party on Thursday, October 27, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This annual event will be attended by hundreds of children and their parents, a press release said. Activities will be planned throughout A.K. Bissell Park, including a hayride, weather permitting.

Businesses and organizations are invited to sponsor a booth for the event. Sponsors will supply volunteers and hand out candy throughout the event. Booths should be age appropriate for children aged 4 through 4th grade. Applications can be picked up at the Civic Center front desk, the press release said.

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Butterfly Festival will feature butterfly release, insect zoo

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The insect zoo at the Butterfly Festival. (Submitted photo)

The annual Butterfly Festival will feature an educational release of 500 butterflies and an insect zoo at the University of Tennessee Arboretum on Saturday, September 17.

It’s the seventh annual festival, and it’s scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. September 17 in the UT Arboretum Auditorium and surrounding area at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The festival is presented by the UT Arboretum Society. The purpose is to educate the public and teach people how to protect these pollinators, a press release said.

The UT Insect Zoo, two butterfly tents, educational lectures, a butterfly release, and children’s art activities are among the educational activities that will be offered, the press release said.

The butterfly release is scheduled for noon.

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DOE bus tours restart in Oak Ridge

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U.S. Department of Energy public bus tours have resumed in Oak Ridge after a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo from DOE)

U.S. Department of Energy public bus tours have resumed in Oak Ridge after a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tours began running again on July 11, and they are scheduled to continue through November.

“The program is a longtime staple in the community, helping educate residents and visitors about the site’s rich history and current missions,” DOE said in an EM Update newsletter published Tuesday. (EM stands for environmental management.)

The tour program started in 1996 and has attracted tens of thousands of visitors from all 50 states, DOE said.

The three-and-a-half-hour tours allow visitors to see all three DOE sites on the Oak Ridge Reservation, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Y-12 National Security Complex, and East Tennessee Technology Park.

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Learn why bugs are good

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Submitted

Every bug has a purpose. Did you know that very few caterpillars reach their mature size because birds gobble them down? It is estimated that one pair of chickadees must find 6,000 caterpillars to feed one brood of fledglings. Carpenter bees pollinate tomatoes. Flies pollinate pawpaws. Gnats pollinate Jack-in-the pulpits, while hummingbirds eat gnats. Ants plant trillium seeds, and flickers eat ants. Cardinals eat adult beetles, while brown thrashers eat their grubs. It is a complicated and intricate circle of life. The list goes on and on. 

Join local naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales to learn about why “Bugs are Not Bad” at the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s First Thursday Nature Supper Club via Zoom on Thursday, August 4, at 7 p.m.  Eastern time.

The program is free, but registration is required to receive your link. Register at www.utarboretumsociety.org.  This program will be recorded, and closed captioning is available. 

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Oak Ridge has July 4 concert, fireworks

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The annual July 4 concert and fireworks show is in Oak Ridge this evening.

The Independence Day fireworks display will be held in Alvin K. Bissell Park on Monday, July 4, and it is scheduled to begin at dark, around 9:45 p.m. In order to set up for the event, the walking trails in Bissell Park will be closed beginning at 8:30 a.m. the morning of the event, a press release said.

The Oak Ridge Community Band will perform before the fireworks. The concert is free, but donations are accepted by the band to help cover the cost of equipment and other expenses, the press release said. The music is expected to begin at 7:30 p.m.

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Update on downtown Oak Ridge Tuesday

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Wayne Blasius

A city official will give an update on the proposed development of downtown Oak Ridge during a lunchtime meeting Tuesday.

The presentation will be led by Wayne Blasius, director of the Oak Ridge Planning and Development Department. The online Lunch with the League meeting has been organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and it is scheduled from 12 to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 15.

“Because of its unique development as a community to support the Manhattan Project (during World War II), the City of Oak Ridge lacked a central downtown,” a press release said. “In the fall of 2019, the city prepared a vision for a new city center, which included zoning changes, property acquisition, and soliciting development. With zoning changes and property acquisition in place, on August 6, 2021, the Oak Ridge Land Bank held its ‘Toast the Town’ event to hear the formal announcement of the call for development. Two excellent proposals were received in response to the (request for proposals) and will be considered for approval by the Land Bank Board at their business meeting, March 15, 5:30 pm (location to be announced). Interested community members are encouraged to attend.”

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Experience world cultures at Children’s Museum International Festival

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The Tennessee Irish Dancers join Charlie Bear, the Museum mascot, at an earlier International Festival at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. (Photo by Rob Welton)

Flamenco, Irish, and Greek dancers will be among entertainers at the International Festival on Saturday, February 26, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

A special guest from Ireland, musician and singer Fionan Casey, will join the band, The Missing Goats, performing traditional Irish music at the festival, a press release said.

The family-friendly International Festival will present entertainment, crafts, and cuisines from many countries, with musical and dance entertainment on stage throughout the day and crafts for children to make and take home. The festival will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, February 26, at the Children’s Museum, which is at 461 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Expungements to be discussed March 1

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Wade Davies

A partner in a Knoxville law firm will discuss conviction expungement during a virtual talk sponsored by an Oak Ridge organization March 1.

The information about expungement will be presented by Wade V. Davies, managing partner at Ritchie, Davies, Johnson, and Stovall, a law firm specializing in criminal defense, a press release said.

The Lunch with the League presentation is scheduled from 12 to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 1. It is titled “Cleaning Up the Past: Expanded Opportunities to Expunge Convictions.” It is open to the public.

“The path to expungement of a criminal record in Tennessee is complicated and not standardized across the state,” the press release said. “Changes to Tennessee law starting in 2012 created a partial path to voting rights restoration by providing a mechanism for expungement of certain convictions, and (they) were expanded again in 2021. The importance of expungement cannot be understated—it allows a person to seek employment without a criminal record and vote, thereby regaining their place as a meaningful member of society.”

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Breakfast with Legislators on Feb. 28

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The first Breakfast with the Legislators this year is scheduled for Monday morning, February 28.

The breakfast will be virtual, and it scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. It has been organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.

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Supreme Court justice to discuss WWII POWs

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Sharon Lee

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee will discuss the compelling stories of five American soldiers captured and held as prisoners of war by the Germans during World War II during a lunchtime meeting next week, a press release said.

The Lunch with the League is scheduled from 12-1 p.m. Tuesday, February 15. The meeting will be virtual, meaning it will be online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lunch is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and the public is welcome to attend the virtual meeting.

“Personal history led Justice Lee to her interest in World War II, specifically POWs, and how their experiences shaped their lives after release,” the press release said. “Justice Lee’s father was a World War II POW. Although Justice Lee describes her family as being very patriotic and her father faithfully flying an American flag, their family did not talk about her father’s wartime experiences when she was growing up. Her interest in World War II POWs was sparked by ‘Soldiers and Slaves,’ a book shared with her by then Chancellor Arnold Goldin from Memphis, which later led her to research and prepare a presentation entitled ‘American Heroes With Common Bonds.'”

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