Oak Ridge Today

Peace Vigil on Sunday at Friendship Bell

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The International Friendship Bell is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

A Peace Vigil Against Gun Violence will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday, September 22, at the Oak Ridge International Friendship Bell Peace Pavilion in Alvin K. Bissell Park at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike, a press release said. The vigil will feature guest speakers, music, and opportunities to write postcards to state and federal elected officials and sign a petition, the release said.

The Reverend Jake Morrill of Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will serve as moderator of the vigil. Jinx Watson, who has experienced gun violence in Knoxville, will be among speakers for the event, the press release said. [Read more…]

Pumpkin Fest returning to Grove Center in October

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Pumpkin Fest is returning to Grove Center in October, a press release said.

The free festival is scheduled from 12 to 5 p.m. Saturday, October 26. It will include kid and pet costume contests, a halloween parade, pie eating contest, trick-or-treating for children, craft vendors, music, a scavenger hunt, pumpkin carving contest, and more, the press release said.

The Grove Center Festival Association is looking for local businesses to help sponsor the return of the festival, the press release said.

“Company sponsors will be helping bring a family-oriented and free community event back to Oak Ridge,” the release said. [Read more…]

ORHPA to celebrate $80,000 grant at History Museum

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Photo by Oak Ridge History Museum

The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association will celebrate its 20th anniversary and the receipt of an S80,000 state grant during a ceremony on Saturday.

The state grant is for the new Oak Ridge History Museum, a press release said.

The public is invited to Saturday’s ceremony. The Oak Ridge History Museum is at 102 Robertsville Road in central Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

Soccer: Secret City Tournament in Oak Ridge this weekend

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Soccer Club of Oak Ridge Secret City Tournament
The Soccer Club of Oak Ridge (SCOR) will host the 8th Annual Secret City Tournament this weekend, Sept. 21-22, 2019. The tournament brings in players from across the Southeast to compete in a highly competitive weekend of soccer. (Submitted photo)

The Soccer Club of Oak Ridge (SCOR) will host the 8th Annual Secret City Tournament this weekend, September 21-22. The tournament brings in players from across the Southeast to compete in a highly competitive weekend of soccer, a press release said.

The Secret City Tournament will host 63 teams from Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, and Virginia. Games will be played on seven fields around town, including Jefferson Middle School, Oak Ridge High School, and the five fields managed by the City of Oak Ridge.

More than 1,075 players and their families will be in town during the weekend tournament, playing more than 100 games around the city, the press release said. Players ranging in ages from 8 to 19 will compete in multiple high-energy games that will feature 11 championships by the end of weekend play, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Children’s Museum benefit to feature anthropologist Bill Bass, radio’s Frank Murphy

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Frank-Murphy-Dr.-Bill-Bass

Frank Murphy, left, and Dr. Bill Bass will appear together at a fundraiser on Sept. 28, 2019, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Dr. William “Bill” Bass, founder of the “Body Farm” at the University of Tennessee, and radio personality Frank Murphy have appeared together many times since Murphy began interviewing the renowned forensic anthropologist each time a new Jefferson Bass novel was published.

“I’ve worked on four different radio stations in Knoxville and have interviewed him on all four,” said Murphy, afternoon show host on Classic Hits 93.1 WNOX.

Bass and Murphy will appear together again on Saturday, September 28, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge as Bass discusses the science behind the Jefferson Bass novel “Bones of Betrayal,” a collaboration between Bass and co-author Jon Jefferson. Set in Oak Ridge, the novel explores the murder of a physicist, involved in the Manhattan Project race to build the bomb, whose body is discovered in a frozen swimming pool.

Bass will speak at 7 p.m., and Murphy will emcee the benefit presentation hosted by the Children’s Museum at 461 West Outer Drive. An earlier VIP reception begins at 5:45 p.m. Food may be purchased from Lanai Food Truck and Razzleberry’s Café, and beverages, including beer, wine, water, and soda, may also be purchased. Doors open at 5:30pm. [Read more…]

Senior Center to be temporarily closed for move to new facility

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Oak Ridge Senior Center Front Sept 2019
Construction of the new Oak Ridge Senior Center on the west side of the Oak Ridge Civic Center has been completed. The front of the new Senior Center is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Senior Center will be temporarily closed starting Monday, September 16, to allow the staff to relocate to the new Senior Center on the west side of the Civic Center.

The temporary closure was announced by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department.

Construction of the new center was finished on schedule, and staff can now occupy the space to complete final preparations, a press release said.

[Read more…]

ORAU awards $20,000 in education grants to 26 local teachers

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ORAU Grant Awards Ceremony Sept 10 2019

More than 25 teachers from Anderson County schools received new teaching materials and supplies at ORAU’s Education Grants program on Sept. 10, 2019, walking away with a total of $20,000 in grant funds. (Photo by ORAU)

 

More than 25 teachers from Anderson County schools received new teaching materials and supplies at ORAU’s Education Grants program on Sept. 10, walking away with a total of $20,000 in grant funds.

Now in the program’s 18th year, ORAU has awarded more than half a million dollars to Clinton City, Oak Ridge, and Anderson County Schools in its mission to enrich science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs.

And each year, teachers find more creative ways to incorporate STEM learning into their classrooms, a press release said. [Read more…]

Storm the Grove will help young musicians, Grove Theater

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Storm the Grove Poster Sept 13 2019

Storm the Grove will help young musicians and raise money for the historic Grove Theater on Friday.

It’s a spoof of Area 51. Organizers said you can fly out to Nevada in hopes of seeing an alien—or save money, “storm the grove,” and be the alien you want to see. You are welcome to come dressed as your favorite space alien. There will be a cash prize for the best costume, organizers said.

Storm the Grove will spotlight Tennessee bands (musical earthlings): Zack Miles, Chloe Kimes, Nightly, and Drive Thru Therapy. One band is from Nashville, two from Knoxville, and one is based in Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

Man allegedly held woman hostage with hammer

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Rickey Moore
Rickey Moore

A 44-year-old man allegedly held a woman hostage with a hammer and reportedly charged at fugitive recovery agents in Powell on Wednesday, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said.

There were two Anderson County warrants for Rickey Moore, including a failure to appear, and bail bondsman fugitive recovery agents reported he was holding a woman hostage with a hammer inside a home on Bison Court at about 3:42 p.m. Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Moore refused to surrender to the bail agents and reportedly charged at them with a hammer, the Sheriff’s Office said.

“That is when the agents called our office,” said Tyler Mayes, director of administrative services for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

[Read more…]

For members: Man sentenced to 20 years for attempted murder

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McKinley Earl McGee, 51, of Oak Ridge, who is pictured above at right, was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, for an attempted murder during a stabbing last year that injured a woman so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said. At left is defense attorney Curtis Isabell. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man who has at least 15 criminal convictions was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison on Monday for an attempted murder during a stabbing last year that injured a woman so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said.

Before he was sentenced Monday, McKinley Earl McGee, 51, had been convicted after a one-day trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton in July. At the end of that trial, the 12-person jury deliberated for about one hour before finding McGee guilty of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault that resulted in serious bodily injury.

 
Curtis-Isabell-McKinley-McGee-Sentencing-Sept-9-2019

An Oak Ridge man who has at least 15 prior criminal convictions was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison on Monday for an attempted murder during a stabbing last year that injured a women so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man who has at least 15 prior criminal convictions was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison on Monday for an attempted murder during a stabbing last year that injured a women so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said.

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ORNL-Veterans Affairs collaboration targets veteran suicide epidemic

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An Oak Ridge Team recently sped up a computer model that helps predict veteran suicide risk. (Image credit: Carlos Jones, ORNL)

 

Submitted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory

More than 6,000 veterans died by suicide in 2016, and from 2005 to 2016, the rate of veteran suicides in the United States increased by more than 25 percent.

Suicide prevention is the highest priority for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—so much so that in recent years, the VA has started using predictive models and advanced informatics (the study of information processing; computer science) to identify at-risk veterans.

One model of this type is called the medication possession ratio algorithm. It creates individualized summaries of veterans’ medication patterns, such as which medications a veteran is prescribed and how often those prescriptions are filled. The model helps clinicians pinpoint veterans with inconsistent medication usage patterns. These veterans are known to have a higher risk of attempting suicide in the next month.

In a collaborative project with the VA, a team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has taken the model and engineered the expanded version of it to run 300 times faster, gaining an unprecedented acceleration that might have a profound effect on the VA’s ability to reach susceptible veterans quickly. [Read more…]

Frank Callaghan Towers to be renovated, renamed

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LHP Capital Closing Fairbanks Tower Sept 3 2019
Officials from LHP Capital and the City of Oak Ridge celebrate the closing of a transaction that will enable LHP to acquire and renovate Frank Callaghan Tower, an affordable housing community for seniors on fixed incomes. Pictured above from left to right on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, are Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board Chair David Wilson, LHP Development President Carr Hagan, and LHP Development CEO Alvin Nance. (Submitted photo)

The Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road in Oak Ridge will be renovated and renamed, a housing developer and manager said this week.

Officials with LHP Capital LLC announced Tuesday that they have signed the last document necessary to close on the acquisition and renovation of Oak Ridge’s Frank Callaghan Towers. That’s a 110-unit affordable rental housing community for seniors 62 and older and adults with disabilities, and it is located at 115 Fairbanks Road in east Oak Ridge.

LHP will oversee more than $5.8 million in renovations to the property, which was originally constructed in the late 1970s, a press release said. The sale to LHP will assure preservation of the property’s affordability status under federal guidelines, the press release said. LHP will also manage the apartments.

The renovations to the property will begin immediately and will start with a new name, according to Carr Hagan, president, LHP Development, a division of Knoxville-based LHP Capital, a real estate development firm specializing in affordable housing.

[Read more…]