Make Oak Ridge Energy Efficient, or MORE2, will be hosting a public meeting for interested applicants Thursday, September 22, from 3-4 p.m. at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.
MORE2, funded by the Tennessee Valley Authority, kicked off in April and began retrofitting the homes of Oak Ridge residents with no-cost energy upgrades, such as new HVAC units and water heaters. [Read more…]
High school seniors can sign up for the Tennessee Promise, complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and fill out their college application as part of Scholarship Saturday on October 1 at Roane State Community College’s Roane County campus in Harriman.
The event will last from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Eastern, and refreshments will be served. Visitors are welcome to drop in anytime between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Check-in will be in the lobby of the Dunbar Building.
Roane State financial aid and admissions staff will be available to help students and their families complete their forms.
The deadline to apply for the Tennessee Promise is November 1. [Read more…]
Becca Seay, right, and Daphne Seay, left, Junior Girl Scouts from Troop 20508 fold white peace doves as souvenirs of the Girl Scouts celebration of the United Nation’s International Day of Peace. (Submitted photo)
Information and photos from Jerralyn Luckmann and Kay Brookshire
Oak Ridge Girl Scout Troops are planning a Peace Demonstration to celebrate the United Nation’’s International Day of Peace, at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21. Also known as World Peace Day, September 21 is a global observance, a day when nations around the world are invited to honor a cessation of hostilities.
To inaugurate the International Day of Peace, the “Peace Bell” is rung at the United Nations Headquarters. The bell was cast in Japan and made from coins donated by children from all continents. It bears the inscription “Long live absolute world peace.”
Girl Scouts from many Oak Ridge troops will gather at the Oak Ridge Friendship Bell, near the proposed location for the Peace Pavilion, which will house the new bell support structure. In the shadow of our own “Peace Bell,” the Girl Scouts will present a program of songs and peace quotes. Troop members are folding peace doves to distribute as keepsakes of the event. [Read more…]
Jackie Clay
The Free Medical Clinic has announced Jackie Clay as its executive director.
The Free Medical Clinic, or FMC, provides no-charge primary care and wellness services to low-income, uninsured residents of Anderson, Morgan, and Roane counties.
Before she joined the FMC, Clay worked for the City of Knoxville as project manager, then as program manager, with a focus on crime reduction programs. She has experience as a community organizer and as an instructor at the University of Tennessee, a press release said.
Clay has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee in social work with concentrations in nonprofit management, leadership, and community practice. She also has a community engagement professional certification from Neighbor Works America Training Institute. [Read more…]
Members of the Oak Ridge delegation at 25th Anniversary celebration of sister city signing agreement with Naka shi, Japan. (Submitted photo)
This year, the Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization, or SCSO, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Sister City agreement between Oak Ridge and Naka-shi, Japan.
The significance of this anniversary was acknowledged with special events in Japan and Tennessee. In July, a 21-member delegation from Oak Ridge traveled to Naka, including City Council member Rick Chinn; Myles Hebrard, supervisor of special education for Oak Ridge schools; SCSO Chairwoman Jerralyn Luckmann; Japanese mentor Shigeko Uppuluri; and the 2016 middle school exchange delegation of students and teachers and other SCSO members. A reception and dinner with more than 100 Naka shi dignitaries, officials, and Naka International Exchange Association members attended and honored the Oak Ridge group with recognitions, gifts, songs, and karate demonstrations. [Read more…]
First, consumers received text messages falsely claiming to be from Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union. It was a scam designed to get personal information.
Now, they are receiving phone calls and additional text messages, the credit union said in an update posted on its website on Tuesday.
“Consumers are now receiving phone calls informing them of past due payments,” the credit union said. “They are given a number to call back and asked to give personal information. These calls are not from the credit union. Please do not give out personal sensitive information!”
On Monday, the credit union said members and non-members received text messages resembling the ones from this past weekend, but asking recipients to click a link instead of calling a phone number. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Police Department searched a home in east Oak Ridge after they responded to a shots-fired call and set up a perimeter around the house Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 20, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Oak Ridge Police Department searched a home in east Oak Ridge after they responded to a shots-fired call and set up a perimeter around a house Tuesday afternoon.
The call was reported at 1:29 p.m. Multiple police units responded, including patrol and K-9 officers, detectives, and the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force truck.
Officers couldn’t make contact with the residents at 118 East Arrowwood Road, and they set up a perimeter and sent an entry team, Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. [Read more…]
The Kmart store on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge will close in mid-December. The store is pictured above on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Kmart store in Oak Ridge is closing in mid-December, and the company’s lease expires in March. It’s too early to comment on prospective tenants, but the property owners have already had quite a bit of interest in that building, a manager said Tuesday.
Kmart has been located on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge for 25 years, said Jim Harrison, manager of Oak Ridge Group Associates, which owns the property.
The owners would love to have Kmart stay and be successful, but now that the company has announced they’re closing the store, with a liquidation sale starting Thursday, Oak Ridge Group Associates is working hard to try to get the property redeveloped or leased again, Harrison said. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge High School WildBand won the High Music Award at the 2016 Maryville Marching Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016. (Photo courtesy Merny Hughey/ORHS WildBand)
The Oak Ridge High School WildBand won the High Music Award at the 2016 Maryville Marching Invitational on Saturday, September 17.
This is the third year in a row that Oak Ridge has earned the award, said Merny Hughey, music and teacher assistant.
The band’s next competition will be at the Karns High School Marching Festival on Saturday, September 24.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department warned on Monday that cell phone users across the area are receiving text messages claiming to be alerts from Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union.
“These messages are not from the credit union, and the credit union says they will not contact consumers in this manner and ask for personal information,” the Sheriff’s Department said.
If you have called the number in the message and given them any information, you are urged to call the credit union at (800) 554-8969 to close your debit card and order a new one.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
The Kmart store on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge will close in mid-December. The store is pictured above on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Kmart store in Oak Ridge will close in mid-December, the company said Monday.
“We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and have accelerated the closing of unprofitable stores as previously announced,” the company said in a statement. “We can confirm that we are making the difficult but necessary decision to close the Kmart store at 370 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.”
The store will remain open to customers until the mid-December closing and start a liquidation sale on September 22.
“We often hear from our members who are disappointed when we close a store, but our Shop Your Way membership platform, websites, and mobile apps allow us to maintain these valued relationships long after a store closes its doors,” Kmart said in the statement. “As a result, we hope to retain a portion of the sales previously associated with this store by maintaining our relationships with the members who shopped this location.” [Read more…]
John Kupfner
Renu Bhateja
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and in support of this important initiative, Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge is bringing together medical professionals from Peninsula, a division of Parkwest Medical Center, and Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services for a special Health Night on the Town presentation. The program will take place Tuesday, September 27, at 7 p.m. in the Ridge Conference Room at Methodist Medical Center, 990 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Join Methodist as John Kupfner, MD, board-certified psychiatrist on staff at Peninsula Behavioral Health, and Renu Bhateja, MD, psychiatrist at Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services, discuss suicide prevention, warning signs to look for in loved ones, and how to receive help.
Kupfner has been fellowship trained in child and adolescent psychiatry, a press release said. He received his medical degree from the University of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, and he completed fellowship training at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. Kupfner currently serves as the department chair of Peninsula, medical director for Peninsula Outpatient Clinics, and works as a staff psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of children and adolescents. He also serves as an attending psychiatrist at Peninsula Hospital. Kupfner is the current chair of the Physician Wellness Committee at Parkwest Medical Center. [Read more…]
