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Guest column: Adapting to change

Posted at 4:56 pm July 17, 2014
By Angi Agle 4 Comments

I can’t function without my…(fill in the blank)!

Cell phone? I survived into my early 30s without one, and never even realized it was a problem. I admit that now, having carried one for a number of years, it’s terribly disconcerting to be without. My parents can easily recall a time when most families had only one car—a concept that is unthinkable to most of us today. But faced with challenges, we adapt. We can, we must, and we will.

Families living in most communities outside Oak Ridge are accustomed to not having school bus service within a mile or mile-and-a-half of the school, so our current turmoil seems like no big deal to them. To us though, having to suddenly live without something we’ve always had (except for a brief period several years ago) feels like the end of life as we know it.

With the advent of social media, the volume of discontent and velocity of misinformation has grown exponentially. It is most unfortunate that a member of City Council chose to announce in Monday’s meeting that the School Board intended to cut transportation no matter how much money the city provided; that is incorrect, as evidenced by the fact that there was no reduction in transportation services in our budget passed on May 27 (first reading) and May 29 (second reading). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Guest Columns, K-12, Opinion Tagged With: Angi Agle, Board of Education, budget, budget cuts, City Council, cuts, Facebook, funding, Oak Ridge, school board, school bus, school bus service, social media, transportation, transportation routes, VersaTrans

Parents protest ‘walk zone,’ expanded area with no school bus service

Posted at 1:29 pm July 17, 2014
By Sara Wise 2 Comments

Kathie Creasey at Walk Zone Protest

Kathie Creasey, right, holds a sign during Thursday’s protest against Oak Ridge Schools’ expanded parent responsibility zone. The zone change eliminates transportation services for students who live within 1.5 miles of their school. (Photo by Sara Wise)

 

Critics of Oak Ridge Schools’ expanded parent responsibility zone protested Thursday morning at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

Laurie Paine, who lost her daughter, Ashley, at the intersection in 2007, joined almost 15 other parents and community members to rally for change.

“I don’t want anyone to go through what my family went through,” Paine said. She started a Facebook page to unite community members who were against the walk zone and used that website to spread the word of the protest.

Robertsville Middle School parent Kathie Creasey became emotional at the protest, saying that her own son was close to Ashley. She was protesting because she doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her kids. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Education, K-12, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Ashley Paine, budget, bus service, Daniel Morgan, Facebook, Illinois Avenue, Kathie Creasey, Laurie Paine, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Schools, Oak Ridge Turnpike, parent responsibility zone, petition, protest, Robertsville Middle Schools, transportation, Trina Baughn, walk zone

Parents protest expanded 1.5-mile walk zone for students

Posted at 1:34 pm July 11, 2014
By John Huotari 12 Comments

Oak Ridge School Buses at the Central Services Complex

Parents are protesting a June 23 decision to expand the walk zone for students to 1.5 miles to help reduce a $1.25 million budget deficit. The expanded walk zones mean that bus service won’t be offered to students who live within 1.5 miles of Oak Ridge schools.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:20 a.m. July 12.

Parents concerned about student safety are protesting a recent decision by Oak Ridge Schools to expand the student walk zone to 1.5 miles.

In the past two days, they’ve started a petition and Facebook group to oppose the June 23 decision, and they’ve organized a protest, rally, and walks through the expanded walk zones at several schools.

“We’re serious about this,” said Daniel Morgan, who has two sons at Linden Elementary School and a daughter who starts at Robertsville Middle School this fall. “The citizens are concerned about the safety of the children.”

The expanded walk zones mean that bus service will no longer be available to students who live within 1.5 miles of Oak Ridge schools. The change could affect 1,800 students. The new bus stops have been posted on the Oak Ridge Schools website. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Education, K-12, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Ashley Paine, bus service, Change.org, Daniel Morgan, Facebook, Illinois Avenue, Laurie Paine-Feeny, Linden Elementary School, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Preschool, Oak Ridge Schools, Oak Ridge Turnpike, parents, petition, protest, rally, Robertsville Middle School, STOP Oak Ridge Walk Zone, student walk zone, walk zones, Willow Brook Elementary School

Letter: Donation made to Animal Shelter in honor of Kuhaida

Posted at 12:55 pm June 14, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Letters 2 Comments

To the Editor:

Everyone can remember walking into high school first the first time and having that nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach. I remember walking into Oak Ridge High School after moving from New York a week earlier—knowing no one, having no idea where my first class was, with people that spoke differently than I did, with a huge teenage chip on my shoulder.

That first day, I was blessed to meet Valerie Becham, now Kuhaida. She had a glow about her and turned what started out as a horrible experience into a wonderful transition. From that first day of school, she welcomed me, and we started a fantastic and unforgettable friendship.

Valerie was one of the most compassionate, loving, energetic, and humble people I have ever met. She would do anything for anyone at anytime. Her four children were blessed to call her Mom and her greatest passion was her family. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Letters, Opinion, Pets Tagged With: Adoptable Animals at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, Facebook, Friends of the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, Lauren Biloski, Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, Oak Ridge High School, Valerie Becham, Valerie Becham Kuhaida

Secret City Festival videos available on Fire Department’s YouTube page

Posted at 10:52 am July 3, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Secret City Festival Children's Area

This year’s Secret City Festival included expanded areas for children and the Oak Ridge Fire Department, among other changes.

You can now revisit all the fun and excitement of the 2013 Secret City Festival by visiting the Oak Ridge Fire Department’s You Tube page, a press release said.

During the recent festival in June, several hours of footage were collected of the Fire Department zip line and water play areas, and they have now been formatted into short video clips. You can view these clips at www.youtube.com/oakridgefd.

The videos were shot and produced by ORFD Capt. Jason Benjamin, who is also an accomplished actor, producer, and award-winning screen writer, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Facebook, Jason Benjamin, Josh Waldo, Oak Ridge Fire Department, ORFD, Secret City Festival, video, YouTube

Former officer drops lawsuit that alleged hostile workplace, sexual rumors

Posted at 5:03 pm February 20, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 3:51 a.m. Feb. 21.

A former Oak Ridge police officer who had alleged she was the subject of sexual rumors that had created a hostile work environment has withdrawn a $1.25 million federal lawsuit against the city.

Former Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Christina Targonski had alleged that another officer had spread sexual rumors about her—allegedly telling other officers that she had invited him to an orgy and was distributing nude photos of herself to “whoever wanted them,” federal court records said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Benjamin K. Lauderback, Christina Targonski, EEOC, Facebook, gender discrimination, harassing phone calls, intimidation, John Thomas, lawsuit, Leon Jordan, lesbian, Michael S. Shipwash, Mike Uher, nude photos, Oak Ridge Police Department, orgy, ORPD, retaliation, sexual harassment, sexual rumors, Stephen Liston, stipulation of dismissal, U.S. District Court, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, voluntary withdrawal

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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