Oak Ridge Today

Roane board to discuss school consolidation plans this evening

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Roane County School Board will have a work session at 6:30 p.m. today (Thursday, April 6) to revisit an earlier decision to begin the process of consolidating the five high schools in Roane County into one larger school.

The work session will be in the auditorium of Roane County High School in Kingston.

The board is meeting at the high school due to what is expected to be a large crowd. The proposal to consolidate the high schools has met with vocal resistance, especially from parents of students attending Midway and Oliver Springs high schools, who say the proposal would seriously affect travel time to and from school, making trips for students there much longer. [Read more…]

Chadwick, Emch are Roane State’s 2016 Outstanding Alumni

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Lisa Chadwick

Lisa Chadwick

 

A healthcare expert and a leading geospatial scientist are Roane State’s Outstanding Alumni for 2016.

The recipients are Lisa Chadwick of Knoxville, director of risk management for Functional Pathways in Knoxville, and Whitney Emch with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Chadwick graduated magna cum laude from Roane State Community College in 1991 with an associate degree in nursing. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Berry College and a master’s degree in health services administration from the University of St. Francis. [Read more…]

Here are places you can drop off supplies to donate to firefighters

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great-smoky-mountains-national-park-firefighters-nov-29-2016

Firefighters are pictured above in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this week. (Photo by Great Smoky Mountains National Park)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3:45 p.m.

There are a number of places you can drop off supplies to donate to the firefighters battling destructive blazes in the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge area and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Here are several, with two in Oak Ridge, one in Clinton, and one in Roane County: [Read more…]

RSI awards eight scholarships to local students

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RSI Scholarships 2015

Scholarship recipients and RSI managers pictured left to right are Staci Ferguson, RSI vice president; Abby Colvais; Peter Caswell, RSI vice president; Sierra Sims; Lonnie Goss; Dmitry Petrov; Morgan Cleveland; Jackson Lloyd; and Paul Clay, RSI President. Not pictured are Christian Ironside and Tyler Moore. (Submitted photo)

 

Restoration Services Inc. and its voluntary Employee Outreach Committee have offered eight $1,000 college scholarships to “help students achieve their greatest potential through higher education,” a press release said.

Six scholarships were awarded to graduating high school students who will be attending college in the upcoming fall 2015 semester. The remaining two scholarships were awarded to children of RSI employees who are upcoming sophomores, juniors, or seniors currently enrolled in an accredited college for the 2015 fall semester. Scholarship recipients were selected from submitted applications that included academic accomplishments, community involvement and leadership roles, and an essay on current environmental threats.

The scholarship recipients entering college are: [Read more…]

EPA, TVA have final public meeting today on Kingston ash spill cleanup

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Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Cleanup

Ash that spilled into the brown embayment pictured above had been removed by June 2013, and workers placed a black plastic liner over an ash containment cell in the background, preparing to close it late in 2014. The ash spilled in December 2008 when a storage cell failed at the Kingston Fossil Plant, back left. (File photo)

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Valley Authority have their final public meeting on the cleanup of the 2008 ash spill in Kingston during a meeting this evening (Thursday, June 4).

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is also participating in the meeting on the Kingston Recovery Project.

The meeting is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 4, in the Roane County High School Auditorium. [Read more…]

Roane State women’s basketball coach, players earn honors

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Roane State Basketball Honors

From left are Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) freshman of the year Haley Cornellison, second-team all-conference Shanae Brown, TCCAA coach of the year Monica Boles, TCCAA player of the year Shauntae Brown, and second-team all-conference Kassidi Freeman. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

 

Roane State Community College’s women’s basketball program swept the top Tennessee Community College Athletic Association awards.

Head coach Monica Boles was named TCCAA Coach of the Year. Sophomore guard Shauntae Brown is the TCCAA Player of the Year, and Haley Cornellison is the Freshman of the Year.

Brown was also named first-team all-conference. Shauntae’s twin sister, Shanae, was named second-team all-conference along with sophomore Kassidi Freeman. [Read more…]

Roane State welcomes first Middle College students

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Roane State Middle College Students

Roane State Community College’s first Middle College students enjoyed their orientation during their first day on campus. (Submitted photo)

 

More than 30 students from Roane County schools will have a chance to graduate from high school with a diploma and a two-year associate degree through Roane State Community College’s first Middle College, which is launching this fall at the main campus in Harriman.

For years, Roane State has offered dual studies courses, which allow high school students to earn some college credit while in high school. Middle College, created in partnership with Roane County Schools, offers students an opportunity to complete 60 hours (four semesters) of college credit, more courses than most students can typically take through dual studies alone.

After earning an associate degree in high school, students who attend a university could start as juniors and finish their bachelor’s degree just two years after high school. [Read more…]

Roane Chamber announces 2013 Youth Leadership Academy graduates

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Roane Chamber Youth Leadership Academy Graduates

The Roane Chamber’s 2013 Youth Leadership Academy graduates and their schools:
(Back row, left to right) Kara Brindley (Rockwood High), Samantha Schaefer (home schooled), Hunter McClure (Roane County High), Peyton Jones (Oliver Springs High), Shelby Dailey (Midway High), and Jordan Zurcher (Roane County High); (Front row, left to right) Sarah Hooper (Academy Director, Roane State Community College faculty), Jonathan Cate (Oliver Springs High), Bryce Laughlin (Rockwood High), Ian Barnett (home schooled), Hayden Hester (Midway High), Matt Snow (Harriman High), and Lindsey Seymour (Harriman High).

Twelve Roane County high school students graduated this year from Roane County Chamber of Commerce’s Youth Leadership Academy held at Roane State Community College. The students, representing the county’s five high schools and home-schooled groups, formed six school teams. As a part of the academy requirements, each team will be completing a community service project in the coming months.

The students and their school teams are: Lindsey Seymour and Matt Snow for Harriman High; Shelby Dailey and Hayden Hester for Midway High; Jonathan Cate and Peyton Jones for Oliver Springs High; Hunter McClure and Jordan Zurcher for Roane County High; Kara Brindley and Bryce Laughlin for Rockwood High; and Ian Barnett and Samantha Schaefer are home-schooled. [Read more…]

TVA, government agencies to give recovery update on Kingston ash spill

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The Tennessee Valley Authority, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, will hold a public meeting on progress of the Kingston Ash Recovery Project and long-term monitoring plans.

The meeting will be held Thursday, May 30, from 5:30-7 p.m. in the auditorium of Roane County High School in Kingston. The auditorium is in Building B on the Spring Street side of the high school. [Read more…]

Local FIRST robotics teams dominate regionals, advance to national competition

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First Robotics Competition

From left, Oak Ridge High School’s Andreas Franco feeds discs into the team’s robot as Tag Groff, Oak Ridge National Laboratory mentor Mark Buckner, and Amelia DiAngelo manage the controls. (Photo by Jason Richards/ORNL)

Frisbee-flinging robots took over the Knoxville Convention Center last weekend, as thousands of high school students, mentors, and volunteers gathered for the third annual FIRST robotics Smoky Mountains regional competition.

Local teams Hardin Valley Academy, Oak Ridge High School, and Halls High School netted the championship title in a nail-biting finale at the regional event, qualifying them to compete in the national finals held April 24-27 in St. Louis. A team from Roane County High School, which won the Rookie All Star award, is also bound for nationals. The four high schools are among 14 teams sponsored by UT-Battelle, the managing contractor of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The FIRST robotics competition gives high school teams six weeks to design, build, and program a complex robot that can meet the intense demands of the year’s game. Throwing discs and climbing pyramids were among the challenges of the 2013 game, called Ultimate Ascent. [Read more…]