Oak Ridge Today

Volleyball: Lady Wildcats win fourth straight district championship

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats volleyball team won its fourth consecutive District 4-AAA tournament championship at Bearden High School on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. (Photo submitted by Buzz Patrick)

The Oak Ridge volleyball team won its fourth consecutive District 4-AAA tournament championship on Thursday.

The Lady Wildcats were undefeated in the district during the regular season, and as a result, they did not have to play in the first round of the district tournament, which was at Bearden High School.

Here is information about the tournament provided by Buzz Patrick:

Oak Ridge faced the number five seed, Karns, in the semifinal match on Thursday, and the Lady Wildcats swept the Lady Beavers in three sets (25-12, 25-15, 25-16) behind the stellar serving of junior Paige Halcrow, who notched seven aces against the Lady Beavers to help the ‘Cats counteract some of their own passing errors.

After a short break, the Lady Wildcats faced the number two seed, West, in the finals. Oak Ridge defeated West for the third time this year (25-22, 25-12, 25-12) to earn the 2019 District 4-AAA tournament championship to accompany their regular season championship.

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Centrus finishes preparing centrifuge testing building for demolition

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The “footprint,” the area where the K-25 Building used to be in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. The white K-1600 Building is pictured in the middle of the “footprint.” The brick building in the foreground is Oak Ridge Fire Station No. 4. (File photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

Centrus Energy Corporation on Wednesday said it has successfully completed a $15 million project to decontaminate and decommission a building at the East Tennessee Technology Park that has been used to test and demonstrate centrifuges that could be used to enrich uranium.

The building is K-1600, which is in the middle of the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge.

Centrus said it finished the work budget and on time, within a year. The work was to occur between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019.

“I’m pleased our team was able to deliver the results the department expected on a very short timetable,” said Centrus President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel B. Poneman.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Centrus a $15 million work authorization on September 27, 2018, to prepare K-1600 for demolition.

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Grand opening for new Oak Ridge Senior Center is Oct. 15

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Oak Ridge Senior Center exterior front 2019
The front of the new Oak Ridge Senior Center is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department has scheduled a grand opening and ribbon-cutting event for the new Oak Ridge Senior Center at 10 a.m. Tuesday, October 15.

Brief remarks will kick off the celebration, followed by a ribbon-cutting and cake and refreshments inside the new building.

“Everyone is invited to take a tour of the senior center and learn about the activities and programs offered for local seniors,” a press release said.

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Taste of Anderson County is Oct. 17

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An aerial view of Taste of Anderson County in Jackson Square. (Submitted photo)

Taste of Anderson County will be in Jackson Square this month. It’s scheduled from 5-10 p.m. Thursday, October 17.

“The annual food festival and fundraiser for United Way of Anderson County is the perfect way to spend a fall evening, with free activities for the kids, live music, alcohol tastings, and of course, tastes from your favorite local restaurants,” a press release said.

Soup Kitchen, Burchfield’s, Sassy Pants, Volunteer Dogs, Murray’s Oak Ridge, Freddy’s, Sicilia Pizza, Aubrey’s, and Panda Express are just a few of the restaurants to choose from, the press release said.

In addition, several local breweries and distilleries will be at the event to provide tastings. Beer tastings will be provided by Fanatic Brewing; Seven Springs Farm will be offering wine tastings; Sugarlands Distilling Company will have moonshine to sample; and Postmodern Spirits will be providing tastes of some of their vodkas, gins, and whiskeys. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Business Office to be temporarily relocated

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Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office Exterior
Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office will temporarily relocate to the Oak Ridge Civic Center for about four months to allow workers to renovate the office to improve safety and efficiency, a press release said.

The Utilities Business Office is where Oak Ridge residents can pay utility bills and city taxes.

The temporary relocation, which will start Monday, October 7, was announced by the Oak Ridge Electric Department.

“The move is due to planned renovations of the UBO that are needed to increase efficiency and safety,” the press release said. “The affected offices are normally located inside the Oak Ridge Municipal Building at 200 South Tulane Avenue. Signs will be posted to direct patrons to the temporary offices.”

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New Senior Center opens Thursday

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The front of the new Oak Ridge Senior Center is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The new Oak Ridge Senior Center opens today (Thursday, September 26) in Alvin K. Bissell Park in central Oak Ridge.

The new Senior Center was scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Normal operating hours were scheduled to resume Thursday, and so were most activities.

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department called it a “soft opening.” Oak Ridge municipal officials are planning a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony for later, and details will be announced soon, a press release said.

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Judge voids UPF decision, requires more seismic hazard analysis

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Y-12 Uranium Processing Facility
Structural steel installation is under way on the eastern half of the Main Process Building of the Uranium Processing Facility, the Y-12 National Security Complex said Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

Note This story was last updated at 9:38 a.m. Sept. 25.

A federal judge in Knoxville on Tuesday said a critical decision made in 2016 for enriched uranium operations at the Y-12 National Security Complex, including for the $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility, violated a national environmental law, and she ordered the decision vacated, or set aside.

The UPF is already under construction, and Wedenesday morning, the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees work at Y-12, said construction will continue.

The 104-page opinion and order was filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday by Chief U.S. District Judge Pamela L. Reeves.

One of the plaintiffs said the decision to vacate the amended record of decision published in the Federal Register in 2016 means the NNSA no longer has the legal authority to continue construction work at UPF.

But the NNSA said it was pleased that the court’s memorandum opinion rejected almost all of the plaintiff’s claims regarding National Environmental Policy Act violations related to UPF construction.

“However, with the court agreeing that there was inadequate consideration of new information concerning seismic hazards at Y-12, NNSA will review the seismic analysis while conferring with the Department of Justice on the possibility of appeal,” the NNSA said. “In the meantime, construction of UPF will proceed.”

Besides the amended record of decision, Reeves said supplement analyses prepared in 2016 and 2018 also violated the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, and she said they were to be set aside as well.

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Manhattan Project Park: Commemorate tennis court dances in Jackson Square

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Oak Ridge Tennis Court Dance NPS
This undated photo shows a tennis court dance in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will commemorate the tennis court dances that occurred in Jackson Square 75 years ago with a dance and costume contest in October.

The Tennis Court Dance and Costume Contest is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, October 11, in the Jackson Square tennis courts. The free event will feature swing dancing music from the 1940s World War II era.

The National Park Service is partnering with Explore Oak Ridge to host the dance, a press release said.

“All ages are welcome to attend and everyone is encouraged to participate in the costume contest with their best 1940s costume,” the press release said. “One winner will be announced for best individual costume and one for group costumes.”

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ORAU sponsors U.S. student researchers to attend Heidelberg Laureate Forum in Germany

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Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

ORAU will again sponsor young researchers in the fields of mathematics and computer science to attend the Seventh Heidelberg Laureate Forum from September 22-27 in Heidelberg, Germany.

The Heidelberg Laureate Forum is a gathering of laureates of some of the most prestigious prizes in mathematics and computer science, namely the Abel Prize and Fields Medal as well as the Turing Award and Nevanlinna Prize. Held annually for a week in Heidelberg, Germany, the Heidelberg Laureate Forum brings these laureates at the apex of their careers together with 200 high-achieving graduate student and postdoctoral counterparts from around the world, a press release said.

The forum gives early career researchers an opportunity for interaction that is typically not available within the normal university environment or in their home university department, whereby the laureates provided formal plenary lectures and led small group discussions with topics driven by a combination of prepared presentations by the laureates as well as student questions, the press release said. [Read more…]

For members: Man sentenced to 14 years after taking van from woman in wheelchair

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Bradley Allan Thomas

CLINTON—A Knoxville man was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday after he stole a van from a woman in a wheelchair in the parking lot of the Red Lobster restaurant in Oak Ridge last year.

Bradley Allan Thomas, 31, received a 12-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery, a Class B felony. He will be required to serve 85 percent of that sentence before he could be eligible for a parole hearing. Authorities had alleged that Thomas pushed the woman out and took the van through force or intimidation while using a deadly weapon (a large knife).

Bradley Allan Thomas

 

A Knoxville man was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday after he stole a van from a woman in a wheelchair in the parking lot of the Red Lobster restaurant in Oak Ridge last year. Authorities had alleged that the man pushed the woman out and took the van through force or intimidation while using a deadly weapon (a large knife).

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Soccer: Secret City Tournament in Oak Ridge this weekend

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Soccer Club of Oak Ridge Secret City Tournament
The Soccer Club of Oak Ridge (SCOR) will host the 8th Annual Secret City Tournament this weekend, Sept. 21-22, 2019. The tournament brings in players from across the Southeast to compete in a highly competitive weekend of soccer. (Submitted photo)

The Soccer Club of Oak Ridge (SCOR) will host the 8th Annual Secret City Tournament this weekend, September 21-22. The tournament brings in players from across the Southeast to compete in a highly competitive weekend of soccer, a press release said.

The Secret City Tournament will host 63 teams from Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, and Virginia. Games will be played on seven fields around town, including Jefferson Middle School, Oak Ridge High School, and the five fields managed by the City of Oak Ridge.

More than 1,075 players and their families will be in town during the weekend tournament, playing more than 100 games around the city, the press release said. Players ranging in ages from 8 to 19 will compete in multiple high-energy games that will feature 11 championships by the end of weekend play, the press release said.

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Anderson County man arrested after search allegedly finds meth, heroin

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Steven Arthur Seiber
Steven Arthur Seiber

An Anderson County man has been charged with five drug-related crimes after a search of a home near Rocky Top in February found large amounts of suspected methamphetamine, heroin, and other drugs.

Steven Arthur Seiber, 30, has been charged with manufacturing, delivering, or selling a Schedule II controlled substance: 300 grams or more of methamphetamine. That’s a Class A felony in Tennessee.

Affidavits, which include short narratives describing alleged crimes, said the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County found about 18 bags (roughly 18 ounces) of suspected crystal methamphetamine in the master bedroom of a home on Andys Ridge Road during a search Wednesday night, February 13. (There are 28.35 grams per ounce.)

Agents also found about 21 bags (roughly 21 grams) of suspected heroin in the master bedroom, according to the affidavits, which were filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge by CTF Director Simon Byrne.

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