Oak Ridge Today

ORNL FCU has free Community Shred Day on April 13

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ORNL Federal Credit Union will offer a free Community Shred Day on Saturday, April 13, at 9 a.m. at its Northshore and Oak Ridge branches.

ORNL FCU members, as well as the public, are invited to bring any unwanted documents, especially ones containing personal information, to one of the Community Shred Day locations and have it safely and securely destroyed at no charge by Shred-it, a press release said. A maximum of three boxes (24 inches by 12 inches by 10 inches or smaller) or 13-gallon trash bags per vehicle will be accepted.

ORNL FCU’s Northshore Branch is located at 2077 Town Center Boulevard. The Oak Ridge Branch is located at 215 South Rutgers Avenue.

Obituary: James Edward ‘Ed’ Westcott

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James Edward "Ed" Westcott

James Edward “Ed” Westcott

James Edward “Ed” Westcott, Sr., 97, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, passed away peacefully at his daughter’s home, where he lived, on March 29, 2019.

He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on January 20, 1922, to parents Jamie Rupert Westcott and Lucille Green Westcott, who preceded him in death. Ed had one brother, Hugh “Buddy” Westcott, who also preceded him in death.

Ed was a member of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church.

He grew up in Nashville, and he graduated from Andrews High School and attended the Watkins Art School in Nashville, Tennessee. He received his training in photography from the Photo Craft Studio, Shadow Art Studio, and from an internship with the National Youth Administration.

He was married June 16, 1941, to a former Nashvillian, Esther Seigenthaler Westcott, who passed away in 1996. [Read more…]

Normal operations resume, no injuries reported after sensors show possible release of HF at Y-12

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11 a.m.

Normal operations have resumed, and no injuries were reported after sensors indicated a potential release of hydrogen fluoride inside a processing enclosure within the main processing building at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Thursday morning.

The emergency incident was reported at 7:52 a.m. Thursday. The situation was reported to be under control within about an hour, just after 9 a.m. Emergency operations were terminated at 10:15 a.m.

Two sensors had indicated a potential release of hydrogen fluoride gas, said JoEddy Moore of Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, which manages and operates Y-12 for the National Nuclear Security Administration. The concentration was in the range of parts per million.

Employees in the buildings in and around the 9212 processing complex were evacuated to other buildings in the production area on the west side of Y-12. [Read more…]

Emergency personnel respond to incident at Y-12

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:20 p.m.

Update: Normal operations have resumed, and no injuries were reported after sensors indicated a potential release of hydrogen fluoride inside a processing enclosure within the main processing building at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Thursday morning. See newer story with more details here.

An incident has occurred at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. Y-12 emergency response personnel are at the scene of the incident, the plant said in a press release Thursday morning.

Appropriate precautionary protective actions have been started for Y-12 employees who are near the incident and who are not involved in the emergency response. At this time, there is no offsite impact to the public as a result of the incident, the press release said.

The incident occurred at 7:52 a.m. No other confirmed details are available at this time, the press release said. [Read more…]

Committee recommends approving early site permit for Clinch River Nuclear Site

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TVA Clinch River Site

The Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge is pictured above. The road running from bottom to top on the right (east) side of the Clinch River connects to Bear Creek Road in southwest Oak Ridge. Highway 58 is off to the top left of the photo and the Heritage Center (the former K-25 site) is to the north. (Photo courtesy TVA)

 

A federal safety committee has recommended that an early site permit be approved for small modular reactors at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge.

The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards recommended the approval in a January 9 letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The letter was signed by Michael L. Corradini, committee chair. The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards reports on the parts of an early site permit application that concern safety. The committee’s recommendation does not appear to have been previously reported.

An early site permit evaluates the suitability of a site for the potential construction and operation of a nuclear power plant. The permit application for two or more small modular reactors at the 935-acre Clinch River site was submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority in May 2016. TVA said the reactors could generate up to 800 megawatts of electricity.

In a presentation to the Advisory Committee on December 6, TVA outlined what it appears to consider advantages of the Clinch River Nuclear Site: access to 500 kilovolt and 161 kilovolt transmission lines; being a neighbor to the U.S. Department of Energy, an interested customer; strong community support; and access to basic infrastructure and an abundant and skilled workforce. Also, TVA owns and controls the site, the public utility said in a presentation by Dan Stout, director of nuclear technology and innovation. [Read more…]

Community meeting to discuss Bull Run closure on Tuesday

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Copy of Claxton Community Meeting

There will be a community meeting in Claxton on Tuesday evening to discuss the closure of the Bull Run Fossil Plant. The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors agreed in February to close the coal-burning plant by 2023.

The meeting is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, in the Claxton Community Center at 1071 Edgemoor Road. It will include Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM) and nonprofit partners, a press release said.

“The meeting’s purpose is to give concerned residents of the community around TVA’s Bull Run Fossil Plant an opportunity to connect and to share their concerns, hopes, and questions around TVA’s recent decision to retire the Bull Run coal plant by 2023 or sooner,” the press release said. “Now is the time to begin a dialog to protect our community’s common interests.”

Organizers said they are urging environmental engineers, scientists, community leaders, officials from Anderson County, the cities of Oak Ridge and Clinton, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and others to be available to share information and expertise, provide support, and address residents’ questions on coal ash, air pollution, health, worker transition, economic impacts, safe demolition and site reclamation, future site use, and property values. [Read more…]

Faith & science lecture on archaeology of Israeli women on Tuesday

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Erin Darby

Erin Darby

Were the women depicted in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible more than mothers of the children of Israel? Did they contribute to Israelite tribal survival by experimenting with food plants and seeds, shearing wool and weaving cloth, making pots and devising ways to cook, preserve, and store food? And what about their religious lives?

The second talk in the First Presbyterian–First United Methodist Church Faith-and-Science Lecture Series will be on “The Archaeology of Women in Ancient Israel.” The lecture will be presented by Erin Darby, associate professor of religious studies and co-director of the ‘Ayn Gharandal Archaeological Project at the University of Tennessee.

Darby will deliver her lecture at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 2, in the fellowship hall of the sanctuary building of First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Refreshments will be served.

An archaeologist, Darby takes UT students to Jordan every other summer to learn about human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots alliance wins Smoky Mountains Regionals robotics tournament

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The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265, won the Smoky Mountains Regionals robotics tournament on Saturday, March 30, 2019, as captains of the fourth-seeded alliance, along with alliance partners 2614 Mars of Morgantown, W.V., and 2556 RadioActive Roaches of Niceville, Fla. The win secures a place in the World Championship at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, from April 17-20. (Photo by Angi Agle)

The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265, won the Smoky Mountains Regionals robotics tournament on Saturday, March 30, 2019, as captains of the fourth-seeded alliance, along with alliance partners 2614 Mars of Morgantown, W.V., and 2556 RadioActive Roaches of Niceville, Fla. The win secures a place in the World Championship at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, from April 17-20. (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

Photos, video, and information submitted by Angi Agle

The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265, won the Smoky Mountains Regionals robotics tournament on Saturday as captains of the fourth-seeded alliance. Their alliance partners were 2614 Mars of Morgantown, West Virginia, and 2556 RadioActive Roaches of Niceville, Florida.

The win secures a place in the World Championship at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, from April 17-20.

The Wildbots’ alliance remained undefeated until the second match of the finals, racking up two matches with the event high score of 95 in the elimination rounds. The tiebreaker match was won 90-83. [Read more…]

Challenges in public education to be discussed Tuesday

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The next Lunch with the League program will be held on Tuesday, April 2. The speaker will be Benita Albert, author and long-time educator in Oak Ridge.

Albert will discuss “Challenges in Public Education: Present and Future,” a press release said. She taught mathematics at Oak Ridge High School for 44 years, retiring in 2012. She has served as a college board consultant in Advanced Placement Calculus, conducting training programs for teachers across the country, since 1975.

Albert has authored or co-authored for many textbook publishers and mathematics ancillaries. Her honors include Presidential Awardee for Mathematics in 1991 and selection to the USA Today All-American Teacher Team in 2007.

As a member of the board of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, Albert has served as co-editor-in-chief of the book “Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in the Oak Ridge Schools, 1944-2018.” [Read more…]

Trial set for man charged with vehicular homicide in death of 3-year-old

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A plea agreement has not been reached, and trial dates were set during a plea agreement hearing for Jason Robert Braden, center, in Anderson County Circuit Court on Friday, March 29, 2019. At left is defense attorney David Stuart, who represents Braden in a vehicular homicide case from a crash that killed a three-year-old boy in Oak Ridge in January 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A plea agreement has not been reached, and trial dates were set during a plea agreement hearing for Jason Robert Braden II, center, in Anderson County Circuit Court on Friday, March 29, 2019. At left is defense attorney David Stuart, who represents Braden in the vehicular homicide case from a crash that killed a three-year-old boy in Oak Ridge in January 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—Prosecutors and the defense have not been able to reach an agreement on a plea deal, so a two-day trial has been set for Jason Robert Braden II, the 25-year-old Anderson County man charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, among other charges, in the death of a three-year-old boy, Jason Robert Braden III, in a crash in Oak Ridge in January 2017.

Braden had two plea agreement hearings scheduled in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton last month, one on Friday, March 1, and the other on Friday, March 29. But no agreement was announced during either hearing. The date was rescheduled during the March 1 hearing, and on Friday, defense attorney David Stuart said the defense and the state wouldn’t be able to reach an agreement.

At the start of Friday’s hearing, Stuart said an issue had come up. Braden had requested copies of the discovery, potential evidence that could be used at trial, so copies were made and delivered to the jail, Stuart said. But they went to the wrong Jason Braden, and Jason Robert Braden thinks that’s an ethics breach, Stuart said.

Stuart said he would have to self-report the breach if he thought he had done something wrong. Other legal officials, such as the judge and district attorney general, would also have to report him if they thought he had done something wrong, Stuart said. [Read more…]

ASAP of Anderson, Oak Ridge Schools, ORPD collaborate to launch new school safety app

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Oak Ridge Schools is collaborating with Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County and the Oak Ridge Police Department to launch a new monitoring program that will allow parents and students to anonymously report concerns about student safety 24 hours a day, seven days per week.

The program includes an anonymous tip reporting application, which is part of the P3 Campus family of apps designed specifically for use in schools as part of student safety and mental health, a press release said. The local version app will be branded AlertORS, and will be available to all students in the Oak Ridge School district on Tuesday, April 2. Reports can be made through the P3 Campus mobile app or through any web browser at P3Campus.com.

“AlertORS will help students and community members be proactive in the emotional and physical well-being of their peers by giving them a tool to make anonymous reports quickly, easily, and interactively,” the press release said. “Users can report a wide range of concerns from mental health issues to threats of violence. ORS has designated team members for two-way communication when a tip is reported so that staff members are able to respond to students directly through the P3 Campus app and keep the conversation completely anonymous.” [Read more…]

Design forum for Pennsylvania-North Tulane intersection is Wednesday

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UT Intersection Project Open Forum April 3 2019

Students from the University of Tennessee are planning to host a virtual open forum as they continue to explore alternative designs for the intersection at Pennsylvania and North Tulane Avenues in Oak Ridge, a press release said. The event will be accessible via Facebook Live on Wednesday, April 3, from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m.

The effort is part of a senior project for the students from UT’s College of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the press release said. The Oak Ridge Public Works Department teamed up with the group to evaluate designs that would potentially realign the intersections of North Tulane Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Providence Road, and East Pasadena Road.

The students held their first open forum in early March at Oak Ridge Public Library, where they introduced themselves and gathered public opinions and concerns. In the upcoming open forum, students will build on the feedback received so far and present conceptual drawings of alternatives that are under consideration, the press release said. [Read more…]