Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Community Thanksgiving Dinner is Thursday at High Places

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Oak Ridge Community Thanksgiving Dinner Nov 23 2017

Everyone is invited to a community Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday, November 23, in Grove Center in Oak Ridge.

“Everyone should have someone to give thanks with on Thanksgiving!” a press release said.

The Thanksgiving Dinner is scheduled from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at High Places Community Church/Grove Theater at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge.

“The emphasis of the event is community, with a goal of providing people the opportunity to dine with others on Thanksgiving,” the press release said. “As in the past, a grassroots group of individuals is coordinating this effort to be hosted by High Places Community Church/Grove Theater. As such, volunteers, food and financial donations are needed.” [Read more…]

Ray Smith receives DOE Gold Medal Award for helping to create national park

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D. Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian, left, received a U.S. Department of Energy Gold Medal Award on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, for his role in helping to create the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge. The award was presented to Smith by retired Lieutenant General Frank G. Klotz, DOE under secretary for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. (Photo courtesy NNSA)

D. Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian, left, received a U.S. Department of Energy Gold Medal Award on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, for his role in helping to create the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge. The award was presented to Smith by retired Lieutenant General Frank G. Klotz, DOE under secretary for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. (Photo courtesy NNSA)

 

Note: This story was updated at 4:05 p.m.

D. Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian, received a U.S. Department of Energy Gold Medal Award on Monday for his role in helping to create the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge.

The award was presented to Smith by retired Lieutenant General Frank G. Klotz, DOE under secretary for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Smith is retiring this month. He previously told Oak Ridge Today that he would retire November 22.

Established in November 2015, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park is a unique three-site park that includes Oak Ridge; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. Among other activities, Oak Ridge built uranium enrichment facilities for the Manhattan Project at Y-12 and the former K-25 site, and the city had the pilot facility for plutonium production at the Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which was then known as X-10. [Read more…]

Roane County Lighting of the Tree on Monday, Nov. 20

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It’s a holiday event for all of Roane County—and the surrounding area.

The first of what’s expected to become an annual celebration—Roane County Lighting of the Tree—will be held Monday, November 20, on the front lawn of Roane State Community College’s main campus, 276 Patton Lane.

The college is a central location in Roane County. “It’s an institution, not just of higher learning, but of our community,” said Roane State Alumni Relations Director Tamsin Miller.

There will be a large variety of holiday music, games and activities for children, and refreshments. It’s Roane County’s take on the famous tree lighting ceremony in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, Miller said. [Read more…]

Help local families through Dine & Donate on Monday

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Pictured above at The Soup Kitchen are Becca, Talia, and Theo Seay. (Photo courtesy ADFAC)

Pictured above at The Soup Kitchen are Becca, Talia, and Theo Seay. (Photo courtesy ADFAC)

 

On Monday, November 13, thirteen restaurant locations throughout the county will donate a portion of their sales to support Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC).  The event, Dine & Donate, happens on the second Monday of each month.

November 13 is your time to enjoy a hot, delicious bowl of chili or soup compliments of The Soup Kitchen, 47 East Tennessee Avenue, as a featured part of the Dine and Donate program, a press release said.

The restaurant’s menu of soups and sandwiches changes daily, and it’s been said they make the best Philly Cheese Steak sandwich in the city. The restaurant also features fresh salads and homemade breads. Gail Dittmer, manager of the eatery, said the store does lots of catering to area businesses with the two Soup Kitchen trucks that deliver hot provisions. [Read more…]

MCLinc sponsors ADFAC, Bow Tie Event

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Pictured above from left, ADFAC representatives Annie Cacheiro and Louise Mixon accept a corporate contribution from McLinc representatives Barry Stephenson and Michele Sanders. (Submitted photo)

Pictured above from left, ADFAC representatives Annie Cacheiro and Louise Mixon accept a corporate contribution from McLinc representatives Barry Stephenson and Michele Sanders. (Submitted photo)

 

Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc., or MCLinc, is a sponsor for ADFAC’s 2017 Corporate Membership Campaign, and the company is also a sponsor for this year’s Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Event, which will be held Saturday, November 11, a press release said.

MCLinc’s President and Chief Executive Officer Barry Stephenson and Laboratory Manager Michele Sanders met recently with ADFAC representatives to celebrate their corporate support for the local agency.

MCLinc is a commercial applied research company providing high-quality consulting and analytical testing for industrial forensics, materials characterization, environmental chemistry, and process optimization, the press release said.

“As MCLinc is an employee-owned company, all corporate charitable gifts are generously supported by the employees,” Stephenson said. “I am so pleased that our company and our employees are able and excited about supporting such a worthy cause as ADFAC. We are very much looking forward to the Bow Tie Award Event this year as we all celebrate local volunteer Tom Row.”

See previous story on the Bow Tie Award Event here. [Read more…]

Fundraiser this evening for family of firefighter who died Tuesday

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Robert RL Braden Spaghetti Supper Flyer

Robert “R.L.” Braden, 44, a firefighter with the Medford Volunteer Fire Department, died at his home on Tuesday after a courageous battle with cancer, but a Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser will still take place at Anderson County High School this evening (Saturday, November 11).

The fundraiser is scheduled to start at 5 p.m., and the “Light The Night” event will be held in Braden’s memory at 8 p.m.

Braden’s funeral arrangements are available here: http://www.holleygamble.com/obituary/robert-rl-braden.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends,” said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.

For additional information, please contact Ambrea Peters at [email protected]. [Read more…]

Triwizard Tournament in Jackson Square today

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Jackson Square Triwizard Tournament Oct 2017

The Triwizard Tournament is in Jackson Square from 3-6 p.m. today (Saturday, November 11).

The Triwizard Tournament includes games, buttered beer, food, shops, a silent auction, owls exam, and trivia at 5 p.m. followed by 110 in the Shade playing at Razzlebery’s Lab at 7 p.m., organizers said.

“Join us for an afternoon full of family fun!” organizers said.

See the Jackson Square Oak Ridge page on Facebook for more information.

The Triwizard Tournament was rescheduled from October 28 due to rain.

American Cancer Society hosts Night of Hope Dinner in Clinton on Thursday

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The American Cancer Society is hosting the Sixth Night of Hope Dinner on Thursday, November 9, in Clinton.

The event starts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at 205 Main in Clinton. The dinner will feature special guest Maria Cornelius, who is a breast cancer survivor and author of “The Final Season – The Perserverance of Pat Summitt,” a press release said.

The event has been recruiting table hosts, whose role is to invite seven to eight other people to sit at their table and help in serving dinner. They will also be assisted by high school student volunteers who will be waiting on tables. There is no fee to host a table.

Throughout the fun-filled evening, guests at the table will be encouraged to tip their waiters for good service, and tallies will be run throughout the evening for competition, a press release said. The table with the most tips at the end of the evening will be crowned the 2017 Night of Hope Winner and awarded a prize package. [Read more…]

Local volunteer Tom Row to be honored at ADFAC Bow Tie Award Event on Saturday

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Tom Row

Tom Row

 

ADFAC’s Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Award Event will be held Saturday, November 11, and it will honor local volunteer Tom Row.

The Bow Tie Award Event is from 5-10 p.m. Saturday at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge. Row is the fifth winner of the Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Award.

Also Saturday, ADFAC will posthumously honor Kathy Stimpson, whose committed efforts to help those less fortunate led to the inspiration and establishment of ADFAC in the mid 1980s, a press release said.

The Bow Tie Award Event is designed to honor a local volunteer and serve as a signature fundraising event for ADFAC and the Bow Tie Endowment Fund, which was established to ensure the short and long-term sustainability of ADFAC. Previous Bow Tie Award winners include Ray Smith (2013), Tim Myrick (2014), Cande Seay (2015), and Bear Stephenson (2016). [Read more…]

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department helping churches with safety, security

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Anderson County Sheriff's Department Church Safety Security Seminar

After yesterday’s tragedy at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said it offers its sympathy and prayers for the families of the victims, and prayers for the recovery of the survivors.

“Every house of worship, no matter how large or small, and no matter the location, must prepare for this type of attack,” a press release said. “For the last several years, we have sponsored Church Safety & Security seminars for area worship centers. Our Church Safety & Security Seminar presents up-to-date information to assist congregations in church safety and will assist those that are just beginning to prepare or those seeking to improve readiness. [Read more…]

YWCA Anderson County programs to be discussed at Lunch with League on Tuesday

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Maggie McNally

Maggie McNally

The director of Anderson County services at Knoxville YWCA will discuss programs and services during Lunch with the League in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Maggie McNally will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League. 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.

An Oak Ridge native, McNally joined the Knoxville YWCA in September 2014 as the Enough! Volunteer coordinator, a press release said. She transitioned into the director of women services, and is now the director of Anderson County services. In her new position, McNally oversees domestic violence programming and staff in Oak Ridge and Anderson County, the press release said.

Previously, McNally did extensive work with children in therapeutic foster care and foster parent recruitment and training. Her experience also includes program development to provide substance abuse treatment services to women who delivered NAS and drug-exposed infants, and work with criminal justice related to clients with substance abuse issues, the press release said. [Read more…]

Leadership Oak Ridge to dedicate garden in memory of Caldwell on Wednesday

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Submitted

The 2017 Class of Leadership Oak Ridge is nearing completion of a project that seeks to honor a beloved member of the community for his tireless efforts to improve the lives of those around him, both personally and professionally. A dedication ceremony for the Dr. Gene Caldwell Memorial Garden has been set for 9 a.m. on Wednesday, November 8, at Emory Valley Center.

The group chose to build a raised-bed garden at Emory Valley Center for their class project and dedicate the garden in memory of Caldwell, a local pediatrician and citizen of Oak Ridge who helped raise the funds for Emory Valley Center’s new location. The group agreed that this would be a wonderful way to honor Caldwell’s legacy. He passed away in March of this year, just before the new center was set to open.

Since early spring, the Leadership class has worked to develop and execute a plan for the garden. They used fundraising for the project as well as donations of materials and labor to make their vision a reality. Navy Junior ROTC cadets from Oak Ridge High School assisted with the build, which was finished earlier this month. The Leadership class is now working on the finishing touches. [Read more…]