Oak Ridge Today

Superintendent Borchers at Lunch with League on Tuesday

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

During a lunchtime meeting Tuesday, Superintendent Bruce Borchers will review areas of focus for Oak Ridge Schools and share data on the past year’s achievements of students and staff members.

Borchers will also highlight future plans and programs, including the plan to transform Oak Ridge Schools into the premier preK-12 STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) school district in the nation. There will also be an update on the status of the recommendations for the Preschool and the School Administration Building, a press release said.

Borchers will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, January 20. The program starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

KnoxWorx hosts community job fair Tuesday

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KnoxWorx Logo

KnoxWorx, a workforce development initiative of Knoxville Leadership Foundation, is hosting a community job fair on Tuesday with help from area churches.

The job fair is at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in Knoxville from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday, January 20. The church is at 9132 Kingston Pike.

“Knoxville Leadership Foundation’s KnoxWorx program will host a community job fair and motivational seminar on January 20,” a press release said. “Several motivational speakers who have ‘been there, done that’ on the road to their career will give words of wisdom to attendees and advice on creative ways to land the job of their dreams. More than 30 local employers and HR representatives will be on hand to accept resumes and answer questions.” [Read more…]

Photos: Community leaders sleep outside to raise awareness of homelessness

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Pastor Steve Sherman with Homeless Sign

Pastor Steve Sherman of First Christian Church is pictured above at a camp-out on a cold Thursday night at First United Methodist Church that was intended to raise awareness of homelessness. (Photos by James Lewis) 

 

Several community leaders camped out Thursday night at First United Methodist Church to raise awareness of homelessness. The volunteers also collected linens and personal care items for the upcoming Warming Center project and brought attention to the need for volunteers to help with the Point in Time Count.

Here are photos by James Lewis.

The community was invited to come out to support the sleep-out participants from 6-7 p.m. Thursday (January 15), and local homeless providers were expected to talk about their agencies and what they are providing to homeless individuals in the community. [Read more…]

McNally to chair Finance Committee, Yager to head State and Local Government

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

Tennessee Senator Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, will chair the Finance, Ways, and Means Committee, and Senator Ken Yager, a Harriman Republican, will chair State and Local Government.

Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey, a Blountville Republican, announced the Tennessee Senate committee assignments for the 109th General Assembly on Saturday. Ramsey was elected to his fifth term as Speaker of the Senate on Tuesday.

“The most important job I have as Speaker of the Senate is appointing the committees that hear and deliberate the legislation before us as representatives of the people of Tennessee,” Ramsey said. “Making sure the right people are on the right committees ensures not only that good legislation gets passed but that all legislation receives a fair hearing and a thorough vetting.” [Read more…]

Photos: Wildcats blow out Powell 85-44

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Geevantay Gee and Powell Panthers

Junior point guard Geevantay Gee (12), who had a good first half, helped give the Wildcats a 43-29 halftime lead at Powell on Friday night. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

All 12 Wildcats scored, and four Oak Ridge players finished in double digits during a 85-44 blowout win at Powell on Friday night.

The Panthers were shorthanded, playing without three injured starters. It was the second meeting between Oak Ridge (18-2, 10-0 District 3-AAA) and Powell (8-9, 5-6) this season.

The only two losses for the Wildcats this season have been to Georgia teams in the Chick-Fil-A Invitational at Tucker High School in Tucker, Georgia, after Christmas.

Earlier on Friday, the Lady Panthers (12-5, 9-2) beat the Lady Wildcats (13-8, 8-2) 43-22. Twenty-two points is the fourth-lowest total in Lady Wildcat history, according to broadcaster David Clary. Both of the Lady Wildcats’ district losses this season have been to the Lady Panthers.

Here are pictures of the Friday night boys’ game by Melissa Livesey. [Read more…]

Relay for Life kickoff scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 29

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American Cancer Society Relay for Life

The kickoff for this year’s Relay for Life of Oak Ridge is scheduled for Thursday evening, January 29.

During the kickoff, volunteers and participants will launch fundraising efforts for 2015. The kickoff will be at the Holiday Inn Express at 114 Tulsa Road from 5:30-7 p.m. January 29.

Anyone interested in learning more about this event and current team captains/members is invited to attend, a press release said. [Read more…]

Cumberland Piano Trio plays at First United Methodist on Sunday, Jan. 18

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Cumberland Piano Trio

Cumberland Piano Trio

The Cumberland Piano Trio will play at First United Methodist Church in Oak Ridge at 3 p.m. Sunday, January 18.

“Oak Ridge Symphony’’s own piano trio (violinist Susan Eddlemon, cellist Dan Allcott, and pianist Emi Kagawa) join forces with New York composer Larry Spivack to present an exciting program, including a new work commemorating Oak Ridge’’s Spallation Neutron Source,” organizers said. “The program also includes Spivack’s ‘“Suite from ‘‘Puss in Boots’’ Ballet” and Schubert’’s “Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major.”

The concert is presented by the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association. See the ORCMA website for more information.

Free family concert Sunday features ‘Peter and the Wolf,’ ‘Spring’

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Martha Damiano

The Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra will present “Peter and the Wolf” and Vivaldi’s “Spring” in a free family concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, January 25, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

Children are invited to come early for paper puppet making and instrument making beginning at 2 p.m. at the museum at 461 West Outer Drive. The museum is offering free admission from 1-5 p.m. Sunday to support the concert.

Puppets from the “Peter and the Wolf” story are in the Anna Cebrat Puppet Room at the museum, where children may act out the story in the puppet theater in the week leading up to the concert. [Read more…]

Anderson County, Clinton schools closed Friday due to icy conditions

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Light Snow Image

Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown.

 

Anderson County Schools will be closed Friday, January 16, due to icy conditions in many parts of the county, officials said. The Central office will follow the inclement weather procedure.

Clinton City Schools will also be closed Friday, January 16, because of the expected weather conditions, officials said.

The forecast near Oak Ridge calls for decreasing clouds and a low of 29 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday night. Friday is expected to be sunny, with a high near 47 and a calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.

Video from Friday’s presidential visit by 134th Air Refueling Wing

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President Obama Visits McGhee Tyson

This is a still image from a video of President Obama arriving at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa during a 5.5-hour visit to East Tennessee on Friday afternoon, January 9, 2015. (Video by 134th Air Refueling Wing)

 

The 134th Air Refueling Wing gave assistance to Air Force One during landing and takeoff at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa when President Barack Obama visited East Tennessee on Friday afternoon, January 9.

Air Force Two, carrying Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden, also landed and departed from McGhee Tyson on Friday.

A third plane, a C-17, was also at McGhee Tyson to carry the presidential motorcade.

Here is a short video Friday’s visit at McGhee Tyson by the 134th Air Refueling Wing and Airman 1st Class Darby Arnold and Senior Airman Jackie Keeney. The video is posted online at DVIDS, the Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System. It includes a short excerpt of Air Force One taking off from McGhee Tyson.

Council, School Board to discuss Preschool, Administration Building today

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Oak Ridge Preschool and School Administration Building

Oak Ridge school officials have previously considered four options to replace or renovated the Oak Ridge Schools Preschool and Robert J. Smallridge School Administration Building on New York Avenue. Officials say the building needs to be renovated or vacated for the Head Start program to receive funding in the 2015-2016 school year.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education have a joint meeting this evening (Thursday, January 15) to discuss the Preschool and School Administration Building, a 70-year-old building that officials have been hoping to replace for years.

In December, the City Council and BOE toured a building on Mitchell Road that could be a new home for the Preschool. It’s one of several proposed options that have been recently discussed. Others include repairing the existing building on New York Avenue or building a new facility. Officials have largely ruled out splitting up the Preschool and hosting students in classrooms at the city’s elementary schools.

Education officials say the Preschool has to be renovated or vacated by next year in order for the school system to continue to receive federal Head Start funding. [Read more…]

U.S., Tennessee, community college officials react to president’s education proposal

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Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, and U.S. representatives Chuck Fleischmann and John J. Duncan Jr., all Republicans, released statements or commented on the East Tennessee visit by President Barack Obama, a Democrat, on Friday and his proposal to make the first two years of community college free to responsible students. Pellissippi State Community College President Anthony Wise and Roane State Community College President Chris Whaley also released statements or commented on the visit and education proposal.

The president’s proposal, America’s College Promise, will be proposed in his State of the Union on January 20, and it is modeled after the Tennessee Promise.

Here’s what the officials from Tennessee said:

Bill Haslam during Presidential Visit at Pellissippi State

Governor Bill Haslam was among the Tennessee leaders who received praise from the president during Obama’s 5.5-hour visit to East Tennessee on Friday. (Photo by Rob Welton)

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam

The president recognizes that good things are happening in Tennessee. We are proud of the Tennessee Promise. It is changing the culture of expectations in Tennessee by encouraging more students to pursue a certificate or degree beyond high school. The Tennessee Promise is focused not just on access but success in terms of making certain that students actually attain their degree. We think having a mentor available for the students is an important part of achieving that success.

Regarding the specifics of the president’s plan, we look forward to seeing more details in the coming days about the cost of the program and how it will be covered. [Read more…]