The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Tennessee Valley Authority is conducting routine maintenance inside the boiler at the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton, and the activities, which make use of the plant’s public address system, might continue for the next week or so, a spokesman said Monday.
During the maintenance, TVA is using small blasting caps to remove the buildup of slag, a byproduct at the coal-fired plant.
Residents in Anderson County have been asking about the recent sounds of sirens at Bull Run, including at night.
In a statement, TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said TVA is using the plant’s public address system to alert and communicate with employees on site, but no sirens or other alarms are activated.
Natural gas rates will increase for Oak Ridge Utility District customers because of weather-related price increases and higher transportation costs. Rates are expected to decrease when weather-related spikes decline.
The rates will increase because there has been a rise in the price of natural gas related to the recent extreme weather, ORUD Director of Finance/Controller Robert DePriest said Friday.
Also, in January, there was an increase in the transportation costs that ORUD pays for the delivery of natural gas to its distribution system, DePriest said in a statement.
Part of the site where a test track and research facility or motorsports park could be built on the back side of Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss a special recreation district that would allow a motorsports park, among other potential uses.
The special recreation district is being considered as a zoning ordinance amendment. The Planning Commission will meet online, and the meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. today (Thursday, February 18).
A motorsports park has been proposed at the Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. The proposal has both supporters and detractors.
The zoning ordinance amendment would not endorse that specific proposal. Instead, it would create a new zoning district, the special recreation district, which could be used for large-scale recreation and entertainment developments.
Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge of a proposed sign along South Illinois Avenue/Pellissippi Parkway (State Route 62)
The City of Oak Ridge will have its second public meeting on a new sign at the city’s entrance on South Illinois Avenue at 3 p.m. today (Thursday, February 18).
The public meetings are to receive input on the design of the new sign, which will be at the entrance to Oak Ridge from Knox County in Solway.
The sign will be placed on the island between South Illinois Avenue (Pellissippi Parkway/State Route 62) and Bethel Valley Road. It would be near the exit drivers use to go to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex.
The public meetings are being held online on Zoom. The first meeting was Wednesday. During the meetings, people can join and view the designs, ask questions, and leave their feedback verbally or in the chat. The two meetings will be audio- and video-recorded and subtitles will appear on screen for those who are hearing-impaired.
Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge of a proposed sign along South Illinois Avenue/Pellissippi Parkway (State Route 62)
The Oak Ridge City Council this evening will discuss a fatal police shooting in August and this week’s public meetings about a planned sign at the city entrance on South Illinois Avenue/Pellissippi Parkway (State Route 62).
The Council will meet online in a non-voting work session at 6 p.m. today (Tuesday, February 16).
Video published on YouTube by Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Three scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will discuss their work this afternoon on technologies for the Perseverance rover, which uses plutonium-238 produced at the lab and will touch down on Mars on Thursday.
Perseverance is scheduled to make its final descent into Jezero Crater on the surface of Mars on Thursday. It’s the first NASA mission that uses plutonium-238 produced at ORNL.
The plutonium-238 is encased in iridium-alloy cladding, and it is insulated by carbon-bonded carbon fiber. It’s used in the heat source module that fuels Perseverance’s multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator. As the plutonium decays, the heat that is released is converted into electricity, charging the rover’s batteries and powering the onboard advanced imaging and sensor systems. (Learn more about the Mars mission here.)
The online event today featuring the three ORNL scientists is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy, and it is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
Joan Bienvenue has been selected as the first executive director of the Oak Ridge Institute at the University of Tennessee.
“The institute was established last year to align the expertise and infrastructure of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the university in support of world-leading research and talent development,” UT said in an announcement to students, faculty, and staff on Tuesday.
As director, Bienvenue will also serve as a vice provost. She will begin her new position on March 8.
She will develop a strategy for establishing new interdisciplinary graduate research in emerging fields, build programs using UT and ORNL’s capabilities, and lead recruitment of faculty, staff, and students, the announcement said.
The first Breakfast with the Legislators of this year will be Monday morning, and it will be an online meeting.
The meeting, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, is scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. Monday, February 22.
Tennessee senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to speak about the legislative outlook for the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly, a press release said.
A CASA coordinator will discuss programs to help children during an online meeting at noon today (Tuesday, February 16).
The speaker will be Amanda Brackett, Program Coordinator for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Anderson County.
She will speak during the lunchtime meeting of the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. To watch the presentation, send an email to maryannreeves1@att.net. Later, you will be able to watch the recorded session on the League’s website at https://my.lwv.org/tennessee/oak-ridge.
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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 is to the north. (Photo courtesy TVA)
The Tennessee Valley Authority could use the potential nuclear reactor site in west Oak Ridge to test new reactors and nuclear technologies.
Oak Ridge Today has previously reported that small modular nuclear reactors could be built at the Clinch River site, although no specific design has been approved or selected. There are additional actions that would have to be completed before any reactors would be built in Oak Ridge, including selection of a design, approval by the TVA board of directors, and issuance of a construction or operating permit by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The Tennessee Valley Authority could use the potential nuclear reactor site in west Oak Ridge to test new reactors and nuclear technologies.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
A notice of a memorial ceremony for James Cox, founder of Little Ponderosa Zoo and Rescue, posted by the zoo.
There will be an outdoor memorial ceremony for James Michael Cox, founder of the Little Ponderosa Zoo and Rescue, on Saturday.
Cox, 61, of Clinton, died Tuesday at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville.
The memorial is scheduled from 12 to 6 p.m. Saturday, February 13 (see the flyer above). In place of flowers, Cox’s family is asking that you honor his legacy and work by donating to the Little Ponderosa Zoo and Rescue at 629 Granite Rd, Clinton, TN 37716, or through the website at www.littleponderosazoo.com.
“Our hearts are broken and our lives forever changed,” the zoo posted online this week. “There aren’t words to express what this man meant to us, to our community, and to the animal and rescue community…His devotion to animals was a lifelong passion surpassed only by his love of family and friends.”
These charts show the number of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations reported by month in Anderson County. (Charts by Oak Ridge Today)
The number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations decreased in Anderson County in January, but the number of deaths increased. The death rate, comparing total deaths to total cases, has increased significantly.
The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in Anderson County dropped by more than 900 from December to January. There were 2,524 new cases reported in Anderson County in December, according to data published by the Tennessee Department of Health. That fell to 1,608 new cases in January, a 36 percent drop. Still, that was an average of about 52 new COVID-19 cases per day last month.
December and January have been the worst two months of the pandemic so far, with November the third-worst month.
In the past two months, the number of new hospitalizations decreased by 16 percent, falling from 43 in December to 36 in January, according to the state health department data. That was an average of a little more than one new hospitalization per day in Anderson County.
However, deaths increased by 13 in January, compared to December. There were 43 COVID-19 deaths reported in Anderson County in December. That rose to 56 in January. It was a 30 percent increase. There was an average of 1.8 deaths per day due to COVID-19 in Anderson County in January.
