Oak Ridge Today

CONTACT Care Line celebrates 40th anniversary Friday

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Deborah Patterson

Deborah Patterson

For 40 years, volunteers with CONTACT Care Line have provided a listening ear to East Tennesseans in crisis, and the Oak Ridge-based nonprofit is inviting the public to a Friday evening of bluegrass music to celebrate its milestone anniversary.

The public is also recognizing CONTACT, with both the city of Oak Ridge and Rep. John Ragan from Tennessee’s District 33 proclaiming November as “CONTACT Care Line Month,” a press release said.

“A lot has changed in 40 years,” said Deb Patterson, CONTACT’s executive director, “but six of our volunteers have been with us from Day One, and what hasn’t changed is that lonely people, people with mental illnesses, the elderly—all of us, really—need someone to talk to every once in a while. It’s going to be special to reach the 40-year milestone and to thank all our telephone workers.”

The 40th Ruby Anniversary Balloon Pop Concert featuring the Ridge City Ramblers will be held from 7-10 p.m. Friday at the Pollard Conference Center in Oak Ridge. The Ramblers will provide a fun mix of bluegrass and Americana music, and there’ll be a prize in every balloon, the press release said. [Read more…]

Girl Scouts looking for adult volunteers in Anderson County

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Submitted

With many girls looking for Girl Scout troops to become a part of amid a shortage of adult volunteers, the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians invites adult volunteers to apply for a role within Anderson County’s network of active troops.

GSCSA reports that there is a waiting list of girls who want to become part of a troop within Anderson County but cannot due to a lack of enough adult volunteers.

“A lot of people don’t know that you don’t have to be the mom of a girl to be a Girl Scout volunteer,” said GSCSA Chief Executive Officer Booth Kammann. “Dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, or anyone else looking to help girls in their community to learn and grow within a troop’s many activities and adventures is invited to apply for a volunteer role.” [Read more…]

Children’s Halloween Party scheduled, game booth sponsors needed

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the 2013 Children’s Halloween Party on Thursday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. This annual event will be attended by hundreds of children and their parents. Activities will be planned for every room in the Oak Ridge Civic Center, and a hay ride will be offered in A.K. Bissell Park, weather permitting.

Businesses and organizations are invited to sponsor a game booth for the event. Sponsors will supply two to four volunteers to operate the game throughout the event. The Recreation and Parks department will provide the games and prizes unless sponsors wish to provide their own. Games should be age-appropriate for children age 10 and under. Applications can be emailed or picked up at the Civic Center front desk. [Read more…]

Guest column: County mayor proposes restructuring alternatives to incarceration

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Created by an Anderson County Commission resolution in 2011, the Alternatives to Incarceration, or ATI, program has been batted around as a political hot topic. Though there appears to be disagreement regarding the program, there seems to be agreement on the purpose, intent, and merit of the program. As is the case with most programs, debate centers on implementation.

After much study of ATI as currently structured, I offered steps in our budget proposal to allow us to step away from the mistakes or misunderstandings that took place at the program’s inception in 2011, restructure with more modest and measurable goals, and allow room for growth in the number of clients the program will serve. Small steps forward will allow for much needed growth in trust and credibility of the program itself. The program also needs more realistic, tangible goals to achieve success, and it needs a cooling-off period to allow the mission to depoliticize.

Success requires the confidence of participants, that is, ATI stakeholders like our public defender, our district attorney general, our judges, and our law enforcement community.

The proposed restructuring emphasizes the original mission of the program—offering true alternatives to alleviate jail overcrowding—but it also redirects 1.62 cents on the tax rate to immediate needs: more detention officers. [Read more…]

Guest column: Anderson County Dental Clinic helps those in need

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Anderson County Dental Clinic

Pictured above, from left, are Anderson County Commissioner Robin Biloski, Dental Assistant Nancy Hamilton, and Dr. Tim Bible. (Submitted photo)

The Anderson County Dental Clinic has been held monthly in Oak Ridge for 30 years and is operated solely by volunteers. This necessary outreach was started by Jeanie Bertram.

“The waiting list has held a constant number of 150 to 200 names for our free services.  Last year we treated 232 patients, with 101 of them being brand-new,” said Bertram. “We extracted 661 teeth last year for a production value for $97,484. Last year we did receive some patient fees and donations from the public totaling $10,000, and we put that right back into our services.”

Dr. Tim Bible, a longtime volunteer dentist, said: “This is so important; these individuals simply have no means to pay for dental care, which is desperately needed. Our clinic currently has five general dentists, two oral surgeons, the University of Tennessee General Dentistry Department volunteers, 12 registered dental assistants, three clinic support staff, and five front office staff who rotate through the clinic in any given year. We are so proud of this wonderful service we provide to our residents.” [Read more…]

City egg hunt March 23, volunteers needed

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the 2013 Egg Hunt later this month.

Hundreds of children are expected to participate in this annual spring event, a city press release said. It starts at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 23, at A.K. Bissell Park.

[Read more…]

Norris Lake cleanup scheduled

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Information from WYSH Radio

Volunteers from Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, and Union Counties are needed for a Norris Lake cleanup on Saturday, March 23, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

During past cleanups, volunteers have collected and properly disposed of typical household trash, tires, couches, televisions, kitchen appliances, and construction materials including siding and shingles. All of these items would have been in Norris Lake if not for these volunteers.

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ACEMA needs disaster assessment team leaders

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Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County Emergency Management Director Steve Payne is looking for volunteers to serve as leaders for damage assessment teams.

“We’re looking for 30 volunteers with a commitment to serve their neighbors in the event of a natural disaster,” Payne said.

Volunteers will be trained to lead a small team into communities that have suffered damage from severe weather or floods. These teams will make an initial assessment of damage as a first step in providing food and shelter and obtaining state and federal assistance for the communities.

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Faith and Our Medical Community, Part 1: The Hospital Chaplain

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Several times I thought I saw the silhouette of angels moving around behind Chaplain Sills as I recently interviewed him in the Methodist Medical Center chapel. Reverend Jack Sills certainly needs angelic assistance in his role as the hospital chaplain here in Oak Ridge.

Just as you would expect, Chaplain Sills is a calm, gentle man who exudes kindness and understanding. This year, he will celebrate his 25th anniversary as the only full-time hospital chaplain Oak Ridge has ever had. He calls his role a “specialized form of ministry.”

Chaplain Sills describes his ministry as “the representative presence of the hospital’s belief that God is important in the care of patients, families, and staff.” He explained this to mean that the belief in God for human beings is important. His role in practical terms comes down to being a visible presence. Chaplain Sills continued: “Being present gives opportunity to others to discuss spiritual or emotional concerns without an agenda. I consider these to be holy moments.

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Family Day at Civic Center Feb. 23

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host a Family Day at the Civic Center on Feb. 23.

The new event will include games, activities, a chili cook-off, and free swim assessments for children, a press release said.

The Family Day is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Feb. 23, and adult volunteers are needed to help with the event, the city press release said.

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UT-Battelle Angel Tree delivers clothing, gifts for children in need

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Heather Terry and Angel Tree Gifts

Team UT-Battelle volunteer Heather Terry sorts Angel Tree gifts donated by Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees. (Submitted photos)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Team UT-Battelle Angel Tree effort delivered clothing and gifts to area community agencies and schools this week. The items will brighten the holiday season for 240 needy children.

The gifts range from bikes to toys to clothes. Employees can also make monetary donations. In fact, members of the Atomic Labor and Trades Council, the laboratory bargaining unit, contributed $500.

The laboratory’s Angel Tree is electronic: Lab staff members can access a web page that offers anonymous selections of children from surrounding counties including Anderson, Roane, Loudon, Morgan, Union, Blount, Campbell and Knox. The donor can then donate a gift based on the child’s age, gender, size and interests provided by the website. As in past years, all 240 of the tree’s virtual “ornaments” were selected.

[Read more…]