Oak Ridge Today

Congressional staffer, Marshall Space Flight Center win Corridor Champion Award

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Helen Hardin Corridor Champion

Longtime Tennessee Congressional staffer Helen Hardin, right, received the Corridor Champion Award at last week’s Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit in Chattanooga. Also pictured are Gerald Boyd, chair of the TVC board, center, and U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge. (Submitted photos)

 

CHATTANOOGA—Longtime Tennessee congressional staffer Helen Hardin and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center received the top awards given by the Tennessee Valley Corridor during the organization’s annual national summit held last week on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Hardin is senior policy advisory for Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, and she has been involved in the TVC’s activities since the first Summit was held in Oak Ridge in 1995. Todd May, manager for NASA’s space launch system program, accepted the award on behalf of MSFC.

The Corridor Champion Award recognizes individuals and organizations that provide leadership to enhance the TVC’s national visibility, high-tech economic development, and collaborative efforts within the region.

Past Corridor Champion Award winners include Fleischmann, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, former Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission Anne Pope, the Tennessee Valley Authority, University of Tennessee, and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

The Smithsonian, ORNL partner to advance science, education

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Smithsonian Wayne Clough, Thom Mason, and Jeff Nichols

Pictured above during a Thursday signing ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution’s Castle Commons are, from left, Wayne Clough, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; ORNL Director Thom Mason; and ORNL associate lab director for computing and computational sciences Jeff Nichols. (Photo by John Gibbons/Smithsonian)

 

The Smithsonian Institution and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have announced a new partnership to support collaborative research programs and science education efforts. This is the first partnership between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Smithsonian, which was formalized during the signing of a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, on Thursday, June 12.

The Smithsonian and Oak Ridge National Laboratory both examine many of the world’s most complex and time-sensitive scientific problems and support many research programs that complement and reinforce each other. They also support science education to impact students and teachers from elementary school through post-doctoral studies. The MOU, signed by Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough and ORNL Director Thom Mason, creates a framework for future collaboration between the two organizations that leverages the strengths of each.

“The Smithsonian is proud to partner with another organization that realizes that basic research is vital to the future of the nation, and that knowledge about the natural world is inherently valuable to society,” Clough said. “This agreement will help us each maximize our strengths and achieve our common goals across a broad spectrum of scientific endeavor.” [Read more…]

Labor Secretary announces proposal to raise minimum wage for federal contract workers

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Proposed rule would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour for covered workers

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez on Thursday announced a proposed rule raising the minimum wage for workers on federal service and construction contracts to $10.10 per hour. The proposed rule implements Executive Order 13658, which was announced by President Barack Obama on Feb. 12.

“A core American value is that hard work should be rewarded with fair pay,” Perez said in a press release. “And as the president said in his State of the Union address, if you cook our troops’ meals or wash their dishes, you shouldn’t have to live in poverty.

“Raising the minimum wage for workers on federal contracts will provide a much needed boost to many who are working hard, but still struggle to get by, and it will also benefit taxpayers with improved employee retention and productivity. Today the department took an important step toward making the promise of the executive order a reality for thousands of workers.” [Read more…]

IIa wins major U.S. Patent and Trademark Office contract

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Information International Associates

Pictured above is the headquarters of Information International Associates on Union Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

Five-year contract could be worth $135 million

Information International Associates, or IIa, has been awarded a major 100-person, multi-year contract with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to provide a wide range of information technology support, a press release said.

The USPTO is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, and it is an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Its mission is “to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writing and discoveries” and to support the federal registration of trademarks.

“IIa continues to grow and to be recognized as a leader in IT services,” said IIa owner and Chief Executive Officer Bonnie C. Carroll. “In the past year alone, we have been awarded multiple new IT contracts in addition to our ongoing support to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information operations in Oak Ridge and at DOE Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and our contracts for IT infrastructure at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Maryland.”

In September 2013, II was awarded a U.S. Department of Defense contract to operate the DoD Homeland Defense and Security Information Analysis Center. In January 2014, IIa won a major, basic ordering agreement with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to provide a wide range of IT support to the laboratory during the next five years. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge concludes Green Power Community Challenge with day of service

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Submitted

The City of Oak Ridge is wrapping up its two-month long Green Power Community Challenge with a day of service on Saturday, June 21, at the University of Tennessee Arboretum, which is located at 901 S. Illinois Ave. in Oak Ridge.

The Green Power Community Challenge encouraged local residents and businesses to buy green power and help Oak Ridge become an EPA-designated Green Power Community. The effort has been a tremendous success—more than 300 new customers enrolled in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Green Power Switch program, more than triple the original goal, a city press release said.

Twenty volunteers are needed for the day of service. The volunteer work will be focused on a half-day project at the Arboretum in Oak Ridge. Specifically, volunteers will conduct a creek walk to clean up trash and debris, and construct benches for their new creek access area near the Arboretum entrance road. [Read more…]

IRS: Keep your records safe in case disaster strikes

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IRS Special Edition Tax Tip 2014-15

Some natural disasters are more common in the summer. But major events like hurricanes, tornadoes and fires can strike any time. It’s a good idea to plan for what to do in case of a disaster. You can help make your recovery easier by keeping your tax and financial records safe. Here are some basic steps you can take now to prepare:

  1. Backup Records Electronically. You may have access to paperless bank and other financial statements online. If so, your statements may already be securely stored there. You can also scan tax records and insurance policies onto an electronic format. You can use an external hard drive, CD, or DVD to store important records. Be sure you back up your files and keep them in a safe place. If a disaster strikes your home, it may also affect a wide area. If that happens, you may not be able to retrieve your records.
  2. Document Valuables. Take photos or videos of the contents of your home or business. These visual records can help you prove the value of your lost items. They may help with insurance claims or casualty loss deductions on your tax return. You should store them with a friend or relative who lives out of the area. [Read more…]

House passes Manhattan Project Park provision, now up to Senate

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By Atomic Heritage Foundation

On May 22, the House of Representatives approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2015, which includes a bipartisan provision to establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The new park will have units at Los Alamos, N.M., Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Hanford, Wash.

U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, has led efforts in the House and said: “This is a positive step toward establishing the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. There is strong, bipartisan support for this measure, and it enjoys broad support from local communities and national advocates for historic preservation and parks. The goal is to enact this into law before the end of this year and today’s action demonstrates real progress towards achieving it.” [Read more…]

Mobile app developed by ORAU featured in emergency preparedness campaign

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CSEPP Ready Mobile App

CSEPP Ready Mobile App

ORAU training and mobile app help communities near chemical stockpiles be prepared for related emergencies

CSEPP Ready, a mobile application developed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities, is a featured element in the inaugural 2013-2014 Prepare Pueblo emergency preparedness campaign in Pueblo, Colo., which is in its final phase from June to August 2014. Both the campaign and the app are intended to assist residents living in communities surrounding one of the last two active U.S. Army chemical warfare agent stockpiles with preparing for a potential related emergency.

Even though an accident is unlikely, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Army work together to ensure the local communities are prepared through the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, or CSEPP. Through CSEPP, ORAU experts provide hands-on technology courses to train public affairs professionals and emergency managers to develop and deliver timely public information in an emergency event using the latest technology tools, including mobile apps, cloud technology, and social media. Specifically, CSEPP Ready, which can be downloaded free in both Android and iPhone/iPad mobile formats, provides checklists for family disaster kits, information on how to respond to emergency sirens, and directions for sheltering in place. [Read more…]

U.S. judge denies request to stop Lake City’s name change to Rocky Top

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Tim Isbel at Hearing on Lake City Name Change to Rocky Top

Tim Isbel, president of the Rocky Top Marketing and Manufacturing Co., at a federal court hearing in May on Lake City’s proposed name change to Rocky Top.

A federal judge on Wednesday denied for now a request to stop Lake City from changing its name to Rocky Top.

The preliminary injunction had been requested by House of Bryant Publications LLC, the Gatlinburg publisher of “Rocky Top,” a well-known bluegrass song closely identified with the University of Tennessee and its Volunteers athletics program.

The Lake City Council could reconsider the name change as early as June. The council endorsed the name change in November, and it was approved by the Tennessee General Assembly this year in a bill that has already been signed by Gov. Bill Haslam. Anderson County Commissioner Tim Isbel has said Lake City could become Rocky Top on July 3 under the new state law.

Isbel is president of Rocky Top Tennessee Marketing and Manufacturing Co. That company has proposed a development that could be worth up to $450 million over six years and include an indoor and outdoor water park, coal miners theater, children’s museum, train rides, restaurant, and a candy company on some 300 acres near two exits off Interstate 75. Officials have said it could bring 200 new jobs to Lake City and generate another $6 million in sales tax per year. But the project hinges on the name change. [Read more…]

TVA names Oak Ridge a Green Power Switch leader of the year

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TVA Offices in Chattanooga

The Tennessee Valley Authority offices in Chattanooga are pictured above. (Photo courtesy TVA)

TVA honors Green Power Switch leaders for renewable energy commitments

The Tennessee Valley Authority is recognizing local power companies and regional businesses that are driving the success of TVA’s Green Power Switch renewable energy program, a press release said. Oak Ridge is among the cities that have been honored.

TVA presented its annual Green Power Switch Leadership Awards to leading power companies in 14 categories at an event in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, May 6.

“Green Power Switch is about consumers stepping forward to support the generation of cleaner energy in the Tennessee Valley,” said Patty West, TVA director of Renewable Energy Solutions. “This program is successful because of the efforts of TVA’s local power company partners, and people and businesses who commit to supporting renewable energy generated in the valley. We are proud to honor those who continue to make our Green Power Switch program a success.” [Read more…]

Lake City’s name change to Rocky Top on hold for now

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Tim Isbel at Hearing on Lake City Name Change to Rocky Top

Tim Isbel, president of the Rocky Top Marketing and Manufacturing Co., at a federal court hearing on Monday on Lake City’s proposed name change to Rocky Top.

Note: this story was updated at 2:52 a.m.

KNOXVILLE—Lake City’s proposed name change to Rocky Top is on hold for now as a federal judge considers a request to stop the move.

The name change has been proposed as part of an expensive plan to convert the former coal mining town in northern Anderson County into a tourist destination. But it has been challenged by the publisher of “Rocky Top,” a well-known bluegrass song and unofficial University of Tennessee anthem.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a bill that allows the name change, but the proposal has not yet gone back to the Lake City Council for final approval. Under the state law, Lake City could become Rocky Top on July 3, said Tim Isbel, an Anderson County Commissioner and president of Rocky Top Tennessee Marketing and Manufacturing Co.

That company has proposed a development that could be worth up to $450 million over six years and include an indoor and outdoor water park, coal miners theater, children’s museum, train rides, restaurant, and candy company on some 300 acres near two exits off Interstate 75. During a hearing in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Monday, officials said it could bring 200 new jobs to Lake City and generate another $6 million in sales tax per year. But the project hinges on the name change. [Read more…]

Splitting UPF project into two buildings could save money, senator says

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

Money could be saved on the new Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex by splitting up the project into two buildings rather than one, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said during a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

One building could be used for high-security work, Alexander said during a hearing of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee. That high-security building would cost several times as much as a second building used for low-security work, Alexander said.

Not all of the work has to be conducted in a high-security facility, the Tennessee Republican said, and some of it could be conducted in the low-security building.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the two-building proposal is included in a so-called Red Team Review of the UPF project. That report could be made public this week. Federal officials and members of Congress have already been briefed on it. [Read more…]