Oak Ridge Today

Clinton teacher named to governor’s group on school safety

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Abbey Kidwell

Abbey Kidwell

Note: This story was updated at 9:15 a.m. March 6.

An elementary school teacher in Clinton has been named to a school safety group formed by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

Abbey Kidwell is a fourth-grade teacher at South Clinton Elementary School.

The working group was announced by Haslam on Monday. It includes leaders from the state government’s executive branch, Tennessee General Assembly, and those who work in safety, education, and mental health. The group will immediately begin reviewing school safety in Tennessee and provide recommendations to enhance the security of school children, a press release said.

“While all schools in Tennessee currently have safety plans in place, the Governor’s School Safety Working Group will convene this week to review the policies, procedures, and process of developing and implementing those plans, as well as other school safety measures, including communication and collaboration among law enforcement, educators, and mental health professionals,” the press release said.

“All children in Tennessee deserve to learn in a safe and secure environment and I am asking this working group to move quickly in making practical recommendations that we can implement in the coming weeks and months to help increase the safety of our children,” Haslam said. “The review will be wide ranging but include specific items, such as entry to and exit from schools, training and availability of school resource officers, and in-school mental health resources for students.”

Haslam expects to have the first recommendations from the working group before the end of the legislative session, the press release said. [Read more…]

Voters invited to meet candidates for county offices

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Democracy for East Tennessee April 5 2018 Meet Candidates Event

Oak Ridge voters are invited to a Meet the Candidates event on Thursday, April 5, at the Oak Ridge Civic Center, a press release said. The event is scheduled from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Social Room at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

“Democracy for East Tennessee is sponsoring this event so residents of Anderson County can become better acquainted with the candidates for offices in the upcoming May 1 primary election,” a press release said.

Early voting begins April 11. The offices on the primary ballot are Circuit Court Clerk, County Clerk, County Mayor, Register of Deeds, Road Superintendent, Sheriff, and Trustee. [Read more…]

Egg Hunt is Saturday, March 24; volunteers needed

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Photo by City of Oak Ridge

Photo by City of Oak Ridge

 

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the 2018 Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 24, at 11 a.m. Hundreds of children and their families are expected to participate in this annual spring event, a press release said.

More than 15,000 candy and prize-filled eggs will be hidden in A.K. Bissell Park with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prize egg in each age group, the press release said. This event will be held rain or shine, so participants should dress for the weather. If severe weather prevents hiding the eggs outdoors, they will be given away in the gym and prizes will be randomly distributed.

Families should arrive early and assemble in the Oak Ridge Civic Center gymnasium prior to 11 a.m. Participants will be divided into separate age groups and will be escorted to their respective hunt areas. The hunt is targeted for preschool-aged children (4 years old) up to fourth grade. [Read more…]

Learn issues, ask questions of public officials on Thursday

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Submitted image

Submitted image

 

An annual nonpartisan forum on Thursday will give you a chance to learn about issues and ask questions of local, state, and school officials.

The annual Pearls and Politics forum presents state legislators, local officials, and board of education members to the public, a press release said.

The forum is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 8, at the Scarboro Community Center at 148 Carver Avenue in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Altrusa to award scholarships for women, apply by March 30

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Altrusa International of Oak Ridge is offering scholarships starting at $1,000 to deserving women to support their pursuit of education and/or training, a press release said.

The Sarah Ketron Scholarship is intended for women who are non-traditional students and have interrupted their studies for work or family obligations and are returning to school to complete their education. It is named in honor of the late Sarah Ketron, Altrusa president in 1973-74. She was for many years a school counselor in Oak Ridge as well as a community leader and volunteer.

The Altrusa Scholarship is available for women who are continuing their education, post-high school, at an institution of higher learning, such as a university, community college, or technical college, the press release said.

Altrusans seek to encourage and support women who are striving to complete their education, search for jobs, and become financially independent. “One of the key goals for selection is to award scholarships to those who show significant financial need,” said Kesha Waters, co-chair of the Scholarship Committee. [Read more…]

Panel on Monday to discuss building welcoming, inclusive community

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Anne Backus

Anne Backus

A Monday panel will focus on building a welcoming and inclusive community, a press release said. The discussion will be hosted by Women’s Interfaith Dialogue, and the panel will meet at 11 a.m. Monday, March 5, at the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge.

The Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge is at 101 West Madison Avenue.

“The meeting will feature a panel discussion of issues impacting LGBTQ members of our community and efforts to make our community more welcoming and inclusive,” the press release said.

The panel will include three Oak Ridgers: John Jaruzel, Anne Backus, and Jessica Ammendolia.

Here is more information from the press release: [Read more…]

ORISE, Rotary Club plan to package 20,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger

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More than 100 volunteers from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge will package 20,000 nutritious meals for Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief organization, in a few hours on Thursday, March 8.

The event is marking the expansion of a warehouse on ORISE’s south campus by helping feed people around the world.

“Volunteers will follow an assembly-line process to package highly nutritious dehydrated meals comprised of rice, soy, vegetables, and 23 essential vitamins and minerals,” a media alert said. “Rise Against Hunger will distribute the meals primarily to school feeding programs in developing countries around the world.”

ORISE is managed by ORAU, a nonprofit corporation and federal contractor, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

Secret City Wildbots competing in Palmetto robotics competition

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The Secret City Wildbots compete in the Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics competition on Friday, March 2, 2018. Pictured above, Mantis, the robot, loads a cube for a powerup. (Photo by Angi Agle)

The Secret City Wildbots compete in the Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics Competition on Friday, March 2, 2018. Pictured above, Mantis, the robot, loads a cube for a powerup. (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

The Secret City Wildbots are competing in the Palmetto regional robotics competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this weekend.

The Wildbots ended the first day of qualification rounds on Friday with four wins and three losses, Oak Ridge Board of Education member Angi Agle said. In two of the losses, the third robot on the team did not play, and Oak Ridge was 2-on-3 for both of those.

The Wildbots ended the day ranked 33rd of 64, with two more matches today (Saturday, March 3). Number 75 is scheduled for 9:42 a.m., and Number 96 is at 12:09 p.m. Alliance selections should occur at 12:15 p.m.

Agle said Mantis, the robot, has performed better with each successive match, so two more wins could significantly improve Oak Ridge’s standing, “thereby improving our odds of being selected for an alliance for the elimination rounds tomorrow afternoon (Saturday afternoon).” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools has one of 11 small research satellites selected by NASA

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Robertsville Middle School students participating in the NASA Project-Based Learning course visit Marshall to present their CubeSat project to a panel of engineers. Marshall developed curriculum and trained teachers for the elective course while Marshall engineers served as mentors to the students. (Photo credit: NASA/Oak Ridge Schools)

Robertsville Middle School students participating in the NASA Project-Based Learning course visit Marshall to present their CubeSat project to a panel of engineers. Marshall developed curriculum and trained teachers for the elective course while Marshall engineers served as mentors to the students. (Photo credit: NASA/Oak Ridge Schools)

 

NASA, which has been working with Robertsville Middle School, announced Friday that the Oak Ridge Schools project is one of 11 small research satellites selected to fly as auxiliary payloads aboard space missions in the next few years.

The satellite projects were selected from seven states and Puerto Rico. They are eligible for placement on a launch manifest, depending on the availability of a flight opportunity, for space missions planned in 2019, 2020, and 2021, NASA said.

The Oak Ridge project, RamSat, is an education mission to develop and implement a middle school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, curriculum for building a CubeSat. CubeSats are a type of spacecraft called nanosatellites, often measuring about four inches on each side and weighing less than three pounds. They have a volume of about one quart. CubeSats are built using these standard dimensions as Units or “U,” and are classified as 1U, 2U, 3U, or 6U in total size.

The selections, which were announced Friday, are part of the ninth round of the NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative.

The launch opportunities for the 11 small research satellites include planned spaceflight missions led by NASA, other U.S. government agencies, or commercial organizations, as well as deployments from the International Space Station. The CubeSats were proposed by educational institutions, or nonprofit organizations. [Read more…]

Park Service to discuss TVA role in powering Tennessee Valley, supporting war effort

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Norris Dam (Submitted photo)

Norris Dam (Submitted photo)

 

The National Park Service will have a talk on the Tennessee Valley Authority on Sunday while celebrating the 82nd anniversary of the completion of the TVA Norris Dam. During the program, the Park Service will discuss how the Tennessee Valley Authority changed the landscape and supported the war effort in East Tennessee, a press release said.

The Sunday program is free, and it is being offered by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, a unique three-site park that includes Oak Ridge; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The program is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 4, at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

The American Museum of Science and Energy is located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. The National Park Service visitor desk is located at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge at 461 West Outer Drive. For more information or directions, call (865) 482-1942.

Oak Ridge, Hanford, and Los Alamos were part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

Richard Cook to speak at Friends of Library annual meeting on Sunday

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Richard Cook (Submitted photo)

Richard Cook (Submitted photo)

 

The annual meeting of the Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library (FOL) will be held Sunday, and the guest speaker will be Richard Cook, author of “Ignored Heroes of World War II: The Manhattan Project Workers of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.”

The meeting is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 4, in the Oak Ridge Public Library auditorium. There is no charge. Everyone is invited to attend, a press release said. New board members will be elected during the meeting.

Cook, who has lived in Oak Ridge since 2000, said his work is an oral history of Oak Ridge, the press release said. His wife, Katy (Orrick), was born and raised in Oak Ridge.

Cook wrote an op/ed column for The Oak Ridger from 2003-2005, the press release said. He has written more than 130 op/ed columns, which have appeared in The Oak Ridger, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, and The Tennessean website, the release said. His book has been profiled locally on WBIR, WATE, and PBS. [Read more…]

Roane State Success Coach program honored

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Roane State Community College Logo

Roane State’s success coach program won a statewide certificate for excellence and has become a benchmark for programs throughout the state’s 12 other community colleges.

“Roane State has been a leader in developing student success opportunities,” said Kim Harris, the college’s director of workplace training and placement.

Harris nominated Roane State’s success coach program for the award, and it won out over other nominees among Tennessee’s community colleges.

The recognition was bestowed by the Tennessee Alliance for Continuing Higher Education. The organization is comprised of continuing education professionals. [Read more…]