Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge school board approves mask mandate

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Oak Ridge school board member Angi Agle, right, proposed a mask mandate inside Oak Ridge school buildings, and her motion was seconded by board member Ben Stephens, left. The school board approved the mandate, which has a written opt-out per an executive order by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, in a 3-1 vote on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

Note: This story was last updated at 12 a.m.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education approved a mask mandate in a 3-1 vote on Monday.

The approval of the mask mandate, which is similar to a mandate at four Anderson County schools, occurred as the school system reported about 180 COVID-19 cases among students and staff members in less than three weeks. COVID cases have now been reported at all schools: the preschool, all four elementary schools, both middle schools, the high school, and Secret City Academy.

The mask mandate approved Monday will require masks indoors in school buildings unless the school system has received a written opt-out notice from a parent or guardian in compliance with an executive order issued by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee last week.

The Oak Ridge school year started Wednesday, July 28, with face masks being optional. However, as cases increased significantly in three schools, masks were required there. Those three schools were Jefferson Middle School, Robertsville Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School.

But when the governor announced his order last week, Oak Ridge Schools said it would no longer require masks. That changed with the mandate approved by the school board on Monday.

[Read more…]

School board approves change in residency requirement

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday approved, in the first of two votes, a policy change that would require the superintendent and principals to live in Oak Ridge.

Assistant principals, the executive director of school leadership, and the executive director of teaching and learning would be required to live in Oak Ridge if they are relocating to the region after being hired by Oak Ridge Schools. This would not apply to new administrators in those positions who already live in adjacent counties, such as Knox County.

The policy change would reduce the number of administrative positions with a residency requirement. The current policy requires the superintendent, executive director of school leadership, executive director of teaching and learning, director of pupil services, principals, and assistant principals to live in Oak Ridge “to be thoroughly familiar with the community and to be available beyond the regular day.”

But the current policy is suspected of reducing the number of candidates who apply for jobs at Oak Ridge Schools, according to administrators.

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Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council

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Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch

Note: This story was last updated at 12 a.m.

The four incumbents—Mayor Warren Gooch, Council members Kelly Callison and Ellen Smith, and Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn—were re-elected to four-year terms on Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday, according to unofficial election results in Anderson and Roane counties.

The final results mirrored the results of early and absentee ballots in Anderson County.

There were four City Council seats up for regular election and five candidates for those seats.

Gooch had the most votes Tuesday, a total of 7,916 in the two counties (6,774 in Anderson County and 1,142 in Roane County). Gooch also had the highest number of votes in the transitional 2014 election, his first City Council election. [Read more…]

Election 2018: Progress PAC endorsements for City Council, School Board

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Note This story was updated at 10 a.m.

Four candidates for Oak Ridge City Council and all three candidates running for Oak Ridge Board of Education running in the election today (Tuesday, November 6) have earned endorsements by Progress PAC.

Three City Council incumbents—Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, Ellen Smith, and Kelly Callison—received the PAC endorsements as did Tim Stallings, who previously served on the City Council in the 1990s.

School Board candidates Laura McLean, Ben Stephens, and Erin Webb—who are all serving on the BOE now and are running unopposed—also received the political action committee’s nod, a press release said.

Progress PAC, which was created by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce but which operates independently, endorses City Council and School Board candidates who ask for the committee’s support and who are supportive of the Chamber’s mission, vision, and key legislative priorities, the press release said. [Read more…]

Marshall resigns from school board

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Paige Marshall

Paige Marshall

Oak Ridge Board of Education member Paige Marshall resigned from the school board on Thursday.

Marshall and her family are moving to North Carolina for a new job, BOE Chair Keys Fillauer said Friday.

In her resignation letter on Thursday, Marshall expressed sadness and deep appreciation.

“I am sad to leave a wonderful school district in Oak Ridge and the wonderful people on the Board of Education as well as our wonderful Oak Ridge Schools staff and students,” Marshall said. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve our community. I wish you all the best as you and the rest of the board work to keep the Oak Ridge Schools the finest in the state.”

Elected in November 2014, Marshall’s four-year term expires this November, when there are three open seats on the five-member school board. [Read more…]

First United Methodist has Vacation Bible School this month

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First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge will celebrate recent renovations with an open house on Sunday evening, Jan. 8, 2017. The church is located at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and North Tulane Avenue. (Photo courtesy Jeff Kile)

 

First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge will be hosting Vacation Bible School “Mighty Fortress” from June 19-22 (Monday-Thursday) from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Children from 4 years old through 5th graders are welcome. FUMC is located at 1350 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Erin Webb at [email protected]. [Read more…]

STEM Stories inspires budding scientists, mathematicians

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Erin Webb, agricultural engineer at ORNL, answers a question from a student at ORAU Stem Stories on Thursday, April 20, 2017. (Photo by ORAU)

Erin Webb, agricultural engineer at ORNL, answers a question from a student at ORAU STEM Stories on Thursday, April 20, 2017. (Photo by ORAU)

 

Real-life scientists discuss their work, share advice with students interested in pursuing STEM careers

Be kind and show up every day.

That’s the advice Erin Webb, an agricultural engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory gave to young people during ORAU’s second STEM Stories event on Thursday, April 20. STEM Stories gives students interested in STEM careers the opportunity to learn from and interact with scientists working in the region.

Webb works in bioenergy, specifically focused on finding solutions for transporting and storing large quantities of biomass like feedstocks for commercial use so it can be converted to energy. She was joined by Jibo Sanyal, a computer scientist at ORNL whose work focuses on geo-computing, which he described as using computers to solve problems like long-term weather concerns, the resilience of environments and more.

Webb told the 30 students and their parents gathered for the event that while STEM careers are all about math and science, they should never forget to factor in the people they work with. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. [Read more…]

From greenhouses on Mars to sustainability on Earth: Hear STEM stories at ORAU on Thursday

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ORAU will host a STEM Stories event in Oak Ridge on Thursday evening.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Here is information about the event:

Who: Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU)

What: STEM Stories, featuring live talks by two dynamic speakers and innovators in their fields. The speakers, both of whom work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), will describe their respective career journeys, who or what inspires them, and how mentors impact lives and our nation’s scientific agenda.

Speakers for the event are: [Read more…]

Register today: Love and Logic parenting class at First United Methodist on Feb. 26

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Would you like to learn how to never argue with your kids again? Then join us at First United Methodist Church, 1350 Oak Ridge Turnpike, from 3:30-5:30 pm on Sunday, February 26, for our Love and Logic parenting class.

This class will be led by Holly Roe, a certified love and logic instructor. Roe is a well-known children’s ministries director, and she has a passion for helping parents and families.

The cost for materials is $20 per person. [Read more…]