Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Animal Shelter lowers adoption fee to install air conditioning

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Puppies at Oak Ridge Animal Shelter

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter has temporarily reduced its adoption fee from $110 to $45 so air conditioning units and new insulation can be installed. Puppies are pictured above in the front kennel area of the animal shelter.

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter has temporarily cut its adoption fee by more than 50 percent—from $110 to $45—so air-conditioning units and new insulation can be installed in a rear kennel area.

“We can’t have the animals in here when we re-apply the insulation,” said Julie Armes, Oak Ridge Animal Shelter supervisor.

The rear kennel area has 40 dog runs, but it has never had air-conditioning. Temperatures there can exceed 90 degrees. Although the shelter hasn’t had any heat fatalities, Armes said the heat is hard on cats and short-nosed dogs, such as pugs.

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Free concert Saturday by Oak Ridge Community Orchestra

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Ilia Steinschneider

Ilia Steinschneider, a member of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, is one of two violin soloists performing in a free concert by the Oak Ridge Community Orchestra on Saturday. (Photo submitted by ORCO)

A free concert by the Oak Ridge Community Orchestra on Saturday will feature Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, the Brahms Tragic Overture, and the Bach Double Violin Concerto with two soloists.

The two soloists for the double violin concerto are Bree Miller and Ilia Steinschneider.

The concert starts at 2 p.m. in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church, which is at the corner of the Oak Ridge Turnpike and LaFayette Drive. Although admission is free, charitable donations to support the orchestra’s routine operating expenses will be appreciated, a press release said.

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Founder of horse therapy academy speaks at Kiwanis Club meeting

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The founder of an organization that helps people with disabilities and other challenges through therapy with horses will speak at a Kiwanis Club meeting at lunchtime Tuesday.

Lynn Petr is the founder and executive director of the Shangri-La Therapeutic Academy of Riding in Loudon County. STAR serves children and adults there and in 10 surrounding counties, according to information from the Kiwanis Club of Oak Ridge.

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Oak Ridge plans for Manhattan Project’s 70th anniversary

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Organizers in Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash., are having special events today to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Manhattan Project, the top-secret national effort to create the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

Although nothing is planned in Oak Ridge, local volunteers are considering whether to have a celebration on Sept. 19, the 70th anniversary of the decision to select Oak Ridge for the first Manhattan Project site, newspaper columnist and Y-12 National Security Complex Historian D. Ray Smith said in an e-mail.

The volunteers plan to begin discussing the possible celebration during a 4 p.m. Tuesday meeting in the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau conference room.

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UWAC announces 2012 campaign chair, fundraising goal

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United Way Campaign Cabinet Members

United Way of Anderson County 2012 Campaign Cabinet members are, from left, Mike Belbeck, Jim Reafsnyder, Marilyn Reafsynder, Tom Hilton, and D. Ray Smith. Not pictured are David Bradshaw, Brenda Curtis, and Jenny Freeman. (Photo submitted by UWAC)

The United Way of Anderson County has named a chair for the 2012 fundraising campaign and announced a fundraising goal of $1.4 million.

Tom Hilton is the chair, and “Lives Touched Through Sustained Services” is the theme of this year’s fundraising campaign, a press release said.

“It will take about $1.4 million to sustain services and be there when people need us,” Hilton said. “With the dollars you donated last year, we were able to be there when someone needed help over 51,000 times.”

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Police Department reminds public of school zone safety

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At the beginning of this new school year, the Oak Ridge Police Department wants to remind the public about school zone safety. All school speeding zones will be in effect, and police officers will provide extra patrols in different areas throughout the city.

“During the summer, we often get out of the habit of slowing down around school zones,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said in a press release. “With school in session, please plan to take a little extra time to get to your destination. Caution, slow driving, and common sense will help reduce traffic accidents and violations.”

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Child advocacy seminar at Roane State Thursday

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People concerned about the community’s children are invited to attend the Nurturing and Safe World Child Advocacy Seminar Thursday in the Roane State Community College City Room, a press release said.

Stephanie Strutner of ASAP, Lisa Givonetti of CASA, Matt Reed of Faith Baptist Church’s Reformers Unanimous, and several other organizational representatives will speak about drug and alcohol abuse and addiction as it relates to the community’s children.

There is no charge to participate, and lunch will be included, the release said.

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Neighborhood Watch reduces crime, celebrates ‘Night Out’

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Cas Walker Ciderville Show

Bass player Jeff Tolson, from left, guitarist and vocalist Jamey Oran, guitarist Terry “Teep” Phillips, and banjo player David West perform as the Cas Walker Ciderville Show during “National Night Out” in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Hundreds of residents on about 210 streets take part in the city’s crime-fighting Neighborhood Watch program, and that’s helping to cut down on illegal activity, Oak Ridge Police Officer Jeremy Upham said Tuesday.

“I think, personally, it’s making a huge impact,” said Upham, the police department’s liaison to the Neighborhood Watch program. “The neighbors are calling when they see suspicious things that don’t fit in.”

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National Night Out features crime prevention, anti-bullying seminar

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The annual National Night Out in Oak Ridge next week will feature crime and drug prevention programs, an anti-bullying seminar for children, and an adult self-defense class.

It also features free food, drinks, and music.

It starts at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7, at A.K. Bissell Park and Oak Ridge Civic Center.

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UCOR and United Way enjoy special showing at Oak Ridge Playhouse

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UCOR and UWAC at Playhouse

Cleanup contractor UCOR and the United Way of Anderson County enjoy a special showing of Damn Yankees at the Oak Ridge Playhouse. (Submitted photo)

UCOR, the federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, hosted a special performance of “Damn Yankees” at the Oak Ridge Playhouse earlier this month in celebration of the company’s first year of work at the East Tennessee Technology Park.

The performance was for more than 220 staff members, friends, and colleagues.

Also attending the special showing was the United Way of Anderson County Pillar Society, a group of more than 120 leadership donors who have contributed $1,000 or more each year to the United Way, a UWAC press release said.

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Professor lectures on asteroid spacecraft Wednesday in Oak Ridge

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Harry “Hap” McSween, a professor of planetary geoscience at the University of Tennessee, will discuss discoveries made by the Dawn spacecraft orbiting Vesta, the second most massive asteroid, during a Wednesday lecture in Oak Ridge.

McSween is a geologist and distinguished professor who has served as head of UT’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and as former interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

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Butterfly and insect program Aug. 11 in Oak Ridge

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The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will host a free butterfly and insect program at 10 a.m. August 11 at the UT Arboretum.

Naturalist Kris Light will present the program, which is open to the public.

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