Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge from Thursday, November 13, and continuing through November 19.
This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]
Second Technology Town Hall at ORHS on Nov. 25
Oak Ridge Schools will have its second Technology Town Hall presentation and question-and-answer forum on Tuesday, November 25.
The presentation and forum are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. November 25 in the Oak Ridge High School Auditorium. Residents, parents, and students are all invited.
Superintendent Bruce Borchers will have a brief presentation talking about the benefits of Oak Ridge Schools launching an innovative learning platform that integrates technology, a press release said. Borchers’ presentation will be followed by a live classroom-based technology demonstration by teacher Chris Layton and his students at Jefferson Middle School. [Read more…]
Thanks + Giving: UT researcher says gratitude may be a key to happiness
KNOXVILLE—’Tis the season to be grateful. And, being grateful for what you have may be the key to happiness, according to research by a professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Jeff Larsen, associate professor of psychology, and Amie McKibban of the University of Southern Indiana investigated whether the maxim “it’s more important to want what you have than to have what you want” is true.
He asked college students if they possessed 52 different material items, such as a car, a stereo, or a bed. They were then asked to rate how much they wanted the items they had and how much they wanted the items they didn’t have. Larsen calculated the extent to which the students wanted what they have and have what they want.
The result? People who want more of what they have tend to be happier. [Read more…]
More than 8,000 cubic feet of natural gas leaked into former Kroger on Tuesday
Businesses around the former Kroger grocery store on South Illinois Avenue were evacuated on Tuesday afternoon after a gas leak was reported.
If it had exploded, the 8,500 cubic feet of natural gas that leaked into the former Kroger grocery store on South Illinois Avenue on Tuesday could have had a devastating impact on the shopping center and blown out windows in nearby businesses, possibly even across the street, a city official said Wednesday.
“Had it exploded, we would have been on national news,†Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. “It could have been devastating for all the businesses in that complex.â€
Authorities suspect that the gas slowly flowed into the 30,000-square-foot grocery store starting Tuesday morning through an uncapped gas line that was once connected to an oven.
By the time emergency workers responded to a report of a gas leak on Tuesday afternoon, Kerley said, “the store was almost completely filled with a dangerous concentration of natural gas.†[Read more…]
First pageant for special needs girls on Saturday
The first Miss Sparkle Princess Pageant for special needs girls will be Saturday at the Grove Theater in Oak Ridge.
Fifteen teenage girls from many area cities are entered in the pageant, which is sponsored by WVLT Local 8 news and many Oak Ridge and Knoxville businesses, a press release said. Erin Barnett, Local 8 news anchor will emcee the pageant, which is expected to become an annual event.
It’s scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Saturday, November 15. The cost to attend the pageant is non-perishable food items that will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.
The press release said the pageant was created and is being directed by 17-year-old Abigail Ridenour of Oak Ridge.
Small business workshop on government contracting on Dec. 2
The Tennessee Small Business Development Center will have a free workshop for small businesses on the basics of government contracting on Tuesday, December 2.
The workshop is being conducted in partnership with the University of Tennessee CIS-PTAC. It’s scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon December 2 at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.
To sign up, call (865) 483-2668, email Jutta Bangs at [email protected], or visit www.roanestate.edu/tsbdc.
The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College advises and assists entrepreneurs and small business owners in the area at no cost to them.
Shopping center evacuated after gas leak reported
A shopping center was evacuated on Tuesday afternoon after a gas leak was reported at the former Kroger grocery store on South Illinois Avenue.
A shopping center was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after a gas leak was reported at the former Kroger grocery store on South Illinois Avenue.
Emergency workers remained on the scene for several hours and were still there as of about 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The gas leak was reported at about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, and Oak Ridge emergency workers quickly evacuated surrounding stores, including China Wok, Nixon’s Deli, Mr. K’s Used Books and CDs, and Big Kmart. They also closed off the surrounding parking lot.
An employee at Mr. K’s smelled gas inside the store Tuesday afternoon, evening manager Kelly Smith said. The staff initially thought it might be coming from NIxon’s, the deli next door. But then they learned that Nixon’s doesn’t use natural gas. A walk around the shopping center’s parking lot determined that the gas was probably coming from the former Kroger store, Smith said.
The odor was getting stronger and stronger, he said. [Read more…]
Veterans Day Parade in Clinton tonight
The 8th Annual Anderson County Veterans Day Parade is tonight in downtown Clinton.
This years’ theme is “Welcome Home for All Iraq/Afghanistan War Veterans.â€Â This year’s grand marshal will be all Anderson County Iraqi/Afghanistan War Veterans.
The parade starts at 6 p.m. today (Tuesday, November 11). It’s presented by the director of veterans services for Anderson County and the Clinton American Legion Post #172 in partnership with the Tennesseans for Living History. [Read more…]
UT Arboretum Society has annual dinner tonight
The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Annual Dinner and Silent Auction will be held at 6 p.m. today (Tuesday, November 11) at the Elks Club in Oak Ridge.
The speaker will be Richard Evans, retired director of the Arboretum’s Forest Resources and AgResearch Education Center for 39 years. He will recap the Arboretum’s history, programs, research, and advancements during the first 50 years.
The evening will begin with at 6 p.m. with a social hour (cash bar) and silent auction followed by a buffet dinner at 7 p.m. A brief a brief business meeting will take place, followed by Evans’ presentation.
Silent actions items include fine crafts, gifts certificates, signed books, art, wine and accessories, hard tools, and much, much more, a press release said. “Arrive early for the best bidding and to chat with other Arboretum supporters!” [Read more…]
Children’s Museum Gala has Celtic theme
Good Thymes Band
Guests will dance jigs and reels to fiddlers’ tunes as they enjoy “A Celtic Holiday†at the annual Gala hosted by the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. The Gala, celebrating the culture and cuisine of Scotland and Ireland, will be held from 6-11 p.m. Friday, December 5, at the museum, which is at 461 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge.
The Good Thymes Ceilidh Band, playing traditional Scottish music, will entertain after dinner with fiery Scottish tunes, as well as aires and waltzes. Guests will learn jigs and reels as the band plays with fiddles, guitar, penny whistle, bodhran, mandolin, and hammered dulcimer. The band formed in 2008 when several members of the Knoxville Scottish Music Club got together.
The Knoxville Pipe and Drums, wearing the ancient Mackenzie Tartan, will also entertain during the lively Celtic evening. The group has been together since the early 1990s, when three pipers began playing bagpipes together, adding a number of pipers and drummers over the years.
Becky Hook will perform Celtic music on the harp during dinner, a traditional Scottish feast prepared by Chef Mark Ferguson of The Scottish Cottage in Asheville, North Carolina. The Oak Ridge High School Chorus and an ORHS String Quartet will also entertain during the Gala. [Read more…]
Sewer rehab work continues week of Nov. 10
More rehabilitation work of the city’s sewer collection pipes is scheduled to continue this week, starting Monday, November 10.
The work is being done by Hurst Excavating and Morgan Contracting under contract with the City of Oak Ridge. It includes rehabilitating sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and in roadways, a press release said. [Read more…]
Science fiction authors, publishers panel at DoubleTree on Tuesday
There will be a panel of science fiction authors and publishers at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge on Tuesday night.
The panel will follow the Third Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop being held from Sunday to Tuesday this week in conjunction with the release of the movie “Interstellar.”
“See, hear, and meet Sarah Hoyt and Dan Hoyt, Tony Daniel, Toni Weisskopf, Les Johnson, and Paul Gilster,” a press release said.
The panel is free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale, and there will be a book-signing.
