Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge city, schools have Wellness and Safety Fair on Wednesday

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Oak Ridge Wellness Fair 2011

Flu shots are given at an Oak Ridge Wellness Fair in November 2011. (File photo)

Oak Ridge Schools and the City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee are co-sponsoring a Wellness and Safety Fair on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The entire community is invited to attend between 3 to 5 p.m.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the fair will be open only to Oak Ridge School employees and City of Oak Ridge workers. There will be many door prizes and a variety of vendors, a press release said.

More than 60 vendors are expected to take part, and activities including chair massages, pain assessments, ear canal screenings, power tool safety, resistance exercises, blood pressure screenings, grip strength, mobile mammography, medic, healthy food choices from local restaurants, Tennessee Highway Patrol and safe driving, Jazzercise, outdoor sports, varicose vein ultrasound, and much more, the press release said. [Read more…]

Photos: Windrock Coal Miners Memorial

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Windrock Coal Miners Memorial Wall

The Windrock Coal Miners Memorial Wall wall is 31 feet long and includes the names of more than 1,000 miners.

 

WINDROCK MOUNTAIN—Here are pictures from the dedication ceremony for the Windrock Coal Miners Memorial on Saturday and the groundbreaking ceremony in November.

Windrock Coal Miners Memorial Unveiling

Family members press forward to find, touch, and take pictures of the names of their loved ones on the Windrock Coal Miners Memorial after it was unveiled Saturday.

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Windrock Memorial: ‘Proud to be a coal miner’s daughter’

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Windrock Coal Miners Memorial Unveiling

Family members press forward to find, touch, and take pictures of the names of their loved ones on the Windrock Coal Miners Memorial after it was unveiled Saturday.

 

WINDROCK MOUNTAIN—Today, it’s home to giant wind turbines that tower high above the Tennessee Valley and off-road vehicles that race up and down its gravel roads and steep slopes.

But 50 years ago or more, this mountain a few miles north of Oliver Springs was home to as many as 700 coal miners and their families. The mines have been closed for decades, but the memories have lived on, mostly in fond recollections and old black-and-white photos.

Windrock Miner's Memorial Groundbreaking

Pictured above are Carl Lively, right, who started working in a mine in Windrock Mountain north of Oliver Springs in 1939, when he was 16, and Manuel Tinker, who was born on top of the mountain and later worked in the mines.

Now volunteers are taking action to help preserve the history of the miners and their families. As part of that effort, they unveiled a Windrock Coal Miners Memorial wall on Saturday. It includes the names of more than 1,000 miners who once worked on the mountain.

The red brick-and-granite wall has been under construction for about six months, and several hundred people turned out for Saturday’s dedication ceremony at Lower Windrock at the end of Windrock Road, about three miles from downtown Oliver Springs. Some wept softly as they gently caressed the names of their loved ones on the memorial wall. Others proudly posed for pictures. It was an important day for many.

“It’s one of the greatest things that’s every happened to me, to see this,” said Carl Lively, 91, who started working in the mines on Windrock Mountain in 1939 at the age of 16. “We’re happy as we can be today.” [Read more…]

Volunteers dedicate memorial to Windrock coal miners today

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Windrock Miner's Memorial Groundbreaking

Pictured above are Carl Lively, right, who started working in a mine on Windrock Mountain north of Oliver Springs in 1939, when he was 16, and Manuel Tinker, who was born on top of the mountain and later worked in the mines.

 

WINDROCK MOUNTAIN—Volunteers who have worked for months to build a wall honoring more than 1,000 miners who once worked on Windrock Mountain north of Oliver Springs will have a dedication ceremony this afternoon.

The dedication and reception for the Coal Miners Memorial is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. today (Saturday) at Lower Windrock in front of Union Valley Baptist Church.

Descendants of Windrock coal miners, retired miners, and many others have worked together raising money to build the red brick and granite wall. The names of more than 1,000 Windrock coal miners have been engraved into the granite. [Read more…]

Residents file ouster petition against Anderson County law director

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Twenty-two Anderson County residents have filed a petition in Chancery Court seeking to remove Law Director Jay Yeager from office, alleging misconduct that includes perjury, forgery, and having pornography on a county computer.

The ouster petition was filed Friday afternoon in Anderson County Chancery Court in Clinton. It alleges Yeager, who became law director in September 2006, committed perjury on his sworn application to become law director eight years ago, forged the signature of retired Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Avery Johnson two years ago, and had a pornographic image on a county computer that was found about three years ago.

The petition asks the court to immediately suspend Yeager from his official duties pending a decision by the court, and it requests a trial. If Yeager is guilty of one or more of the charges, the petition said, he should be ousted from office.

“I’m devastated,” Yeager said Friday evening. “It’s just another assassination on my character and on my good reputation and all I’ve done for Anderson County.”

He said he thinks the ouster suit is politically motivated, and he called it “baseless and unwarranted.” [Read more…]

Conference USA Rowing Championships in Oak Ridge on Saturday

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Tennessee Rowing

Image courtesy Tennessee Volunteers Athletics

 

The 2014 Conference USA Rowing Championships are in Oak Ridge on Saturday. The regatta is at Melton Lake Park and the Oak Ridge Marina.

The University of Tennessee will be competing against Alabama, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Sacramento State, San Diego State, Texas, Tulsa, and West Virginia for the 2014 C-USA Title. The championship begins at 9:00 a.m.

For a schedule of events this Saturday, visit http://www.conferenceusa.com/championships/w-rowing-championship-14.html.

The regatta is hosted by the Oak Ridge Rowing Association.

EMS luncheon to honor crews, give awards, name scholarship winner

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Anderson County Emergency Services Logo

Anderson County EMS and UT Lifestar are having their annual EMS Week luncheon on Tuesday, May 20. The event is from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and it is open to the public.

“We will be honoring our crews and also giving out our EMT-IV, paramedic, and officer of the year awards,” a press release said. “We have received certificates of appreciation from Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam for some crew members involved on a call earlier this year. Plus, we will be announcing our first-ever recipient of the Next Steps Scholarship.”

The luncheon will be at the EMS main garage complex at 314 Public Safety Lane in Clinton. Call Anderson County EMS at (865) 457-8609 for more information. Lunch will be provided for attendees. The event is meant to thank Anderson County emergency providers for the work they do each day, a flyer said. [Read more…]

Anderson Chamber hosts ‘Tribute to Business’ awards ceremony in June

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Anderson County Chamber of Commerce Dinner on the Lawn

The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce will pay tribute to local businesses at the 3rd Annual “Dinner on the Lawn” at the Museum of Appalachia in June.

It’s Friday, June 6, and everyone is welcome to attend, a press release said.

Guests will be treated to valet parking when they arrive at 6:30 p.m., as well as a social hour on the porch, live music on the lawn, and a fun live auction, a press release said. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. followed by the “Tribute to Business” award ceremony, honoring a diverse category of businesses.

Tickets are $70, or $500 for a table of eight, and they can be purchased at the Chamber Office or online at the Chamber website at www.andersoncountychamber.org. [Read more…]

UT solar house donated, moving Saturday to Children’s Museum

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ut-living-light-house

 

KNOXVILLE—The University of Tennessee in Knoxville is donating the Living Light House— its award-winning, solar-powered project—to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The Living Light House will move to its permanent home on Saturday, May 17. Starting at 7 a.m., the 750-square-foot, zero-energy structure, will be transported from the UT Gardens to the Oak Ridge museum at 461 W. Outer Drive. The move is expected to take several hours.

“The house has served as an ambassador for good design and energy efficiency,” said James Rose, UT architecture lecturer and lead faculty member of the Living Light project. “One of the most satisfying things about giving tours of the house is the response from children. Young people are always fascinated by the house and leave it excited about the future. I cannot think of a better place for the Living Light house to carry on this mission than at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.”

The Living Light House, which was built through the efforts of more than 200 UT students, was an entry to the 2011 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. It has traveled nearly 6,000 miles, been toured by more than 50,000 visitors, and was on exhibit at the 2012 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. [Read more…]

Education Foundation will award $80,000 in grants at Wednesday ceremony

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Oak Ridge Today

As part of its “Making the Critical Difference” campaign, the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award almost $80,000 in grants to community teachers at a ceremony this Wednesday, May 21. The ceremony is open to the public and will be held in the Oak Ridge High School cafeteria beginning at 3 p.m.

Longtime Oak Ridge resident and award-winning author Eva Wike will speak at the event and will be available after the ceremony to sign copies of her most recent book, “Fiddler of the Mountains—Attuned to the Life and Times of Johnny Mull.” Wike is contributing a significant portion of the sales of her book to the Education Foundation.

The grants program is a key component of the foundation’s mission to support the highest quality education for all students. [Read more…]

Sound Company celebrates ‘Journeys’ on Friday, Saturday

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Sound Company Header

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Sound Company, Oak Ridge’s Children’s Performing Choir, will present a unique choral performance this weekend, a press release said. The choir will be providing the community with two opportunities to experience the celebration, including Friday, May 16, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 17, at 2 p.m. All shows will be performed at the Historic Grove Theater at High Places Church, which is at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge.

The show is titled “Journeys: Celebrating the Long and Winding Road of Life.”

Songs performed by Sound Company will include: [Read more…]

DOE transfers former machine shop property to CROET

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DOE Land Transfer at ETTP to CROET

From left during Wednesday’s land transfer ceremony are U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann; Mark Whitney, manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management; Lawrence Young, CROET president and CEO; and David Klaus, DOE’s deputy undersecretary for management and performance.

 

Roughly 25 acres of land that once housed a machine shop and supporting buildings at Heritage Center has been transferred to an economic development organization that finds new uses for former federal property.

The property transfer from the U.S. Department of Energy to the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee was celebrated in a Wednesday afternoon ceremony. It’s the 12th transfer from DOE to CROET, and the two dozen acres were signed over to CROET for private-sector use.

Among the speakers at Wednesday’s ceremony were U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge, and David Klaus, DOE’s deputy undersecretary for management and performance.

“The reindustrialization program in Oak Ridge has not only been an economic development catalyst for the region, it is saving tax payers millions of dollars as the federal government transfers underutilized assets to the private sector,” Fleischmann said.

The transfers of the parcels, officially known as ED-11 and ED-12, have been in the works for at least a few years. Lawrence Young, CROET president and chief executive officer, said there will some infrastructure improvements to make the property ready for development. Part of the property once housed Building 1401, an old machine shop that has now been demolished. [Read more…]