Oak Ridge Today

Letter: Community Mediation appreciates support at Big Ed’s Memorial Golf Tournament

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To the Editor:

Community Mediation Services of Anderson County deeply appreciates the support and enthusiasm of golfers, sponsors, volunteers, and the Oak Ridge Country Club at the 14th Annual Big Ed’s Memorial Golf Tournament. Thanks to you, at-risk youth and families in Anderson County continue to have a way to peacefully resolve difficult issues with solutions they themselves determine.

The golf tournament also honors Big Ed Neusel and David Neusel and their legacy of giving much to others while seeking recognition from none.

We look forward to seeing you in 2016 on the last Friday in April at the 15th Annual Big Ed’s Memorial Golf Tournament. [Read more…]

Letter: Encourages students, parents to attend discussion on student loans

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To the Editor:

High school seniors should have applied for their financial packages within the last several months, and colleges push the loans, along with grants, scholarships, and job offers.

They and their parents need to understand what they are getting themselves into when they have to start paying the money back in the July after they leave college with or without a degree or good-paying job.

I personally know a young lady who was dropped in January by a university after seven semesters because her gradepoint was 0.3 point below the required gradepoint for her field, and she had to get a job. She cannot return to finish for one year, but she has to start paying on her college loans of $20,000, July 1, 2015. [Read more…]

Letter: Lunch 4 Literacy thanks 2015 sponsors

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To the Editor:

Each year in March a special group of generous company sponsors pool their resources and, along with individuals from our community, support the annual literacy program of the Altrusa International Club of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club. The Lunch 4 Literacy event raises between $15,000 and $20,000 routinely, which allows our community to support exceptional projects that promote literacy and ensure attention is given to the literacy needs that, without the generosity of our sponsors and individual contributors, could go unmet.

The lack of literacy skills is a serious problem within our communities. The reality is that often simple but effective programs can have a profound impact on individuals that enable them to realize their full potential in life. Without these very effective efforts made possible by grants from Lunch 4 Literacy, people in our communities, limited by a lack of basic skills, continue to fail in areas many of us take for granted. Until you have personally encountered illiteracy and its awful adverse impact, it is hard to fully appreciate the value of simply reading and understanding what is read. Through the continuing supportive efforts of our sponsoring companies we are making a difference in our communities! [Read more…]

Letter: Citizens Police Academy increased respect, appreciation for ORPD

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To the Editor:

We graduated from the third Oak Ridge Citizens Police Academy on March 30. It was such an honor to be a part of this group. Both of us already had deep respect and appreciation for the men and women of the Oak Ridge Police Department, but what we learned in the Academy increased our respect and appreciation for them exponentially.

A few things we learned about the officers and their jobs were:

The many tools they use in their job: [Read more…]

Letter: Now is our chance to help MMC Hospitality Houses

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Dear friends and fans,

Are you in it to win it? You know I am! And this time, I’m not talking about a football game. I’m talking about the game of life.

Right here in Oak Ridge, we have a place that’s helping people in need win in the game of life—the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center. When patients are traveling long distances for medical care or when families from far away need to be close to hospitalized loved ones, the Hospitality Houses are there, free of charge. [Read more…]

Letter: What is a volunteer firefighter?

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To the Editor:

Question: What is a volunteer firefighter?

Answer: A volunteer firefighter is no different then those who get paid to do this job. In fact, when you think about those who work in the paid fire services, they too are technically a “volunteer” because nobody held a gun to their head and told them they have to do that job.

Every firefighter must remember that the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards do not differentiate between paid firefighters and volunteer firefighters in relation to who has to comply with what standards. Every firefighter is expected to do the job safely, quickly, and efficiently so that lives can be saved, property can be salvaged, and our communities are protected. [Read more…]

Letter: Transparency good, but information should be correct, properly investigated

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To the Editor:

It is understandable for editorials, op-eds, letters to the editor, etc., to be emotional and one-sided. It is typically strong feelings that stimulate such a piece to be written. I think it is appropriate, however, for our leadership (paid and unpaid) to use decorum when expressing their views. And I think it reflects poorly on a community when one member of its leadership decides unilaterally what is important or develops a cause based on accusations and uninvestigated claims. It is divisive and undermining to the remainder of the group.

There are always at least two sides to every story. As a leader, it is tempting to authoritatively address only one side of a story and to utilize selective input to make a case. It is also tempting to address it in a renegade fashion and for it to become a cause célèbre. But the risk is that it gives that person in leadership a false sense of power and righteousness. [Read more…]

Letter: PBA chapter president hopes for fair, thorough investigation of ORPD

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Editor’s note: This is a copy of a March 3 letter to Oak Ridge City Council.

Dear Oak Ridge City Council members:

I am honored to communicate with you today regarding a very important issue affecting the members of the City of Oak Ridge Police Department. Many of them are affiliated with the Knox County Chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association.

Before I discuss the issue at hand, I want to give you a very brief background regarding the PBA. We are not a union. We do not engage in union activities such as work disruptions or strikes. We are respectful when working with the administrations our officers serve. I’ve found most problems can be resolved if both parties come to the table with an open mind and a willingness to compromise.

The law enforcement officers from Anderson, Loudon, Roane, and Knox counties that make up our chapter depend on our local chapter board to monitor situations and protect their interests. Mostly those interests are confined to the following: a fair working environment and returning home safely at the end of a watch. [Read more…]

Letter: Praises Baughn, says City Council needs more like her

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To the Editor:

I would like to commend the outstanding job that Trina Baughn is doing on City Council. Of all the members of City Council, she is the most knowledgeable about the city’s massive and rising $186.4 million debt. Trina Baughn understands the history of how this debt was accumulated; she also has developed a strategic plan to help the taxpayers resolve this debt.

While Oak Ridge slipped deeper into debt, past City Councils have wasted and squandered taxpayer funds on law firms in Washington, D.C., to lobby for more money for Oak Ridge’s government facilities, as if lobbying rather than the qualifications of local scientists could swing federal funding to Oak Ridge. The taxpayers derived zero benefit from those lobbyist payments or the largesse City Council has bestowed on the Chamber of Commerce over the years. [Read more…]

Letter: City willing to address questions, wishes county could say the same

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To the Editor:

I can’t help but comment on the difference between our county government and the government of the City of Oak Ridge.

In Oak Ridge, questions have been asked about the city government, and most of the City Council said they had a duty to look into the issues and either address real problems or clear the names of the those being accused of wrongdoing.

Now look at our county government. I have been to too many committee meetings and full commission meetings to even count. We have meeting after meeting where the benches in the room are filled with concerned citizens. Many of us believe there is ongoing wrongdoing and abuse of our tax money in the office of the law director.

I and almost two dozen citizens put our names to paper to officially raise these issues, and there are many more who have given us support or who feel the same way. But no one on county commission seems to care. [Read more…]

Letter: Hensley wants to deny Baughn the right to serve, represent

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To the Editor:

I was surprised to hear that Charlie Hensley even has a voice.

That when issues arise and he is not in charge of public discussion of important issues, he tries to silence or sweep things under the carpet.

This is so: That issues have no governing decision to bring the issue into a final end.

That’s like hiring a design firm for a Senior Center, then doing nothing.

The City Council wants everything to be status quo. [Read more…]

Letter: Please consider listening to officers’ concerns

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Randy Myers

Randy Myers

Note: This is a copy of a February 2 letter from former Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Randy Myers to the City Council.

I wanted to respond briefly to the articles that have been written about the administration of the Oak Ridge Police Department. My comments are not directed at any one individual but only at the situation itself.

I’ve been in law enforcement for 25 years now. I know firsthand the stress that an administration can cause on their officers, but I wanted to point out something that most either do not know or just won’t bring it out.

No matter what agency you work for, there are issues within that department that some officer will complain about, or they simply just do not like. They may complain a little, but for the most part they move on with their life. [Read more…]