Oak Ridge Today

Thunderstorms cause extensive power outages in Oak Ridge

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The storms sweeping through East Tennessee have caused extensive power outages in Oak Ridge, Electric Director Jack Suggs said Thursday evening.

However, Suggs is in Nashville until later tonight, and he said he couldn’t estimate how many residents have lost power, although the damage sounds very severe.

“Right now, I don’t know anything except we have a lot of problems,” Suggs said. “It’s not limited to any one section of town.”

Power was out along Oak Ridge Turnpike from at least Robertsville Road heading east to the Oak Ridge Mall, and there were reports of outages in other areas, including Grove Center, the Highland View neighborhood, the Central Services Complex, West Outer Drive, and New York and Jefferson avenues.

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Fireworks at A.K. Bissell Park tonight

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Oak Ridge’s annual fireworks show will start at 10 p.m. today at A.K. Bissell Park.

Radio host Jack Ryan from Merle 96.7 will broadcast live in the park at 6 p.m. and will play patriotic music during the fireworks.

The Oak Ridge Community Band will also play its annual Fourth of July concert in the Civic Center pavilion at 7:30 p.m.

The Family Friendly Knoxville website has posted information on other Independence Day events in the Knoxville area, including Kingston’s Smokin’ the Water and the Museum of Appalachia’s July 4 celebration and anvil shoot.

Historical Oak Ridge photos posted on Atlantic website

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A photo gallery posted on The Atlantic magazine website is generating interest in historical Oak Ridge photos.

The pictures, most of them by photographer Ed Westcott, capture life in Oak Ridge and its federal plants between 1942 and 1966.

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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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Baughn: Let’s lower the property tax rate

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Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

The future of Oak Ridge is entirely dependent upon our ability to attract new residents and businesses. To do that, we must first acknowledge an unspoken truth: Outsiders view Oak Ridge as being too expensive. We must work to change that. Oak Ridge must become competitive.

Why do people say that it costs so much to live and work in Oak Ridge? What I hear is that our leases, properties, gas, and even our groceries, all cost more than our neighboring communities. I haven’t verified that to be the case, but those are things that the city government can’t (and shouldn’t) control.

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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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Brush pickup in its sixth and final week

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The city of Oak Ridge is in its last week of the yearly brush pickup schedule.

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Fifth week of citywide brush pickup starts Monday

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The fifth week of Oak Ridge’s citywide brush pickup starts Monday. The schedule is as follows.

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Mother bear and cub last seen west of Y-12

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After almost two days of bear sightings in Oak Ridge, Y-12 National Security Complex workers reported Wednesday night that a mother black bear and cub were last seen before 7 p.m. on the west end of Bear Creek Road.

Earlier in the day, an employee reported that a bear was spotted on the north side of Y-12.

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Fourth week of Oak Ridge’s brush pickup

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Oak Ridge enters its fourth week of brush pickup on Monday.

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Summer Camps in Oak Ridge area

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AMSE Summer Camp

Campers use a microscope during an AMSE Science Explorer summer camp at Freels Bend Cabin in Oak Ridge. (Photo submitted by AMSE)

Parents, it’s that time again. School’s almost out and what are we going to do with the kids? Thankfully, Oak Ridge has a lot to offer in the way of summer camps.

Camps are being offered by Continuous Threads Sewing Studio, Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, American Museum of Science and Energy, Knoxville Zoo, Boys and Girls Club of Oak Ridge, Girls Inc., Sound Company, and the City of Oak Ridge at the Scarboro Community Center and Civic Center.

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