Oak Ridge Today

Manhattan Project national park bill reintroduced

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander has reintroduced legislation to set up a Manhattan Project national park that would include Oak Ridge.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park would also include Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash. All three sites played important roles in the top-secret World War II program to build the world’s first atomic weapons.

“The Manhattan Project is one of the most significant events in American history, and the facilities at Oak Ridge continue to be an important source of jobs and research for Tennessee and the rest of the country,” said Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.

The legislation was introduced Thursday.

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Nonprofit leader discusses Manhattan Project park and others Tuesday

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A regional director for a national nonprofit organization will discuss national parks and a proposed Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which could include Oak Ridge, during a Tuesday meeting.

Don Barger, senior regional director for the Southeast Regional Office of the National Parks Conservation Association, will be the guest speaker at Lunch with League at noon Tuesday.

“In his presentation, Mr. Barger will discuss the state of the national parks, political and financial ramifications, the status of the Manhattan Project Historical Park, and issues facing the national park system,” a press release said.

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Oak Ridge celebrates 70th birthday

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Oak Ridge 70th Birthday

Local historians, officials, volunteers, and former Manhattan Project workers celebrate Oak Ridge’s 70th birthday on Wednesday. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)

Residents, officials, and historic preservationists celebrated Oak Ridge’s birthday on Wednesday with cake, historical displays, speeches, a preservation award, and a special free showing of “Fat Man and Little Boy.”

The celebration at Jackson Square marked the 70th anniversary of the day that Gen. Leslie Groves selected Oak Ridge as the first Manhattan Project site. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

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Oak Ridge plans for Manhattan Project’s 70th anniversary

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Organizers in Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash., are having special events today to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Manhattan Project, the top-secret national effort to create the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

Although nothing is planned in Oak Ridge, local volunteers are considering whether to have a celebration on Sept. 19, the 70th anniversary of the decision to select Oak Ridge for the first Manhattan Project site, newspaper columnist and Y-12 National Security Complex Historian D. Ray Smith said in an e-mail.

The volunteers plan to begin discussing the possible celebration during a 4 p.m. Tuesday meeting in the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau conference room.

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U.S. House committee approves Manhattan Project park bill

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Doc Hastings

Doc Hastings

A U.S. House committee approved a bill today to set up a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that would include Oak Ridge.

In the works for years, the park would also include facilities in Hanford, Wash., and Los Alamos, N.M.

The legislation, H.R. 5987, can now be considered by the full House.

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House committee to vote on Manhattan Project historical park Wednesday

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Manhattan Project National Historical Park House Hearing

Pictured above at a June 28 U.S. House hearing on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act are, from front left, Cindy Kelly, Atomic Heritage Foundation president; Heather McClenahan, executive director of the Los Alamos Historical Society; and D. Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian. Gary Petersen, Tri-City Development Council vice president, is pictured in the background. (Photo courtesy of Atomic Heritage Foundation)

A U.S. House committee will vote Wednesday on a bill to create a Manhattan Project historical park that would include Oak Ridge, Rep. Doc Hastings announced Friday.

The legislation will be considered by the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Hastings is chair of that committee and sponsor of the bill, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act. He represents the Hanford site in Washington, which would also be part of the national park.

“I expect the Committee will vote to favorably advance the bill to the full House for consideration,” Hastings said in a news release. “A great many volunteers have been working for years to bring this idea into reality, and I’m pleased that progress is being made in the law-making process to preserve this amazing and important piece of our nation’s history.”

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Guest column: Alexander supports Manhattan Project park in Oak Ridge

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

The Manhattan Project is one of the most significant events in American history, and according to some historians, it is the single most significant event of the 20th Century.

In 2004, I joined Sen. Jeff Bingaman as a cosponsor of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Study Act, which directed the Department of Interior to conduct a study of the Manhattan Project sites to determine the feasibility of including the sites in the National Park System.

In 2011, Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Department of the Interior, recommended the creation of a Manhattan Project National Historical Park with units at Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash. According to Secretary Salazar, “The Manhattan Project ushered in the Atomic Age, changed the role of the United States in the world community, and set the stage for the Cold War.”

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Nonprofits release Congressional testimony for Manhattan Project park

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Two nonprofit organizations have released the testimony they are submitting to Congress this week for hearings on a Manhattan Project national park that would include Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan will testify at a Senate hearing at 3 p.m. today on behalf of the nonprofit Energy Communities Alliance. His testimony is available here.

The nonprofit Atomic Heritage Foundation has also released its testimony to the Senate and House, where Y-12 National Security Complex D. Ray Smith will testify at 10 a.m. Thursday.

The House testimony is available here, and the Senate testimony is available here.

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Manhattan Project park hearings can be watched online

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Congressional hearings on bills to set up a Manhattan Project park that includes Oak Ridge can be watched online Wednesday and Thursday.

A Senate hearing on the bills that starts at 3 p.m. Wednesday can be watched live at http://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/live-webcast, the nonprofit Atomic Heritage Foundation said in a press release.

A House hearing that starts at 10 a.m. Thursday can be watched at http://naturalresources.house.gov/Live/.

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Mayor testifies before Senate on national park bill

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Mayor Tom Beehan will testify before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on Wednesday, advocating for a Manhattan Project national historical park that would include Oak Ridge.

Beehan will represent Oak Ridge and two other Manhattan Project cities—Hanford, Wash., and Los Alamos, N.M.—as well as the nonprofit Energy Communities Alliance.

He will testify before the National Parks Subcommittee on a bill filed by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat. That bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, would set up a national park for Oak Ridge, Hanford, and Los Alamos.

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Federal bill another step toward Manhattan Project park

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A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today takes a major step toward creating a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that could include Oak Ridge, a nonprofit preservation group said.

The legislation was introduced by Rep. Doc Hastings, a Republican who represents the Hanford Site in central Washington. That site would also be a part of the Manhattan Project park along with Los Alamos, N.M.

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Sen. Alexander co-sponsors National Parks bill that includes Oak Ridge

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander announced on Thursday that he has co-sponsored a bill that would turn several Manhattan Project sites, including areas of Oak Ridge, into a National Historical Park.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat.

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