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Coal ash spill at Kingston Fossil Plant to be discussed Tuesday

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Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Cleanup
Ash that spilled into the brown embayment pictured above had been removed by June 2013, and workers placed a black plastic liner over an ash containment cell in the background, preparing to close it late in 2014. The ash spilled in December 2008 when a storage cell failed at the Kingston Fossil Plant, back left. (File photo)

The 2008 coal ash spill at the Kingston Fossil Plant will be discussed during Lunch with the League in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The lunch will feature Jamie Satterfield, award-wining investigative journalist and podcast producer for the Knoxville News Sentinel and other newspapers, a press release said.

Satterfield won a Scripps Howard award for her investigative work into the effects on hundreds of blue-collar workers who cleaned up the massive spill, the press release said. This year, she was inducted into the East Tennessee Writers’ Hall of Fame.

[Read more…]

Felon disfranchisement to be discussed at Lunch with the League

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Pippa Holloway

Felon disfranchisement will be discussed at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, October 1.

The speaker will be Pippa Holloway, Middle Tennessee State University history professor and 2019-2020 president of the Tennessee University Faculty Senates.

Disfranchisement is not part of the sentencing of a person for a felony conviction, a press release said. However, it is imposed by certain states on all convicted felons regardless of their offense or the length of their jail time. In other states, felons never lose their right to vote, even while incarcerated. This presentation will help to educate attendees on the enormity of disfranchisement, the press release said.

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‘The Polio Epidemic: A Personal Story’ topic of Lunch with League today

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Jerry Creasey

Anderson County Commissioner and longtime Oak Ridger Jerry Creasey will talk about the history of polio in the United States, and his childhood experience with the polio epidemic of 1944 during a meeting today (Tuesday, May 21).

Creasey will be the featured speaker at Lunch with the League, which starts at noon at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

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Borchers to discuss Oak Ridge Schools on Tuesday

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Bruce Borchers
Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers, superintendent of Oak Ridge Schools, will give an update that covers activities and programs in the school system during a lunchtime meeting on Tuesday.

Borchers will be the featured speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, May 7.

The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The presentation will begin at noon. Lunches will be provided by the Soup Kitchen, and they will be available at 11:30 a.m. on a first-come basis for $8, or you may bring your own, a press release said. Coffee and tea will be provided.

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Rec & Parks director to talk to League on Tuesday

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The next Lunch with the League program will be held on Tuesday, April 16.  The speaker will be Jon Hetrick, director of the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department.

Hetrick will provide an update on the department, which is responsible for planning, organizing, supervising, and coordinating a comprehensive plan of leisure activities for the citizens of Oak Ridge, a press release said. It is also charged with providing safe and well-maintained facilities for its patrons.  The department maintains more than 30 city-owned properties, including athletic fields, horticultural displays, playground areas, tennis courts, community center buildings, and swimming pools.

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Challenges in public education to be discussed Tuesday

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The next Lunch with the League program will be held on Tuesday, April 2. The speaker will be Benita Albert, author and long-time educator in Oak Ridge.

Albert will discuss “Challenges in Public Education: Present and Future,” a press release said. She taught mathematics at Oak Ridge High School for 44 years, retiring in 2012. She has served as a college board consultant in Advanced Placement Calculus, conducting training programs for teachers across the country, since 1975.

Albert has authored or co-authored for many textbook publishers and mathematics ancillaries. Her honors include Presidential Awardee for Mathematics in 1991 and selection to the USA Today All-American Teacher Team in 2007.

As a member of the board of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, Albert has served as co-editor-in-chief of the book “Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in the Oak Ridge Schools, 1944-2018.” [Read more…]

City manager to discuss ‘State of the City’ on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will discuss the “State of the City” during a lunchtime meeting Tuesday, a press release said.

The annual event will be during “Lunch with the League” on Tuesday, March 5.

Watson has served as Oak Ridge city manager since August 2010. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration in city management from the University of Kansas, the press release said. A second-generation city manager, he served six cities in Texas, Montana, and Arizona before coming to Oak Ridge.

Watson has received numerous awards and honors, and in 2017, was recognized by the International City/County Management Association for a 40-year career in public service, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge police chief to discuss crime, traffic safety

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Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

The next Lunch with the League program will be held on Tuesday, February 19.  The speaker will be Oak Ridge Police Department Chief Robin Smith.  His topic will be titled “Data Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety.”

The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Smith has served with the Oak Ridge Police Department since 2012. He served as a lieutenant for two years before being promoted to captain and then deputy chief. He was appointed ORPD Chief in October 2018. [Read more…]

Mental illness & capital punishment to be discussed Tuesday

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Sarah Graham McGee

Sarah Graham McGee

 

Mental illness and capital punishment will be discussed during a lunch in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The speaker will be Sarah Graham McGee, statewide coordinator for the Tennessee Alliance for the Severe Mental Illness Exclusion, or TASMIE, a press release said. TASMIE is a coalition of mental health advocates and other organizations that are educating Tennesseans about their concerns with sentencing those who have severe mental illness to death, the press release said.

The program is for Lunch with the League on Tuesday, February 5. The meeting is scheduled from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Women in U.S. politics to be discussed Tuesday

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Women in U.S. politics will be discussed at “Lunch with the League” on Tuesday.

The speaker will be Patricia Freeland, professor of political science at the University of Tennessee. The title of her talk will be “Women in U.S. Politics: What’s Changing?”

The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m.. to 1 p.m. in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Public Works director to discuss water, wastewater systems on Tuesday

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Oak Ridge Public Works Director Shira McWaters will discuss the needs and costs of the city’s water and wastewater systems at Lunch with the League on Tuesday. McWaters will also discuss the status of upgrades to the systems, a press release said.

Lunch with the League is scheduled from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, October 16, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

McWaters was in the private consulting field for more than 22 years before she accepted the position with the City of Oak Ridge, the press release said. She helped municipal clients in the areas of water, wastewater, and storm water. McWaters has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Worchester Polytechnic Institute and holds professional engineering licenses for the states of Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Arizona. [Read more…]

Director to discuss how United Way addresses community needs

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Naomi Asher

Naomi Asher

Naomi Asher, executive director of the United Way of Anderson County, will speak at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, October 2. She will discuss how the United Way is addressing needs in the community and how United Way agencies work together to help people in need, a press release said.

The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

A long-time resident of Oak Ridge, Asher graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 2001. She attended Johnson University, where she graduated with a double major in music and theology. After working in several industries, Asher found her passion for nonprofit work when she served as office manager for CASA of the Tennessee Heartland. She became executive director of CASA in 2010 and received her master’s degree in marketing from King University in 2012.

Asher has served as United Way’s executive director since 2015. [Read more…]

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