Oak Ridge Today

Y-12: Quick-acting officer helps save a life

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The Y-12 Fire Department paramedics and security police officer who gave Freida Williford, front, lifesaving CPR visited her and her husband at the Harriman Care and Rehabilitation Center. From left behind her are, Justin Blackstock, Joe Perian, Keith Williford, Rick Dettmering, Brad Holt, and Loyd Williams. (Photo by Y-12)

The Y-12 Fire Department paramedics and security police officer who gave Freida Williford, front, lifesaving CPR visited her and her husband at the Harriman Care and Rehabilitation Center. From left behind her are Justin Blackstock, Joe Perian, Keith Williford, Rick Dettmering, Brad Holt, and Loyd Williams. (Photo by Y-12)

 

By Y-12 National Security Complex

Radiation control technician Freida Williford and two coworkers had been working in the Y-12 Protected Area and were headed to lunch one day in a van. She remembers feeling strange—dizzy, with a severe headache.

No, she didn’t need to go to medical, she told her coworker; it would pass. That was the last memory she had before waking up in the hospital.

As she later learned, the time during her memory gap included lifesaving steps taken by Y‑12 employees and medical professionals that gave Williford a second chance at life.

What happened in between—lifesaving steps taken by Y‑12 employees and medical professionals—gave Williford a second chance at life. [Read more…]

Senior Advisory Board to vote on location for new Senior Center at Civic Center

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This Option 1 for locating the new Oak Ridge Senior Center at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

This is Option 1 for locating the new Oak Ridge Senior Center at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. The Senior Center would be the building with the pink-highlighted border to the right of the Community Center. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will vote on one of four options for locating the new Oak Ridge Senior Center at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The board will vote during a special meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, April 10, in the Club Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The options were presented to the board by Studio 4 Design at the regular monthly Senior Advisory Board meeting on Monday, April 3. All four proposals have the new senior center facility located on the Civic Center property. Monday’s meeting will focus on recommendation of one of the options for the new center.

The current options take many factors into consideration, including parking availability, ease of access and possible drop-off locations, prominence of location relative to Oak Ridge Turnpike, potential construction complications, green space preservation, and optimization of aesthetic views, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge-based intensive training produces national Memory Master

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Colby Salzman achieved Memory Master after demonstrating mastery of over 500 pieces of information learned weekly. (Submitted photo)

Colby Salzman achieved Memory Master after demonstrating mastery of over 500 pieces of information learned weekly. (Submitted photo)

 

On March 29, 8-year old Colby Salzman, son of Lee Salzman and Oak Ridge High School 1985 graduate Andrea (Poteat) Salzman, wrapped up 24 weeks of intensive memorization efforts by earning his Memory Master award. He subsequently ate a fruit snack and went out to play with his friends.

“Memory Master” is an honor bestowed to students who have mastered all the memory work learned through the Classical Conversations (CC) classical homeschooling curriculum. Classical Conversations defines “mastery” as the storing of information to long-term memory, which means the students do not cram for a single test and then move on; instead they learn to use each fact as a hook for more facts.

Colby puts it more simply, “When I hear 1789, I can’t help it. I think about aristocrats’ heads being chopped off by the guillotine in France.”

During the school year, students (age 4-12) meet weekly at Calvary Baptist Church in Oak Ridge and work together to learn facts through song, movement, experimentation, drawing, and laughter, a press release said. [Read more…]

Sears’ future won’t affect Sears Hometown Store in Oak Ridge

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Sears Hometown Store on Fairbanks Road in Oak Ridge had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, March 17, 2017. (Photo by Kay Brookshire)

Sears Hometown Store on Fairbanks Road in Oak Ridge had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, March 17, 2017. (Photo by Kay Brookshire)

 

With the recent news surrounding Sears Holdings Corporation, the Sears Hometown Store in Oak Ridge said Wednesday that it wants to assure local residents “they are going strong and will continue providing the community access to the brands they love and need.”

Sears Hometown locations operate under Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc., which separated from Sears Holdings Corporation in October 2012 and is a completely separate, publicly-traded company, a press release said.

“With this, news reports from Sears Holdings Corporation about its performance or store closings are in no way a reflection of the health of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores or the Oak Ridge Sears Hometown Store,” the press release said. “Plus, unlike most retail concepts, Sears Hometown Stores combine the value, selection, and services associated with larger retail stores but are owned and operated by a member of the local community.”

The Oak Ridge store is locally owned and operated. [Read more…]

Crisis intervention training helps save life in Rocky Top

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Twenty law enforcement personnel graduated from Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, training on March 10, 2017. The graduates represented Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Rocky Top Police Department, Anderson County Corrections Office, and Blount Memorial Security. (Submitted photo)

Twenty law enforcement personnel graduated from Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, training on March 10, 2017. The graduates represented Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Rocky Top Police Department, Anderson County Corrections Office, and Blount Memorial Security. (Submitted photo)

 

Twenty law enforcement personnel graduated from Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, training on March 10. The graduates represented Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Rocky Top Police Department, Anderson County Corrections Office, and Blount Memorial Security.

CIT is an innovative first-responder model of police-based crisis intervention with community, health care, and advocacy partnerships. CIT provides 40 hours of specialized training for problem solving and de-escalating crisis situations with individuals who have a mental illness. Studies show it also improves the safety of patrol officers, consumers, family members, and citizens within the community, a press release said.

“Thanks to the partnership between the Oak Ridge City Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Ridgeview Behavioral Health, NAMI Oak Ridge, the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee, and other community health advocates, our community has better equipped itself with first responders who have an effective set of communication and problem solving skills,” Oak Ridge Police Department Chief James Akagi said in his opening remarks.

So far, the East Tennessee Crisis Intervention Team has trained more than 180 law enforcement personnel, the press release said. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has Spring Wildflower Walk on Sunday

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Kris Light (Submitted photo)

Kris Light (Submitted photo)

 

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will have a spring wildflower walk on Sunday, April 9.

The walk is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at Haw Ridge Park on Edgemoor Road in Oak Ridge. The parking lot is at the west end of the park. The walk is free and open to the public. Kris Light, an expert naturalist, educator, and photographer will lead this fun, educational, and easy walk, a press release said.

Participants may want to bring a camera to take pictures of the many wildflowers on the grounds, the press release said. If participants have a wildflower book, Light suggests bringing that as well. [Read more…]

Reminder: Community Wellness Fair is today

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Reminder: The Community Wellness Fair is today.

The Wellness Fair is hosted by the City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee and Oak Ridge Schools Coordinated School Health. It’s scheduled from noon to 5 p.m. today (Wednesday, April 5) in the Oak Ridge Civic Center. Admission is free and everyone is invited.

A variety of health screenings will be offered. Topics to be covered include: [Read more…]

FBI investigates Kingston Pike bank robbery, describes suspect

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The FBI is investigating a bank robbery at the U.S. Bank at 8845 Kingston Pike in Knoxville at about 5 p.m. April 4, 2017. (Photo: FBI)

The FBI is investigating a bank robbery at the U.S. Bank at 8845 Kingston Pike in Knoxville at about 5 p.m. April 4, 2017. (Photo: FBI)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating a bank robbery reported at a U.S. Bank on Kingston Pike in Knoxville on Tuesday afternoon.

The robbery was reported at the U.S. Bank at 8845 Kingston Pike at about 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The FBI reported that a white man entered the bank and demanded money with a note.

“After obtaining an undisclosed amount of money from the bank, the robber fled in a white, four-door sedan,” the FBI said.

The robber is described as a white male with gray hair down to his collar, and he is estimated to be about 6’0” and weigh about 250 pounds. He could be between 45-55 years old, and he was wearing a gray hooded sweat shirt, dark-colored sweat pants, white sneakers, glasses, and a dark-colored knit cap, the FBI said. [Read more…]

Senior Advisory Board to recommend one of four options for Senior Center site location on Monday

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The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will recommend one of four Senior Center site locations proposed by Studio 4 Design at the board’s April 3 meeting.

The board is expected to make the recommendation on one of the four locations during a special meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, April 10, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Club Room.

Board members and other interested citizens are invited to attend the meeting. If you have any questions, you can contact Recreation Manager Linda McGhee at lmcghee@oakridgetn.gov or (865) 425-3999.

Oak Ridge Today has requested more information on the four options, and we will update this story as we can.

KCSO investigates robbery at gas station in Solway, describes suspects

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The Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is investigating an armed robbery early Monday morning at a gas station in Solway. (Photo via Knox County Sheriff's Office/Facebook)

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is investigating an armed robbery early Monday morning at a gas station in Solway. (Photo via Knox County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook)

 

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is investigating an armed robbery early Monday morning at a gas station in Solway.

According to the initial investigation, two males entered the Kenjo Market, located at 8901 Oak Ridge Highway, around 4:18 a.m. Monday, the KCSO said. Armed with a handgun, the two robbed the business of an undisclosed amount of money and fled.

One suspect is described as a white male with brown hair, approximately 45-60 years old, and he is 5’8”-5’10” and estimated to weigh 180-200 pounds. He was wearing a white bandana around his neck, a red and black shirt, denim pants, and a dark-colored hat at the time of the robbery, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said. [Read more…]

Education Foundation to award more than $90,000 in grants in April 26 ceremony

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A photo from a grant award last year for a 3D printer for Robertsville Middle School. (Submitted photo)

A photo from a grant award last year for a 3D printer for Robertsville Middle School. (Submitted photo)

 

In the final year of its “Making the Critical Difference” campaign, the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award more than $90,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers at a ceremony on Wednesday, April 26, a press release said.

Shirley Raines, president emeritus of the University of Memphis, will be the featured speaker, the press release said. She will give a talk titled, “Dreamers, Thinkers, Doers.”

The grants ceremony is open to the public, and it will be held in the Oak Ridge High School cafeteria beginning at 4 p.m. April 26.

Demonstrations and displays of some of the projects and technology funded by the Foundation will be given after the formal ceremony, the press release said. Light refreshments will be provided courtesy of Oak Ridge Utility District.

The 2017 grant recipients are as follows: [Read more…]

ORISE unveils new website, provides one location for resources such as STEM internships, fellowships

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A screenshot of the new ORISE website.

A screenshot of the new ORISE website.

 

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, or ORISE, has unveiled its new website, providing one location for a wide range of resources, a press release said.

The new ORISE website offers a portal for students and graduates looking for STEM internships, fellowships, and other professional development opportunities; information on scientific peer review; medical consultation for radiation incidents through the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, or REAC/TS; worker health studies; environmental and radiological assessments; lab services; and much more ORISE information, the press release said. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.)

“A great deal of user research was performed before work on the actual website began, including conducting focus groups with people who the website is designed to target,” said ORISE Director Jim Vosburg. “We used this research to design the website for ease of navigation and to match the design and content with what our target audience wants and needs.”

The website navigation is primarily based on users identifying themselves, such as students and graduates, educators, scientists, health and environmental professionals, so they can quickly navigate to the areas they want to visit, the press release said.

Top-level navigation also features ORISE capability areas and assets, which allows users to more precisely locate the content that interests them, the press release said. [Read more…]