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What's Happening In Oak Ridge?!

March 2022 | Vol. 8, Issue 3

Citywide Household Trash Pickup Begins April 4

The citywide household trash pickup program will begin Monday, April 4, 2022. Household rubbish, old appliances, and minor remodeling materials will be picked up.


Residents have always been very cooperative, and we ask for their continued cooperation this year by following a few guidelines:

  • Residents should place all materials near, but not beyond the curb. Keep materials off sidewalks and out of parking areas and gutters. Please bag as many items as possible to prevent items from being scattered in prohibited areas.
  • There is a limit of one truckload of material per residence. A truckload is defined as one pickup truck or approximately 3' high x 4' wide x 8' long, approximately 100 cubic feet maximum.
  • Please be advised that Chestnut Ridge Landfill will NOT accept any item that has or had Freon in it, such as, air conditioners, freezers and refrigerators. Crews will NOT pick up hazardous items, paint, tires, or piles of rubbish that are mixed with brush or leaves.
  • All materials must be in place no later than 7:30 a.m. on the scheduled pickup day. Any materials put out after 7:30 a.m. may not be picked up.


Brush collection is scheduled to begin on May 9, 2022. A new schedule will be provided in advance of the start date. Bagged leaves/yard clippings will be picked up during the next collection. It should be noted that bagged yard waste will also be picked up with the regularly scheduled refuse collection throughout the year.


For more information, please contact Waste Connections of Tennessee at (865) 482-3656.

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Meeting schedule changes


Due to scheduling conflicts last month and this month, there will be a Special City Council Meeting on March 28 at 7 p.m. in order to handle any March business that could not be handled at the meetings held earlier this month.


The Budget and Finance Meeting that was initially set for March 16 and the City Council Work Session that was set for March 22 were both already held as a consolidated Work Session on Tuesday, March 1 at 6 p.m.


The meeting will happen in City Council Chambers, also known as the courtroom, at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building.


It can be watched live on Comcast Channel 12 or streamed live on the city’s website at oakridgetn.gov/streaming. To view the meeting agendas or rewatch the recording after the meeting, visit oakridgetn.gov/agenda.


If you need an accessible entrance to the Municipal Building (the main public entrance requires the ability to walk up several steps), there is an accessible entrance on the far end of the south side of the building near the City Clerk’s Office.


This entrance is a secured entrance, so please call (865) 425-5377 upon arrival for assistance or contact the City Clerk’s Office in advance.


The City Clerk’s Office can be reached at (865) 425-3411 with any further questions.

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Oak Ridge Recreation & Parks Department to host annual Community Egg Hunt

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The City of Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host its annual free Community Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 9 at 11 a.m.


The egg hunt will be a traditional style Egg Hunt held at A.K. Bissell Park. Parking will be available at both the East and West Civic Center parking lots. In the event of severe weather, eggs and prizes will be handed out via drive through at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.


The event is limited to children ages four through fourth grade. Families are asked to pre-register at Eventbrite.com. Pre-registration helps staff plan for the correct number of eggs and other supplies.


The Recreation and Parks Department staff will make a reasonable effort to provide appropriate accommodations for children who require an accessible area to hunt. Parents are encouraged to call the Recreation and Parks Department at (865) 425-3450 to make arrangements.


Adult volunteers (age 16 and up) are needed to hide eggs, supervise the hunt areas, and assist participants. All volunteers should be prepared to work from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the day of the event and should dress according to the weather. The first 50 volunteers to sign up will receive an event T-shirt. A pizza lunch will be served to all volunteers immediately following the event


For more information, call the Civic Center front desk at (865) 425-3450 or visit the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks website at orrecparks.oakridgetn.gov.

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City celebrates Arbor Day 2022

The 37th Annual Arbor Day Observance was held on March 4 at St. Mary's Catholic School this year! 


The ceremony also marked the 34th year that the City of Oak Ridge has been recognized as a Tree City USA.


At the ceremony, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Area Forester, Brook Smith, presented the Tree City USA and Tree Line USA awards to Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch. Tree City USA, a National Arbor Day Foundation program, recognizes U.S. towns and cities that develop comprehensive urban forestry programs.


To become a Tree City USA, a community must meet four standards: a legally constituted tree board; a community tree ordinance; a comprehensive community forestry program supported by a minimum of $2 per capita; and an Arbor Day proclamation and public tree planting ceremony.


Communities must reapply for the Tree City USA designation annually.


The Arbor Day ceremony included the planting of a Redbud tree, donated by the City of Oak Ridge. 


St. Mary’s students even decided to name the tree, Ruby Redbud!

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City of Oak Ridge accepting applications for vacancies on 3 boards and/or commissions

The City of Oak Ridge is currently accepting applications for board members on the Anderson County Community Action Commission, the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board, and the Personnel Advisory Board.


Oak Ridge residency is required for appointment. Members serve without compensation.


Individuals interested in serving on any of the three boards and/or commissions must submit a completed Boards and Commissions Application online or to the City Clerk's Office by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 21, 2022.


Applications can be completed online on the City’s website: www.oakridgetn.gov/online/cityclerk/bcelections.


Late applications will not be considered.


The Oak Ridge City Council will appoint members to these boards and commissions at the March 28, 2022, special meeting.


If someone would like a paper copy of the application mailed to them or if they have any further questions, please call the City Clerk’s Office at (865) 425-3411.


For more information on the vacancies available and to apply online, visit www.oakridgetn.gov/online/cityclerk/bcelections.

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Oak Ridge Recreation & Parks’ 2022 Spring Softball registration underway now until March 19

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Team registration for the City of Oak Ridge Department of Recreation & Parks’ 2022 Spring Softball season is now underway.


A men’s league will be offered on Monday evenings, a recreational co-ed league will be offered on Tuesdays, and a competitive co-ed league will be offered on Thursdays. 

Each league will consist of an 8-game season and an end-of-season tournament to determine the champion.


Masks are strongly recommended.


New to the 2022 season, and in accordance with T.C.A. § 39-17-1551(e) and City Ordinance Section 11-111, smoking, use of tobacco products, and use of vapor products at parks, playgrounds, greenways, and public property will be prohibited outside of designated areas. For more information, visit OakRidgeTN.gov.


Teams must complete registration paperwork and pay the applicable registration fee by Saturday, March 19. Games are scheduled to begin the week of April 4.


For more information or to obtain the registration paperwork, teams may contact Matt Reece at (865) 425-3440 or players may inquire at the front desk of the Oak Ridge Civic Center. Registration materials are due by the registration deadlines.

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At the Oak Ridge Public Library: Using 3D Printing to Make Things Better Faster

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3D printing is the new kid on the block in the world of manufacturing. So what is 3D printing, and what can it enable?


We’ll explore this as well as the many different types of additive manufacturing (AM), and expand on the differences between desktop 3D printers you can use at home and the large scale systems being developed in industry.


Celeste Atkins, Mechanical Engineer in Robotics & Additive Manufacturing will give this in-person talk on March 24 at 1 p.m.

Register

Tennessee Tree Day Set For March 18 & 19

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The City of Oak Ridge and the Healthy Waters Program are proud to partner again with the Tennessee Environmental Council for Tennessee Tree Day the weekend of March 19, 2022.


Every year, thousands of volunteers across all 95 counties in Tennessee plant native trees. These trees replace those lost to development, repair degraded streams, improve water quality, increase habitat for wildlife and pollinators, and beautify our communities!


If you reserved your seedlings in time, you can pick them up at the pickup site in Oak Ridge at the Central Services Complex on Friday, March 18 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 19 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

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City of Oak Ridge Healthy Waters Program hosting Ijams River Rescue site at Melton Hill Lake

There's still time to register for the 33rd Ijam's Nature Center River Rescue which is now set for March 19 after it was postponed due to the snow on Saturday, March 12.


The Healthy Waters Program is proud to host a site this year to keep Melton Hill Lake beautiful. This event is a great way to safely get out, get active, and clean up your local waterways. 


For our site, we are requiring volunteers to bring their own boats because we will be cleaning up on the water. We do not recommend small children volunteer at this site. 


You can register at https://tinyurl.com/ychkewvb or by emailing healthywaters@oakridgetn.gov

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We're Hiring!

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The City of Oak Ridge is hiring for several openings right now.


To view current job openings, click here or visit OakRidgeTN.gov and click the tab for 'EMPLOYMENT' at the top of the page.

Apply Now

City of Oak Ridge Releases 24th Annual Water Quality Report

The 24th annual water quality report is now available for viewing on the City of Oak Ridge website.

The direct link to the report is www.oakridgetn.gov/online/water-quality-2021.


Also known as the Consumer Confidence Report, it was mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1998 as an amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act.


The report, which contains information on the quality of the drinking water delivered by the city to the water customers as well as characterizing the risks from exposure to contaminants, again shows that Oak Ridgers have excellent drinking water. The city’s report indicates that Oak Ridge water was in compliance in all respects with state and federal drinking water requirements.


The state rule requires every municipality with a population of more than 10,000 people to produce such a report by July 1 of each year and make it available to each customer served by the city’s water system. Paper copies of the water quality report are available by calling (865) 425-1600. 


For more information, visit the City’s website at OakRidgeTN.gov, the EPA Office of Water at epa.gov/environmental-topics/water-topics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov, or the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation at tn.gov/environment.

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