Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Schools closed Monday, Breakfast with Legislators canceled

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

John Ragan

John Ragan

Oak Ridge Schools will be closed Monday, February 23, due to some dangerous secondary roads.

Due to the Oak Ridge Schools being closed, the League of Women Voters has also canceled Breakfast with the Legislators. The League’s policy is to cancel the breakfast when school is canceled.

The next Breakfast with the Legislators will be March 23. Breakfast with the Legislators this year includes senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee.

Schools in Clinton and Anderson, Knox, and Roane counties have also announced that they will be closed Monday.

Roane State Community College said its Fentress and Morgan campuses will be closed Monday due to weather.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

February Breakfast with the Legislators is Monday

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

John Ragan

John Ragan

Submitted

The Tennessee General Assembly has been in session since January 13, and 1,513 bills were filed by the February 12 deadline. Committees are meeting, and legislators are discussing issues dealing with health, education, the judiciary, sales tax, firearms, and federal funding for K-12 programs.

Breakfast with the Legislators provides a forum to get to know key legislative decision makers and to ask questions on issues in state government.

The February Breakfast with the Legislators will be held on Monday, February 23, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, located at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike. A free continental breakfast will be served. [Read more…]

Updated: Lunch with League—Law and order in Anderson County

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Tom Marshall

Tom Marshall

Note: This Lunch with the League has been canceled due to weather.

Anderson County District Attorney Dave Clark and Public Defender Tom Marshall will be the guest speakers at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, February 17. The program will be held at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

There won’t be defendants, witnesses, or a jury but the prosecutor—Dave Clark—and the defender—Tom Marshall—will discuss the current status of the Anderson County criminal justice system.

The Seventh Judicial District encompasses all of Anderson County. The district attorney is responsible for the prosecution of all criminal cases on behalf of the citizens of the state. The public defender’s office represents individuals accused of crimes who cannot afford a lawyer. Both the district attorney and public defender are elected for eight-year terms. [Read more…]

Electric, Public Works directors at Lunch with League on Tuesday

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Jack Suggs

Jack Suggs

Submitted

As we go about daily life in Oak Ridge, we don’t ordinarily think about where wastewater goes or where the electricity we use comes from. When the monthly utility bill arrives from the City of Oak Ridge, the cost of electricity, water, and sewer may surprise us and make us wonder about the cost and changes in rates.

Gary Cinder, director of Oak Ridge Public Works, and Jack Suggs, Oak Ridge Electric Department director, will be the guest speakers at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, February 3, and they will provide insights into their departments’ activities and responsibilities. The program will be held at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church’s new location at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Breakfast with Legislators kicks off Monday

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

John Ragan

John Ragan

This year’s Breakfast with the Legislators kicks off Monday.

Breakfast with the Legislators is a monthly morning meeting with state legislators from Oak Ridge and Anderson and Roane counties. It’s held the first few months each year while the Tennessee General Assembly is in session in Nashville.

It includes brief updates of the legislative session from local legislators and a question-and-answer session with those who attend. It’s open to the public. [Read more…]

Superintendent Borchers at Lunch with League on Tuesday

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

During a lunchtime meeting Tuesday, Superintendent Bruce Borchers will review areas of focus for Oak Ridge Schools and share data on the past year’s achievements of students and staff members.

Borchers will also highlight future plans and programs, including the plan to transform Oak Ridge Schools into the premier preK-12 STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) school district in the nation. There will also be an update on the status of the recommendations for the Preschool and the School Administration Building, a press release said.

Borchers will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, January 20. The program starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Roane County Executive Woody to discuss county issues at Lunch With the League

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Ron Woody

Ron Woody

 

Roane County Executive Ron Woody will discuss what is happening in Roane County and why it is important to Oak Ridge residents during the first Lunch with the League on Tuesday, January 6. The program will start at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church’s new location at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

“A significant portion of Oak Ridge is located in Roane County, and Roane County government is planning for the future,” a press release said. “Mr. Woody will give his perspective on issues facing the Roane County and an update on the state of the county. The presentation will address education, property reappraisal, business recruitment, and development of tourism and funding of public services. A question-and-answer period will follow the presentation.” [Read more…]

League of Women Voters receives $20,000 national grant

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League of Women Voters Logo

The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge has received a $20,000 national grant that will fund an educational project for young adults (30 years or under) on hazardous waste management. The project is titled the Environmental Management Education Initiative Project.

The grant is made possible through the New Mexico Community Foundation’s Community Involvement Fund and is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The purpose of the project is to expand the knowledge and understanding of these young people about the environmental management process and remediation actions in the Oak Ridge community.

The project will consist of two educational sub-projects: a Citizen’s Academy and a Rainbow Academy, a press release said. [Read more…]

How the Cold War really ended: Interpreting the bonus at the gas pump today

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Robert G. Kennedy in Moscow

Robert G. Kennedy in Moscow (Submitted photo)

Robert G. Kennedy III, founder of Ultimax Group Inc. and co-founder of Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop, will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, November 18. The program will be held at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church’s new location at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Kennedy’s extensive experience in the areas of geoengineering, terraforming, and Soviet/Cold War/Star Wars history, as well as with green energy on local and international levels, will provide a unique perspective on current world events, a press release said. The Cold War did not end without a shot either due to Star Wars, or American martial virtue, or any of the other usual reasons proffered by pundits. By the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union was like a knight dying inside his suit of armor. The weapon that sent him quietly into the good night was oil. The interpretation that this weapon is being used again by a similar set of actors, with similar geopolitical intent, is consistent with observed events of the past 90 days, the release said.

Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, Lunch with the League is open to the public. There is no cost to attend and reservations are not needed. Box lunches will be available starting at 11:30 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis for $8, or you may bring your own. Coffee and tea are provided.

For more information, visit lwvoakridge.org.

Lunch with League: Immigration, humanitarian crisis in East Tennessee

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Karla McKanders

Karla McKanders

An associate professor in the University of Tennessee College of Law will discuss the migration surge of vulnerable immigrants to East Tennessee during a lunchtime meeting Tuesday, a press release said.

Karla McKanders will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, November 4. The program will be held at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church’s new location at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The press release said vulnerable immigrants are those who have migrated to the United States and are not afforded full protections under national and state laws. [Read more…]

2014 Election: Constitutional amendments, wine in groceries, a candidate’s record

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League Women Voters Constitutional Amendment Forum

Corinne Rovetti, co-director and family nurse practitioner for the Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health, second from right, discusses Amendment 1, which is on Tuesday’s ballot, during a forum in October. Also pictured are moderator JoAnn Garrett, right; Judy Cornett, second from left, distinguished professor in the College of Law at the University of Tennessee, who discussed Amendment 2; and Sherry Davis Kasper, professor of economics at Maryville College, who discussed Amendment 3.

 

Many voters remain confused about the four proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot in Tennessee on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4.

Three of the amendments were discussed during a League of Women Voters forum in Oak Ridge in October, and you can find a guide to the four amendments here.

The first amendment, Amendment 1, is related to abortion, and it appears to be the most divisive.

Here’s the full text of the proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution:

“Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.”

[Read more…]

Vote411.org available online as voter information guide

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League of Women Voters Logo

VOTE411.org, an online voter information guide, is available to all citizens of Anderson and Roane counties. Sponsored locally by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, VOTE411 began in 2006 at the national League level. More than 220 Leagues are now participating.

The site allows users to compare candidates for office in their district, select their choices, and create a ballot summary that they can print out, take with them to the polling place, or share. To access the guide, the user should go to www.VOTE411.org and follow the prompts.

After accessing the site, users are prompted to enter their address, which is used to identify their voting district from U.S. Census Bureau GIS data. The races and referenda provided should be identical to those on the ballot for that voting district. The address information and candidate selections provided by users will not be collected or retained. [Read more…]