Oak Ridge Today

Former superintendent Smallridge could serve as interim school leader

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Former superintendent Bob Smallridge could temporarily lead the Oak Ridge school system starting in January.

On Wednesday, Oak Ridge Board of Education Chairman Keys Fillauer said he will recommend hiring Smallridge during a Jan. 7 meeting.

Tom Bailey, the current superintendent, is retiring at the end of the year, and the board hasn’t hired a replacement yet.

“We felt like we needed someone driving the ship,” Fillauer said of his proposal to recommend hiring Smallridge as interim superintendent until Bailey’s replacement is hired and starts working in Oak Ridge.

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Willow Brook Elementary School locked down after nearby burglary

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Willow Brook Elementary School was locked down around lunchtime Wednesday after a nearby burglary, Oak Ridge Police Lt. Robin Smith said this afternoon.

Smith said Oak Ridge Police Lt. John Kelly called the school and recommended it be locked down.

“The school was never involved,” Smith said. “There was nothing that happened at the school. Lt. Kelly just asked them to lock it down as a precaution.”

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New leader named to UT-ORNL Supercomputer Center

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Tony Mezzacappa

Tony Mezzacappa

Tony Mezzacappa, a leader in the field of astrophysics and supernova science, has been named director of the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Mezzacappa is a world leader in computational astrophysics and a pioneer in the field of supernova science. He is a UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow and group leader for theoretical physics in the Physics Division at ORNL.

He is also a joint professor in the UT Department of Physics and Astronomy. With this new position, Mezzacappa will become the department’s Newton W. and Wilma C. Thomas Endowed Chair in Theoretical and Computational Astrophysics.

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Robertsville LEGO team headed back to world tournament

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Robertsville Middle School LEGO Team

Robertsville’s LEGO team receives a check for $1,000 as the school wins the East Tennessee LEGO Tournament, advancing to the world tournament next spring. From left are Marie Westfall of Oak Ridge Associated Universities and Robertsville students Maddy Buckner, Eric Thornton, Caden Webb, and Rhyannon Karney. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge’s Robertsville Middle School’s LEGO team—using miniature robots to perform required functions on a table—has once again earned a spot in next spring’s world LEGO tournament in St. Louis after winning Saturday’s East Tennessee championship in Cookeville, a press release said.

The team only found out two weeks before the region tournament that it was going to be able to compete after having earlier had to cancel.

“The last two weeks have seen us being at school about three to four days a week from after school until the end of the day,” said Lisa Buckner, one of Robertsville’s coaches. “What was really cool was the fact the kids who had dropped out because of other commitments that came up still came back to help the team get ready. In the end, the whole team worked to finish it even though only four could come to the tournament.”

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Two outdoor classrooms dedicated at Anderson County schools

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Dutch Valley Elementary School Outdoor Classroom

Dutch Valley Elementary School students, Theresa Beavers from Lowes, and Principal Jennifer Foust after a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating a new outdoor environmental classroom. (Submitted photo)

Construction has been completed on new outdoor environmental classrooms at Dutch Valley and Fairview Elementary Schools in Anderson County. Students, officials, and volunteers celebrated with a Nov. 20 ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The open air classrooms were built with a $20,000 grant awarded to Keep Anderson County Beautiful in the spring of 2012, a press release said. The grant was from Lowes Charitable and Educational Foundation.

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DOE recognizes ORAU for Science Bowl support

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ORAU and DOE Science Bowl

Representatives of Oak Ridge Associated Universities and the U.S. Department of Energy at a recent ceremony recognizing their partnership in the management of a high school science bowl. Among those pictured are DOE Program Manager Greg Mills (center back), ORNL Site Office Manager Johnny Moore (second from left), and ORAU President and CEO Andy Page (third from left). (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge Associated Universities was recently recognized for its continued support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Tennessee Science Bowl, an annual competition to encourage high school students to excel in science and math and pursue careers in those fields.

Johnny Moore, DOE’s site office manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, presented a commemorative plaque to ORAU for its support of the science bowl.

In a letter to ORAU President and CEO Andy Page, Moore emphasized that coordinating the event—which in 2012 hosted more than 300 students, coaches, and volunteers over a two-day period—was a “huge undertaking and (ORAU) staff performed in an incredible manner to make it happen.”

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Education Foundation gives city $400,000 for ORHS debt

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Mark Watson and Lila Metcalf

Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation Executive Director Lila Metcalf presents a $402,611 check to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson to help pay the debt on the renovation of the Oak Ridge High School. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation recently made its eighth annual contribution for the rebuilding and renovation of Oak Ridge High School, a project that was completed in 2008.

In November, Lila Metcalf, the foundation’s executive director, presented a check for $402,611 to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson to assist in the high school debt repayment. Since the payments began in 2005, the Education Foundation has presented the city with more than $3.5 million for the high school.

The Education Foundation raised $8 million in private funds for the high school, and that money provided the leverage for special bonds available for public schools. Together, the private funds and bonds provided the final piece of funding that made the renovation of Oak Ridge High School possible.

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ORHS seniors wins $30,000 scholarship in national research competition

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Note: This story was updated, and a video of Andress and Toth added, at 1:59 p.m. Dec. 5.

They made it to the national finals in a prestigious competition for teen researchers, and on Tuesday, Oak Ridge High School seniors James Andress and A.J. Toth won a $30,000 team scholarship for their work.

Andress and Toth were one of six teams from across the country that made it to the national finals of the 2012 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology in Washington, D.C. this past weekend. Their research could help in the development of anticancer drugs, a press release said.

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Registration under way for Roane State spring semester

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Registration is under way for the spring 2013 semester at Roane State Community College, and the fee deadline is Jan. 7.

Spring classes begin Jan. 17.

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Roane State names 2012 Outstanding Alumni

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Jeff Burchfield

Jeff Burchfield

A decorated law enforcement officer and an accomplished scholar have been named Roane State Community College’s 2012 Outstanding Alumni.

The recipients are Jeff Burchfield of Maryville, captain and training supervisor for the Blount County Sheriff’s Office, and Barry Vann of Corbin, Ky., professor of higher education and geography at the University of the Cumberlands.

Burchfield graduated from Roane State in 1993 with an associate’s degree in police technology. He spent eight years with the Maryville Police Department before joining the Blount County Sheriff’s Office in 1996.

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Registration under way for wilderness first responder course

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Roane State Community College’s Continuing Healthcare and Safety Education Department is accepting sign-ups for its Wilderness First Responder course.

Held at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, Wilderness First Responder provides extensive training in handling medical emergencies in the wilderness. The class is designed for those who operate extensively in the outdoors, such as outdoors enthusiasts, wilderness guides, environmental educators, and missionaries.

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Oak Ridge school superintendent search down to three finalists

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Two candidates have dropped out, and the five-month search for a new Oak Ridge schools superintendent is down to three finalists.

They are:

  • Dan Lawson, superintendent of Tullahoma City Schools in Tullahoma, Tenn.;
  • Neyland Clark, superintendent of South Harrison Community Schools in Corydon, Ind.; and
  • Roger Collins, superintendent of Nelson County Public Schools in Lovingston, Va.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education had scheduled interviews with five finalists. Those interviews, which lasted a total of eight to 10 hours, began Friday and continued Tuesday and Wednesday.

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