Oak Ridge Today

First Presbyterian offers service of memory, hope Wednesday

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Rev. Sharon Youngs

Rev. Sharon Youngs

For those who have had a challenging year and need the comfort and peace that come from spiritual enrichment, special music, and candles, First Presbyterian Church offers its annual service of memory and hope.

The special service will be held on Wednesday, December 14, at 6:30 p.m., in the sanctuary of the church, located at the southeast corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Lafayette Drive.

“The service is designed for all who desire a quiet, reflective worship experience during this bustling holiday season, particularly those for whom this time of year is difficult, for whatever reason,” said the Reverend Sharon Youngs, church pastor. [Read more…]

Senior Center moving into Civic Center

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The current Oak Ridge Senior Center on Emory Valley Road. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The current Oak Ridge Senior Center in a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road in central Oak Ridge. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

A new target date has been set for the Oak Ridge Senior Center’s temporary transition to the Civic Center on the Oak Ridge Turnpike. Recreation and Parks Department Director Jon Hetrick says they now expect to begin the move in January.

Senior Center activities will then be held in a wing of the Civic Center near the indoor pool facility. Part of the area currently houses administrative offices for Recreation and Parks employees. Most of those employees will relocate to the Scarboro Center while a city-owned building on Badger Avenue is undergoing minor renovations. Once changes to that building, the former Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, are complete, staff will move into the Badger Avenue location permanently.

An architectural firm retained by the city is working on plans for a brand new Senior Center. The aim is to locate it on the same property with the Civic Center. [Read more…]

Gooch re-appointed mayor, Chinn replaces Smith as mayor pro tem

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Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch (File photo by Savanna Schubert)

 

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch has been elected by City Council to a second two-year term as mayor, and City Council member Rick Chinn was appointed mayor pro tem, replacing Ellen Smith.

No other City Council member sought to be appointed mayor, and Gooch, who was first appointed after he was elected in 2014, was unanimously elected by the new City Council.

Smith and Chinn both sought to be appointed mayor pro tem. The mayor pro tem serves as mayor when the mayor is temporarily unavailable. [Read more…]

AMSE property could be transferred to city, then to developer

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AMSE Sign

The American Museum of Science and Energy is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. (File photo by Sara Wise)

 

Note: This story was updated at 2:45 p.m.

The American Museum of Science and Energy property could be transferred to the City of Oak Ridge and then to a developer under a resolution to be considered by Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday.

The City Council will consider whether to accept the 17.12-acre AMSE site from the U.S. Department of Energy during a special meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, December 13, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. The Council will also consider whether to enter into certain agreements with TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC. That company was set up by RealtyLink, the developer building Main Street Oak Ridge at the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The potential property transfer, the latest in a series of AMSE discussions dating back to at least 2003, was endorsed by City Council this summer as part of the Main Street Oak Ridge redevelopment. Council agreed to allow City Manager Mark Watson to negotiate the AMSE property transfer with DOE and RealtyLink.

On Monday, Watson said the city has submitted a property transfer proposal to DOE, and the federal government has accepted the terms. In order to take effect, the City Council has to approve it.

If the transfer is approved, TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC would provide Oak Ridge with 18,000 square feet of space at Main Street Oak Ridge at no cost for 15 years. The city would pay no rent, maintenance, taxes, or utilities. [Read more…]

Anderson County crime continues to drop

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Image by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department

 

An analysis of criminal offenses reported to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department shows a significant decline since 2007, authorities said. The most significant drop in crime numbers occurred from 2011 to 2015.

Here are some of the highlights, according to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department:

From 2014 From 2007
Total Reported Crimes -28.17% -67.95%
Crimes Against Persons -9.95% -71.57%
Crimes Against Property -30.12% -65.24%
Crimes Against Society -44.52% -73.12%

The overall number of crimes reported to the Sheriff’s Department decreased 67.95 percent from 2007 to 2015. In addition, crime is down throughout Anderson County, the Sheriff’s Department said. [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge Chamber’s Christmas Parade

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce's annual Christmas Parade was Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. (Photo by Eli Welton)

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade was Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. (Photo by Eli Welton)

 

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade was Saturday. Here are photos by Eli Welton. [Read more…]

Tennessee Science on the Map: Fastest improving state on the Nation’s Report Card

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By Cathy Ginel

Have you ever run on a treadmill until you are out of breath? Have you ever gotten to a comfortable point and then pushed that speed up just a little more to give yourself a better workout? Tennessee science teachers are on the treadmill, have pushed themselves, are seeing results, and are gearing themselves up for more.

The Nation’s Report Card was recently released showing that Tennessee students grew faster than the national average in science. Tennessee is now ranked the fastest improving in the nation in science and has moved into the top 25 states in science. Tennessee has eliminated the achievement gap between male and female students and has narrowed the achievement gap between white, Hispanic, and black students in science. This encouraging news provided us with needed results and evidence that education changes in Tennessee are having a positive outcome with our students. Teachers are seeing results of their additional work and are pushing for even higher scores in the future. [Read more…]

Business sponsorships sought for robotics competition

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Roane State Community College and Morgan County Career and Technical Center are seeking business sponsors for a VEX Robotics Competition event that will be held January 12-13 at Roane State’s Clinton location.

The VEX Robotics Competition, presented by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, is the largest and fastest growing middle school and high school robotics program globally with more than 16,000 teams from 40 countries playing in more than 1,350 competitions worldwide.

Roane State’s Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility will host a state VEX Robotics Qualifier Tournament Competition from January 12-13. Approximately 30 high school and middle school teams are expected to participate, a press release said. [Read more…]

Roane State campuses will be closed Dec. 17-Jan. 2 for holidays

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Roane State Community College campuses will be closed Saturday, December 17, through Monday, January 2, for the holidays.

The college will reopen Tuesday, January 3, and spring classes will begin on Tuesday, January 17.

Registration and other self-service options are available through the Roane State website at www.roanestate.edu.

For more information, visit www.roanestate.edu or call 1-866-GO2-RSCC (1-866-462-7722).

Christmas Concert by Community Band this afternoon

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The Oak Ridge Community Band performs in a Christmas concert at First Baptist Church in 2015. (Submitted photo)

 

To help you ring in the Christmas season, the Oak Ridge Community Band/Wind Ensemble has a free Music of the Season concert this Sunday afternoon, December 11. The performance begins at 3:30 p.m. and will be held in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church at 1101 Oak Ridge Turnpike. It’s 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. [Read more…]

Fleischmann, Belbeck, Pasqua receive Muddy Boot Awards

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Tennessee Senator and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, left, presents a Muddy Boot Award to U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, at an East Tennessee Economic Council meeting on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. (DOE photo by Lynn Freeny)

 

Businessmen Mike Belbeck and Mike Pasqua and U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann were honored Friday with Muddy Boot Awards. The awards from the East Tennessee Economic Council, or ETEC, pay tribute to people who, through their work and activities, build a better community.

Pasqua helped found and grow SAIC’s Oak Ridge offices and later led the transition to Leidos, a press release said. Belbeck is executive vice president for operations of Covenant Health and active in numerous organizations across the region, the release said.

Covenant Health’s Jan McNally, who recruited Belbeck to be her successor as administrator of Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, presented his award, and Sherry Browder, current chair of ETEC and a former colleague of Pasqua at SAIC, presented that Boot.

Fleischmann returned from Washington to receive his Muddy Boot Award, which was presented by incoming Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, the press release said.

The Council’s Pat Postma also presented the Postma Young Professional Medal to Wade Creswell, chief executive officer of The Roane Alliance. [Read more…]

Photos, video: See plans for the new International Friendship Bell Pavilion

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Design of the Peace Pavilion for the Oak Ridge International Friendship Bell by Demian\Wilbur\Architects, Washington, D.C.

 

ORAU donated $100,000 on Friday, and organizers said they have now raised $525,000 in a drive to  build a new Peace Pavilion for the International Friendship Bell in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge.

Organizers have said it could cost $750,000 to build a new structure for the 8,000-pound bronze bell.

The Japanese-style bell symbolizes unity between the United States and Japan. The two countries fought in World War II. Uranium enriched in Oak Ridge fueled the first atomic bomb used in wartime. It was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, shortly before the end of the war. [Read more…]