Oak Ridge Today

Hope elected to Energy Communities Alliance board

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Chuck Hope

Oak Ridge City Council member Chuck Hope has been unanimously elected to the Energy Communities Alliance Executive Board of Directors. The Board met in conjunction with the National Cleanup Workshop held in December in Alexandria, Virginia.

The ECA is the only nonprofit, membership organization of local governments that host or are adjacent to U.S. Department of Energy sites, a press release said. The organization brings together local government officials to share information, establish policy positions, and promote community interests to address an increasingly complex set of environmental, regulatory, and economic development issues at DOE sites across the nation.

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Oak Ridge recruits for Secret City Festival board, Oak Ridge Corridor committee

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

By Oak Ridge City Manager Mark S. Watson

The City is Oak Ridge is currently recruiting members for a new committee and the inaugural Board of Directors for a forthcoming 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

At the September 14, 2015, City Council meeting, the City Council approved a series of resolutions based on recommendations of the Special Events Advisory Task Force to provide recommendations on planning, funding review, and execution of all special events managed or supported by the City. Based on previous City Council discussions on special events, the Special Events Advisory Task Force prioritized its focus on the Secret City Festival, an award-winning, two-day summer event that has been hosted in the City of Oak Ridge for nearly 14 years. The purpose of the nonprofit that is to be established is to assume the responsibility of implementing changes to the Secret City Festival/Celebration and other local events. The goal of the organization will be to become self-sustaining within five years (2020). [Read more…]

AC chancellor intervenes in Andersonville Fire Dept. squabble

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Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department

Information from WYSH Radio

Earlier this month, Anderson County Chancellor Nichole Cantrell made a ruling in the dispute between two factions of the Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department.

Earlier this year, then-AVFD Chief Del Kennedy suspended the Board of Directors over allegations that they were interfering in the day-to-day operations of the department.

Kennedy then appointed an interim board to oversee the department. That led to the department’s mail delivery service being interrupted and its bank accounts being frozen over questions about who was authorized to use it.

The chairman of the suspended board, David Farmer, asked the Chancery Court to step in. On September 4, Chancellor Cantrell ruled in favor of the suspended board following a hearing that morning. That meant that the board consisting of Farmer, Carl Poore, Robert Seiber, Benny Ridenour, Judy Lenz, Gina Ridenour, John Poore, and Rodney Williams was reinstated. [Read more…]

Fillauer named East director for state school board group

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Keys Fillauer

Keys Fillauer

Oak Ridge Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer has been named East director for the Tennessee School Board Association.

The TSBA announced its officers and directors for 2015 at the close of its recent annual convention in Nashville. [Read more…]

Roane County Chamber has new board chair, members

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Gail Lyke

Gail Lyke

The Roane County Chamber of Commerce board of directors has a new chair and members.

The board chair for the 2014-2015 year is Gail Lyke, vice president and branch manager at First Bank of Tennessee in Rockwood. Lyke officially took over July 17 from outgoing board chair Chris Ahler of Visionary Horizons Wealth Management at the Chamber’s first board meeting of the new fiscal year. Lyke previously served as the Chamber’s treasurer for the past two years and has served on the board since 2008.

Lyke was named the 2013 Chamber Woman of the Year. She is a graduate of Leadership Roane County and serves on the Leadership Roane County Alumni Association Board, as well as the Roane County Association of Women Executives, where she previously served as past president, and as a member of the Rockwood Civitan Club. Lyke also served on the Rockwood Planning Commission.

Lyke said her focus for the year will be to work with the board of directors and the president to “help facilitate the transition and changes that have been put in place to move the Chamber into a new value-added membership structure, encouraging both membership growth and retention.” [Read more…]

ORCVB board elects new officers

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Aaron Wells

Aaron Wells

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau board of directors elected a new slate of officers at its regularly scheduled meeting in February. Aaron Wells was elected chairperson, Mark Harvey will serve as vice chairperson, and Patti Shelton will serve as secretary/treasurer, a press release said. They will each hold their respective positions until January 2015.

The board is comprised of seven community volunteers and three hotel representatives, and it is appointed by the Oak Ridge City Council. Remaining members are Carol Smallridge, Mary Ann Damos, Hugh Ward, Troy Patel, Gretchen Julius, and Misty Williams. There is currently one vacancy.

The ORCVB is a nonprofit organization, formed to strengthen the area economy through the marketing and promotion of Oak Ridge as a destination for meetings, business, and leisure travel. Visit them online at oakridgevisitor.com or call (865) 482-7821 for more information.

TVA retiring eight coal units at three plants

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Colbert Fossil Plant

The Tennessee Valley Authority is retiring all five coal units at the Colbert Fossil Plant on the Pickwick Reservoir on the Tennessee River in Alabama. (Photo courtesy TVA)

The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors recently approved a plan that will retire eight coal units at three plants with more than 3,000 megawatts of combined generating capacity.

The retirements affect all five coal units at the Colbert Fossil Plant in Tuscumbia, Ala.; one of two operating coal units at Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Stevenson, Ala., and two of three coal units at the Paradise Fossil Plant near Central City, Ky. Paradise Unit 3, one of TVA’s largest coal units, will continue to operate.

A number of these units were already idled or scheduled for idling and/or retirement based on an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, TVA said in a press release. [Read more…]

McNally, Yager named honorary members of Roane State Foundation board

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

Ken Yager

Ken Yager

State senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager have been named honorary members of the Roane State Foundation’s board of directors.

McNally and Yager have lengthy records of civic involvement, a press release said. McNally has received the Legislative Hero 2012 award from Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations; received the CASA President’s 2012 Award; was named a Rotary International Paul Harris fellow; and received the 1996 Distinguished Service Award from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy.

Yager serves as a board member of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee and the Roane County Heritage Commission. In addition, he is a member of the chambers of commerce in Dayton and Spring City, and in Campbell, Fentress, Morgan, Pickett, Roane, and Scott counties. He was named 2013 Legislator of the Year by the East Tennessee Development District. [Read more…]

Former UT president named to Roane State Foundation board

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Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson

Former University of Tennessee President Joe Johnson has been named to the board of directors for the Roane State Community College Foundation.

“We are honored to welcome Dr. Johnson to our board,” said Paul Phillips, executive director of the Roane State Foundation. “Having a board member with his expertise and distinguished record in higher education will be a great benefit to the college.”

Johnson served as UT’s president from 1990-1999 and continues to serve as president emeritus. His tenure as president capped a lengthy career at UT that included alumni relations, public relations, fundraising, governmental relations, campus planning, capital construction, and serving as a liaison between the president’s office and intercollegiate athletics. [Read more…]

Medford Fire Department votes to display ‘In God We Trust’

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Information from WYSH Radio

The board of directors of the Medford Volunteer Fire Department on Tuesday voted unanimously to display the national motto of “In God We Trust” on its fire station on Lake City Highway.

Chief Mike Cagle recommended displaying the motto, and the decision comes on the heels of last month’s decision by the Anderson County Commission to post the phrase on the Courthouse.

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Vowing to reorganize, Habitat board replaces husband-wife director duo

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Jennifer Sheehan

Jennifer Sheehan

Charlotte Bowers

Charlotte Bowers

Vowing to reorganize, the board of directors of Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County has replaced a husband-wife duo that had served as longtime executive director and operated its home store in Grove Center.

Board members said they agreed last week to replace Susan Burgess-Parrish, who had been executive director for about 12 years, and Rodney Parrish, Habitat Home Store manager for about seven years.

The Parrish couple was told of the decision on Tuesday.

The 11-member board sent out a press release the same day announcing that Jennifer Sheehan, who had been Habitat’s resource development director since October, is now interim executive director. Charlotte Bowers, who had been community development coordinator for two years, is interim manager of the home store.

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Former candidate for governor sworn in as TVA board member

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Michael McWherter

Michael McWherter, former Democratic candidate for governor, was sworn in as a Tennessee Valley Authority board member on Thursday in Nashville. (Photo courtesy of TVA)

A former Democratic candidate for governor became the newest member of the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors on Thursday.

Michael McWherter, of Jackson, Tenn., took the oath of office Thursday in a ceremony in Nashville. His term will expire on May 18, 2016.

McWherter was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate on Jan. 1, and he was sworn in by U.S. District Judge Todd J. Campbell of the Middle District of Tennessee during a ceremony at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building and Courthouse.

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