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Updated: ORHS principal leaving Oak Ridge, going to Greeneville

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Note: This story was updated at 10:20 a.m. Sept. 17.

Oak Ridge High School Principal Martin McDonald announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that he is leaving his job at ORHS and starting a new job at Greeneville High School in East Tennessee.

On Wednesday, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said McDonald will continue at ORHS through the end of the first term and will transition to his new role in Greeneville during the first weeks of October.

Neither McDonald nor Oak Ridge Schools said why the principal is leaving Oak Ridge.

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Oak Ridge celebrating 65th anniversary of school desegregation

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Four of the “Oak Ridge 85” students at a recent music event. From left to right are Larry Gipson (Oak Ridge 85), Eric Dozier (musician), Deloise Mitchell (Oak Ridge 85), Emma McCaskill (Oak Ridge 85), and Mary Guinn (Oak Ridge 85). (Photo by Barbara McCord)

Oak Ridge is celebrating the 65th anniversary of its school desegregation this weekend.

“Sixty-five years ago this September, 85 brave and dedicated young African American students entered all-white classrooms in the Oak Ridge High School and the Robertsville Junior High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in a historic school system desegregation,” organizers said in a press release.

It wasn’t the first public school desegregation in the nation, but organizers said it was the first public school desegregation in the Southeast.

“As such, it challenged the racist and sometimes dangerous Jim Crow culture,” the press release said. “This desegregation stands as an important milestone in American civil rights history.”

The anniversary events are being held with the Oak Ridge school system. Public participation in some events had to be scaled back because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Staff member at ORHS tests positive for COVID-19

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Oak Ridge High School

A staff member who was at Oak Ridge High School on Friday has tested positive for COVID-19, Oak Ridge Schools said Sunday.

The school system learned of the positive diagnosis on Saturday.

“Having this report Saturday morning allowed us to implement a 24-hour closure so we could thoroughly disinfect the building on Saturday,” Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to families. A second disinfectant fogging of the full building occurred on Sunday, Borchers said.

It’s the sixth overall COVID-19 case in Oak Ridge Schools and the fifth since July 15.

The other cases since July 15 involved a staff member who had been at Jefferson Middle School and ORHS, a staff member at JMS, a student at ORHS band camp, and an instructor at ORHS band camp.

In an earlier case in April, a staff member who had been volunteering at the school system’s food distribution sites tested positive for COVID-19.

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Oak Ridge Schools staff member tests positive for COVID-19

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Oak Ridge High School
The main entrance at Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

Note: This story was updated at 5 p.m.

An Oak Ridge Schools staff member who has been at Jefferson Middle School and Oak Ridge High School has tested positive for COVID-19, the school system said Wednesday.

It’s the fifth overall COVID-19 case in Oak Ridge Schools and the fourth in the past two weeks, since July 15.

The schools learned of the positive test result for the staff member on Wednesday. The staff member, who has not been publicly identified, had been at JMS and ORHS last Friday.

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Oak Ridge Schools announce third COVID-19 case

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Oak Ridge Schools on Tuesday announced a third COVID-19 case as schools prepare to resume this week.

A staff member at Jefferson Middle School has tested positive for the new disease, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to families and staff members.

The staff member, who will not be publicly identified, took a precautionary test, immediately started a voluntary quarantine, and learned of the positive test result Tuesday morning, Borchers said.

The superintendent’s letter did not say whether the staff member has had symptoms of COVID-19.

It’s the third COVID-19 case at Oak Ridge Schools in the past two weeks. The other two cases were of an instructor and student at Oak Ridge High School band camp.

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Band camp student tests positive for COVID-19

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A student at the Oak Ridge High School band camp last week tested positive for COVID-19 this week, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to community members Wednesday.

The student learned of the positive test result Tuesday night. The student did not report any symptoms before learning of the diagnosis, Borchers said. But before learning of the positive test result this week, the student had been in contact with other students and staff members during band camp through Tuesday of last week, Borchers said.

The student’s positive test result this week follows a positive test result of a band camp instructor last week. Neither the student nor the instructor are being publicly identified.

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ORHS band camp instructor tests positive for COVID-19

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Note: This story was updated at 5:45 p.m.

An instructor at the Oak Ridge High School band camp has tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to parents on Wednesday.

The band camp instructor, who worked with multiple students and staff members, had no symptoms before learning of the positive test result Wednesday morning, Borchers said.

The instructor, who isn’t being publicly identified, was immediately separated from the band camp and told to contact the appropriate county health department to report the diagnosis and ask for guidance, Borchers said.

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Peaceful protest, conversation about race planned Tuesday

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Marriah, right, and Ziyah march for Black Lives Matter on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on Sunday, May 31, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A peaceful protest and a conversation about race relations are scheduled for Tuesday in Oak Ridge.

The conversation about race relations in the United States and Oak Ridge is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday. It’s between Oak Ridge City Council member Derrick Hammond, who is a pastor; Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith; and local youth. You can watch it live on Facebook at the Oak Ridge Police Department page and on the Oak Valley Baptist Church website at oakvalleybc.com.

The peaceful protest is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of Wildcat Arena at Oak Ridge High School. Participants will make signs and shirts there. At 5 p.m., they plan to march to the International Friendship Bell at Alvin K. Bissell Park, organizer Trevor King said in a Facebook post.

The Oak Ridge Police Department will be there and will participate, although it’s not a city event. Smith will walk across the street with everyone, and he has been asked to speak, City of Oak Ridge spokesperson Lauren Gray said Monday.

King said everyone is welcome to attend Tuesday’s event.

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Drive-by graduation celebration at ORHS on Tuesday

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There will be a drive-by celebration to honor graduates at Oak Ridge High School this afternoon (Tuesday, May 26).

The drive-by celebration is scheduled from 3 to 3:30 p.m. on Providence Road. It’s a student-led event, not an official school event.

There are some rules for the celebration:

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Only those who meet CDC criteria can be tested Friday

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Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020, in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Only people who meet certain criteria can be tested for COVID-19 at Oak Ridge High School today (Friday, April 17).

The criteria, established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include only people with COVID-19 symptoms, first responders, health care workers, and patients who may have been exposed to the virus, the City of Oak Ridge said Thursday night.

COVID-19 symptoms include fever, cough, or shortness of breath. COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

Appointments for testing must be made online at KrogerHealth.com/COVIDtesting or by phone at (888) 837-8852.

If someone who meets CDC criteria is unable to register online or by phone, they can be registered on site, but they still need to meet the CDC criteria, the city said.

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Updated: Kroger Health testing all, regardless of symptoms

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Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020 in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. Note: Some people’s faces have been blurred in the photo above to protect patient privacy. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Friday update: Only people who meet certain criteria can be tested for COVID-19 at Oak Ridge High School today (Friday, April 17). See newer story here.

Kroger Health is now testing everyone at an Oak Ridge site, regardless of whether they show symptoms of COVID-19, a city spokesperson said Thursday morning.

The testing site opened at Oak Ridge High School on Wednesday morning, and it is open through Friday afternoon.

Initially, those who wanted to be tested had to have symptoms and meet testing criteria. Symptoms of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly, include fever, cough, or shortness of breath.

But the testing criteria changed after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Wednesday announced free testing for all Tennessee residents.

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COVID-19: Oak Ridge Schools cancel Safety Patrol trip

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Note: This story was updated at 5:35 p.m. March 15.

Oak Ridge Schools has cancelaed an elementary school Safety Patrol trip to Washington, D.C., but the Oak Ridge High School winter guard and percussion trip to Suwanee, Georgia, is still scheduled to occur.

Update: The WGI has canceled all future events, and the ORHS Indoor Percussion will not be traveling to Georgia. But they did perform at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Friday. It’s not clear if the status of the band and orchestra trip mentioned below has changed.

Regarding another trip, the Oak Ridge Board of Education did not vote in a meeting on Wednesday to cancel the ORHS band and orchestra trip to New York City at this time. But school officials plan to keep monitoring conditions in New York City.

The school board was considering the status of the trips because of concerns about COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.

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