Oak Ridge Today

Groundbreaking for Friendship Bell Peace Pavilion is Thursday

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The new Peace Pavilion for the International Friendship Bell at Alvin K. Bissell Park will feature a cantilever design. (Submitted image)

The new Peace Pavilion for the International Friendship Bell at Alvin K. Bissell Park will feature a cantilever design. (Submitted image)

 

Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new International Friendship Bell Peace Pavilion will take place at 5 p.m. Thursday, September 21, at the bell’s new location in Alvin K. Bissell Park, just west of the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch will be master of ceremonies for the groundbreaking. The Oak Valley Baptist Church Choir will present a music program relating to the friendship and peace theme of the event. Pat Postma and Alan Tatum, co-chairs of the International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee, will take part in the ceremonies.

Major donors—including UT Battelle/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and CNS-Y-12—will participate in breaking ground for the new pavilion, a press release said.

The bell, created for Oak Ridge’s 50th birthday, is expected to bring its message of peace and friendship to the thousands of visitors expected at the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge, the press release said.. The new pavilion for the bell came about after city officials discovered that structural beams in the original bell house had severely deteriorated. [Read more…]

Girl Scouts host Peace Demonstration on Wednesday

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Becca Seay, right, and Daphne Seay, left, Junior Girl Scouts from Troop 20508 fold white peace doves as souvenirs of the Girl Scouts celebration of the UN's International Day of Peace. (Submitted photo)

Becca Seay, right, and Daphne Seay, left, Junior Girl Scouts from Troop 20508 fold white peace doves as souvenirs of the Girl Scouts celebration of the United Nation’s International Day of Peace. (Submitted photo)

 

Information and photos from Jerralyn Luckmann and Kay Brookshire

Oak Ridge Girl Scout Troops are planning a Peace Demonstration to celebrate the United NationՉ۪s International Day of Peace, at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21. Also known as World Peace Day, September 21 is a global observance, a day when nations around the world are invited to honor a cessation of hostilities.

To inaugurate the International Day of Peace, the “Peace Bell” is rung at the United Nations Headquarters. The bell was cast in Japan and made from coins donated by children from all continents. It bears the inscription “Long live absolute world peace.”

Girl Scouts from many Oak Ridge troops will gather at the Oak Ridge Friendship Bell, near the proposed location for the Peace Pavilion, which will house the new bell support structure. In the shadow of our own “Peace Bell,” the Girl Scouts will present a program of songs and peace quotes. Troop members are folding peace doves to distribute as keepsakes of the event. [Read more…]

Girl Scouts have recruitment event on Saturday

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Girl Scouts Troop 20509 Brownies

Brownies from Girl Scout Troop 20509 are, from left to right, Becca Seay, Daphne Seay, Kaitlynn Perkins, and Kayla Howard. They display the “stained glass butterflies” they completed to earn the Bug Badge. (Submitted photos)

 

Oak Ridge Girl Scouts and the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians are holding a recruitment event from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Oak Ridge Civic Center (Rooms A and B) on Saturday, September 13. All girls who would like to join Girl Scouts, the largest volunteer organization for girls and women in the world, are encouraged to come with their parents to the event, where they will be able to register to become a Girl Scout and find out more about scouting, a press release said.

The Oak Ridge Girl Scout service unit will have activities and information exhibits about girl scouting. The Oak Ridge  Girl Scouts are sponsoring a toy drive to benefit the Holiday Bureau and girls who bring new or gently used toys to donate will receive a “toy drive” service patch to wear on their GS uniform, the release said. [Read more…]

Meet Japanese Girl Scouts visitors on Thursday

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Japanese Girl Scouts Visitors

Naka Troop 37 Girl Scouts will visit Oak Ridge this month. Pictured above in front row from left to right are Aya Kusumi, Yuna Umino, Kaho Otsuki, Chiaki Sasashima, Ryoko Usui, Sumika Hara, and Ayaka Namatame.
Leaders in back from left to right are Michiyo Namba, Nozomi Takane, Shoko Oyake, Hatsue Kashimura, and Fujiko Fujisaku. (Submitted photos)

 

Submitted

The Oak Ridge Girl Scouts service unit, in cooperation with the Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization, will be hosting a group of 12 girls and leaders from our sister city of Naka-shi, Japan. Current Girl Scouts and girls interested in joining a Girl Scouts troop are invited to come meet our Japanese sisters and help with a local Girl Scout service project.

On Thursday, July 31, the Japanese girls and their U.S. hostesses will be cleaning and dressing dolls for the Holiday Bureau’s “Dolls for Daisy” project. This meeting will be at the Oak Ridge Children’s library auditorium from 7:30-8:30 p.m. Girls are invited to come help with the dolls, welcome the Japanese Girl Scouts, and register for local troops for the upcoming school year. [Read more…]