Oak Ridge Today

Yager presents Brown-Forman donation to Roane Alliance’s Education Matters!

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Brown-Forman Donation to Roane Alliance Education Matters

Tennessee Sen. Ken Yager, center, presents a donation from Brown-Forman to the Roane Alliance’s Education Matters. Also pictured are Rep. Kent Calfee, left, and Allen Lutz of The Roane Alliance. (Submitted photo)

Tennessee Sen. Ken Yager on Thursday announced a new partner for the continued funding of The Roane Alliance’s award-winning Education Matters! program. Yager presented a $5,000 check at the beginning of the Roane County Chamber of Commerce regular monthly board meeting.

Yager presented the check to Allen Lutz, education and workforce development specialist for the Roane Alliance, on behalf of Brown-Forman—the global, multi-billion dollar company that produces and markets Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey.

The Brown-Forman donation comes on the heels of the Alliance’s Education Matters! program receiving an international economic development award earlier this month. The Roane County program won a Gold Award for Excellence in Economic Development (category 25,000-200,000 population) from the International Economic Development Council at their annual conference in Philadelphia. [Read more…]

McNally, Yager named honorary members of Roane State Foundation board

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

Ken Yager

Ken Yager

State senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager have been named honorary members of the Roane State Foundation’s board of directors.

McNally and Yager have lengthy records of civic involvement, a press release said. McNally has received the Legislative Hero 2012 award from Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations; received the CASA President’s 2012 Award; was named a Rotary International Paul Harris fellow; and received the 1996 Distinguished Service Award from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy.

Yager serves as a board member of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee and the Roane County Heritage Commission. In addition, he is a member of the chambers of commerce in Dayton and Spring City, and in Campbell, Fentress, Morgan, Pickett, Roane, and Scott counties. He was named 2013 Legislator of the Year by the East Tennessee Development District. [Read more…]

‘Breakfast with Legislators’ on Monday

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This month’s ”Breakfast with the Legislators” will be on Monday morning at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The hour-long breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m. in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Social Room. A free, light continental breakfast will be served. [Read more…]

Letter: Autism insurance coverage possible thanks to Yager, Powers, Ragan

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To the Editor:

Much gratitude and admiration goes to local area state lawmakers Sen. Ken Yager, Rep. Dennis Powers, and Rep. John Ragan for their vision and dedication to the people in our Tennessee autism community. By signing on to the widely-supported state autism insurance reform bill SB 1286/HB 1265, these legislators join 20 of their colleagues across the state as co-sponsors of this legislation.

Countless studies show that providing vital, medically necessary treatments to people on the autism spectrum greatly improves their chances of becoming self-sufficient, income-earning members of our society. Yet health insurance plans very rarely cover these therapies, and families are left to incur enormous debt to provide these treatments for their loved ones, or worse, are unable to provide these treatments at all due to the high cost of this non-covered crucial care, greatly reducing their children’s potential for success as an independent adult.

[Read more…]

‘Breakfast with the Legislators’ on Monday

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This month’s “Breakfast with the Legislators” will be Monday morning at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The hour-long breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m. in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Social Room. A free, light continental breakfast will be served.

[Read more…]

State legislators, county mayor tour ORNL

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Kelly Beierschmitt and Terry Frank at ORNL

Kelly Beierschmitt, Oak Ridge National Laboratory associate lab director for neutron sciences, talks with Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank in the target building at the Spallation Neutron Source. (Photos courtesy of ORNL)

Five Tennessee legislators and Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank recently toured Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Frank toured the Spallation Neutron Source, the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility. She had a briefing from Thom Mason on the modernization of ORNL as well as the lab’s regional economic impact, a lab statement said.

[Read more…]

Monthly ‘Breakfast with Legislators’ starts Jan. 28

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

John Ragan

John Ragan

This year’s monthly “Breakfast with the Legislators” starts Monday, Jan. 28.

The series is held at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on the last Monday of each month while the Tennessee General Assembly is in session each year. It’s sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and it gives residents a chance to meet local representatives and ask questions about legislative issues.

[Read more…]

State officials Ramsey, Yager visit ORNL

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Visit

Tennesseee Sen. Ken Yager, left, and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, center, receive an overview of the Spallation Neutron Source from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Neutron Sciences Director Kelly Beierschmitt at the SNS Thursday. (Photo by Jason Richards)

Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, who is also the Republican Senate Speaker, and Sen. Ken Yager, a Harriman Republican, visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Thursday afternoon.

Their agenda included discussions of ORNL’s partnerships with the state of Tennessee and tours of the Leadership Computing Facility and Spallation Neutron Source, the lab said in a brief statement Friday.