Oak Ridge Today

Senior Center offers free guitar lessons

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Guitar Intermediate Class

Free guitar lessons for senior citizens will begin with an orientation class on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, at 9 a.m. at the Oak Ridge Senior Center, which was recently relocated to the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. This is a picture of last year’s intermediate guitar class. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

Free guitar lessons for senior citizens will begin with an orientation class on Friday, February 24, at 9 a.m. at the Oak Ridge Senior Center, which was recently relocated to the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Regular classes will begin the following Friday, March 3, and are open to area seniors ages 50 and older. All levels of guitar players are welcome. Beginner’s lessons start at 9 a.m., with intermediate lessons following. Bass guitar lessons are also included. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Senior Center opens in new location with chili cook-off

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Senior Center Chili Cook-Off

The Oak Ridge Senior Center welcomed guests to its new temporary location at the Civic Center with a free Chili Cook-Off on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Senior Center welcomed guests to its new temporary location at the Civic Center with a free Chili Cook-Off on Monday, January 30.

Around 70 people sampled chili and soup from area restaurants and assisted living facilities, a press release said. Participants providing food included Brookdale Senior Living, Greenfield Senior Living, Canterfield Assisted Living, Morning Pointe of Clinton, The Soup Kitchen, Pizza Inn, and Razzleberry Lab.

Lunch guests were able to check out the Senior Center’s new facility inside the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Oak Ridge Turnpike and register for door prizes before sampling and voting for their favorite dish, the press release said. The winner was chili from Greenfield Senior Living, represented by Leah Dailey and Mark Roseberry. [Read more…]

Council to discuss new ‘city blueprint,’ golf course, building moves on Tuesday

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The Oak Ridge City Council is scheduled to discuss on Tuesday evening a new long-range development plan, or “city blueprint”; the city-owned Tennessee Centennial Golf Course; and moves of the administrative offices of the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department and the Oak Ridge Senior Center.

The Tuesday evening meeting is an Oak Ridge City Council work session. It starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 17, in the Multipurpose Room at the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane. See the agenda here.

Learn more about a January 26 kickoff meeting for the city blueprint here. That’s a public meeting that starts at 4 p.m. at High Places Community Church in Grove Center. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Senior Center moving to Civic Center this month

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Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

 

The Oak Ridge Senior Center will move to the Oak Ridge Civic Center this month, officials said Thursday.

The Senior Center will be open at its current site on Emory Valley Road through Saturday, January 21, the City of Oak Ridge said in a Thursday press release.

The Senior Center will move to the Civic Center Recreation Building during the week of January 23 to January 28, and it will be closed to the public. [Read more…]

Senior Advisory Board to continue discussing move to Civic Center

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The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board on Monday is scheduled to continue discussing the move of the Oak Ridge Senior Center to the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. Monday, January 9, in Room 54 of the Senior Center, which is at 728 Emory Valley Road.

See previous story here.

Senior Center moving into Civic Center

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The current Oak Ridge Senior Center on Emory Valley Road. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The current Oak Ridge Senior Center in a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road in central Oak Ridge. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

A new target date has been set for the Oak Ridge Senior Center’s temporary transition to the Civic Center on the Oak Ridge Turnpike. Recreation and Parks Department Director Jon Hetrick says they now expect to begin the move in January.

Senior Center activities will then be held in a wing of the Civic Center near the indoor pool facility. Part of the area currently houses administrative offices for Recreation and Parks employees. Most of those employees will relocate to the Scarboro Center while a city-owned building on Badger Avenue is undergoing minor renovations. Once changes to that building, the former Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, are complete, staff will move into the Badger Avenue location permanently.

An architectural firm retained by the city is working on plans for a brand new Senior Center. The aim is to locate it on the same property with the Civic Center. [Read more…]

Senior Center Holiday Reception to be held at Oak Ridge Civic Center Gymnasium

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senior-center-holiday-reception

The Senior Center Holiday Reception is pictured above in 2014. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Senior Center is having a Holiday Reception for area senior citizens on Friday, December 9. This year, the party will be held in the Oak Ridge Civic Center’s gymnasium located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

“Come join us between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. for a light lunch of sandwiches, chips, and cookies, as well as holiday music and fellowship,” a press release said. “The Senior Center guitar group will be playing live Christmas music. Bingo will be offered and door prizes given away. Goodie bags will also be given out while they last.” [Read more…]

City manager to discuss pending Senior Center move to Civic Center on Nov. 21

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will discuss the pending move of the Senior Center to the Civic Center during a November 21 meeting.

It’s a special work session of the Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board, and it’s scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday, November 21, in Room 54 of the Senior Center on Emory Valley Road.

The Senior Advisory Board recommended earlier this year that the Oak Ridge Senior Center be located at the Civic Center and Alvin K. Bissell Park.

The Oak Ridge Senior Center is currently located in a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road. It’s been there since 1999. [Read more…]

Free tech assistance offered at Oak Ridge Senior Center

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The Oak Ridge Senior Center will soon be offering free classes for area seniors to get assistance with personal electronic devices such as tablets, laptops, and smart phones, a press release said.

There are two programs that will be offered: Tech Savvy Saturdays, a drop-in program offered by local students, and an individual class offered through the East Tennessee Human Resources Agency, or ETHRA. [Read more…]

Council to discuss city marketing, eighth rowing lane, housing, Main Street

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SIRA-Regatta-April-17-2016-6

Officials and referees monitor races on the seven-lane rowing course at the 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday will discuss city marketing, the potential eighth lane at the rowing course, housing, and Main Street Oak Ridge.

The issues will be discussed during a non-voting work session of the Oak Ridge City Council at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 19, in the Multipurpose Room of the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane, which is behind the Kmart shopping center.

There are other agenda items that could also be discussed: pending U.S. Department of Energy projects and public comment requests, and updates on the Oak Ridge Senior Center and Friendship Bell.

The report on visitation marketing will be presented by Marc DeRose, executive director of Explore Oak Ridge (the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau). [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Senior Center hosts Classic Car Cruise In on Saturday

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2016 Cruise-In

The Oak Ridge Senior Center, in partnership with the Fast and Classy Car Club, is hosting the first Classic Car Cruise In and Open House at the Oak Ridge Senior Center. The event will be held on Saturday, June 25, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Please join us in admiring all the hard work that has been put into restoring these beautiful pieces of history,” a press release said.

Hot dogs and drinks will be available for $1 each while supplies last, the press release said. [Read more…]

Council approves budget with no tax increase, more money for schools

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Note: This story was last updated at 12:15 a.m.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved a budget on Monday that does not include a property tax rate increase, but it does include more money for schools and it anticipates increases in the trash fee and water and sewer rates.

The budget passed in a 6-1 vote in the first of two readings this month. The second and final reading is Monday, June 13.

Council rejected one motion to lower the $2.52 property tax rate by 4.4 cents and another to take away the additional $538,048 requested by Oak Ridge Schools and put it into the capital fund instead.

The budget does not increase the property tax rate for the ninth year in a row. After five-year reappraisals last year, the rate is now set at $2.52 per $100 of assessed value.

As approved on first reading Monday, the budget includes a 3 percent pay adjustment that will move municipal employees along their pay scales, helping to separate those who have worked for the city for a while from those who have just started. The school budget, which was approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education in May, also includes 3 percent salary increases. [Read more…]