Oak Ridge Today

ORRA hosts Learn to Row class for visually impaired, blind

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Oak Ridge Rowing Association Boathouse

The Oak Ridge Rowing Association boathouse at Melton Lake Park on the Clinch River.

The Oak Ridge Rowing Association will host a special Learn to Row class for the visually impaired and blind on Sunday, September 14.

ORRA is partnering with Visually Impaired/Blind Enhanced Services, or Club VIBES, to offer the class, which starts at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Club VIBES is a nonprofit organization with a mission to assist blind and visually impaired young people in the Knoxville area to live independent and productive lives by identifying their unique capacities and developing their individual strengths, a press release said. Club VIBES provides a free mentoring service for visually impaired or blind youth and their parents/guardians residing in or around the Knoxville area.

Twelve to 13 participants will launch on Sunday afternoon to engage in a new activity for those who have always wanted to try the sport but have not had the opportunity. [Read more…]

ORHPA celebrates 15th anniversary at Scarboro Road gatehouse

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Bobbie Martin at Oak Ridge City Council

Bobbie Martin, one of the people who helped start the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association 15 years ago this month, accepts the keys to the Midtown Community Center, which includes the historic “Wildcat Den.” This was the culmination of close to two years of work that began with a newspaper article Bobbie wrote and the contact by Mick Wiest that brought the two of them and several others together in September 1999 and to ultimately to form ORHPA. (Submitted photos)

 

The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association will celebrate its 15th anniversary during a Thursday night meeting at the “Midway Gatehouse” on Scarboro Road. That’s the location of the group’s original meeting.

The anniversary meeting is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, September 11. Parking is limited there. Organizers said those attending should consider parking at the nearby Y-12 Federal Credit Union and carpooling from there, or they could carpool with friends from the Midtown Community Center parking lot.

“Come by the Gatehouse anytime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to enjoy refreshments, see displays, and view the historic building and its artifacts, as well as help celebrate 15 years as an organization,” a press release said.

Here is the story of how the ORHPA began: [Read more…]

What’s happening in Oak Ridge from Sept. 11-17

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Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge from Thursday, September 11, and continuing through September 17.

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

UT-Battelle donates $100K to Emory Valley Center for capital campaign

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UT-Battelle Check to Emory Valley Center

Jennifer Enderson, Emory Valley Center president, accepts a check for the organization’s Capital Campaign from Alan Icenhour, UT-Battelle’s associate lab director for nuclear science and engineering and EVC board member. Also pictured (from left) are Dottie Thompson, Capital Campaign co-chair; John Eschenberg, Emory Valley Center board president; Gene Caldwell, Capital Campaign co-chair, and several Emory Valley Center clients. (Submitted photo)

 

UT-Battelle recently presented a check to Emory Valley Center in support of their ongoing Capital Campaign for a new facility. The new building will incorporate many features to enhance the lives of people with disabilities being served, including a job training center; life enrichment classrooms; adult day center; medical clinic; speech, physical, and occupational services; gym and more. UT-Battelle manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The check was a $100,000 contribution toward UT-Battelle’s pledge of $250,000, the Emory Valley Center said.

Donations from individuals and companies, as well as grant awards, have helped fundraisers reach 75 percent of the total Capital Campaign goal, a press release said. Emory Valley Center is continuing to accept donations for the Capital Campaign from individual and business supporters throughout the community. If you would like to donate, contact EVC Development Director Janet Wood via email at janet.wood@emoryvalleycenter.com or call (865) 813-0576. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge celebrates 200th anniversary of national anthem on Sunday

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Star-Spangled Banner Day Oak Ridge

The City of Oak Ridge will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the national anthem on Sunday afternoon at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. (Submitted image)

Oak Ridge will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the national anthem on Sunday afternoon at the Oak Ridge Civic Center Amphitheater.

The Star-Spangled Banner Day celebration starts at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Oak Ridge Civic Center complex is located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

A short program honoring the national anthem will begin at 4:30 p.m., and the national anthem will be sung at 5:00 p.m., a press release said.

“We’d like to invite families across Tennessee to join America’s Secret City in honoring this important national anniversary,” said Jane Miller, Oak Ridge mayor pro tem. “This will be a wonderful event as we celebrate the birthday of our national anthem and pay honor to the great United States of America.”

The event is jointly sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge, Anderson County, Roane County, the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Knoxville/Oak Ridge Staybridge Suites Hotel, and the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. Everyone is invited to this community event, the press release said. Families are welcome to bring their own chairs and blankets to sit on. [Read more…]

Two of three plotters plead guilty in murder attempt

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Information from WYSH Radio

Two people accused of conspiring to kill an elderly man pleaded guilty in an Anderson County courtroom on Monday.

David Lee Suddeth, 44, and Dorothy Roxanne McFarland, 53, both pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, attempted aggravated arson, attempted aggravated kidnapping, and theft under $500. In exchange for those pleas, each was sentenced to nine years behind bars.

A third person, the alleged mastermind of the plot, 50-year-old Randolph Lane, is expected to enter a plea in this case on Wednesday. The trio was accused of plotting to kill then-73-year-old Luther Byrge—with whom they were all living—in January of 2012. Their plan was to lock Byrge inside his bedroom, disable the smoke detector, cut the phone lines, and set his house on fire while he was inside. The plan almost worked too, as the phone and smoke detector were disabled and Byrge was locked in his room, but according to testimony in court, the plan ultimately failed when the gasoline that was ignited under a bathroom sink melted the pipes and extinguished the fire. [Read more…]

House of Bryant files another ‘Rocky Top’ legal challenge

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Lake City to Rocky Top Vote

The Lake City Council in June agreed to rename the town as Rocky Top as part of an effort to attract a multi-million dollar development that could include a water park, interactive theater with children’s museum, and coal miners music theater, among other things. (File photo)

Information from WYSH Radio

The owners of the iconic bluegrass song “Rocky Top” have filed another legal challenge to prevent the recently-renamed Anderson County town of Rocky Top from cashing in on the name change.

Earlier this year, Lake City changed its name to Rocky Top, a change widely seen as the first step in revitalizing the town’s economy. The House of Bryant owns the rights to the “Rocky Top” song and is suing city leaders and the developers of several proposed attractions for trademark infringement.

This spring, the company sought an injunction aimed at preventing the then-Lake City Council from changing the town’s name to Rocky Top until the lawsuit was heard, saying it could do irreparable damage to the brand that family created.  That request for an injunction was rejected in May and the city officially changed its name in June.

This latest legal challenge comes after Monday’s announcement that marketers with the city had reached an agreement with a Knoxville fashion designer to manufacture “Rocky Top, Tennessee” merchandise.  House of Bryant has filed another request for the courts to step in, saying Monday’s merchandise deal is “new information” that constitutes grounds for a temporary injunction. [Read more…]

Burglar steals cash from Shop Rite in Rocky Top

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Information from WYSH Radio

WYSH Radio has received several calls over the past two days about why the Shop Rite grocery store in Rocky Top (Lake City) was closed most of the day Tuesday. Rocky Top Police confirmed to WYSH Tuesday that the store was indeed targeted in a burglary sometime late Monday or early Tuesday.

The culprits disabled the store’s security cameras and alarms, which also disrupted the store’s computer system, and stole an undisclosed but significant amount of money from the safe. Rocky Top Police were called to the store Tuesday morning, and according to the store manager, had identified a suspect within just a few hours and gotten a confession a short time later.

Store officials say that the burglary was an “inside job.” The delay in reopening the store was due to rebooting and reinforcing security on the store’s computer system.

The Shop Rite in Rocky Top reopened to shoppers at around 5 p.m. Tuesday. No one was inside the store at the time of the burglary, and no one was injured. Police say the case will likely be presented to a grand jury and, as of the time this report was filed, the identity of the suspect or suspects has not been released.

Information in this story brought to you through an agreement between Oak Ridge Today and WYSH. See more local news headlines on the WYSH website at http://www.wyshradio.com/local_news.html.

Retired teacher, community volunteer running for school board

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Jean Hiser

Jean Hiser

Retired educator and community volunteer Jean Hiser has announced her candidacy for the Oak Ridge Board of Education in the November 4 municipal election, a press release said.

Hiser moved to Oak Ridge five years ago from Cumberland County, where she taught third grade at Crab Orchard Elementary School for 11 years.

Prior to moving to Tennessee, she had served as a substitute special education teacher in the Wheaton school system in Wheaton, Illinois.

A native of Elderon, a small farming community in Wisconsin, Hiser dreamed of going to college in order to make a better life for herself. She attended college for 3.5 years but was forced to leave school due to lack of funds.

After getting married and raising a son, Hiser returned to college and obtained a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at the age of 45 from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. She enrolled in college on the same day her son enrolled in community college. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge has treasure hunt at outdoor pool on Sept. 20

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department is having a treasure hunt at the outdoor pool on Saturday, September 20, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Hunters are invited to bring their metal detectors and search the grass areas for treasure, a press release said.

For this one-time event, the City of Oak Ridge will allow hunters to use small utensils to dig; however, no shovels will be allowed, and all removed turf must be replaced. Every hunter with a metal detector will be charged $5 to hunt.

For more information, call the Recreation and Parks Department at (865) 425-3450 or visit www.orrecparks.org.

Candidate forums this month for Council, school board, state, federal offices

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There will be two forums this month for candidates for Oak Ridge City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education, and for Tennessee House and Senate and the U.S. House.

The forums are scheduled for September 17 and September 25. Both are in the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater and are free and open to the public.

They’re sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge and are in preparation of the November 4 state, federal, and local general election.

The first forum, scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, September 17, will first feature candidates for House District 32 and House District 33, Tennessee 5th Senatorial District, and Tennessee 3rd Congressional District. Then, the double forum will feature candidates running for the Oak Ridge Board of Education. [Read more…]

City offers free computer class starting Oct. 14

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The Scarboro Community Center will be offering a free beginner computer class in October and November.

The class will last six weeks starting October 14 and ending November 18. The classes are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The class is limited to the first 10 participants. To reserve your space, call (865) 425- 3950.

Visit the city’s website at http://orrecparks.oakridgetn.gov/ for information on all the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department programs.