Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Public Library main area reopens May 4

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Oak Ridge Public Library

The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

The main area at the Oak Ridge Public Library will reopen Monday, May 4, with new lighting fixtures and will resume regular service hours. All services will be available at the main desk and reference desk, a press release said.

The Children’s Room will close on Monday, May 4, for the lighting renovation. Story times for Monday, May 4, and Tuesday, May 5, will be held in the Social Room at the Civic Center at 10:30 a.m. Limited Children’s Room services will be available in the library auditorium. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Summer Camp registration began April 1

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Registration for the 2015 Summer Camp sponsored by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department began on Wednesday, April 1. A link to ActiveNet online registration will be available at orrecparks.oakridgetn.gov.

Space is limited and the camp fills up quickly, so early registration is recommended. Online registration will be available 24/7 beginning at 8 a.m. April 1. Payment plans are available to online registrants only. All payments must be completed by June 1. Convenience fees will apply to all credit card payments and payment plans. Walk-in registration, for cash or check payment, will be available during regular Civic Center hours, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., beginning at 8 a.m. April 1. Walk-in registrants should complete an online profile/account before coming in to register. The staff will complete the registration at the front desk. [Read more…]

Council to consider traffic signals, access at ORHS, Main Street Oak Ridge

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Main Street Oak Ridge Master Plan March 26, 2015

Here is the master plan for Main Street Oak Ridge. (See a larger version of the plan in the link below.) The traffic signal and access would be on Rutgers Avenue in the bottom middle of the map above.

 

The City Council on Monday will consider resolutions that would allow new traffic signals at Oak Ridge High School and Main Street Oak Ridge.

Main Street Oak Ridge is the proposed project that would redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall. The proposed traffic signal would be on Rutgers Avenue at a new access to Main Street Oak Ridge that the City Council could approve on Monday.

The other traffic signal would be on Oak Ridge Turnpike between Oak Ridge High School and the Civic Center. Council postponed a vote on that stoplight in March. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Egg Hunt on March 28

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the 2015 Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 28, at 11 a.m. Hundreds of children are expected to participate in this annual spring event, a press release said. More than 15,000 candy- and prize-filled eggs will be hidden in Alvin K. Bissell Park with a first-, second-, and third-place prize egg in each age group.

This event will be held rain or shine so participants should dress for the weather. If severe weather prevents hiding the eggs outdoors, they will be given away in the gym and a drawing will be held for the prizes. [Read more…]

Hetrick appointed director of Oak Ridge Recreation, Parks

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Jon Hetrick

Jon Hetrick

Jon Hetrick has been appointed director of the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department, City Manager Mark Watson announced Friday. Hetrick has been the acting director since Josh Collins retired in October.

As director, Hetrick will manage and direct the activities the city’s recreation and parks programs, services, and facilities, including the Civic Center, and Scarboro and Senior centers, as well as the Centennial Golf Course. His work responsibilities will include overseeing summer programs and supervising a staff of more than 80 seasonal and regular employees. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Community Band has July 4 concert on 70th anniversary

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July 4 Dixie Band

The Oak Ridge Community Band has been rehearsing for the annual Independence Day concert, which will be held Friday, July 4, at 7:30 p.m. at A.K. Bissell Park behind the Civic Center.

“This is an especially big event for the Community Band because it is the 70th anniversary of the band’s very first concert performed on July 4, 1944,” a press release said.

There is no admission fee for this concert or for the city’s fireworks display held at the end of the concert program. However, donations to the Community Band will be accepted to help offset band expenses, the press release said. [Read more…]

More red-light, speeding violations since cameras disabled, Redflex says

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Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. said an eastbound traffic camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue/Lafayette Drive had the third-highest rise in detected speeding violations, a 243 percent increase in the number of drivers traveling at 46 mph or more, after the cameras were disabled April 21. Pictured above is the westbound camera.

 

The Arizona company that operated traffic cameras in Oak Ridge for five years said reckless driving has increased significantly, average speeds have risen, and there has been an increase in red-light running and speeding violations since the systems were disabled April 21.

The two biggest increases in speeding violations were in school zones on eastbound and westbound Robertsville Road near Willow Brook Elementary School, camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. said in a report that could be discussed during a Traffic Safety Advisory Board meeting on Tuesday. The average number of school zone violations jumped from a little more than two per day in the 14 days before the cameras were disabled to 10 or 11 per day afterward.

A school zone violation occurs when a driver is detected traveling at 21 mph or more in a 15 mph school zone.

Meanwhile, detections of red-light violations, which can lead to the most serious accidents, increased from an average of 20 per day at four locations in the three weeks before the cameras were disabled to up to 28 per day in the fourth week afterward, Redflex said. [Read more…]

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…]

Guest column: Analysis of traffic camera information

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By Dale Gedcke

The referenced documents were downloaded from the Oak Ridge City Council posting in advance of the (Feb. 24) work session. The numbers quoted below were calculated from the data supplied in the referenced report.

Accident Rates During 2013

Using the total crashes listed in the report, and the number of detected vehicles through the pertinent camera locations from both directions, the accident rates during 2013 were:

  • Oak Ridge Turnpike at Civic Center: 2.58 accidents per million vehicles
  • North Illinois Avenue at Robertsville Road: 0.90 accidents per million vehicles
  • Oak Ridge Turnpike at Lafayette Drive/New York Avenue: 1.8 accidents per million vehicles
  • Robertsville Road at Iroquois Avenue/Willow Brook School: 0.00 accidents per million vehicles
  • Total of all four locations: 1.68 accidents per million vehicles [Read more…]

Crashes, vehicle speeds down near red-light cameras, reports say

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Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

The largest crash reduction near red-light cameras occurred near the system at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue/Lafayette Drive.

There has been an overall decrease in the number of car crashes near red-light camera systems installed at four locations in Oak Ridge five years ago, and vehicle speeds have dropped near two schools, officials said.

Council members had requested information about crash frequency and history as the controversial five-year red-light camera contract, approved in August 2008, comes up for renewal in April. The crash information, as well as data on vehicle speeds, is included in the agenda packet for a Monday night Oak Ridge City Council work session.

The information said the largest crash reduction occurred at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Lafayette Drive/New York Avenue. Accidents there fell from 86 to 58, or roughly 33 percent, and injuries fell from 25 to 13, about a 50 percent reduction.

The totals compared the number of crashes from one four-year period starting March 2005 and ending March 2009, and a second period starting April 2009 and ending in November 2013, or a little more than four years. [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…]