Oak Ridge Today

Candidate visit: Cruz vows to repeal ‘Obamacare,’ calls for abolishing IRS

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Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, a Texas senator, vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly called “Obamacare,” and he also called for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service during a stop at Farragut High School on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1 p.m.

FARRAGUT—Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” and he also called for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service during a stop at Farragut High School on Tuesday.

Cruz spoke for about 30 minutes in the Farragut High gym before a standing-room-only crowd of roughly 2,000 people, who helped him celebrate his 45th birthday with a birthday song and cake. The East Tennessee rally was held a little more than two months before the March 1 “SEC primary.”

A first-term Texas senator, Cruz said he plans to rescind every unconstitutional executive order, ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Planned Parenthood, end the persecution of religious liberties, and “rip to shreds” the Iranian nuclear deal, which he called “catastrophic.”

Cruz also said the U.S. Department of Education should be abolished, and welfare benefits should end for people who are in the country illegally. He pledged to protect the constitutional right to keep and bear arms, called for killing the Environmental Protection Agency, and jokingly compared regulators to locusts, with a difference being that pesticides can be used to control locusts. [Read more…]

AMSE foundation, park superintendent create fund for Manhattan Project Park in Oak Ridge

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Wayne Stevenson, left, and Niki Nicholas sign an agreement to create a Friends of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park—Oak Ridge fund account. (Photo submitted by D. Ray Smith)

 

By D. Ray Smith

The American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation is pleased to partner with the Manhattan Project National Historical Park—Oak Ridge by creating a fund in which tax-deductible contributions can be received to support the specific and defined needs of one of the nation’s newest national parks.

As you may know, funding for the new park will be somewhat limited, as is funding for all our nation’s national parks. The amount planned for Fiscal Year 2016 is $180,000, which will cover the salary requirements of a superintendent and will begin the master planning initiative necessary to begin effective operations of the national park at three sites: Los Alamos, New Mexico; Hanford, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

We, in Oak Ridge, are fortunate to have Niki Nicholas, superintendent of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and of the Obed Wild and Scenic River, as the person the National Park Service has selected to manage the Manhattan Project National Historical Park—Oak Ridge. Ms. Nicholas is a dedicated professional with substantial experience managing national park units. [Read more…]

Homeland Security seeking faculty, grads, undergrads for summer 2015 research

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is seeking faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students interested in participating in one of its 10-week programs in summer 2016, including its Summer Research Team Program for Minority Serving Institutions and its Homeland Security—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (HS-STEM) Summer Internship Program. The deadlines for applying for both programs occur in December 2015.

Summer Research Team Program for Minority Serving Institutions

The Summer Research Team Program provides faculty and student teams from Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) with opportunities to conduct research at the university-based DHS Centers of Excellence.

Faculty members and students currently teaching or enrolled at an MSI in a discipline, major, or concentration directly related to a homeland security STEM research area are encouraged to apply. All applicants must be U.S. citizens, and each team must be comprised of one faculty member and up to two students (undergraduate and/or graduate level).

Applications and supporting materials must be submitted via the online application system by December 20 at https://www.zintellect.com/Posting/Details/1503. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project Park: ‘Hanford’s Pioneers’ tour launches

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U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz shortly after they signed a memorandum of agreement and created the 409th park in the National Park System, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The park was authorized by Congress in December 2014. The park will have three sites in Los Alamos, New Mexico; Hanford, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The ceremony took place at the South Interior Building in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (NPS Photo by Anthony DeYoung)

 

By Atomic Heritage Foundation

The Atomic Heritage Foundation has launched an online program called “Hanford’s Pioneers,” where visitors can hear first-hand accounts of the people who lived on the Bruggemann ranch and other pre-war sites. This release is timely as the Manhattan Project National Historical Park was officially established last week, on Tuesday, November 10.

In a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell made the park official. One of the original sponsors of the legislation, Senator Maria Cantwell, spoke of the importance of creating the park, which includes many pre-war sites.

Besides Hanford, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park also includes Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

The “Hanford’s Pioneers” tour allows visitors to listen to stories from people who grew up in the towns of Hanford and White Bluffs and the Bruggemann farm, or lived in the Hanford construction camp. Visitors can choose from more than 30 short audio/visual vignettes. [Read more…]

Record funding in federal budget could help Oak Ridge, senator says

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U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, at a brief press conference with Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, center, and Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The federal budget expected to be complete by mid-December should have record funding, and the money could help Oak Ridge in areas ranging from mercury and Cold War cleanup to scientific research and the proposed Uranium Processing Facility, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander said Friday.

The Oak Ridge area now receives about $3 billion per year in federal funding, and the level will be increased although he doesn’t have a number yet, said Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.

Alexander held a brief press conference at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building on Friday.

He said the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which provided $1.4 billion to Oak Ridge National Laboratory this year, will have a record level of funding. [Read more…]

U.S. Attorney Killian resigning from ET post to join national law firm

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William C. “Bill” Killian

Note: This story was updated at 10:47 a.m. Nov. 20.

KNOXVILLE—William C. Killian, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, has submitted his resignation to President Barack Obama effective December 5. He is joining a national law firm.

Killian was sworn into office October 4, 2010, after he was nominated by Obama and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. He served on the following subcommittees of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee: Terrorism and National Security, Civil Rights, and Healthcare Fraud Working Group, a press release said.

Federal cases that originate in Oak Ridge are heard in the Eastern District of Tennessee, which has offices in Knoxville and uses courtrooms there. Among the cases heard there in the past few years, for example, are the case of three anti-nuclear weapons activities who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in 2012, the trademark lawsuit against Lake City when it changed its name to Rocky Top, and a methamphetamine manufacturing conspiracy in Anderson County. [Read more…]

Yager, Ramsey plan state hearing on Syrian refugees in December

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Ken Yager

Ken Yager

NASHVILLE—Two state senators are planning to conduct a joint hearing in early December to look at federal plans to bring Syrian refugees to Tennessee, a move that has become controversial after the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday.

The joint hearing has been proposed by Senate State and Local Government Committee Chairman Ken Yager, a Kingston Republican, and House State Government Committee Chairman Bob Ramsey, a Maryville Republican. They want to look at plans by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement to bring Syrian refugees to Tennessee.

Reports indicate that Tennessee will likely receive some of the 10,000 Syrian refugees for resettlement under President Barack Obama’s admissions plans, a press release said. There has been widespread disagreement, including on the presidential campaign trail, over whether the United States should accept Syrian refugees after reports emerged that one of the men involved in last Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris might have slipped into Europe with other migrants using a fake Syrian passport.

On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam asked federal officials to suspend placements in Tennessee until states can become more of a partner in the vetting process. [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge celebrates new national park

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Ed Westcott and National Park Staff at Celebration on Nov. 12, 2015

Ed Westcott, left, the official government photographer in Oak Ridge during World War II, is pictured above with National Park Service staff members during a celebration of the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This post was last updated at 8:05 a.m. Nov. 13.

Oak Ridge residents and officials celebrated the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park on Thursday, two days after the park was formally established in a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. Here are photos of Thursday’s celebration at Oak Ridge High School and Jackson Square by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today.

We will add captions to the photos as we can.

The new park includes Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret program to build the world’s first atomic weapons in World War II, before Germany could. The new park is the first of its type to commemorate the Manhattan Project, which is considered one of the top scientific achievements of the 20th century.

The new park includes four buildings in Oak Ridge: the Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the footprint of the former K-25 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park, and Building 9731 and Building 9204-3, or Beta-3, at Y-12 National Security Complex. The Alexander Inn, which is not a U.S. Department of Energy building, is also eligible for inclusion.

See a story on the establishment of the park on Tuesday here, and see a story on Thursday’s celebration here.

Colin Colverson, Tracy Atkins, and Warren Gooch at Manhattan Project Park Celebration on Nov. 12, 2015

From left above at a celebration for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, are Colin Colverson, Oak Ridge Reservation lead for the park in the DOE Oak Ridge Office; Tracy Atkins, project manager for the agreement between DOE and the National Park Service; and Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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Oak Ridge celebrates new national park

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National Park Celebration at Jackson Square on Nov. 12, 2015

The iconic “War Ends” photo is recreated in part on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, with a “Park Opens” photo that celebrates the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8:20 a.m. Nov. 13.

Federal officials established the new national park that includes Oak Ridge on Tuesday. Oak Ridge residents celebrated on Thursday.

The new park, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, commemorates the Manhattan Project. That was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II, before Germany could.

Oak Ridge was the main production site for the Manhattan Project, and uranium enriched at the Y-12 National Security Complex fueled the first atomic bomb used in wartime. It was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, shortly before the war ended. [Read more…]

Photos: Alexander Guest House ribbon-cutting, open house

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Pictured above during a ribbon-cutting and open house at the Alexander Guest House on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015, are former Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, left; Rick Dover of Dover Development, the East Tennessee company that converted the historic two-story hotel into an assisted living center; and Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, November 5, celebrated the conversion of the former Alexander Inn, a historic two-story hotel in central Oak Ridge, into an assisted living center called Alexander Guest House.

The ceremony, which was organized by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, included an open house. Guests toured the new 64-apartment assisted living center, which is located at 210 East Madison Road in Jackson Square.

Preserving the former Alexander Inn had been a dream for years, and those who have toured the two-year, $8 million conversion, completed by Dover Development of East Tennessee, have described it as “lovely” and “absolutely tremendous,” among other superlatives. [Read more…]

Reminder: Oak Ridge to celebrate new national park on Thursday

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National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis shares a story about the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which became the 409th park in the National Park System on November 10, 2015, after Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz signed a memorandum of agreement on operation of the park during a ceremony at the South Interior Building in downtown Washington, D.C. The park was authorized by Congress in December 2014. The park will have three sites in Los Alamos, New Mexico; Hanford, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. (NPS Photo by Anthony DeYoung)

 

Reminder: Two events in Oak Ridge on Thursday will celebrate the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

The park was formally established in a federal signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, November 10. That signing followed more than a decade of work by historic preservation groups, local leaders and governments, and federal officials and federal legislators representing communities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Hanford, Washington.

The Manhattan Project, which included the city that became Oak Ridge, was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. It is considered one of the top scientific achievements of the 20th century, and it credited with helping to end the war. The new park, the nation’s 409th, is the first of its type to commemorate the Manhattan Project. [Read more…]

Foundation led efforts to create Manhattan Project Park

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AHF President Cindy Kelly with NPS Associate Directors Victor Knox and Stephanie Toothman. (Photo by Atomic Heritage Foundation)

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Atomic Heritage Foundation on Tuesday welcomed the official establishment of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park with units at Los Alamos, New Mexico; Hanford, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In a ceremony at the Interior Department on Tuesday morning, U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell signed an agreement that defines the respective roles of the Department of Energy and the National Park Service in implementing the new park, a press release said.

“Today is a milestone for Manhattan Project history,” said Foundation President Cynthia C. Kelly, who attended the ceremony along with the Foundation’s staff. “For more than a decade, the Atomic Heritage Foundation and our partners have been working to preserve Manhattan Project sites and create the park. The national park is long overdue and will provide Americans with an important opportunity to understand the Manhattan Project and its complex legacy for the world today.”

The sites of the Manhattan Project Park “are among the world’s most significant places, where work was done that changed the human world forever,” said Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Making of the Atomic Bomb” and a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. [Read more…]