Oak Ridge Today

Fire destroys Clinton home

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Clinton Fire Department Patch

Information from WYSH Radio

A fire early Friday morning destroyed an unoccupied home on Baker Avenue in Clinton.

The Clinton Fire Department was dispatched at 6:08 a.m. Friday and arrived within three minutes to find heavy smoke and fire coming from the rear of the home. The Clinton Utilities Board cut off electricity to the scene as fire crews began their attack.

After gaining entry into the house and battling flames in a back room, two firefighters were ordered back out due to the ferocity of the flames burning in the basement and the attic.

Continuing the battle from outside, crews eventually were able to get back in and finally brought the blaze under control.  Firefighters left the scene just after 8:15 a.m. No injuries were reported, but the house suffered extensive damage.

The owner’s son and some other family members arrived on scene and said that there were some items missing from the house, and the Clinton Police Department was called in to investigate.

Photos: Memorial Day Concert in Oak Ridge

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Oak Ridge Memorial Day Concert

Photo by Julio Culiat

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band performed its annual Memorial Day Concert on Monday, May 25, at at A.K. Bissell Park. Here are pictures by Julio Culiat, a contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

The Monday program included patriotic music and popular American favorites. The 2015 Memorial Day concert had a number of special guest vocalists and a guest announcer, former Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan. Guest vocalists included Charlie Blake, Mike Cates, Lettie Andrade De La Torre, Whitney Denton, Deidre Ford, Robert May, Brill Morrow, Roscoe Shipley, and Melody Turner. They sang “God Bless the USA,” “The Stars and Stipes Forever,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and “The Armed Forces Salute.”

Among other numbers performed on Monday were “Highlights from Showboat,” “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” Sousa’s “Semper Fidelis,” and “Black Granite,” which is a tribute to Vietnam War veterans. [Read more…]

School board to discuss renaming Alternative Program as Secret City Academy

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Oak Ridge school officials will discuss renaming the Oak Ridge Alternative Program as the Secret City Academy during a meeting tonight (Tuesday, May 26).

Here’s the rationale, according to the meeting agenda for the Oak Ridge Board of Education: [Read more…]

School board to consider budget, balanced calendar tonight

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider the proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 during a meeting tonight (Tuesday, May 26). It’s the first of two readings of the budget, and tonight’s meeting will include a public hearing.

Also tonight, the school board will consider balanced calendar options for the 2016-2017 school year. Three options have been presented. See the three options here: Oak Ridge Schools 2016-2017 Balanced Calendar, Oak Ridge Schools 2016-2017 Balanced Calendar B, and Oak Ridge Schools 2016-2017 Balanced Calendar B V2.

In other business tonight, the Board of Education will consider: [Read more…]

Hardy finishes second, fourth in boys state track meet

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ORHS Wildcats Malik Hardy at State Track Meet 2015

Oak Ridge High School senior Malik Hardy finished second in the boys 200-meter dash, fourth in the long jump, and ninth in the 100-meter dash during the Class AAA state track meet, the Spring Fling, at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro on Friday, May 22, 2015. (Photo by Kindell Moore)

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:39 a.m.

MURFREESBORO—Senior Malik Hardy finished second in the 200-meter dash and fourth in the long jump during the Class AAA state track meet in Murfreesboro on Friday, May 22. And the Oak Ridge Wildcat finished ninth in the field of 16 competitors in the 100-meter dash.

Also during the meet, the boys 4×800-meter relay team finished fifth, and senior Wesley Robinson finished seventh in the 1,600-meter run. Junior Tyler Boullie finished 13th in the 800-meter run.

Hardy (2nd) had a time of 22.12 in the 200-meter dash. The top runner was Jordan Thomas, a senior at Centennial, with a time of 22.11. The third-place finish went to Martarious Brooks, a junior at Antioch (22.16).

Hardy (4th) had a jump of 22-05.75 in the long jump. The top three jumpers were Weldon Wright, a senior at Hardin Valley (23-07.00); Rashad Haynes, a junior at Memphis Central (22-10.00); and Bailey Overbay, a senior at Morristown-East (22-06.00). [Read more…]

Greenhalgh, girls relay team finish 11th at state track meet

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ORHS Wildcats Abbey Greenhalgh at State Track Meet 2015

Oak Ridge High School sophomore Abbey Greenhalgh, left, finished 11th in the girls 800-meter run during the Class AAA state track meet, the Spring Fling, at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro on Thursday, May 21, 2015. (Photo by Kindell Moore)

 

Note: This story was updated with a correction at 7:06 p.m.

MURFREESBORO—Sophomore Abbey Greenhalgh finished 11th in the 800-meter run, and the Oak Ridge High School girls relay team finished 11th in the 4×100-meter relay and 4×200-meter relay during the Class AAA state track meet in Murfreesboro on Thursday, May 21.

And ORHS senior Lauren Smallwood finished 13th in the 200-meter dash.

There were 16 competitors in each race.

Greenhalgh (11th) had a time of 2:26.13 in the 800-meter run. The top three runners were Celine Rone, a senior at Arlington (2:16.35); Hailey Hendry, a junior at Brentwood (2:17.85), and Shian Mallory, a junior at Houston (2:18.33). [Read more…]

JMS girls selected as regional winners in national computer science competition

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Jamie Lindsley and Klara Proffen

Jamie Lindsley, left, and Klara Proffen, right, students at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, have been selected as regional winners in a national computer science competition for middle school girls. (Submitted photo)

 

Two students at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge have been selected as regional winners in a national computer science competition for middle school girls.

The students, Jamie Lindsley and Klara Proffen, wanted to help patients overcome their anxiety before a MRI scan, so they developed a virtual reality MRI simulator for the national online ProjectCSGirls competition. This online competition promotes computer science among middle school girls and has attracted hundreds of students from around the United States who submit their projects, a press release said.

Lindsley and Proffen have been invited to attend the competition’s national awards gala in June in the Washington area, the press release said.

More on the competition is available here: www.projectcsgirls.com.

More on the project is available here: https://sites.google.com/site/mrisimulator/.

ORHS AP Chemistry students place third in nation in science competition

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Eddie Anderson

Eddie Anderson

Advanced Placement Chemistry students at Oak Ridge High School placed third in the nation in chemistry in the National Science League competition, the school’s Science Department said.

The students are in the AP Chemistry class taught by Eddie Anderson at ORHS.

The test was given to all AP Chemistry students, the Science Department said. [Read more…]

Memorial Day concert on Monday dedicated to veterans

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Oak Ridge Community Band July 4, 2014 Concert

The Oak Ridge Community Band performs during a July 4, 2014 concert. (Photo by Larry Perry)

 

Special recognition will be given to area veterans and those currently serving in the military during an annual Memorial Day Concert by the Oak Ridge Community Band on Monday. The concert will start at 7 p.m. Monday, May 25, at A.K. Bissell Park.

During the show, the Oak Ridge Community Band will “kick off” its 71st season of outstanding band music with a program of patriotic music and popular American favorites, a press release said.

“The Memorial Day concert is an excellent way for area residents, families, and friends to end the holiday weekend and have the opportunity to honor the men and women who have served in the military to maintain our freedom,” the release said. [Read more…]

Covenant Health hospitals earn ‘A’ grades for patient safety

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Methodist Medical Center Main Entrance

Methodist Medical Center, Fort Loudoun Medical Center, Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, Morristown-Hamblen Healthcare System, and Parkwest Medical Center have been recognized for their dedication to patient safety by being awarded an “A” grade in the Spring 2015 Hospital Safety Score, a press release said.

The Safety Score rates how well hospitals protect patients from preventable medical errors, injuries, and infections within the hospital.

In addition to receiving As for the spring quarter, both Methodist Medical Center and Parkwest Medical Center received “Straight A” recognition, signifying that the hospitals have never received a grade lower than “A” from the Hospital Safety Score since the Score first launched in June 2012, the press release said. They are among 182 hospitals to receive the recognition. [Read more…]

Local rower earns invitation to USRowing Youth National Championships

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Sarah Kate Rogers and Marc DeRose

Rower Sarah Kate Rogers, who has been invited to compete in the USRowing Youth National Championships in June, is pictured above with coach Marc DeRose. (Photo by Suzanne Rogers)

 

By James H. Rogers

Oak Ridge’s Sarah Kate Rogers has earned an invitation to compete in the USRowing Youth National Championships by virtue of her first-place finish in the women’s youth sculling singles (WY1x) at the USRowing Southeast Youth Championships earlier this month. Competing against other young women from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee, she swept through the heats and won the 2,000-meter final in a time of 8:26.257, more than eight seconds ahead of any other sculler.

At next month’s national championship, which is from June 12-14 in Bradenton, Florida, Rogers will compete against as many as 27 other scullers through both heats and repechage for a coveted spot in the grand finals.

“The competition is incredibly tough,” Rogers said of the national event. “We all train and work as hard as we can to get to this point, and leave nothing on race day.”

Her competitors qualify from 11 separate national regions, and represent powerhouse rowing programs from the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southwest, Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest. Rogers is unique in this regard, rowing as an unaffiliated rower under the watchful eyes of her coaching team, Shannon Moore and Marc DeRose. [Read more…]

New Lifestar air medical base in Rockwood will serve Roane County

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UT Lifestar Helicopter

A UT Lifestar helicopter (N135UT), pictured in the forefront, will be servicing Roane County. (Photo by University of Tennessee Medical Center)

 

A new Lifestar air medical base in Rockwood will serve Roane County, the University of Tennessee Medical Center announced Friday.

UT Lifestar Aeromedical Services plans to open the base later in the summer at the Rockwood Municipal Airport.

Last month, Lifestar reached an agreement with Air Evac EMS Inc. to assume responsibility for medical operations of the Air Evac Lifeteam located in Etowah, Tennessee, a press release said. Lifestar also operates a facility in Sweetwater. The Rockwood base will be staffed by one of the teams from the Etowah/Sweetwater facilities. Services in the Etowah/Sweetwater area remain in operation as usual, the release said.

“Lifestar is pleased to have the opportunity to move to the Roane County region,” said Jeff Gregory, Lifestar director. “Being located in this area will allow us to provide faster aeromedical services to the citizens and visitors in this region.” [Read more…]