Oak Ridge Today

Sheriff’s Department offers Halloween safety tips

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Today is Halloween, and the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has recommended safety tips for families and drivers, particularly for trick or treating tonight.

The goal is to make Halloween more enjoyable and safer, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said.

Here are the tips:

  • Face paint is preferable to masks for children’s costumes. Trick or treaters should wear reflective clothing, carry a bright orange bag, and also carry a flashlight or glowstick to make it easier for passing cars to spot them. Always walk on the left side of the road facing traffic. Parents and children alike should watch for cars at all times.
  • An adult should always accompany young children. A parent or older child should stay close all times and never let children walk by themselves. Wait in the driveway or by the door until they return.
  • Older children should travel in pairs or in groups at all times while trick or treating. Parents should know the route their children are following. Children should always walk together to the front door of each house and never run across the road. Dark, unlighted houses should be avoided.
  • Children should save all their candy until they get home. Parents should closely inspect all candy. Throw away all unwrapped candy or any suspicious looking goodies.
  • Motorists should use extra caution Halloween night. When driving, slow down and be aware. Trick or treaters may dart into the road. Please drive at safe speeds and leave distance from the vehicle ahead of you. They may have to stop suddenly.

Sheriff’s deputies will be actively patrolling neighborhoods throughout the county during Halloween evening, a press release said.

Three choirs, Ridge City Ramblers perform at Sunday music festival

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Ridge City Ramblers

The Ridge City Ramblers and three local church choirs will perform Sunday in the Reach Out Music Festival at Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge.

A music festival on Sunday features three church choirs and local bluegrass and Americana group Ridge City Ramblers.

It’s the 7th annual Reach Out Music Festival, and it’s presented by Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge.

The three church choirs scheduled to perform are Grace Lutheran, led by Paula Smith; First Presbyterian, under the direction of Anna Thomas; and Kern Memorial United Methodist, led by Kevin Miller.

The free festival starts at 3 p.m. Sunday at Grace Lutheran, which is located at 131 West Gettysburg Ave.

A press release said Ridge City Ramblers have been “picking together” since 2010.

Overflow parking for Sunday’s festival is available at Woodland Elementary School behind Grace Lutheran Church. Parking lot attendants will be on hand to give directions, the release said.

The church has invited parents to bring their families, including young children.

“A nursery and attendant is ready to assist if the small children need care,” the release said.

It said a freewill offering will be taken for those who wish to contribute to the sustainability of the festival, and “finger food and fellowship” will be available after the event.

For more information, call Grace Lutheran Church at (865) 483-3787.

Pumpkin Fest, regatta, car show this weekend

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From a regatta and football to a car show and pumpkin festival, there is much to do in Oak Ridge this weekend.

Tonight, the Oak Ridge Wildcats football team wraps up its regular season with a 7:30 p.m. game at Campbell County.

On Saturday, the Secret City Head Race starts at 8 a.m. at the Oak Ridge Marina, and the annual Pumpkin Fest starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m. in Grove Center.

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Children’s Halloween Party tonight at A.K. Bissell Park

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The Oak Ridge Children’s Halloween Party is this evening at A.K. Bissell Park.

The party starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 8:30 p.m. It includes carnival games, a giant inflatable caterpillar crawl, a game room for toddlers, Halloween cartoon videos, a glow room, and a craft room, a press release said, and the ever-popular Scary Room will return with a pirate theme.

A hayride is planned, weather permitting, the press release said.

Tickets will be sold at the door for 25 cents each, and most of the activities cost one or two tickets. The craft room, cartoon videos, and toddler area are free.

Concessions and souvenirs will also be available for sale in the Glow Room.

Volunteers are still needed. Call the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department at the Civic Center at (865) 425-3450 if you would like to volunteer to help.

A.K. Bissell Park is at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board hosts Tennis Play Day

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Oak Ridge Tennis Play Day

Participants of Saturday’s Tennis Play Day are pictured above. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board hosted a free Tennis Play Day on Saturday as part of the Playful City USA initiative.

“Participants of all ages tried their hand at a variety of challenges, while also learning about new tennis opportunities in Oak Ridge,” a press release said.

United States Tennis Association instructor David Bowman led skills and challenges for the event, the release said.

“This event is an example of the partnerships that the city YAB is attempting to build in the community,” said Matt Reedy, Oak Ridge recreation program supervisor and YAB liaison. “David Bowman is a great resource and advocate for youth tennis here in Oak Ridge, and he is bringing in USTA tournaments several times a year as well.”

Reedy said the YAB subsidized the cost of painting “Quickstart Tennis” lines for kids’ tennis and added an informational sign.

“This event was designed to be free, fun, and informative about youth tennis here in Oak Ridge,” Reedy said.

He said the Youth Advisory Board is working on another new initiative involving a partnership with the Grove Center Merchants to host a Breakfast with Santa on Dec. 1.

“Our annual Breakfast with Santa event has always been hosted in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Gym, and we felt that it was time to change the event up and branch out a bit,” Reedy said. “Through this partnership, we will free up Recreation Department resources for Youth Basketball Leagues to begin, while also supporting local businesses in Grove Center. It is a win-win.”

YAB meetings are held twice per month on Wednesday afternoons at the Oak Ridge Civic Center and are open to the public. Board members serve a one-year term of office and must re-apply in May of each year.

For more information, call Reedy at (865) 425-3442 or visit the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department website at www.orrecparks.org.

ORNL’s United Way campaign tops $900,000

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ORNL United Way Donation

Oak Ridge National Laboratory raised more than $914,000 during its 2012 United Way campaign, chaired by Becky Verastegui, left, and Hurtis Hodges, center. Also pictured is ORNL Director Thom Mason. (ORNL photo by Jason Richards)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory raised more than $914,000 in its 2012 United Way campaign, which supports charitable agencies throughout the area.

ORNL United Way Campaign Chairman Hurtis Hodges said employees and retirees contributed more than $800,000 and UT-Battelle, the laboratory’s managing contractor, contributed a corporate gift of $100,000.

“The generosity of ORNL’s employees continues to make the laboratory one of the largest United Way contributors in East Tennessee,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said.

More than $25,000 was raised through special events that included a putting challenge, dunking booth, jewelry and book fairs, a cash mob, and a silent auction.

This year’s campaign focus shifted from concentrating on the total amount donated to increasing employee participation through payroll deduction, Hodges said. The strategy was in response to the loss of United Way givers in last year’s Voluntary Separation Program. The strategy worked, as ORNL saw a net gain of more than 300 new staff contributors and 41 new leadership givers, bringing the total number of staff signed up as United Way contributors to 2,004.

“Despite the economic challenges, ORNL still showed an increase in leadership givers and staff contributors,” Hodges said. “The increase in staff contributors emphasizes the importance laboratory employees place on the health of our community.”

UT Arboretum Society has Owl Prowl on Saturday

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Owl Prowl

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society has its annual Owl Prowl on Saturday.

It starts at 6:30 p.m. at the UT Arboretum program shelter with a program by the Clinch River Raptor Center, featuring owls found in East Tennessee. Live birds will be on display, and Kathy Strunk and Katie Cottrell will give information about their natural histories, a press release said.

The Raptor Center was started at Clinton Middle School by John Byrd 28 years ago. Since then, 2,090 birds have come to the Raptor Center to be rehabilitated, the press release said.

Strunk and Cottrell have co-directed the Raptor Center for more than 25 years and have given hundreds of programs in East Tennessee on birds of prey.

Saturday’s initial program will be followed by walks on the grounds of the Arboretum led by Strunk, Cottrell, and Byrd, with the goal of hearing some owls. Those who don’t want to go on the walks will have an opportunity to stay at the shelter and visit with the center’s educational owls, the release said.

Participants are encouraged to bring flash lights if they plan to take part in the “owl prowl.”

The UT Arboretum is located at 901 S. Illinois Ave.

To learn more about the Arboretum Society, visit them online at www.utarboretumsociety.org.

Railway museum still on track

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Wheat Train Depot

Nonprofit volunteers are scrambling to ensure they can use a state grant to build a railway museum next to the Wheat boarding station, pictured in center background, at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.

Plans for a railway museum in west Oak Ridge are still on track, volunteers said Monday.

It had recently appeared that the decade-old proposal could derail. During its Sept. 10 meeting, the Oak Ridge City Council agreed to give City Manager Mark Watson permission to send a letter to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, asking them to keep the $480,000 grant for the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.

But during a Monday night City Council meeting, Watson said he hasn’t sent the letter yet. And board members of the nonprofit SARM said they are working quickly, hoping to assure the city manager of the project’s long-term sustainability.

The board members said the museum’s size has been reduced to 3,600 square feet and its estimated cost has been lowered to less than $900,000. They’re working on a plan for interior displays at the museum, completed basic environmental permitting, and expect to meet a Nov. 1 state deadline.

“We’ve had a lot of fast peddling to do to get caught up to this point,” said Charlie Poling, SARM museum director.

SARM President Scott Lindsey said funding for the museum would include the $480,000 state grant, $120,000 raised by the museum, and $300,000 from the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, or CROET.

“We’ve made a lot of progress,” Lindsey said.

The museum would be built next to the current Wheat boarding station at K-25, now renamed the Heritage Center. That station is now used for SARM’s Secret City Scenic Excursion Train.

Although no city money would be involved in the museum project, Watson has warned that the municipal government is the grantee, so the financial obligations would ultimately be the city’s responsibility. SARM members said they have presented Watson with financial information on the project.

If the work proceeds, Poling said museum construction could start in the late winter or early spring, and Lindsey said it could take about nine months. Located on a few acres donated by CROET, the museum would include interior and exterior displays, office space, and a platform.

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed to apply for the TDOT grant in 2000.

Watson had earlier said SARM has many hurdles to overcome before Nov. 1, including major design revisions, a National Environmental Policy Act environmental clearance for the new site, identification of the right-of-way, and design review. On Monday, he said there has been a “lot of movement” in the past four weeks.

East Tennessee ‘ghost seeker’ tells stories, shares evidence Saturday

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An East Tennessee “ghost seeker” will share ghost stories and reveal evidence he has collected from paranormal investigations during a Saturday afternoon talk at the Oak Ridge Public Library.

The speaker, Stephen Brown, is a member of East Tennessee Ghost Seekers, a group founded in 2009, and he has conducted about 300 residential and public investigations since 2001, a press release said.

The press release said East Tennessee Ghost Seekers has been selected to be part of a documentary for The Travel Channel on the Morse Mill Hotel in Morse Mill, Mo., and members have investigated many famous sites.

Saturday’s free talk starts at 4 p.m. in the Public Library Auditorium.

For more information, visit the Library’s main desk, call (865) 425-3455, or send an e-mail to CircLib@cortn.org.

To learn more about East Tennessee Ghost Seekers, visit www.eattnghostseekers.com.

Applications available for $20,000 in Altrusa, Rotary literacy grants

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Two community service clubs announced last week that they are now accepting applications for literacy grants awarded each year to schools in Oak Ridge and Anderson and Roane counties.

The two clubs—Altrusa International of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club—will award about $20,000 in grants, a press release said. The money comes from a March 2012 event that featured author Pamela Schoenewaldt.

Grant applications and award criteria may be found on the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club website or at the Oak Ridge Public Library. The money will be competitively awarded to organizations whose programs, projects, or activities foster literacy in the area, the press release said.

“Lack of literacy skills continues to be a serious problem in the lives of many of our East Tennessee neighbors and for many throughout the world,” the release said. “Non-readers and below-grade readers cannot realize their full potential in life, which in turn adversely affects our local, and national economies and society in general.”

The Altrusa and Rotary clubs co-sponsor an annual luncheon to raise money to help local organizations that work to raise literacy levels. The press release said the funds from this year’s literacy luncheon will be awarded based upon the following guidelines:

  • Successful applications will propose specific projects or activities that will foster literacy in the community.
  • While prior successful applicants are eligible to apply for continued support, all grants will be for one year. Each application will be reviewed on its own merits and subsequent funding is not guaranteed.
  • Funds for general operating support, capital campaigns, or endowments will not normally be funded, nor will grants be made to individuals or religious groups.
  • Grants will be made to community-based groups and organizations that are based in or have a local presence in the service area that includes Oak Ridge, Anderson, or Roane counties; serve people who live and/or work in the service area; and/or have volunteers, members or board members who live and/or work in the service area.
  • Applicant organization or groups must be operated and organized in such a way that they do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, national origin, or disabilities when they hire staff, let bids, or provide services.
  • Organizations that received funds from this grant program the previous year must submit a project summary and report of effectiveness to be eligible for current funds.

Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club Past President Brenda Thornburgh, chair of the literacy grant selection committee this year, said that projects will be funded primarily on the basis of their emphasis on programs that teach children or adults to read or that help them improve basic reading skills.

“Traditionally, the Altrusa/Rotary grant process supports the parts of programs that deal with reading materials, such as books and instruction materials, and not for staff support or the costs of developing a program,” Thornburgh said.

Altrusa Immediate Past President Janet Swift said the community has played a key role in making the Altrusa/Breakfast Rotary literacy grants possible through its support for the annual literacy luncheons.

“We have had a very strong response from area businesses and individuals in sponsorship of and attendance at this event in past years, and I would urge everyone to support the 2013 Literacy Luncheon so that we might continue making a real difference for literacy programs in our community,” Swift said.

Applications must be submitted by Nov. 9. For questions about the application process, contact Thornburgh at brendathornburgh@comcast.net or (865)742-9700.

Free community meal Friday at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

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The next Stone Soup Ministry free community meal is scheduled for Friday at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

The menu includes homemade bean soup, cornbread, and cookies. Dine-in or take-out will be available from 5 to 6 p.m., a press release said.

The Stone Soup Ministry name is derived from the Stone Soup Fable, an old medieval tale in which a hungry stranger came upon a small village.

“Having no food, he put water and a few stones in a large pot to boil,” the press release said. “The villagers, who were suffering from a meager harvest, each contribute a bit of food, a carrot, a potato, etc. In the end, the stranger and the villagers sit down to the meal together. In modern times the story is usually told as a lesson in cooperation.”

The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike (traffic light number 11).

The Stone Soup Ministry meal is held the last Friday of every month at the same time in the Social Hall of the Church. For more information about the Oct. 26 meal, call the ORUUC office at (865) 483-6761.

Altrusa dinner and auction Wednesday

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Altrusa of Oak Ridge has its annual spaghetti dinner and auction on Wednesday evening at the DoubleTree Hotel.

The dinner and musical entertainment begin at 5 p.m., the silent auction lasts from 5-6:30 p.m., and the live auction starts at 6:30 p.m. The auction includes handcrafted items, holiday gifts, and services, a press release said.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 4-­10, and admission is free for children three years old and younger, the press release said. Tickets can be purchased from an Altrusa member or at the door.

Wine will be available for sale, and one-­half the dinner cost is tax-deductible, the release said.

Altrusa is a nonprofit community service organization.