Oak Ridge Today

Secret City Head Race in Oak Ridge

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Secret City Head Race is in Oak Ridge this weekend, and more than 1,100 athletes will compete in more than 500 boats.

The regatta is hosted by the Oak Ridge Rowing Association. Rowing races are scheduled Saturday and Sunday at the Oak Ridge Marina. There will be athletes from major programs such as the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, a press release said.

“Spectators and fans are once again welcome to flock to the greenway ranging from Calhoun’s to the Melton Lake Park as they watch male and female rowers compete in a variety of nail-biting events,” the press release said.

[Read more…]

Dodson running for state rep

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jim Dodson

Oak Ridge City Council member Jim Dodson is seeking election in 2022 to serve as a state representative in Anderson County.

Dodson is running to serve in the Tennessee House of Representatives in District 33, which includes most of Anderson County.

He is running as a Democrat. The seat is currently held by John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican who is in his sixth two-year term.

[Read more…]

ADFAC Bill Wilcox Bow Tie will honor Dodson

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Left to right, past Bow Tie awardees announcing Jim Dodson as this year’s recipient: Ray Smith, Louise Mixon, Teresa Myrick, Jim Dodson, Cande Seay, Tom Row, Tom Beehan, and Bear Stephenson. Not pictured: Bill Capshaw. (Submitted photo)

 

Submitted

ADFAC will host “The Starry Night,” their ninth annual Bill Wilcox Bow Tie Event, on Saturday, October 23, at the Doubletree Hotel in Oak Ridge. This event celebrates an important volunteer in our community each year who exemplifies the values of the late Bill Wilcox. This year’s honoree is local educator and community volunteer Jim Dodson.

The cocktail-attire event will begin at 5 p.m. It will feature Elaine Graham as the emcee, and it will be a night of celebration while making every effort to host a safe and fun event to raise funds for ADFAC, a press release said.

“ADFAC and the Bow Tie Committee, chaired by Wendie Aurin, are excited about the fun opportunities this year’s event offers, including a special performance by The Missing Goats, self-described as a four-piece pub band, who entertain with Irish, Scottish, and Appalachian songs,” the press release said.

The program will also include stories shared by some of Dodson’s friends and family about his important contributions to the community and opportunities to learn more about ADFAC’s mission and work in the area, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Chamber names Life Safety Inspections small business of month

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Life Safety Inspections (LSI), located at 313 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Suite 107 A, is the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Month for October 2021. The award is sponsored by Enrichment Federal Credit Union. (Submitted photo)

 

Submitted

Life Safety Inspections is the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Month for October 2021. The award is sponsored by Enrichment Federal Credit Union.

Ask owner Chip Dooley what led him to start LSI and he’ll tell you it came to him in a dream. 13 years ago, he found himself unhappy in his job – he had even gone so far as to write a letter of resignation, but just wasn’t quite ready to submit it. He tucked it away under his desk calendar and went home. That night, he dreamed about fire extinguishers and exit signs. He began researching fire extinguisher companies in the area and could only find six. After working on a business plan, he decided the market could handle another one.

According to Chip, “The hardest thing was to bring it to my wife and say, ‘Hey! I’m quitting my job, and we’re gonna be broke.’ She didn’t bat an eye. She said, ‘That’s fine’ and I was just amazed. She’s been my champion and cheerleader ever since.” [Read more…]

ORHS teacher to discuss Harvard Case Method

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A social studies teacher at Oak Ridge High School will discuss the Harvard Law School case method and its teaching benefits during an online meeting at noon Tuesday, October 5.

Teacher Richard Alexander “Alex” Shaffer will be the speaker at the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge meeting. Shaffer has completed the training for and is teaching a course using the Harvard Case Method of teaching history, a press release said.

“The case method is proving to be effective in teaching high school students critical thinking skills, just what our future leaders will need,” the press release said.

The public is invited. The meeting is virtual in order to keep people safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. You don’t have to be a League member. For instruction on linking to the live presentation, contact lwvoakridge@gmail.com.

[Read more…]

Clinch River Fall Antique Festival starts Friday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Clinch River Antique Festival
File photo

The Clinch River Fall Antique Festival starts in downtown Clinton on Friday, October 1.

It’s the 20th annual festival.

“The Clinch River Fall Antique Festival is an autumn tradition that keeps growing as the years
go on,” a press release said. “What was created to commemorate the Clinch River mussel pearls and their
economic contributions to East Tennessee in the early 1900s is now the largest fall event
in Anderson County. Each year, the festival that’s held just a few miles away from I-75 in
Historic Downtown Clinton, Tennessee, brings in upwards of 15,000 people to the
community over two days.”

The 20th Annual Clinch River Fall Antique Festival is hosted by the Anderson County
Chamber of Commerce. It is scheduled from noon-10 p.m. on Market Street on downtown Clinton.

Day one of this two-day event will begin with many vendors set up on Market Street beginning at noon, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Vaccine clinic

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Atomic Elks Lodge 1301 and Roberta Bohanon Temple 1381 are sponsoring a vaccine clinic in Scarboro on Saturday, September 25.

The clinic is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at 262 Wilberforce Avenue in Oak Ridge. The vaccine is provided through a partnership with New Direction Healthcare Solutions Inc. and Winbigler Medical, an event flyer said.

Secret City Festival has free admission to concerts

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

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.

[Read more…]

UCOR requiring COVID vaccinations

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

UCOR is requiring its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The requirement applies to all of its nearly 2,000 employees, and it is a condition of employment, the company said Tuesday.

The vaccination requirement was announced by UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter on August 26.

The company, an Amentum-led partnership with Jacobs, is the U.S. Department of Energy’s lead environmental cleanup contractor on the Oak Ridge Reservation, and it has an award-winning safety record, the company said. Rueter said that the decision to require the vaccine was in line with the company’s commitment to safety and its culture of caring.

[Read more…]

Updated: Day of Peace features Symphony Orchestra on Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Dan Alcott

Note: This press release has been updated to include information about event changes if it rains.

The Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra on Tuesday will present the Oak Ridge premiere of “Adaptation Variations” by Japanese American composer Takuma Itoh.

It will be the featured musical selection during the United Nations International Day of Peace observance Tuesday, September 21, at the International Friendship Bell and Peace Pavilion in Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The outdoor Music for Peace performance will follow Haiku for Peace presentations and children’s activities by Oak Ridge Girl Scouts during a program focused on the Friendship Bell, Peace Pavilion, and the adjacent karesansui garden. Ziad Demian, architect who designed the Peace Pavilion dedicated in 2018, will speak about the tradition and technology in the pavilion design, the press release said. [Read more…]

Berge selected as Public Works director

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Patrick Berge

The City of Oak Ridge has named Patrick Berge as its new public works director.

Berge, who previously served as Oak Ridge Public Works utility manager, has served as interim public works director since former Director Shira McWaters died in June.

Berge has overseen all water and wastewater operations since 2018, a press release said. He will now assume all public works operations including streets, stormwater, and engineering.

“As the next public works director, I’m looking forward to continuing Shira’s hard work,” Berge said in the press release. “Public Works has many major projects in progress, our biggest one being the new water plant.”

Among Berge’s many certifications, he is a professional engineer of environmental engineering in both Tennessee and Nebraska, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Roane State grad now at ORNL, researching how to thwart vehicular cyberattacks

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Sam Hollifield (Submitted photo)

By Bob Fowler

Roane State staff writer

This Roane State Community College graduate now works at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researching what he told an interviewer is “the cat-and-mouse game that is modern cybersecurity.”

Specifically, Samuel Hollifield Jr. is looking into ways to defend vehicles’ computer systems from being hacked. He’s a cybersecurity hardware engineer. “Never in my life would I think I’d have a job defending automotive networks,” he said.

His education at Roane State played a huge role in his career path, Hollifield said. “It sounds like a cliché, but Roane State, it changed my life,” he said. “I’m a huge cheerleader.”

A Kentucky native, Hollifield initially attended a community college there but had to withdraw as his late father’s health declined. Employed in the coal-mining industry and afflicted with black lung disease, his father died at age 56.

[Read more…]