Flags at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building and city facilities will be flown at half-staff from noon Friday until sunset Saturday in honor of a solider killed in Afghanistan last week, City Manager Mark Watson said.
Funeral services for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Michael Ward, 24, start at 10 a.m. Saturday at Weatherford Mortuary in Oak Ridge. Ward’s mother lives in Oak Ridge, and he attended Oak Ridge High School before enlisting in the Army at 17. [Read more…]
SSG Christopher Michael Ward
A Saturday funeral has been scheduled for an Oak Ridge soldier killed in southern Afghanistan by a suicide car bomber last weekend.
The funeral for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Michael Ward, 24, starts with a receiving of friends from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Weatherford Mortuary in Oak Ridge.
A celebration of Chris’ life will follow at 12 p.m. Family and friends will have a chance to share their stories and memories of Chris. Full military honors will be provided.
Following the services, the family will welcome friends to their home in Oak Ridge, the obituary said. In keeping with Chris’ wishes, his body will be cremated. [Read more…]
Lamar Alexander
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Tuesday questioned energy secretary nominee Ernest Moniz on whether the cleanup of mercury contamination in Oak Ridge would be a priority under his leadership, a press release said.
“One of the biggest cleanup problems we have from the Cold War era is mercury contamination of waterways in Oak Ridge,” said Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.
The release said Alexander also asked Moniz to support a planned water treatment facility.
Alexander was referring to about 200,000 gallons of mercury that arrived at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge during the 1950s and 1960s, when the United States was developing nuclear weapons as a defense against the Soviet Union. Alexander said it will cost billions of dollars to clean it up. [Read more…]
A U.S. Army carry team transfers the remains of Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Ward of Oak Ridge during a dignified transfer ceremony on Monday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. (U.S. Air Force photo/Greg L. Davis)
Note: This story was last updated April 10.
A chaplain and another military representative knocked on her door at about 10:35 p.m. Saturday.
Joyce Ward of Oak Ridge knew why there were there.
She learned that her son, Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Ward, 24, had died in southern Afghanistan on Saturday morning helping a diplomat and two other soldiers deliver books to children in Zabul province when their vehicle was hit by an explosion.
“He is a hero,” Joyce Ward said. “He gave his life. He put himself in the line of fire to protect others.” [Read more…]
A plan for the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum that had been proposed at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site. (Submitted image)
Note: This story was updated at 10:13 a.m.
A railroad museum that has been planned for years at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, will not be built due to budget constraints, officials said Monday.
The lowest qualified bid for the 3,315-square-foot facility came in at nearly $1 million, or about 26 percent more than expected, a press release said.
The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee’s Heritage Center LLC and the Southern Appalachian Railway Museum determined this week that the cost was too high, the press release said. [Read more…]
Author Denise Kiernan signs copies of “The Girls of Atomic City” after a lecture at the American Museum of Science and Energy. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)
A book project that started with a famous photo of women enriching uranium at the Y-12 National Security Complex during World War II has ended up on the New York Times best seller list.
It’s also led to appearances on major television shows for Denise Kiernan, author of “The Girls of Atomic City—The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II.” She’s recently been a guest on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, and PBS NewsHour.
Released March 5, “The Girls of Atomic City” remained at No. 33 on the hard cover nonfiction list on Sunday night.
“I’ve been thrilled with the response,” Kiernan said during a recent lecture and book-signing at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge. “The country is just fascinated with your town and your stories.” [Read more…]
This month, national author Denise Kiernan gave a wonderful talk at the American Museum of Science and Energy. Ms. Kiernan was in town to discuss her new book, “Girls of the Atomic City—The Untold Story of Women Who Helped Win World War II.”
The book made the New York Times best seller list.
Ms. Kiernan’s book chronicles the fascinating stories of the many women who came to Oak Ridge between 1943 and 1945 during the Manhattan Project. It’s great to see these pioneers recognized for their important contributions. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge household trash pickup program starts Monday.
Household rubbish, old appliances, and minor remodeling materials will be picked up. Compressors must be removed from refrigerators and air conditioners, however.
A city press release said workers will follow the schedule as closely as possible, but it is a general guide and can vary considerably from the actual schedule due to weather conditions and the amount of trash left by residents. [Read more…]
National Strategic Protective Services LLC announced Monday morning that it now provides guard services at U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge.
NSPS won the protective force services work under a five-year, $182 million contract announced in January. The company will guard the East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Joe L. Evins Federal Building, and part of the Oak Ridge Reservation. [Read more…]
To the Oak Ridge Community:
As WSI Oak Ridge completes its transition to the new security contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Protective Force contract, I wanted to take this opportunity to say farewell.
We have provided protective nuclear security services to DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration in the valley for the past 13 years, and are proud that our employees have answered our nation’s call to duty in an exceptionally worthy manner. The WSI Oak Ridge Protective Force has led the DOE Security Complex in professionalism, mission performance, and innovation. [Read more…]
By Pat Fain and Leslie Agron
In Nimes, France, there is a 2,000-year-old Roman coliseum. For 500 years in the Middle Ages, thousands of people lived their lives within the walls of the coliseum, and in modern times it has hosted rock concerts and safely seated nearly 15,000 people.
Yet at less than 75 years of age, Oak Ridge has the blight. Woolly housing adelgids, no doubt. [Read more…]
Fliers with a letterhead from the United Klans of America were left in driveways in a small west Oak Ridge neighborhood this week in zip-locked baggies anchored with rocks, authorities said.
“You can sleep well tonight knowing the UKA is awake,” said the fliers, which announced a neighborhood watch and provided a phone number and website address. The website consists of white supremacist propaganda related to the Ku Klux Klan, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Garrett L. Robbins wrote in a report Wednesday morning.
