Oak Ridge Today

November election features city council, judge, school board

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The three incumbent Oak Ridge City Council members—L. Charles “Charlie” Hensley, Charles J. “Chuck” Hope Jr., and Ellen Smith—have picked up qualifying petitions to run in the Nov. 6 election, and Trina Baughn, the first-time candidate defeated days ago in the Aug. 2 special election, plans to run again in November.

Also qualifying to run in November is Kelly S. Callison, who sought an appointment to City Council after former member Tom Hayes resigned in June 2011.

There are three seats available. They are the seats now held by Hensley, Hope, and Smith. Hope was appointed to the position after Hayes resigned.

Meanwhile, former Oak Ridge City Council member Leonard Abbatiello has picked up a petition to run for school board, and the two incumbents, Angi Agle and Keys Fillauer, have also picked up petitions, said Stephanie Gamble, Anderson County Election Commission deputy administrator.

She said Oak Ridge City Judge Robert A. McNees III has also qualified to run in November.

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Students receive $500 scholarships from Blacks in Government

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The Oak Ridge Chapter of Blacks in Government recently awarded $500 college scholarships to four local high school graduates, a U.S. Department of Energy press release said.

This year’s scholarship winners were Araya Johnson of Oak Ridge High School, Brionna Epes of Powell High School, Tessa Piety of Christian Academy of Knoxville, and Juaquoya McLaughlin of Bearden High School.

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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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Business, education partnership boosts student interest in science, math

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An Oak Ridge business and education partnership launched with the help of Roane State Community College has  boosted middle school student interest in science and math.

The students, from seven area school systems, participated in a “Lab-in-a-Box” pilot program by the Rural Communities STEM Initiative, or RCSI, during the past academic year, a press release said.

An evaluation by Roane State found that:

  • 70.9 percent of students responded that the labs increased their interest in science or math.
  • 91.5 percent of students reported that they liked doing the labs.
  • 85 percent of students achieved a high level (80 percent or greater) of competence in the state standards addressed with each Lab-in-a-Box.
  • 67.6 percent of students wrote that the labs motivated them to achieve in science or math.

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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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Repairs under way at Woodland Elementary School

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Woodland Elementary School Renovations

Workers replace bulging, cracking brick walls at Woodland Elementary School with a stucco-like material called EIFS.

Repair work has been under way this summer at Woodland Elementary School in Oak Ridge.

Workers are replacing the building’s bulging and cracking brick exterior with a stucco-like material called EIFS.

They’re also replacing shifting and sunken concrete slabs in three classrooms and putting a pier underneath the library, where walls had shifted and the building had dropped after soil underneath it had settled.

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Ace Your Pace 5K is Saturday in Knoxville

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Runners, get ready for a new and unique race on Saturday in Knoxville.

Runners in the Ace Your Pace 5K must guess their time, and race without wearing a watch, according to a press release from Girls on the Run of Greater Knoxville. All proceeds for this race will benefit this nonprofit organization.

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Education Foundation awards grants to Oak Ridge schools

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Woodland Elementary School Whiteboard

Woodland Elementary School students are pictured with an interactive, Web-based ‘promethean’ board.

Teachers want their students to be comfortable with technology at any age, and grants this spring from the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation provided iPads, promethean boards, student response systems, and computers to make that happen.

At Willow Brook Elementary School, the large screen of a new interactive, Web-based “promethean” board in art classes will make artworks come alive for students.

At Linden Elementary School, iPads in a second grade classroom will engage students in collaborative writing activities.

New computers in fifth-grade language arts classrooms at Robertsville Middle School will also encourage young writers in a writing workshop environment.

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UT-Battelle donates $50,000 to Oak Ridge science competition

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UT-Battelle Grant Robots

UT-Battelle has announced a $50,000 donation for the FIRST Robotics and FIRST Lego science competition for Oak Ridge schools. Pictured above are, from left, Thomas Zacharia, Jeff Smith, Martin Keller, and Thom Mason. (Photo submitted by ORPSEF)

UT-Battelle has announced a $50,000 gift to fund the FIRST Robotics and FIRST Lego science competitions for Oak Ridge schools.

The announcement came as part of the capital campaign sponsored by the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation to make a “critical difference” by providing additional resources to Oak Ridge teachers and students.

Two of the region’s most popular and fastest growing activities, FIRST Robotics and FIRST LEGO are team competitions that combine the excitement of sports with real-world challenges of science and technology.

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Myricks pledge $25,000 to Oak Ridge schools fundraising campaign

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Tim and Teresa Myrick

Tim and Teresa Myrick (Photo submitted by ORPSEF)

Tim Myrick’s involvement with Oak Ridge High School—as a loaned executive and consultant helping with the reconstruction of the high school and later as a volunteer in advance placement environmental science classes—has convinced him that teachers’ needs in the classroom are sometimes greater than budgets will allow.

Myrick and his wife Teresa believe that grants to teachers will make a critical difference to Oak Ridge Schools. They are pledging $25,000 to the “Making a Critical Difference” campaign for grants and scholarships as they help launch the individual giving part of the campaign.

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Youth Leadership celebrates graduation in Oak Ridge

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Youth Leadership Oak Ridge

The Youth Leadership Class of 2012 celebrated their graduation from the program with a dinner featuring keynote speaker Hallerin Hilton Hill. (Photo submitted by Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.)

The Youth Leadership Oak Ridge class recently celebrated their graduation.

Knoxville radio talk show host Hallerin Hilton Hill was the speaker for the May event.

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ADFAC school supply distribution starts today

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Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties in Oak Ridge has its first distribution dates for its annual school supply program for low-income families on Tuesday, July 10, and Wednesday, July 11.

These dates are for Willow Brook students since they return to school earlier.

This program ensures that children from low-income families in Anderson County have the supplies needed to start school. Last year, almost 1,500 children were given necessary supplies such as backpacks, crayons, pencils, paper, scissors, notebooks, and basic calculators, according to an ADFAC press release.

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