Oak Ridge Today

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 [email protected].

Letter: Encourages candidate forum groups, objects to ‘harassment’

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While state and federal elections (at least here in Oak Ridge) are somewhat uninspiring this year, with many races either uncontested or practically so, our municipal election has drawn an unusually high number of candidates. That there are several open seats where incumbents chose not to run—two on City Council and two on the Board of Education—is probably the reason for the larger number of candidates.

Ten are running for four seats on City Council, while eight are competing for three seats on the Board of Education.

The League of Women Voters is doing its usual outstanding job of hosting candidate forums, but despite standing-room-only attendance at the first of those, it’s inevitable that not everyone was able to attend. Fortunately, several other interested groups have also scheduled candidate forums or meet-and-greet events: the Oak Ridge Schools’ PTA/PTO Council, the Chamber of Commerce, and Democracy for East Tennessee.

It’s important to get to know the people who seek to represent you, to hear their views on issues of interest, and to see how they respond to questions.

Unfortunately, one member of Council who is not up for election this year is seeking to eliminate some of these opportunities, based on the fact that they’re scheduled to be held on city property. The Chamber of Commerce is situated on land leased from the city, although they own the building. The PTA/PTO forums will be held at Oak Ridge High School, and have been promoted through the schools (as most PTA/PTO activities are). [Read more…]

Family, friends remember Cub Scout who wanted to be a police officer

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Treí-Roan Vann and Football Trophy

Treí-Roan Vann is pictured above with a second-place football trophy in the Boys Club VFC Conference on Oct. 26. (Photo courtesy Crist Vann)

Like his older brother David, Treí-Roan Vann wanted to be a police officer when he grew up. He also wanted to play soccer this year. He never got the chance to do either.

Treí, a third-grade student at Linden Elementary School, was found unresponsive on his school bus at about 4:10 p.m. Tuesday near his home on Wilberforce Avenue. He was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

His father Crist Vann said Treí, as he was called, was a very good eight-year-old.

“He didn’t get into too many problems,” Vann said Wednesday night. “He was always concerned about people. He was always willing to lend a helping hand. He was always the life of the room.”

It’s not clear what happened to Treí on Tuesday.

“He went to school,” Crist Vann said. “Everybody at school said he was fine. On the way home, he was unresponsive. They thought he was asleep. They couldn’t bring him back.” [Read more…]