Oak Ridge Today

Letter: Country musician Tracy Lawrence plays at December fundraiser for Oak Ridge firefighters

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To the Citizens of Oak Ridge,

My name is Austin Keathley, and I am the president of the Oak Ridge Firefighters Association.

I would like to give some information about our concert fundraiser. This fundraiser has been a part of our organization for the past three years. The tickets are sold over the phone. This is done by employees of our association that work out of the Knoxville Firefighters Association’s office. The tickets are then mailed from the same location. You receive the tickets and then mail back your payment.

There are two shows per year: one is oldies in June, and the other is country in December. The calls have begun for the country show in December. The artist is Tracy Lawrence with special guest Rick Huckaby. [Read more…]

Habitat for Humanity seeks USDA grant for critical home repair in rural Anderson County

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Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County, or HFHAC, is seeking U.S. Department of Agriculture Section 533 grant funding through the Housing Preservation Grant Program in order to provide critical home repairs and weatherization services to very low and low income homeowners. As part of their grant application, HFHAC would like to announce a Statement of Activities and encourage the public to express any concerns or make any suggestions to assist in the proposed project. [Read more…]

Guest column: Progress on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act

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K-25 Building Aerial View

Now mostly demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building is pictured above. The site could be included in a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

There has been significant movement in both the House and Senate on the pending legislation to create a national historical park for the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge as well as Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash.

On June 14, the House of Representatives voted to include the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), H.R. 1960. A few hours later, the House passed the NDAA and, along with it, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act. The Manhattan Project Park Act, and the NDAA amendment, was sponsored by representatives Doc Hastings (R-WA), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), and Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN).

The same day, the Senate Committee on Armed Services completed its markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014. Next, the full Senate must pass the bill. Once the Senate acts, a House-Senate conference committee will be appointed to reconcile differences between the two versions of the NDAA. [Read more…]

Guest column: Former superintendent rebuts Baughn’s school safety allegations

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Bob Smallridge

Bob Smallridge

The following is in response to a recent letter from Ms. Trina Baughn, which was published in The Oak Ridger on July 3 and subsequently reported in part by other area media.

I recently completed a six-month stint as interim superintendent of the Oak Ridge Schools, covering the period Jan. 1 through June 30. I will not attempt to speak to what might or might not have occurred prior to this time, but will comment only on events where I had some direct involvement during my period of service.

In assuming my role as interim superintendent, one of the things I felt was most important was for me to get out to the schools as frequently as possible. I was in the schools, on  average, twice a week, especially the secondary schools, because they are larger and it takes more time to visit all parts of the buildings. For the most part, my visits came at random times and were unannounced. I visited many classrooms and talked with both teachers and students individually. I saw students moving through the hallways and congregating in the larger assembly spaces in a causal, but controlled manner, enjoying a few minutes to converse with each other. Overall, I observed a very orderly environment based on caring and mutual respect between teachers, administrators, and students.

This is not to say that there are never problems that occur among students. Anytime you bring 700 students together as in the case of the middle schools or almost 1,400 at the high school you can expect instances of inappropriate behavior by a few students. Although most discipline situations are handled at the building level, there were times when it was necessary for me to get involved in reviewing a specific incident. For the most part, I was very comfortable that these situations were handled appropriately and consistently by school staff. [Read more…]

Letter: A very bright object (schools) sighted in Oak Ridge

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To the Editor:

Spotted: A very bright object sighted in Oak Ridge.

I am referring to the Oak Ridge school district. All four elementary schools, both middle schools, the high school, the preschool, and the alternative school. I am referring to every teacher, parent, student, and community member that works to make this school system an astounding success. I am referring to the number of high school graduates that go on to successful careers. I am referring to the very bright future ahead for students that attend the Oak Ridge school district.

It is easy to throw stones and try to tear something down. It is easy to blame a “system” for failure, to point fingers at mistakes, to shout obscenely out loud, and cause a fuss in a community. It is easy to cry “wolf” to the crowd. It is not easy to constructively work for change, toward goals of improvement, to help make something great even better. [Read more…]

Guest column: Let’s face it, school safety is an emotional topic

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When it comes to keeping our children out of harm’s way, we parents get testy. I never realized how testy I could get until the day I drove my oldest home from the hospital. Not only did I check every buckle in his car seat fifteen times over, I don’t think I took my car over 25 miles per hour the whole way home. I threw a few sour looks toward drivers who passed me at a higher rate of speed.

It was illogical. It was emotional. But it was instinctual. I couldn’t stop what simply holding my baby boy was doing to me on the inside. I suspect I am not alone among first-time fathers and mothers. The feelings we have may wane over time or become more rational as we age, but they never fully go away.

Keeping composure in emotionally tense situations requires a degree of grace, and I find it doubly ironic that, as a former school-safety-coordinator-turned-minister,  grace would be the state of being I believe our community should adopt in this controversy. [Read more…]

Guest column: City, school officials need to unify, not splinter

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Note: This is copy of a column summarized by Oak Ridge Board of Education member Dan DiGregorio at a Monday night City Council meeting. DiGregorio had earlier sent a similar column to Oak Ridge Today in response to questions about a letter written by City Council member Trina Baughn that sparked a fiery debate this past week over drugs and violence in Oak Ridge Schools.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion, and each has the right to express that opinion. I, too, have the right to express opinions. I agree with my opinion about what I just wrote.

Within the Oak Ridge City Council and School Board there are 12 elected officials—all of whom were elected by the same citizens. But, we were elected to do two different jobs. We should not be stepping on each other’s toes. Both elected bodies are accountable to the citizens of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

‘Culture of terror’ in Oak Ridge schools, Council member says; not true, education leader says

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Note: This is a copy of a letter that Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn sent to new Oak Ridge Schools superintendent Bruce Borchers. It is followed by a response from Steve Reddick, who teaches American history to eighth-grade students at Jefferson Middle School and is co-president of the Oak Ridge Education Association.

Here is the letter from Baughn to Borchers:

Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

Dr. Borchers,

Shortly after the Sandy Hook tragedy, Oak Ridge city and school officials began discussing the need to shore up security within our schools. Your Board of Education (BOE) immediately demanded the city provide an officer in every school while simultaneously declining our police chief’s offer to conduct the risk assessment needed to identify facility and policy vulnerabilities. Our police department has also repeatedly offered to provide safety/emergency training to your staff. All of those offers have been declined by members of your administration.

Seven months later, we have made very little progress. At the center of it all is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was initially drafted months ago to address the lack of cooperation by school administrators and their frequent interference with requisite police work. I am told that school attorneys refuse to agree with the parameters that, at their very core, enable our officers to uphold the law and maintain the safety and security of the public.

The incidents that have led to the need for this MOU are disturbing and give me reason to fear that the original emphasis of protecting our children from external threats is less of a need than that of protecting them from internal threats. [Read more…]

Letter: ORPSEF thanks contributors to Dreams and Innovations

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Deirdre Barrett and ORPSEF Foundation

Deirdre Barrett, right, is pictured above with Alice Feldman, Linda Young, Anne Garcia Garland, and Margaret Gottshall. (Submitted photo)

To the Editor:

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation would like to extend its thanks to all who contributed to the Dreams and Innovation program honoring Oak Ridge teachers who received Foundation grants for the 2013-2014 school year.

Our thanks and appreciation goes to:

  • B&W Y-12, which provided the location, New Hope Center, for the celebration attended by more than 150 people. B&W Y-12 also provided assistance with sound and information technology for the event.
  • Aubrey’s Restaurant, one of Oak Ridge’s newest restaurants, for providing appetizers for the event.
  • Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. (MCLinc), which provided booths for the event.
  • Deirdre Barrett, the ceremony’s keynote speaker, author, psychologist at Harvard Medical School, and graduate of Oak Ridge High School. She spoke on the theme of the event, describing how dreams contribute to innovation and problem solving, relating research from her book, “The Committee of Sleep.”
  • The Oak Ridge public schools teachers who provided demonstrations of materials and programs funded by past Education Foundation grant awards, showing how students have benefitted.
  • Oak Ridge JazzCats and Michelle Hairston, who provided entertainment during the event.
  • The ORPSEF board of directors, for their support for this event. [Read more…]

Guest column: Independence Day traffic safety

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The Fourth of July may be America’s iconic holiday, but all too often the revelry ends in tragedy on the highways due to drunk driving. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department urges everyone to celebrate this Independence Day with a pledge to keep our community “independent” from drunk driving.

“The Fourth may be one of the nation’s most popular holidays, but, unfortunately, it’s also one of the most dangerous in terms of alcohol-related fatalities,” Sheriff Paul White said. “Too many people think they can get behind the wheel because they’ve only had a few drinks and just have a ‘buzz’ on. The truth is you don’t have to be ‘falling down drunk’ to be a menace to yourself and everyone around you on the highways. Remember: ‘Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving.'” [Read more…]

Guest column: E-fairness—good for Oak Ridge, good for Tennessee, good for U.S.

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Parker Hardy

Parker Hardy

For years, online-only retailers have enjoyed a significant competitive advantage over their local competitors: they don’t have to collect state sales taxes. This means online retailers can create the illusion of having lower prices than traditional retailers because those online retailers do not, in most instances, collect the same sales taxes that our local brick-and-mortar stores do. And because they do not collect those taxes, they automatically enjoy a 9.75 percent advantage over local businesses.

This is not only unfair; it’s bad for local businesses, communities, and families. It is money that is not available for use in supporting our schools, paving our roads, building our playgrounds, or hiring police officers and firefighters.

The Marketplace Fairness Act would set things right. [Read more…]

Guest column: Protecting your pets during the July 4 holiday

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Here are four simple tips on how to keep pets safe during the July 4 holiday, plus a few bonus tips on how to find a lost pet:

  1. Keep dogs and cats inside: Keep your pet indoors at all times during holiday celebrations. Try to walk your dogs before the firework festivities begin or when they end.
  2. Make them feel safe: Comfort your pets with petting, hugging, talking to them in a soothing voice, providing a treat, and staying nearby if possible. Make sure they can access their crate or “safe place.” [Read more…]