Oak Ridge Today

Council approves rezoning for former AMSE property

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A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously approved a rezoning for property that could be developed with a grocery store, retail shops, and restaurants on vacant land south of the American Museum of Science and Energy.

The rezoning of the 7.4 acres had been requested by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC, a company affiliated with RealtyLink, which is developing Main Street Oak Ridge at the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The rezoning was approved, with a few contingencies, by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on October 19. City Council approved it with some comments in the first of two monthly meetings on Monday.

In addition to approving the rezoning request, Council approved an associated planned unit development (PUD) preliminary master plan for the project. [Read more…]

Groundbreaking scheduled for Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12

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The planned Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy UCOR/U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

The planned Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy UCOR/U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

 

A groundbreaking has been scheduled for Monday morning for the Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Y-12 operations have historically used large amounts of mercury, and many of the buildings, now in varying states of deterioration, have mercury contamination, a media advisory said.

“The treatment facility will lower existing mercury levels from past releases and will serve as a guard against a potential increase in releases as mercury-contaminated buildings are demolished,” the media advisory said.

Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette will attend the groundbreaking, which is at Y-12 and not open to the public. U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander and U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, both Tennessee Republicans, will also attend the groundbreaking, the media advisory said.

The groundbreaking is being presented by the U.S. Department of Energy and URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR, DOE’s cleanup contractor at federal sites in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

China passes U.S. in number of top supercomputers; ORNL’s Titan drops to 5th

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The Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is pictured above. (Photo by ORNL/U.S. Department of Energy)

The Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is pictured above. (Photo by ORNL/U.S. Department of Energy)

 

China has passed the United States in the total number of top ranked supercomputers, and Titan at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has dropped from fourth to fifth on the TOP500 list of the world’s fastest supercomputers.

The TOP500 list is released twice a year, once in June and once in November. It is based on a benchmark test known as Linpack.

Titan at ORNL dropped from third to fourth in June, bumped from the number three spot by the upgraded Piz Daint, a Cray XC50 system installed at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre. Titan is capable of 17.59 petaflops. A petaflop is one quadrillion calculations per second. That’s 1,000 trillion calculations per second. Piz Daint is capable of 19.59 petaflops.

That power is useful in scientific research. At ORNL, Titan is used for research in areas such as materials science, nuclear energy, combustion, and climate science. ORNL is a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory.

Titan slipped one more spot in this month’s list, from fourth to fifth. It was displaced by the upgraded Gyoukou supercomputer. That is a ZettaScaler-2.2 system capable of 19.14 petaflops and deployed at Japan’s Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, the home of the Earth Simulator. [Read more…]

RealtyLink working with possible grocery store on former AMSE property

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A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

 

RealtyLink, the company developing Main Street Oak Ridge in the center of the city, is working with a grocery store that could build on property south of the American Museum of Science and Energy, an executive said Tuesday.

But Neil Wilson of RealtyLink declined to name the grocery store. He was asked to identify it during a Tuesday morning Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce event at TNBank.

“I’ll save that for my next visit,” Wilson responded with a smile.

The store hasn’t signed a lease yet, Wilson said.

RealtyLink could know more about the project in March, he said. [Read more…]

Construction could start next week on Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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A Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers could open in Oak Ridge next year at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, the company said Thursday, May 25, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers could open in Oak Ridge next year at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, the company said Thursday, May 25, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Construction could start next week on a building that will include Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, a development executive said Tuesday.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers will be located on a corner lot at South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, between Taco Bell and Golden Oak Buffet.

The restaurant has signed a lease in a building that will be about 9,000 square feet, said Neil Wilson of RealtyLink, the company redeveloping the former 58-acre Oak Ridge Mall as Main Street Oak Ridge.

The company has previously said it could open in Oak Ridge next year. [Read more…]

Hospital workers to picket Tuesday as contract negotiations continue

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Members of Service Employees International Union Local 205 rallied in front of Methodist Medical Center during a heavy rain on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017, to protest the state of negotiations on a new three-year contract. The rally included about 150 people, and the crowd stretched over a block. (Photo submitted by SEIU)

Members of Service Employees International Union Local 205 rallied in front of Methodist Medical Center during a heavy rain on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017, to protest the state of negotiations on a new three-year contract. The rally included about 150 people, and the crowd stretched over a block. (Photo submitted by SEIU)

 

Hospital workers at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge will have an informational picket on Tuesday as contract negotiations continue.

The picket, meant to educate staff and the community, is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 7, at Methodist Medical Center, which is at 990 Oak Ridge Oak Ridge Turnpike, a press release said.

Nurses and support staff, along with their allies in the community, will attend, the press release said.

Service Employees International Union Local 205 represents more than 800 registered nurses and service and technical employees at MMC, a Covenant Health facility in Oak Ridge. In a Monday press release, the SEIU said the hospital workers have been working under a three-year contract that is set to expire on November 15.

“Last week, union members voted overwhelmingly to authorize their bargaining committee to issue the hospital a notice of intent to strike if an agreement cannot be reached,” the press release said. “Issues which are in dispute are maintaining safe staffing levels and reasonable working hours, Methodist’s plan to slash wages for new employees, and affordable health insurance on par with other Covenant facilities.” [Read more…]

With $3 billion in savings expected, not clear how much saved at Y-12, Pantex so far

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Y-12 National Security Complex

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above. (File photo/B&W Y-12)

 

More than $3 billion in savings are expected during a decade, but it’s not clear yet how much money has been saved after three years under a consolidated contract at two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The savings of $3.27 billion are expected under a contract that could last 10 years at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.

On Monday, officials said Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the contractor at the two sites, has generated significant savings in three fiscal years, although it’s not clear exactly how much they’ve saved. CNS has managed and operated Y-12 and Pantex Plant since July 1, 2014.

Federal officials announced the expected savings of $3.27 billion during a decade when the five-year contract was announced in January 2013. Officials said the consolidated contract, the result of years of work, could save money in part by eliminating redundancies in such areas as human resources, purchasing, finance, and information technology. [Read more…]

Rezoning map shows possible grocery, retail stores south of AMSE

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A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

 

A rezoning map shows a grocery or large retail store could be built on the property south of American Museum of Science and Energy.

The rezoning map shows the grocery or retailer could be 55,000 square feet, set back from South Illinois Avenue and next to Badger Avenue. But no prospective tenant has been publicly announced yet.

Also shown on the rezoning map, which was filed for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting in October, are three smaller possible retail or restaurant buildings of about 4,000 to 7,000 square feet.

The rezoning was requested by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC for the 7.4 acres south of AMSE along South Illinois Avenue between South Tulane Avenue and Badger Avenue. That property was once part of the AMSE property and owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, but it has since been transferred to the City of Oak Ridge and then to TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC.

The rezoning was approved, with a few contingencies, by the Planning Commission on October 19, and it’s been referred to the Oak Ridge City Council, presumably for the Monday, November 13 meeting. [Read more…]

ORNL approves 204 for voluntary separations as lab reduces workforce

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Photo by ORNL

 

Lab managers have approved 204 of the 302 applications submitted for a voluntary separation program that could reduce the workforce at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by up to 350 positions.

The Self-Select Voluntary Separation Program was announced by ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia in an August 8 email to employees. ORNL employees were able to apply for the program from Monday, August 14, to Wednesday, September 27. Applicants were notified October 25 whether their application was approved, according to information provided on Friday by Morgan McCorkle, ORNL media relations manager.

Accepted applicants will leave the payroll by December 31.

Applications were approved from staff who charge to indirect accounts, along with some research staff affected by fiscal year 2017 funding who could not be placed elsewhere in the lab. [Read more…]

Centrus, ORNL contract continues uranium enrichment technology work in Oak Ridge

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo courtesy USEC/Centrus Energy Corp.)

 

A $16 million contract signed by Centrus Energy Corporation and and UT-Battelle LLC will continue work on gas centrifuge uranium enrichment technology at Centrus facilities in Oak Ridge, the company announced Monday.

The work is on the AC100, a U.S. gas centrifuge uranium enrichment technology.

UT-Battelle LLC operates Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Enriched uranium can be used in nuclear power plants and in nuclear weapons, as fuel for nuclear naval vessels, and to ensure a tritium supply, which is needed to maintain the effectiveness of America’s nuclear deterrent, officials have said previously.

The new Centrus-ORNL contract is valued at $16 million, with payments made when certain defined milestones are completed, Centrus said in a press release on Monday. The contract runs through September 30, 2018.

“Under the contract, Centrus’ scientists, engineers, and operators will test improvements developed by the company for the AC100 centrifuge machine in specialized facilities in Oak Ridge,” the press release said. “Centrus has worked under contract with ORNL since 2014 to improve the AC100 gas centrifuge technology to support national security and energy security needs.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge boys, girls cross country teams both going to state meet

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The Oak Ridge boys and girls cross country teams have both qualified for the state meet in Nashville next Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, finishing third in the Region 2 Large Division Championships at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 26.

The Oak Ridge boys and girls cross country teams have both qualified for the state meet in Nashville next Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, finishing third in the Region 2 Large Division Championships at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 26.

 

The Oak Ridge boys and girls cross country teams have both qualified for the state meet in Nashville on Saturday, and the Wildcats had one runner finish second in the region and another finish fourth on Thursday.

It’s the first time since 2014 that both teams are going to state together.

Both teams finished third in the Region 2 Championships for the Division I Large Division at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday. The top three teams in the regional meets advanced to the state cross country meet at Percy Warner Park in Nashville on Saturday, November 4.

Oak Ridge senior Jose Villegas finished second in the region in the boys 5,000-meter run at Victor Ashe Park on Thursday, and senior Genevieve Schwartz finished fourth in the girls race.

“You always want to get at least one team to state, but ultimately, you want to get both,” Wildcats Coach Ed Wright said after the Region 2 Championships. “Today was a good day.” [Read more…]

Photo: Sunrise view from Appalachian Underwriters

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This picture was taken by Margie Crews from the ninth floor of the Appalachian Underwriters building on Saturday evening, Oct. 21, 2017.

This sunrise picture was taken by Margie Crews from the ninth floor of the Appalachian Underwriters building and sent to us on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017.