Oak Ridge Today

Photos: Air Force One at McGhee Tyson

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Air Force One at McGhee Tyson Airport

Air Force One is pictured at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa on Friday. (Photos by Julio Culiat)

 

Air Force One landed at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa at about noon Friday, carrying President Obama and three Republican legislators from Tennessee: senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and Representative John Duncan. It left at about 5:30 p.m. Air Force Two, carrying Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, followed.

The three visited Pellissippi State Community College in west Knox County and Techmer PM in Clinton to announce education and manufacturing proposals. It was the first visit by any president to Pellissippi State and Clinton, and it was Obama’s first visit to the Knoxville area.

Here are four pictures of Air Force One and President Obama by Julio Culiat. [Read more…]

Photos: President Obama’s motorcade in Oak Ridge

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President Obama Limousine

President Obama is seen in the back of the presidential limousine. (Photo by John Westcott)

 

Many people took pictures and videos when President Obama’s motorcade passed through Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Anderson County on Friday afternoon.

Here are a few, including several by John Westcott and Betsy Prine.

The president traveled to East Tennessee—his first trip to the Knoxville area as president—to announce education and manufacturing proposals that will be presented in his State of the Union speech to Congress on January 20.

Announced at Pellissippi State Community College, the education proposal would provide two years of community college free to anyone who’s willing to work for it. [Read more…]

Obama visit spotlights sports car printed by UT engineers at ORNL

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Shelby Cobra 3D Printed Cobra

University of Tennessee engineering students Andrew Messing and Alex Roschli printed this Shelby Cobra at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. The car was on stage during President Obama’s visit to Techmer PM in Clinton on Friday. (Photo courtesy UT)

 

CLINTON—President Obama took the stage at Techmer PM in Clinton on Friday to announce that the University of Tennessee in Knoxville will head a $259 million advanced manufacturing project and that Oak Ridge National Laboratory will play a key role. The president shared the spotlight with a shiny example of innovation, research, and collaboration between the two—a Shelby Cobra 3D printed car.

The car was highlighted during Obama’s visit as an example of the changing world of manufacturing. It was produced with major contributions from a pair of student interns from UT’s College of Engineering—Alex Roschli and Andrew Messing, a press release said.

Roschli and Messing, both seniors in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, are doing internships at ORNL, where the car was printed at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. [Read more…]

Inspired by Tennessee, Obama proposes free community college for two years

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Bill Haslam at White House with Barack Obama

This is a screen shot from a White House video filmed during a September 23, 2011, event on No Child Left Behind. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, center, introduces President Barack Obama, right.

 

Inspired by programs in Tennessee and Chicago, President Barack Obama has unveiled a proposal to make two years of community college free for anyone who’s willing to work for it, the White House said Thursday.

The White House said 57,000 students representing almost 90 percent of the state’s high school graduating class applied for the Tennessee scholarship program, which is called Tennessee Promise, in the first year. It provides two years of community or technical college to graduating high school seniors free of tuition and fees.

The federal program is called America’s College Promise, and it could benefit roughly nine million students each year, officials said. A full-time community college student could save an average of $3,800 in tuition per year.

The president is expected to announce the proposal in Knoxville on Friday, when he visits Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley and manufacturer Techmer PM in Clinton. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill will join Obama on the East Tennessee trip. [Read more…]

Making history: Corker the first Tennessee senator to serve as Foreign Relations chair

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U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Senator Bob Corker is the first Tennessee senator to serve as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to his office and committee records.

Corker was elected chairman by committee members, and his appointment was expected to be confirmed Thursday during a meeting of Senate Republicans, his office said Tuesday.

A Chattanooga Republican, Corker also will be serving on the Senate Banking Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Aging Committee.

See previous story here.

Traffic delays expected in Anderson County during presidential visit Friday

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President Obama and Vice President Biden in Limo July 21, 2010

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden ride in the motorcade from the White House to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 2010, to sign the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza) 

There will be some traffic delays in Anderson County on Friday because the presidential motorcade will be traveling through the county, including the cities of Oak Ridge and Clinton, authorities said.

But the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said it cannot release the times, the motorcade route, or the duration of the traffic delays.

“We also cannot release any other information concerning this event,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

The City of Oak Ridge also announced Thursday that traffic in Oak Ridge could be disrupted during the Friday afternoon visit to west Knox County and Clinton by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Biden’s wife Jill. [Read more…]

President Obama to launch manufacturing hub during Knoxville visit

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Dan Pfeiffer

Dan Pfeiffer

President Barack Obama will launch a new manufacturing innovation hub  during his visit to Knoxville and Clinton on Friday, a presidential aide said Wednesday.

The manufacturing innovation hub will be  a private-sector partnership that will attract more well-paying middle-class jobs in high-tech manufacturing to Tennessee, said Dan Pfeiffer, an assistant to the president and senior adviser.

During their Friday visit, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with his wife Jill Biden, will stop at Pellissippi State Community College in west Knox County and at manufacturer Techmer PM in the Eagle Bend Industrial Park in Clinton. [Read more…]

Clinton city manager: Presidential visit an honor, cost to city unknown

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City of Clinton, Tennessee

WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today

Clinton City Manager Roger Houck told WYSH Radio in Clinton on Wednesday morning that being chosen for a presidential visit is an honor for a city of Clinton’s size and worth the extra effort that local officials have been making this week.

Houck also talked about how the visit will give national attention to the city, its attractiveness for both companies and potential employees, and even more economic development.

Houck also said that the extra costs to the city associated with the visit, which will not be reimbursed by the White House, are unclear at this time but will be worked out during the next few weeks. [Read more…]

Letter: Commissioner Isbel asks President Obama to visit Rocky Top

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Tim Isbel

Tim Isbel

Mr. President:

I am writing this letter to respectfully ask for your assistance in the resurgence of a small impoverished coal mining community that was very instrumental in the development of this great nation, during the Industrial Revolution, due to the ability to produce coal. Since the decline of the coal industry, this community has suffered economically and 50 percent of the current population lives below the poverty level.

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Tim Isbel, the Anderson County commissioner that represents this community of Lake City, Tennessee.

Just over a year ago, the mayor and city council of Lake City and myself set out to change the direction of the city. This city, nestled between Norris Lake and the Cumberland Mountains, has the assets of having two major interchanges off the I-75 corridor, an abundance of uninhabited property, existing infrastructure, and just 25 miles from Knoxville, Tennessee, and Interstate I-40. [Read more…]

TVA asks consumers to reduce electricity use; offers money-saving tips

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TVA LogoKNOXVILLE—The Tennessee Valley Authority is asking for a voluntary reduction in electricity use until Thursday afternoon because of frigid temperatures that are causing high demand across the Southeast.

The request extends to all electric power consumers—residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

The voluntary reduction will help ensure a continued supply of power to essential services throughout TVA’s seven-state service territory and avoid interruptions of service, a press release said. [Read more…]

Alexander elected chair of Senate Health, Education, Labor, Pensions Committee

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, to be the chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

“The work of no Senate committee affects the daily lives of more Americans more than this one—whether we are fixing No Child Left Behind, or reducing federal paperwork to make it easier for students to attend college, or making it simpler for medical treatments and cures to make their way through the Food and Drug Administration to patients who need the help,” Alexander said in a press release. [Read more…]

Updated: Corker elected chair of Senate Foreign Relations Committee

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U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

Note: This story was updated at 1:15 p.m.

U.S. Senator Bob Corker has been elected chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee by committee members, and his appointment will be confirmed Thursday during a meeting of Senate Republicans, his office said Tuesday.

Corker had a conference call with Tennessee reporters Wednesday morning to discuss his appointment, his goals for the committee, and this year in Congress.

A Chattanooga Republican, Corker also will be serving on the Senate Banking Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Aging Committee. [Read more…]