Oak Ridge Today

Local students selected for master class with renowned violinist

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Top row from left above are Kate Hausladen, Michael Ma, and Rachel Barton Pine; and bottom row from left are Sidney Matlock and Hannah Shipstad. (Submitted photos)

Top row from left above are Kate Hausladen, Michael Ma, and Rachel Barton Pine; and bottom row from left are Sidney Matlock and Hannah Shipstad. (Submitted photos)

 

Four East Tennessee students have been selected to participate in a special master class with celebrated concert violinist Rachel Barton Pine on Friday.

The master class is from 3-5 p.m. Friday, March 31, at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center. It’s part of a series of concerts and outreach activities featuring Pine and presented by the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association.

Kate Hausladen is a 15-year-old sophomore at Oak Ridge High School. She began playing violin at the age of four, studying with Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra violist Susan Shor, and has been studying with Karen Kartal for the past six years. She has been a member of the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra Association since 2010, and she has played in the Youth Orchestra for the past two years. She has been chosen to play in the Youth Aliyah annual concert in Oak Ridge several times and was selected to the All East and All State orchestras in 2016.

Hausladen is also a competitive soccer player and was All State for the 300-meter hurdles in 2016.

She will perform “Rondo,” the last movement in “Symphonie Espagnole” by Edouard Lalo.

Michael Ma is a senior at Oak Ridge High School. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots Team 4265 from Oak Ridge is heading to world competition

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge High School Robotics Team, the Secret City Wildbots Team 4265, competed at the FIRST Robotics Smoky Mountain Regional March 23-25 at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. The Wildbots were named captain of a finalist team, and they won the Engineering Inspiration Award sponsored by NASA and an invitation to the National Championships in Houston, Texas, with the $5,000 entry fee being paid for by NASA. (Photo by Angi Agle)

The Oak Ridge High School Robotics Team, the Secret City Wildbots Team 4265, competed at the FIRST Robotics Smoky Mountain Regional March 23-25 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. The Wildbots were named captain of a finalist team, and they won the Engineering Inspiration Award sponsored by NASA and an invitation to the National Championships in Houston, Texas, with the $5,000 entry fee being paid for by NASA. (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

The Oak Ridge High School Robotics Team, the Secret City Wildbots Team 4265, competed at the FIRST Robotics Smoky Mountain Regional March 23-25 with 47 other teams at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.

After 10 qualification matches, they ranked third with a record of 7-2-1. As the third-seated alliance captain, they chose to ally with Category 5 Team 3489, from Charleston, South Carolina, and Sigmac@t Robotics Team 108, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Together, this three-team alliance moved through the eliminations, earning the top three total match scores for the entire competition. These scores were: 445, 450, 455. In the finals, they succumbed to the impressive defensive measures of the sixth-seated alliance comprised of Delphi E.L.I.T.E. Team 48 from Warren, Ohio; Flagship Team 3140 from Farragut High School; and Shark Attack Team 744 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In addition to being named the captain of the finalist team, the Secret City Wildbots Team 4265 won the Engineering Inspiration Award sponsored by NASA and an invitation to the National Championships in Houston, Texas, with the $5,000 entry fee being paid for by NASA. This is the second time the team has won this prestigious award, a press release said. [Read more…]

St. Mary’s students compete in local science fair

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The St. Mary’s 2017 Middle School Science Fair was held on February 9, 2017. A total of 57 projects were entered for judging. The projects were divided into two categories, physical and biological sciences, and the judges awarded a first through fifth place in each category. (Submitted photo)

The St. Mary’s 2017 Middle School Science Fair was held on February 9, 2017. A total of 57 projects were entered for judging. The projects were divided into two categories, physical and biological sciences, and the judges awarded a first through fifth place in each category. (Submitted photo)

The St. Mary’s 2017 Middle School Science Fair was held on February 9, 2017. A total of 57 projects were entered for judging. The projects were divided into two categories, physical and biological sciences, and the judges awarded a first through fifth place in each category. (Submitted photo)

The St. Mary’s 2017 Middle School Science Fair was held on February 9, 2017. A total of 57 projects were entered for judging. The projects were divided into two categories, physical and biological sciences, and the judges awarded a first through fifth place in each category. (Submitted photo)


The St. Mary’s 2017 Middle School Science Fair was held on February 9.  A total of 57 projects were entered for judging. The projects were divided into two categories, physical and biological sciences, and the judges awarded a first through fifth place in each category. In addition, two honorable mentions were awarded in biological sciences and seven in physical sciences.

Physical Sciences Winners

[Read more…]

Weaver presents program on African-American involvement in Manhattan Project to Oak Ridge youth

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

On February 22, in honor of Black History Month, Rose Weaver, in conjunction with Manhattan Project National Historical Park, presented an informative program on African-American involvement in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the “Secret City.” (Photo courtesy Manhattan Project National Historical Park)

On February 22, in honor of Black History Month, Rose Weaver, in conjunction with Manhattan Project National Historical Park, presented an informative program on African-American involvement in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the “Secret City.” (Photo courtesy Manhattan Project National Historical Park)

 

On February 22, in honor of Black History Month, Rose Weaver, in conjunction with Manhattan Project National Historical Park, presented an informative program on African-American involvement in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the “Secret City.”

Weaver is an active member of the Oak Ridge community and has a passion for preserving the history of the African-American presence since the city’s inception, a press release said. During the past 15 years, Weaver and her late brother, Terry Weaver, have been gathering oral histories and artifacts for a traveling exhibit to tell the stories of the rich history of Oak Ridge and to share with area youth.

She gave her program to a group of 20 young girls at Girls Inc. in Oak Ridge, the press release said. The girls are participating in a year-long educational program called Parks in Focus. The goal of the program is to educate the youths about the natural/cultural history of the area as well as basic photography skills. [Read more…]

Prevent Child Abuse presents special showing of ‘Resilience’

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee will present a special showing of “Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope” in April in Oak Ridge.

“This impactful documentary is a great introduction to the topic of making our community more trauma informed,” said Susan Moore, regional program manager for Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee.

The video portion is about one hour long, and it will be followed by a panel discussion, Moore said.

It’s a free community event, and it will be at Roane State Community College at 701 Briarcliff Avenue in Oak Ridge. The screening will be in Goff 107. [Read more…]

OREPA to present information about U.S. weapons programs at United Nations

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Ralph Hutchison

Ralph Hutchison

The United Nations conference on a nuclear weapons ban opens in New York City on Monday, March 27. The purpose of the conference is to “negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading toward their total elimination,” a press release said.

Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, will be presenting in a side event during the conference on Tuesday, March 28, with colleagues from other nuclear weapons sites, the press release said. The panel discussion, “US Nuclear Modernization Under President Trump: Implications for the Ban Treaty Process,” was organized by the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. The focus will be on U.S. efforts to modernize the entire nuclear weapons program, the release said. [Read more…]

BBB: Roane BOE to revisit consolidation decision

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

According to our partners at BBB-TV, the Roane County Board of Education met Thursday night and after several people in the near-capacity crowd addressed the panel, voted to revisit its previously announced decision to consolidate all five of the county’s high schools into one large school.

Last month, the Board had voted 7-3 to move forward on consolidating the schools, but following last week’s meeting where several people voiced opposition to the plan, including many from the Oliver Springs area, the Board decided to review its decision.

The Board now says it will meet in a work session on April 6 at 6:30 pm at the Central Municipal Building in Kingston to further discuss the school consolidation plan and see if any changes can be made. [Read more…]

Emert running for Anderson County mayor

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Steve Emert

Steve Emert

Steve Emert, chair of the Anderson County Commission, is running for Anderson County mayor as a Republican in the 2018 election.

Emert has served the last five years as a county commissioner from District 3, which includes Norris and Andersonville. He has been county commission chair for the past two years.

When he was elected to County Commission in 2012, Emert said in a press release, he immediately started furthering his education in every aspect of the local government, and he earned the CPA designation (certified public administrator).

Emert is a longtime local businessman and entrepreneur, the press release said. [Read more…]

NRC has accepted TVA’s early site permit application for small nuclear reactors

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

TVA-SMRs-at-NRC-Meeting-April-12-2016

The Tennessee Valley Authority applied for an early site permit in May 2016 that could help prepare for small modular nuclear reactors at the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge, possibly as soon as the mid-2020s. Pictured above at a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting on the early site permit on Tuesday, April 12, 2016, is Dan Stout, TVA senior manager, small modular reactors. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority submitted an application last May for an early site permit for small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs, at the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, accepted the application for “docketing and detailed technical review” in December.

The early site permit application is for two or more SMRs.

A specific reactor design has not been selected. The NRC said TVA has identified parameters for a surrogate nuclear plant, and the NRC will use them to evaluate the site’s suitability for building and operating a new nuclear plant.

“If NRC determines that the site is suitable for the building and operation of a new nuclear plant, prior to building and operation of a plant at the site, NRC would need to review and approve an additional application from TVA (either a combined license (COL) or a construction permit (CP)) that includes a specific reactor design,” the NRC said on its website.

The project’s timeline, which includes a detailed technical review, is now in the hands of the NRC, and it will likely take several years, TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said Friday. [Read more…]

Council to discuss General Sessions Court, legislative updates

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

oak-ridge-city-council-december-2016

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above in December 2016. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council is scheduled to discuss a project to relocate the Anderson County General Sessions Court from a private building on Bus Terminal Road to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road during a work session on Monday evening.

Council is also scheduled to receive a legislative update and possibly discuss issues of interest to Oak Ridge, including bills related to the Industrial Development Board, school financing bills, and other bills of interest to cities.

The work session will follow a special meeting scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Monday, March 27, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. The one item on the special meeting agenda is a vote on whether to build the new preschool at Scarboro Park. [Read more…]

Council scheduled to vote on Scarboro Park for preschool on Monday

Posted at
By 6 Comments

The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to build a new preschool at Scarboro Park during a special meeting on Monday, March 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council is scheduled to vote on selecting Scarboro Park for the new preschool during a special meeting on Monday.

The special meeting starts at 7 p.m. Monday, March 27, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education selected Scarboro Park in February. [Read more…]

Roane State paramedic alumni promoted

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Nathan Sweet, left, director of the Anderson County EMS, and Danny McCreary, deputy director, are pictured with two other graduates of Roane State's Paramedic Program who were recently promoted to assistant supervisors, Carrissa Keathley, left, and Misti Smiddy. (Submitted photo)

Nathan Sweet, left, director of the Anderson County EMS, and Danny McCreary, deputy director, are pictured with two other graduates of Roane State’s Paramedic Program who were recently promoted to assistant supervisors, Carrissa Keathley, left, and Misti Smiddy. (Submitted photo)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

CLINTON—Graduates of Roane State Community College’s paramedic program continue to receive promotions within area emergency medical services agencies, said David S. Blevins.

Blevins, director of EMS Education in the Allied Health Sciences Division of Roane State, said two paramedics, Carrissa Keathley and Misti Smiddy, have been promoted to the rank of lieutenant within the Anderson County EMS operation.

“They are great paramedics and strong additions to the supervisory team of Anderson County EMS,” said Director Nathan Sweet, who is also a graduate of Roane State’s paramedic program. [Read more…]