ORNL Federal Credit Union Summers Sessions concerts are in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy ORNL Federal Credit Union)
Bluegrass group The SteelDrivers will perform at a free concert in Oak Ridge on Saturday.
It’s the last Summer Sessions concert of 2021, and the show is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Saturday, October 23, in the pavilion at Alvin K. Bissell Park.
The opening band will be Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper.
The concert series is sponsored by ORNL Federal Credit Union.
The SteelDrivers are based in Nashville and known for their dynamic songwriting and eclectic shows, a press release said. Current band members include Tammy Rogers on fiddle, Mike Fleming on bass, Kelvin Damrell on guitar and vocals, Brent Truitt on mandolin, and Richard Bailey on banjo.
A Consolidated Nuclear Security Community Investment grant funded a therapist for Willow Brook Elementary School in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)
Submitted
Awards recommended by Y-12 employees in 2021 focused on at-risk youth, food insecurity, mental health, and aid to frontline workers
Consolidated Nuclear Security, in partnership with East Tennessee Foundation, recently awarded 17 grants totaling $100,000 to nonprofit organizations in 10 East Tennessee counties: Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Hamblen, Knox, Monroe, Roane, Scott, and Sevier.
The CNS Employee Investment Advisory Committee at Y-12 National Security Complex reviewed dozens of grant proposals this year, conducted staff interviews, and made site visits before recommending funding based on the committee’s four focus areas for the year: at-risk youth, food insecurity, mental health, and aid to frontline workers.
With the latest round of community investment grants, Consolidated Nuclear Security topped $880,000 of investment in the East Tennessee community during the last five years, a press release said.
The Joe L. Evins Federal Building is pictured above in Oak Ridge on Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The executive order issued by President Joe Biden in September requires federal employees to be fully vaccinated by November 22, the U.S. Department of Energy said. DOE said 84 percent of the department’s federal workforce was, at the time, fully vaccinated.
To comply with the November 22 deadline, DOE’s employees must complete their vaccinations by November 8. This would apply to the first Johnson & Johnson shot, a one-shot vaccine, or the second Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech shots, both two-shot vaccines. People aren’t considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after the final dose of a vaccine.
The U.S. Department of Energy notified its staff of the vaccine requirement on Tuesday last week.
“Protecting your health and safety is our top priority,” DOE told its staff. “To help ensure this, President Biden issued an executive order requiring all federal employees to be fully vaccinated by November 22, 2021. This applies to all federal employees regardless of remote, telework, or onsite reporting status, except in limited circumstances in which an employee may be exempt due to a legally required accommodation.”
The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The City of Oak Ridge does not currently require its employees or residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a state law passed this year, a municipal attorney said Tuesday.
But it’s not clear if that state law could be in conflict with a vaccination or testing mandate that President Joe Biden announced this month.
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The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The City of Oak Ridge does not currently require its employees or residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a state law passed this year, a municipal attorney said Tuesday.
That state law, Senate Bill 187 and House Bill 13 (Public Chapter 513), bars the city from COVID-19 vaccination requirements, said Alexander J. Cramer, staff attorney in the City of Oak Ridge Legal Department.
The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The City of Oak Ridge does not currently require its employees or residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a state law passed this year, a municipal attorney said Tuesday.
But it’s not clear if that state law could be in conflict with a vaccination or testing mandate that President Joe Biden announced this month.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member.
A previous Secret City Festival is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
The Secret City Festival will offer free admission to concerts this weekend after daytime activities were canceled because of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
The concerts are Jimmie Allen on Friday, September 24, and All-4-One on Saturday, September 25. Gates open at 6 p.m., and the concerts start at 7. The concerts are in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge.
The concerts will be first-come, first-served. Capacity is limited to 50 percent, a press release said.
Pictured above are Saad Aqqad, Allyson Neal, Brittany Moser, and Lindsey Rowland of Oak Ridge Pharmacy.
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Oak Ridge Pharmacy was named the small business of the month in September by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.
The pharmacy is located at 854 Main Street West.
The award is sponsored by Enrichment Federal Credit Union, a press release said.
“Driven by the desire to better meet the needs of customers he had served for many years at a large pharmacy, Saad Aqqad opened Oak Ridge Pharmacy in July 2019,” the press release said. [Read more…]
Note: This story was updated at 9:10 a.m. Sept. 12.
Daytime activities have been canceled at the Secret City Festival this month as the state and county experience a COVID-19 surge driven by the delta variant. However, the evening concerts, food trucks, and fireworks have not been canceled.
“Due to the ongoing resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Festival Board has been in discussions with the City of Oak Ridge, where concerns were raised about our ability to hold a viable, safe, and successful event,” Naomi Asher, marketing chair for the festival, said in response to questions Saturday. “Sadly, we must cancel all daytime festival activities, so that what we will be left with are the two evening concerts, food trucks, and fireworks.”
Asher said the Festival Board and City of Oak Ridge made the decision.
Brothers Henry Kitts, left, and William Kitts help educators Britini Carter, left, and Nicole Hood as they assemble a robotics kit that’s part of the Lab-in-a-Box program administered by Roane State Community College. (Submitted photo)
By Bob Fowler Roane State staff writer
Students were teaching the teachers to assemble complex robots as the Lab-in-a-Box program developed by Roane State Community College reached a major landmark.
The occasion was the latest session of showing teachers from rural middle schools how to include the innovative kits to instruct their students in scientific principles of friction, fossils, and robotics.
“The more hands-on lessons students have, the more they can grasp the concept,†Rockwood Middle School teacher Bernard McMahon said.
The Lab-in-a-Box program evolved from an initiative 11 years ago by the East Tennessee Economic Council to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in rural schools.
Roane State has been deeply involved in the program from its start. Faculty members developed the three kits, and each summer they introduce the components – contained in large plastic boxes – to area teachers.
The 85 students who integrated Oak Ridge schools in 1955 are being honored in events this week.
The “Rooted in the Community” reunion events have been organized by the Scarboro Community Alumni Association. They are scheduled from Thursday, September 2, to Sunday, September 5.
“The event honors those Scarboro-Oak Ridge TN 85 students who integrated the schools as well as the Scarboro teachers,†said John Spratling in a recent interview. Spratling is the vice president of the organization and the Scarboro endowment fund established to honor the teachers and students by supporting enrichment programs such as ACT Prep Testing, leadership training, scholarships, and youth community service projects, a press release said.
“In 1955, 85 courageous young African American students from the Scarboro community were asked to be the first to enter all-white Robertsville junior and Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,” the press release said. “The reunion honors those 85 students and the Scarboro School teachers that provided inspiration and tools to prepare them for this new journey.”
Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Submitted file photo)
Hospitals and health care networks in East Tennessee on Wednesday urged those who are eligible to get vaccinated as COVID-19 infections rise and hospitalizations reach and pass winter peak levels. They also encouraged people to wear face masks and maintain physical distances when possible.
“The past 18 months have been difficult for everyone in many ways, and the surge in COVID-19 infections over the past months has been exceptionally challenging,” the hospitals and health care networks said in a joint statement. “We have seen a sharp rise in delta variant-related infections, and community hospitalizations have exceeded the COVID-related census we witnessed in January 2021.”
The statement was from Blount Memorial Hospital, Covenant Health (which includes Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge), East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Sweetwater Hospital Association, Tennova Healthcare, and University of Tennessee Medical Center.
The statement recognized that people are eager to move on from the coronavirus pandemic, and it said vaccinations will help.
The main entrance at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory will require all staff members to have a current COVID-19 vaccination by October 15, and new employees will be required to provide proof that they have been vaccinated.
UT-Battelle LLC, which manages the laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, decided to require vaccinations after the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, August 23.
The main entrance at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)
 Oak Ridge National Laboratory will require all staff members to have a current COVID-19 vaccination by October 15, and new employees will be required to provide proof that they have been vaccinated.
UT-Battelle LLC, which manages the laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, decided to require vaccinations after the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, August 23.
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If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge TodayP.O. Box 6064Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!
Oak Ridge school board member Angi Agle, right, proposed a mask mandate inside Oak Ridge school buildings, and her motion was seconded by board member Ben Stephens, left. The school board approved the mandate, which has a written opt-out per an executive order by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, in a 3-1 vote on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.
Note: This story was last updated at 12 a.m.
The Oak Ridge Board of Education approved a mask mandate in a 3-1 vote on Monday.
The approval of the mask mandate, which is similar to a mandate at four Anderson County schools, occurred as the school system reported about 180 COVID-19 cases among students and staff members in less than three weeks. COVID cases have now been reported at all schools: the preschool, all four elementary schools, both middle schools, the high school, and Secret City Academy.
The mask mandate approved Monday will require masks indoors in school buildings unless the school system has received a written opt-out notice from a parent or guardian in compliance with an executive order issued by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee last week.
The Oak Ridge school year started Wednesday, July 28, with face masks being optional. However, as cases increased significantly in three schools, masks were required there. Those three schools were Jefferson Middle School, Robertsville Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School.
