Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County Higher Education Center opens

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The Anderson County Higher Education Center has opened on Frank L. Diggs Drive in Clinton. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

The new Anderson County Higher Education Center “is an example of what should be happening” to spur workforce development, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee told a large crowd on Friday, December 10.

Gesturing to students in the back who will be attending classes at the center starting in January, Lee thanked them for “pursuing the path you’re pursuing.

“The private sector drives what we’re doing here,” Lee told attendees crowded into the spacious classroom where diesel powered technology will soon be taught.

In the planning and construction stages for years, the center will soon offer several Roane State Community College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology Knoxville classes.

It’s a 48,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility where more than 200 students will be enrolled. It cost $11 million, and SL Tennessee, an auto parts manufacturer next door, donated seven acres for the center, located on Frank L. Diggs Drive in the Clinton/I-75 Industrial Park.

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Students who posted shooting threats charged with terrorism, mass violence threats

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Oak Ridge High School was on lockdown on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, after administrators were made aware of a shooting threat posted on social media. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department has charged three students with terrorism and threats of mass violence after they allegedly made school shooting threats in two separate incidents on social media on Monday and Tuesday.

The charges were filed in Anderson County Juvenile Court on Wednesday afternoon, and the court authorized the detention of the children in the Richard L. Bean Detention Facility in Knox County. The children were taken into custody Wednesday afternoon, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said.

All three juveniles were charged with terrorism, threat of mass violence on school property, and false report. Two of the children were allegedly involved in a shooting threat posted on Snapchat on Monday, and they were also charged with conspiracy. That threat led to a lockdown at Oak Ridge High School on Monday. The third child was allegedly involved in a separate shooting threat that was posted on Snapchat on Tuesday, and that student will face the first three charges.

Clark said the children are required to have a detention hearing quickly under Tennessee law, and that hearing could occur as soon as Thursday afternoon in Anderson County Juvenile Court.

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Student identified, charges pending in new shooting threat

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The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the student responsible for posting a new shooting threat on Snapchat about Oak Ridge High School, and charges are pending, city and school officials said Wednesday.

“ORHS had another social media shooting threat last night,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a brief statement. “The juvenile suspect was identified overnight, and the threat was determined not viable. Charges are forthcoming. School continued as normal this morning.”

The new Snapchat threats were posted at about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, after two students were identified as being responsible for a previous threat posted Monday, according to information from Oak Ridge Schools.

“We immediately contacted the Oak Ridge Police Department and are pleased to share that they have been successful in identifying the student responsible for posting these threats,” school officials said. “We are appreciative of their expedient action and resolve of this safety concern.”

Families received a phone call about the new threats early Wednesday.

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Shooting threat was a hoax, ORHS principal says

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Oak Ridge High School was on lockdown on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, after administrators were made aware of a shooting threat posted on social media. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 6:10 p.m.

The shooting threat posted on Snapchat on Monday was a hoax, and there was never any malicious intent, Oak Ridge High School Principal Garfield Adams said in an email to families Tuesday evening.

Two students have been identified as being responsible for the threatening statement.

The City of Oak Ridge said the Oak Ridge Police Department has determined no weapons were ever involved, but charges are pending.

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Two juveniles identified in ORHS social media threat

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The Oak Ridge Police Department identified two juveniles Tuesday in connection to the shooting threat posted on social media that prompted a lockdown at Oak Ridge High School on Monday.

“Both juveniles admitted to making the threat,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. “Throughout the course of the investigation, it has been determined that no weapon was ever involved. Charges are forthcoming.”

The press release did not identify the juveniles or the specific threat. On Monday, the city said it was a shooting threat.

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ORPD to be at ORHS Tuesday after lockdown Monday

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The Oak Ridge Police Department will have an increased presence at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday following a lockdown on Monday, Oak Ridge Schools said.

The lockdown came after a shooting threat on social media that school administrators learned about on Monday.

“After learning of this threat, we immediately placed ORHS on a Level 3 lockdown and contacted the Oak Ridge Police Department,” Oak Ridge Schools told families Monday evening. “The ORPD will ‘continue to investigate and keep students safe’ during this situation. As the City of Oak Ridge press release stated, we too ‘appreciate the seamless coordination and efforts between the school system, city, and ORPD as this investigation continues.'”

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ORHS students to be released at normal times

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Oak Ridge High School was on lockdown on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, after administrators were made aware of a shooting threat posted on social media. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department is still investigating a shooting threat that was made on social media and led to an hours-long lockdown at Oak Ridge High School starting Monday morning.

Monday afternoon, the City of Oak Ridge said students will be released from school at their normal times, and the Oak Ridge Police Department is taking precautions to continue to investigate and keep students safe during dismissal.

“We appreciate the seamless coordination and efforts between the school system, city, and ORPD as this investigation continues,” the city said.

The lockdown was reported at about 11 a.m. Monday after administrators said they were made aware of a shooting threat posted on social media.

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Updated: ORHS on lockdown after shooting threat

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Oak Ridge High School was on lockdown late Monday morning, Dec. 6, 2021, after administrators were made aware of a shooting threat posted on social media.

This story was last updated at 2:45 p.m.

Oak Ridge High School was on lockdown late Monday morning after administrators were made aware of a shooting threat posted on social media.

“ORHS is on a level 3 lockdown due to a shooting threat on social media,” City of Oak Ridge spokesperson Lauren Gray said. “The Oak Ridge Police Department is currently on scene investigating. Level 3 lockdown is a call for increased security when a situation inside or outside the building may have an impact on school. Students return to classrooms. All outside doors and classroom doors are locked and no one is permitted to enter or exit the building.

“We will release more information as it becomes available.”

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Register now for winter-spring 2022 ORICL courses

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An ORICL course during the winter-spring term will explore Zentangle, a fun, easy-to-learn, relaxing method of drawing beautiful images with structured patterns. As a meditational art form, every Zentangle stroke is mindful rather than mindless (like doodling). (Submitted photo)

 

Would you like to learn about fascinating characters in Oak Ridge history and in the Old West, as well as hear the voices of those who shaped the Golden Age of Radio? Are you familiar with the story about the Oak Ridge Wildcats football team that won the national championship in 1958?

Would you like to learn the best ways to research your family’s history and identify potential ancestors? Do you know all sides of the gun issue in our country? Do you wish to hear from a former Oak Ridge mayor and his wife how to run a local political campaign?

These and other interesting topics will be addressed in courses that will be taught during the winter-spring term of the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning (ORICL), a press release said. Most of the smorgasbord of 65 courses will be presented in person but a few will be online via Zoom or as hybrid classes (in person and online). ORICL’s in-person and hybrid classes will be held mostly in the Coffey-McNally building on Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge Branch Campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

The fall catalog is posted on ORICL’s www.roanestate.edu/oricl website. The registration form and calendar are also posted there, the press release said. Online registration opened Tuesday, December 7. Paper registrations can be brought to the office or mailed by December 14. The office will be closed from December 15 to January 3. [Read more…]

Learn technical details of RamSat in Zoom session

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RamSat, just prior to handoff to NASA

You can learn more this evening about the technical details of the cube satellite built by students at Robertsville Middle School with help from mentors.

The Zoom session is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 17, during an ORION community meeting.

The title of the talk is “RamSat Technical Details.” The talk will be given by a panel of three technical experts from Oak Ridge—Peter Thornton, David Andrews, and Ian Goethert—and moderated by Rob Scott and David Fields, a press release said. The talk is open to the public. If you are interested in joining this talk, follow this link: [Read more…]

Winners of first Kimmelman ‘Learning from Holocaust’ essay contest

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Winners have been announced for the first Mira Kimmelman “Learning from the Holocaust” essay and project contest. The winners were announced by the Tennessee Holocaust Commission.

“Mira Kimmelman challenged students to reflect upon the history of the Holocaust and contemporary examples of injustice for over 50 years,” a press release said. “The contest continues her work and legacy, asking Tennessee students to create projects that reflect how the lessons of the Holocaust are relevant to current events and their own lives. The contest has both middle school and high school entry options, all of which prompt students to reflect on the lessons learned through the study of Holocaust history.”

The contest is sponsored by the Kimmelman family and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission to honor and further Mira Kimmelman’s lifelong efforts to teach children to never forget and to learn from the horrors of the Holocaust., the press release said.

The high school winners are:

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AT&T Foundation donates $10,000 for Roane State scholarships

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Representatives from AT&T Tennessee present Roane State Foundation with a $10,000 check that will help provide scholarships for minority and underserved Roane State students. Pictured left to right are Linda Brown, Roane State Foundation Coordinator; Alan Hill, AT&T Regional Director; Sen. Ken Yager; Tiffany Eskridge, Roane State Foundation Board Member; Pam Rudnitzki, Roane State Foundation Scholarship Specialist; Rep. Kent Calfee; Roane State President Chris Whaley; and Scott Niermann, Executive Director of Roane State Foundation. (Submitted photo)

The AT&T Foundation has donated $10,000 to Roane State Foundation to provide “last dollar” scholarships for minority and underserved students, a press release said.

“We are grateful to AT&T and its continued support of public higher education and our students, who will benefit greatly from the company’s generosity,” said Chris Whaley, president of Roane State Community College. “Our students have many financial needs aside from the cost of tuition and this support will help them on their path to higher education.”

The donation is part of the AT&T Foundation’s $130,000 gift to the Foundation for the College System of Tennessee, the press release said. Funding has been divided equally among Tennessee’s 13 community colleges to support students across the state.

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