Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge hosting NAACP state convention

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PASTOR DERRICK HAMMOND
Derrick Hammond

This week, Oak Ridge is hosting the NAACP Tennessee State Convention and Civil Rights Advocacy Conference.

It’s the 73rd annual NAACP Tennessee State Convention, and it starts today (Thursday, September 26) and continues through Saturday, September 28.

Thursday’s events will be held at Oak Valley Baptist Church in Oak Ridge. The events on Friday and Saturday will be at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge.

The Anderson County/Oak Ridge NAACP Branch under the leadership of local president Dave Anderson is the sponsoring branch, a press release said.

The convention will feature a variety of events and workshops that will 1) encourage attendees to become civically engaged around religious affairs, and 2) assist in expunging the records of people wanting to return to the workforce, the press release said. Other actions include helping members become more effective in their work related to advocacy, human rights, and youth empowerment—all designed to equip people with the necessary knowledge to assist in making their voices and votes count, the press release said.

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New Senior Center opens Thursday

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The front of the new Oak Ridge Senior Center is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The new Oak Ridge Senior Center opens today (Thursday, September 26) in Alvin K. Bissell Park in central Oak Ridge.

The new Senior Center was scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Normal operating hours were scheduled to resume Thursday, and so were most activities.

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department called it a “soft opening.” Oak Ridge municipal officials are planning a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony for later, and details will be announced soon, a press release said.

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Manhattan Project Park: Commemorate tennis court dances in Jackson Square

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Oak Ridge Tennis Court Dance NPS
This undated photo shows a tennis court dance in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will commemorate the tennis court dances that occurred in Jackson Square 75 years ago with a dance and costume contest in October.

The Tennis Court Dance and Costume Contest is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, October 11, in the Jackson Square tennis courts. The free event will feature swing dancing music from the 1940s World War II era.

The National Park Service is partnering with Explore Oak Ridge to host the dance, a press release said.

“All ages are welcome to attend and everyone is encouraged to participate in the costume contest with their best 1940s costume,” the press release said. “One winner will be announced for best individual costume and one for group costumes.”

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Minister, climate activist to speak Sunday, Sept. 29, at First Presbyterian

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On Sunday, September 29, First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge will host the Reverend Jim Antal, a climate activist, a press release said. He will teach Sunday school at 9 a.m., following a continental breakfast, and deliver the sermon during the 10:30 a.m. worship service, the press release said.

Antal is the author of “Climate Church, Climate World: How People of Faith Must Work for Change.”

The press release said Antal is a graduate of Princeton University, Andover Newton Theological School, and Yale Divinity School, which in 2017, honored him with the William Sloane Coffin Award for Peace and Justice. [Read more…]

State Building Commission approves design of TCAT campus in Anderson County

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An image shows what the Tennessee College of Applied Technology could look like in Anderson County. (Image courtesy state of Tennessee)

The Tennessee State Building Commission in Nashville on Thursday approved the early design phase of the new TCAT Knoxville Higher Education Center in Anderson County, a press release said.

The 47,603 square-foot technology training facility will be located in the city of Clinton. It will be a shared-use building for TCAT Knoxville and Roane State Community College dedicated to training students for the modern workforce, the press release said.

TCAT is the Tennessee College of Applied Technology.

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, presided over the State Building Commission meeting approving the design and was integral in getting the project approved, the press release said.

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Senior Center to be temporarily closed for move to new facility

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Oak Ridge Senior Center Front Sept 2019
Construction of the new Oak Ridge Senior Center on the west side of the Oak Ridge Civic Center has been completed. The front of the new Senior Center is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Senior Center will be temporarily closed starting Monday, September 16, to allow the staff to relocate to the new Senior Center on the west side of the Civic Center.

The temporary closure was announced by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department.

Construction of the new center was finished on schedule, and staff can now occupy the space to complete final preparations, a press release said.

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Household hazardous waste collection is Saturday

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Anderson County Solid Waste Management and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation are sponsoring a household hazardous waste collection event on Saturday, September 14, in Oak Ridge.

The collection is scheduled between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday at the Oak Ridge Central Services Complex at 100 Woodbury Lane, behind the Hobby Lobby shopping center. This is a state-sponsored household hazardous waste event, and it is open to all Tennessee residents, a press release said.

Household hazardous waste is anything generated in the household that has a hazardous property. Examples include household disinfectants, drain cleaners, adhesives, pesticides, old gasoline, and pool chemicals, the press release said. A material is considered hazardous if it is flammable, corrosive, toxic, or reactive with heat or contact with metals.

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ORNL-Veterans Affairs collaboration targets veteran suicide epidemic

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An Oak Ridge Team recently sped up a computer model that helps predict veteran suicide risk. (Image credit: Carlos Jones, ORNL)

 

Submitted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory

More than 6,000 veterans died by suicide in 2016, and from 2005 to 2016, the rate of veteran suicides in the United States increased by more than 25 percent.

Suicide prevention is the highest priority for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—so much so that in recent years, the VA has started using predictive models and advanced informatics (the study of information processing; computer science) to identify at-risk veterans.

One model of this type is called the medication possession ratio algorithm. It creates individualized summaries of veterans’ medication patterns, such as which medications a veteran is prescribed and how often those prescriptions are filled. The model helps clinicians pinpoint veterans with inconsistent medication usage patterns. These veterans are known to have a higher risk of attempting suicide in the next month.

In a collaborative project with the VA, a team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has taken the model and engineered the expanded version of it to run 300 times faster, gaining an unprecedented acceleration that might have a profound effect on the VA’s ability to reach susceptible veterans quickly. [Read more…]

Frank Callaghan Towers to be renovated, renamed

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LHP Capital Closing Fairbanks Tower Sept 3 2019
Officials from LHP Capital and the City of Oak Ridge celebrate the closing of a transaction that will enable LHP to acquire and renovate Frank Callaghan Tower, an affordable housing community for seniors on fixed incomes. Pictured above from left to right on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, are Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board Chair David Wilson, LHP Development President Carr Hagan, and LHP Development CEO Alvin Nance. (Submitted photo)

The Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road in Oak Ridge will be renovated and renamed, a housing developer and manager said this week.

Officials with LHP Capital LLC announced Tuesday that they have signed the last document necessary to close on the acquisition and renovation of Oak Ridge’s Frank Callaghan Towers. That’s a 110-unit affordable rental housing community for seniors 62 and older and adults with disabilities, and it is located at 115 Fairbanks Road in east Oak Ridge.

LHP will oversee more than $5.8 million in renovations to the property, which was originally constructed in the late 1970s, a press release said. The sale to LHP will assure preservation of the property’s affordability status under federal guidelines, the press release said. LHP will also manage the apartments.

The renovations to the property will begin immediately and will start with a new name, according to Carr Hagan, president, LHP Development, a division of Knoxville-based LHP Capital, a real estate development firm specializing in affordable housing.

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Oak Ridge hosts Energy Communities Alliance meeting on national park

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Energy Communities Alliance Manhattan Project Park Group 2019
Some of the attendees of the Energy Communities Alliance meeting in Oak Ridge are pictured above in August 2019. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge hosted visitors from across the country as part of the recent Energy Communities Alliance Peer Exchange focused on the continued implementation of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, a press release said.

The meeting, held on August 14 and 15 in Oak Ridge, had an excellent turnout with many guests from the additional national park host communities of Los Alamos, New Mexico, and the cities near Hanford, Washington, making the trip to Oak Ridge, the press release said. Other attendees traveled from Aiken, South Carolina, to learn more about Oak Ridge and the national park, the release said.

Local officials, including Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, Roane County Executive Ron Woody, Oak Ridge City Council member Chuck Hope, and City Manager Mark Watson welcomed the invitees. National Park Service officials and representatives from tourism bureaus, historical societies, and economic development councils also took part. Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn and City Council members Ellen Smith, Kelly Callison, Jim Dodson, and Derrick Hammond attended sessions as well.

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Library trying new hours starting Tuesday

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Oak Ridge Public Library
The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Public Library has announced a change in operating hours that is set to begin Tuesday, September 3.

Starting then, the main library will be open on the following schedule:

  • Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
  • Friday and Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
  • Sunday: 2-6 p.m.
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Anderson County will also stop recycling glass

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Like other counties and Oak Ridge, Anderson County will stop recycling glass.

The county announced the suspension of glass recycling in a press release on Monday.

The press release said Anderson County Solid Waste was notified on August 15 that WestRock, the county’s recycling vendor, would suspend the “receiving, handling, and marketing of glass bottles and jars collected at (the) county’s drop off centers” effective September 1.

To prepare for the change, the Marlow Convenience Center will stop accepting glass for recycling on August 29, the press release said. Residents should place glass in their regular garbage for disposal, the release said.

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