Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County’s Memorial Day ceremony is Monday morning

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Anderson County Memorial Day at Courthouse

File photo from May 2015 by John Huotari

 

Anderson County’s Ninth Annual Memorial Day ceremony starts at 10 a.m. Monday, May 29.

The event will be held rain or shine, said Leon Jaquet, director of the Anderson County Veterans Service Office.

There will be speeches from Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, retired U.S. Army Major Jason Deel, and Clinton City Council member Zach Farrar, Jaquet said.

“The program will include a 21-gun salute and wreath laying at the Veterans Memorial at the Anderson County Courthouse to pay tribute to the men and women of the U.S. military who have given their lives to protect the freedoms we all enjoy every day,” Jaquet said. “The day itself is sacred, and veterans need no reminder of the reason for it. But what about the general public, and more importantly, the next generations? Everyone is invited to attend and show their support of our military past, present, and future. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool open for Memorial Day weekend

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

 

The Oak Ridge Outdoor Swimming Pool will be open to the public over Memorial Day weekend this year, Saturday, May 27, through Monday, May 29, from noon to 6 p.m. each day.

This will be a “soft opening” over the holiday weekend, with the pool being closed for the three days following Memorial Day, from Tuesday, May 30, to Thursday, June 1, a press release said. The outdoor pool will then open for normal summer hours starting Friday, June 2. [Read more…]

Photos, remarks: Memorial Day in Anderson County

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anderson County Memorial Day at Courthouse

Pictured from left near the Veterans Memorial are Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, Anderson County Veteran Services Director Leon Jaquet, Tennessee Representative John Ragan, Clinton American Legion Post 172 Vice Commander Zach Farrar, and Pastor Tim Shelton, who is also Anderson County register of deeds. (Photo by John Huotari)

 

CLINTON—Anderson County honored the men and women “who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy the freedoms so many take for granted” on Memorial Day on Monday.

It was the seventh annual Memorial Day Ceremony. They are held at the Veterans Memorial next to the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. They include a wreath-laying ceremony.

The ceremony this year also included the presentation of the colors by the Navy JROTC Maverick Unit from Anderson County High School and a few songs, including the national anthem by the Oak Ridge High School Choir.

Here a few pictures and remarks by the guest speakers on Monday:

Anderson County Veteran Services Director Leon Jaquet [Read more…]

Photos: Memorial Day Concert in Oak Ridge

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Memorial Day Concert

Photo by Julio Culiat

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band performed its annual Memorial Day Concert on Monday, May 25, at at A.K. Bissell Park. Here are pictures by Julio Culiat, a contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

The Monday program included patriotic music and popular American favorites. The 2015 Memorial Day concert had a number of special guest vocalists and a guest announcer, former Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan. Guest vocalists included Charlie Blake, Mike Cates, Lettie Andrade De La Torre, Whitney Denton, Deidre Ford, Robert May, Brill Morrow, Roscoe Shipley, and Melody Turner. They sang “God Bless the USA,” “The Stars and Stipes Forever,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and “The Armed Forces Salute.”

Among other numbers performed on Monday were “Highlights from Showboat,” “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” Sousa’s “Semper Fidelis,” and “Black Granite,” which is a tribute to Vietnam War veterans. [Read more…]

ACSD participating in Click It or Ticket this weekend

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Click It or Ticket Day and Night

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will take part in the Click It or Ticket—National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization by conducting saturation patrols during this Memorial Day holiday period, a press release said.

As part of the enforcement, a sobriety checkpoint was held Friday evening, May 22, on Tri-County Boulevard in Oliver Springs. It was to be a multi-agency effort sponsored by the Oliver Springs Police Department and the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, the press release said.

The Click It or Ticket—National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization runs through May 31. [Read more…]

Anderson County celebrates Memorial Day on Monday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anderson County Memorial Day Wreath-laying

From left, Anderson County Veteran Services Director Leon Jaquet, Mayor Terry Frank, and Tennessee Representative John Ragan take part in a Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony on Memorial Day 2014 at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. (File photo)

 

CLINTON—On Monday, May 25, Anderson County will honor the men and women “who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy the freedoms so many take for granted,” officials said.

Anderson County will conduct its seventh annual Memorial Day Ceremony, beginning at 10 a.m. Monday at the Veterans Memorial next to the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton, 100 North Main Street.

Guest speakers will include American Legion Post #172 First Vice Commander Zach Farrar and District 33 State Representative John Ragan. There will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the Veterans Memorial by official guests and Anderson County officials.

And, thanks to generous donations from Hardees and Bojangles restaurants in Clinton, veterans and citizens who attend the Memorial Day Ceremony will receive free sausage biscuits beginning at 9:15 a.m. at the Courthouse, a press release said. Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank will also provide free coffee and bottled water.

Oak Ridge Schools honor Memorial Day by participating in ‘Jeans for Troops’

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Submitted by Oak Ridge Schools

The Oak Ridge School District honored Memorial Day and the men and women who have died defending our country by raising funds for military veterans and their families.

On May 22, teachers took part in the 2014 “Jeans for Troops” fundraising drive benefiting the GI Go Fund, a nonprofit organization that helps veterans returning home find employment, go to college, access their health care and financial benefits, and link to housing.

During the drive, which has schools and companies from all across the country participating in, Oak Ridge Schools gave their employees the opportunity to wear jeans to work in exchange for a $5 donation to the GI Go Fund.

“For generations, America’s teachers have been responsible for educating America’s children,” said GI Go Fund Executive Director Jack Fanous. “They have always been individuals that mothers and fathers could rely on to set a positive example for their children. This Memorial Day, teachers around the country have set the example to our nation’s children that this holiday is more than just the first weekend of summer, and more than the year’s first barbecue. It is a day to remember the men and women who have fought and died to preserve our liberties, our freedoms, and the American way of life.” [Read more…]

Memorial Day ceremony honors 181 Anderson County residents who died in conflicts

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anderson County Memorial Day Wreath-laying

From left, Anderson County Veteran Services Director Leon Jaquet, Mayor Terry Frank, and Tennessee Rep. John Ragan take part in a Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony on Monday at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

 

CLINTON—More than 100 Anderson County residents have died in conflicts from the Revolutionary War more than 200 years ago to the ongoing war on terrorism and battles in Afghanistan, a county official said during a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday.

Those 181 heroes are remembered and their names inscribed on the Veterans Memorial at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton, Veteran Services Director Leon Jaquet said.

“We gather here today in remembrance of our nation’s heroes, especially our county’s heroes who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in support of this nation’s agenda throughout the world,” Jaquet said. “Our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters who served this country to protect our freedoms and wrote that final check with their lives in support of freedom and democracy.”

Jaquet recognized guests at Monday’s ceremony, including Glen and Amy Morris, parents of Staff Sgt. Daniel Morris, who was killed in Iraq in 2006, and Gerald and Kathy Hovater, parents of Cpl. Jason Hovater, who died in Afghanistan in 2008.

“We remember the 1.3 million Americans who have made the supreme sacrifice during this nation’s wars, from the Revolutionary War to the continued War on Terrorism and Afghanistan,” Jaquet said. [Read more…]

Guest column: Memorial Day thoughts

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

John Ragan

John Ragan

The Memorial Day holiday approaches this year as it has every year since the end of the Civil War. In our media, the tourist industry eagerly touts it as the “unofficial beginning of summer.”

Indeed, Tennessee’s weather usually makes the long-planned family picnics and outings to resorts balmy, if not hot. Warm weather makes a great reason to visit the lake, take in a ball game, or some other favorite relaxation. Alternatively, it is good excuse to invite family and friends over for backyard barbecue parties or some other festivity.

This spot on the calendar is also convenient to celebrate high school or college graduations. Perhaps, some of us use the holiday as an extra day in vacation plans. All of this has become a happy part of the American culture.

Generally, on Memorial Day, Americans delight in the cultural blessings of “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Unfortunately, in our zeal to enjoy the day, too many of us easily forget the meaning behind the name of the holiday. It has not always been so. [Read more…]

Anderson Sheriff taking part in Click It or Ticket, sobriety checkpoint

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Click It or Ticket Day and Night

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will take part in the Click It or Ticket-National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization by conducting saturation patrols during this Memorial Day holiday period, a press release said.

A sobriety checkpoint will also be held the evening of Friday, May 23, on Tri-County Boulevard in Oliver Springs. This will be a multi-agency effort sponsored by the Oliver Springs Police Department and the Governor’s Highway Safety Office.

The Click It or Ticket-National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization runs from May 19 through June 1, the press release said. [Read more…]

Clinton trash collection one day late during holiday week

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The weekly household trash collection in Clinton will be running one day late next week, the week of Memorial Day (May 25-31).

Anderson County Memorial Day ceremony on Monday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Memorial Day Ceremony

Anderson County Veterans Service Officer Leon Jaquet says Memorial Day is for honoring military personnel who have died in the nation’s wars. (File photo/May 2012)

Anderson County Veterans Services Director Leon Jaquet has announced plans for the county’s sixth annual Memorial Day ceremony. The annual event will be held on Monday, May 26—Memorial Day—at 10 a.m. rain or shine in front of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

The ceremony will include a wreath-laying at the Veterans Memorial in front of the Courthouse in Clinton as well as remarks from Tennessee Rep. John Ragan.

In a press release, Jaquet said the ceremony is held each year “to pay tribute to the men and women of the U.S. military who have given of their lives to protect the freedoms we all enjoy everyday.

“The day itself is sacred and war veterans need no reminder of the reason for it, but what about the general public, and more importantly the next generations? Do non-veterans really recognize and understand the importance of a day honoring their fellow Americans killed in wars around the world? Sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance. Everyone is invited to attend and show their support of our military past, present and future.”