Oak Ridge Today

ORHPA celebrates Ed Westcott’s 96th birthday on Saturday

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Renowned Manhattan Project photographer Ed Wescott, right, is pictured above with city historian D. Ray Smith. (Submitted photo)

Renowned Manhattan Project photographer Ed Wescott, right, is pictured above with city historian D. Ray Smith. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association will celebrate renowned photographer Ed Westcott’s 96th birthday on Saturday. Westcott was the official government photographer in Oak Ridge during World War II, and if even you don’t know him, there is a good chance you have seen his wartime photos.

Oak Ridge was built during the war as part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s atomic weapons, and Westcott’s photos can be seen in businesses around town, in historical presentations, and in news stories.

His birthday celebration on Saturday is one of the city’s 75th anniversary events. The celebration, which includes special activities with Westcott, is scheduled from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, January 20, at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road. [Read more…]

Lunch with the League on Tuesday has been canceled

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Erin Darby

Erin Darby

The Lunch with the League that had been scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled due to the expected winter weather, which could include a few inches of snow.

Lunch with the League is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. The presentation on Tuesday had been scheduled to include a discussion of Jerusalem by Erin Darby, an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Tennessee.

The League of Women Voters has a snow policy that says if Oak Ridge Schools are closed due to weather, then League meetings that day are canceled. Oak Ridge Schools are closed Tuesday.

The next Lunch with the League is scheduled for Tuesday, February 6.

Religious studies professor to discuss Jerusalem on Tuesday

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Erin Darby

Erin Darby

 

A religious studies professor will discuss Jerusalem in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Erin Darby is an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Tennessee. Her presentation on Tuesday is titled “Understanding Jerusalem: The Holy City and Why It Matters.” It will introduce attendees to the modern history of Jerusalem and explain the city’s political, cultural, and religious significance, including its role in regional and international conflict, a press release said.

Darby is the speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, January 16. The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has 30th MLK Program on Monday

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Archie Smart

Archie Smart

In celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated (AKA), Oak Ridge Chapter, will present its 30th annual Community Speaks Program on Monday, January 15, at 9:45 a.m. at Consolidated Nuclear Security’s New Hope Center on Scarboro Road. This year’s theme is “Together We Win with Love for Humanity,” a press release said.

Archie Smart, the keynote speaker, is a native of South Carolina, a press release said. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from South Carolina State University. Smart is a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served as a commissioned officer in the Adjutant General Corps.

He is a project manager at Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), where he manages the third consecutive National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) project, the press release said. [Read more…]

AMSE could move into new location in June

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An artist's rendering of the entrance at the new American Museum of Science and Energy at Main Street Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/U.S. Department of Energy)

An artist’s rendering of the entrance to the new American Museum of Science and Energy at Main Street Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/U.S. Department of Energy)

 

The American Museum of Science and Energy could move into its new location at Main Street Oak Ridge in June, officials said Tuesday.

Crews began work on Friday and “increased activity can be expected in the area over the coming weeks as construction progresses,” a press release said.

RealtyLink, the South Carolina company developing Main Street Oak Ridge, selected Oak Ridge-based Summit Construction as the contractor for the project, the press release said.

The start of construction was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office and the City of Oak Ridge.

The new space for AMSE is located between the current JCPenney store and a future Marriott hotel, which is also under construction. The museum entrance will be on Main Street East. AMSE will be all on one floor, occupying approximately 18,000 square feet. [Read more…]

Construction starts at new AMSE location

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Construction work has started at the new American Museum of Science and Energy at Main Street Oak Ridge. Interior demolition work is under way, and exterior demolition work could start Wednesday. A crew was working at the new AMSE location on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Construction work has started at the new American Museum of Science and Energy at Main Street Oak Ridge. Interior demolition work is under way, and exterior demolition work could start Wednesday. A crew was working at the new AMSE location on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Construction work has started at the new American Museum of Science and Energy at Main Street Oak Ridge. Interior demolition work is under way, and exterior demolition work could start Wednesday.

The value of the improvements is estimated at roughly $1.5 million. A building permit was issued December 29.

AMSE will be relocated from its current home on South Tulane Avenue, where it’s been since the mid-1970s, to about 18,000 square feet of renovated space at Main Street Oak Ridge. That’s the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall. The move is part of an agreement that was signed by the City of Oak Ridge and U.S. Department of Energy in December 2016.

AMSE will have about 15,000 square feet of space in the former Sears Roebuck store near JCPenney and roughly 2,700 square feet in the former Cole’s Drug Store. Inside, there will be about 7,200 square feet of exhibit space, two 800-square-foot classrooms, and a large theater with a stage, consultant Ray Evans told Oak Ridge City Council members during a December 19 work session.

Evans said construction could take 4.5 to five months. An opening date had not been set as of the December work session. [Read more…]

Martin Luther King Breakfast to feature Hammond as speaker

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Derrick Hammond

Derrick Hammond

 

A Martin Luther King Fellowship Breakfast on Monday, January 15, will feature as keynote speaker the Reverend Derrick Hammond, pastor of Oak Valley Baptist Church in Oak Ridge.

It’s the 30th annual Martin Luther King Fellowship Breakfast hosted by the Atomic City Sportsmen.

The breakfast will be at the Oak Valley Baptist Church, 194 Hampton Road in Oak Ridge, on Monday, January 15. The program will begin at 8 a.m.

Hammond has served the Oak Valley Baptist Church for the past three years, a press release said. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Auburn University. He also completed the dual master’s degree program at Samford University, earning a Master of Divinity and a Master of Business Administration, the press release said. [Read more…]

Wildlife nature walk at Freels Bend on Saturday, Jan. 20

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A wildlife management nature walk is scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, January 20, in the Freels Bend area in south Oak Ridge.

“Have you ever seen a deer foraging in a field or heard a field sparrow calling in the distance and wondered what could be done to help these species of wildlife?” a press release said. “Join wildlife experts from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.”

The wildlife management nature walk in the Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area is scheduled from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, January 20. Discussions during the tour, which is rescheduled from a rained-out date in October, will include game species, species of concern, and how to manage for them in fields and forests, the press release said. [Read more…]

Green McAdoo has prayer breakfast on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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The Green McAdoo Cultural Organization and its Board will host a prayer breakfast on Monday, January 15 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), at the Green McAdoo Recreation Center in Clinton.

The MLK Prayer Breakfast will begin with breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and the prayer service will start at 9, a press release said.

The community is invited, and there is no charge. If you have questions, call the Center at (865) 463-6500.

The Green McAdoo Cultural Center is at 101 School Street, just north of and up the hill from downtown Clinton.

Amateur Radio Kids Day is Saturday at Children’s Museum

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Amateur ham radio operators Jim Bogard, right, and Dan Mantooth, left, help children learn about amateur radio at an earlier Kids Day at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

Amateur ham radio operators Jim Bogard, right, and Dan Mantooth, left, help children learn about amateur radio at an earlier Kids Day at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Children will have the opportunity to earn a “Certificate of Participation” for a two-way contact by amateur radio on Kids Day on Saturday, January 6, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

Amateur Radio Kids Day will be from 1-4 p.m. in the Museum’s Discovery Lab. Participation is free with admission, a press release said.

Kids Day is designed to give on-the-air experience to young people and foster interest in getting their own amateur radio license. It also gives licensed ham radio operators a chance to share their stations and love for amateur radio with children. [Read more…]

Christmas tree recycling available in Oak Ridge

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Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge

Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge

The City of Oak Ridge has two drop-off locations available for residents to recycle their Christmas trees after the holidays, and employees will help with drop-offs on two Saturdays in January.

Signs are already posted in both locations. The drop-offs are:

  • Big Turtle Park, 2525 Oak Ridge Turnpike (parking lot)
  • Solway Park, 205 Edgemoor Road (parking lot adjacent to the boat launch)

Trees will be accepted any time through January 28, 2018. On Saturday, January 13, and Saturday, January 20, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department employees will be on site to help with unloading trees at the Big Turtle Park drop-off location from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., a press release said. [Read more…]

Model railroad items sale benefits Children’s Museum during Holiday Express display

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Holiday Express at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge features G-scale model trains and a miniature village decorated for the holidays, filling the Museum's gymnasium. (Submitted photo)

Holiday Express at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge features G-scale model trains and a miniature village decorated for the holidays, filling the Museum’s gymnasium. (Submitted photo)

 

Knoxville Area Model Railroaders are offering model railroad items for sale during the Holiday Express model railroad display that fills the gymnasium at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

HO-scale, N-scale, and large-scale items are being offered at attractive prices. They could be gifts for your child or that grown child who still plays with trains. Sales will be open during the Holiday Express operating hours, with a portion of all sales donated to the Museum, a press release said.

Holiday Express features a miniature holiday village with 10 garden-scale model trains and thousands of lights at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge Visitors may wander through a 2,500-square-foot G-scale railroad display inside the gymnasium, open weekends and during Christmas week through January 1. [Read more…]