Oak Ridge Today

Children’s Museum presents Selma Shapiro Friend of the Child Award

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Nick Imperato accepts the Selma Shapiro Friend of the Child award presented posthumously to his wife, Pat Imperato, from Children’s Museum board member Suzan Bowman. (Submitted photo)

Nick Imperato accepts the Selma Shapiro Friend of the Child award presented posthumously to his wife, Pat Imperato, from Children’s Museum board member Suzan Bowman. (Submitted photo)

 

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge recently presented the first Selma Shapiro Friend of the Child award posthumously to Pat Imperato, a Museum board president and volunteer who gave generously of her time to many community organizations.

Imperato had a passion for community service and faced each day asking, “What can I do today to make this world a better place?” Museum board member Suzan Bowman related in presenting the award to Pat’s husband, Nick Imperato, at the Museum’s annual meeting.

“When she recruited me to be on this board, she told me that this Museum is one of the joys of her life,” Bowman said in presenting the award. “Pat gave so unselfishly of her time and energy to causes she believed in.”

The Shapiro family contributed $1,000 to the Museum in memory of Pat Imperato and in honor of the award. [Read more…]

Keep Anderson County Beautiful receives $20,000 grant

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keep-anderson-county-beautiful-grant-outdoor-chess-board-at-robertsville-middle-school-1

Keep Anderson County Beautiful, or KACB, is the recipient of a 2016 Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s Community Partners $20,000 grant. In mid-December, Keep Anderson County Beautiful said it is building an outdoor chess board at Robertsville Middle School as part of the grant. (Photo by Keep Anderson County Beautiful via Facebook)

 

Keep Anderson County Beautiful, or KACB, is the recipient of a 2016 Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s Community Partners $20,000 grant, a press release said. Keep Anderson County Beautiful announced on its Facebook page that it has building an outdoor chess board at Robertsville Middle School as part of the grant.

The KACB grant is being used to improve the landscaping at Robertsville Middle School, the press release said. The goal is to develop a pleasant campus with shade structures, benches, picnic tables, trees, and other vegetation.

In mid-December, Keep Anderson County Beautiful, a nonprofit, volunteer organization, announced on its Facebook page that it is building an outdoor chess board at Robertsville Middle School as part of the grant.

This is part of the first phase in a larger plan to make RMS a center of outdoor community activity, to enhance the students’ day-to-day lives, and to improve the campus by giving it a more park-like atmosphere and additional recreational sports areas, the press release said. [Read more…]

Tree workshop dedicated to Pat Imperato to be held at UT Arboretum

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University of Tennessee Arboretum fall scene (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

University of Tennessee Arboretum fall scene (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Pat Imperato

Pat Imperato

A tree workshop at the University of Tennessee Arboretum on Saturday, November 12, will be dedicated to Pat Imperato, a tireless champion of environmental issues, a press release said. Her advocacy was evident in her long history of contributions to the Oak Ridge Environmental Quality Advisory Board and Keep Anderson County Beautiful, the release said.

The workshop will be presented by the Oak Ridge Environmental Quality Advisory Board in partnership with the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center. It’s scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, November 12, at the UT Arboretum Auditorium, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Imperato, 69, died in October, but she spent the last several years spearheading work on a “Tree Plan” for Oak Ridge. Imperato was also an outspoken proponent for proper stewardship of city and private lands, and she was interested in community education and outreach, the press release said. [Read more…]

Earth Day Festival is April 25 at A.K. Bissell Park

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Earth Day

Pictured above is a special recycling event at Earth Day Festival.

Keep Anderson County Beautiful will host the eighth annual Earth Day festival in Oak Ridge on Saturday, April 25, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at A.K. Bissell Park.

East Tennessee residents living in or around Oak Ridge are invited to participate in the festival, organizers said. It features free activities and events that promote healthy living and environmental education, and that encourage individuals to create and contribute to a sustainable community.

Sponsored in major part by KACB and Leidos, Earth Day will feature outdoor games for children, music, healthy food vendors, exhibitors showcasing educational booths, an on-site scavenger hunt, and neighborhood games such as hopscotch, bocce, croquet, flying discs, ladder ball and a special reduce, reuse, recycle game. There will be a special area for preschool children. [Read more…]

Keep Anderson County Beautiful announces Earth Day collection numbers

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Keep Anderson County Beautiful Check Presentation

Pat Imperato, left, vice chair of Keep Anderson County Beautiful, presents a check for $150 to Sister Marie Blanchette and some seventh-grade students from St. Mary’s School for contributing the most number of shoes per student as part of the recent community shoe drive. (Submitted photo)

Keep Anderson County Beautiful has announced the total amount of materials collected, including electronics and shoes, during the recent 2014 Earth Day Festival in Oak Ridge.

“This is one of the best Earth Days that we have had in terms of materials collected and diverted from our landfill through recycling,” said Pam Turner, KACB president. “The community really embraced the meaning of Earth Day while enjoying a beautiful day in the outdoors playing old-fashioned neighborhood games.”

More than 36 volunteers helped to put on the event, which collected 7,531 pounds of electronics, 5,400 pounds of personal documents for shredding, 3,100 pairs of shoes, 540 pounds of books, 108 pairs of eye glasses, and 56 pounds of blankets and towels for the animal shelter. [Read more…]

Earth Day to feature free activities, events for healthy living, environmental education

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IJAMS Earth Day 2009

The IJAMS Nature Center booth is pictured above during Earth Day 2009. (File photo)

The seventh annual Earth Day festival will feature free activities and events that promote healthy living and environmental education, and encourage individuals to create and contribute to a sustainable community, a press release said.

The festival is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 26 at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge.

It’s hosted by Keep Anderson County Beautiful.

There will be a Trashformations art exhibit created by local area students made from recycled/found materials. There will also be outdoor games and races for children, a bike rodeo for kids, healthy food vendors, exhibitors showcasing educational booths, and neighborhood games such as hopscotch, bocce, croquet, flying discs, ladder ball, and a special reduce, reuse, recycle game. There will also be a special area for pre-school children. [Read more…]

Spotlight: Neighborhood Watch cleanup in Highland View

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Highland View Neighborhood Watch Cleanup

From left to right are Sharon Crane, Oak Ridge Community Resource Officer Brandan Sharp, Theresa Scott, Kenny Crane, and Neighborhood Watch Program President Brad Stephenson. (Submitted photos)

Submitted

Despite heavy rain Saturday, about 21 volunteers turned out to clean up trash in Highland View.

Here are two pictures provided by resident Theresa Scott, pictured at center in the photo at left.

Scott said Pizza Inn provided several pizzas for the volunteers, who also included Pat Imperato, Jerry Creasey, Whitey Hitchcock, Kay Williamson, and Mare Martell. [Read more…]