Oak Ridge Today

Community forum: Not in Our Town

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Valerie Hughes

Valerie Hughes

The founder and executive director of an Oak Ridge chapter of the national Not In Our Town organization will be the featured speaker at a community forum in September.

The “Not in Our Town” presentation by Valerie Holland Hughes will start at 11 a.m. Monday, September 8, at Grace Covenant Church. It’s sponsored by the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue.

Grace Covenant Church is at 320 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge.

Hughes began working to establish the Oak Ridge group just over a year ago, a press release said. Her goal has been to ensure that Oak Ridge is a community that models “safety, acceptance, and inclusion as an effective method to address hatred, bullying, and violence.”

The press release said Hughes and NIOT members in Oak Ridge traveled to Billings, Montana, birthplace of the movement 20 years ago, to attend a national gathering of NIOT chapters from June 20-24. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools announces ACT results for 2013-2014 graduates

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The ACT college entrance examination “assesses high school students’ general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work.” Students are tested in English, mathematics, reading, and science. They receive a score between one and 36 for each test and also a composite score, which averages the performance on all four subject tests.

The ACT is widely accepted as the premier college entrance examination.

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said: “In the Oak Ridge Schools, we believe it is crucial for our students to perform well on the ACT examination. It is one of our Seven Keys to College and Career Readiness, and we are proud of how students perform on the ACT and of our teachers who prepare them. This year is no exception.”

The 2014 Oak Ridge High Schools graduating class significantly outperformed the state and national averages on each of the subject components of the ACT examination as well as the overall composite. In fact, Oak Ridge’s 2014 graduating class achieved higher in English, mathematics, reading, and composite than any other ORHS graduating class in the past five years. In addition, the percent of ORHS’s 2014 graduates that met or exceeded all four of the ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores was far higher than the state and nation. [Read more…]

Mayor Beehan won’t seek re-election to City Council

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Tom Beehan and Gary Wade

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, left, is pictured above earlier this month with Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade at Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen. Beehan will not seek re-election to Oak Ridge City Council in November.

 

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, who has served on the City Council since 2001, will not seek re-election in November.

Beehan said he has been considering whether to run “for some time,” and he announced his decision to not seek re-election on Wednesday. Before making the decision, Beehan said, he wanted to be sure that quality candidates with a vision for the city’s future were ready to run.

“It’s clear that there are candidates who have the vision and ability to serve the community on City Council,” Beehan said in a press release. “I have enjoyed serving Oak Ridge as mayor and as a City Council member, but I think it is time for new leadership to take a fresh look at moving Oak Ridge forward.”

Beehan said he has spent 20 years as an elected official in local government in Oak Ridge and in Covington, Kentucky—before his family moved to Oak Ridge.

“I consider this a retirement from public service as an elected official, but I plan to continue to be engaged in community activities,” Beehan said. [Read more…]

Habitat for Humanity selling building, plans to relocate

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Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County ReStore

The Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County ReStore is located in Grove Center.

 

Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County is selling its building in Grove Center, and officials said they want to move into a more economical facility.

“We have a 70-year-old building, and the cost to maintain the property hinders us in fulfilling the Habitat mission,” the nonprofit organization’s board of directors said in a statement. “Habitat for Humanity International recommends not owning real estate, with the exception of properties on which to build houses.”

The board said many customers have been concerned because they have seen the “For Sale” sign on the Habitat ReStore and office in Grove Center.

“We are not going out of business!” the board said. [Read more…]

NAACP has candlelight memorial service for shooting victims

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The Oak Ridge and Anderson County chapter of the NAACP will have a candlelight memorial service on Wednesday night to remember the young men and women who have died unnecessarily after being shot in American cities, a press release said.

The memorial service will start at 9 p.m. Wednesday in front of the area maintained by the Scarboro Community Neighborhood Watch at Wilberforce and Benedict avenues. It’s been organized by the NAACP Oak Ridge/Anderson County Branch #5607, and it comes less than two weeks after the death of Michael Brown, 18, an unarmed black teenager who was shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, sparking daily protests and tense standoffs.

“These young men and women had the potential of becoming the finest citizens in this great country, but their lives abruptly ended by the action of a gunman,” the press release said. “The tragedy in Missouri serves as a prime example, that we the people of God need to always pray for justice and peace in this United States of America.”

“Please bring a candle,” said the press release, sent by Rose Weaver on behalf of The Rev. Walter Ghosten, president of the Oak Ridge/Anderson County NAACP Unit. “Area ministers will be present.”

Woman escapes injury, drives away from fake officer with knife

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Anderson County Sheriff Logo

A 49-year-old woman escaped injury on Monday night when she drove away from a man who pretended to be a police officer but pulled a knife after stopping her on Yarnell Road near Clinton, authorities said.

It’s the second report of a police impersonator in Anderson County this month.

The woman was pulled over by the man at about 9:45 p.m. Monday on Yarnell Road off East Wolf Valley Road, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

“He approached the victim and asked for her driver’s license,” Lucas said. “He then pulled a knife, and she immediately drove away and called 911.”

In this case, the descriptions of both the suspect and his car are different from the previous incident. The suspect in the Monday night incident was described as a white male in his mid- or late-20s to mid-30s, six feet tall, 200 pounds, clean-shaven, with a muscular build and short dark brown hair. He reportedly spoke with a soft voice. The suspect was well-dressed wearing dark civilian clothing (not a uniform) and had a badge on his belt. The victim did not see a firearm, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Honors: Hispanic engineers group recognizes ORNL’s Idrobo

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Juan Carlos Idrobo

Juan Carlos Idrobo

Juan Carlos Idrobo, a researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been recognized by the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award Corporation with the 2014 Outstanding Technical Achievement Award for groundbreaking research in scanning transmission electron microscopy of 2D materials.

Idrobo works in the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences’ Microscopy group. The Ecuador native received his bachelor’s in physics from Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia; his master’s in physics from the University of Illinois at Chicago; and doctorate in physics from the University of California, Davis. He joined the ORNL research staff in 2010.

The award is associated with Great Minds in STEM, a nonprofit organization that advocates science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers for the Hispanic community. [Read more…]

Honors: ORNL’s Varela receives Microscopy Society’s Burton Medal

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Maria Varela

Maria Varela

Maria Varela, a researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has received the Microscopy Society of America’s Burton Medal for early career scientists.

Varela’s research experience includes thin-film growth, transport properties, and structural characterization by x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. She specializes in aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and atomic resolution energy loss spectroscopy.

After receiving her doctorate in physics from Complutense University in Madrid, Spain, Varela came to ORNL as a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow. She has approximately 180 publications in refereed journals and has presented more than 100 invited talks and seminars. She has collaborated with scientists from more than 50 universities in the United States and abroad. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Chamber to host customer service workshop Oct. 9

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Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will host a customer service seminar led by Bill Drury on October 9 from 8:30 a.m.-noon at the chamber.

Entitled “A Passion For Service,” the seminar will focus on how to win customers and reduce lost sales, a press release said. A discount is available for chamber members.

From 1985 until 1990, Drury was the national training consultant for the Zig Ziglar Corporation. He speaks, trains, and travels extensively, and he has proven to be one of the most effective and entertaining speakers in the industry, the release said.

Subjects that Drury will cover include the following: [Read more…]

Roane State professor hopes to inspire girls through undersea classroom

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Jessica Fain Diving

Jessica Fain emerges in the moon pool inside Jules’ Undersea Lodge, the location for Classroom Under the Sea. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)

 

The National Science Board’s 2014 Science and Engineering Indicators report contains an all-too-familiar statistic.

Women account for only 28 percent of the workforce in science and engineering jobs. Elementary schools, high schools, colleges, and universities around the country have designed initiatives to boost that number.

Roane State adjunct professor Jessica Fain wants to do her part, and she’s willing to live underwater for 72 days to show that science is cool, for boys and for girls.

“I definitely see those social barriers for girls interested in science,” Fain said. “They don’t want to be labeled as the nerd. We still have this stigma of wanting to be the popular girl and not wanting to be the science geek. I want them to see that it is OK to be the smart, nerdy girl.”

Fain, who has a bachelor’s degree in biology and teaches biology labs for Roane State, will participate in Classroom Under the Sea, a joint project between Roane State and the Marine Resources Development Foundation in Key Largo, Florida. Along with Roane State biology professor Bruce Cantrell, Fain will live and work in an underwater habitat for 72 days this fall (October 4-December 15). [Read more…]

Spotlight: Emory Valley Center enjoys ‘Western Round Up’

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Emory Valley Center Western Round-up

 

The Elks Lodge in Oak Ridge hosted a “Western Round Up” event for more than 50 Emory Valley Center individuals and their staff on Saturday afternoon, July 19.

All individuals received cowboy hats and bandanas to wear in addition to special treats to take home. They also enjoyed an afternoon of “cowboy food” and punch served in cowboy boot mugs at the “saloon,” Western-themed games, and line dancing lessons led and provided by Tom and Evelyn Yeagler.

“Everyone had a great time, and (they are) already looking forward to next year’s event!” a press release said. [Read more…]

Corker travels across Tennessee, with stop in Oak Ridge on Friday

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U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, is traveling across the Volunteer State this week, and he’ll be in Oak Ridge on Friday morning.

Corker is scheduled to talk to the East Tennessee Economic Council at 7:30 a.m. Friday. The speech is in the Homer Fisher Room at the University of Tennessee Outreach Center at 1201 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Starting Wednesday, Corker, who is in his second term in the U.S. Senate, will also visit Hamilton, Sevier, Sullivan, Greene,and Knox counties. This week’s visits follow a seven-county swing through Middle and West Tennessee last week, a media advisory said.