Oak Ridge Today

AAUW presentation Monday discusses children, schools

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Three speakers who work with kids will discuss children and schools during a Monday meeting of the Oak Ridge branch of the American Association of University Women.

Titled “The Basic Need of Children in School,” the presentation will feature Gina Begluitti, family services coordinator at Oak Ridge Preschool; Theresa Venable, librarian, and special events coordinator at Children’s Defense Fund, Hayley Farm; and Tara Voit, certified Montessori instructor, and executive director of the Scarboro Learning Center.

The meeting will be in the Social Room of the Unitarian Universalist Church. It will begin at 11:30 a.m. with a $7 sandwich luncheon.

The program will begin at noon and will include a question-and-answer period, a press release said.

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Radio astronomer to speak at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus

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Radio astronomer Stan Kurtz from the National Autonomous University of Mexico will speak at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge.

The lecture will be in the City Room, and it’s free and open to the public.

Kurtz conducts most of his research in New Mexico at the Very Large Array, one of the world’s premier astronomical radio observatories.

For more information about the lecture, contact Roane State’s David Fields at fieldsde@roanestate.edu or (865) 927-5155.

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Construction starts on Melton Lake Park pavilion

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Melton Lake Park Waterfront Pavilion

Construction work has started on a new waterfront pavilion at Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge.

Construction work has started on a long-awaited pavilion at Melton Lake Park.

The $159,000 pavilion could be used for rowing and community events. The Oak Ridge City Council awarded a construction contract for it in May.

It’s the second major step in a waterfront development plan approved by City Council in December 2009. The first was the paving of the parking lot at Elza Gate Park.

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Paranormal investigator discusses ghost-hunting projects on Monday

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Chad Calek

Chad Calek

Paranormal investigator Chad Calek will discuss his ghost-hunting projects on Monday at the Roane State Community College in Harriman.

It’s free and open to the public.

Calek is a regular on television on A&E’s “Paranormal State,” and he has filmed and investigated many tales of paranormal activity, a press release said.

The discussion is presented by Roane State Student Activities. It starts at 6 p.m. Monday in the O’Brien Theatre at the college’s Roane County campus in Harriman. The press release said children should be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

According to Calek’s biography, his interest in ghosts started at age 12 when he heard rumors that his Iowa home was haunted.

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Roane State’s Goff receives Muddy Boot award

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Gary Goff Muddy Boot Award

Former state Rep. David Coffey, left, presents the Muddy Boot award to Roane State Community College President Gary Goff. Also pictured is Goff’s wife Heidi Goff. (Submitted photo)

Roane State Community College President Gary Goff received a “Muddy Boot Award” during an East Tennessee Economic Council meeting on Friday.

The awards honor people who have used their work and community activities to make East Tennessee a stronger region.

“Gary is an example of the person who—though not here for a very long time—makes a huge difference in the quality of the community,” ETEC President Jim Campbell said. “His leadership spanned from higher education, to K-12, to business partnerships and beyond. His legacy will last far longer than his seven-year tenure at Roane State Community College, and for that we honor him today with our highest award, the Muddy Boot.”

The Muddy Boot Award was created in the 1970s to honor people who have gone above the call of duty—like those who served the nation during the Manhattan Project—to make the community, the state, and the nation a better place to live and work, a press release said. More than 70 people have received the award since then.

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Emory Valley Center accepts business, organization donations

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Emory Valley Center Civitan Club Donation

Pictured are Emory Valley Center Day Workshop employees and, in front row second from left, Emory Valley Center Development Director Robin Biloski, Capital Campaign Co-Chair Gene Caldwell, Civitan Club Past President John Seiber, and Clinton Civitan Chapter Treasurer Susan Miller. (Submitted photos)

The Emory Valley Center recently accepted donations from AT&T and the Civitan Club of Clinton.

The Civitan Club’s donation was the final pledge to the Emory Valley Center’s Capital Campaign, a fundraising drive to raise money for a new building on Emory Valley Road, a press release said.

“One of our major emphases in our organization is to be there to assist adults and children with developmental and intellectual disabilities, and EVC is a perfect partner for us here in Anderson County,” said John Seiber, Civitan past president. “We are so pleased to assist in the campaign to raise funds for the new center.”

The center’s capital campaign is about two-thirds of the way to its goal.

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ADFAC’s Feed the Need starts Monday, ends Friday

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Two dozen local restaurants will give part of their sales this week to Aid To Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC.

It’s called Feed The Need, and it starts Monday and ends Friday. It helps support ADFAC’s 25-year mission of helping local families become more stable and self-sufficient, a press release said.

“We are so excited to have so many restaurants return year after year for this fundraiser,” said Cande Seay, Feed The Need chairperson and ADFAC board member. “And we are thrilled to have so many new restaurants join our Feed The Need family this year.”

The press release said many of the restaurants will be also selling donation cards for $1.

“All donations through Feed The Need will help ADFAC provide the helping hand up to many neighbors in need,” the release said.

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Emory Valley Center fundraiser features rock band Jada Blade

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Jada Blade

Popular local rock band Jada Blade will play at a Friday fundraiser for Emory Valley Center. (Photo courtesy of Jada Blade)

Jada Blade, a popular local band that plays original music and classic rock songs, will help raise money for the Emory Valley Center during a Friday fundraiser at the Grove Theater

The “Rock-A-Moolah” fundraiser starts at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge. It’s a benefit for the Emory Valley Center Capital Campaign.

The Emory Valley Center serves 140 mentally, physically, and emotionally disabled (autistic) adults and about 450 developmentally delayed toddlers and children in 13 East Tennessee counties, a press release said. They are losing their home at the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center on Emory Valley Road, which has housed their programs for more than 50 years, the release said.

Plans are under way to build a new Center on the opposite side of Emory Valley Road.

“Many of these clients have been at the Emory Valley Center or at Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center most of their lives and are dependent on the Center for their entire support,” the press release said. “It serves the most vulnerable members of society who cannot help themselves.”

Gene Caldwell, co-chair of the Capital Campaign, said the campaign is almost two-thirds of the way to its fundraising goal.

“The area communities of Oak Ridge, Anderson County, and Knox County have given us tremendous support,” Caldwell said. “’Rock-A-Moolah’ will give us new energy to keep us headed to the top. So we want to invite everyone to come support the new Center and have a fabulous night of rock ‘n’ roll with Jada Blade.”

The press release said Jada Blade plays crowd-pleasing rock music ranging from Adele and Lady Gaga to Ozzy Osbourne and Halestorm. The band includes vocalist Leslie England, guitarist Bruce England, drummer Kenny Smith, and bass player Jim Johnston.

Tickets for “Rock-A-Moolah” can be purchased in advance for $20 or at the door for $25. Tickets can be purchased at TNBank in Oak Ridge or online at www.emoryvalleycenter.com.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Friday, and a cash bar will be available throughout the evening.

UT professor discusses Arab Spring in Tuesday Lunch with the League

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Robert B. Cunningham

Robert B. Cunningham

A retired University of Tennessee professor who has taught in Syria and Jordan will discuss the Arab Spring and its impact on the Middle East and the United States during a Tuesday lecture in Oak Ridge.

The talk by Robert Cunningham, UT political science professor emeritus, starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

Cunningham’s research and teaching interests have focused on issues related to public administration and the politics of the Middle East. From 1959 to 1962, he taught at Aleppo College in Aleppo, Syria. He returned to the Middle East in 1986 through a faculty exchange program at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, and again in 1992 as a Fulbright Teacher and Scholar at Yarmouk University.

He has also conducted research in Marrakech, Morocco, and in Jordan.

Cunningham has a master’s degree and doctorate from Indiana University. He joined the UT faculty in 1972 and retired from full-time service at the end of the 2008-09 academic year.

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Committee drafts two designs for dog park at Big Turtle

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Dog Park Proposal 1

The first, larger layout for a proposed dog park at Big Turtle Park would be closer to the Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Submitted images)

A city committee has drafted two possible designs for a dog park at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge.

The proposals were presented to the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Advisory Board on Thursday by Bridgett Ellis, a parks board member and chair of the Dog Park Committee.

The parks board will fine-tune construction and maintenance costs for the dog park by the end of the year, and members could pick one of the two concept plans presented Thursday, said Josh Collins, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks director. Then, advocates will have to start looking for money.

That’s been the primary obstacle to building the dog park, a project that’s been in the works for about four to five years, Collins said.

He said the park is well-supported by many people. During Thursday’s meeting, Oak Ridge City Council member Chuck Hope said the dog park could have sponsorships, and people in the community might donate, Collins said.

“I think there’s a fair amount of grassroots support for it,” Collins said.

Dog Park Proposal 2

The second, smaller layout would be located closer to the back of the park and near a parking area.

He said the cost of the dog park would depend upon its size, but expenses could exceed $50,000 for such items as water fountains, park benches, and hundreds of feet of fencing.

The two proposals presented Thursday both include a large area for all dogs and a smaller area for small dogs.

One layout that would be closer to the Oak Ridge Turnpike would be larger, Collins said. Since it would have more fencing, it would cost more, Collins said.

But there are pros and cons to each site, he said. For example, the second location closer to the back of Big Turtle Park would be closer to parking spaces but would require the city to run a longer water line.

Collins said any recommendation developed by the Parks Board would still have to be considered by the Oak Ridge City Council.

Atomic Art exhibit opens at AMSE today

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Doomtown XI: The Technicolor Dinner Party

Doomtown XI: The Technicolor Dinner Party, 2011, Oil on canvas by Doug Waterfield (Submitted)

An art exhibit that opened at the American Museum of Science and Energy today features paintings based on the Atomic Age and “Doomtowns,” replica cities built in Nevada to test the effects of atomic bombs in the 1950s.

This exhibit—”an exploration of atomic testing phenomena and subsequent 1950s atomic culture”—is called “DOOMTOWN.” It features original paintings by Doug Waterfield, an associate art professor at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

“It is a commentary on a bygone age of American history, and is an effort to bring awareness to the past known as the Atomic Age—an age of optimism, technological advances, and unmitigated paranoia,” an AMSE press release said.

The press release said the Atomic Energy Commission, which preceded the U.S. Department of Energy, built the “Doomtowns,” also known as “Survival Towns,” at the Nevada Test Site. Warfield’s paintings were influenced by the photos and film footage that survive from those tests.

“I first became interested in atomic testing while watching some documentaries on the Trinity test and the Nevada Test Site,” Waterfield said. “I was particularly interested in the ‘survival towns.’ These were recreations of what was considered to be the quintessential American town, populated by mannequins, and then lit up by atomic blasts to see what the effects would be. I couldn’t get that idea out of my head.”

Part of his mission, Waterfield said, is to educate the public.

“I don’t want to take a political view on the morality of atomic testing; people already know what to think of that,” Waterfield said. “I want to take this little known aspect of our history as a world power and shed a little light on it—that’s all.”

Waterfield is an Arkansas native who now lives in Nebraska with his family, and his work has been shown nationally for the past 25 years, the press release said.

“DOOMTOWN” is at AMSE from Oct. 12—Jan. 20.

AMSE is located at 300 S. Tulane Ave.

For more information, visit www.amse.org.

ORNL director gives lab update during Tuesday lecture

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Thom Mason

Thom Mason

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason will give an update on the lab during a Tuesday lecture at the American Museum of Science and Energy.

It’s the 15th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series, and the talk is sponsored by Friends of ORNL.

There will be a 6 p.m. reception on Tuesday, and the lecture starts at 6:30 p.m.

“This talk should be of interest to the general public, and high school science students and teachers are especially invited,” a press release said.

AMSE is located at 300 S. Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge.

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