Oak Ridge Today

City move could add another police officer to Oak Ridge Schools

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Oak Ridge High School

The number of reported crimes is down at Oak Ridge High School since police officers were given office space there in August, and a move recommended by city administrators could add another school resource officer in the Oak Ridge school system.

The number of reported crimes is down at Oak Ridge High School since police officers were given office space there in August, and a move recommended by city administrators could add another school resource officer in the Oak Ridge school system.

It’s part of a program to improve student safety and use law enforcement to reduce unacceptable student behaviors, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson and Police Chief Jim Akagi said.

Oak Ridge Schools now have one school resource officer, or SRO. There have been discussions about adding more officers, especially since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012, but funding has been an obstacle.

On Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council will consider a resolution that would allow the Oak Ridge Police Department to hire an extra police officer, exceeding its authorized personnel staffing levels, in order to assign an existing police officer as an SRO. There have been proposals to add more—in December, City Council member Trina Baughn proposed one at each of the city’s two middle schools—but Watson and Akagi are recommending one additional officer now. [Read more…]

Weather: Anderson, Roane schools closed Tuesday, Lunch with League canceled

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Anderson and Roane county schools will also be closed Tuesday due to hazardous road conditions, record low temperatures, and negative wind chills.

As reported earlier, students at Oak Ridge Schools will not return from Winter Break on Tuesday, but will instead start on Wednesday.

The Lunch with the League scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled due to the cold weather.

Anderson County Schools said its Central Office staff will follow bad weather procedures. Roane County Schools said the Central Office staff will report to work at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Wind chill values Monday night could range from -3 in Chattanooga to -16 in Oneida, with the forecast calling for -9 in Knoxville, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown. Wind chill values near Oak Ridge are forecast to range between -7 and -12.

Oak Ridge Schools opening delayed to Wednesday, press conference rescheduled

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Dangerously Cold Wind Chills

Students at Oak Ridge Schools will return to class on Wednesday, rather than Tuesday, and the Keys to College press conference that had been scheduled for Monday afternoon has been rescheduled due to the weather. And the Anderson County Schools Central Office is closed Monday, officials said.

As reported earlier, Roane County Schools are closed Monday.

The Oak Ridge Schools’ press conference on the Keys to College and Career Readiness program has been rescheduled to 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Oak Ridge High School lobby. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools have Monday press conference on Keys to College and Career Readiness

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers and his staff will have a Monday afternoon press conference on a program called the Keys to College and Career Readiness.

The press conference starts at 2 p.m. Monday in the Oak Ridge High School lobby. (Update: This press conference has been rescheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday due to the weather.)

“Improving the college and career readiness of all Oak Ridge students will provide for a better foundation of knowledge and skills, allowing them to be prepared for a more technologically sophisticated and internationally competitive working world,” a press release said.

The Keys to College and Career Readiness program was developed by interviewing and surveying Oak Ridge students, parents, staff, and community during a three-month period the release said. More than 1,400 responses were logged and shaped into the seven “keys.” The keys will be used to drive school and district initiatives for the coming years, the release said.

Snow, bitter cold from Sunday night through Tuesday; some schools closed

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Weather forecasters are calling for snow and bitterly cold conditions across the region from Sunday night through Tuesday, and they said Monday night could be the coldest night in more than 10 years.

The National Weather Service in Morristown said a cold front will approach the area Sunday night, and rain will transition to snow in the late evening, with arctic air moving in behind the front.

Low temperatures from Monday night into Tuesday will range from -6 degrees Fahrenheit to around 5 degrees across the region. Dangerously cold wind chills are expected Monday through Tuesday morning. Wind chills will drop to 15 to 25 degrees below zero across the plateau and mountains, and between 5 and 15 degrees below zero over the valley. [Read more…]

Y-12 Community Relations Council adds members

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers, Veronica O’Hearn, and John W. Smith have joined the Y-12 Community Relations Council. The volunteer group is comprised of 29 community and business leaders who are charged with helping to exchange information between Y-12’s management team and the Oak Ridge and East Tennessee region. The new members were selected by the CRC membership, a press release said.

“B&W Y-12 launched the Community Relations Council in 2002 because we understand the importance of having a strong relationship with our neighbors in and around the Oak Ridge area,” said Bill Reis, B&W Y-12’s vice president of public and government affairs. “We work hard to keep the group updated on the projects/programs and activities at Y-12 and look to them to provide us feedback from the community and to serve as ambassadors for Y-12. It’s a wonderful partnership, and we appreciate each and every one of the CRC members for their commitment to Y-12 and the community.”

B&W Y-12 operates the Y-12 National Security Complex for the National Nuclear Security Administration. [Read more…]

Stolen, loaded gun seized from student’s car at ORHS; knife seized in separate incident

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Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

A stolen, loaded .357 magnum revolver was seized from the car of a student who had been causing a disturbance at Oak Ridge High School on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

Police officers also found marijuana packaged for resale and suspected drug money exceeding $950 in the car of the unidentified 17-year-old male, who was arrested and taken to Juvenile Court in Clinton, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

In a separate incident earlier Wednesday afternoon, a folding stainless steel knife was seized from a male high school student during an altercation on a school bus.

Police were investigating that incident, reported to have occurred at about 2:47 p.m. Wednesday, when ORPD School Resource Officer Sherrill Selby was sent to the high school in response to a juvenile student causing a disturbance during a disciplinary meeting with high school staff. Selby and the staff learned that the boy could be armed or have a weapon in his car. Selby detained him in the disciplinary hearing and called for backup. [Read more…]

Fund forming to help family after student’s death as counselors meet with classmates

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Linden Elementary School

Linden Elementary School is pictured above.

Counselors met with students at Linden Elementary School this morning, and a parent-teacher organization is forming a fund to accept donations to help the family of a third-grader who died Tuesday, an official said.

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said there were five counselors from elementary and middle schools, and the school psychologist who serves Linden, at the west-end elementary school this morning.

“They have met with students who appeared upset or anxious,” Borchers said in a Wednesday afternoon e-mail. “I will tell you, though, it has been remarkably calm in my opinion.”

The boy was found unresponsive on a school bus on Wilberforce Avenue at about 4:10 p.m. Tuesday. An ambulance took him to Methodist Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The boy has not been identified, and the cause of his death has not been determined. [Read more…]

Linden student becomes unresponsive on bus, pronounced dead at hospital

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Linden Elementary School

Linden Elementary School is pictured above.

A Linden Elementary School student who became unresponsive on the bus ride home Tuesday afternoon was later pronounced dead at Methodist Medical Center, school officials said Tuesday evening.

“It is a very sad day for Linden Elementary, Oak Ridge Schools, and the entire Oak Ridge community,” Oak Ridge Schools said in a press release. “The thoughts and prayers of the Linden and Oak Ridge Schools’ staff go out to the family. The student was a wonderful student who was a Lion through and through.

“Please join us in keeping his family, friends, and the entire Linden Elementary School family in your thoughts and prayers during this most difficult time.”

Linden Elementary School will provide grief counselors at the school on Wednesday to help students, parents, and friends deal with their thoughts and feelings associated with this loss, the release said.

The boy was not identified.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Oak Ridge Schools students, staff increase United Way donations by more than 25 percent

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Oak Ridge Schools Donate to United Way

Michael Mott, second from left, was the winner of the grand prize of a weekend getaway donated by United Way of Anderson County Loaned Executive Becky Hook, a retired Oak Ridge teacher. Mott is pictured above with Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers, right, and Principal Bruce Lay, left, and Rick Morrow, UWAC executive director. (Submitted photo)

Students and staff in the Oak Ridge School system increased their contributions to this year’s United Way of Anderson County campaign by more than 25 percent, an official said.

“We are excited to be able to give back to our community,” said Bruce Borchers, Oak Ridge School superintendent. “This is a great community to be part of.”

“To see an increase during these very challenging times really means a lot,” said Rick Morrow, UWAC executive director. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots have ‘Tech or Treat’ on Friday

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Spook-Tech-Ular!

The Secret City Wildbots are hosting the first annual Tech or Treat at Oak Ridge High School on Friday evening. (Submitted image)

The Secret City Wildbots are hosting the first annual Tech or Treat at Oak Ridge High School on Friday evening.

Tech or Treat will support STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in Oak Ridge Schools and the surrounding areas.

Tech or Treat is similar to trunk or treat. STEM-related clubs and teams from around the area will set up booths in the Oak Ridge High School Cafeteria and hand out candy to community trick-or-treaters. There will even be special guests from technology research companies in the area, a press release said. [Read more…]

Five confirmed bullying cases in Oak Ridge last year, state report says

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Oak Ridge Schools School Administration Building

Oak Ridge Schools reported five confirmed cases of bullying in the 2012-2013 school year. The Oak Ridge Schools’ School Administration Building is pictured above.

There were five confirmed cases of bullying in Oak Ridge Schools last year, a number that is much lower than in many other school districts across the state and in some other nearby districts.

The numbers were reported in a new, first-of-its kind report that said there were 7,555 reported cases of bullying in Tennessee schools last year. Nearly 73 percent of them—or 5,478 cases—were confirmed after investigation.

The report said Oak Ridge Schools had 14 bullying cases reported in the 2012-2013 school year, but only five were confirmed after investigation. All five of those were related to sex or gender discrimination, the report said. [Read more…]