There are more than 1,400 entries from 112 teams from across the United States for the USRowing Masters National Championships in Oak Ridge next week.
The championship regattas will be at Melton Lake Park in east Oak Ridge from August 12-15.
There will be rowers from as far away as Boston and San Diego.
[Read more…]
After more than seven months, about 43 percent of people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Anderson County–lower than the national average–and the number of daily vaccinations remains far below the peak this spring, according to state data.
The largest increase in vaccinations in Anderson County was between about late February and mid-May. There were eight days with about 900 vaccinations or more during that time period and three days in April with more than 1,000 vaccinations, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health. The peak was 1,256 vaccinations on April 10.
Now, though, vaccinations are in the range of about 100 per day, with all peaks below 200. At that rate, it could take months, maybe more than a year, to approach a vaccination rate of 70 percent or higher.
The number of new vaccine recipients can vary widely each day, but there does appear to be an increase in the number of new recipients as the new daily case rate rises again in Anderson County.
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A new program designed to provide a smooth transition from Roane State Community College to Tennessee Tech University will launch this fall. The program, dubbed “Roane to Tech,” ensures that all Roane State graduates have guaranteed admission to Tennessee Tech, a press release said.
“The strong relationship we’ve built with our friends at Tennessee Tech has allowed us to provide yet another path for our students to receive a world-class education,” Roane State President Chris Whaley said. “The goal of this program is to remove the misconception of difficult transfers and reduce anxieties for transfer students.”
Roane to Tech students will be known as “Golden Raiders,” a combination of Roane State Raiders and Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. Through the new program, students have multiple opportunities to take advantage of dual enrollment benefits, the press release said.
Those in Agriculture, Biology, Business, Psychology, or Sociology programs will be considered students at both institutions, receiving predefined degree plans, advising services from both schools, special access to events, waived application fees, and free Roane to Tech gear, the press release said.
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The Tennessee Valley Authority has had its two highest days of electricity demand in nine years, since 2012, on Wednesday and Thursday.
Thursday’s preliminary peak power demand was 30,340 megawatts at 6 p.m. Eastern time at a regional average temperature of 92 degree Fahrenheit, TVA said.
Wednesday and Thursday were the highest peak demands since July 26, 2012, TVA said.
The public utility said it plans for situations like this heat wave and tries to provide constant power.
[Read more…]
Anderson County has reported 89 new COVID-19 cases in a week as the infection rate increases and officials across the country warn of the spread of the delta variant, especially among the unvaccinated. The increase in Anderson County mirrors what is happening across Tennessee, where new cases have surged from a few hundred each day to more than 2,500 each day while hospitalizations have more than quadrupled.
The positivity rate, a measure of the positive tests each day, has been 10 percent or higher in Anderson County four times since July 12. It hit a high of 24 percent on July 20, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health. Ten percent is high, and World Health Organization guidelines have called for keeping the positivity rate below 5 percent.
The county’s 89 new cases in a week, from July 22 to July 28, is an average of 12.7 new cases per day. That average is 32 times higher than the low seven-day average of 0.4 new cases per day reported about three weeks ago, on July 6.
The seven-day new case average is now the highest it’s been about since about March 23. That’s when COVID-19 cases were in the middle of a slow months-long decline after a winter peak in November, December, and January.
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge Wildcats will play the Fulton Falcons in a scrimmage on Blankenship Field on Friday.
The scrimmage is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Friday, July 30. Gates open at 5 p.m. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted. Concessions will be available, and T-shirts will be available for purchase, although the availability will be limited, football boosters said. Boosters said you can pickup pre-ordered shirts at the upper concession stand at 5 p.m.
“Come cheer us to victory with the Dance Cats and Wildcat Cheerleaders,” the boosters said.
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Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch will discuss the future of the outdoor pool on a local television show this evening.
The “Between The Lines” talk show is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, July 29, on BBB-TV, Comcast Channel 12. It will be online at bbbtv12.com and broadcast in Campbell County on Comcast Channel 230.
[Read more…]
Oak Ridge Community Band (Submitted photo)
The Oak Ridge Community Band will have a Back to School concert in Alvin K. Bissell Park on Sunday evening.
Oak Ridge schools started a new school year this week.
Sunday evening will feature casual, relaxing music performed by the Oak Ridge Community Band, a press release said. The concert is free, and it will start at 7 p.m. It is a great opportunity for family and friends to enjoy an entertaining program of music featuring popular selections that children and students know and love but that also appeal to listeners of all ages, the press release said.
Sunday evening’s performance directed by conductor Shaun Salem is focusing on familiar and well-liked numbers including “Young Person’s Guide to John Williams” with “Raiders March,” “Prologue from Hook,” “Theme from E.T.,” “Hedwig’s Theme,” and Disney movie favorites “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Incredibles.”
Other compositions on Sunday’s program will be band director Shaun Salem’s mysterious “Ghost Ship” and John Powell’s “How to Train Your Dragon” featuring “This is Berk,” “Move Ahead,” and “Coming Back Around.” The band will also perform Rossano Galante’s “Mt. Everest” and Percy Grainger’s “Children’s March: Over the Hills and Far Away.” [Read more…]
Note: This story was updated at 12:15 p.m. July 28.
The COVID-19 case and positivity rates are rising in Anderson County as school resumes in Oak Ridge. More than 100 new COVID-19 cases, four hospitalizations, and three deaths have been reported since mid-July. The positivity rate, a measure of how many COVID-19 tests are positive each day, is about 10 percent, which exceeds World Health Organization guidelines.
Cases in Tennessee have surged from a low of a few hundred new cases per day about a month ago to roughly 2,100 new cases on Tuesday. Current hospitalizations across the state have climbed from a low of a few hundred to 762. Fifty-one hospitalizations were reported Tuesday.
In the past two weeks, the rate of new COVID-19 cases per day in Anderson County has steadily climbed from a low of about one new case per day in Anderson County to 7.6 new cases per day. The county reported 112 new cases of COVID-19 between Monday, July 12, and Tuesday, July 27, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health. (See also here and here.)
There were 74 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the week between Tuesday, July 20, and Monday, July 26. That’s an average of about 10.6 new cases per day. The one-week average of 10.6 new cases per day was higher than the 14-day case average of 7.6 reported by the state.
Two new deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in Anderson County on Monday, although that doesn’t necessarily mean the deaths occurred Monday because the state reporting can lag a few days behind when the deaths occurred.
Also in the last two weeks, the positivity rate has climbed from about 2.3 percent on Monday, July 12, to 9.3 percent on Tuesday, July 27. The WHO has recommended a positivity rate below 5 percent.
[Read more…]
For the past 63 years, the Arts Council of Oak Ridge has been more than just a nonprofit organization. It has forged friendships, worked with some of the best community leaders, fostered new arts organizations, and proudly supported a region rich in arts and culture, a press release said.
But now it is time to start a new phase for the arts in Oak Ridge, the press release said.
The Council has decided to close its doors. [Read more…]
Another heat wave is expected to build in the region this week, forecasters said.
Scattered showers and storms were expected early this week, and the heat wave is forecast to build into the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians by mid-week, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.
Above-normal temperatures can be expected from Wednesday to Friday, with temperatures climbing into the middle 90s or possibly upper 90s across parts of the Tennessee Valley, the NWS said.
[Read more…]Two people were arrested after allegedly crashing a stolen pickup truck in Oak Ridge and trying to run from police Monday afternoon, officers said.
The Oak Ridge Police Department tried to stop the pickup truck on South Illinois Avenue at Tulsa Road at about 1 p.m. Monday, a press release said.
“The driver of the pickup truck began to flee, and officers discontinued the attempted traffic stop,” the press release said.
The pickup truck continued driving at a high rate of speed and crashed into a vehicle at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue at South Rutgers Avenue, the press release said. One tire blew out, and the pickup truck continued driving on the remaining three tires toward Edgemoor Road, the release said.
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