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Municipal Building, playgrounds remain closed; greenways, parks open

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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 Oak Ridge Municipal Building remains closed to the public but is moving to a public check-in area where visitors can be escorted to secured areas of the building, City Manager Mark Watson said in an update Tuesday.

Playgrounds and basketball courts remain closed. Disinfection options are being reviewed for limited open times, the update said.

The Oak Ridge Public Library will begin curbside delivery of library materials beginning in mid-May, the update said.

Oak Ridge City Court is working to resume in-person hearings on May 11 with COVID-19 precautions, the update said. COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly. It has caused a global pandemic.

The city manager’s update said there is planning for a phased re-opening of the Oak Ridge Senior Center.

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Clark Center Park will re-open Friday

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Clark Center Park Beach
The beach at Clark Center Park is pictured in July 2014. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge will re-open on Friday, May 1.

The re-opening was announced by the U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday.

DOE closed the park on April 4 in response to an executive order by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee as the state tried to control the spread of COVID-19.

The park has been closed since then.

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Bengals pick Higgins in NFL draft

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Wildcats Tee Higgins Catch at Ooltewah Nov. 13, 2015
Tee Higgins, who was then a junior at Oak Ridge, makes a catch during a 26-17 loss at Ooltewah in a second-round Class 5A playoff game on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

The Cincinnati Bengals picked former Oak Ridge wide receiver Tee Higgins in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday.

Higgins, a star football and basketball player at Oak Ridge High School, played three years at Clemson University in South Carolina before being drafted into the National Football League in the 33rd pick, the first pick of the second round on Friday.

Higgins, 21, joins Joe Burrow, the number one pick and a quarterback from Louisiana State University, at Cincinnati. Higgins was the second pick for the Bengals.

Higgins (6-4, 215) is tied with NFL stars Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins for the all-time touchdown record for a Clemson receiver (27). He caught 135 passes for 2,448 yards and 27 touchdowns during his three-year career, according to the Clemson Tigers. He played in two national championship games, winning one, the national championship game against Alabama in 2019. Higgins had three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown in that game.

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Clark Center Park temporarily closed

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Clark Center Park Beach
The beach at Clark Center Park is pictured in July 2014. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The U.S. Department of Energy has temporarily closed Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge.

The closure was effective Saturday, April 4. It was in response to the stay-at-home order issued by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Thursday, April 2. That statewide order was meant to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that cause serious symptoms, lead to hospitalization, and sometimes result in death.

The park closure will remain in effect until further notice, DOE said.

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NCAA cancels events, including rowing championships in Oak Ridge

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SIRA-Regatta-April-17-2016-6
The 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta is pictured above in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The 2020 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, which were scheduled to be held in Oak Ridge in May, have been canceled because of COVID-19, and other collegiate regattas have been canceled as well.

Oak Ridge officials and others have been looking forward to the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships since it was announced three years ago. The Oak Ridge rowing venue is considered one of the best in the country.

In a March 12 notice, the NCAA said all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships were being canceled due to COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus. Also canceled were the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, which includes March Madness.

The cancellations affecting Oak Ridge include the NCAA division I, II, and III Women’s Rowing Championships, Big 10 Invitational Regatta, Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championship, as well as other regattas slated to be held in conjunction with the Oak Ridge Rowing Association.

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State basketball tournaments suspended

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The BlueCross Basketball Championships, the state tournament games that were scheduled to include the Oak Ridge boys team, have been suspended because of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.

It’s not clear yet if the games will be rescheduled.

The state basketball tournaments were suspended after quarterfinal games in the girls tournament on Thursday.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats had been scheduled to play in a quarterfinal game of the Class AAA boys tournament on Wednesday of next week.

“Whether we will be able to reschedule these events will depend on the length of the suspension and the availability of facilities,” the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association said.

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Attendance being limited at state basketball tournaments

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Attendance will be limited at the boys and girls state basketball tournaments starting Friday, and that will affect an Oak Ridge team and its fans and cheerleaders.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats are one of the eight teams playing in the Class AAA boys basketball tournament, which starts Wednesday, March 18.

The attendance limits are because of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus. The limits were announced Thursday by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.

“Like many other athletic associations and leagues throughout the country, TSSAA has decided that the health and safety of our student-athletes and spectators alike require that we limit fan attendance at our girls’ and boys’ state basketball championships,” the organization said.

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Guidebook highlights Oak Ridge’s natural assets

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Oak Ridge Natural Assets Guidebook
Image by Legacy Parks Foundation

A new guidebook highlights Oak Ridge’s natural assets.

The “Oak Ridge Natural Assets Guidebook” by Legacy Parks Foundation is a collaborative project created at the request of the City of Oak Ridge, Roane County, and Anderson County civic and business leaders, a press release said. It’s in response to recommendations from the Oak Ridge Blueprint Plan that urged the exploration of both recreational opportunities and enhancement of the area’s natural assets.

“The Guidebook is intended to be a living, working document that will serve as a philosophical and practical set of guidelines for how to maximize the area’s natural assets so that they provide a sustainable foundation to engage residents, promote wellness, attract tourism, and increase economic development,” said Carol Evans, executive director of Legacy Parks Foundation.

The Guidebook identifies natural assets and related opportunities on public land in Oak Ridge, including U.S. Department of Energy land, but it does not consider future uses of that land for mission-related or growth purposes, Evans said.

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Nature walks scheduled on Oak Ridge Reservation

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Narrow leaved spring beauties are found on the Oak Ridge Reservation. (Submitted photo)

Submitted

On the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation, located in East Tennessee, more than 1,100 vascular plants, 72 fish, 34 mammals, and more than 200 bird species have been observed.

This year, the public is invited to nine nature walks designed to highlight not only the rich flora and fauna diversity of the reservation, but also to demonstrate the work being done to sustainably manage and conserve this resource. Walks will take place on several locations across the Oak Ridge Reservation beginning in late winter through mid-summer. No pets, please.

Reservations for the following events must be made in advance by noon the Thursday prior to each walk by contacting Tracy Clem at (865) 574-5151 or [email protected] More information about these walks is available by contacting Trent Jett at (865) 574-9188 or [email protected]

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Higgins will enter 2020 NFL draft

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Wildcats Tee Higgins Catch at Ooltewah Nov. 13, 2015
Before he was injured, Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5) makes a catch during a 26-17 loss at Ooltewah in a second-round Class 5A playoff game on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. (File photo by Julio Culiat)

Tee Higgins, a former star wide receiver for the Oak Ridge Wildcats who won a college football championship at Clemson University, announced this month that he will enter the 2020 NFL draft.

Higgins announced his decision on Twitter on Wednesday, January 15.

“It has always been my dream to play in the NFL and take care of my family,” Higgins, a junior at Clemson, said in his Twitter announcement. “Because of Clemson, I now have the opportunity to do that. So it is with a grateful heart that I announce today my intention to enter the 2020 NFL Draft.”

The draft is scheduled from April 23-25 in Paradise, Nevada.

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Secret City Half Marathon and 5K in Oak Ridge on Saturday

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Oak Ridge main roads to be affected

The Secret City Half Marathon and 5K is in Oak Ridge on Saturday, November 16, and several main roads and intersections will be affected by the race in the morning.

Explore Oak Ridge and the City of Oak Ridge expect more than 1,000 runners and walkers on the city’s streets and greenways as they participate in these family-friendly races, a press release said. See below for the race routes and also visit the SCHM website at www.SecretCityHalfMarathon.com for a map of both routes.

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Deer hunter injured when boat runs aground

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A deer hunter was seriously injured early Saturday morning when a boat ran aground on Melton Hill Lake near the Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area, state officials said.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers said three deer hunters who had been drawn to hunt the Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area launched an aluminum boat at Solway Boat Ramp and headed toward the management area in dense fog.

Around 6:30 a.m. Saturday, Christopher Beckler, 47, of Cleveland, Tennessee, was ejected when the boat ran aground near the Freels Bend area, the TWRA said. Beckler had been near the front of the boat using a spotlight to assist his son Dawson Beckler, 21, who was operating the vessel under dark and foggy conditions.

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