Susan Moore
Susan Moore, program manager for the East Tennessee region of Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee, will be the featured speaker at a February meeting of Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge.
Moore will discuss “Healthy Families, Healthy Start: A home-visiting program promoting the well-being of children.â€
The meeting will start at 11 a.m. Monday, February 2, in the Entry Forum of the Jewish Congregation at 101 West Madison Lane. [Read more…]
Jo Bruce
Jo Bruce, director of the Family Resource Center at Oak Ridge Schools, will discuss “Breaking the Cycle of Violence†during a Monday morning forum in Oak Ridge.
The community forum starts at 11 a.m. Monday, October 6, in the fellowship Hall of Grace Covenant Church, Trinity Center, at 320 Robertsville Road. It’s presented by the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge.
Bruce has held the director’s position at the Resource Center since its inception, a press release said. The local center, housed in Willow Brook Elementary School, is one of the original family resource centers established by the state of Tennessee in the fall of 1993.
In a summary of her presentation, Bruce said she will discuss the services she provides to families and students of the Oak Ridge school system in an effort to build trust and resilience. [Read more…]
Valerie Hughes
The founder and executive director of an Oak Ridge chapter of the national Not In Our Town organization will be the featured speaker at a community forum in September.
The “Not in Our Town” presentation by Valerie Holland Hughes will start at 11 a.m. Monday, September 8, at Grace Covenant Church. It’s sponsored by the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue.
Grace Covenant Church is at 320 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge.
Hughes began working to establish the Oak Ridge group just over a year ago, a press release said. Her goal has been to ensure that Oak Ridge is a community that models “safety, acceptance, and inclusion as an effective method to address hatred, bullying, and violence.â€
The press release said Hughes and NIOT members in Oak Ridge traveled to Billings, Montana, birthplace of the movement 20 years ago, to attend a national gathering of NIOT chapters from June 20-24. [Read more…]
Brandon FIsher
Brandon K. Fisher, Anderson County Juvenile Court judge, will discuss children and the courts during a Monday forum hosted by the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue.
The forum starts at 11 a.m. Monday, and it will be held at the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge at 101 W. Madison Lane, a press release said.
Fisher has served in the Juvenile Court since his appointment to the bench in January 2010. He replaced April Meldrum after she resigned, and he was elected to position in August 2010. Prior to his appointment, he was a partner in the law firm of Cantrell, Cantrell, and Fisher, where he engaged in a general practice of law with an emphasis on civil litigation.
“Serving as Anderson County juvenile judge has been the most rewarding experience of my professional life,” Fisher said in an earlier press release. “I am proud of our efforts to improve outcomes for children and families.” [Read more…]
Members of the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue Steering Steering pictured above are, from left to right, Barbara McCord, Jo Ann Garrett, Eileen Handler, and Cleva Marrow. (Submitted photo)
The Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge will sponsor a free community forum on different world belief systems at 11 a.m. Monday. The forum, “Tell Us about Your Faith: Learning from Each Other,†will be at the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge.
The presentations by a dozen or so local women will be organized from oldest belief system in origin to newest, including Wicca, Hindu, Jewish, Roman Catholic, Islam, many of the major Protestant denominations, Quaker, Universalist and Baha’i.
A question and answer session will follow the presentations. The forum is free and open to the public. Donations are welcome.
The presenters include Nayeema Ahmad, Sharon Annis, Carolyn Dipboye, Margaret Dory, Diane Edwards, Jo Ann Garrett, Kas Gomathinayagam, Barbara McCord, Kathy Olsen, Ruth Prince, Fran Silver, and Toni Stephenson. [Read more…]
Robert Reich
Local organizations are offering a free March 7 screening of “Inequality for All,” a documentary that features former U. S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, in honor of International Women’s Day 2014.
Reich’s award-winning documentary focuses on the widening income gap in America, a press release said.
The screening is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m., Friday, March 7, in the City Room (A-111) of Roane State Community College at 702 Briarcliff Ave. It’s sponsored by Women’s Interfaith Dialogue, the League of Women Voters, Altrusa International, and the Sisterhood of the Jewish Congregation, all of Oak Ridge.
The release said Reich uses humor and a wide array of facts to explain how income inequality and the shrinking middle class affect everyone and have implications for the future of democracy, the economy, and the nation. The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Special Jury Prize. It was recently released in theaters nationwide and has now been made available for educational screenings. [Read more…]
Paul W. Sharkey
The separation of church and state will be the focus of a forum and panel discussion next week in Oak Ridge.
The forum starts at 2 p.m. Sept. 9 at Grace Covenant Church in the Trinity Center on Robertsville Road. It will be led by Paul W. Sharkey, a professor emeritus of philosophy and religion, a press release said.
Sharkey’s presentation is titled “Separation of Church and State: Protect Your Religious Freedom.†He will discuss the country’s founders and their position on the issue, the Constitution’s First Amendment, and the challenges to the amendment that have continued from colonial times to the present day, the release said. [Read more…]
James T. Akagi
Oak Ridge Police Chief James Akagi will discuss vulnerable populations in the community on Monday.
Akagi will speak to the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge at 2 p.m. at Grace Covenant Church.
“He will explore various new ways we as citizens can help and will welcome suggestions from the attendees as well,” a press release said.
Akagi has been Oak Ridge police chief since July 2011. He is retired from the U. S. Drug Enforcement Agency as an assistant special agent in the Oklahoma City District Office, the press release said. He is a native of Kansas, where he formerly served as a police officer. [Read more…]
A Monday afternoon forum at the Oak Ridge Jewish Congregation will focus on homelessness in Anderson County.
The speaker will be Rick Morrow, executive director of the United Way of Anderson County. He will address the question, “Is there really a homeless problem in Anderson County?”
The community forum starts at 2 p.m., and it’s sponsored by the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue, a press release said.
The release said 31 people were identified as unsheltered homeless in Anderson County in January 2012. Another 20 people were in shelters, and 34 more were “precariously housed” and almost homeless. That’s a total of 85 people in need of a home, the release said.
The primary causes for homelessness in Anderson County are job losses, a lack of affordable housing, underemployment or low incomes, domestic violence, and substance abuse, the release said.
Monday’s forum is expected to include information about initiatives to address the serious issue of homelessness in the area.
The Oak Ridge Jewish Congregation is at 101 W. Madison Lane.
