The next meeting of the Anderson County Animal Welfare Task Force will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 30, in Room 118A at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.
Secret City Wildbots alliance wins division, going to championship matches
Photos by Angi Agle
The alliance that includes the Secret City Wildbots won the Hopper Division at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, and is headed to the Einstein world championship matches.
The Wildbots, Team 4265 of Oak Ridge High School, were picked to join an alliance with the first- and second-place ranked teams. Their first match was this morning.
Here are photos of the team accepting its award. [Read more…]
AC committee to discuss review of law director’s office on May 4
The Anderson County Legal Services Advisory Committee will discuss the review of the law director’s office during a May 4 meeting.
The committee approved the third-party review in February. It was proposed by Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski and modeled after the proposal to review turnover, morale, and administrative policies in the Oak Ridge Police Department.
The review of the Anderson County law director’s office could use County Technical Assistance Service, or CTAS, at the University of Tennessee. The ORPD review could use Municipal Technical Advisory Service, or MTAS. [Read more…]
Children’s mental health film screening in Oak Ridge on May 7
Sharon Boudreaux, member of the Grace Lutheran Church Mental Health Ministry team, puts up a “Hear Our Voices” poster. (Submitted photo)
In observance of National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, the award-wining documentary, “Hear Our Voices: Transforming the Children’s Mental Health System,” will be shown at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 7, at the Pollard Auditorium on the Oak Ridge Associated Universities campus at 120 Badger Road. The screening is free and open to the public.
“Hear Our Voices” recounts the journeys of nine children and young people as they fight to overcome mental health issues and reach a place of recovery and wellness. Their stories are framed by comments from leading mental health professionals, who outline the need for change in children’s mental health care, a press release said.
As seen in the film trailer, one story features Naquisha, a 16-year old poet, who, “despite drive and ambition,” is held back by the mental health challenges of bi-polar and post-traumatic stress disorders. Given the opportunity to gather a network of support around herself, she is “taking control of her life and making plans for college and beyond.” [Read more…]
DOE offers expanded public bus tours of federal sites in Oak Ridge
Public bus tours of the U.S. Department of Energy’s facilities in Oak Ridge are now offered nine months of the year. (File photo courtesy DOE/Lynn Freeny)
The U.S. Department of Energy’s public bus tour of federal sites in Oak Ridge is now offered to visitors nine months out of the year, versus only summer months as in the past.
This popular tour of the 33,000-acre DOE Oak Ridge Reservation offers visitors a first-hand look at all of the DOE’s Oak Ridge facilities and provides historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 70-plus years.
The reservation-wide tour is a popular attraction for tourists visiting the area. Since its inception in 1996, the DOE public tour program has attracted approximately 35,000 visitors from all 50 states. The three-hour DOE tour allows visitors to see the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation and learn about its rich history and how Oak Ridge became a secret city of 75,000 people with a mission to end World War II. [Read more…]
Police: Man found with suspected meth residue, $29K; charged with money laundering
James Phillip Chase
Police said they found large vacuum seal bags that contained suspected crystal methamphetamine residue and $29,000 in a pickup truck pulled over for speeding in Oliver Springs on Tuesday.
Also found in the vehicle were tracking numbers, numerous shipping envelopes and rubber bands, addresses, documents related to the sale of controlled substances, deposit slips, and packing tape, said Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Wilson, an investigator with the Seventh Judicial Crime Task Force in Anderson County.
The defendant, James Phillip Chase, 53, of Dutch Valley Road, has been charged with money laundering, simple possession of a Schedule II drug (methamphetamine), and speeding. He remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton early Saturday morning. [Read more…]
ORHS ranked No. 11 most challenging high school in Tenn.
The main entrance at Oak Ridge High School is pictured above. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)
Oak Ridge High School was ranked number 11 on a list of the most challenging high schools in Tennessee, according to a ranking published by The Washington Post.
Other East Tennessee high schools on the list are West High School in Knoxville (#6), Farragut High School in Knoxville (#7), Morristown West in Morristown (#10), and Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport (#12).
The top five high schools are all in the Nashville area: Hume-Fogg Magnet in Nashville (#1), Martin Luther King Magnet in Nashville (#2), Brentwood in Brentwood (#3), Hillsboro in Nashville (#4), and Ravenwood in Brentwood (#5). [Read more…]
Gooch to discuss positive developments, challenges, community survey
Warren Gooch
Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch will give an update on positive developments and identify challenges during a lunchtime meeting on Tuesday, May 5. Gooch will also discuss the results of a recent community survey and could discuss other issues that affect Oak Ridge, a press release said.
The mayor will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, May 5. The program will start at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The press release said Gooch ran for Oak Ridge City Council in 2014 because he believed in Oak Ridge, had great pride in a city with an unparalleled history of accomplishments, and wanted to be an active part of the city’s future. He was elected in November 2014 and then chosen by fellow City Council member to serve as Oak Ridge mayor. [Read more…]
Update: Secret City Wildbots alliance ranked No. 1 headed into finals at Robotics Competition
The Secret City Wildbots have been competing at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, this week, April 22-25, 2015. (Photo by Angi Agle)
Note: This story was last updated at 1:37 p.m. April 25.
The Secret City Wildbots made it into the elimination rounds today (Saturday, April 25) at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.
Team 4265 of Oak Ridge High School was picked to join an alliance with the first- and second-place ranked teams. Their first match is this morning.
Updates: The Secret City Wildbots’ alliance won the first quarterfinal round 235-205 and is now ranked number 1. The alliance maintained its number 1 ranking headed to the semifinals and then the semifinals. The alliance won the first round of finals 268-185, Angi Agle reported at 1:07 p.m.
Below are two videos of the Secret City Wildbots competing during qualifying rounds this week. The videos are by Angi Agle. The robotics competition runs from April 22-25.
After all matches, the Secret City Wildbots, an Oak Ridge High School team, were ranked 45 as of Friday evening. [Read more…]
Earth Day Festival is Saturday in Oak Ridge
The annual Earth Day Festival is Saturday at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Julio Culiat)
The eighth annual Earth Day festival in Oak Ridge is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at Alvin K. Bissell Park.
See this story for more information.
Update: Anderson Chamber job fair at New Hope on April 30
New Hope Center
The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce will host a job fair to recruit employees for local businesses and industries on Thursday, April 30, at the New Hope Center. This one-day event, which is scheduled from 3-7 p.m. April 30, allows job seekers to connect face-to-face with local businesses and industries seeking employees, a press release said.
The New Hope Center is at 602 Scarboro Road at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.
Job fair exhibitors to date include: [Read more…]
Teen Battle of the Bands in Oak Ridge on Friday
File photo/2014
The annual Battle of the Teen Bands is this evening (Friday, April 24).
It’s been organized by Y-12 Federal Credit Union and the Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board.
The Battle of the Bands is scheduled from 6-9 p.m. today at the Oak Ridge Civic Center Pavilion. The rain venue will be the Paradox Teen Center in Oak Ridge.
Prizes are studio time (a $1,000 value), $300, and $150.
