Oak Ridge Today

TechShopz for middle school girls are coming to Oak Ridge

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Great opportunities for middle school girls interested in learning more about coding and technology are coming to Oak Ridge.

The first two events are “You Can Code” held on January 21 and “Infographics” held on January 28 at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge. For more information and to sign up, visit www.orcsgirls.org.

These TechShopz are powered by TechGirls (www.techgirlz.org), a 501(c) nonprofit dedicated to reducing and ultimately eliminating the gender gap in technology occupations. [Read more…]

Business sponsorships sought for robotics competition

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Roane State Community College and Morgan County Career and Technical Center are seeking business sponsors for a VEX Robotics Competition event that will be held January 12-13 at Roane State’s Clinton location.

The VEX Robotics Competition, presented by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, is the largest and fastest growing middle school and high school robotics program globally with more than 16,000 teams from 40 countries playing in more than 1,350 competitions worldwide.

Roane State’s Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility will host a state VEX Robotics Qualifier Tournament Competition from January 12-13. Approximately 30 high school and middle school teams are expected to participate, a press release said. [Read more…]

Roane State campuses will be closed Dec. 17-Jan. 2 for holidays

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Roane State Community College campuses will be closed Saturday, December 17, through Monday, January 2, for the holidays.

The college will reopen Tuesday, January 3, and spring classes will begin on Tuesday, January 17.

Registration and other self-service options are available through the Roane State website at www.roanestate.edu.

For more information, visit www.roanestate.edu or call 1-866-GO2-RSCC (1-866-462-7722).

Audition for Roane State’s spring production of Lionel Bart’s ‘Oliver!’

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The Roane State Community College music and theatre arts departments are holding auditions for parts in Lionel Bart’s “Oliver!”

Auditions are scheduled at the college’s Oak Ridge and Roane County campuses: [Read more…]

Business launched by Roane State staff member earns national recognition

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Melissa Kreis-Stephens

Melissa Kreis-Stephens

 

By Bob Fowler

Roane State staff member Melissa Kreis-Stephens homegrown business has become an overnight success, and it’s only taken 15 years.

Kreis-Stephens, an avid outdoorswoman, is the college’s math and science lab supervisor. She’s also the owner of a suddenly thriving business of organic lotions, balms, and salves that has won a national award titled the Golden Innovator.

Kreis-Stephens’ business is Tomboy Organic Skincare Co., and she’ll be accepting the national Best Brand award for organic salves and skin care from American Choice Awards during a February ceremony in New York City.

Her all-natural creations were judged as tops in the category. In all, American consumers judged 1,500 brands across 190 categories. [Read more…]

Roane State course will teach emergency responders how to fly drones

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Roane State has partnered with and Avion Unmanned Solutions Inc. to offer a course for emergency responders on how to fly drones. Sign up by visiting www.roanestate.edu/che or call (865) 539-6904. (Submitted photo)

Roane State has partnered with Avion Unmanned Solutions Inc. to offer a course for emergency responders on how to fly drones. Sign up by visiting www.roanestate.edu/che or calling (865) 539-6904. (Submitted photo)

 

Drones will be buzzing the skies near Roane State Community College’s Roane County campus in early December as students learn how to safely use remotely piloted aircraft, formally called Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

The five-day class, intended for emergency responders—from law enforcement to fire departments and rescue squads—is a partnership between the college and Avion Unmanned Solutions Inc., which is based in Huntsville, Alabama.

Drones have shown their worth in search and rescue operations, storm damage assessment, wildfire support, hostage situations, aerial reconnaissance, and natural disaster support, officials said.

Certified instructors will teach the class, which will be eight hours a day from December 5-9. About $250,000 worth of several different types of drones and the technology to use with them will be deployed, an Avion representative said. There’s a $2,245 tuition fee. [Read more…]

True grit: Roane State softball player Briar Mays refuses to let cancer stand in her way

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Roane State softball player Briar Mays, left, is undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer but intends to return to the squad in the spring. She is pictured with teammate Kacee Hedrick. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State softball player Briar Mays, left, is undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer but intends to return to the squad in the spring. She is pictured with teammate Kacee Hedrick. (Photo by Roane State)

 

Briar Mays said she started noticing it last September—her right leg and hip were hurting.

During warm-ups and workouts as a freshman member of the Roane State Community College women’s softball team, Briar said she had to use her arms to pull her legs up for some exercises.

Physical therapy was recommended and undertaken, but that didn’t help ease the pain.

Still, the 18-year-old former standout for Forrest High School’s softball team in tiny Chapel Hill, Tennessee, finished out last fall’s season for the Roane State squad, playing left field.

It was only after an MRI in January that Briar received the devastating news: she had cancer. [Read more…]

Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus to host fair for adults who want to go back to college

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Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus will host an information fair for adults who want to go back to college.

The Adult Information Fair will be held on Thursday, November 10, from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Oak Ridge campus, which is at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. The fair is free and open to the public.

Adults will be able to learn about Roane State programs, getting academic credit for work experience, and the statewide Reconnect initiative to encourage adults to finish their college degrees. [Read more…]

Roane State, AC Chamber, CNS Y-12 to host Manufacturing Day celebration, Dream It/Do It kickoff

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Area middle school students will learn about creative, high-tech careers in manufacturing as part of a Manufacturing Day celebration on Friday, October 21, at Roane State Community College’s training facility in Clinton.

The college is teaming up with the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce and CNS Y-12 to host the event, titled the Dream It/Do It Manufacturing Showcase: Think, Create, Build. The event begins at 9:30 a.m., and it will include tours and equipment demonstrations. The public is invited.

Roane State’s Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility is located at 214 Nave Street. [Read more…]

Cuban-U.S. relations the topic of Oct. 31 lecture

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Henry Heredia

Henry Heredia

 

The social, cultural, and environmental development of Cuban society will be the topic of the next lecture in the third annual Roane State Community College–Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning Intergenerational Lecture Series.
Henry Heredia, an international relations specialist from Havana, Cuba, will speak on Monday, October 31, at 4 p.m. in the City Room (A-111) in Roane State’s Coffey-McNally Building on the Oak Ridge Campus at the corner of Briarcliff Avenue and Laboratory Road.

He will also speak on how the perceptions that Cubans and Americans have of each other have changed since President Barack Obama’s announcement in December 2014 that normalized American relations with the island nation. People across the U.S. are curious to know more about Cuba and its people, and some Americans have already visited Cuba, prompting changes in perceptions.

An engaging lecturer who speaks English fluently, Heredia can address many questions Americans have regarding Cuban culture, education, history, and social and environmental policies, a press release said. Since 2013, he has lectured at numerous prestigious institutions in the U.S. [Read more…]

LeMond Composites to make carbon fiber, composite bicycles—invest $125 million, create 242 jobs

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Greg LeMond, three-time Tour de France champion, celebrated the opening of LeMond Composites, a new company he co-founded, during a ceremony on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 12, 2016, at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. The company is expected to make composite bicycles and carbon fiber, and invest $125 million and create 242 new jobs. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new company co-founded by Greg LeMond, a three-time Tour de France champion, will make composite bicycles and carbon fiber for other products in Oak Ridge, and the business, called LeMond Composites, will invest $125 million and create 242 new jobs, officials said during a Wednesday afternoon ceremony.

Among the officials celebrating the opening on Wednesday were LeMond, and Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd.

Carbon fiber has advantageous properties, but cost has been a barrier to using it, said Connie Jackson, chief executive officer of LeMond Composites. She said the manufacturing process has been changed to reduce production cost.

“We have overcome a significant part of the cost barrier,” Jackson said.

Carbon fiber is light, stiff, and strong, making it the perfect material for advanced composites in a variety of applications. It can be used to improve efficiency, save energy, and build or repair vehicles and planes, wind turbines and containers, and bridges and tunnels. [Read more…]

Roane State offering spring start for paramedic program; apply by Oct. 31

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There’s an October 31 application deadline to start Roane State Community College’s paramedic program in the spring semester.

The three-semester program, which features several courses each semester, is normally not offered with a spring semester starting point. It has been added to meet a local, statewide, and national shortage of paramedics, said David Blevins, program director.

The shortfall in advanced emergency medical technicians and paramedics is frequently mentioned during monthly regional meetings of EMS directors, he said.

There are 12 openings for the program, and candidates must be licensed as advanced EMTs or be in the Advanced EMT program now in progress. [Read more…]