Oak Ridge Today

Farmers Markets to open this weekend in Knoxville, Oak Ridge

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Farmers Market

The longest continuous operating farmers markets in East Tennessee will open for the season on Friday, April 11, in Knoxville, and Saturday, April 12, in Oak Ridge. The second Knoxville market location will open on Wednesday, April 16. 

“After a long winter, it’s always a welcome sign of spring when the farmers markets open and we see the first of the spring harvest coming in,” said Steve Colvin, president of the East Tennessee Farmers Association for Retail Marketing, or FARM. “We’re hoping the final cold snaps won’t take too much of a toll on the early crops.”

FARM operates markets on Fridays from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. in the parking lot of the Laurel Church of Christ, 3457 Kingston Pike at Cherokee Boulevard. On Wednesdays, the FARM Market operates at Ebenezer United Methodist Church, 1001 Ebenezer Road near Westland Avenue. The Saturday market is held from 8 a.m. until noon in the parking lot adjacent to historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Sustainability Report: Comparison of European and U.S./Vermont practices

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Dodd Galbreath and PV Panels

Dodd Galbreath, right, with students and photo-voltaic panels. (Submitted photo)

There will be a presentation on sustainability practices by Dodd Galbreath, head of the Institute for Sustainable Practice at David Lipscomb University, on Thursday, April 10. The program begins at 7 p.m. at Pollard Auditorium in Oak Ridge.

It’s co-sponsored by Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning and the Oak Ridge Environmental Quality Advisory Board, and the program is free and open to the public.

Sustainability is more often associated with European than American culture. This presentation will showcase photographs and technical information documented by the founding director of the Institute during a tour of European sustainability sites, as well as lessons learned during his four years of leading travel courses in Vermont and New England. Topics to be covered will include history and practices involving food, energy, waste, water, transportation, land, building, communities, and culture.

For more information, call or write TCWP Executive Director Sandra K. Goss at (865) 583-3967 or sandra@sandrakgoss.com.

Voters can meet candidates for contested Anderson County offices on April 15

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Democracy for East Tennessee

From left to right, DFET members Charles Jones, Joan Cassens, and Tom Burns review the 2014 Anderson County primary ballot while planning a “meet the candidate” event. (Submitted photo)

Democracy for East Tennessee has organized an April 15 event that will allow Anderson County voters the chance to meet candidates for four county offices before the May 6 primary election.

The four contested races are for Anderson County mayor, sheriff, chancellor, and Juvenile Court judge. Other offices on the primary ballot are not contested.

The “meet the candidates” event is scheduled from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center’s A/B Room.

“Democracy for East Tennessee is sponsoring this event so citizens of Anderson County can become better acquainted with the candidates for four Anderson County offices before the primary election on May 6,” the organization said in a press release. [Read more…]

Get your clearance for Casino Night 2014: Secrets, science, and swing

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MMC Casino Night

By Methodist Medical Center

Shhhhh! Can you keep a secret? The year is 1943; the town, unmarked on any map, is nestled between river and ridge and full of mystery, matchmaking, and mud.

Join the Methodist Medical Center Foundation for an old-fashioned evening honoring the early days of Oak Ridge at Casino Night 2014: Secrets Science and Swing on Saturday, April 26, at 6:30 p.m. in the New Hope Center at Y-12.

Swing to the live music of Soul Candy and the Traffic Jam, feast in the officers’ dining hall, visit the PX auction where you’ll find some “can’t-miss deals,” and enjoy the gaming tables with your friends.

Tickets are $75 per person or $125 per couple. Profits from Casino Night will benefit the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center, which provide free, temporary lodging to cancer patients and their families who must travel for treatment at Methodist Medical Center, as well as others seeking long-term treatment as space allows. The houses have been serving the patients of Methodist Medical Center since 1997. Now, so that these houses may always be available to those who need them, the Foundation is establishing a $1.5 million endowment to support the Hospitality Houses in perpetuity. [Read more…]

Emory Valley Center hires new development director

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Janet Wood

Janet Wood

Emory Valley Center, a nonprofit agency serving children and adults with disabilities since 1955, has hired Janet Wood as its new development director.

Experienced within the fields of marketing, community relations, and nonprofit fundraising, Wood most recently served as the public relations and special projects coordinator with Alzheimer’s Tennessee in Knoxville. While there, she was lead coordinator for the Five County Walk held in Oak Ridge and the Foothills Walk held at Maryville College. She also coordinated volunteers in their fundraising efforts for both of these walks and provided support in additional fundraising and public relations endeavors for the organization. Wood also has years of experience in print, broadcast, and media relations, having previously been employed by The Oak Ridger newspaper for 10 years, a press release said.

“We are so excited to have Janet on our team and look forward to all the great work she will do on behalf of the Center,” said Jennifer Enderson, Emory Valley Center president. [Read more…]

Spotlight: Legal Aid Society announces new hire at Oak Ridge office

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Michelle Darsey

Michelle Darsey

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest nonprofit law firm, has welcomed Michelle Darsey to the Oak Ridge office location as receptionist.

Darsey brings more than 10 years of client service and office support experience to her new role. She has served in public interest positions through the AmeriCorps/Volunteers in Service to America, or VISTA, program as a homeless outreach specialist for United Neighborhood Health Services and as a prisoner reentry liaison for the San Diego County District Attorney’s office.

“Michelle is a service-oriented individual who is dedicated to her work and to helping others,” said Janet Mynatt, managing attorney for the Oak Ridge office of Legal Aid Society. “She previously excelled in a legal office setting and we are certain she will do the same with Legal Aid Society. We are happy to welcome her to the firm.” [Read more…]

League of Women Voters has membership celebration Monday

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The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge has its annual Spring Membership Celebration on Monday, April 7, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Hearth Room of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. Reservations are not needed. The church is located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

The event is open to current and past members, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and anyone interested in learning more about the League, a press release said.

“Good food and interesting people to chat with are promised at the event,” the release said. [Read more…]

City board to consider demolition of homes on Wade Lane, West Outer Drive

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An Oak Ridge board on Thursday will consider ordering the demolition of five homes that could be bought by the city. The homes are at 105 Waddell Place, 101 and 117 Wade Lane, and 335 and 363 West Outer Drive.

The homes on Wade Lane and West Outer Drive are owned by Carden Rentals Limited Partnership. The Waddell Place house is owned by Rex Gass. The owners are interested in selling the properties to the city, the municipal staff said.

The Gass property is a vacant single-family dwelling, and the Carden homes are vacant multi-family residential units.

The city staff has recommended that the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals declare the homes unfit for human occupation or use, and order them demolished within 90 days to possibly allow the city to acquire them. The board meets at 3 p.m. Thursday in the Municipal Building Training Room. [Read more…]

Guest column: We all have a role to play in ending child abuse

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CASA Child Abuse Prevention Month

By Naomi Asher 

By the time you finish reading this article, more than 30 cases of child abuse will have been reported to authorities nationwide. By the end of today, that number will swell past 9,000. And four of those children will die at the hands of their abuser. All in a single day.

When we take stock of these sobering statistics during April—National Child Abuse Prevention Month—it’s easy to be overwhelmed and to ask yourself, “What can I possibly do to make a difference?”

The answer is, you can do a lot. Everybody can play a role in preventing child abuse and neglect by becoming advocates for children.

For some of us, that advocacy comes in a formal role. Teachers, child care workers, health care providers and others who come into daily contact with children can be vigilant for signs of abuse and neglect. Their actions to report suspected abuse or to offer extra time and attention to fragile children can do more than make a difference. It can save lives. [Read more…]

Women’s Interfaith Dialogue hosts free forum on world belief systems on Monday

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Women's Interfaith Dialogue Steering Committee

Members of the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue Steering Steering pictured above are, from left to right, Barbara McCord, Jo Ann Garrett, Eileen Handler, and Cleva Marrow. (Submitted photo)

The Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge will sponsor a free community forum on different world belief systems at 11 a.m. Monday. The forum, “Tell Us about Your Faith: Learning from Each Other,” will be at the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge.

The presentations by a dozen or so local women will be organized from oldest belief system in origin to newest, including Wicca, Hindu, Jewish, Roman Catholic, Islam, many of the major Protestant denominations, Quaker, Universalist and Baha’i.

A question and answer session will follow the presentations. The forum is free and open to the public. Donations are welcome.

The presenters include Nayeema Ahmad, Sharon Annis, Carolyn Dipboye, Margaret Dory, Diane Edwards, Jo Ann Garrett, Kas Gomathinayagam, Barbara McCord, Kathy Olsen, Ruth Prince, Fran Silver, and Toni Stephenson. [Read more…]

ORNL division director to discuss international thermonuclear reactor Tuesday

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Hans Vogel

Hans Vogel

A division director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will discuss heating, fueling, and cooling the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project at ORNL during a Tuesday meeting in Oak Ridge.

The lunchtime meeting featuring Hans Vogel will be hosted by Friends of ORNL.

This will be the second in a series of three talks on the U.S. ITER project. The next one on May 13 will feature Graeme Murdoch.

During the Tuesday talk, Vogel, who is the ORNL Nuclear Systems division director, will discuss the Tokamak cooling water system, ion cyclotron transmission lines, electron cyclotron transmission lines, pellet injection system, disruption mitigation system, and the tokamak exhaust processing system. These systems are valued at more than $500 million, a press release said. [Read more…]

Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge to show ‘Dear Mr. Waldman’ on Saturday

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The Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge will have its monthly Jewish Film Series on Saturday, April 5, at 7 p.m.

Each month, the rabbi picks a different Jewish film ranging from comedy to drama, from fiction to documentary. This is a free event and refreshments are provided.

This month’s film will be “Dear Mr. Waldman” (Israel, 2006, NR, 84 minutes). Set in early 1960s Tel Aviv, this coming-of-age story centers on 10-year-old Hilik and his struggle to help heal the emotional wounds of his father, who hasn’t recovered from losing his elder son at Auschwitz. Still in denial, Moishe believes his son escaped and is now President Kennedy’s aide. To help his father move on and gain the father-son relationship he sorely needs, Hilik puts Moishe’s love to the test. [Read more…]