Oak Ridge Today

Asher of United Way to discuss community needs, issues, opportunities on Monday

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Naomi Asher

Naomi Asher

Naomi Asher will give the Monday, February 5, presentation at 11 a.m. to the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge, to be held at the Jewish Congregation at 101 West Madison Lane in Oak Ridge. The public is invited to learn and bring their questions, a press release said.

She will speak about how the United Way of Anderson County improves lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community to advance the common good, the press release said. The organization focuses on youth development, self-sufficiency, and senior and health services, all building blocks for a good life and strong community.

Asher, executive director of the United Way of Anderson County since May 2015, has lived in Oak Ridge since 1992, graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 2001, and returned to Oak Ridge in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree from Johnson University. She earned an MBA in marketing from King University in 2012, and left the executive director’s position with CASA for United Way. [Read more…]

Little Free Library opens at Grace Lutheran Church

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Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oak Ridge has installed a Little Free Library for the Oak Ridge community, located on the west side of the church. The Little Free Library has a shelf each for children, youth, and adults.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oak Ridge has installed a Little Free Library for the Oak Ridge community, located on the west side of the church. The Little Free Library has a shelf each for children, youth, and adults.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oak Ridge has installed a Little Free Library for the Oak Ridge community, located on the west side of the church. The Little Free Library has a shelf each for children, youth, and adults.

“Take a book and leave a book if you have one you can leave,” a press release said. “Help your children to take part in this special family activity. Check back often for new titles.”

Grace’s Little Free Library is one of 60,000 plus Little Libraries in more than 80 countries, with its “official” charter number (61941), and it is included on the World Map at LittleFreeLibrary.org.

According to the LFL website, “Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world. Through Little Free Libraries, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds. Little Free Libraries play an essential role by providing 24/7 access to books (and encouraging a love of reading!)” [Read more…]

Clinton Library has new Chess Club, Teen Book Club

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Clinton Public Library

Clinton Public Library

 

There is a new Chess Club at the Clinton Public Library and the first Teen Book Club.

In a press release, the library said it is offering more new programs and welcoming a new staff member.

The Chess Club met Saturday, February 3, and will meet again on Saturday, February 17, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“Join us to learn chess or brush up on your skills,” a press release said. “This club is for all ages from pros to beginners.”

Chess Club will take place every first and third Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. [Read more…]

Grace Lutheran Church calls new pastor

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Larry Boudon

Larry Boudon

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Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oak Ridge has called the Rev. Dr. H. Lawrence Boudon as its new pastor, effective January 1, 2018. Boudon is a graduate of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina with a Masters of Divinity. He was ordained May 29, 2010.

Boudon graduated from the University of Rochester with a B.A. in Political Science/Spanish. He has a PhD in International Studies from the University of Miami, and a Master’s degree in Government from the University of Virginia. Prior to entering the ministry, Boudon worked as a journalist, then as a college professor and as editor of the Handbook of Latin American Studies at the Library of Congress.

He was born in Olean, New York, and grew up in Port Allegany, Pennsylvania. He is the oldest of three children. Raised Roman Catholic, he became a Lutheran in 2003. He was drawn to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) by the “openness of dialogue at all levels of the denomination.” He is married to Laura, who holds dual U.S.-French citizenship and is presently Director of Study Abroad at Florida International University (FIU). Their son, Lucas, was adopted from Guatemala in 2007. Lucas is in the 6th grade and plays violin and soccer. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge city manager to discuss issues facing the city on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

 

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will give his perspective on issues facing the city at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, February 6. The program will be held at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

In August 2010, Watson was selected as the city manager of Oak Ridge after a 30-year career in local government, a press release said. Prior to coming to Oak Ridge, he served as city manager of six cities in Texas, Montana, and Arizona. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration.

Watson is a credentialed public manager as accepted by the International City/County Management Association, where he previously served as vice president, the press release said. He has received numerous awards and has issued numerous publications, the most noted being the “Cities that Think” program, the release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch has annual appreciation banquet on Thursday

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Image by Oak Ridge Police Department

Image by Oak Ridge Police Department

 

The Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program has its annual appreciation banquet on Thursday, February 8.

The banquet, the 2017 Members Appreciation Banquet, is from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Central Baptist Church at 130 Providence Road.

“Join the Oak Ridge Police Department as we celebrate the Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program, its members, and corporate sponsors,” organizers said. [Read more…]

Friends of Oak Ridge Library has book sale through Sunday

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Friends of the Oak Ridge Library (FOL) is having its Winter 2018 Book Sale from Thursday, Feb. 1, to Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, in the Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium. (Submitted photo)

Friends of the Oak Ridge Library (FOL) is having its Winter 2018 Book Sale from Thursday, Feb. 1, to Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, in the Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium. (Submitted photo)

 

Friends of the Oak Ridge Library is having its Winter 2018 Book Sale from Thursday, February 1, to Sunday, February 4, in the Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium.

The sale includes fiction and nonfiction books, magazines, audiovisual materials, and other publications covering almost every subject. Most titles are 50 cents or $1 each, a press release said. Titles withdrawn from the Library are half-price Thursday through Saturday.

There was a Thursday evening preview sale for members, and memberships were available at the door ($5/individual; $10 family). (Please contact Friends of the Library for more information about memberships.)

The Silent Auction began on Thursday evening, and it ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Friends of the Oak Ridge Library can now accept Visa and MasterCard during its sales, the press release said.

The sale opens to the general public on Friday, February 2, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday’s sale (February 3) is from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with all non-auction titles selling for half price. Sunday (February 4) is the Buy-A-Bag-of-Books sale from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. with each bag (provided by Friends of the Oak Ridge Library) costing $3. [Read more…]

Atomic Heritage Foundation launches new audio, visual program on Oak Ridge

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Bill Wilcox 90th Birthday Party

Oak Ridge City Historian Bill Wilcox, who died in 2013, was a longtime advocate for preserving the city’s history, including parts of its federal facilities. Wilcox is pictured above at his 90th birthday party in the spring of 2013.

 

Submitted

“There was construction going on everywhere you looked,” Bill Wilcox remembered, describing his first impressions of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. “Trucks and people just crawling all over the place, hammers and banging. Wooden structures going up everywhere. Nothing was paved, and there weren’t any sidewalks.”

Wilcox was one of the thousands of people who moved to the new “Secret City” of Oak Ridge to work on the Manhattan Project, the top-secret World War II effort to develop an atomic bomb.

The Atomic Heritage Foundation has launched a new online interpretive program on Oak Ridge with 16 audio/visual vignettes. This beta program is part of AHF’s “Ranger in Your Pocket” series on the Manhattan Project, which focuses on former Manhattan Project sites and features vignettes with eyewitness accounts and expert commentary. AHF welcomes feedback and will improve and expand upon the program over the next year, a press release said.

In September 1942, Manhattan Project director General Leslie Groves designated “Site X,” approximately 59,000 acres of land on the Clinch River in rural eastern Tennessee, as the site for the project’s uranium production facilities. Approximately 3,000 people living in the area in five small farming communities were forced to leave their homes and land with minimal compensation. Construction of a new city began at breakneck speed. By the end of World War II, some 75,000 people would call Oak Ridge home, making it the fifth-largest city in Tennessee. [Read more…]

CWU presentation to focus on domestic violence

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Church Women United will meet Friday, February 2, at United Way of Anderson County, located at 728 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge. The meeting will initiate the 2018 Blankets+ Campaign to collect bedding and support for those who have lost their homes locally and worldwide, a press release said.

In addition, Rachel Thompson, domestic violence victim advocate for Knox and Anderson counties, will be the guest speaker in a public program, the press release said. Thompson is a culturally specific domestic violence advocate for the African American community. She will talk about domestic violence, how it impacts victims in the African American community, and resources offered through the YWCA for victims of domestic violence, the press release said. [Read more…]

Breakfast with Legislators on Monday

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League Women Voters Oak Ridge Logo

The Oak Ridge League of Women Voters will have this year’s first Breakfast with the Legislators on Monday, January 29. The meeting will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, which is at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. A free continental breakfast will be served.

Tennessee senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to speak about the legislative outlook for this session of the Tennessee General Assembly and respond to questions and hear opinions from the audience, a press release said. The public is invited to attend.

“The popular community event offers firsthand information on upcoming legislation and House and Senate committee activities, while prompting dialogue among legislators and citizens, and providing a great networking opportunity for members of the community,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Owner/director of Pierce Physical Therapy giving talks to seniors; first talk today on winter exercise

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Ray Pierce, owner and director of Pierce Physical Therapy, in conjunction with the Oak Ridge Senior Center, will be giving informative talks for seniors throughout the year of 2018. A talk will be given every third Thursday of the month.

The first talk will be on Thursday, January 25, at 10:30 a.m. The title of the talk is “The Importance of Winter Exercise.”

For more information, please call the Oak Ridge Senior Center at (865) 425-3999.