Oak Ridge Today

ORPD seeks info on gunfire report this weekend

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Oak Ridge Police Department officers responded to a complaint of gunfire in the 200 block of South Benedict Avenue at about 10:06 p.m. Saturday, April 25, authorities said. But when they arrived, officers were unable to locate any suspects, victims, or witnesses, a press release said.

Officers canvassed the area to locate witnesses and checked on the welfare of numerous occupants of nearby dwellings; however, no personal injuries or property damages were found or reported, the press release said.

“All those interviewed claimed to have neither heard nor seen anything,” the release said. “Investigating officers located and collected several spent shell casings apparently fired from a small-caliber handgun that were laying in the street near the location of the reported gunfire.”

The release said anyone with any information regarding this incident should contact the city’s dispatch non-emergency line at (865) 425-4399.

ORNL scientists generate landmark DOE hydropower report

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2014 Hydropower Market Report Cover

The 2014 Hydropower Market Report provides comprehensive data and trends useful for industry and policymakers. (Submitted by ORNL)

 

For the first time, industry and policymakers have a comprehensive report detailing the U.S. hydropower fleet’s 2,198 plants that provide about 7 percent of the nation’s electricity.

The 98-page report by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers Rocio Uria-Martinez, Patrick O’Connor, and Megan Johnson is a resource that describes key features of the nation’s hydro resources and systematically tracks trends that have influenced the industry in recent years.

“The people who make critical decisions about U.S. hydropower can now turn to one place to find information that has broad implications,” said Uria-Martinez, who noted that the existing fleet has been constructed over the course of an entire century. “Hydropower has a long history but also a promising future as it continues to grow and play a key role in the nation’s power system.”

People who access the report can easily search the database to make highly informed decisions that have a direct impact on the lives of potentially millions of people, Uria-Martinez said. [Read more…]

NC principal, UT grad named ORHS principal

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Martin McDonald

Martin McDonald

Martin McDonald, of High Point, North Carolina, has agreed to become the principal of Oak Ridge High School effective July 1.

McDonald was selected following the screening of applications and interviews of selected candidates by a committee including administrators, Oak Ridge High School staff members, and both a student and parent representative from ORHS, a press release said.

He will replace the current principal, David Bryant, who is retiring. Bryant had been an assistant principal and interim principal before he was named principal in January 2014. Byrant has also been an administrator at the Alternative Program, and he began his career with Oak Ridge Schools as a special education teacher in 1985. [Read more…]

TBI report shows overall drop in crime, but murder reports up in Tenn.

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NASHVILLE—The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released its 2014 Crime in Tennessee report on Monday, and it showed an overall decline in crime, but reported murders increased and arrests for driving under the influence were up slightly.

The annual study compiles data reported from each law enforcement agency in the state, providing an updated and comprehensive picture of the successes and challenges facing communities across Tennessee, a press release said.

Among the report’s findings: [Read more…]

DOE Environmental Management has community budget workshop on Wednesday

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U.S. Department of Energy Logo

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management is hosting its annual Community Budget Workshop on Wednesday, April 29.

The purpose of this year’s workshop is for interested members of the community and stakeholders to learn about our program’s top cleanup priorities, and to provide input on additional priorities that they would like OREM to consider as officials begin developing the Fiscal Year 2017 budget.

The workshop is scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, in the Pollard Auditorium at 210 Badger Avenue in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

High achievement: Wildbots alliance finishes second in robotics competition finals

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An alliance that included the Secret City Wildbots of Oak Ridge High School finished second in the final championship round at the FIRST Robotics Competition in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday.

Maddie Buckner, a member of Team 4265 of Oak Ridge High School, is pictured above with Professor Woodie Flowers at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, April 25, 2015. (Photos by Angi Agle)

 

An alliance that included the Secret City Wildbots of Oak Ridge High School finished second in the final championship round at the FIRST Robotics Competition in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday.

It’s the highest achievement in the five-year history of Team 4265, Oak Ridge Board of Education member Angi Agle said.

The Secret City Wildbots were picked to join a four-team alliance with the first- and second-place ranked teams and made it into the elimination rounds on Saturday. That alliance won the Hopper Subdivision and advanced to the finals, the Einstein round, which was also on Saturday.

The alliance included: [Read more…]

World-renowned leaders to be featured at New Hope Center

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Community and business leaders can access the knowledge and experience of world-renowned leaders by attending Leadercast at New Hope Center in Oak Ridge on May 8. The Oak Ridge event is sponsored by the Center for Leadership and Community Development, part of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

The Leadercast event is broadcast live from Atlanta, Georgia, to hundreds of sites around the world, including Oak Ridge. This year’s speaker lineup includes: [Read more…]

Roane State Education Department to host April 28 Open House

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The Roane State Community College Education Department will host an April 28 Open House for anyone interested in becoming a K-12 teacher.

The event will begin at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, at the college’s Roane County campus, 276 Patton Lane in Harriman. Visitors will meet in Room 224 in the O’Brien Humanities Building.

Visitors will be able to meet with faculty, tour classrooms, and learn about the college’s 2+2 elementary education program with Tennessee Tech. The 2+2 program allows students to earn a bachelor’s degree while taking all of their classes at Roane State.

For more information, contact Stacie Bradshaw, (865) 354-3000, ext. 4773, or bradshaws@roanestate.edu.

From cotton picker to college president

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Shirley Raines

Shirley Raines

Shirley Raines of Oak Ridge has an amazing and inspiring story to tell.

Now president emeritus of the University of Memphis, she will describe her career and provide advice on leadership at the third in a series of Roane State Community College–Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Education Intergenerational Lectures.

Her talk begins at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 30, in the large lecture hall (Room 107) in the Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building on Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. Raines will speak on “How a Kindergarten Teacher Became a University President.”

Born in Jackson in West Tennessee, she grew up on a cotton farm outside Bells, where she picked cotton by hand for the family business. She recalled that her mother was very smart and could have been a teacher or lawyer but lacked the opportunity to get a higher education. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots alliance wins division, going to championship matches

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Secret City Wildbots Hopper Division FIRST Robotics Competition

Photos by Angi Agle

 

The alliance that includes the Secret City Wildbots won the Hopper Division at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, and is headed to the Einstein world championship matches.

The Wildbots, Team 4265 of Oak Ridge High School, were picked to join an alliance with the first- and second-place ranked teams. Their first match was this morning.

Here are photos of the team accepting its award. [Read more…]

DOE offers expanded public bus tours of federal sites in Oak Ridge

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DOE Public Bus Tour

Public bus tours of the U.S. Department of Energy’s facilities in Oak Ridge are now offered nine months of the year. (File photo courtesy DOE/Lynn Freeny)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s public bus tour of federal sites in Oak Ridge is now offered to visitors nine months out of the year, versus only summer months as in the past.

This popular tour of the 33,000-acre DOE Oak Ridge Reservation offers visitors a first-hand look at all of the DOE’s Oak Ridge facilities and provides historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 70-plus years.

The reservation-wide tour is a popular attraction for tourists visiting the area.  Since its inception in 1996, the DOE public tour program has attracted approximately 35,000 visitors from all 50 states. The three-hour DOE tour allows visitors to see the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation and learn about its rich history and how Oak Ridge became a secret city of 75,000 people with a mission to end World War II. [Read more…]

Soiree Winds plays in free coffee concert on Sunday

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Soiree Winds

Soiree Winds is a wind quintet featuring local professional musicians: Shelby Shankland on flute, Marina Jaffe on oboe, Erin Bray on clarinet, Zach Milwood on bassoon, and Henry C. Hooker on horn. (Submitted photo)

 

Soiree Winds, a local wind quintet, will play in a free concert at Oak Ridge First Presbyterian Church on Sunday.

The concert is presented by the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association. It’s the final coffee concert of the season, and it starts at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 26. Refreshments will be served.

Soiree Winds is a wind quintet featuring local professional musicians: Shelby Shankland on flute, Marina Jaffe on oboe, Erin Bray on clarinet, Zach Milwood on bassoon, and Henry C. Hooker on horn. Special guest pianist Robert Bonham will also perform.

The group will play music by Debussy, Piazzola, Poulenc, and Saint Saens, among others.

“Come and support local musicians, friends, and classical music in Oak Ridge,” organizers said.