Oak Ridge Today

Eby elected chair of state school board

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Bob Eby, left, has been elected chair of the Tennessee State Board of Education. Also pictured second from left are former chair Lillian Hartgrove, Vice Chair Darrell Cobbins, and Executive Director Sara Heyburn Morrison. (Photo courtesy Bob Eby/Tennessee State Board of Education)

Bob Eby, a former chair and vice chair of the Oak Ridge school board, has been elected chair of the Tennessee State Board of Education. He will serve a two-year term.

Eby was appointed to the state school board by former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam in April 2018. He was elected vice chair the following year. Eby represents Tennessee’s Third Congressional District, which includes Oak Ridge.

He will replace Lillian Hartgrove, who represents District 6, as chair of the 11-member board. Hartgrove has served as chair for five years.

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McNally has pacemaker surgery

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Randy McNally

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally reported on Friday that he had pacemaker surgery and it went smoothly.

McNally had said on his official Facebook page that, before the surgery, he had experienced the symptoms of an irregular heartbeat. He checked into Vanderbilt hospital.

“Tests indicate I will likely need a pacemaker to help regulate my cardiac issues,” McNally said before the surgery. “I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers. I hope to be back at work as soon as possible.”

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Company could evaluate leaving rail in place at airport

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Image from Oak Ridge City Council agenda packet for Feb. 13, 2023.

The Brentwood company performing preliminary studies for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport could evaluate leaving a short section of railroad in place and building a runway bridge over it.

The short section of railroad has been called a potential “deal-killer” for the airport.

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Presentation: Laws & children of different sexual identities

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On Tuesday, February 7, the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge will host John Jaruzel and Anne Backus, co-chairs of Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Oak Ridge, and Nathan Higdon, CFO of Knox Pride, to discuss laws and children of different sexual identities.

This hybrid Lunch with the League event (available in person and virtually via Zoom), will be held at 12 p.m. Tuesday at the Unitarian Universalist Church Social Hall in Oak Ridge. A lunch from The Soup Kitchen will be available for purchase or bring your own lunch. Coffee and tea will be provided. If you cannot attend in person, you can use the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85481905266.

Since moving to Oak Ridge seven years ago, John Jaruzel has continued his advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community in East Tennessee, a press release said. As treasurer of the AIDS Housing Project in South Knoxville, he helps provide low-cost housing for people dealing with HIV/AIDS. He co-chairs PFLAG Oak Ridge, is on the Grants and Allocation committee of the East Tennessee Ryan White Planning Council, and volunteers with the Bearden Central Baptist Church outreach group Samaritan Ministries doing HIV prevention outreach.

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CNC Bootcamp returns to Oak Ridge High School this spring

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Roane State and Oak Ridge High School educators joined specialized instructors over fall break for a CNC Bootcamp at the high school. The session welcomed the youngest-ever ACE training participant, Oak Ridge student Harry Shanafield, who was 13 when the camp took place. (Photo courtesy RSCC)

A popular bootcamp is returning to Oak Ridge High School this spring thanks to a recent partnership between Roane State Community College and the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI).

Roane State announced its workforce training partnership with IACMI last year, making the college just the third location in the State of Tennessee to offer specialized no-cost machine tool training opportunities through America’s Cutting Edge (ACE), a press release said.

ACE is a joint Department of Defense and Department of Energy effort launched in 2020 to re-establish American leadership in the machine tool industry through transformative thinking, technology innovation, and workforce development, the press release said.

Roane State and Oak Ridge High School educators joined specialized instructors during fall break for a CNC Bootcamp at the high school. The session welcomed the youngest-ever ACE training participant, Oak Ridge student Harry Shanafield, who was 13 when the camp took place.

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Roane State Dental Clinic offering free cleanings for kids

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Submitted image

Free dental cleanings for children ages 4 to 12 are being offered through the end of March at the Roane State Dental Hygiene Clinic.

The clinic is located on the first floor of the Coffey/McNally Building on Roane State’s Oak Ridge Branch Campus, located at 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

The free procedures include teeth cleaning, all necessary dental X-rays, and a fluoride treatment, a press release said. The clinic is open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, and on Fridays from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. during the spring semester.

The free cleanings for children are only offered during the months of February and March 2023. Availability is limited due to demand, so parents and caregivers are encouraged to book quickly, the press release said.

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UCOR announces management change

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Tom Dieter

United Cleanup Oak Ridge LLC, the lead cleanup contractor at federal sites in Oak Ridge, has announced a top management change that will be effective April 1.

UCOR Chief Operating Officer Tom Dieter has announced he will retire March 31, and Kent Fortenberry has been appointed to take his place.

In a press release, UCOR said Dieter has had a 30-year career, and during that time, he has earned a national reputation, leading more than $3 billion in cleanup successes in complex nuclear enterprises in several states.

“Tom led UCOR’s transition for our 10-year, $8.3 billion Oak Ridge Reservation cleanup contract, and we’re grateful for his leadership in the company maintaining a strong safety performance in our first year,” said UCOR President and Chief Executive Officer Ken Rueter.

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Y-12 honored with DOE sustainability partnership award

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Pictured above are Y-12 refrigerant cylinders to be sent for reclamation. (Photo by CNS Y-12)

The Y-12 National Security Complex recently received a U.S. Department of Energy Sustainability Award for Strategic Partnerships for Sustainability.

The Y-12 team was recognized for its efforts to improve efficiency, sustainability, and resiliency of the site through partnerships with other DOE contractors and private companies, a press release said.

Through its sustainability program, Y-12 said it is reducing greenhouse gases, minimizing waste, and improving waste treatment on a large scale.

The partnership efforts for which the team was recognized include Energy Savings Performance Contract implementation, including helping to reuse refrigerant, using additive manufacturing for unique part production, and implementing wastewater treatment process improvements.

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Trapuzzano receives Eugene L. Joyce Achievement Award

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Tim Trapuzzano

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce presented Tim Trapuzzano with the Eugene L. Joyce Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual awards gala, An ExtraORdinary Evening, in late January.

Trapuzzano is president and chief executive officer of Omega Technical Services in Oak Ridge, located at 118 Mitchell Road in Oak Ridge.

The Eugene L. Joyce Lifetime Achievement Award is given to a nominee who has truly distinguished himself or herself and embodies the essential values of volunteerism, community service, and dedication to the economic vitality of the community, a press release said. [Read more…]

Speakers mostly support TRISO-X fuel facility at meeting

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TRISO-X has proposed a nuclear fuel fabrication facility on 110 acres at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. (Photo from TRISO-X environmental report to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

A small group of residents who spoke at a public meeting on Wednesday were mostly supportive of a proposed nuclear fuel facility in west Oak Ridge. None of the seven local speakers opposed the project, but they had some suggestions for what the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission should consider as it prepares an environmental impact statement. That was the type of input the NRC had requested.

The nuclear fuel facility would be the first manufacturing facility of its type in the United States. It has been proposed by TRISO-X, and it would be on 110 acres at Horizon Center. The coated particle uranium fuel produced there could be used in new types of nuclear reactors such as small modular reactors.

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UPF construction could cost more, take longer

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The entrance sign at Y-12 National Security Complex at Bear Creek Road and Scarboro Road is pictured above on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex was supposed to be completed by 2025 for no more than $6.5 billion, but that might no longer be the case.

In the past week, federal officials said construction projects across the country, including UPF, have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain delays, inflation, labor shortages, and increased labor costs. Those factors have led to higher construction costs and longer project timelines, the federal officials said.

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Y-12 celebrates new fire station, emergency operations center

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Y-12 Site Manager Gene Sievers talks about the plant’s new fire station and emergency operations center during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new fire station and emergency operations center at the Y-12 National Security Complex will replace “severely outdated” buildings that were constructed in the 1940s, about eight decades ago. The new buildings will improve working conditions, consolidate operations now conducted in separate places, and provide ample space for large equipment like fire trucks, federal officials and Y-12 leaders said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.

Workers at the plant, which manufactures components for the nation’s nuclear weapons, among other activities, have been talking about the new facilities for at least 13 years. The start of construction was celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony in April 2021. The new buildings, reported to have cost $68 million, are part of a “huge transformation,” an effort to modernize the site.

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