Oak Ridge Today

Wildcats extend district win streak to 3-0 at Central; play Anderson County on Halloween

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Isiah Jones

Oak Ridge Wildcats sophomore Isiah Jones runs for 138 yards on 18 carries on Friday night at Central High School. (Photos by Julio Culiat)

KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge Wildcats extended their district win streak to 3-0 against the Central High School Bobcats on Friday in Knoxville.

The final score was 24-13.

Next up is district rival Anderson County on Halloween. It’s the last regular-season game and a district title could be at stake.

Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis has emphasized that he wants the Wildcats to go 4-0 in the final four district games. [Read more…]

Second-place finish for boys’ cross country sends ORHS to state

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Oak Ridge Cross Country's Wesley Robinson

Wesley Robinson, a junior and top finisher for the Oak Ridge High School boys’ team, finished sixth in a 5K race during a cross country regional championship at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday. (Photos by Nichole Zawisza)

KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge High School boys’ cross country team finished second in a regional championship in Knoxville on Thursday and will race in the state championship in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 2.

The girls’ team ran well but finished fourth, meaning they won’t get to compete in the state championship. It’s only open to the top three teams in the region.

Finishing first in the 5K race for the Oak Ridge boys, and sixth overall, was junior Wesley Robinson. He had a time of 16:44.31. That was his best race all year, Robinson said.

“I was very happy with my race,” he said. The course—two loops around Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville and a downhill finish—had several difficult hills and some rocky areas, Robinson said. [Read more…]

Roane rallies around injured student-athlete

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Information from WYSH Radio

Classmates of a Kingston High School sophomore football player who broke his neck on the first play of last week’s game against Sequoyah showed their support and rallied the community’s support for him on Tuesday.

Seth Haynes shattered the third vertebrae in his neck in the game and underwent surgery at the University of Tennessee Medical Center over the weekend. He could be released from the hospital as early as today and has expressed interest in attending the Yellow Jackets game this Friday night. [Read more…]

Lady Wildcats’ soccer season ends with 2-0 loss to Hardin Valley

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Oak Ridge Lady Soccer Cats and Hardin Valley Academy Hawks

Lady Wildcat Mahala Myers, left, a senior, battles for the ball with a Hardin Valley player during a season-ending subregional game on Tuesday in Oak Ridge.

The Lady Wildcats’ soccer season ended with a 2-0 loss to Hardin Valley Academy in a subregional game on Tuesday.

Coaches said the game featured two good, evenly matched teams, but the Hawks took advantage of opportunities while Oak Ridge did not. Among the missed opportunities for Oak Ridge was a free kick that hit the crossbar with less than three minutes left in the game.

“They just finished theirs,” Lady Wildcats coach Jason Schmieg said. “We didn’t finish ours.” [Read more…]

Anderson County Commission approves deer hunting at former landfill site

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CLINTON—Members of the Anderson County Commission, during their quarterly day meeting on Monday, approved a resolution that will allow citizens to hunt deer on the county-owned former Blockhouse Valley Landfill site.

Deer hunting will be limited to the former landfill site and restricted to permitted individuals.

Citizens interested in obtaining permits for the hunt must submit their applications and requests by calling (865) 457-6291 by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6. [Read more…]

Wildcats prevail over Powell in 21-14 comeback

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Isiah Jones Touchdown Catch

Sophomore running back Isiah Jones catches the second touchdown for the Oak Ridge Wildcats at Powell on Friday night.

POWELL—The Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Powell Panthers in a thrilling 21-14 come-from-behind win on Friday night in Powell.

The Wildcats were down two touchdowns at halftime, but a fired-up football team returned in the second half, scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and prevented Powell from scoring again.

“I’m so proud of this football team right now,” Wildcats Coach Joe Gaddis said. “You find out a lot about yourself when you stare adversity in the face.”

In some ways, it resembled the season opener against Farragut, when Oak Ridge struggled to score in the first half but came alive in the second.

[Read more…]

Clark Center Park closing due to government shutdown

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Note: this story was last updated at 6:35 p.m.

Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge will close at 10 p.m. today (Wednesday) because of a lapse in federal government funding.

The park is located on the south side of town on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation at 2000 Bull Bluff Road. The park will remain closed until further notice, a DOE statement said.

The partial government shutdown started more than two weeks ago on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass a spending bill. Some agencies such as DOE and its contractors continued to operate until there was a lapse in funding and all available money was spent. [Read more…]

Robertsville Rams finish season 8-1, win conference championship

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Robertsville Middle School Rams

The Robertsville Rams capped off a great season Thursday night with a 34-14 win over conference rival Rhea Central Middle School. The Rams finished the season with an 8-1 overall record. (Submitted photo)

Submitted

The Robertsville Rams capped off a great season Thursday night with a 34-14 win over conference rival Rhea Central Middle School. The Rams finish the season with an 8-1 overall record, with their only loss coming in a double overtime thriller against Christian Academy of Knoxville.

This team is the first to win a conference championship at Robertsville since 2006. The win over Rhea Central marks an impressive seven-game win streak for the Rams football program led by some strong future Oak Ridge Wildcats.

“This team has been fun to coach. They battle every game. Even in our one loss, they realize and see how close we were,” said Chris Layton, head football coach of Robertsville Middle School. [Read more…]

Four inducted into Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame

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Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame

The 2013 inductees into the Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame are pictured above. From left in the front row are Jennifer Cristy Strawn, Bobby Richards, and Jennifer Wilson Galloway. Barry Saunders is in the back row. (Photo courtesy Mike Kelly)

Four people were recently inducted into the Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame.

They are Barry Saunders, Bobby Richards, Jennifer Wilson Galloway, and Jennifer Cristy Strawn.

An induction ceremony took place during halftime of the recent Oak Ridge High School homecoming game against Gibbs High School.

Here is more information on the four:

Barry Saunders has been a member of the football coaching staff at Oak Ridge High School for more than 35 years. [Read more…]

Wildcats beat Karns 56-28; three ‘big’ district games remain

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Karns Beavers

Jaleel Luster, right, a junior running back, was one of six Oak Ridge Wildcats to score during a 56-28 win over the Karns Beavers on Friday. (Photos by Julio Culiat)

Note: This story was last updated at 10:47 a.m.

Six players scored eight touchdowns as the Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Karns Beavers 56-28 on Blankenship Field on Friday.

It was the third time this season that the Wildcats have scored more than 50 points.

Coach Joe Gaddis said the Wildcats (5-2, 4-1 in the district) played well on offense, but he was troubled by a few passes the defense allowed when Oak Ridge was in control of the game.

“We don’t want to give up those long touchdowns,” Gaddis said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge deer hunt canceled due to government shutdown

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has announced that the deer hunt at the Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area scheduled for Oct. 19-20 was canceled as a result of the federal government shutdown.

Earlier this week, U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations began what they call “an orderly shutdown in support of obtaining a safe and secure status.” TWRA said 1,125 hunters had been selected via a lottery system for the hunt. Any fees they paid to participate are non-refundable.

There are two more deer hunts scheduled in November and December, but no decision has been made about them yet. Hunters may contact the Oak Ridge WMA check station on Saturday, Oct. 12, at (865) 576-2380 from 7 a.m. EST until noon. For any additional questions concerning the cancellation, contact the TWRA Region III Office at (931) 484-9571. TWRA will announce how the priority point totals will be handled as soon as a decision has been made.

Secret City Half Marathon Weekend to feature new 5K, 10K races; health, fitness expo

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Secret City Half Marathon

The Secret City Half Marathon Weekend at the end of November will feature 5K and 10K races, and a new Health and Fitness Expo.

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau announced the changes on Wednesday. The marathon weekend is Nov. 30-Dec. 1.

“With less than two months to the race, runners and walkers are encouraged to lace up their running shoes and sign up soon to participate in one of these great family friendly athletic events in Oak Ridge,” a press release said.

The first-ever Secret City 5K and 10K races will be held Saturday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 a.m. Both courses start and end near the Oak Ridge Civic Center and run through the streets of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]