Oak Ridge Today

Letter: Paine the right candidate for school board

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To the Editor:

We are writing this letter in support of Laurie Paine, who is running for the Oak Ridge Board of Education. We have two children who attended Oak Ridge schools and are now pursuing college educations. We feel Ms. Paine has many excellent qualities that she can offer to the community by serving on the Board of Education.

Among those qualities would be her educational and work background. Ms. Paine has experience in both accounting and project management. As a project manager for several companies, Ms. Paine has worked with large budgets. She was the senior project manager for one company. We know personally that Ms. Paine is familiar with the Oak Ridge Schools budget as she has done research and has attended BOE budget meetings in the past. The tools she has gained with her business experience will prove to be invaluable in the budget deliberation process and other financial decisions the BOE must vote on. If elected, Ms. Paine will see to it that ORS and the BOE have financial accountability and transparency.

Secondly, Ms. Paine cares about Oak Ridge children and wants to make them a priority. Ms. Paine states that currently 47 percent of Oak Ridge students come from financially disadvantaged families. She wants to ensure that these students and all Oak Ridge students are given equal opportunities in our school system. She will work to fairly allocate resources to benefit all students, and she especially wants to give hope and a voice to those children with limited financial resources. [Read more…]

Guest column: Candidate calls for enlightenment, trust, ‘unified team’

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Andy Howe

Andy Howe

By Andy Howe

Roughly 200,000 years ago the direct ancestor of modern man evolved in Africa when a small group of proto-humans adapted a genetic trait that previous forms of hominids only hinted at. This sub-species was capable of something never seen before—forward-thinking imagination. Our brains were changed to “fill in the gaps” on a conceptual level. It allowed us to invent complex tools and to plan for the future. Since then, we haven’t changed much.

Despite the belief that we are unique in the animal kingdom because we are lead not by our instincts but by our logic, the reality differs. The core of our nature is actually emotional and instinctual—our higher-order thinking skills only allow us to counter our more base reactions.

Studies have shown that people in groups tend to lose touch with their individual morals and principles. Biologically, part of our brain simply shuts down. We choose a side and don’t consider other perspectives, we defend that side wholeheartedly against our perceived opponents without recognition that we may actually be our own worst enemy. These insights are crucial in understanding human nature on both an individual and group level. [Read more…]

Contractor, businessman seeking seat on City Council

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Rick Chinn

Rick Chinn

Rick Chinn, a lifetime resident of Oak Ridge, is seeking a seat on the Oak Ridge City Council in the upcoming November 4 election.

Chinn, who is a licensed contractor and local businessman, serves on a number of nonprofit boards and has been active as a civic leader in working to improve the quality of life for all Oak Ridge families, a press release said.

Chinn explained his reasons for seeking to serve on City Council.

“A lot of people in Oak Ridge have invested their time and energy over the years to help me better understand and appreciate how rewarding it is to live and work in Oak Ridge,” he said in the press release. “I have worked hard to continue that tradition of excellence by volunteering my time and resources over the past 20 years. I want to ensure that my children have the same opportunities in the future that have been provided to me. I am ready to work hard for the future of Oak Ridge.” [Read more…]

DFET: Meet the candidates on Thursday

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A local organization is sponsoring a Meet the Candidates event from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, October 9, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Gymnasium. It’s been organized by Democracy for East Tennessee, and residents of Anderson and surrounding counties are invited, a press release said.

Candidates for the following offices have been invited: Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Tennessee House of Representatives 33rd District, State Senate 5th District, 3rd U.S. Congressional District, and U.S. Senate.

The election is November 4. The October 9 event will offer residents a chance to become better informed and acquainted with candidates by meeting with them on an individual basis at a single event, a press release said. [Read more…]

Boys and Girls Club president running for School Board

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Aaron Wells

Aaron Wells

Aaron Wells, a lifelong Oak Ridger and president of the Boys and Girls Club of Oak Ridge, is running for Oak Ridge Board of Education in the November 4 municipal election, a press release said.

“Over the last two decades, I have spent countless hours coaching, mentoring, and fundraising for the youth in our town,” Wells said in the release. “After much prayer and discussion, my wife Melissa and I made the decision that I would run for school board.”

If elected, Wells said he will focus on achieving four priorities.

“First and foremost, I commit to truly listen to our teachers and integrate their feedback into all of my decisions,” Wells said. “Teachers are the lifeblood of our schools, and they know better than anyone how to make our students successful. We can no longer afford to ignore their invaluable feedback and concerns. The Board of Education must fight to restore to them the freedom they need to do what they do best—inspire and educate our children.” [Read more…]

Eby, school board vice chair, receives TSBA award

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Bob Eby TSBA Award

Bob Eby, vice chair of the Oak Ridge Board of Education, receives the TSBA Level IV Boardmanship Award during a recent district meeting in Newport, Tennessee. (Submitted photo)

Bob Eby, vice chair of the Oak Ridge Board of Education, was honored with a Boardmanship Award at a recent Tennessee School Boards Association meeting.

Eby received the Level IV Boardsmanship Award, which was presented by TSBA Executive Director Tammy Grissom during the Fall District meeting in Newport, Tennessee, a press release said.

To achieve the award, Bob accumulated more than 200 credits in various school board activities, including attending TSBA leadership conferences, policy workshops, summer law institutes, state and national conventions, and a TSBA “day on the Hill” in Nashville, and he met with state legislators, the release said. Eby also presented Oak Ridge school board activities at various conferences as well as to local civic groups.

The release said Eby has served as a judge for state school architectural competitions and as an evaluator of other school boards seeking to be recognized as Boards of Distinction as the Oak Ridge School Board is. Level IV also requires a self-evaluation of board activities completed by the candidate for the award.

Meet and greet with Paine at Cedar Hill on Monday

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Laurie Paine

Laurie Paine

There will be a meet-and-greet for Laurie Paine, a candidate for Oak Ridge Board of Education, at Cedar Hill Park at 6 p.m. Monday, October 6.

“Bring the kids for some fun!” a press release said. “With all the recent events happening in Oak Ridge, this is also a safety awareness event.”

Light finger foods will be offered along with free face painting for the children, the release said.

It said Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank will be attending as a guest.

Chamber has two candidate forums this week

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Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has two Election Selection candidate forums this week.

The first is Tuesday morning, September 30, and it will feature the 10 candidates for Oak Ridge City Council. The second is Thursday morning, October 2, and it will feature the eight candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education.

The forums have been organized by the Chamber’s Pro-Growth Advocacy Committee. They are open to the public.

Doors to both forums open at 7 a.m. There will be 30 minutes of meet-and-greet time among the candidates, Chamber members, supporters, community members, and attendees, a press release said. [Read more…]

Letter: Wells would bring conservative values, ethics to school board

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To the Editor:

Aaron Wells is holding a fundraiser this Thursday night, September 25, between 6 and 8 p.m. at Razzleberry’s in Jackson Square. He is running for a non-partisan seat on the Oak Ridge Board of Education. Congressman Fleischmann and Lawrence Hahn will be attending the event, and Anne and I would love to see you there.

Aaron values the importance of inspiring, high quality teachers in education. He wants to help Oak Ridge schools maintain their superb reputation in the future, especially since his own child will be going through this school system. [Read more…]

PTA-PTO Council has City Council, school board candidate forums

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David Bradshaw

David Bradshaw

The Oak Ridge parent-teacher associations and parent-teacher organizations have scheduled two candidate forums, which will focus on questions related to education.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education candidate forum will be held on Wednesday, October 1. The City Council candidate forum will be held on Wednesday, October 8.

Both forums will be held at the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater from 6 to 7:30 p.m. In each case, there will be a candidate meet and greet at 5:30 pm, and visitors will also have a chance to directly 
speak with candidates from 7:30 to 8 p.m., a press release said.

For more information, contact moderator David Bradshaw at oakridgeschoolsptaptos@gmail.com.

Chamber forms Progress PAC, two Council members seek legal action

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Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

Note: This story was updated at 10:30 a.m.

Two Oak Ridge City Council members have requested a special meeting this week to consider litigation against the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, seeking to prevent the business organization from conducting political activities on public property, including through a new political action committee.

The special meeting, which would be open to the public, has been requested by Oak Ridge City Council members Trina Baughn and Anne Garcia Garland. Baughn said she requested the meeting to “vote upon initiating litigation against the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce so that the city may seek either injunctive relief and/or a temporary restraining order with regards to their conducting political activities on public property.”

Stephen Whitson

Stephen Whitson

On Friday, the Chamber announced it had formed a political action committee named the Progress PAC. The multi-candidate PAC will support candidates in the November elections for Oak Ridge Board of Education and City Council, a press release said.

Stephen Whitson of Oak Ridge has been elected Progress PAC chair, and David Bradshaw, also of Oak Ridge, has been named treasurer. Both are past chairs of the Chamber’s Board of Directors.

In the press release, Whitson said the Progress PAC will only consider supporting candidates who respond to an issue-based written questionnaire and participate in an interview with Progress PAC members. [Read more…]