Commercial Truck Insurance in Oak Ridge, TN

It might be Oak Ridge's first community-wide New Year's Eve party, and a "thank you" is behind this free, family-friendly event set for Sunday night through early Monday, Dec. 31-Jan. 1.

The New Year's Eve 2024 Countdown will begin at 9 p.m. Sunday and continue through 1 a.m. Monday at Oak Ridge's A.K. Bissell Park at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. A "ball" shaped like an atom, designed and built by instructors and students at Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Harriman, will be dropped at midnight. In between, there will be two live bands performing − Alex and The Animals and the Eli Fox Band − food trucks will be selling food, hot chocolate will be given away, beer and wine will be sold at a beer garden to those wishing to imbibe and who are 21 and older, and hot air balloon rides will be sold. People are invited to take their lawn chairs, visit with their family and neighbors and listen to music. Fireworks will be at midnight.

"We have had a grateful heart," Billy Edmonds, Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge executive director, said in explaining why the clinic and its volunteers wanted to host the event, with the help of many sponsors.

The Free Medical Clinic has a grateful heart because in 2023, with the support of its partners, donors, and volunteers, "FMC provided over 12,000 patient medical appointments worth over $7.8 million in value to the rural and minority, low-income and uninsured," he replied in an email to The Oak Ridger's questions.

"We believe a community that has positive engagement can come together and create a better future. The Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge humbly leads the way with other community champions to make the first-ever New Year’s Eve 2024 Countdown possible. This first NYE Countdown is historic and we want to make sure everyone in Anderson, Roane and Morgan counties are here to ring in the new year together. That is why this event is free to the public so we can celebrate 2023 and usher in 2024, together."

Edmonds said he and other clinic volunteers and sponsors expect 3,000 to 4,000 people to attend the event. Parking will be free at the Civic Center, Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) and Oak Ridge High School.

The only costs for the family-friendly event will be if people choose to purchase beer or food or ride in the hot air balloon. Several ticket booths will be set up at Bissell Park, selling tickets for $5 each. A ticket can be used to purchase a beer or glass of wine, or four of them will cover a hot air balloon ride for an individual.

Andew Aydelott, TCAT Harriman machine tech tool instructor, is quoted in an email as saying, “There are many cities that have ball drops and most of them look alike, but this one will be a standout for the city of Oak Ridge because it is 6 feet in diameter and at the center of the ball is the nucleus of the atom with over 2,000 lights to help us ring in the new year."

People can donate to the Free Medical Clinic, and other nonprofits in the Oak Ridge area. Edmonds mentioned that people can get tax deductions for 2023 by donating to the clinic or other nonprofits that will be championed at the event. The party's emcee will be Oak Ridge's Naomi Asher, a major champion of area nonprofits as executive director of the local United Way.

Co-sponsoring the party are Baird, David Coffey, BBB Communications, TCAT, Holloway Event Management and the city of Oak Ridge. M&M Productions is providing support with the stage and sound.

If you can't make the event, you can watch it from your home or mobile device. BBB Communications will be there to broadcast. Here are the links to view it:

Upcoming clinic

In February, the Free Medical Clinic partnered with Remote Area Medical (RAM) to provide a two-day medical, vision and dental clinic at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. According to a RAM spokesperson, 301 people were served and $202,409 worth of free care was provided. More than 430 volunteers from 23 states provided free medical care.

The two nonprofits are providing another free clinic in the area next spring. The Roane County campus of Roane State Community College will be the site for the free medical care on April 20 and 21, Edmonds said. More information will be provided closer to the time of the spring event.

The Free Medical Clinic provides medical care for low-income and uninsured residents. Its location in Oak Ridge is at 116 E. Division Road. The phone number is (865) 483-3904.

The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news and is a Lake City native. Email her at dsmith@oakridger.com and follow her on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @ridgernewsed.

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The Oak Ridger

Tennessee has released letter grades for every public K-12 school in the state and Oak Ridge Schools received an A at six of the seven schools graded, making those schools among the highest rated ones in the state.

While Woodland Elementary School's student achievement numbers outperformed the state average in every area, the school received a C letter grade overall due to the weight applied to student growth in the equation, according to information from the city school system.

Three schools earned perfect Level 5 scores in every scored component contributing to the overall grade, the Oak Ridge Schools news release stated. Oak Ridge Preschool is not eligible for a school letter grade because it does not serve students in grades that participate in state assessments.

“It is nearly impossible to capture the success of a school and the incredibly intricate and multifaceted work of its educators with a single letter grade, but I am thrilled to see tireless work of our students, teachers and staff positively recognized in these outstanding letter grades,” Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers is quoted as saying in the release. “Over the last several years our schools have reached amazing new heights and I am excited to have an opportunity to shine a light on their success once again.”

Every Oak Ridge school earned a Level 5 in student achievement, the highest possible score, as a result of the district’s Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test results. During testing last spring, Oak Ridge Schools outperformed the state average, collectively, by more than 13 percentage points. In the new grading system, student achievement is weighted equally to student growth, and is an area the district plans to target as an opportunity for improvement moving forward.

“As with any assessment, we will use these letter grades as an opportunity to celebrate the good work happening in our schools and identify areas where we can continue to improve and positively impact student achievement,” Borchers stated. “While our student achievement numbers remain ahead of the state averages, we will continue to use data from our predictive assessments throughout the year to implement impactful learning strategies in the classroom and remain diligent in doing what’s best for our students.”

Scores are calculated based on a school’s achievement - determined by TCAP test results; growth - determined by Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) test results, and in the case of high school, college and career readiness. Each of these areas is weighted to determine its contribution towards the overall letter, the release stated. Additionally, growth is represented in two ways: growth achieved by the overall student population, and Growth25, the growth achieved by the lowest 25% of student performers.

“While we are happy that our student achievement has remained high, we recognized the need to improve our student growth and began implementing new ways of using data from our predictive assessments to make informed decisions that guide our work while providing individualized support and instruction whenever possible,” said Woodland Principal DT Hobby. “Because this year’s score is based on last year’s data, we have already seen improvement from the changes we have made this year and are looking forward to seeing our growth at the end of the year. As always, we will continue to implement impactful learning strategies in the classroom and will remain diligent in doing what’s best for our students.”

Across the state

More than a quarter of Tennessee's public K-12 schools could face corrective action and audits from the state after receiving Ds or Fs under the new grading system.

Tennessee released letter grades for every public K-12 school in the state on Thursday, putting a law first passed in 2016 into effect. The grades were long delayed by technical issues with testing and disruptions during the coronavirus pandemic.

The grading system's advocates say letter grades are a simpler, more transparent way for parents to understand school performance.

Opponents say the new system unfairly favors proficiency on standardized tests, instead of overall academic growth from year to year, making it harder for schools to earn As or Bs. Some have raised concerns that the grades will further stigmatize public schools, and others have pointed to the underfunding of those schools.

"School letter grades will provide Tennessee families with a clear rating system that gives them a snapshot of how their child’s school is performing," Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds said in a news release. "No matter what your school’s letter grade is, everyone can play a role in supporting the success of our students and the success of our schools by engaging with your local school communities and joining the conversation."

Tanya T. Coats, an educator from Knox County who heads the Tennessee Education Association, said the state already had an easy-to-understand, comprehensive report card system that accounted for things like absenteeism, graduation rates and college and career readiness - things not reflected well by letter grades. She pointed to how letter grades have caused harm in other states and called for Tennessee to repeal or heavily amend its newly effective law.

"It is insulting to students, parents, educators and communities to label our schools with a single letter grade weighted heavily on a flawed high-stakes standardized test," Coats said in the statement Thursday, shortly after the public release of the grades. "It is impossible to capture the hard work of Tennessee students and educators with such a simplistic rating."

Schools that receive a D or F must appear before the State Board of Education and may be required to follow a corrective plan or even face academic and financial audits. Nearly half of the schools that received Fs are within the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district. The remaining letter grades were largely scattered across the rest of the state.

How it works:Tennessee officials map out school A-F letter grade plan, state board members voice concern

Here's how letter grades broke down statewide, according to data released by the Tennessee Department of Education:

An additional 210 schools did not receive a letter grade due to "data suppression and business rules," according to the education department. For example, some public school programs geared toward adult learners would not be given a letter grade, a department official told The Tennessean. In total, Tennessee has around 1,700 public K-12 schools eligible for letter grades, according to department data.

The new grading system weights achievement and growth scores, which measure year-over-year academic progress for students. High schools have an additional weight added for college and career readiness indicators, like SAT and ACT scores.

Find out what letter grade individual schools received

Curious about what letter grade a specific school earned? Visit reportcard.tnedu.gov, select the "letter grades" tab across the top enter the name of the school in the search bar to look it up.

A downloadable dataset for the entire state is also available at tn.gov/education/districts/federal-programs-and-oversight/data/data-downloads. Scroll down to the "additional data" section and select the "school letter grade" drop down menu to access it.

In August and September, the state education department hosted a series of town halls and small group conversations open to the public, along with opportunities to engage on social media and submit written comments. The goal was to discuss the best way to measure school performance and to create transparency around what the new letter grades mean.

From August:Tennessee schools to receive A-F letter grades this fall, leaders seek public input

A series of 10 town hall meetings were hosted in Dickson, Greeneville, Bartlett, Memphis, Dyersburg, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Cookeville, Nashville and Shelbyville from mid-August to early September. Public comment submissions also drew around 300 responses.

Recordings of the town hall meetings, along with more information on the new letter grades, can be found at tn.gov/education/SchoolLetterGrades.

Contributing to this story was reporter Rachel Wegner atRAwegner@tennessean.com. Find her on Twitter, Threads and Bluesky @RachelAnnWegner.

Learn more

The state education department provided a fact sheet and FAQ on school letter grades. See it for yourself below.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — The biggest snowstorm in more than three decades here amid single-digit temperatures presented several challenges to EM’s operations on the Oak Ridge Reservation.

Thanks to pre-storm preparation, response and coordination with cleanup contractor UCOR, the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management was able to continue critical operations and made it through the recent storm and its aftermath without incident.

“We knew that cold weather preparation is always the key to recovery from a storm, especially at the scale we experienced,” said Sam Dolynchuk, UCOR’s deputy chief operating officer.

Prior to the storm, employees shut off water supplies, drained plumbing, verified heat trace and added more insulation at sites across the reservation. Heat tracing is used to maintain or raise the temperature of pipes and vessels.

An example of those efforts was when workers drained a water treatment system for the Beta-1 building at the Y-12 National Security Complex. At the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), teams cleared the site and developed a response team, which included mechanics to assist with equipment issues related to extreme temperatures.

At the landfills, crews verified that key systems were operational; drained hoses, pumps and other equipment prone to freeze damage; and staged heavy equipment for anticipated snow clearing and salt spreading. Workers also shipped leachate — or water that collects from rain — from the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility prior to the storm to minimize the site inventory of landfill wastewaters and maximize available storage capacity.

“I think the biggest avenue to our success was preparation and making the conscious decision to dedicate resources ahead of time to prepare and make tools and essential items available for response,” said Jimmy Hughes, area project manager with Heritage Center, which is the former ETTP site. “So, when we did respond it was more about following a plan, rather than creating one and then trying to implement simultaneously.”

An Isotek employee on the Oak Ridge Reservation moves snow and ice from steps to ensure safe access for co-workers.

At Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), equipment maintenance and pathway clearance helped ensure the safety of those onsite. Crews prepared parking lots and entrances around ORNL nuclear operations facilities, focusing on the Process Waste Treatment Center, which is a 24/7 operation.

The Emergency Services Watch Office monitored weather conditions and provided updates to officials for appropriate site closure decisions. It also worked closely with the communications team to keep employees informed about impacts and changes to work locations and schedules.

Employees with EM’s contractor Isotek also took steps to keep their employees safe. Maintenance teams helped break up ice on roads and walkways at ORNL.

Such efforts helped ensure employees could access their work areas when they returned, and enabled them to safely transport uranium-233 material between buildings. Processing operations resumed without a hitch.

-Contributors: John Gray, Wayne McKinney

The Oak Ridge Boys are coming back to Oak Ridge, where the original quartet got its start.

Officials with the city and Explore Oak Ridge, which promotes tourism for the Secret City, have announced country music's award-winning Oak Ridge Boys will come to Oak Ridge on Nov. 20. They'll be honored by the city of Oak Ridge and the Tennessee Department of Tourism with a "Tennessee Music Pathways" marker.

The public event is set for 3 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Historic Grove Theater. Only two of the "Boys" will be attending the Oak Ridge event: William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban.

The Grove was the place where the original Oak Ridge Boys got their start. A country, comedy and gospel music group called Wally Fowler and the Georgia Clodhoppers performed in 1943 at the Grove Theater. They would be allowed to enter the Manhattan Project city on Saturdays to perform in the morning for kids and in the evening for adults.

The group was eventually invited to perform at the Ryman Theater and moved to Nashville in 1947, according to the Explore Oak Ridge announcement. The group started "All Night Singings" at the Ryman in 1948 and changed their name to the Oak Ridge Quartet. The name was changed to the Oak Ridge Boys when they developed a broader sound.

There's more to the Oak Ridge Boys story than that short synopsis. City Historian D. Ray Smith, the man behind The Oak Ridger's weekly "Historically Speaking" column, wrote a much more in-depth history of the Oak Ridge Boys in February 2007, prior to their performance at that year's Secret City Festival in June. A road that runs just north of the Civic Center was also named Oak Ridge Boys Way while they were here in 2007.

The current Oak Ridge Boys - Richard Sterban, Joe Bonsall, Duane Allen, William Lee Golden - are currently on their 50th anniversary "American Made: Farewell Tour."

An Oak Ridge Boys marker adding Oak Ridge to the "Tennessee Music Pathways" - which chronicles the state's music heritage - will be placed. The "Tennessee Music Pathways" is also an online planning guide for tourists.

A marker was placed in Rocky Top in September to mark the town as the homeplace of famed songwriter Dean Dillon, the man behind hit songs by George Strait and many other country music stars. Dillon - then named Larry Dean Rutherford - attended Oak Ridge High School his senior year, graduated in 1973, and headed to Nashville.

The Oak Ridge Boys have won five Grammy Awards, nine Gospel Music Association Dove Awards and two American Music Awards. They were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015 and have been members of the Grand Ole Opry since 2011. They've had more than 30 Top 10 hits, including No. 1 songs, “Elvira,” “Bobbie Sue,” “American Made,” and the “Y’All Come Back Saloon."

The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Email her at dsmith@oakridger.com and follow her on Twitter@ridgernewsed.

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OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A major new film release this weekend is a World War II-era story with important connections to east Tennessee. In fact, some with ties to the area have grandparents or great-grandparents who worked at the location that changed history.

It's now playing. "Oppenheimer" — a $100 million dollar production and one of the most talked about movies of the year — tells the story of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, often called the father of the atomic bomb.

It's a story also told every day by Oak Ridge city historian Ray Smith at places including the Oak Ridge History Museum.

"This was a rural area selected for the Manhattan Project in 1942," said Smith. "People who were living here, some 3,000 people had to get off their property in a matter of weeks in order to make room for the Manhattan Project. By August 1945, there were 75,000 people living here in the city of Oak Ridge. At one time, they were completing houses every 30 minutes."

Many living and working in this city did not know the core purpose of this place was to produce the uranium for the atomic bomb.

A 20-year-old photographer named Ed Westcott was brought in to tell the Oak Ridge story through pictures.

"Not only did he take pictures of scientific activities, he would take pictures of the community," said Smith. "They selected this area, because it was inland from the sea, and it was a rural area, fairly isolated but close enough to Knoxville. We couldn't complete the paperwork today in the time they took to build the city and all those government facilities."

Oppenheimer himself would sometimes visit the Oak Ridge location.

"There was so much going on in his mind that would have been staggering for any of us to conceive of," said Trent DiGuilio, director of the documentary "Oppenheimer After Trinity." That documentary is now making the rounds in film festivals.

"[Oppenheimer] had to toil with the conflict of what he's about to enter into and the what ifs behind this atomic bomb," DiGuilio said. "This is an unknown."

"People are learning that now, the complexity of Oppenheimer," added Smith.

Since its beginnings in the Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge has grown into the city we know today. At the city's Alexander Inn, originally known as the Guest House, you can still see the place where Oppenheimer posed for a now-famous picture by Westcott.

Whether through a major film, a documentary, famous stills, or just walking crowds through the halls of a museum, many have taken part in sharing this history.

"I tell this story to everyone who comes to Oak Ridge," said Smith.

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