Oak Ridge Today

Mayor Frank seeks help setting up monthly breakfast for veterans

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Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, center, and the Ward brothers on their visit to the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives. Clinton resident William Ward, left, is a veteran of World War II and notably the Battle of Midway. (Submitted photo)

 

Work slowly progressing on a museum for veterans memorabilia, artifacts

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Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank is seeking help from people interested in participating in a planning group to organize a free, monthly breakfast for all Anderson County veterans—from the cities to the rural areas. A meeting has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. February 2 in Room 118A at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. All interested citizens are invited to help develop plans. No military service background is required.

In 2014, Frank traveled with local World War II veteran William Ward and Anderson County’s Veteran Service Officer Leon Jaquet to visit the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives in Athens, Alabama. Frank, Ward, and Jaquet were given a tour by William Ward’s son and veteran, Billy Ward. Billy Ward serves on the Board of Directors for the Alabama Veterans Museum. Frank and Jaquet also met with organizers of the Alabama Museum, as well as the museum’s director Sandra Thompson. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools employees wear jeans to work, donate $5 each to help veterans

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Submitted by Oak Ridge Schools

On November 13, Oak Ridge Schools employees took part in the 2015 “Jeans For Troops” fundraising drive benefiting the GI Go Fund, a nonprofit organization that helps veterans returning home find employment, go to college, access their health care and financial benefits, and link to housing.

During the drive, in which schools and companies from all across the country participate, Oak Ridge Schools gave their employees the opportunity to wear jeans to work in exchange for a $5 donation to the GI Go Fund.

“I am so very proud of our staff who honored military veterans and their families through this fun event,” Superintendent Bruce Borchers said.

“For generations, America’s teachers have been responsible for educating America’s children,” said GI Go Fund Executive Director Jack Fanous. “They have always been individuals that mothers and fathers could rely on to set a positive example for their children. This Veterans Day, teachers around the country have set the example to our nation’s children that this is a day to remember the men and women who have fought and died to preserve our liberties, our freedoms, and the American way of life.” [Read more…]

Today: Celebrate veterans with Community Band concert

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The Oak Ridge Community Band performs in a summer concert on July 4, 2014. (Photo by Larry Perry)

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band/Wind Ensemble will hold a Veterans Concert on Sunday, November 15, at 3:30 p.m., at the Grove Theater Performing Arts Center.

Everyone is invited, but area veterans are particularly encouraged to attend this event which is being held in their honor, a press release said. The program will include patriotic selections, swing era music, and a special ceremony to recognize veterans who have served both in peacetime and during war time.

Directed by band leader Dale Pendley and assistant conductor Lisa Michaels, the Community Band will perform Irving Berlin’s “Songs for America” featuring “This is the Army, Mister Jones,” “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor,” “This is a Great Country,” and “God Bless America.” Other patriotic selections will include John Philip Sousa’s “Liberty Bell,” James Hosay’s “Pride of the Fleet,” and Bob Lowden’s arrangement of “Armed Forces Salute” with “Semper Paratus,” “The U.S. Air Force,” “Anchors Aweigh,” “The Caisson Song,” and “Marines Hymn.” [Read more…]

Former POW featured at Veterans Day program on Tuesday

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William A. Robinson

William A. Robinson

A Veterans Day program on Tuesday will feature a former prisoner of war who is a retired U.S. Air Force captain.

William A. Robinson will be the featured speaker at the 10 a.m. program on Tuesday, November 10, at the American Museum of Science and Energy. It’s hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

The program is titled “To Those Who Watch for Us.” It’s in “honor of the courageous men and women who serve and have served in our nation’s armed forces,” a press release said.

The program, scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, is open to employees and the public. [Read more…]

Five TN veterans, including Kallio of Oak Ridge, to receive French Legion of Honor

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Melvin Kallio Family

Melvin Kallio, center, received a Bronze Star on Monday, April 6, 2015, 70 years after he fought in Colmar Pocket in France during World War II, south of the Battle of the Bulge. Kallio is pictured above with family and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge resident and World War II veteran Melvin E. Kallio is one of five Tennessee veterans who will receive the prestigious Legion of Honor Medal from France in a ceremony in Nashville in October.

“As an expression of France’s eternal gratitude to those who liberated it from oppression from 1944-1945, the Consul General of France to the U.S. Southeast, Denis Barbet, will bestow the Legion of Honor upon five WWII veterans from Tennessee,” said a press release from the Consulate General of France in Atlanta.

The National Order of the Legion of Honor is the highest honor conferred upon a French or foreign national in France. It was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, and it recognizes eminent services to the French Republic.

American veterans who risked their lives during World War II and who fought on French territory qualify to be decorated as Knights of the Legion of Honor. Veterans must have fought in one of the four main campaigns of the Liberation of France: Normandy, Provence, Ardennes, or Northern France. Recipients of this honor are designated by the President of the Republic, François Hollande.

Kallio, who said he was 92 in April, fought in Colmar Pocket. He was a machine gunner in the 12th Armored Division, and he and other soldiers had been ready to fight at the Battle of the Bulge. [Read more…]

Trap and Skeet Fun Shoot in Oak Ridge to benefit Wounded Warrior Project

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They left their homes to fight for their country. Some of them were wounded physically and some were injured emotionally. And while they came back unbroken in spirit, many of them still need help to finish their recovery.

Assisting both the wounded veterans and their families is a responsibility all Americans should consider undertaking. The sponsors and supporters of the Pull For Our VeteransTM are doing their part by hosting the 4th Annual Pull For Our Veterans Trap and Skeet Fun Shoot to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project on September 18-20.

The three-day long event includes a Law Enforcement and Wounded Veteran’s Shoot on Friday, September 18, followed by a two-day fun shoot among 100 shooters on September 19 and September 20. At least five wounded warriors are expected to participate in the event and 100 percent of the money generated from the event will go to the Wounded Warrior Project to aid our veterans. [Read more…]

Memorial Day concert on Monday dedicated to veterans

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Oak Ridge Community Band July 4, 2014 Concert

The Oak Ridge Community Band performs during a July 4, 2014 concert. (Photo by Larry Perry)

 

Special recognition will be given to area veterans and those currently serving in the military during an annual Memorial Day Concert by the Oak Ridge Community Band on Monday. The concert will start at 7 p.m. Monday, May 25, at A.K. Bissell Park.

During the show, the Oak Ridge Community Band will “kick off” its 71st season of outstanding band music with a program of patriotic music and popular American favorites, a press release said.

“The Memorial Day concert is an excellent way for area residents, families, and friends to end the holiday weekend and have the opportunity to honor the men and women who have served in the military to maintain our freedom,” the release said. [Read more…]

Photos: Tennessee Para Cycling Open in Oak Ridge on Saturday

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Tennessee Para Cycling Open in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Saturday, May 16, 2015

Tennessee Para Cycling Open in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Saturday, May 16, 2015 (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Tennessee Para Cycling Open is in Oak Ridge this weekend. It’s a racing event featuring competitors who are paraplegics, amputees, or otherwise physically challenged.

Here are photos by Julio Culiat from the Saturday morning races.

The event features different categories of racers competing on conventional or adapted race bikes or hand cycles.

More than half of the competitors are wounded warriors who were injured while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, some of whom race for the Paralyzed Veterans Racing, which is affiliated with Paralyzed Veterans of America, a major sponsor of the event. There are two racers from Cuba and Colombia. [Read more…]

Vietnam veterans to discuss services for vets March 21

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Combat veterans can face a number of mental health-related issues upon coming home. Problems such as post traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety can be debilitating and affect both veterans and their families. These can surface immediately upon a veteran’s return or even decades later.

On Saturday, March 21, Vietnam veterans Ed Junod and Freddie Owens of the Knoxville Regional Veterans Mental Health Council will discuss services available to veterans such as peer support, court treatment program assistance, recovery groups, and more. [Read more…]

CNS helps provide housing to homeless veterans

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Helen Ross McNabb Veterans Housing Project

This eight-unit apartment building on Coster Road in Knoxville was built to house homeless veterans who have mental illness or a behavioral health disability. The first four veterans moved into their new apartments before Christmas. By springtime, the Helen Ross McNabb Veterans Housing Project will provide permanent apartment homes to 23 veterans, who will also receive ongoing case management. (Photo provided by Helen Ross McNabb Center)

 

Donation contributes to new housing and care through Helen Ross McNabb Center

Consolidated Nuclear Security’s donation of $25,000 to the Helen Ross McNabb Center’s Veterans Housing Project served as one of the final building blocks in the $1.83-million effort to provide permanent housing to homeless veterans who have mental illnesses. On December 15, the ribbon was cut on the first apartment building, and the first four homeless veterans moved into their new homes in time to celebrate Christmas.

The CNS donation helped fund the newly constructed Cedar Crossing apartment building on Coster Road in Knoxville, which provides eight one-bedroom units. The second phase of the project is rehabilitating a former apartment complex off Washington Pike that will provide another 15 apartment homes. The three-building Washington Oaks renovation is expected to be completed by March 2015. [Read more…]

DOE Oak Ridge Office has Veterans Day program on Thursday

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Lindsay M. Long

Lindsay M. Long

The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office will have a Veterans Day program on Thursday, November 6, and it will feature keynote speaker and Marine Corps veteran Lindsay M. Long.

The program is designed to honor the “courageous men and women who serve and have served in our nation’s armed forces,” a press release said.

The program is scheduled from 10-11 a.m. Thursday at the American Museum of Science and Energy at 300 South Tulane Avenue. It’s open to employees and the public.

Performances include the Oak Ridge Celebration Choir, Lloyd Jones, and a recognition of veterans, and it will conclude with the sounding of “Taps” by USMC Retired Master Sergeant Maurice Parks.

Officials discuss Veterans Court, docket in General Sessions Court

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Veterans Court Docket

From left to right are Anderson County Veterans Affairs Officer Leon Jaquet, General Sessions Judge Ron Murch, and Assistant Commissioner Don Smith. (Submitted photo)

Judge Ron Murch recently met with Anderson County Veterans Affairs Officer Leon Jaquet and Tennessee Assistant Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Don Smith to discuss the implementation of a Veterans Court/Docket in the Anderson County General Sessions Court. Smith has been visiting judges in East Tennessee to discuss the commencement of veterans courts, a press release said.

The Veterans Court/Docket would operate within the framework of the existing Sessions Court and would identify veterans within the court system, the release said. It would coordinate services available to them through the VA that would assist with drug and alcohol problems, stress problems, and other needs such as housing, education, job training, medical services, or any other services or VA benefits available to them. The Veterans Court/Docket would involve mentors, who are also veterans, that would assist veteran defendants in getting to court and to any scheduled appointments for services, and working with the County Veterans Office to coordinate available benefits. [Read more…]