Oak Ridge Today

Senior Board has public progress meeting on Oak Ridge Senior Center on Thursday

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The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will hold a progress meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center regarding the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. The proposed design at Alvin K. Bissell Park is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will have a progress meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center regarding the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. The proposed design at Alvin K. Bissell Park, just west of the Civic Center, is pictured above.

 

The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will have a progress meeting on Thursday, February 15, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center regarding the new Oak Ridge Senior Center.

The Board will meet with representatives of Studio Four Design, the Knoxville-based architecture and design firm selected for the project, to review progress and plans for the new center, a press release said. Board members and all other interested residents are encouraged to attend.

Anyone with questions prior to the meeting should contact Oak Ridge Recreation Manager Linda McGhee at [email protected] or (865) 425-3999.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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Copyright 2018 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Senior Center to host holiday reception Friday

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The Oak Ridge Senior Center’s annual Holiday Reception will be Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center gymnasium. Pictured above is a picture from last year's Holiday Reception. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Senior Center’s annual Holiday Reception will be Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center gymnasium. Pictured above is a picture from last year’s Holiday Reception. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Senior Center will host a Holiday Reception for area senior citizens on Friday, December 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will be held in the gymnasium of the Civic Center, located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Local seniors are invited for a light lunch of sandwiches, chips, and cookies, as well as holiday music and fellowship, a press release said. The senior center’s guitar group will be playing live Christmas music. Bingo will be offered, and door prizes given away. Goodie bags will also be given out while supplies last. [Read more…]

Senior Board to meet with design firm to discuss new Senior Center on Monday

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This site option was unanimously recommended for a new Oak Ridge Senior Center by the Senior Advisory Board on Monday, April 10, 2017. (Image courtesy Studio Four Design/City of Oak Ridge)

This site option was unanimously recommended for a new Oak Ridge Senior Center by the Senior Advisory Board on Monday, April 10, 2017. (Image courtesy Studio Four Design/City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will meet with a design firm to discuss the new Senior Center on Monday.

The special meeting, a work session, is scheduled at 10 a.m. Monday, October 16, in the B room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center. During that work session, the Board will be meeting with Studio 4 Design to discuss the new senior center project.

“Board members and other interested citizens are invited to attend,” a notice said.

If you have any questions, contact Recreation Manager Linda McGhee at [email protected] or (865) 425-3999.

Senior Advisory Board to vote on location for new Senior Center at Civic Center

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This Option 1 for locating the new Oak Ridge Senior Center at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

This is Option 1 for locating the new Oak Ridge Senior Center at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. The Senior Center would be the building with the pink-highlighted border to the right of the Community Center. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will vote on one of four options for locating the new Oak Ridge Senior Center at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The board will vote during a special meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, April 10, in the Club Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The options were presented to the board by Studio 4 Design at the regular monthly Senior Advisory Board meeting on Monday, April 3. All four proposals have the new senior center facility located on the Civic Center property. Monday’s meeting will focus on recommendation of one of the options for the new center.

The current options take many factors into consideration, including parking availability, ease of access and possible drop-off locations, prominence of location relative to Oak Ridge Turnpike, potential construction complications, green space preservation, and optimization of aesthetic views, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. [Read more…]

Senior Advisory Board to recommend one of four options for Senior Center site location on Monday

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The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will recommend one of four Senior Center site locations proposed by Studio 4 Design at the board’s April 3 meeting.

The board is expected to make the recommendation on one of the four locations during a special meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, April 10, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Club Room.

Board members and other interested citizens are invited to attend the meeting. If you have any questions, you can contact Recreation Manager Linda McGhee at [email protected] or (865) 425-3999.

Oak Ridge Today has requested more information on the four options, and we will update this story as we can.

City board recommends senior center at Civic Center; will ask for $50K for conceptual studies

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A city board has recommended that the Oak Ridge Senior Center be located at the Civic Center on Oak Ridge Turnpike, and the board will ask the City Council to consider $50,000 for conceptual studies, possibly in April. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

An Oak Ridge board has recommended that the city’s senior center be located at the Civic Center and Alvin K. Bissell Park, and the board will ask the City Council, possibly in April, to consider $50,000 for conceptual studies.

The Oak Ridge Senior Center is currently located in a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road. It’s been there since 1999.

Some senior center users have been advocating for a new home for years, arguing that they didn’t voluntarily leave the former Wildcat Den (the Midtown Community Center) and that their current home has a number of deficiencies. But despite those efforts, the senior center remains on Emory Valley Road.

The current effort to find a new home has been under way since last year and picked up in January, said Linda McGhee, senior programs recreation manager in the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department. [Read more…]

Video: Free group guitar lessons at Oak Ridge Senior Center

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Wendall Cook teaches free group guitar lessons every Friday at 9 a.m. from January through the first week of October at the Oak Ridge Senior Center.

Freelance contributor Savanna Schubert talks to Cook, a few of his students, and Senior Center Manager Linda McGhee in the video below.

The Oak Ridge Senior Center is at 728 Emory Valley Road. Call (865) 425-3999 for more information.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Cook teaches guitar, love of music at Oak Ridge Senior Center

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Wendall Cook teaches free group guitar lessons every Friday at 9 a.m. from January through the first week of October at the Oak Ridge Senior Center. (Photo by Savanna Schubert)

 

Wendall Cook has been playing guitar for more than 60 years. It began when he was growing up, listening to Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Cook started playing and singing with the help from his father, and it began with three chords on the guitar.

Now Cook has a class of his own. He has been giving group guitar lessons every Friday at 9 a.m. for more than 11 years. His group has grown from a small jam session of three people to four classes of more than 60 students ranging from beginner to advanced.

“We started from three people and they kept inviting people in—by the end of the year we had seven or eight,” Cook said. “I never have been a professional teacher, but I like to share.”

Cook’s passion for teaching can be seen just by sitting in on one class. His love for the music and the students are unparalleled. We spoke with a couple of Cook’s students about why they got started and how the group lessons have grown. [Read more…]