Oak Ridge Today

Read the Preschool Planning Committee report here

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Elm Grove Park Oct. 21, 2015

Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge has been proposed as a site for a new preschool, and it’s considered the best potential location. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:40 p.m.

A new preschool for Oak Ridge Schools could cost $7.5 million, and Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge is among the sites where the new 20-classroom facility could be built, a planning committee said in a report released this month.

The report is now available online. You can read a copy of it here by clicking under the link at the end of this section: VII.D. Preschool Building Committee Recommendation.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education is scheduled to consider the Preschool Building Committee recommendation during at meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, November 2, in the School Administration Building at 304 New York Avenue. You can see the agenda here.

A new preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years. The Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee said the existing building on New York Avenue needs significant repairs, and renovations could cost about $7.5 million, or about as much as it would cost to construct a new facility. [Read more…]

Hayes, a former RMS principal, City Council member, dies at 76

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Tom Hayes Gym Dedication

On Thursday, January 16, 2014, Robertsville Middle School recognized former Principal Thomas W. Hayes, third from left, by naming the school gymnasium in his honor. (Photo by Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Tom Hayes, a former middle school principal and city council member in Oak Ridge, died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, according to his obituary. He was 76.

Hayes, who lived in Oak Ridge, was a former principal at Robertsville Middle School and a former member of the Oak Ridge City Council.

A native of Parsons, Tennessee, Thomas Warren Hayes was born November 2, 1938, and he graduated from Riverside High School. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in social studies and a master’s degree in education supervision from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. [Read more…]

School Board retreat time changes

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The time of the Oak Ridge Board of Education retreat on Friday, October 30, has been changed to 7:30-9:30 a.m. in the School Administration Building conference room.

See earlier story on the retreat here.

ORHS Masquers presents ‘Harvey,’ a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, in November

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

ORHS Masquers "Harvey"

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Harvey” in three performances in November. (Photo courtesy ORHS Masquers)

 

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Harvey” in three performances in November.

“Harvey” is the story of Elwood P. Dowd and his invisible, six-foot-tall rabbit named Harvey. When Elwood’s sister Veta tries to have him committed to the local mental hospital, the doctors commit Veta instead and mad-capped hilarity ensues. Come “see” the best dressed rabbit in town and a fantastic cast of student actors, a press release said.

The Masquers performances will be at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center (ORPAC) on:

  • Thursday, November 12, at 7 p.m.;
  • Saturday, November 14, at 7 p.m.; and
  • Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m.

[Read more…]

School Board retreat: Preschool, superintendent evaluation, Access Oak Ridge

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Board of Education has a retreat on Friday. Among the agenda items are a superintendent evaluation and a preschool update.

The retreat is from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday, October 30, in the School Administration Building conference room.

Other agenda items include Access Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge 2020, communications plan and Web page, capital projects, and a legal update.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Linden Elementary has Scholastic Monster Book Fair Oct. 26-30

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Linden Elementary School Book Fair October 2015

Linden Elementary School has a Scholastic Monster Book Fair from Oct. 26-30, 2015. (Submitted photo)

 

Linden Elementary School has a Scholastic Monster Book Fair this week.

The Book Fair is scheduled from 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday, October 26, to Friday, October 30.

There are extended hours until 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.

UT Arboretum Society has annual Owl Prowl on Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

UTAS Owl Prowl

Katie Cottrell, right, and Kathy Strunk are pictured at an earlier Owl Prowl at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

The Owl Prowl, one of the most popular events offered at the University of Tennessee Arboretum, will again be sponsored by the UT Arboretum Society on Saturday, October 24. It’s at the UT Arboretum, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue (Highway 62) in Oak Ridge.

Presented by the Clinch River Raptor Center, Kathy Strunk and Katie Cottrell will bring live owls for display and will give information about their natural history, a press release said.

The Raptor Center was started by John Byrd 30 years ago at Clinton Middle School. So far, 2,000 birds have come to the Raptor Center to be rehabilitated. Strunk and Cottrell have shared the responsibility as co-directors of the Raptor Center for more than 25 years, and they have given hundreds of programs in East Tennessee on birds of prey, the press release said. [Read more…]

Updated: Nine students injured when Roane County school bus rolls off road

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Roane County School Bus Crash Workers Oct. 21, 2015

Nine students were injured after a Roane County school bus went off the right side of the road and rolled on its side down a steep embankment on a curvy, country road southwest of Oliver Springs on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4 p.m. Oct. 22.

ROANE COUNTY—Nine students were injured after a Roane County school bus dropped off the right side of Mahoney Road and rolled onto its right side down a steep embankment on a curvy, country road southwest of Oliver Springs on Wednesday afternoon.

Two middle school students were taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge by ambulance, and a third student, possibly also a middle school student, was transported by a parent, said Gary Aytes, Roane County Schools superintendent. The injuries were not life-threatening, Aytes said. He said one student might have a broken arm, and the others had cuts and abrasions.

Thursday update: The Tennessee Highway Patrol later reported that nine students were taken to Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge. Two were transported by ambulance, and the other seven were taken in private vehicles.

The crash was reported in the 600 block of Mahoney Road, just west of Johnson Road, at about 3:50 p.m. Wednesday. There were 22 children on the bus from Oliver Springs High School, Oliver Springs Middle School, and Dyllis Springs Elementary School in Roane County. [Read more…]

New preschool could cost $7.5 million; Elm Grove Park a proposed site

Posted at
By 29 Comments

Shirley Raines Presentation to Oak Ridge City Council on Oct. 20, 2015

Shirley C. Raines, citizen representative and chair of a preschool planning committee, presents a report to Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education members during a joint work session on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A new preschool for Oak Ridge Schools could cost $7.5 million, and Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge is among the sites where the new 20-classroom facility could be built, a planning committee said in a report released Tuesday.

A new preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years. The Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee said the existing building on New York Avenue needs significant repairs, and renovations could cost about $7.5 million, or about as much as it would cost to construct a new facility.

The Preschool Planning Committee, which has nine members and three non-voting members, estimated that the new 40,000-square-foot facility could cost $6.3 million to build. There would be an additional $1.2 million in expenses for infrastructure, architects, and other fees, and an in-depth analysis by design and construction firms, pushing the total to $7.5 million, according to a summary presented by citizen representative and committee chair Shirley C. Raines during a joint Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education work session on Tuesday. [Read more…]

Legendary vocalist Pat Boone to perform in benefit for ORHS music department

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Pat Boone

Pat Boone

Legendary vocalist Pat Boone will perform in a benefit for the Oak Ridge High School music program in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 22, at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center.

Boone will be backed by Knoxville swing orchestra The Streamliners.

“The performance of his ‘The Music and The Memories’ show is a benefit for the Music Department at the Oak Ridge High School,” a press release said.

Tickets are $75 VIP (with artist meet and greet), $50 orchestra, $35 side aisles, and $20 upper balcony. [Read more…]

Memphis detective to speak here on sex trafficking

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Barbara Tolbert

Barbara Tolbert

By Carolyn Krause

Human trafficking—forcing people into sex acts or labor against their will—is a growing threat to children, students, and young adults worldwide. It’s present throughout Tennessee and our nation, regardless of economic, social, or racial background.

Teens who run away from abusive homes and those enticed to leave “good” homes by promises of a fun job or an exciting time may become victims of sex trafficking. Other youths are “rented out” as prostitutes or sold into sex slavery by their own parents, especially those addicted to drugs or challenged by economic stress.

Some 300,000 American kids are estimated to be victims, or at risk of becoming victims, of the multibillion-dollar sex trafficking industry. [Read more…]

Tuition equality in Tennessee higher education to be discussed Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Eben Cathey

Eben Cathey

Tuition equality in Tennessee higher education will be discussed during a lunchtime meeting Tuesday.

Eben Cathey, advocacy manager of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, or TIRRC, will give a presentation on tuition equality for undocumented students at Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday, October 20, the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, a press release said. The church is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

Cathey will discuss current legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly that would grant undocumented students the opportunity to pay in-state tuition at public colleges. Currently, undocumented students in Tennessee must pay out-of-state tuition at public universities, even if they have lived in Tennessee for most of their lives, the press release said. [Read more…]