Oak Ridge Today

Community Band has free Christmas Concert & Sing-along on Sunday

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Christmas Concert 2015 at First Baptist Church in Oak Ridge (Submitted photo)

Christmas Concert 2015 at First Baptist Church in Oak Ridge (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band/Wind Ensemble will ring in the Christmas season with a Christmas Concert and Sing-along on Sunday afternoon, December 10.

It’s a free event, and it will begin at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church, which is at 1101 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The performance is open to the public, dress is casual, and there will be refreshments at the conclusion of the program, a press release said.

“This concert is a wonderful opportunity to bring family and friends to relax and enjoy hearing familiar holiday tunes and sing favorite Christmas carols,” the press release said.

Among the numbers on Sunday’s program are two of Leroy Anderson’s most well-known holiday tunes: “A Christmas Festival,” featuring a medley of carols, and the time-honored piece “Sleigh Ride,” in which you can not only hear the bells on the horse pulling the sleigh, but the crack of the whip, the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves, and the horse’s distinctive neigh, the press release said. [Read more…]

Police catch man six minutes after robbery reported at Arby’s

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Tyler Gilmore

Tyler Gilmore

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department said it caught a suspect within six minutes of a robbery being reported at the Arby’s restaurant on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on Thursday afternoon.

The strong armed robbery was reported at 2:10 p.m. Thursday at the restaurant, which is at 114 South Illinois Avenue.

“Officers saturated the area and apprehended the suspect within six minutes of the initial call,” the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

“Police learned that the suspect forcibly took a patron’s wallet as he was entering the restaurant,” the ORPD said. “The suspect fled on foot into a nearby neighborhood. Once police captured the suspect, they were able to recover the stolen wallet containing $13.00 in cash. No injuries were reported.” [Read more…]

Tennessee Fall Homecoming at Museum of Appalachia ending after 38 years

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Tennessee Fall Homecoming Howard Tuggle

Photo courtesy Museum of Appalachia

 

The Tennessee Fall Homecoming at the Museum of Appalachia in Norris is ending after 38 years.

The festival, which started in 1980, has grown to the point that it now requires more than three thousand hours to plan, promote, and execute, a press release said.

“Homecoming was an enormous investment for a museum of our size,” said Stephen Dean, chair of the museum’s board of directors. “If we lost a day of attendance due to weather, we simply could not make it up. Even if a homecoming was successful financially, the amount of time and effort invested simply wasn’t justifiable. We have to be responsible for the entire museum’s operation.”

The festival started in 1980 as a one-time event to recognize, display, and celebrate the disappearing music and culture of the Southern Appalachians, but grew over the years into a multi-day event attended by tens of thousands of people annually, the press release said.

The 38th and final Homecoming, held this past October, was one of the museum’s most well-received events, the press release said. It introduced all-new evening concerts featuring artists like Lee Ann Womack and The SteelDrivers. As a result, this year’s Fall Homecoming boasted record-breaking attendance and attracted new visitors. [Read more…]

Clinton crash injures one

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Information from WYSH radio

A single-vehicle crash Thursday evening in Clinton sent one person to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by Lifestar.

Few details of the crash have been made available, but WYSH reported that Clinton Police Department and Clinton Fire Department units, along with Anderson County EMS personnel, responded to the westbound lanes of Highway 61 near the rock slide area at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The victim, believed to have been the driver of the lone vehicle involved, was flown to UT Medical Center by a Lifestar medical helicopter for treatment of his or her injuries. [Read more…]

Roane State Winter Concert is Saturday at O’Brien Theatre

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Roane State Winter Concert Dec 9 2017

It’s a longstanding tradition at Roane State and a great way to celebrate the holiday season.

The annual Winter Concert featuring all of the college’s music department ensembles will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 9, in the O’Brien Theatre on the Harriman campus, and everyone is invited, said a press release from Roane State Community College.

“All donations collected at the door will help support the Roane State music programs, including our 2018 summer choir tour to Italy,” music department professor Brenda Luggie said.

“This is one of our main on-campus concerts for the season,” she said.

Featured will be the Celebration Singers, Concert Choir, Jazz Band, Stage Band, and Bluegrass Band. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Chamber’s Christmas Parade is Saturday

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Last year's Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce's annual Christmas Parade was Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. (File photo by Eli Welton)

Last year’s Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade was Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. (File photo by Eli Welton)

 

More than 100 entries have registered to participate in the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade. The parade will take place on Saturday, December 9, beginning at 6 p.m. Line-up for those participating will begin at 4 p.m. at Corporate Center on the corner of Lafayette and Laboratory Roads.

This year’s theme is “A Toyland Christmas: Past 75 Years/Future 75 Years,” and the parade promises to provide spectators with plenty of music, lights, and beautiful floats, a press release said. The parade will be a part of Oak Ridge’s 75th Anniversary Celebration. Sponsor of this year’s parade is The Cowperwood Company.

For those who wish to watch the parade, the route begins at Corporate Center, on the corner of Lafayette and Laboratory Road. From there, the parade will travel down Lafayette to the Oak Ridge Turnpike. It will continue west on the Turnpike to Oak Ridge High School. The judge’s stand will be located in front of the Chamber. [Read more…]

Council to discuss Y-12, UPF power lines on Pine Ridge today

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A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge, pictured above from South Illinois Avenue in south Oak Ridge, for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge, pictured above from South Illinois Avenue in south Oak Ridge, for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will discuss the power lines planned on top of Pine Ridge for a new electrical substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex during a special meeting today (Friday, December 8).

Specifically, City Council will review the federal response to a city letter about the planned high-voltage power lines.

The special meeting will start at 1:30 p.m. Friday, December 8, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. [Read more…]

County Commissioners to tour new home of Oak Ridge courtroom Tuesday

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Anderson County could renovate the former Oak Ridge Senior Center, which was once housed in this part of a building owned by Anderson County on Emory Valley Road, and use the space for Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Anderson County is renovating the former Oak Ridge Senior Center, which was once housed in this part of a building owned by Anderson County on Emory Valley Road, and plans to use the space for Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Anderson County Commission on Tuesday will walk through and discuss renovations that are part of the project to relocate Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, from a privately owned building on Bus Terminal Road to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

The public meeting is at 4 p.m. Tuesday, December 12, at the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center, a county-owned building at 728 Emory Valley Road. Parts of that building complex have been home to the Oak Ridge Senior Center, satellite offices of the Anderson County Clerk and Anderson County Trustee, Emory Valley Center, and The ARC Anderson County.

The Oak Ridge Senior Center has temporarily moved from that building to the Oak Ridge Civic Center until a new senior center can be built at Alvin K. Bissell Park.

The new General Sessions courtroom at the county-owned building will be in the big room where the pool and billiard tables used to be at the Oak Ridge Senior Center. [Read more…]

Holiday Express trains coming to Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge

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Holiday Express at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will feature G-scale model trains and a miniature village decorated for the holidays. Here, a CSX model train passes the train station, ready for the holidays. (Submitted photo)

Holiday Express at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will feature G-scale model trains and a miniature village decorated for the holidays. Here, a CSX model train passes the train station, ready for the holidays. (Submitted photo)

 

All aboard the Holiday Express at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge!

A miniature village with 10 garden-scale model trains and thousands of lights will open at the Children’s Museum on Friday, December 8. The Holiday Express features a 2,500-square-foot G-scale railroad display inside the Children’s Museum gymnasium, with the 10 trains running consecutively. The display will be open through January 1.

Designed by landscaper and train enthusiast Mark Fuhrman, the display includes rivers, waterfalls, and more than 100 scale model buildings decorated for the holidays. The trains include logging trains, freight trains, and passenger trains. Many buildings in the village Fuhrman created are scale model replicas of East Tennessee structures, most depicting the architecture during logging days in the Smoky Mountains. [Read more…]

Senior Center to host holiday reception Friday

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The Oak Ridge Senior Center’s annual Holiday Reception will be Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center gymnasium. Pictured above is a picture from last year's Holiday Reception. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Senior Center’s annual Holiday Reception will be Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center gymnasium. Pictured above is a picture from last year’s Holiday Reception. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Senior Center will host a Holiday Reception for area senior citizens on Friday, December 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will be held in the gymnasium of the Civic Center, located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Local seniors are invited for a light lunch of sandwiches, chips, and cookies, as well as holiday music and fellowship, a press release said. The senior center’s guitar group will be playing live Christmas music. Bingo will be offered, and door prizes given away. Goodie bags will also be given out while supplies last. [Read more…]

ORPD investigating robbery reported at Cash Company

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The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a robbery reported at The Cash Company in west Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a robbery reported at The Cash Company in west Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a robbery reported at The Cash Company in west Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.

The robbery was reported at about 2:47 p.m. Friday at the business, which is at 1966 Oak Ridge Turnpike, the ORPD said.

“Officers were advised that a single suspect entered the business with a semiautomatic handgun and demanded money,” the Police Department said in a statement. “The suspect was described as a Caucasian male wearing a dark-colored ski jacket and a light-colored ski mask. The suspect showed the weapon to an employee, took an undisclosed amount of cash, and fled west on foot.” [Read more…]

Lifestar responds to head-on two-car crash on Scarboro Road

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A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter responded to a two-vehicle head-on crash on Scarboro Road near the Y-12 National Security Complex and Commerce Park on Monday evening, Dec. 4, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter responded to a two-vehicle head-on crash on Scarboro Road near the Y-12 National Security Complex and Commerce Park on Monday evening, Dec. 4, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter responded to a head-on two-car crash on Scarboro Road on Monday evening.

The crash was reported at about 6 p.m. Monday, just up the hill from the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex and near Commerce Park.

One driver was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by the UT Lifestar helicopter, which landed at Y-12. The other driver refused treatment, authorities said. [Read more…]