2025 at 4:30 pm ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Township officials are advising drivers to use caution when going by closed areas (Scott Anderson / Patch)Editor's Note: This story has been updated with new information from Marlboro Township Road work that was scheduled to take place on School Road East this week will now begin after the weekend NJ — Drivers should be aware of road and bridge closures set to take place throughout Marlboro this week Harbor RoadStarting Thursday (March 27) and running through Friday (March 28) township officials said part of Harbor Road will be closed for milling and paving operations The township's contractor will be on-site between 8 a.m to perform road work between Pegasus Court and NJSH Route 79 The road will remain closed for the duration of the work day and drivers are advised to use caution through the work zone Monmouth County Emergency Bridge RepairFollowing a routine inspection Monmouth County officials discovered "severe deterioration" on Monmouth County Bridge ML-3 located on Robertsville Road over Tepehemus Brook For the safety of the traveling public, the bridge was closed immediately Robertsville Road between Palomino Way and Crossridge Circle will remain closed as the county makes repairs to the bridge the county put a signed detour in place directing traffic to Ryan Road and Lafayette Road to Route 9 The county anticipates that the bridge will remain closed for 4-6 weeks Officials are asking drivers to avoid the area if possible To see the road closure message from Marlboro Township, you can click here Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Oak Ridge runs as deep in the veins of Scott Hinton as does the 'Secret City's' mythical reputation for its help in the Manhattan Project to assist the United States' triumph in World War II Hinton's grandparents stretch their roots back to Oak Ridge around World War II and his family has made generational treks through the city's school system in the ensuing decades Now athletics director at Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge Hinton is being honored by the TSSAA as one of the ten 2020-21 recipients of the organization's prestigious Distinguished Service Award for his selfless work in giving back to the youth of his hometown “I knew when I was in high school that I wanted to teach and wanted to coach basketball,” said Hinton an eighth-grade American History teacher who began student-coaching as a freshman at Oak Ridge in the mid-1990s I was really good friends with Matt McMahon “I knew just having that passion and being around those guys that I wanted to teach and give back to others.” Hinton's seen his roles intertwined with youth athletics in his community since the early 2000s current Coalfield basketball coach David Scott Hinton helped resurrect the Robertsville Middle School girls' basketball program Hinton served as head coach of the Lady Rams through the 2012-13 year when he added the dual role of school athletics director in school at Robertsville; 7-year-old Hayden is a few years from what could be a similar path “One of the cool things was winning the area tournament title in 2009,” said Hinton who also counts former Oak Ridge coach and principal Chuck Carringer and we had some battles with them and lost a couple times in the regular season and then beat them in the area tournament in 2009 It was the first time since becoming a middle school in 1995 that we ever won the area title aside from working to enrich his students' lives in the classroom Hinton focuses on alleviating stress for all the coaches at Robertsville year in that regard for Hinton as everyone navigates the COVID-19 pandemic “I've kind of grown into the role of athletic director my biggest thing is I want to take as many administrative things off my coaches' plates as I can,” Hinton said I want to try to eliminate as many things on their plate and allow them to coach their teams Oak Ridge Schools just reintegrated into classrooms at the start of November teachers and staff alike all are adjusting to the new reality of full hallways in a pandemic year set forth a good model that Hinton hopes can be carried through the remainder of the academic and athletic calendar that I take a lot of pride in is that we didn't have to shut down any programs,” Hinton said and we didn't have to shut down for any cases and I hope we can continue to do that in basketball We all are seeing the case numbers going up living kind of one day at a time right now “We didn't have to cancel a single event because of another team or anything The kids got to play and that's the biggest thing TSSAA proudly salutes Scott Hinton for his service as a middle school coach and administrator ©2025 Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Corrigan named Robertsville Middle School principalThe Oak RidgerOak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers has announced that Nick Corrigan has been selected to serve as the new principal of Robertsville Middle School Corrigan earned a Bachelor of Science from Tennessee Technological University (TTU) in 2010 with a major in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts in Instructional Leadership from TTU in 2017 He earned an Education Specialist degree in Curriculum & Instruction through Liberty University in 2021 Corrigan began his educational career in Anderson County Schools at Norris Middle School in 2010 as a sixth-grade math teacher he accepted a position in Oak Ridge Schools as a fifth-grade math teacher at Jefferson Middle School (JMS) he was selected as the Dean of Students at JMS where he has also served as Athletic Director "Nick demonstrates his passion for student learning both as a classroom teacher and school administrator and ensures that every student is successful His educational philosophy is built on the uncompromising belief that all students can learn when provided a positive learning environment supported by teachers families and the surrounding community," a news release from Oak Ridge Schools stated "He reflects that he is a blessed husband to his wife Kylie and proud father to his son Robert James and that Oak Ridge is a wonderful city to raise a family," the news release stated hiking and being outdoors in his free time but most importantly dumping out a box of Legos or playing catch with his son in the evenings after work As a member of the Tennessee Army National Guard Corrigan is currently the Commanding Officer of a Forward Support Company responsible for logistics support with the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment He began his military career upon graduating high school and spent approximately 10 years in the Navy Reserve as a Hospital Corpsman prior to transferring to the Tennessee Army National Guard to attend Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning "Corrigan is excited about beginning the next chapter of his educational career as principal at Robertsville Middle School (RMS) He is honored and humbled by the opportunity and can’t wait to join the Ram Family to continue the incredible work that is taking place by students families and surrounding community at RMS He hopes to dedicate himself to the RMS family for years to come and serve with humility and a driving passion for student learning," the news release stated “I have loved my time at Jefferson Middle School and will cherish the memories and relationships that have been formed over the past 4 years Cox for the opportunity to come to JMS as a teacher as well as the opportunity to serve the school community as Dean of Students I want to express a heartfelt thank-you to the students families and community that I have had the pleasure to serve during my time at JMS Signing off… Go Eagles!” he stated in the news release You’ve got to love a community that can be nicknamed “Bobtown.” who platted what was then known as Robardsville the unincorporated town is only a few miles as the crow flies from Mapleton and just around the country corner from Myers who has lived in Robertsville his entire life and now delivers The Repository in his hometown Robertsville is large enough to have a latitude and longitude — 40.763N and -81.189W respectively — and it covers enough ground to boast of an elevation of 1,089 feet you’re not going to find much more than that to talk about in town It’s pretty much one street — “from 35 mph sign to 35 mph sign,” as a motorist who was passing through before his truck broke down said but you see the sign welcoming you to Osnaburg Township before you completely get out of town One attraction is Adriane’s Bobtown Barber Shop which Adriane Snyder opened in a former carpet store that was twice an auction house and started as a grocery market The other day I had somebody from Cleveland who was in the Bobtown Barber Shop chair Tuesday morning the urge is to keep driving through Robertsville and get to somewhere else No restaurant or box store will lure you off the road About all that can be found in the town are the barber shop the community’s volunteer fire department and two churches “There used to be a hardware store and a barber shop across the street,” remembered Hudy who went to Robertsville Elementary school before it closed “We had a softball team called the Bobtown Bobcats Flags fly in many yards or from front porches Welcome signs are posted on several buildings It’s the kind of community where someone sells pumpkins in a front yard — carving size for $5 and pie-size for $1 More than 90 people turned out recently for a ceremony honoring former Coach Winston Russell The track and field complex at Robertsville Middle School is now the Coach Winston Russell Track and Field Speakers at the event shared stories about Russell while he and his wife Nancy listened and laughed along with them Russell's distinguished career included coaching at Robertsville and Oak Ridge High School along with competing in athletic events for the University of Tennessee Robertsville Middle School athletic director, led the event on Wednesday May 4 "We're honoring a true Oak Ridge legend right here," Hinton said The day also featured comments from Robertsville Middle School Principal Kirk Renegar Oak Ridge Board of Education Chairman Keys Fillauer Oak Ridge High School Principal Garfield Adams retired Oak Ridge High School Head Football Coach Joe Gaddis and RMS Cross County Coach David Scott Oak Ridge High School welding students made the sign honoring Russell in a project organized by Todd Livesay The plaque gives details about Russell’s life and career He attended Robertsville Junior High School and Oak Ridge High School in the 1950s high jump and sprints as part of the Wildcats track and field team The plaque called him a “key part” of ORHS’ three state championship teams for track and field Later at the University of Tennessee he served as captain of the 1963 and 1964 teams won indoor and outdoor Southeastern Conference Championships and set nine records for UT track and field He later returned to Oak Ridge as a physical education teacher and coach for RJHS "That was like a dream come true," Russell said of returning to the Oak Ridge school system "I knew how good the system was in Oak Ridge." He was RJHS head football coach from 1966 through 1988 and head track coach from 1966 through 1989 He was also the school’s assistant basketball coach from 1966 through 1973. During Russell's time there the school changed names from Robertsville Junior High School to Robertsville Middle School "This is a big part of my life where we're standing It means so much to me," he told the crowd at the newly dedicated RMS track and field complex He thanked the people involved in its approval and dedication he was an assistant football coach from 1989 through 2002 returning to the Wildcat football coaching staff in 2009 He was an assistant track coach from 1989 until 2011 The Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame inducted him in 1990 He received the Tennessee CareActer Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2017 Ben Pounds is a staff reporter for The Oak Ridger follow him on Twitter @Bpoundsjournal and email him at bpounds@oakridger.com Oak Ridge Today Posted at 10:26 pm October 2, 2016By Leave a Comment Jefferson Middle School quarterback Mitchell Gibbons (17) threw a 19-yard touchdown pass and scored twice on quarterback keepers on two-point conversions during a 16-12 win over Robertsville Middle School in the City Championship on Blankenship Field on Thursday The Jefferson Middle School Eagles won the City Championship for the second year in a row beating the Robertsville Middle School Rams 16-12 in a game of fourth-quarter drama on Blankenship Field on Thursday Robertsville Middle School wide receiver Timothy Williams (6) and teammates celebrate the first touchdown for the Rams during a 16-12 loss to Jefferson Middle School in the City Championship on Blankenship Field on Thursday celebrate with players and students after a 16-12 win over Robertsville Middle School in the City Championship on Blankenship Field on Thursday Robertsville Middle School running back Kendall Jackson (5) is pictured above rushing during a 16-12 loss to Jefferson Middle School in the City Championship on Blankenship Field on Thursday Robertsville Middle School quarterback Ky Hirsch (2) is pictured above rushing during a 16-12 loss to Jefferson Middle School in the City Championship on Blankenship Field on Thursday The Jefferson Middle School Eagles won the City Championship for the second year in a row beating the Robertsville Middle School Rams 16-12 on Blankenship Field on Thursday Pictured above is JMS eighth-grader Jonathan Stewart (2) who caught a 19-yard pass for a touchdown in the first quarter and returned a kickoff for a score in the fourth Jefferson Middle School coaches are pictured on the sideline during a 16-12 win over Robertsville Middle School in the City Championship on Blankenship Field on Thursday Robertsville Middle School Coach James Branson is pictured at left above talking to officials during a 16-12 loss to Jefferson Middle School in the City Championship on Blankenship Field on Thursday Robertsville Middle School sixth-grader Jayden Williams (14) returned an interception about 25 yards for a touchdown huddle at halftime of a 16-12 win over Robertsville Middle School in the City Championship on Blankenship Field on Thursday Robertsville Middle School quarterback Ky Hirsch (2) passes under pressure during a 16-12 loss to Jefferson Middle School in the City Championship on Blankenship Field on Thursday Jacob Kesterson (55) of Jefferson Middle School is pictured above talking to a coach during a timeout in a 16-12 win over Robertsville Middle School in the City Championship on Blankenship Field on Thursday Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Copyright © 2025 Oak Ridge Today The first Baptist church service was held in Oak Ridge on Oct That service was held at the United Church where various church groups in those early days met at different times the Baptist group formed First Baptist Church; and soon after that One of those missions met at the old Robertsville school in the summer of 1944 and later became Robertsville Baptist Church Robertsville became an independent church on May 26 Charter members still on the church's roll include Sylvia Smith Clay Robertsville will celebrate its 65th anniversary The theme -- "Answering the Call," to celebrate those who through the ministry and influence of Robertsville Baptist felt a call to vocational ministry both in the local church or mission field Robertsville Baptist Church is located on Robertsville Road next to Robertsville Middle School and just a stone's throw from the original Robertsville Baptist Church The older church was disbanded in 1942 when the government took over the Robertsville community and other communities for the Manhattan Project The cemetery of the old church still remains at the site and is where Collins Roberts and his wife are buried Robertsville community was named for Roberts it bequeathed $1,000 for a church of like faith to be built near the site The church purchased five acres of land next to the school in 1949 when the government made land available for sale to churches Members left the school building in 1953 and met in dormitories on Jefferson Circle until the new church was built -- a 22-month process that began in February 1954 "Robertsville Baptist Church has a rich heritage as a Southern Baptist church focused on missions and ministry strengthened through the sharing together of life's joys and sorrows," said the Rev Scott and the church family have invited former pastors and church staff as well as those people who grew up at Robertsville and are serving in local church ministry or missions The community is also invited to the service "We'll begin our day with Bible study followed by morning worship then a lunch to be followed by a time of remembering," Scott said "It will be a special day to remember all that God has done in and through the people of Robertsville Baptist." Former members will lead the morning worship service Roy Kiser will be preaching and Kay Hamrick will be leading the music and choir "We look to the future with great hope and excitement about all that God is and will be doing through the next generations of Robertsville Baptist members," Scott said "Just as He's called so many into service for the Lord we know He will continue to use Robertsville Baptist Church to call a new generation of ministers into the Gospel ministry." Beverly Majors can be contacted at (865) 220-5514 A Robertsville area man was jailed after he was accused of setting fire to his family’s barn he assaulted someone at the Stark County Jail 5 in the 2600 block of Robertsville Avenue SE by Stark County sheriff’s deputies on felony warrants charging him with four counts of arson and two counts of aggravated arson he set fire to a home at 2713 Robertsville Avenue SE while a relative was still inside He also set fire to a 2004 Chevrolet Aveo belonging to another relative set fire to a storage barn belonging to yet another relative and set fire to a 2015 Ford Fusion belonging to a fourth relative The house fire spread from a garage to a neighbor’s home Stantz said deputies found Boord hiding near a stream behind his family’s home he punched a corrections officer twice in the face at the jail A felony charge of assault was lodged against him Stark County court records show he went to prison in 2015 for receiving stolen property He was convicted in April of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and he was convicted a week ago of domestic violence He was sentenced last week to 180 days in jail and all but 11 were suspended He was also sentenced to undergo anger management — “To God be the glory,” stated Robertsville Middle School head boys basketball coach John Spratling following the final night of the 2020 Area 2 Class AA District Tournament hosted by and held at RMS of Oak Ridge 30 — with the Robertsville boys playing in the Boys Championship Game and the Robertsville girls playing in the Girls Championship Game “We (the Robertsville Rams) were undefeated in District play,” coach Spratling said “both in the regular season and the District Tournament the thing I’m most proud of is that we honored Fred Guinn and Lawrence Graham for the sacrifices they made way back in 1955 — for all of us ‘Thank you!’ and that we will never forget you.” the Robertsville Middle School announced it was honoring Guinn and Graham throughout the tournament RMS was hosting both Guinn and Graham were members of the Oak Ridge High School basketball team back in 1955 “This year marks the 65th anniversary of the first African Americans to play on the ORHS basketball team,” stated a joint letter from coaches Spratling and David Scott head coach of the Robertsville Middle School’s girls basketball team Oak Ridge was actually ahead of more publicized places such as Clinton and Little Rock.” “one major issue” that Guinn and Graham had to deal with was that for away games in ’55 those places Oak Ridge was traveling to had to agree to let Oak Ridge’s black players play “… and most DID NOT!” the Robertsville Lady Rams beat New Center 38-33; and in the Boys Championship Game Posted at 11:35 am May 10, 2015By Leave a Comment Robertsville Middle School is offering Invention Project a brand new STEM summer camp for rising sixth- to eighth-graders from June 8-12 Invention Project builds on the great success of the Camp Invention STEM program last summer but it is also an interdisciplinary educational approach that blends these fields which are deeply intertwined in the real world and in how students learn most effectively The Invention Project summer camp features a variety of entertaining and educational STEM challenges to engage the inventor RMS is the first school in Tennessee to offer Invention Project a program that is unique in that it blends fun technical and marketing activities to engage campers in a real-world simulation that goes from inventing a tech product to marketing it to a customer This week of adventure encourages innovation and it builds leadership skills and self-confidence—abilities that will be valuable in all aspects of the camper’s life for years to come The camp will be held at Robertsville Middle School at 245 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m from June 8 to 12 Campers who register by May 15 can get $15 off by using the promotional code SPRING. Oak Ridge Schools district employees get $30 off when they use the code HOST and their school email address. Find out more information and register at www.inventionproject.org More Education Posted at 2:04 pm October 4, 2016By Leave a Comment Isabella Steade (11) plays wide receiver and cornerback for the Robertsville Middle School Rams football team She is pictured above during the City Championship game with Jefferson Middle School on Blankenship Field on Thursday A sixth-grade girl played wide receiver and cornerback for the Robertsville Middle School Rams this season It’s unusual but not unprecedented for a girl to play football although it’s not clear if one has played wide receiver and cornerback before Other girls have played for Robertsville before but Steade might be the first one who wasn’t a kicker Oak Ridge Wildcats broadcaster David Clary said there were two females who played in the early 2000s kicked an extra point in a game against Sevier County in 2002 Niemeyer is the only female Wildcat to score in a football game “There have been a couple of others that have played middle school though,” he said Other schools have also had female kickers. This year, Lenoir City High School senior Hailey Abston is the goalkeeper on the school’s soccer team and also the kicker on the football team who played her first year of football this season has good hands as a receiver and tackles well as a cornerback she could play another two years at Robertsville Branson said he hopes she “steps up.” Branson said he doesn’t recognize Steade as different than the other players “It’s not even a big deal to us,” Branson said “We just kind of treat her as one of the other team members.” Her daughter has played a few times. Maria, who was standing near the sideline during the City Championship game between Robertsville and Jefferson Middle School on Thursday said she gets a little nervous when Isabella is on the field Her mother said Isabella is not treated differently on the football team “She was practicing just as hard as they were,” Maria said Isabella may try out at RMS again next year she wants to play next year,” Maria said we have received information that Amanda Kuipers played wide receiver and free safety on the Jefferson Middle School team in her seventh-grade year in the fall of 2010 and Brittany Evans Bogard played defensive back for Jefferson when she was in seventh grade when there were several girls on that team More information will be added as it becomes available Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers recently showed off some new designs for the exterior of Robertsville Middle School “We get to do some exciting and fun things with Robertsville Middle School,” he said speaking to a virtual audience at Altrusa International of Oak Ridge “I’m just incredibly excited about this,” he said describing the look of the school to be “much more modern.” The renovations for Robertsville Middle School include new more energy-efficient windows and “roller shades” for them and a new gray paint scheme rather than the current exposed brick It will also include new handicapped parking spaces These changes are all part of a $7.4 million package from Energy Systems Group that the Oak Ridge Board of Education approved at last month’s meeting ESG described Robertsville’s current windows as “very difficult to open” and allowing for “significant heat loss and heat gain,” along with air and water infiltration through the frames the school board approved paying for the ESG improvements over the next 20 years with annual payments The school system expects money for the payments to come from energy savings that result from some of the improvements such as LED upgrades for Oak Ridge High School and Woodland Elementary School The package also includes water conservation upgrades.  The school board will pay back $350,000 each year for the next 20 years The school system expects to get $1.5 million in federal funding to help with the project the School Board committed to paying $5.9 million in bonds rather than the full $7.4 million The $1.5 million in federal funds come specifically from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund which is part of the federal CARES Act.  22 meeting to set aside these funds for two specific parts of the overall $7.4 million ESG package.  ventilation and air conditioning units (HVAC) at ORHS and Woodland school The other is installation of ionization air purification technology in all HVAC units district wide “It could really save a life,” Russ Nelson business development manager with ESG has said of the bipolar ionization system He’s said it could prevent diseases like COVID-19 from spreading Borchers told his Altrusa audience that he aimed to have RMS' renovations done by “late fall or early winter.” supervisor of maintenance and operations at Oak Ridge Schools said he hoped to see the new bipolar ionization systems installed at the schools “within a couple of weeks.”  he said the “backbone” of the ESG renovations will take place over the summer so as to work around students’ testing schedules He said he expected all the work to wrap up “a little after fall break” this year He said the contractors will try to do “as much as they can” over summer break but said they will need to work around summer school The School Board also approved using the federal ESSER for $1,625,260 to purchase 2,797 laptops These laptops will replace the ones students used by students in grades five through 12 “These machines struggle to meet the demands of required hybrid The replacement of student computers in grades 5-12 would ensure that all students are able to transition from in-school instruction to virtual instruction in a seamless manner,” a document included in the school board agenda stated it is not part of the Energy Systems Group package The full agenda and meeting audio of that Feb Call Ben Pounds at (865) 441-2317 and follow him on Twitter @Bpoundsjournal FRIDAY UPDATE: Both students facing charges in Friday's separate incidents have been transferred to the Richard L FRIDAY UPDATE: This is the Skylert automated phone message that parents and guardians of Robertsville Middle School parents received today It was provided to The Oak Ridger by Bruce Lay Oak Ridge Schools' executive director of school leadership we had a student inform a teacher of a social media threat made in recent history The student who made the threat was immediately removed from class and ORPD was contacted The police are conducting an investigation and the school administration are following the school code of conduct Please be confident that the students were never at risk and the students are continuing to have a productive day at Robertsville Middle School we are very proud of some students who made the brave decision to step forward with information please continue to have discussions with your students regarding the issues of social media and the use of threats in any manner we applaud the students for being vigilant and helping RMS and ORPD keep RMS a safe school." Juvenile summons for charges of assault and harassment were obtained for two Oak Ridge students Friday One of the students was a 12-year-old boy who attends Robertsville Middle School The other is a 15-year-old male student at Oak Ridge High School officers with the Oak Ridge Police Department were dispatched to ORHS for a report of a student threat The 15-year-old student was removed from class and taken to the principal’s office along with the alleged victim and a witness Officers learned the suspect allegedly threatened another student verbally saying if he was going to "shoot up the school," he "would shoot her first." After obtaining the juvenile summons for charges of assault and harassment officers took the student to appear before the juvenile court judge in Anderson County “This is the third student threat in two days at Oak Ridge Schools ORPD will continue to work with students and school leadership to respond to these threats immediately,” the statement read the ORPD reported that a 12-year-old male student was removed from class and taken to the principal’s office on Friday morning Officers were reportedly dispatched just after 11 a.m Friday to the school on a report of a student threat officers learned that the student allegedly threatened another student through social media The ORPD reportedly obtained a juvenile summons for the charges of assault and harassment and officers on Friday took the student to appear before Anderson County Juvenile Court judge Oak Ridge Police Chief James Akagi was invited to participate in morning announcements Friday at Robertsville Middle following Thursday's alleged threat by a 13-year-old male student “I took this opportunity to thank the students and staff who brought yesterday’s incident to our attention and reminded everyone now was not the time to make jokes about violence," Akagi was quoted as saying in the release Friday's alleged threat comes on the heels of two incidents Thursday and another involving a Clinton High School student Oak Ridge police reportedly arrested a 13-year-old Robertsville student who said he was going to "shoot up" the school A statement issued by the Oak Ridge Police Department on Thursday said the 13-year-old said he was going to “shoot up” the school The alleged threat was made during a moment of silence for the victims of the recent school shooting in Florida and the ORPD statement said the student was removed from class "immediately." Two officers interviewed the boy at the principal's office The student reportedly admitted to saying he was going to "shoot up the school," but apologized He reportedly told officers he was joking and did not mean it officers also interviewed a parent of the student who said the boy does not have access to any firearms at home The student was reportedly expelled from school and released to a parent But the officers then reportedly conferred with the juvenile prosecutor in the Anderson County District Attorney's Office then obtained a juvenile summons for charges of harassment and disruption of a gathering Officers then reportedly went to the student's home placed him under arrest and took him to appear before the juvenile court judge He was reportedly being transferred to the Richard L Bean Juvenile Service Center in Knoxville later Thursday a 15 year old female Clinton High student was taken into custody Thursday after an investigation of a social media threat according to Chief Deputy Mark Lucas of the Anderson County Sheriff's Department The female student had sent a male student messages on a social media site that ultimately led to threats Upon investigation by school resource officers amd detectives with the Sheriff's Department the girl was identified and subsequently arrested Thursday morning Lucas stated Thursday that she was being held in juvenile detention pending a hearing Ben Pounds can be contacted at (865) 220-5502 and follow him on Twitter @Bpoundsjournal News editor Donna Smith contributed to this story Welcome to part two of Benita Albert’s story about Todd Livesay You are about to learn more of his skills and abilities as well as his hobbies and his growing family RamSat is now in space making Robertsville Middle School the first middle school to do so It was a chance encounter of two former Oak Ridge High School alumni at a Christmas Eve service in 2015 that led to an innovative project involving Robertsville Middle School (RMS) students and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Todd Livesay (ORHS Class of 1981) and Patrick Hull (ORHS Class of 1992) talked briefly about engaging students in a creative STEM activity an experiment to be conducted in the Earth’s thermosphere via a nanosatellite but also initially overwhelmed considering the enormity of such a project Todd described the beginnings of the program: “The first year was simply an enrichment class NASA personnel contacted RMS and encouraged them to apply for the actual CubeSat initiative.” The following summer found Todd in Huntsville, Alabama visiting the Marshall Space Flight Center and discussing the project further with Patrick, a NASA aeronautical engineer, as well as with other NASA officials. A portion of that visit was filmed and is available online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxeOmXJctUk&t=10s “The video was made as a challenge to RMS students to motivate them and make the project a real life subject.” It takes a teacher stepping outside of his comfort zone an advocate who believes anything is possible with his students and an enthusiast for new challenges to inspire and lead such a mission Todd’s energy was tested in his tireless work to reset the curriculum His leadership has now earned Robertsville Middle School the honor of being the first middle school CubeSat project in space Tracking his professional teaching career and interviewing him about the changes he has seen over the 37 years he has been in the classroom is a reminder of how much the world has changed.  and he left only to pursue his undergraduate degree in Technology Education “My goal was always to come back and teach in the Oak Ridge Schools.” Graduating from UT in 1985 he learned that no positions in his field were open in Oak Ridge.  He accepted a job in Knoxville at Northwest Middle School where he taught Industrial Arts for all students Todd started a chapter of the Technology Student Association (TSA) an extracurricular opportunity for students to learn and compete in a variety of academic areas TSA became an extremely popular student activity not only at Northwest where he served for seven years but also in all the subsequent schools at which he has taught He moved to a diversified technology teaching position at Karns High School in 1992 setting up a lab in partnership with Pellissippi State Community College His lab provided introductions to the newest technology at the time such as lasers we had to build it including pre- and post-testing instruments running it on a DOS operating system (there was no Windows technology).” Smiling Todd recalled having one modem and a fax machine which he described as “state of the art at the time.”   Todd served as a state trainer for diversified technology teachers in East Tennessee Todd says his professional life got a shot of adrenalin when he trained in the program He briefly described it as a program designed by retired engineers emphasizing applied learning and student presentations (both written and oral.)” The educators attending the training became students who were required to complete the curricular packages: Design and Modeling Todd’s last four years in the Knox County school system were spent at Farragut High School where he once again established a lab for diversified technology students Hearing of a position opening in the career technical education program in the Oak Ridge Schools Todd interviewed and enthusiastically accepted a position at Robertsville Middle School starting in 1999 and it was the Oak Ridge Schools who supported his training at the University of Seattle’s Project Lead the Way summer seminar “That training changed my teaching trajectory.” Todd has created a learning environment heavily emphasizing team project work and STEM projects worthy of course credit at the high school level for his Robertsville students Todd has been asked to set up a STEM lab at ORHS where he is currently assigned for 60% of his teaching day in the 2021-22 school year He enthused while showing me the equipment obtained thus far: band saws five drill presses (for different applications) His dreams are endless as he anticipates adding a computer numerical control router and a vision for an additional STEM 4 work-based learning course Todd currently teaches Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing (welding) and Advanced STEM 1 & 2 Todd is effusive when talking about his students He recalled the first year he introduced the NASA project and the necessary student investigations and goals The curriculum suggested by NASA to introduce the program was completed by his students in only one semester Patrick Hull and other NASA officials were incredulous The students presented their project work to Hull just before Christmas and it was clear they were prepared and ready for more Todd laughed remembering that their presentation included his students’ idea to wear Santa hats students researched and proposed their own solutions such as the use of a magnetorquer for stabilization of the CubeSat in flight Each class year took on a new aspect of the project: programming we enlisted local scientific experts to consult and instruct Those mentors have volunteered their own time outside their work at ORNL (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) and Y-12 They have been great role models for my students whose future might include STEM careers.” The RamSat project had a demanding timeline which was potentially compromised by the COVID-19 restricted school shift to online instruction in 2020 Todd sought permission from the Oak Ridge Schools administration to permit his former students who were ORHS students to continue the build at Robertsville.  RamSat was launched via a Space X rocket to the International Space Station on June 3 It was released for orbit from the Space Station on June 14 and teachers traveled to Florida to view the launch NASA made a special launch patch for the occasion and presented it to all involved in the project NASA also made lapel pin replicas of the patch A description of the mission was included as an attachment: “ELaNa missions provide flight opportunities for educational CubeSats selected via NASA’s CubeSat launch initiative are primarily developed by universities and high schools to introduce students to the design and development of spacecraft The ELaNa 36 mission involves the deployment of a single 2U CubeSat (RamSat) … RamSat was built and will be operated by the students at Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge Other teaching rewards Todd mentioned included his pride in the fact that his three children have had Oak Ridge Schools’ educations and Mary are 2011 and 2012 ORHS graduates while his son Laura and Mary went to Glenwood Elementary The opportunity to teach all of his children was special for Todd who observed “I have been able to watch them grow up and find themselves.” Todd’s wife is the church administrator for Christ Community Church in Oak Ridge They now delight in their new generation of two grandchildren Asked to comment on his teaching challenges Todd wiped his forehead while recalling the online learning issues for the hands-on projects that his courses emphasize “Whatever you’re teaching will be history in the future I emphasize concepts and a bigger picture perspective that I hope will serve future change.” Another candid reality of his teaching career arose when I asked about his hobbies namely his skilled work in custom carpentry He grimaced when stating that his first teaching contract in 1985 provided an annual salary of $11,500 so I had to supplement my pay.” His skills in cabinet design and construction were honed in his senior year at UT when he was given permission to use the industrial arts lab equipment to build an entirely new kitchen for his parents His UT professor/mentor challenged him by offering an advanced credit in woodworking if he was successful with the ambitious project Not only did his parents get a beautiful new kitchen Todd did carpentry work on the side while also teaching. He said I was able to buy all the equipment I needed to set up my own cabinetry shop.” His skilled work graces many homes and businesses in the area After accepting his Oak Ridge Schools appointment earning a Master of Education degree and an Educational Specialist degree Though he has certification in educational administration Todd loves teaching and mentoring too much to leave the classroom a necessary component of the rapid change in technology and STEM topics We had to reschedule a recent evening interview when Todd learned of an ORHS Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Course (NJROTC) meeting Serving as the president of the NJROTC Parents’ Booster Club for three years has been a four-year member of the class and now holds the rank of Commander It was a special pleasure for both father and son to make the NJROTC school trip to Hawaii last December Todd cited the visit to the USS Arizona Memorial the site where more than 900 US sailors died On the 80th year observance of Pearl Harbor Day the ORHS NJROTC was honored to represent the State of Tennessee and march in the commemorative parade I asked Todd for advice for prospective teachers or new teachers it’s really all about them.” He then asked me if his answer was enough The countless hours Todd has devoted to his students is evidence that he places student engagement and interest first In spite of the many distractions placed on educators by mandated programs and evaluations Todd’s core value to prioritize his students’ love for learning is his secret to success I feel incredibly proud to see the excellent educator I always said that in the classroom I saw the future Todd was one of those shining promises.  The Oak Ridge Schools motto is “Excellence in Education since 1943.” No one symbolizes this more than Todd Livesay an inspiring educator who represents the best in passion for his work in his love of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge Schools and in the inspiring challenges he has bought to STEM education in Oak Ridge.  Such an outstanding achievement for Todd and for Oak Ridge Schools to be the first middle school to put a CubeSat experiment in space for yet another most interesting story of one of our very own.  Posted at 7:44 am October 16, 2013By 3 Comments The Robertsville Rams capped off a great season Thursday night with a 34-14 win over conference rival Rhea Central Middle School The Rams finished the season with an 8-1 overall record The Rams finish the season with an 8-1 overall record with their only loss coming in a double overtime thriller against Christian Academy of Knoxville This team is the first to win a conference championship at Robertsville since 2006 The win over Rhea Central marks an impressive seven-game win streak for the Rams football program led by some strong future Oak Ridge Wildcats they realize and see how close we were,” said Chris Layton head football coach of Robertsville Middle School. “The best part is from that moment on They learned to develop a hatred for losing But it’s the guy who hates to lose that we need They showed that hatred for losing from that point on and never looked back.” The Rams dominated in the first quarter against Rhea Central and led at the end of the first quarter 20–0 The dominance came from the Rams and their backfield featuring eighth-grader Adarius Simpson who rushed for 103 yards on 12 carries and the game’s first score “He’s tougher than a waffle house steak You’re talking about a guy who ran for 1,000 yards as a seventh-grader and was splitting carries this year with our dynamic duo of backs in seventh grade the Rams got another great effort from a pair of seventh-graders Graham scored the Rams’ second touchdown with a long run in the second series to make the lead 14-0 Graham was the second-leading rusher with 96 yards on 11 carries “Jordan is going to be a special high school football player but I’m happy as can be he has one more year to be a Ram,” Layton said you better buckle your seat belt because he’d score on a 300-yard run if the field were that long His quick moves and vision to see the cutback lanes has gotten better every week” He also had an 86-yard touchdown called back right before the half on a procedural penalty Graham and Jackson combined to seal the victory in the fourth quarter with two huge plays Graham took to the right edge and seemed stopped but he reversed field and picked up 10 yards to keep the drive alive another stellar seventh-grade running back had a big night with 12 carries for 88 yards and two touchdowns including the game-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter but he loves to deliver the blow to someone just for fun,” Layton said but he found Rhea Central players to plow as he did it and he ran to the far side near the Rhea Central sideline and I heard a boom and I said ‘Tre just took a shot’ and coach Kevin Angel corrected me and said he just delivered one.’ Tre is a physical and incredibly fast young man and I expect to see many great things in the future for him as well.” The offense was run soundly by signal caller Cobe Walls who also added a one-yard touchdown run to give the Rams a 20-0 lead in the second quarter “Cobe Walls had a tremendous season for us running this offense as a captain as a leader and as a signal caller,” Layton said “Having Cobe on the field in many ways was like having another coach pretty well and make big time plays when needed.” After giving up 20 points and big runs up the middle to Rhea Central a week prior the Rams seemed set on playing relentless football The defensive effort was led by eighth-grade defensive end Jayson Colwell who recorded 12 tackles “There is no doubt in my mind that Rhea Central is still having nightmares about Jayson Colwell,” Layton said His football skill and ability is far beyond most players his age It seemed like every time they ran to his side His effort on the edge combined with the solid play inside by Jack Borchers and Garrett Wilson made the Rams front seven a stalwart to run against “Our front seven played lights out,” Layton said “They responded from the first time we played this group put together a game plan to shut down what they like to do and by the second series they were going away from their offense.” Once the Rams flexed their muscle against the run the defense saw more players rise to the occasion our defense adjusted led by our linebackers and secondary,” Layton said “They responded big time and in a big way.” Robertsville finishes their season with an 8-1 overall record and an unblemished record in conference play It is the first championship team at Robertsville since 2006 and the Rams also defended their title as City Champs to make it four years in a row and when you combine it with the last few teams over the last few years is in for some special times,” Layton said. “I told the kids last night to enjoy this because it’s a special feeling This town needs a gold ball from the state championship game and it’s their job to go and get it along with the groups at Oak Ridge High School right now October 16, 2013 at 7:54 am October 16, 2013 at 8:21 am October 17, 2013 at 11:28 pm I’ve heard good things about the Rams and the players and the impact they could have on the Wildcats team in a few years Jefferson Middle School defended its title and won back-to-back games in the annual city championship against Robertsville Middle School for the first time in the history of the series The Eagles won 16-12 over the Rams at Blankenship Field last Thursday night in what ended up being a dramatic fourth quarter finish When asked what he thought made the difference at the end of the game Jefferson head coach Brian Wilson commended his team's leadership “We've got six guys that refuse to lose and they led that last charge,” he said “But this whole team was determined to win this second (in a row) city championship.” The Eagles got the ball to start the game and finished up a long first quarter drive with a touchdown when eighth-grade quarterback Mitchell Gibbons found classmate Johnathan Stewart on a 19-yard touchdown pass Gibbons then ran in the two-point conversion to give Jefferson an 8-0 lead early “He is the ultimate winner,” Wilson said about his quarterback “The high school coaches will love him because he represents everything we look for — discipline Robertsville turned the ball over on downs on its first drive with neither team being able to find much of a rhythm on offense The Eagles went into the locker room with an 8-0 lead The Rams struck pay dirt quickly on their first drive when quarterback Ky Hirsch hit wide receiver Timothy Williams over the top for a long touchdown Robertsville head coach James Branson thought it was the perfect time to try a deep ball “We came out after halftime and noticed they were slacking up there at corner on our out routes,” he said “They were coming up and hitting that out route so we hit Trey Rowe (running back) a couple times and then threw it over the top He's been throwing those deep balls better than any guy that I've seen.” The Rams were unable to convert the two-point play After the teams traded a couple possessions the Eagles made what appeared to be a crucial mistake when they threw an interception to Robertsville cornerback Jayden Williams giving the Rams a 12-8 lead late in the game “Heck of a job there by Jayden Williams,” Branson said “They had been killing us all night in the flats and we had it covered “He's a sixth-grader too so big shoutout to him He'll be back next year and we're expecting big things out of him.” Just when it looked like Robertsville had the momentum Jefferson's Stewart returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown He's the type of player that really likes to perform when the stage is big.” the Eagles' Gibbons was able to pull down a clutch interception to seal the win “That shows you what kind of character he (Gibbons) is,” Wilson said about the game-winning interception “That makes him even that more determined to come back and fight like that.” Robertsville's Branson said he was proud of his team “What a heck of a way to end a game in those last four minutes,” he said It's probably my favorite group so far because we could push them to work harder “They've faced some of the most adverse challenges and they've responded I'm not making excuses but the way they responded .. Posted at 4:12 pm March 23, 2013By Leave a Comment Robertsville Middle School at 35th Tennessee TSA State Conference (Submitted photo) The Technology Student Association at Robertsville Middle School competed in a recent state conference in Chattanooga and finished in the Top 3 in nine events Twenty-seven students from the TSA chapter at RMS competed in 22 different group and individual events at the 35th Tennessee TSA State Conference which included 649 middle and high school competitors from 61 Tennessee schools Listed below are the students who placed in the Top 3 in the state in their events: “This was a very memorable conference for both the RMS students and adults in attendance,” a press release said “The students exhibited excellent behavior and sportsman-like conduct throughout the conference Although most of the time was spent in meetings and competition time was found for enjoying some of Chattanooga’s nicer attractions.” Advisers for the RMS TSA chapter include community volunteers Angi and Chuck Agle The Technology Student Association is a voluntary after-school club where students participate in a wide range of technology-related events Posted at 4:21 pm August 19, 2019By Leave a Comment Note: This story was last updated at 1 p.m The small cube satellite built by Robertsville Middle School students with help from teachers and NASA is scheduled to launch in October 2020 and it will be deployed from the International Space Station The school system said it has received notification of the launch date from NASA “We received the official word from Scott Higginbotham at Kennedy Space Center,” Oak Ridge Schools said in a press release ‘RamSat is currently manifested to fly on the ELaNa-31 mission aboard the NG-14 Commercial Resupply Services mission to the ISS Launch is currently scheduled for October of 2020. NanoRacks will be facilitating the deployment of your spacecraft from the International Space Station.’” Students have determined the mission of the cube satellite will be to circle the Earth and capture images to help them study the regrowth of vegetation in Gatlinburg as the city recovers from the forest fires of November 2016 Oak Ridge Today reported in March 2018 that RMS was the first middle school to be selected for the NASA program that launches the small cube-shaped satellites into space which has received support from corporate donations The Robertsville satellite, which will orbit a few hundred miles above Earth, will use a small camera to try to take pictures of forest regrowth in the Great Smoky Mountains near Gatlinburg. That area burned in forest fires fed by high winds after Thanksgiving 2016 killing 14 people and damaging or destroying more than 2,500 homes and businesses RamSat will use a radio to relay its images and other data back to Earth A project proposal was submitted to NASA in November 2107, and Oak Ridge Schools learned in March 2018 that the RMS proposal had been accepted major challenges will include correctly orienting the satellite and taking pictures of the right spot on the ground as the satellite flies by at somewhere around 17,500 miles per hour in low-Earth orbit “It’s very technically challenging to get to that point,” said Peter Thornton one of the RamSat team leaders from Oak Ridge National Laboratory The Robertsville satellite could stay in orbit for about a year before plunging back to Earth and presumably burning up in the atmosphere. It will orbit the Earth about every 90 minutes at the altitude of the International Space Station, which ranges from a low of 190 miles to a high of 330 miles It will be overhead for a maximum of about five minutes at a time a network of ham radio operators were expected to help communicate with the satellite for middle school students who want to build a cube satellite group leader for the terrestrial systems modeling group at ORNL The seventh- and eight-grade students in “the NASA class” at Robertsville the enrichment class taught by Todd Livesay During their time in Livesay’s class the students have learned important lessons in engineering and computer programming and designed and printed their own plastic CubeSat prototypes using the 3D printers in their class The educational curriculum part of the project is led by Holly Cross and technical education for Oak Ridge Schools The press release on Monday provided information about how the project developed visited Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville Hull introduced Livesay to the 1U (10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm) cube satellites that his team was designing for NASA and told him some of the challenges they encountered daily That included figuring out how to create a door that opened remotely in space as well as how to power the satellites using solar panels Livesay then gave the Robertsville Middle School students their first mission in 2015: “We’ve got a challenge for you we want you to design a 10-centimeter cube satellite and make a door that will remotely open to deploy different objects including a door that opened remotely in space “They researched diligently and came up with design solutions that exhibited efficient use of materials and servo motors for deploying the release of the doors,” the press release said “The research and subsequent explanations delivered by the students was impressive They presented before several local audiences before finally getting to present their findings to an actual panel of NASA engineers (real rocket scientists!).” after hearing all of the student presentations the major takeaway from the panel of experts was that these students needed a scientific mission of their own They did not want to settle for the idea that students were simply learning to design a cube satellite with no student-led purpose in mind the less satisfied they became with the idea that this project was finished for the Robertsville Middle School students As the word spread throughout the NASA organization that middle school students had taken an interest in the NASA Cube Satellite Launch Initiative (CSLI) a NASA scientist at Kennedy Space Center in Florida He diligently pursued the idea with Livesay that he and a team of local experts from ORNL and Y-12 National Security Complex should pursue the writing of a proposal to create a mission and send an actual cube satellite into space with the CSLI program the team embarked on a proposal that included two major elements: feasibility and educational merit The short name for a cube satellite is CubeSat and each official CubeSat is given a brand name by the creators of its mission Robertsville students named their cube satellite Students thought studying the regrowth of vegetation in Gatlinburg after the forest fires was important because that community provides nearby residents much enjoyment for recreation including Oak Ridge Schools’ Wednesday afternoon ski clubs It said students from the NASA RamSat class at Robertsville have taken their ongoing research findings for the equipment and procedures required to put RamSat into space to fulfill its mission back to various panels of NASA engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center for the past two years the students have grown in knowledge and skills in presentation before expert panels,” the press release said as witnessed through ongoing recordings of the presentations and progress made toward the date in March of 2018 when we received the announcement that our proposal including feasibility and merit passed the review board Our proposal to participate in the NASA CSLI was accepted!” As mentors and students researched the components required to complete their mission they were encouraged by their technical mentors at Marshall Space Flight Center not to attempt to manufacture any of the final flight components (structure or electronics) themselves But there is still a lot of testing and putting together of pieces before it takes shape as a satellite “The students are getting increasingly engaged in that part of the project as we acquire and test flight components,” the press release said Here is a list of what they have and where they got it: The students also have the following components that make up the ground station for two-way communication with RamSat once it is on orbit: Read our previous story here More information will be added as it becomes available You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or [email protected] Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. 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