Anderson County has received a $50,000 state tourism grant.
The grant was one of 29 announced Friday by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd. The grants, called Tourism Enhancement Grants, total more than $1 million.
The grants will help with tourism infrastructure, a press release said. [Read more…]
Timothy Shriver (Submitted photo)
Timothy Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics, will be the keynote speaker for the Fourth Annual Spring Fundraiser for the Emory Valley Center. The fundraiser is scheduled for Friday, April 28.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, Dr. Shriver’s mother, Eunice Shriver, saw how unfairly people with intellectual disabilities were being treated. She also noticed that many children with intellectual disabilities didn’t even have a place to play, so she took action and planned a backyard summer camp for them which focused on their abilities. Over the years, the movement grew and in 1968, the first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Chicago, a press release said. [Read more…]
Photo courtesy ADFAC
Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC, has reached a major milestone: 30 years of helping low-income families in the community.
It was January 28, 1987, that ADFAC officially became an incorporated nonprofit in the State of Tennessee. To recognize this achievement, ADFAC will celebrate through 2017 with special events and projects.
Last October, ADFAC kicked off its 30th year by providing a special birthday cake, snacks, and drinks to members of First Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge. When ADFAC was first forming, First Presbyterian offered office space to the young organization. As the years went by and ADFAC grew both in size and services, First Presbyterian provided additional office space. [Read more…]
Jason Robert Braden III
Funeral arrangements have been announced for the three-year-old who died after a two-vehicle crash in Oak Ridge on Friday, January 13.
The crash occurred at about 5:20 p.m. January 13 at the intersection of Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive.
Jason Robert Braden III of Clinton died at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville from injuries sustained in the crash, according to his obituary.
It said Jason will be dearly missed by all his family. Jason loved to watch “Tom the Tow Truck” on his tablet, and his favorite dogs on “Paw Patrol” were Marshal and Chase. Jason’s favorite song was “Burning it Down,” and he loved his baby brother, Justyn. [Read more…]
First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge is pictured above at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and North Tulane Avenue. (Photo courtesy Jeff Kile)
During the month of December, First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge hosted a free community dinner to any and all people in our community who were in need of a home-cooked meal. No questions, no hoops, no requirements…just a time of delicious food and heartfelt fellowship with whomever decided to wander into our doors, a press release said.
Beginning this month, the church, located at 1350 Oak Ridge Turnpike, is going to begin regularly hosting a free community meal on the last Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room. [Read more…]
What started as a grass roots calling on a Facebook page a few days after the November election quickly morphed into what estimates now suggest could be more than 200,000 people who will join in the Women’s March on Washington on January 21, the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, a press release said.
Those who would like to stand in solidarity with the Women’s March but are unable to make the 500-mile journey will have a place to gather in Anderson County, the press release said. Everyone is welcome to attend a progressive organizations fair on Saturday, January 21, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike, the release said. [Read more…]
Photo courtesy Scott Linn
By Scott Linn
As have so many across the country and throughout Tennessee, students and teachers from Jefferson Middle School express their sadness over the recent fires that burned through Gatlinburg, destroying a number of buildings and homes.
JMS ski and snowboard club members have been taking after-school trips to Ober Gatlinburg for more than 20 years on Wednesday afternoons each winter.
This year, to show support for the area and those who are working to rebuild, the students are wearing Smokies Strong T-shirts for their ski trips to Ober Gatlinburg. The shirts were a gift from an anonymous donor who provided the club with 50 shirts.
“When our club showed up in our Smokies Strong shirts on our first trip of the season, it had an impact on the workers up there, and I’m just really glad the club could play even a small part in helping lift their spirits,” said seventh-grader Allison Myers.
The Red Cross, the Dollywood Foundation, and Friends of the Smokies will benefit from proceeds of the sales of the shirts. [Read more…]
Convertible laptops were provided to 9th-grade and 10th-grade students at Oak Ridge High School in October 2016 as part of Oak Ridge Schools’ digital initiative, which is known as Access Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)
Oak Ridge Schools is working on completing the second phase of a program that, among other things, provides convertible laptops to students. The program is known as Access Oak Ridge.
Phase Two brings the technology, which is also known as one-to-one technology, into all high school classrooms.
Due to funding, Oak Ridge Schools started the second phase by purchasing devices for two grade levels, ninth and tenth grades.
To complete Phase Two, about 750 additional machines are required at an estimated cost of $530,000. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge High School will begin offering a Navy Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or ROTC, program in the 2017-2018 school year.
ORHS has been trying to start a Junior ROTC program since 2014. It’s expected to lead to more students attaining the seventh key in the school system’s Seven Keys to College and Career Reediness. (The seventh key says all students will participate in dual enrollment, advanced placement coursework, industry certification, or military preparation by graduation.)
The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation and CNS—the contractor that operates and manages the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas—have donated $15,000 to help with start-up costs of the Navy JROTC. An announcement of that $15,000 donation called the Navy Junior ROTC program the Naval National Defense Cadet Corp program. [Read more…]
Registration is now open for a Lifeguard Certification Course being offered by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department over spring break. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
Registration is now open for a lifeguard certification course being offered by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department during spring break.
The course will be held Monday, March 20, through Friday, March 24, at the Oak Ridge Civic Center’s indoor pool facility. The class begins at 10 a.m. each day, and it is scheduled to run until 2:30 p.m.
There are some pre-requisites for the course. Registrants must be at least 15 years old and be able to pass the pre-swim test for admission. The test will be held on the first day of class. [Read more…]
Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge
The Oak Ridge Civic Center Recreation Building will be closed to the public on Wednesday, January 25, and Thursday, January 26, for an Electric Department training event.
As a reminder, the Senior Center will also be closed between Monday, January 23, and Saturday, January 28, as it transitions to the Civic Center Recreation Building. The Senior Center will reopen Monday, January 30, at the Civic Center. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today
A demolition crew this week began the work of tearing down the old Magnet Mills Building in downtown Clinton.
The historic structure has fallen into disprepair over the years and has been cited numerous times by the city’s codes enforcment department.
The demolition crew is working under the supervision of Clinch River Properties, and officials estimate that the demolition that began Monday and the ensuing clean-up of the site could be completed within 30 to 60 days. [Read more…]
