News in brief

from Northwest Observer / May 20 - June 2, 2021

by pscommunications

Community Calendar

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ORMA ‘looking pretty good,’ admissions chief says

by CHRIS BURRITT

OAK RIDGE – Oak Ridge Military Academy (ORMA) plans to graduate 11 seniors this coming Saturday, May 22, and anticipates increasing enrollment in the next school year, according to Maj. Robert Forde, the academy’s admissions director.

“Things are looking pretty good,” Forde told the Oak Ridge Town Council May 6, explaining that all of the graduating seniors have been accepted by at least one of their three top choices for college.

ORMA anticipates enrolling “well over 100” students for next school year, after enrolling 113 students in the current year, according to Forde. Seven in 10 current students have decided to enroll again, he said.

Councilman Doug Nodine said the school’s staff has “done a great, great job. Just a few years ago, we were thinking it wasn’t going to make it.”

When he joined ORMA in 2019, Forde said he encountered skepticism about the school’s prospects after years of slumping enrollment. Since then, it has relied on billboard advertising, online sites such as Boarding School Review and open houses on campus to recruit new students.

Since last August, 145 families have visited the school, Forde said.

“The school needs to survive,” he said. “It is a great institution. It is a great leadership academy. And it’s a big part of Oak Ridge.’’

Got broadband?

Adobe Stock image Summerfi eld Town Council member Lynne W. DeVaney is working on identifying areas within the town limits where residents do not have access to broadband (highspeed) infrastructure. Residents of the Town of Summerfi eld who do not have access to high-speed internet are asked to email DeVaney at ldevaney@summerfi eldnc.gov and provide their street address, or call Summerfi eld Town Hall at (336) 643-8655 and leave the information with the town clerk.

Residents ask for help with loud muffl ers, speeding drivers

Photo by Chris Burritt/NWO The town of Oak Ridge plans to ask the North Carolina Department of Transportation to relocate this fl ashing speed limit sign on N.C. 150 at Oak Ridge Military Academy. Concerned about noisy, speeding traffi c, nearby residents suggested that the sign be moved further east to lengthen the distance of the 25-miles-per-hour zone.

Summerfi eld seeks public input for proposed land use plan

Photo by Chris Burritt/NWO At left, Town Manager Scott Whitaker talks to Cheryl Baisey, one of about 35 Summerfi eld residents who attended a meeting last week to learn about the town’s proposed land use plan.

by CHRIS BURRITT

SUMMERFIELD – Summerfield leaders are seeking the views of residents as they prepare a plan to designate areas for residential and commercial growth, open space, parks and other development over the next decade and a half.

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