Oak Ridge Today

Free Medical Clinic’s fundraiser: Carolina Beach Bash on Saturday

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Michael and Lissie Beehan Free Medical Clinic Fundraiser 2016

Michael and Lissie Beehan practice their “celebrity” dance. (Submitted photo)

 

 A fundraiser for Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge on Saturday features auctions, music, dancing, and dinner

A brand new grandfather clock. An elegant condo surrounded by dozens of golf courses near Orlando, Florida, that’s available in October. A lovely condo on Crescent Beach in Florida. A Gatlinburg getaway, which includes a luxury cabin stay and event tickets.

An elegant tea for eight. A fine wine dinner for 26 in a garden setting and an Italian dinner for 20 at the Olde Towne Event Center in Oak Ridge.

A one-year membership at National Fitness, flowers for a year, and a signed and framed Ed Westcott photograph of Manhattan Project workers celebrating the end of World War II. [Read more…]

Reminder: Jan. 31 is the deadline for enrolling in health insurance for 2016 under ACA

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David Vudragovich

David Vudragovich

The deadline to sign up for a health insurance plan for 2016 under the Affordable Care Act is Sunday, January 31. Enrolling by then will provide a plan that starts on March 1.

If you do not enroll by January 31, the only way to enroll in coverage is if you have a special enrollment situation, such as a marriage, divorce, or birth of a child, or change jobs, etc.

Insurance agent David Vudragovich can help you with your health insurance needs. His office is located at 1970 Oak Ridge Highway (also known as Oak Ridge Turnpike and State Route 61), east of Elza Gate in Oak Ridge, at the first stop light in the county headed toward Clinton.

Vudragovich can help with health, life, and supplemental insurance; Medicare; and long-term care and retirement. [Read more…]

Free Medical Clinic fundraiser on Aug. 8 to feature rock band, dancers

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The Hit Men

The Hit Men, a rock and pop dance band, will perform at the FMC Bash on Aug. 8, a fundraiser for the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Hit Men, a Knoxville rock and pop dance band, will provide music for dancing during the FMC Bash on Saturday, August 8. It’s the annual fundraiser for the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge.

The fundraiser will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. August 8 in the Parish Life Center of St. Mary’s Church at 327 Vermont Avenue. It will include a catered dinner, Celebrity Dance Contest, and live auction conducted by the entertaining Bear Stephenson.

Band members are Alan Keck, lead vocals and guitar; Bob Andres, vocals, lead guitar, and flute; Pat Andres, vocals and keyboard; Uwe Lueth, drums, and Mark Akers, bass. You can learn more about them by visiting their website.

Couples who have entered in the Celebrity Dance Contest are Sharon and Brian Annis, Naomi Asher and Jim Dodson, Tom Beehan and Kay Brookshire, David and Sandy Bradshaw, Gene Caldwell and Dottie Thompson, Keys Fillauer and Scott Hinton, Judy Gooch and Michael Shrader, Austin Keathley and a secret partner, and Nancy Stanley and Gary Riser. [Read more…]

Anderson mayor: Budget proposal holds spending steady, no tax increase

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

The budget proposed by Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank for the next fiscal year would keep most county departments at current-year spending levels and it includes no tax increase, a press release said.

The proposed general fund budget was presented to the Anderson County Budget Committee on Tuesday afternoon, and it was unanimously approved at Thursday evening’s budget meeting, the Mayor’s Office said in the release.

The next fiscal year begins July 1.

The balanced $25,088,157 budget for the county’s general operating fund proposes maintaining a focus on stabilizing spending levels until “we have full economic recovery,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge teachers, principals ask for 4 percent pay raise

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Mike Haygood at Oak Ridge Board of Education

Mike Haygood, assistant principal at Jefferson Middle School, asks for a 4 percent salary increase on behalf of the Oak Ridge Education Association. At left is Steve Reddick, OREA co-president, and at center is Phil Cox, JMS principal.

 

Oak Ridge teachers and principals have requested a 4 percent salary increase in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Teachers said they’ve “gone backwards” in terms of real buying power during the past decade. And administrators said it’s become more difficult to attract quality applicants in part because of salaries.

It’s not clear yet if the requested increases will be approved or if the money is available or would require a property tax rate increase. There are a number of steps to complete before the budget receives final approval in June. Among other things, it has to be considered by both the Oak Ridge Board of Education and Oak Ridge City Council. [Read more…]

More than 80,000 Tennesseans pick Health Insurance Marketplace plan in first month

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Logo

Federal officials announced Tuesday that 87,137 people in Tennessee selected plans through the Health Insurance Marketplace leading up to the December 15 deadline for coverage beginning January 1.

It was the first month of open enrollment this year.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 83 percent of Tennesseans who selected a 2015 plan are getting financial assistance to lower monthly premiums. That compared to 75 percent who selected plans over a similar period last year.

Of the 87,137 Tennesseans who selected a plan, 51 percent re-enrolled in a Marketplace plan in 2015, and 49 percent signed up for the first time, HHS said in a press release. [Read more…]

Gov. Haslam announces Insure Tennessee plan

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

NASHVILLE—Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam this month unveiled his Insure Tennessee plan, a two-year pilot program to provide health care coverage to Tennesseans who currently don’t have access to health insurance or have limited options. The program rewards healthy behaviors, prepares members to transition to private coverage, promotes personal responsibility, and incentivizes choosing preventative and routine care instead of unnecessary use of emergency rooms, a press release said.

The governor announced that he plans to call a special session to focus on the proposal after the 109th General Assembly convenes in January.

“We made the decision in Tennessee nearly two years ago not to expand traditional Medicaid,” Haslam said in the press release. “This is an alternative approach that forges a different path and is a unique Tennessee solution. This plan leverages federal dollars to provide health care coverage to more Tennesseans, to give people a choice in their coverage, and to address the cost of health care, better health outcomes, and personal responsibility. [Read more…]

Protesters object to benefits changes at Y-12

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Y-12 Benefits Protest Becky Montgomery

Protesters object Thursday afternoon to changes to health insurance benefits announced at the Y-12 National Security Complex in October. At center is Becky Montgomery, who retired from Y-12 in June after 35 years.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10 p.m.

About 150 demonstrators protested outside the Y-12 National Security Complex on Thursday afternoon, objecting to changes in health insurance benefits that could take effect January 1.

The protesters, mostly Y-12 retirees, said they would end up paying much more for fewer benefits. They want the U.S. Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration to reverse course.

“We’re here to try to stop it,” said Charlene Edwards, who retired from Y-12 in 2006. [Read more…]

Guest column: Anderson mayor’s budget includes no tax increase

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

CLINTON—Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank has presented her administration’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Frank’s proposed general fund budget, as recently presented to the Budget Committee, keeps most county departments at current-year spending levels and includes no tax increase. It was unanimously approved at a May 15 budget meeting.

The balanced $25,010,105 budget for the county’s general operating fund proposes maintaining a focus on stabilizing spending levels until we have full economic recovery. [Read more…]

Anderson County budget process moving along

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Anderson County Courthouse

The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above.

Information from WYSH Radio

As WYSH reported last week, the Anderson County Commission’s Budget Committee has approved County Mayor Terry Frank’s budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The proposed $25 million general fund budget keeps the property tax rate at current levels but does not include pay raises for county workers.

Previously, the budget committee had recommended keeping the funding for all county general fund offices at their current levels, and officials said that the budget does include provisions for a projected half-percent increase in the cost of health insurance and state-mandated salary increases for certain county officeholders.

When the various county departments submitted their initial budget requests, the total was about $2 million out of balance but “with understanding and help, we whittled that down,” according to Frank’s summary of the budget process released late last week. [Read more…]

Anderson County budget process under way

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Anderson County Courthouse

The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above.

Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Commission’s Budget Committee has approved County Mayor Terry Frank’s no-frills budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins on July 1.

The proposed budget keeps the property tax rate at its current levels but does not include pay raises for county workers.

Previously, the budget committee had recommended keeping the funding for all county general fund offices at their current levels, and officials said the budget does include provisions for a possible 1 percent increase in the cost of health insurance and state-mandated salary increases for certain county officeholders.

The budget committee has also recommended that the county’s fund balance be increased from $3.5 million to $4 million. Budget discussions will continue during the next few weeks.

Schools consider revised outsourcing proposal for substitute teachers

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Oak Ridge Board of Education

An outsourcing proposal strongly opposed by teaching assistants last month has since been revised to include only substitute teachers at Oak Ridge Schools. It will be considered by the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday.

An outsourcing proposal strongly opposed by teaching assistants last month has since been revised to include only substitute teachers at Oak Ridge Schools.

The new proposal to use Professional Educational Services LLC, or PESG, of Nashville, to provide substitute teachers will be considered by the Oak Ridge Board of Education during a Monday evening meeting.

The outsourcing proposal began as an attempt to help the school system comply with the reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act and to avoid potentially large fines of up to $1.2 million for errors that might be made in following the new federal health care law. [Read more…]