Oak Ridge Today

Tamke-Allan Observatory has public stargazing Saturday

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Linda Fippin
Linda Fippin

Tamke-Allan Observatory at Roane State Community College continues its Summer Public Stargazing with an examination of light and light pollution on Saturday, August 3.

The gates open at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and a public lecture will be presented at 8 p.m. by guest lecturer and retired clinical researcher Linda Fippin.

“For the vast majority of human history, nighttime lighting was limited to the hearth fire,” a press release said. “As villages, towns, and eventually cities developed, lighting was still limited to oil lamps and candles. Gas lighting was not invented until the late 18th century, and electric street lights have only been in use for about 140 years. Nighttime lighting has many benefits, but excessive and inappropriate use has led to light pollution, which not only has negative effects on people, quality of life, and the natural environment, but also wastes energy resources. This talk will cover a brief history of nighttime lighting, the effects of light pollution, and what can be done to lessen them.”

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Roane State to offer extended business hours

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Roane State Community College will offer extended business hours to help students get ready for the fall semester. [Read more…]

Geothermal well system leaking under ORHS soccer field

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The geothermal well system is leaking under the soccer field at Oak Ridge High School, requiring emergency repairs to prevent classroom heat pumps from shutting down, school officials said.

“Recently, we lost a section of the geothermal wellfield to leaks in the well system that would require extensive exploratory excavation to locate and repair the leaks,” said Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools maintenance and operations supervisor. “This option is not possible due to the location of the wellfield under the soccer field and the extensive cost of excavation and replacement of field damage. The wellfield is now operating at below 80 percent capacity, and the need for the cooling tower to be the primary source of water cooling is imperative to prevent shutdown of the classroom heat pumps.”

Thacker said the heat pumps serve all of the Learning Center, most of Comprehensive Studies, part of the Wellness Center, Visual Arts, and administration areas.

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Bat infestation cleaned from high school during summer

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A bat infestation was cleaned from a third floor ceiling of Oak Ridge High School this summer, school officials said.

Five live bats and more than 20 dead bats were removed, according to Allen Thacker, maintenance and operations supervisor for Oak Ridge Schools.

Maintenance workers had learned of the possible infestation on June 5, Thacker said. A pest control contractor said the infestation was contained in a third floor level of a 1994 addition.

The contractor said the bats were a common brown bat that migrates though the area, and the bats were most likely part of a larger colony that moved through the area, leaving a small group of sick or weakened bats behind.

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Oak Ridge Community Band has ‘Best In Summer’ concert Sunday

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Oak Ridge Community Band Concert

The Oak Ridge Community Band is pictured above performing at Alvin K. Bissell Park. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band will perform during a concert at Alvin K. Bissell Park on Sunday, August 4.

It’s the band’s third concert of the summer.

The concert will start at 7 p.m. Sunday.

The Community Band will perform a “Best of Summer” program, which will include swing, jazz, show tunes, and marches. There is no admission fee for the summer concerts, although donations are gratefully accepted to help with expenses, a press release said. [Read more…]

Crews start work for Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12

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Workers remove asphalt on the east end of the Y-12 National Security Complex, where the Mercury Treatment Facility treatment plant will be built. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

Work began in June to build the Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The Mercury Treatment Facility will allow the U.S. Department of Energy to clean up and demolish several large Y-12 buildings that used mercury to separate lithium for nuclear weapons during the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s. The facility is expected to help reduce the amount of mercury in East Fork Poplar Creek, which flows through Oak Ridge.

DOE announced in December that it had awarded a $91 million contract to build the Mercury Treatment Facility. The contract, which could be in place for up to four years, was awarded to APTIM-North Wind Construction JV LLC.

A groundbreaking was held at the site in November 2017, and site preparations were completed by December 2018.

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Tonight: ORPD has community social

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The Oak Ridge Police Department will host a community social at the Scarboro Community Center tonight (Thursday, August 1). It’s scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

The event will be held inside the gymnasium at the Scarboro Community Center, which is located at 148 Carver Avenue in Oak Ridge.

“Everyone is invited to attend,” a press release said. “The goal of the event is to build and enhance community relationships.”

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DOE replacing ETTP sirens with new emergency notifications

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The U.S. Department of Energy is replacing the current siren alarm system around the East Tennessee Technology Park with the Hyper-Reach notification system in Roane County.

The change was to happen at the end of July, the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management said in a press release Tuesday.

“With this change, residents can now choose to be notified by texts, phone calls, or emails if an emergency situation occurs in Roane County or at the East Tennessee Technology Park,” the press release said.

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For members: Y-12, Pantex contract extended for two years, $3.8 billion

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The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

The contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, has been extended for two years, and the extension is valued at about $3.8 billion, the National Nuclear Security Administration said Wednesday.

More than $500 million in cost savings were verified during the first four years of the consolidated contract, according to the NNSA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy and oversees the work at Y-12 and Pantex, among other nuclear weapons sites.

The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

 

The contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, has been extended for two years, and the extension is valued at about $3.8 billion, the National Nuclear Security Administration said Wednesday.

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Man charged with assault, DUI after allegedly hitting vehicle with pregnant woman inside

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Bobby Lindsay
Bobby Lindsay

A Clinton man has been charged with two counts of vehicular assault and driving under the influence after allegedly running a red light, hitting a vehicle with a pregnant woman inside, and then fleeing from the crash, according to court records.

The crash left the pregnant woman trapped and unable to talk to police officers because of her injuries, court records said. She was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

The Clinton man driving the first vehicle, Bobby Lindsay, 48, has been charged with two counts of vehicular assault, DUI, possession of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving on a revoked license (fourth offense), failure to use due care, leaving the scene of an accident, and violation of the financial responsibility law.

Affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton said a witness saw the vehicle driven by Lindsay run a red light in Clinton on April 18 and hit the vehicle with the pregnant woman inside, leaving the woman trapped. Lindsay then jumped out of the first vehicle and ran off, the witness said.

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Arts Council asks for help funding arts, music, ballet

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The Arts Council of Oak Ridge is asking for your help funding arts, music, ballet, and other organizations.

The Arts Council organizes the United Arts Fund Drive. That helps member organizations that include Oak Ridge Civic Music Association, Oak Ridge Civic Ballet, Oak Ridge Arts Center, Oak Ridge Community Band, Oak Ridge Philharmonia, and Music Arts.

There are also two affiliate organizations, Tennessee Mountain Writters and Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The funds raised through the United Arts Fund Drive go directly to the member organizations you designate, a press release said.

“It is through your support that these organizations can continue to grow and thrive,” the release said.

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Fatal aircraft crash occurred shortly after takeoff, NTSB says

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The fatal aircraft crash near Oliver Springs Airport occurred shortly after takeoff on Saturday, July 13, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The crash of the Quicksilver MXII was reported at 5:18 p.m. July 13, the NTSB said. The airplane was an experimental, amateur-built model, the board said. It was a two-place, open cockpit, high-wing airplane made of aluminum tubes and fabric with a 50-horsepower Rotax 503 engine and three-blade propeller.

The non-certified pilot, who owned the plane, was fatally injured in the crash, which was on the other side of a tree line east of the airport. The pilot has been identified as Patrick Lucas, 45, of Morristown.

The Quicksilver took off headed mostly north on runway 33. But after takeoff, the airplane appeared to “crab into the wind,” the NTSB said, citing a witness. That would generally mean that it was turned somewhat sideways from its forward direction of travel in order to counteract winds from the side, or crosswinds.

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