Oak Ridge Today

Breakfast with the Legislators is Monday

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Pictured above at a Breakfast with the Legislators on Monday, April 25, 2016, are, from left, Tennessee Sen. Randy McNally, Rep. John Ragan, and Rep. Kent Calfee. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Breakfast with the Legislators is Monday. It’s scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Monday, February 27, in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, which is located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Breakfast with the Legislators is organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. A light continental breakfast is provided at no charge, and the public is encouraged to attend.

Senators Ken Yager and Randy McNally and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to bring everyone up to date on what’s happening in the Tennessee Legislature, a press release said. Members of the audience may ask questions and give opinions. [Read more…]

Dowdell named MVP, leads girls in District 3 championship

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA girls' basketball championship in 59-34 victory over Powell at Clinton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA girls’ basketball championship in a 59-34 victory over Powell at Clinton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

CLINTON—Oak Ridge junior Mykia Dowdell was named most valuable player and the Lady Wildcats won their second straight District 3-AAA championship with a 59-34 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday.

Oak Ridge (26-3) will play Bearden in a first-round Region 2-AAA tournament game at Wildcat Arena at 7 p.m. Friday. The Lady Bulldogs (24-3) lost to Hardin Valley 58-50 in a third-place District 4-AAA game at Hardin Valley Academy on Monday.

Dowdell led the Lady Wildcats with 21 points in the District 3 championship game against Powell on Tuesday, and she had at least six rebounds. She had eight points in the first quarter alone, and another six in the second.

While Dowdell was named MVP, three other Oak Ridge players were also named to the District 3-AAA All Tournament Team on Tuesday: senior Courtney Ellison, junior Jaymi Golden, and sophomore Jada Guinn. [Read more…]

Driskill named Roane State executive director for Oak Ridge campus, community relations

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Owen Driskill

Owen Driskill

 

Owen Driskill has been named Roane State Community College’s executive director for the Oak Ridge Campus and Community Relations.

Driskill joined Roane State’s staff in 2007 after a 10-year career in journalism as a reporter and editor. He served as Roane State’s news coordinator until 2011, when he became the college’s director of marketing and public relations.

Driskill serves on the boards of Explore Oak Ridge, First Steps Child Development Center in Oak Ridge, and the Oak Ridge Center for Leadership and Community Development. In addition, he is a member of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Advocacy Committee. He has been a volunteer mentor for tnAchieves, the nonprofit that coordinates mentors for Tennessee Promise students, since 2008. [Read more…]

UT, NOAA to collaborate on atmospheric sciences research

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Taylor Eighmy, UT vice chancellor for research and engagement, left, and Bruce Baker, director of NOAA’s Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, headquartered in Oak Ridge, right, sign a memorandum of agreement in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

Taylor Eighmy, left, UT vice chancellor for research and engagement, and Bruce Baker, right, director of NOAA’s Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, which has headquarters in Oak Ridge, sign a memorandum of agreement in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

 

The University of Tennessee in Knoxville has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, or ATDD, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Air Resources Laboratory to advance collaborative research in atmospheric sciences. ATDD has headquarters in Oak Ridge.

The agreement was signed Wednesday, February 15, at ATDD headquarters in Oak Ridge, and it will help with joint efforts to advance understanding of air pollution, atmospheric transport processes, and weather on a regional and national level, a press release said. It also will create educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to collect scientific data, develop models and simulations, and transition research to applications and commercial use.

“The mission of the collaboration will be to train the next generation of scientists and engineers and provide the best available atmospheric data and scientific analysis to the global scientific community, to local and national decision makers, and to the general public,” said Bruce Baker, director of the ATDD. [Read more…]

Basketball: Wildcats, Lady Wildcats to play for district championships today

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats will play for the District 3-AAA basketball championship against Powell at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 21, at Clinton High School. The Lady Wildcats are pictured above with Coach Paige Green in the championship game of the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic in Greeneville on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—The Oak Ridge Wildcats and Lady Wildcats will both play Powell for District 3-AAA championships today. The girls’ game starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 21, at Clinton High School, and the boys’ game begins at 7:30 p.m.

The Lady Wildcats (25-3) advanced to the championship game by beating Anderson County 61-45 in a District 3-AAA semifinal game at Clinton on Saturday.

It’s the second year in a row that Oak Ridge is playing for the district championship. Last year, the Lady Wildcats won the title by beating Campbell County 52-34 at Anderson County High School. That was their first district championship since 2010.

Oak Ridge went on to play in the state tournament and finished as runner-up in Class AAA. [Read more…]

Photos: Panda Express, retail shops construction

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Construction work is pictured above on Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, in the area that will house a Panda Express restaurant and retail shops where Ruby Tuesday used to be on South Illinois Avenue. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Construction work is pictured above on Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, in the area that will house a Panda Express restaurant and retail shops where Ruby Tuesday used to be on South Illinois Avenue. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Construction work is under way in the small shopping center that will house a Panda Express restaurant and retail shops where Ruby Tuesday used to be on South Illinois Avenue.

Here are three photos of the work on Friday, February 10.

The former Ruby Tuesday restaurant was demolished in October.

A site plan for the Panda Express restaurant and retail development has been reviewed by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission. [Read more…]

Bicyclist who died in SUV-bike crash on Sunday has been identified

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The bicyclist who died in the Sunday afternoon crash between a bicycle and a small sport utility vehicle has been identified as Verne Gilbert, 85, of Oak Ridge, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 1:50 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike, or Highway 58, and Blair Road, or State Route 327, in west Oak Ridge. That’s just east of East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site.

Gilbert’s identity was not included in a City of Oak Ridge news release Sunday evening at the request of the family, a Monday afternoon press release said. [Read more…]

JMS robotics team to represent school, Tennessee at FIRST LEGO World Championships

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The Jefferson Middle School Master Builders finished a robot challenge game with a high score of 204 and won the first place overall Champion's Award in the FIRST Lego League East Tennessee State Championship at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. The team received the Global Innovation Award. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

The Jefferson Middle School Master Builders finished a robot challenge game with a high score of 204 and won the first place overall Champion’s Award in the FIRST Lego League East Tennessee State Championship at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. The team received the Global Innovation Award. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Content written by team coaches—edited and submitted by Holly Cross

Three robotics teams from Jefferson Middle School competed in the FIRST Lego League East Tennessee State Championship at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville on February 11. One team will represent Jefferson Middle School and Tennessee at the FIRST LEGO World Championships in Houston in April.

To compete in the state championship, teams must first qualify at either the Knoxville, Nashville, Chattanooga, or Johnson City competitions. The Atomic Eagles, JMS Master Builders, and Radioactive Brix all qualified in Knoxville on December 3 at Hardin Valley Academy.

The Radioactive Brix (team # 3131) finished the robot challenge game with a high score of 90 and won second place in mechanical design. Members are: Johnny Clark, Grace Godfrey, Christopher Gorsuch, Ethan Holland, Colby Lawson, Josh Shubert, and Chrystalleni White. The team coach is Norma Franco. The team mentor is Justin Holland.

The Atomic Eagles (team #336) finished the robot challenge game with a high score of 110 and won the third place overall Champions Award. Members are: Ben Dallas, Lindsey Fiscor, Bethany Marshall, Amelie Nagle, Levi Parish, Brian Qu, and Alex Shanafield. The team coaches are Janie Shanafield and David Hundermark. The team mentor is Harold Shanafield. [Read more…]

Julie Kinder-McMillan named Teacher of the Year in Oak Ridge

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Julie Kinder-McMillan

Julie Kinder-McMillan

 

Julie Kinder-McMillan of Robertsville Middle School has been named Teacher of the Year for Oak Ridge Schools.

Kinder-McMillan is the schools district’s nominee for state-level awards that the Tennessee Department of Education gives each year to outstanding educators to recognize their meritorious service and devotion to students.

“The department applauds teachers who care about children, who devote their professional lives to enriching the lives of Tennessee children, and who demonstrate exceptional gains in student achievement,” a press release said. “Each district in the state may submit one nominee for the state-level award.

Kinder-McMillan teaches eighth-grade reading/language arts as well as journalism and yearbook.

“One of her passions is to educate students about the Holocaust using the ‘Diary of Anne Frank’ as a learning platform, as Anne is close in age to her students,” the press release said. “It provides an entry point and puts a face on the nameless numbers of victims. Julie has participated in numerous trainings to enhance her teaching, and had the pleasure of bringing in Holocaust survivor, Mira Kimmelman, to meet her students.” [Read more…]

Bicyclist, 85, dies in fatal bike-SUV crash

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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a fatal crash between an SUV and a bicycle at Highway 58 and Blair Road on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a fatal crash between an SUV and a bicycle at Highway 58 and Blair Road on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

An 85-year-old Oak Ridge bicyclist died in the Sunday afternoon crash between a sport utility vehicle and a bike on Highway 58 in west Oak Ridge on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 1:50 p.m. Sunday at State Route 58 and State Route 327, also known as Blair Road, just east of the East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site).

The bicyclist, an 85-year-old man from Oak Ridge, died as a result of his injuries, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

“At the request of the family, the name of the bicyclist is not being released at this time,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Bicyclist dies after SUV-bike crash

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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a fatal crash between an SUV and a bicycle at Highway 58 and Blair Road on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a fatal crash between an SUV and a bicycle at Highway 58 and Blair Road on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 5 p.m.

A bicyclist died after a crash between a sport utility vehicle and a bike on Oak Ridge Turnpike in west Oak Ridge on Sunday, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 1:52 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 58 and Blair Road. The male bicyclist had been taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge after the crash.

Highway 58 is temporarily closed at the intersection with Blair Road, and vehicles are being detoured as police investigate. [Read more…]

Police investigating Friday night shooting in Scarboro

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The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a Friday night shooting in the Scarboro neighborhood, authorities said.

Officers responded to the emergency room at Methodist Medical Center at about 11:44 p.m. Friday to investigate the reported shooting, a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

Police learned that a 19-year-old male had been injured by a gun shot, the press release said. But the victim was reluctant to cooperate with investigating officers, and no witnesses to the shooting were located, authorities said. [Read more…]