Oak Ridge Today

Top 5 during City Blueprint meeting: Senior Center, green space, disc golf, animal shelter, public transportation

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Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge

Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge

 

The Oak Ridge city staff has tallied the top five comments received during the City Blueprint initiative, which kicked off with a public meeting in Grove Center in January. Here are the top comments:

  1. Seniors need their own, updated senior center.
  2. More green space.
  3. Improve disc golf.
  4. New animal shelter.
  5. Public transportation to and from Knoxville.

There is an effort under way to build a new senior center.

The city estimated that about 500 people attended the January 26 kickoff meeting for the City Blueprint at High Places Community Church in Grove Center. There were 670 suggestion cards turned in, with 775 comments on the cards and another 100 comments shared on Facebook. [Read more…]

Video: Savanna Schubert talks to disc golfers in Oak Ridge

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Disc golf isn’t a sport you hear of often in the hills of East Tennessee. In Oak Ridge, we were able to catch up with some avid disc golfers who are happy to see the game growing.

Here is a video by Savanna Schubert. See the story here.

Savanna Schubert is a freelance contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Disc golf sees growth in Oak Ridge, East Tennessee

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Disc-Golf-Feb-2016

Disc golf is growing in Oak Ridge and East Tennessee, and children enjoy it as well. (Photo by Savanna Schubert)

 

Note: This story was updated with maps at 1:35 p.m.

Football, baseball, and basketball are the main sports you think of when you are talking about sports in East Tennessee, but that is changing. There’s a new growing game on the horizon, and it’s disc golf. Although it’s been around for several decades, the sport is reaching people from all over the world, including Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge has two courses: Carl Yearwood Park and The Mounds Course in Groves Park. Disc golfers from all over Oak Ridge and surrounding counties come to play the elevated tee pads and the challenging holes.

Clint Burner, an avid disc golfer, said the game is growing.

“The ambassadors of this sport have been playing for 35-plus years,” Burner said.

“The physical activity and being able to play outside really draws people to this sport, and playing the game makes them love it,” Burner said. [Read more…]

The Mounds, a disc golf course, hosts annual Chuck tournament Saturday

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The Mounds, which is an Oak Ridge disc golf course, will host the annual Chuck tournament this Saturday, April 4. Sign up is at 11 a.m., and tee off is at noon.

“Come out and support the local disc golf club,” organizers said. “Disc golf is the fastest-growing sport and is fun for the whole family.”

See this Facebook event notice for more information, including a link to a map.

Youth Board has free disc golf Sunday

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The Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board has organized a free Turkey Bowl Disc Golf event on Sunday at Groves Park on Tuskegee Drive.

It’s part of the Playful City USA initiative, a press release said.

Free discs will be provided to participants while supplies last. Turkey Bowl Disc Golf starts at 3 p.m. Sunday.

“Disc Golf is growing in popularity, and it is a great activity for families,” Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Supervisor Matt Reedy said. “We have two courses here in Oak Ridge, and it is free to play, 365 days a year.”

Reedy said there is a small, but challenging nine-hole course at Carl Yearwood Park. The Groves Park course, meanwhile, has a mix of open and wooded 18 holes on 46 acres of land.

The Turkey Bowl is hosted annually on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Local players will compete in higher divisions, while beginners and children are encouraged to come out and try the event for the first time, the release said.

Course maps are available for download on the Recreation and Parks Department website at www.orrecparks.org. You can also find tips and rules information on the sport by visiting www.pdga.org.

If you have questions, call Reedy at (865) 425-3442 or visit the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department website at www.orrecparks.org.