Oak Ridge Today

Opinion: How far can we move the needle?

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Ron Woody

By Ron Woody

The buzz around the Roane County Courthouse and School Board has been what will our leaders do about the future of education in Roane County? The initial discussions were about consolidation of high schools with an acceptable debate change to: What should the delivery of future education services look like? I applaud both the School Board, the County Commission, and the public for focusing the discussion on the future of education and not on consolidation.

So, here we are in 2017 having a discussion that we should have had in the late ’80s and early ’90s. What does education look like today? What should it look like the next 15 to 20 years? Two important meetings have taken place within the last eight months in order to answer these questions. Excerpts of these meetings can be found on http://www.roaneschools.com under district, then High School visioning process. Please take the time to read through these meeting notes to help arrive at your own conclusions. Here are a few of my conclusions from attending the meetings and reviewing the minutes. Roane County should work to:

  1. expose students to more career opportunities,
  2. expand the mentoring programs, and
  3. expand vocational class opportunities.

[Read more…]

Haslam visits ORNL to highlight state’s role in discovering tennessine

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Bill Haslam at ORNL Tennessine Martin McDonald Thom Mason ORHS Students

Principal Martin McDonald, left, and students from Oak Ridge High School accepted the first new chart of the periodic table featuring element tennessine and signed by Governor Bill Haslam, right, and ORNL Director Thom Mason, second from left. To mark the discovery of tennessine, UT-Battelle is donating a new chart to all public middle and high schools in Tennessee. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam visited the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Friday to congratulate the ORNL team involved in the discovery of the element tennessine, named in recognition of the vital contributions of the state of Tennessee to the international search for new superheavy elements.

UT-Battelle, the managing contractor of ORNL, is marking the discovery by providing more than 1,000 public middle schools and high schools in Tennessee with new charts of the periodic table. Tennessine—the official name for element 117—completes the seventh row of the table and the column of elements classified as halogens.

The charts will include the signatures of Haslam and ORNL Director Thom Mason.

“We had two very significant announcements in Tennessee this fall as it relates to science,” Haslam said. “In October, the Nation’s Report Card announced that Tennessee students are the fastest improving in the nation in science, and in November, Tennessee became only the second state to be recognized in the periodic table of elements. Having an element named in our honor is further evidence of the scientific excellence that exists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University, and other institutions throughout our state, and by UT-Battelle donating new periodic tables to every middle and high school in Tennessee, students can feel proud of our state’s important role in the scientific community and inspired to play a role in its future.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge receives Blankenship Field grant, primarily for synthetic turf

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Blankenship Field Overall Plan

An overall view of the proposed renovation of Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium. (File image from April 2015)

 

Oak Ridge has received a state grant of just under $500,000 that will be used primarily for synthetic turf at Blankenship Field. But it is also expected to help pay for track improvements, upgraded restrooms, fencing between the football field and track, and improvements to the Cedar Hill trailhead behind the visitors bleachers at Jack Armstrong Stadium, city officials said Thursday.

The Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant requires a 50 percent match. The match is supposed to be provided by the nonprofit Blankenship Field Revitalization Foundation, and it can be a mix of cash and in-kind contributions, although the precise percentage of each—cash versus in-kind contributions—isn’t clear yet. The foundation has been chaired by Tennessee Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally.

Officials expect to know more after four of them—City Manager Mark Watson, City Council member Rick Chinn, Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick, and Allen Thacker of Oak Ridge Schools—attend mandatory grant training in Nashville in February.

After that, the Oak Ridge City Council could accept the grant, possibly as early as the February 13 meeting. [Read more…]

Photos: Work on eighth rowing lane

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Eighth Rowing Lane Jan 18 2017

The view from the water of the new wall installed for the eighth lane of the Oak Ridge rowing course. Calhoun’s restaurant is in the background at center right. (Photo by Laurel Patrick)

 

Laurel Patrick of First Place Finish Inc. in Oak Ridge has been posting pictures on Twitter showing the progress on work on the eighth lane of the Oak Ridge rowing course.

Here are pictures by Patrick starting November 16, used here with her permission. We have posted them below in chronological order.

First Place Finish Inc. received a $548,350 contract to add the eighth lane during a special Oak Ridge City Council meeting in September. The work includes a precast concrete block retaining wall and associated dredging and site work.

Oak Ridge officials announced in late October that the speed limit on a section of Melton Lake Drive would be temporarily reduced for at least three months starting Monday, October 31, while the eighth rowing lane is built, and part of the Melton Lake Greenway will be closed as necessary. [Read more…]

Anderson County Republicans to have congratulatory dinner for McNally

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally (Submitted photo)

 

Fleischmann, Haslam plan to attend

The Anderson County Republican Party will honor Randy McNally, Tennessee’s new lieutenant governor, at this year’s Reagan Day dinner. The dinner will be held at the Double Tree Hotel in Oak Ridge on Friday, February 10. It will start at 6:30 p.m.

On January 10, McNally was selected as the 87th speaker of the Tennessee Senate, a position that also makes him the state’s lieutenant governor.

“It’s a great honor for East Tennessee to furnish the next lieutenant governor,” said William Jones, chair of the Anderson County Republican Party. “Randy is certainly the perfect choice. He is a thoughtful, dedicated leader who has given many years of public service to the Volunteer State.” [Read more…]

Alexander to chair subcommittee that oversees funding for ORNL, Y-12, DOE cleanup work

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Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

The Senate Appropriations Committee announced Wednesday that U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, will serve as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development for the 115th Congress.

That subcommittee oversees funding for national priorities such as energy research, nuclear weapons modernization, and waterways infrastructure that are funded through the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a press release said. It also oversees funding for Tennessee priorities, including the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex, cleanup in Oak Ridge, and Chickamauga Lock. [Read more…]

Q&A: Top 10 most frequently asked questions about City Blueprint

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The City of Oak Ridge has posted the top 10 most frequently asked questions about the City Blueprint, which will be the subject of an open house kick-off meeting on Thursday.

Question One

Q: When and where is the City Blueprint Kick-Off Meeting being held?

A: Thursday, January 26, at High Places Church in Grove Center (123 Randolph Road) from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. [Read more…]

Roane State associate professor honored by NASA for work on Pluto flyby

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ted_stryk_nasa_award

For years, Roane State Community College associate professor Ted Stryk has peered into powerful telescopes to explore the mysteries of outer space. It’s his hobby and his passion. On Jan. 19, 2017, the associate professor of philosophy and English was honored for his role in a NASA investigation of the dwarf planet Pluto and its moons. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

For years, Roane State Community College associate professor Ted Stryk has peered into powerful telescopes to explore the mysteries of outer space.

It’s his hobby and his passion.

On January 19, the associate professor of philosophy and English was honored for his role in a NASA investigation of the dwarf planet Pluto and its moons.

Stryk and about 200 other researchers received certificates of achievement for helping learn more about the solar system’s most distant planet, some 3 billion miles away. The ceremony was held at the applied physics lab at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. [Read more…]

Free workshop on government contracting on Feb. 7

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center will offer a free workshop on February 7 on the GSA Schedule (for government contracting).

The seminar is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, February 7, at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, which is at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

There is no charge to attend, but registration is required. Call (865) 483-2668 or send an email to jbangs@tsbdc.org to register.

Clinton Council to get update on project to replace Lewallen Bridge

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Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

The Clinton City Council is scheduled to receive an update Monday evening, Jan. 23, 2017, from City Manager Roger Houck on the status of the state project to replace the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge on Clinch Avenue. The bridge over the Clinch River connects downtown Clinton and South Clinton on Highway 25W. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

The Clinton City Council is scheduled to receive an update tonight from City Manager Roger Houck on the status of the state project to replace the Lewallen Bridge connecting South Clinton and downtown Clinton on Highway 25W.

According to the city manager’s report included in the agenda for this evening’s meeting, Houck recently met with Tennessee Department of Transportation officials, who informed him that the project is still on schedule and that the design phase is nearing completion. Houck reported that TDOT has incorporated the various requests made by the city to be included in the design, such as lighting and bike lanes.

A plans review meeting is also set for next month, at which time city leaders could learn more about the expected timetable for the bridge project. [Read more…]

A MORE2 success story, providing free energy-efficiency upgrades

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Before and after photos of Lacey’s attic insulation.

Before and after photos of Lacey’s attic insulation (see other photo below).

 

As winter sets in, Make Oak Ridge Energy Efficient, or MORE2, is helping Oak Ridgers lower their home energy use and their electric bills.

Mary Kate Lacey, a retired licensed practical nurse, rents an Oak Ridge home that she hopes to someday own. After taking part in MORE2, she said her home is more comfortable now than in the last five years and that her electric bill is reflecting energy savings.

“My heat pump just doesn’t run all the time now like it used to,” she explained. “And my utility bill is already a little lower than in earlier years.” [Read more…]

Emerge Tennessee board member to speak at ACDWC meeting Monday

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Cortney Piper

Cortney Piper

 

Cortney Piper, a board member of a new statewide organization training Democratic women to run for office, will be guest speaker at the Monday, January 23, meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club. The club will have a dinner meeting at 6 p.m. at Swifty’s Atomic Bar and Grill at 119 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Piper, president of Piper Communications in Knoxville, is a board member of Emerge Tennessee, founded in 2016 as the premier campaign training program for Democratic women in the state. The program is designed to inspire women to run for office and to hone their skills to win, aiming to increase the number of Democratic women in all levels of public office, a press release said. Emerge Tennessee is an affiliate of Emerge America, a national organization operating in 17 states. [Read more…]