Oak Ridge Today

Tennessee officials announce commitment to increase teacher pay

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Tennessee officials on Thursday announced a goal of becoming the fastest-improving state in the nation when it comes to teacher salaries.

The announcement was made by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman.

“We’re asking our students to be the fastest improving in the nation in education achievement, and the data is showing that we’re making real progress,” Haslam said in a press release. “Teachers are the single most important factor in student achievement, and higher accountability for teachers and proven results should be met with better rewards.” [Read more…]

Humor columnist Sam Venable featured speaker at Altrusa meeting on Wednesday

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Sam Venable

Sam Venable

Humor columnist Sam Venable will be the featured speaker at a Wednesday meeting of the Altrusa Club of Oak Ridge.

Venable’s presentation is titled “You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up (truisms from modern life),” a press release said.

Venable is a humor columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. He began his humor column in 1985, and he is the author of 10 books and  a contributing author for many other books and magazines, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORNL’s Jeskie active on chemical safety panels

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Kim Jeskie

Kim Jeskie

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Kim Jeskie led the 12-member committee that developed new chemical safety guidelines described in the report, “Identifying and Evaluating Hazards in Research Laboratories,” released by the American Chemical Society at its 246th National Meeting and Exposition held in September.

Jeskie was also appointed last spring to serve on the National Research Council Committee on Establishing and Promoting a Culture of Safety in Academic Laboratory Research. That panel is examining chemical research laboratory safety in nonindustrial settings.

She is the 2013 past chair of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. At ORNL, Jeskie directs the Integrated Operations Support Division, where she is responsible for work planning and hazards analysis systems and tools. She lives in Harriman.

CPD: One dead in Friday morning crash

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Information from WYSH Radio

One person died in a two-car crash on Friday morning in Clinton.

The collision happened at about 7 a.m. near the intersection of Highway 61 and the on-ramp to Interstate 75 North. Christopher Strunk, 32, of Oneida died as a result of his injuries.

Initial information indicated that the vehicle, in which Strunk was a passenger, was “T-boned” by another car on North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard at the northbound entrance to I-75. [Read more…]

Historical marker unveiled at former Poplar Creek Seminary in Wheat

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Wheat Historical Marker Group Shot

A historical marker honoring the Poplar Creek Seminary was unveiled in the Wheat community in west Oak Ridge on Wednesday. Pictured above from left are Ray Smith, Mick Wiest, Martin McBride, Anne McBride, Bonita Irwin, Bobbie Martin, Billy Stair, and Steve Goodpasture. (Submitted photo)

A historical marker honoring the former Poplar Creek Seminary was unveiled in the Wheat community in west Oak Ridge on Wednesday, a press release said.

The seminary was founded in 1877 and later became the Roane College, and later Wheat High School, and was a center of higher education for area children at the time, the press release said. The school was closed in 1942 when the community became part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal project to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

The marker is from the State of Tennessee. The sign itself was purchased by UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the press release said. [Read more…]

Blasting scheduled Monday, Thursday at Kroger construction site

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Kroger Marketplace Site Work

Blasting is scheduled at the Kroger Marketplace construction site at Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike on Monday and Thursday afternoon. Pictured above is site work that started this summer.

Blasting is scheduled at the Kroger Marketplace construction site at 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, and Thursday, Oct. 10. Oak Ridge Police Department officers will stop traffic on Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike during the blasting, which is scheduled to last about three to five minutes, a press release said.

Illinois Avenue traffic will be blocked from Robertsville Road to Oak Ridge Turnpike, and the Turnpike will be blocked from the Illinois Avenue/Turnpike intersection east to Robertsville Road, the release said.

Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley will send two advisement/informational calls to the businesses and residents in the area on Saturday, Oct. 5, and Tuesday, Oct. 8, the press release said. For more information, visit the city’s website at www.oakridgetn.gov.

TVA breaks all-time record for power generation from its dams

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Norris Dam

The Norris Dam in Anderson County can produce electricity for the Tennessee Valley Authority. (Photo courtesy TVA)

KNOXVILLE—More electricity was generated from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s 29 hydroelectric dams in fiscal year 2013, which ended Sept. 30, than in any other year in the agency’s 80-year history.

The dams provided 18.5 million megawatt-hours of clean, renewable energy, breaking the previous record set in 1973 by 122,000 MWh. That is enough electricity to serve more than 1.2 million homes in the TVA service area for an entire year.

Above-average rain and runoff fueled the increase in hydro generation. The Tennessee Valley received almost 62 inches of rainfall and almost 30 inches of runoff in fiscal 2013, which were 121 percent and 136 percent of normal, respectively. Runoff is the amount of rainfall that actually reaches streams and creeks, and eventually the Tennessee River, its tributaries, and TVA’s dams. [Read more…]

‘Night in Paris’ features music, wine, auction; raises money for CASA

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CASA Evening with the Arts

An Oct. 11 fundraiser will feature music, wine, and an art auction, and it will raise money for CASA of the Tennessee Heartland.

It’s the Fourth Annual Evening with the Arts—A Night in Paris, and it will be held Friday, Oct. 11, from 7-10 p.m. at Pollard Auditorium in Oak Ridge.

The evening will include wine, finger foods from The Market House, and sweets from Emma Lou Bakery.  Jazz and blues singer Sarah Clapp will perform, and the evening will be emceed by Hallerin Hilton Hill. A silent auction will feature local art pieces including a Bill Capshaw raku vase, several original numbered prints, and several “unique and beautiful pieces,” a press release said. [Read more…]

What’s happening in Oak Ridge from Oct. 4-9

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Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge starting Friday, Oct. 4, and continuing through Oct. 9.

This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]

Grace Lutheran Church has pet fest, blessing on Saturday

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Pet Fest and Blessing

Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge has its 12th annual Pet Fest and Blessing from 1-5 p.m. Saturday. (Submitted photo)

Submitted

Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge will have its 12th annual Pet Fest and Blessing from 1-5 p.m. Saturday. The church is located at 131 W. Gettysburg Ave., and parking will be available at the church or in the Woodland Elementary School parking lot behind the church. (Follow the pink puppy paw print signs!)

“Gather up your leashes or carriers and schedule a grooming for your pets to look their best,” a press release said. “Then bring them, one and all, to enjoy an afternoon of fun with you.”

Admission is free, and you can have a free picture taken with your pets too, the release said. If you come early, there will be a pet walk around the area at 12:30 p.m. If you’d like, you also can have your pet implanted with a microchip, courtesy of Dr. Paul Szluha of McArthur Animal Hospital, for a $20 fee. Proceeds from this, above the costs, will be donated to the Heifer Project. [Read more…]

Knoxville attorney to discuss women’s suffrage

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Wanda Sobieski

Wanda Sobieski

Knoxville attorney Wanda Sobieski will discuss women’s suffrage during a presentation next week.

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, is titled “The Legacy and Challenges of Women’s Suffrage.” It starts at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 7, at Grace Covenant Church at 320 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge.

Sobieski, who has been deeply involved in the effort to recognize and honor the early 20th century suffragists that won for women the right to vote, will show images from that time and discuss their struggles, relating them to the important contributions of Tennessee women, a press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge basketball organizational meetings this month

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will have two organizational meetings this month for teams interested in playing basketball.

There is an Oct. 14 meeting for teams interested in playing in the Men’s Recreational Leagues. The meeting will be in the Club Room at the Civic Center at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 14. League play is scheduled to begin the week of Dec. 2.

There will be an Oct. 29 meeting for teams interested in playing in the Youth Basketball Leagues. That meeting starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Club Room at the Civic Center. All interested teams are invited to attend. [Read more…]