Oak Ridge Today

Roane State’s Lab-in-a-Box program hits major milestone

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Brothers Henry Kitts, left, and William Kitts help educators Britini Carter, left, and Nicole Hood as they assemble a robotics kit that’s part of the Lab-in-a-Box program administered by Roane State Community College. (Submitted photo)

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

Students were teaching the teachers to assemble complex robots as the Lab-in-a-Box program developed by Roane State Community College reached a major landmark.

The occasion was the latest session of showing teachers from rural middle schools how to include the innovative kits to instruct their students in scientific principles of friction, fossils, and robotics.

“The more hands-on lessons students have, the more they can grasp the concept,” Rockwood Middle School teacher Bernard McMahon said.

The Lab-in-a-Box program evolved from an initiative 11 years ago by the East Tennessee Economic Council to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in rural schools.

Roane State has been deeply involved in the program from its start. Faculty members developed the three kits, and each summer they introduce the components – contained in large plastic boxes – to area teachers.

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Governor appoints Spitzer as Circuit Court judge

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Ryan Spitzer
Ryan Spitzer (File photo)

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has appointed Ryan Spitzer to serve as Circuit Court judge for the Seventh Judicial District to fill the seat left vacant when former judge Don Elledge retired at the end of June.

Spitzer’s appointment is effective immediately, the governor said in an announcement Monday.

“Ryan is a dedicated public servant with an extensive background in criminal prosecution,” Lee said in his announcement. “I am proud to announce his appointment and confident he will serve Tennessee with integrity.”

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ORNL will require COVID-19 vaccinations

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The main entrance at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will require all staff members to have a current COVID-19 vaccination by October 15, and new employees will be required to provide proof that they have been vaccinated.

UT-Battelle LLC, which manages the laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, decided to require vaccinations after the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, August 23.

COVID cases increasing much faster in schools this year

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This graph compares COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools at the beginning of the school years 2020 and 2021. (Chart by Oak Ridge Today with Oak Ridge School data and Flourish visualization)

So far, the number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools has increased about 15 times faster this year than last year.

At about this time last year, there were 12 cases of COVID-19 reported in Oak Ridge Schools.

This year, in the same time period, there have been 181 cases reported.

Graphing the two together makes last year’s increase in cases seem relatively flat compared to the large increase in cases this year.

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Oak Ridge school board approves mask mandate

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Oak Ridge school board member Angi Agle, right, proposed a mask mandate inside Oak Ridge school buildings, and her motion was seconded by board member Ben Stephens, left. The school board approved the mandate, which has a written opt-out per an executive order by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, in a 3-1 vote on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

Note: This story was last updated at 12 a.m.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education approved a mask mandate in a 3-1 vote on Monday.

The approval of the mask mandate, which is similar to a mandate at four Anderson County schools, occurred as the school system reported about 180 COVID-19 cases among students and staff members in less than three weeks. COVID cases have now been reported at all schools: the preschool, all four elementary schools, both middle schools, the high school, and Secret City Academy.

The mask mandate approved Monday will require masks indoors in school buildings unless the school system has received a written opt-out notice from a parent or guardian in compliance with an executive order issued by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee last week.

The Oak Ridge school year started Wednesday, July 28, with face masks being optional. However, as cases increased significantly in three schools, masks were required there. Those three schools were Jefferson Middle School, Robertsville Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School.

But when the governor announced his order last week, Oak Ridge Schools said it would no longer require masks. That changed with the mandate approved by the school board on Monday.

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Sexual harassment lawsuit against county appealed to Sixth Circuit

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The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building United States Courthouse is pictured above on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A jury found she had been sexually harassed while working for Anderson County, but the county was not liable.

Then, since she did not prevail in the civil trial, she was ordered to pay about $1,800 in costs to Anderson County.

Vaccinations double as COVID cases increase

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New daily vaccinations have about doubled in Anderson County in the 40 days since COVID-19 cases began increasing on July 12, 2021. However, the increase in average daily vaccinations has not been as large as the increase in average daily cases, according to calculations by Oak Ridge Today. And less than 50 percent of Anderson County residents are fully vaccinated. (Chart by Oak Ridge Today using Tennessee Department of Health data and Flourish)

New daily vaccinations have about doubled in Anderson County in the 40 days since COVID-19 cases began increasing.

However, the increase in the seven-day average of daily vaccinations has not been as large as the increase in cases, according to calculations by Oak Ridge Today. And less than 50 percent of Anderson County residents are fully vaccinated.

The number of new COVID-19 cases reported each day began rising again in Anderson County on July 12 as the United States began experiencing a fourth surge driven by the more transmissible Delta variant.

From July 12-18, Anderson County reported a daily average of five new COVID cases per day. At the same time, there were 98.4 new vaccines per day.

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Wildcats lose to South-Doyle in season-opener

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats lost to South-Doyle in the opening game of the football season on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats lost to South-Doyle in the opening game of the football season on Thursday.

Three interceptions led to touchdowns, with two of those scored by the Cherokees. The final score was 28-20 in favor of South-Doyle.

Oak Ridge Schools will not require masks after governor’s order

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This graph shows the total number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools between Wednesday, Aug. 4, and noon Friday, Aug. 19, 2021. In 2.5 weeks, the number of cases increased from nine to 152. Total cases include both current cases and recovered, and they include both student and staff cases. Gaps in the graph above are days when Oak Ridge Schools didn’t publish data on weekends or when Oak Ridge Today didn’t collect the data. (Data from Oak Ridge Schools/Chart by Oak Ridge Today using Flourish)

Oak Ridge Schools will not require face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed an executive order Monday allowing parents to opt out of mask mandates issued by school or health boards. However, Oak Ridge Schools will continue to strongly recommend students wear masks in schools where there is an increase in confirmed COVID cases or evidence of the virus being transmitted in the building.

Before the governor’s order, Oak Ridge Schools had required masks at three schools: Jefferson Middle School, Robertsville Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School. Now, the use of masks is strongly encouraged in those schools but not required. All three schools have reported more than 20 COVID cases each.

The governor’s order allowed parents and guardians to use a written notification to opt out of mask mandates for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Some parents and government officials supported the order, while others, including doctors and parents, opposed it. School districts in Nashville and Shelby County said they will continue to require masks. That prompted a retort from Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, who said that “the governor and the General Assembly cannot and will not allow lawful orders to be defied.”

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UT Aboretum Society Butterfly Festival will be online

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Photo submitted by University of Tennessee Arboretum Society

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Sixth Annual Butterfly Festival will be available online beginning Saturday, September 18, a press release said. This year’s Butterfly Festival will again be virtual with outstanding lectures and special video programs for children, the release said.

The festival will go live online at 10 a.m. September 18 and remain available for you to watch at your convenience. You may register to be emailed the links for these free programs at www.utarboretumsociety.org. Registration for this event is required. These programs will be recorded, and closed captioning is available, the press release said.

Co-sponsored by the UT Institute of Agriculture, this event has become one of the most popular events annually with more than 2,000 people attending in 2019. Due to the uncertain nature of COVID-19 precautions, this year’s festival has been filmed in advance to be presented online. “This will be a different festival than in the past as there are no on-site activities, but we are excited to bring the public some great online options,” the press release said.

“To celebrate the spirit of the festival, we invited the public to order and decorate wooden butterflies,” the release said. “These butterflies will be on display throughout the month of September around our Visitors Center. We invite you to enjoy this display whenever you visit the Arboretum during September.”

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County COVID case rate returns to January level

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A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Anderson County reached 44.1 new cases per day on Sunday. That’s the highest level since near the end of the winter peak in January.

Three more hospitalizations and two more deaths have been reported in Anderson County in the past two weeks, according to data published by the Tennessee Department of Health.

The average positivity rate remains high, about 17 percent. World Health Organization guidelines have recommended a positivity rate below 5 percent. The positivity rate measures the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests each day.

A total of 9,500 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Anderson County since the start of the pandemic on March 20, 2020. More than 10 percent of the county has been infected. There have been 237 hospitalizations and 181 deaths.

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Masks will be required at JMS, RMS

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This graph shows the total number of COVID-19 in Oak Ridge Schools between Wednesday, Aug. 4, and Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Twenty-one new cases were reported Friday. The number of cases this fiscal year increased 10 times in nine days, from nine to 90. Total cases include both current cases and recovered, and they include both student and staff cases. (Data from Oak Ridge Schools/Chart by Oak Ridge Today using Flourish)

Face masks will be required at Jefferson and Robertsville middle schools starting Monday as they each reported at least seven new COVID-19 cases since Thursday, and 21 new cases were reported in all Oak Ridge schools, including among students and staff members. Eighty-one new cases have been reported in the past 1.5 weeks.

There are now three Oak Ridge schools that require face masks: Jefferson Middle School, Robertsville Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School. Willow Brook, which had the first outbreak of COVID-19 cases, required face masks starting this past Monday.

Willow Brook still has the largest number of cases: 27. Nineteen of those are current student cases, and one is a current staff case. Willow Brook reported four new cases between Thursday and Friday.

Robertsville has the second-largest number of cases: 24. Twenty of those are current student cases, and one is a current staff case. Robertsville reported seven new cases between Thursday and Friday.

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