Oak Ridge Today

Death penalty forum set for Sunday

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Sabrina Butler Smith

A virtual community forum on “Race, Wrongful Conviction, and the Death Penalty” will be held at 4 p.m., Sunday, October 25.

A focus will be on the planned execution of Pervis Payne, scheduled for December 3 in Nashville. He is a Black man with an intellectual disability and son of a highly respected pastor, a press release said.

The speakers will be Rolanda Holman, Payne’s sister, who will describe the circumstances surrounding his case and the push for DNA testing and commutation of his sentence; Sabrina Butler Smith, exoneree from Mississippi’s death row and Memphis resident, who will connect issues from her case to those in Payne’s case and the broader realities of racial injustice inherent in the death penalty; and the Reverend Stacy Rector, executive director of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, who will reflect on current issues raised by the death penalty, particularly as they relate to race and wrongful conviction, the press release said. [Read more…]

Kids Count 5k is Saturday in Oak Ridge

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Child Advocacy Center of Anderson County Kids Count 5k

Photo courtesy Child Advocacy Center of Anderson County

 

The 2015 Kids Count 5k!, a competitive road race to benefit the Child Advocacy Center of Anderson County, is Saturday in Oak Ridge.

The Child Advocacy Center of Anderson County is a nonprofit agency, and all proceeds will be used to provide services for abused children at the center, a press release said.

The 5k course starts and ends on the far south end of the marina peninsula at 697 Melton Lake Drive in Oak Ridge.

The race starts at 8 a.m. Plan to be there earlier to pick up your packet, or if you are registering that day, the release said. Onsite registration will start at 7 a.m. and close at 7:45 a.m. Packets and registration will be available at the marina pavilion. [Read more…]

One legally blind, the other in a wheelchair, racing duo trains for marathon Sunday

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Melissa Peplow and Vicky Wallace at Oak Ridge Marina on Oct. 21, 2015

Melissa Peplow, left, is legally blind, and Vicky Wallace, in wheelchair, has lost use of the left side of her body after four strokes. But together the two compete in running races. Here they train at the Oak Ridge Marina. On Sunday, they’ll compete in the 40th Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One running partner is legally blind. The other has had four strokes and lost control of the left side of her body.

But together, they’ve formed a racing duo that’s competed in 5ks, 10ks, 15ks, and half-marathons.

This weekend, the duo, Melissa Peplow and Vicky Wallace, will compete in the their longest race yet, a full marathon. It’s the 40th Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday in Washington, D.C.

Peplow is legally blind. She runs behind Wallace’s wheelchair and helps push it.

Wallace’s left side is paralyzed. She helps navigate and uses her right hand to help push her wheelchair, and her right leg to help pull it.

The two competed in back-to-back half-marathons in East Tennessee last November, racing in Farragut on a Saturday and then in Alcoa on a Sunday.

Wallace, who is co-owner of J&M Butcher Shop in Oak Ridge, keeps a sticker-box checklist of the races they’ve completed (5k, 10k, 15k, 13.1 (half-marathon)) on the back of her SUV. One box remains unchecked: 26.2. That’s short for 26.2 miles, the length of a marathon.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge resident wins Bojangles’ racing sweepstakes, receives $35,000 cash

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From left to right are three members of Nancy Witick's family; Ken Reynolds, director of field marketing for Bojangles'; Nancy Witick, center; Clifton Rutledge, Bojangles’ president and CEO; John Gibson, from Streetside Classics; and Bojangles’ mascot “Big Bo.” (Photo courtesy Bojangles')

From left to right are three members of Nancy Witick’s family; Ken Reynolds, director of field marketing for Bojangles’; Nancy Witick; Clifton Rutledge, Bojangles’ president and CEO; John Gibson, from Streetside Classics; and Bojangles’ mascot “Big Bo.” (Photo courtesy Bojangles’)

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Oak Ridge resident Nancy Witick was the grand prize winner of the Bojangles’ Southern 500 “Drivers Start Your Engines” Sweepstakes, and she received $35,000 cash, Bojangles’ Inc. announced Sunday.

Witick also received a weekend race experience at the Bojangles’ Southern 500 that included premium race tickets and a four-day, three-night hotel stay for her and three guests, a press release said.

Bojangles’ is the title sponsor of South Carolina’s only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.  From July 13 through August 23, Bojangles’ gave race fans a chance to win a retro-classic car or $35,000 cash by entering a unique sweepstakes entry code at www.WinWithBo.com. [Read more…]

Free film on Friday looks at racial injustice, unconscious bias, prejudice

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Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

A PBS film that looks at recognizing racial injustice and unconscious bias, bigotry, and prejudice will be shown at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church on Friday.

The community is invited to join the ORUUC group Allies for Racial Equity for the free viewing of the PBS film “American Denial,” a press release said.

The showing will start at 7 p.m. Friday, May 15, in the Social Hall of the church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

Following the film there will be time for a guided conversation. The event will last until 9 p.m. [Read more…]

Suck It Up Buttercup KTM 5k is Sunday, May 3

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The Suck It Up Buttercup KTM 5k is Sunday, May 3, in Oak Ridge.

The race is in memory of Kerry Trammell. Proceeds from the 2015 race will go to the Aven Crane Cancer Foundation and the Colton Stout Scholarship Foundation.

Th race starts at 8 a.m. May 3 on the peninsula of the Oak Ridge Marina on Melton Lake Drive. [Read more…]

First Oak Ridge Schools on the Run 5k is Saturday, March 21

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The first Oak Ridge Schools on the Run 5k is on Saturday, March 21. Organizers want to make it an annual event.

The 5k is sponsored by Oak Ridge Schools Office of Coordinated School Health. The race will take place on March 21 at Melton Lake Park. Race-day registration will open at 6:30 a.m. at the Melton Lake Pavilion, and the race will begin promptly at 8 a.m. Organizers encourage race participants to arrive about 30 minutes before the start of the race to ensure smooth registration.

Registration is $10 for students and $20 for school and city employees, and standard registration is $25. The price includes a race‐day T‐shirt and a participation ribbon. [Read more…]

First Oak Ridge Schools on the Run 5k scheduled for March

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Oak Ridge Schools Logo

The first Oak Ridge Schools on the Run 5K is scheduled for March 21, organizers said.

“Come join the schools, city, and community of Oak Ridge in their first annual 5k,” the Oak Ridge Track Club said in a notice posted on its website. “The race will be held at the beautiful Melton Lake Park!”

The standard registration is $25. It’s $20 for school and municipal employees, and $10 for students. [Read more…]

Discount offered for Secret City 5k, Half Marathon

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Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau-logo

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau is offering a limited-time discount to the next 100 runners who register for either the Secret City 5k or the Secret City Half Marathon to be held November 29 and 30. With a few weeks left before the race, runners and walkers are encouraged to lace up their running shoes and sign up soon to participate in one of these great family-friendly athletic events in Oak Ridge.

Runners who take advantage of this discount are eligible for $10 off the Half Marathon using coupon code SPY10 or $5 off the 5k using coupon code SPY5. This discount expires on or before November 15. [Read more…]

Youth Turkey Trot on Tuesday

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The Oak Ridge Track Club youth program will hold its annual Youth Turkey Trot on Tuesday, November 4.

This is a fun race for children from kindergarten to fifth grade, a press release said.

The children will be divided into three groups: K-1, 2-3, and 4-5, each running a one-mile race. The K-1st grade race will start at 4:30 p.m., with the other grades following.

There is a cost of $5 per athlete.

Wildcats cross country: Great result in only second race

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Boys Varsity at McCallie Invitational

The Oak Ridge Wildcats boys varsity team is pictured above in September at the McCallie Invitational in Chattanooga. (File photos/Photos by Nichole Zawiswa)

 

CARY, N.C.—The Great American Cross Country Festival is the largest and most competitive cross country meet in the Southeast. This year’s event included US #2 LaSalle, Rhode Island, as well as most of the top 15 teams in the Southeastern United States. The top event is the Race of Champions, and the meet includes several other varsity and junior varsity events.

The Oak Ridge girls were in the Seeded Invitational, while the boys got a last-minute invitation to the top-level Race of Champions. The Cross Country festival was in Cary, North Carolina, this past weekend.

The Wildcats’ best result of the day came in the ROC, where the boys finished 11th of 21 really competitive teams. LaSalle won with 132 points. Daniel Boone (Tennessee) was third with 144 and Brentwood (Tennessee) fifth with 216. Oak Ridge scored 291. The Wildcats set a school record for fastest team average on a 5K course at 16:18.

“Great result for us in only our second race of the season,” Oak Ridge cross country coach Allen Etheridge said. “Most of these teams have run between five to eight races this season and are race sharp already. That’s going to take us a few more races, which is fine. We ran well today and lined up well with our Tennessee competition.” [Read more…]

Ninja 5K Race to support Wounded Warriors, Graduation Celebration

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Ninja 5K Race Logo

Registration is now open for the inaugural Ninja 5K race coming to Oak Ridge on June 28. Organizers said the race was created to raise funds for our local Graduation Celebration event, while also supporting the Wounded Warriors Project.

The Ninja 5K is a 3.1-mile race and walk that is planned for the Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. The race course is very flat and accessible for all ages and abilities, a press release said. The race will be timed, but both runners and walkers are encouraged to participate.

“Martial arts groups will be on hand doing demonstrations, and everyone is encouraged to dress up ninja-style for the event,” a release stated. “Events like this one are sweeping the country because people are looking for something fun to do as a family. We hope to see the whole family dressed out in martial arts uniforms, or as Ninja Turtles, Karate Kid, Kung Fu Panda, etc.” [Read more…]