Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge from Friday, July 18, and continuing through July 23.
This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]
Steve Fritts seeks re-election to Anderson County School Board
Steve Fritts
Steve Fritts is seeking re-election to the Anderson County School Board in District 7, which includes the Pine Valley, Glenwood, and Highland View precincts in Oak Ridge.
Fritts, who has lived in the district since his youth, was first elected in 2010, a press release said.
Fritts graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1967, and he was an All-State football player, the release said. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in history. Fritts also served as captain of the Vanderbilt Commodore football team in the early ’70s.
Fritts worked as a carpenter until his retirement and was a member of Local 50. [Read more…]
After Dark movie ‘The Goonies’ moved to Civic Center due to rain, storms
Submitted
The location and time of the Oak Ridge After Dark event tonight has been changed due to rain and storms expected to remain in the region this evening. The event will now take place in the gymnasium of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, and the movie will start promptly at 7 p.m. No chairs can be brought into the facility, but blankets are allowed and the bleachers will also be available for seating.
“Although the weather poses a threat, we plan to keep the momentum of Oak Ridge After Dark going,” said Sam Jones, Oak Ridge After Dark coordinator. “The plan to host the event inside the Civic Center gym will ensure safety and comfort for all attendees. We hope a large crowd will come out to support the second installment of the series.”
The theme of tonight’s After Dark event is Pirate Night. Children are encouraged to dress as their favorite characters in conjunction with each theme. Themed characters will be on hand for photo opportunities. Visit the Historic Oak Ridge Facebook page or http://oakridgevisitor.com/2014/07/01/oak-ridge-after-dark/ for a complete list of scheduled films.
The After Dark series also includes a Comedy Night on Friday, August 8, followed by Hero Night on Friday, August 15. [Read more…]
New After Dark series continues with Pirate Night, ‘The Goonies’ on Friday
Note: This story was updated at 3:15 p.m. July 18.
Almost 1,000 people attended the first-ever After Dark event in Oak Ridge last week, and the summertime entertainment series continues again this week, with Pirate Night scheduled for Friday, July 18.
The movie, “The Goonies,” will be be shown indoors in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Gymnasium because of the rain. It’s expected to start around 7 to 7:30 p.m. The Civic Center is at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Call the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau at (865) 482-7821 or visit the Historic Oak Ridge Facebook page for details or questions.
Children are encouraged to dress as their favorite character in conjunction with the movie, a press release said. Characters from the movie will be on hand for photo opportunities.
“So, bring your blankets to sit on the gymnasium floor or you can sit on the gymnasium bleachers,” the press release said. “Get out of the rain and enjoy a movie with your fellow Oak Ridgers!” [Read more…]
Sheriff: Eighteen arrested of 26 indicted on drug-related charges
Paul White
Eighteen of the 26 people indicted on drug-related charges by an Anderson County grand jury in June and July have been arrested, Sheriff Paul White said Thursday. Four were arrested in June after the indictments were returned, and the other 14 have been arrested since Monday, the sheriff said in a press release.
The arrests are the result of long hours of hard work by investigators of the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit, White said. The agencies that cooperated in the investigations were the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, the Clinton Police Department, the Oak Ridge Police Department, the Rocky Top (Lake City) Police Department, the 7th Judicial District Crime Task Force, and the District Attorney General’s Office.
“Our thanks for the teamwork from all the law enforcement agencies involved in these investigations,” which are ongoing, White said.
Here is the list of those arrested and their charges, as reported by the Sheriff’s Department: [Read more…]
Guest column: Adapting to change
I can’t function without my…(fill in the blank)!
Cell phone? I survived into my early 30s without one, and never even realized it was a problem. I admit that now, having carried one for a number of years, it’s terribly disconcerting to be without. My parents can easily recall a time when most families had only one car—a concept that is unthinkable to most of us today. But faced with challenges, we adapt. We can, we must, and we will.
Families living in most communities outside Oak Ridge are accustomed to not having school bus service within a mile or mile-and-a-half of the school, so our current turmoil seems like no big deal to them. To us though, having to suddenly live without something we’ve always had (except for a brief period several years ago) feels like the end of life as we know it.
With the advent of social media, the volume of discontent and velocity of misinformation has grown exponentially. It is most unfortunate that a member of City Council chose to announce in Monday’s meeting that the School Board intended to cut transportation no matter how much money the city provided; that is incorrect, as evidenced by the fact that there was no reduction in transportation services in our budget passed on May 27 (first reading) and May 29 (second reading). [Read more…]
Methodist ties for fourth in state in best hospital ranking
The main entrance to Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge is pictured above at night. (Photo courtesy Covenant Health)
Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge tied for fourth in the state in an annual ranking of America’s best hospitals compiled by U.S. News and World Report.
MMC tied for fourth with Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville. Covenant Health’s third major medical center, Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, ranked ninth in Tennessee.
All three were in the Top 10 for metro areas, a press release said. All three were lauded for high performance in a variety of specialties such as gastroenterology and GI surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, and pulmonology, among others. All three hospitals also achieved patient satisfaction levels that are higher than national and state averages. [Read more…]
Parents protest ‘walk zone,’ expanded area with no school bus service
Kathie Creasey, right, holds a sign during Thursday’s protest against Oak Ridge Schools’ expanded parent responsibility zone. The zone change eliminates transportation services for students who live within 1.5 miles of their school. (Photo by Sara Wise)
Critics of Oak Ridge Schools’ expanded parent responsibility zone protested Thursday morning at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.
Laurie Paine, who lost her daughter, Ashley, at the intersection in 2007, joined almost 15 other parents and community members to rally for change.
“I don’t want anyone to go through what my family went through,” Paine said. She started a Facebook page to unite community members who were against the walk zone and used that website to spread the word of the protest.
Robertsville Middle School parent Kathie Creasey became emotional at the protest, saying that her own son was close to Ashley. She was protesting because she doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her kids. [Read more…]
Number of students affected by bus route changes down to 1,300
Oak Ridge Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer, left, and Oak Ridge Schools Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak say a Wednesday change in how mileage is calculated could reduce the number of students affected by a new “parent responsibility zone” for transportation from 1,800 to 1,300. Marczak says his family is also affected by the expanded zone, where bus service is not provided.
The Wednesday change in how bus service is mapped could help about 500 students, reducing the number of children affected by expanded zones where parents will have to provide transportation to schools from 1,800 to 1,300, officials said.
Those students would have been in the expanded 1.5-mile “parent responsibility zone,” where bus service is not provided and parents have to arrange transportation. The expanded parent responsibility zone, which is also sometimes called a PRZ or walk zone, was approved by school officials in June.
Oak Ridge school officials announced Wednesday that they were changing how the 1.5 miles is calculated, switching from a 1.5-mile radius measured by air (also known as “as the crow flies”) to actual walking distance. That means the expanded no-bus service zone will now affect fewer families. Parents called the change a small but positive step.
Even with the modification, though, parents continue to have concerns. The protests kicked into high gear last week, and some parents expressed concerns during a Wednesday evening meeting at Girls Inc. Among the concerns were children who have to cross busy roadways or pass by the homes of registered sex offenders.
“We are paying property taxes, and our children’s safety should come first,” parent Beverly Heun said. “Our transportation should not have been cut.” [Read more…]
School walk zones changed to actual walking distance, rather than ‘as crow flies’
Bruce Borchers
Parents of Oak Ridge students have been expressing concerns that the new 1.5-mile walk zones approved in June were based on a 1.5-mile air radius (“as the crow flies”) rather than actual walking distances.
On Wednesday, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers announced that school officials were changing the calculation of the walk zone to actual walking distance for 1.5 miles “as the crow flies. The change is expected to cost $200,000.
Here’s the statement from Borchers: [Read more…]
DOE-Oak Ridge Office names diversity, employee concerns manager
Moses Madera
Moses Madera, a United States Air Force veteran, was recently named manager of diversity programs and employee concerns for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.
In this job, Madera will serve as the principal staff adviser to the Office of Science in Oak Ridge and site managers on equal employment opportunity (EEO), diversity, affirmative employment, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), environmental justice, and reasonable accommodation programs, a press release said. Madera will also manage the employee concerns program.
“We are really fortunate to have someone of Moses’ caliber join our office,” said Larry Kelly, manager of DOE-ORO. “He brings a wealth of knowledge in EEO and diversity to the table, and we’re looking forward to his guidance and expertise in his new role on our leadership team.”
Madera comes to ORO most recently from the U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, Washington, one of Naval Sea Systems Command’s field activities, where he had been the deputy equal employment opportunity officer since 2012. While there, he was responsible for continuous improvement of the EEO, diversity, and special emphasis programs, along with ADR and reasonable accommodation programs. [Read more…]
Anderson Commission, School Board candidates at Thursday forum
Candidates in contested races for Anderson County Commission in Districts 6, 7, and 8 in Oak Ridge, and for Anderson County School Board in District 7 have been invited to take part in a Thursday evening forum.
The candidates are expected to speak and answer questions. The unopposed candidate for School Board in District 6 will be introduced.
The forum starts at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike. It’s been organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]
