Oak Ridge Today

NC principal, UT grad named ORHS principal

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Martin McDonald

Martin McDonald

Martin McDonald, of High Point, North Carolina, has agreed to become the principal of Oak Ridge High School effective July 1.

McDonald was selected following the screening of applications and interviews of selected candidates by a committee including administrators, Oak Ridge High School staff members, and both a student and parent representative from ORHS, a press release said.

He will replace the current principal, David Bryant, who is retiring. Bryant had been an assistant principal and interim principal before he was named principal in January 2014. Byrant has also been an administrator at the Alternative Program, and he began his career with Oak Ridge Schools as a special education teacher in 1985. [Read more…]

TBI report shows overall drop in crime, but murder reports up in Tenn.

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NASHVILLE—The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released its 2014 Crime in Tennessee report on Monday, and it showed an overall decline in crime, but reported murders increased and arrests for driving under the influence were up slightly.

The annual study compiles data reported from each law enforcement agency in the state, providing an updated and comprehensive picture of the successes and challenges facing communities across Tennessee, a press release said.

Among the report’s findings: [Read more…]

Alpha Kappa Alpha fundraiser will benefit TORCH, Pat Summitt Foundation, KARM

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A June fundraiser will benefit three nonprofit organizations: TORCH, the Pat Summitt Foundation, and Knox Area Rescue Ministries, or KARM.

The June 13 fundraiser is sponsored by members of the Oak Ridge Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA) Incorporated. The fundraiser, “Dancing with the AKAs,” will take place in the Knoxville Expo Center Ballroom on Clinton Highway.

The three nonprofits provide important services to the local communities, a press release said. TORCH, or Trinity Out-Reach Center of Hope, of Oak Ridge, provides supportive services and intensive care management to help the homeless. The Pat Summitt Foundation fights Alzheimer’s disease with a comprehensive approach. And KARM seeks to rescue the poor and provide life skills training and educational opportunities. [Read more…]

DOE Environmental Management has community budget workshop on Wednesday

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U.S. Department of Energy Logo

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management is hosting its annual Community Budget Workshop on Wednesday, April 29.

The purpose of this year’s workshop is for interested members of the community and stakeholders to learn about our program’s top cleanup priorities, and to provide input on additional priorities that they would like OREM to consider as officials begin developing the Fiscal Year 2017 budget.

The workshop is scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, in the Pollard Auditorium at 210 Badger Avenue in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Video: Check out these robots stacking totes, garbage cans, ‘noodles’

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This is a video taken by Angi Agle on Saturday, April 25, 2015, at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.

This was the first round of the Hopper Division quarterfinals for an alliance that included the Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265 of Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Other members were Team 987, the Highrollers of Las Vegas, Nevada (team captain, #1 ranked in the division), and Team 2826, Wave Robotics of Oshkosh, Wisconsin (ranked #2 in the division). This round began at 9:51 a.m. Central time Saturday.

The first 15 seconds are the autonomous period, where the robot executes a pre-programmed routine with no human control. 2826 Wave achieves points by stacking three yellow totes in the designated area, while 987 Highrollers snag three garbage cans from the center area. While this achieves no autonomous points, the garbage cans stacked on top of gray totes multiplies the point value of the stack, so it is important to get them first—before the other alliance does so. [Read more…]

High achievement: Wildbots alliance finishes second in robotics competition finals

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An alliance that included the Secret City Wildbots of Oak Ridge High School finished second in the final championship round at the FIRST Robotics Competition in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday.

Maddie Buckner, a member of Team 4265 of Oak Ridge High School, is pictured above with Professor Woodie Flowers at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, April 25, 2015. (Photos by Angi Agle)

 

An alliance that included the Secret City Wildbots of Oak Ridge High School finished second in the final championship round at the FIRST Robotics Competition in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday.

It’s the highest achievement in the five-year history of Team 4265, Oak Ridge Board of Education member Angi Agle said.

The Secret City Wildbots were picked to join a four-team alliance with the first- and second-place ranked teams and made it into the elimination rounds on Saturday. That alliance won the Hopper Subdivision and advanced to the finals, the Einstein round, which was also on Saturday.

The alliance included: [Read more…]

Student loan debt challenges, solutions to be discussed Monday

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Student loan debt challenges and solutions will be discussed during a Monday evening meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club.

The featured speaker will be Beth Hickman, who is on the Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee and a former field representative for Congressman Lincoln Davis.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. Monday, April 27, in the Clinton Community Center Club Room at 101 South Hicks Street in Clinton. There will be free pizza and soft drinks.

“Student loan debt is a huge challenge for students and the economy,” organizers said. “Student loan debt is at a record high of $1.1 trillion,” according to the New York Times, organizers said.

They said student loans are now the second-largest source of consumer debt in the country, surpassed only by home mortgages, and an average undergraduate borrower leaves college $30,000 in debt.

World-renowned leaders to be featured at New Hope Center

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Community and business leaders can access the knowledge and experience of world-renowned leaders by attending Leadercast at New Hope Center in Oak Ridge on May 8. The Oak Ridge event is sponsored by the Center for Leadership and Community Development, part of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

The Leadercast event is broadcast live from Atlanta, Georgia, to hundreds of sites around the world, including Oak Ridge. This year’s speaker lineup includes: [Read more…]

Roane State Education Department to host April 28 Open House

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The Roane State Community College Education Department will host an April 28 Open House for anyone interested in becoming a K-12 teacher.

The event will begin at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, at the college’s Roane County campus, 276 Patton Lane in Harriman. Visitors will meet in Room 224 in the O’Brien Humanities Building.

Visitors will be able to meet with faculty, tour classrooms, and learn about the college’s 2+2 elementary education program with Tennessee Tech. The 2+2 program allows students to earn a bachelor’s degree while taking all of their classes at Roane State.

For more information, contact Stacie Bradshaw, (865) 354-3000, ext. 4773, or bradshaws@roanestate.edu.

From cotton picker to college president

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Shirley Raines

Shirley Raines

Shirley Raines of Oak Ridge has an amazing and inspiring story to tell.

Now president emeritus of the University of Memphis, she will describe her career and provide advice on leadership at the third in a series of Roane State Community College–Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Education Intergenerational Lectures.

Her talk begins at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 30, in the large lecture hall (Room 107) in the Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building on Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. Raines will speak on “How a Kindergarten Teacher Became a University President.”

Born in Jackson in West Tennessee, she grew up on a cotton farm outside Bells, where she picked cotton by hand for the family business. She recalled that her mother was very smart and could have been a teacher or lawyer but lacked the opportunity to get a higher education. [Read more…]

2015 US 25 Yard Sale returns to Berea, also Clinton, AC

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One leg of the US 25 Yard Sale will return to Clinton, Rocky Top, and Anderson County for the fourth time in early June.

The yard sale is scheduled for June 4-6. It stretches 565 miles from Woodfin, North Carolina, and Clinton, Tennessee, to Covington, Kentucky.

“This event has quickly become the nation’s fourth-longest yard sale event,” organizers said.

“Our goal is to get folks off I-75 and get them to slow down and visit our downtowns,” a press release said. “And we encourage people to have a huge yard sale to get folks to visit! Almost very city, village and town along the route participates.” [Read more…]

Second Annual Youth Pride Fest is May 9 in Oak Ridge

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The second annual East Tennessee Youth Pride Fest will be held in Oak Ridge on Saturday, May 9.

Organizers said the festival will celebrate diversity.

“The fun planned event is an opportunity for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) youth and their friends and allies to celebrate themselves through awareness, visibility, and pride,” a press release said.

The Youth Pride Fest will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 9 at the First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge. The church is located at 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike, the corner of Lafayette Drive and Oak Ridge Turnpike). [Read more…]