The Oak Ridge Senior Center will honor veterans with a drop-in recognition from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, November 11.
All veterans who preregister by Tuesday, November 9, will receive a special goodie bag, a press release said.
“Please call the Senior Center to register so staff can have an accurate head count of veterans attending,” the release said.
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The City of Oak Ridge continues to work on a Rails to Trails project that has been planned for years and will convert 4.6 miles of unused railroad into a greenway for walkers, runners, and bicyclists.
The city will have a drop-in public meeting about the project from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 10, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Gym. The trail design and next steps will be presented, and the city will seek input from residents. Masks are encouraged at the meeting, the city said.
The greenway along the former CSX railroad will extend from east Oak Ridge past Jefferson Middle School to Y-12 National Security Complex. It will start at Elza Gate at the Oak Ridge Turnpike; run along Belgrade Road, Warehouse Road, Fairbanks Road, and Lafayette Drive; and cross South Illinois Avenue to the Y-12 National Security Complex entrance on Scarboro Road.
“The greenway system brings parkland nearer to all Oak Ridge citizens,” Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick said. “It provides opportunity for motor-less commuting, enjoyable physical exercise, learning experiences about wildlife, and connections to parks, schools, and shopping areas.”
[Read more…]Leadership Roane County will present a “How to Run for Elected Office” seminar on November 4. The seminar is scheduled from 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. at the O’Brien Theater at Roane State Community College at 276 Patton Lane in Harriman.
Speakers include Charles Holiway, Roane County administrator of elections, and Marilyn Calfee, campaign manager for Representative Kent Calfee (District 32), followed by a panel of Chris Mason, Roane County trustee; Becky Ruppe, Rockwood city administrator; Stacey Wilson, spouse of County Commissioner Ben Wilson; and Stephanie Wright, Kingston City Council.
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Medicaid expansion will be discussed during a virtual forum Tuesday. It’s the first of two community forums about expanding Medicaid in Tennessee.
The first forum is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 2. It will feature professionals discussing the need for expanding Medicaid, a press release said.
The second forum, scheduled for November 16, will feature legislators discussing ways to achieve this goal, the press release said.
“Failure to expand Medicaid in Tennessee is severely impacting the health and welfare of Tennesseans,” the press release said. It said there are more than 300,000 uninsured Tennesseans, and Tennessee is second in the number of hospital closures and leads the nation in terms of hospital closures per capita. Also, many of the uninsured are essential workers whose lack of insurance places them at increased risk just to care for their families, the press release said. And Tennessee is failing to accept $900 million in federal money that would cover the cost of expansion for more than six years, the release said.
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host Monster Mash Bash, a citywide Halloween event, on Thursday evening. Monster Mash Bash is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 28.
“This year’s event will be a literal ‘walk in the park’ beginning between the Oak Ridge Civic Center and the Senior Center on the west side parking area and looping through the Oak Ridge Civic Center Plaza back to the west parking lot,” a press release said. “Bissell Park and the parking lots will close at 2 p.m. and should be vacated at that time. This is to allow our sponsors and vendors to finish getting ready for the event. Parking in the west parking lot in front of the Senior Center will fill first, then the east parking lot by the Library, secondly.”
Event participants will be able to enjoy Halloween scenes, and children ages 4 years to 4th grade will receive treats throughout the park trail and may participate in a stamped scavenger hunt, the press release said. All families wishing to attend this free event will need to register at Eventbrite.com to help ensure there are enough treats and goodies to go around, the release said.
[Read more…]There will be a Howl-O-Ween Dog Costume Contest at PetSmart in Oak Ridge on Saturday, October 30.
The contest is presented by the Anderson County Animal Shelter and the County Mayor’s Office, a press release said.
It will begin at 11 a.m. that day. Registration for the contest will begin at 10:15 a.m. under the tent in the parking lot, the press release said.
PetSmart is at 203 Main Street in Oak Ridge.
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Oak Ridge City Council member Jim Dodson is seeking election in 2022 to serve as a state representative in Anderson County.
Dodson is running to serve in the Tennessee House of Representatives in District 33, which includes most of Anderson County.
He is running as a Democrat. The seat is currently held by John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican who is in his sixth two-year term.
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The City of Oak Ridge does not currently require its employees or residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a state law passed this year, a municipal attorney said Tuesday.
That state law, Senate Bill 187 and House Bill 13 (Public Chapter 513), bars the city from COVID-19 vaccination requirements, said Alexander J. Cramer, staff attorney in the City of Oak Ridge Legal Department.
The City of Oak Ridge has named Patrick Berge as its new public works director.
Berge, who previously served as Oak Ridge Public Works utility manager, has served as interim public works director since former Director Shira McWaters died in June.
Berge has overseen all water and wastewater operations since 2018, a press release said. He will now assume all public works operations including streets, stormwater, and engineering.
“As the next public works director, I’m looking forward to continuing Shira’s hard work,” Berge said in the press release. “Public Works has many major projects in progress, our biggest one being the new water plant.”
Among Berge’s many certifications, he is a professional engineer of environmental engineering in both Tennessee and Nebraska, the press release said.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has appointed Ryan Spitzer to serve as Circuit Court judge for the Seventh Judicial District to fill the seat left vacant when former judge Don Elledge retired at the end of June.
Spitzer’s appointment is effective immediately, the governor said in an announcement Monday.
“Ryan is a dedicated public servant with an extensive background in criminal prosecution,” Lee said in his announcement. “I am proud to announce his appointment and confident he will serve Tennessee with integrity.”
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A jury found she had been sexually harassed while working for Anderson County, but the county was not liable.
Then, since she did not prevail in the civil trial, she was ordered to pay about $1,800 in costs to Anderson County.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Monday signed an executive order that gives parents the ability to opt their children out of local mask mandates. Parents can opt out of local mask mandates enacted by either school boards or health boards. Some doctors quickly objected to the governor’s order, and legal objections and questions have already been raised.
The governor said districts will make the decisions that they believe are best for their schools, but parents “will have the ultimate decision-making for their individual child’s health and well-being.
“Right now, some of the greatest frustration is occurring in our K-12 schools, especially around the issue of mask mandates,” Lee said in the announcement of his order. “While local decision-making is important, individual decision-making by a parent on issues regarding the health and well-being of their child is the most important.
“No one cares about the health and well-being of a child more than a parent. I am signing an executive order today that allows parents to opt their children out of a school mask mandate if either a school board or health board enacts one over a district.”
Masks are currently required in three Oak Ridge schools where at least 20 COVID-19 cases have been reported: Jefferson Middle School, Robertsville Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School. Masks are optional in the other schools. It wasn’t immediately clear how the governor’s order would affect mask mandates at the three Oak Ridge schools.
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