Oak Ridge Today

Drug Awareness Day at Oak Ridge Pool on Saturday, June 21

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Drug Awareness Day at Oak Ridge Municipal Pool

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The Oak Ridge Chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks will be hosting the second annual Drug Awareness Day at the Oak Ridge Municipal Pool located at 172 Providence Road on Saturday, June 21.

Drug awareness demonstrations will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. inside the pool area. A few of the planned activities include the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Jet Ski simulator and fatal vision goggle demonstrations. “Elroy the Elk” the national mascot for the Elks Drug Awareness Program, will be in attendance to remind kids that hugs are better than drugs. Hundreds of prizes will be given away to those participating in a drug awareness activity. Some of the prizes include T-Shirts, coloring books, Frisbees, and free pool passes that can be used anytime during the summer. [Read more…]

Letter: Three Rotary clubs launch successful Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival

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Dragon Boats Close Race

 

To the Editor:

What happens when three Rotary clubs in an East Tennessee city work together? In Oak Ridge, a three-club collaboration over the past year culminated in a highly successful inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Race Festival. The exciting event was launched on Saturday, May 31, at the Oak Ridge Marina off Melton Lake Drive—one of the three best rowing venues in the United States.

The leadership of the event started with Mark Watson, Oak Ridge city manager and president of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. He met frequently with the presidents of the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary clubs, and they persuaded their club members to serve on the organizing committee and as volunteers at the festival. Key Rotarians who made the event successful were Leslie England, Keith Kahl, Jim Sumner, and Oak Ridge City Councilman Chuck Hope (who was in charge of logistics and served as a liaison between the Rotary clubs and the city of Oak Ridge).

By the third week in May, 30 teams, including one from Chattanooga and three from Kentucky and North Carolina, had registered. Three teams came from the Oak Ridge School System and three from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). [Read more…]

Photos: Dragon Boat Festival

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oak-ridge-dragon-boat-festival-19

 

Thirty boats participated in the inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday at the Oak Ridge Marina at Melton Lake Park.

The event was organized by the three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge: Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary, and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club.

Organizers were pleased with the participation and turnout, and they’ve already announced that next year’s festival will be on May 30, 2015.

A dragon boat is a long, low boat adorned with a snarling dragonhead at the boat’s front end, as in the Chinese tradition. Dragon boat races have become popular events in many U.S. cities, ranging in size from Philadelphia to Knoxville. [Read more…]

Thirty dragon boat teams ready to race May 31

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Penny Behling Dragon Boat Steerer

Penny Behling of Dynamic Dragon Boat Races LLC of Knoxville takes over as steerer of this dragon boat during a race in Owenboro, Ky., and gets the team back on course. (Submitted photo)

 

The inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

The three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge are launching this fundraiser for community nonprofit service organizations.

Dragon boat racing is the eighth-fastest growing sport in the world. And the races will take place on Oak Ridge’s signature rowing venue, considered one of the three best courses for regattas in the nation.

Starting at 9 a.m., 30 dragon boat teams—three from Kentucky and North Carolina—will race at least twice, with the 12 winners of two rounds racing in the third round.

The festival offers food and beverage vendors, beer garden, kids area at the pavilion with bounce houses and 15-minute martial arts lessons on the hour, two Tai Chi demonstrations, and awards ceremonies for winners of the morning Drummers Parade and the third round of dragon boat races. [Read more…]

‘Fore’ the Girls!: Girls Inc. Golf Classic on May 30

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Girls Inc. Golf Tournament

Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge is hosting its 17th Annual Golf Classic on Friday, May 30, at the Oak Ridge Country Club.

The Golf Classic this year will feature a Hole-In-One Car Prize sponsored by Sexton Automotive, first- and second-place team prizes, division prizes, prizes for closest to the pin, longest drive, and a putting contest, a press release said.

“Our fun day on the course will include refreshments and snacks as well as a fabulous dinner from the Oak Ridge Country Club,” the release said.

This year, the funds received from the Golf Classic sponsors and team fees will all support the new Girls Inc. Golf Program, the release said. Girls Inc. will be starting their first-ever golf season for girls ages 5-15 years old who are interested in building skills, learning to play, and increasing their interest in golf. [Read more…]

New rowing coach resigns

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Marc DeRose

Marc DeRose

The head coach hired in August has resigned from the Oak Ridge Rowing Association.

Coach Marc DeRose, who was also rowing director, has concluded that this was “not the right fit for me and my family,” a Friday afternoon press release said.

The release said a team of veteran ORRA leaders has moved into new roles within the organization. The new team management approach started after the resignation of DeRose, who replaced longtime head coach Allen Eubanks late last summer.

“We wish Marc and his family all the luck in the world,” ORRA President Terry Holley said. “We’re fortunate to have so many outstanding individuals ready to step in and make sure we don’t skip a beat. We may be nearing the end of the season, but we have no doubt we will finish strong.”

In the meantime, the work is being divided into four distinct areas, each with a key person in charge, the release said, “someone everyone involved with ORRA knows and respects. The four areas and those in charge are: [Read more…]

Ninja 5K Race to support Wounded Warriors, Graduation Celebration

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Ninja 5K Race Logo

Registration is now open for the inaugural Ninja 5K race coming to Oak Ridge on June 28. Organizers said the race was created to raise funds for our local Graduation Celebration event, while also supporting the Wounded Warriors Project.

The Ninja 5K is a 3.1-mile race and walk that is planned for the Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. The race course is very flat and accessible for all ages and abilities, a press release said. The race will be timed, but both runners and walkers are encouraged to participate.

“Martial arts groups will be on hand doing demonstrations, and everyone is encouraged to dress up ninja-style for the event,” a release stated. “Events like this one are sweeping the country because people are looking for something fun to do as a family. We hope to see the whole family dressed out in martial arts uniforms, or as Ninja Turtles, Karate Kid, Kung Fu Panda, etc.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge building bathrooms, changing rooms at Melton Lake Park

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Oak Ridge Marina Bathrooms

Workers build a block wall, patch and texture the ceiling, and hang drywall for new bathrooms and changing rooms in part of the former New China Palace restaurant at Melton Lake Park.

One section of a former Chinese restaurant at Melton Lake Park has already been converted into a rental shop for kayaks and bikes.

Now, another part of the city-owned building at the Oak Ridge Marina is being converted into public restrooms and changing rooms for big events. The bathrooms, which will be open to the public, could open next month.

It’s one of the steps in implementing a waterfront development plan approved by Oak Ridge City Council in December 2009. That plan included such features as a new picnic pavilion, walking trails, new playground, permanent restrooms, enhanced lighting and landscaping, outdoor casual dining, and recreational equipment rental.

The bathrooms will include multiple stalls, and the city will open the changing rooms for large events, such as regattas (rowing races). That will double the restroom capacities, said Pat Fallon, operations and maintenance manager for the Oak Ridge Public Works Department. [Read more…]

Adventures Outdoors rents kayaks, bikes at Oak Ridge Marina

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Kayaks under Melton Lake Drive

Above, kayaks from Adventures Outdoors are taken through a tunnel under Melton Lake Drive. (Photos courtesy Karen Lloyd)

Adventures Outdoors is open again, renting kayaks, bicycles, and stand up paddle boards at the Oak Ridge Marina.

The company has a new, larger, remodeled home inside part of the former New China Palace restaurant on the waterfront and a new five-year lease with the city, said Karen Lloyd, Adventures Outdoors owner.

Adventures Outdoors has 20 kayaks, including boats for one and two people, a new kayak launching dock, and five-person pedal boats. The rentals includes bikes for adults and children, as well as Trikkes, which are three-wheeled “carving vehicles.”

Lloyd said Adventures Outdoors opened for the season on April 1 and will remain open through Oct. 31. [Read more…]

Kerry Trammell Memorial 5k Run/Walk at Oak Ridge Marina on May 4

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Kerry Trammell Memorial 5K Logo

The Kerry Trammell Memorial 5k Run and Walk will start at 8 a.m. May 4 at the Oak Ridge Marina.

Proceeds of this year’s race will go toward the purchase and installation of emergency mile markers on the Melton Lake Greenway. The mile markers will be placed every .10 miles and coordinated with 911, and Trammell’s name will be placed on each.

The course starts on the Oak Ridge Marina peninsula and runs on Melton Lake Drive and along the water on the Melton Lake Greenway. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge’s Rotary clubs to host dragon boat races May 31

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Penny Behling Dragon Boat Steerer

The three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge are combining forces to launch the inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, to be held Saturday, May 31, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

“The purpose of the festival is to provide a venue for dragon boat races, offer food and musical entertainment and raise funds for nonprofit service organizations in the community,” said Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, president of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge.

The boat-racing event will celebrate Oak Ridge’s waterfront and signature rowing venue. The other two clubs are the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary clubs.

A dragon boat is a long, low boat adorned with a snarling dragonhead at the boat’s front end, as in the Chinese tradition. Dragon boat races have become popular events in many U.S. cities, ranging in size from Philadelphia to Knoxville.

This all-day Dragon Boat Festival race will be an entertaining competition among teams of 20 persons each—18 paddlers, a caller, and a steerer. The teams will come from community employers and organizations, some of which are signing up to become corporate sponsors of the event. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Research Park spring nature walks begin Sunday

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Four nature walks hosted by the Oak Ridge Research Park are scheduled this spring in various areas of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation.

The public is invited to join these walks, which showcase the rich flora and fauna diversity, as well as the sustainable management and conservation practices of the area.

The schedule for the spring nature walks is as follows: [Read more…]