The citywide brush pickup program will begin in Oak Ridge on Monday, April 29. Tree limbs as well as bagged yard clippings and leaves will be picked up, a press release said. City collection efforts will follow the accompanying schedule as closely as possible.
“Residents have always been very cooperative, and we ask for their continued cooperation this year by following a few guidelines,” the press release said:
[Read more…]The 2019 season of Oak Ridge Reservation nature walks continues on Sunday, April 14, with a wildflower and old growth forest walk.
More than 1,100 vascular plants, 72 fish, 34 mammals, and more than 200 bird species have been observed on the U.S. Department of Energy reservation. This year, the public is invited to eight nature walks designed to highlight the rich flora and fauna diversity of the ORR and to demonstrate the work being done to sustainably manage and conserve this resource, a press release said. The series closes with a history talk in August.
Reservations for the following events must be made in advance by noon the Thursday prior to each walk by contacting Tracy Clem at (865) 574-5151 (bodinetm@ornl.gov). If weather forces postponement of an event, it will be announced on Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Information Line at (865) 574-9836 (i.e. 574-XTEN) at least two hours before the scheduled start of the walk. Children are allowed on the walks; no pets, please.
Sunday, April 14: Wildflower and old growth forest walk
[Read more…]
The Historic Oak Ridge Farmers Market presented by East Tennessee FARM will open for the 2019 season on Saturday, April 13.
The market will be held 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Saturday through November in Jackson Square. The markets operate rain or shine. A Holiday Market is planned again for December. The previously held Wednesday market in Jackson Square has been discontinued.
FARM is a historical agricultural co-op operating in Oak Ridge since 1976, making it one of the oldest farmers markets in the state of Tennessee, a press release said. Area farmers have been working together to bring locally grown food and other farm products to the Oak Ridge community for 43 years, the release said.
“The Saturday morning market in Jackson Square is a popular gathering place for Oak Ridgers and visitors,” the press release said.
[Read more…]
Join a park ranger for a bike ride on Melton Lake Greenway in Oak Ridge to learn more about the city’s history. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present the free program at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 27, 2019. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)
You can join a park ranger for a bike ride down Melton Lake Greenway and learn more about the city’s history later this month.
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present the free program on Saturday, April 27, at 10 a.m. The program will begin at Elza Gate Park, a former entry point to the once-secret city, and continue down Melton Lake Greenway.
“Rangers will stop several times along the bike ride to point out the rich history that is found within the Oak Ridge area,” a press release said.
The ride will be approximately eight miles round-trip; it is recommended that visitors bring drinking water, the press release said. [Read more…]
A new lithium processing facility that could be built in Oak Ridge is a priority for the National Nuclear Security Administration, which has cited worker safety and materials that have fallen from the ceiling at the old building now used at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
As a priority, the new lithium processing facility is right behind the number one priorities: the production of plutonium pits at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and uranium processing at the Uranium Processing Facility, which is now under construction at Y-12, said Charles Verdon, NNSA deputy administrator for defense programs.
NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty cited the materials that have fallen from the ceiling at the old Y-12 building used for lithium processing, 9204-2, or Beta 2, in her response to questions during a budget hearing with the U.S. House Energy and Water Development Subcommittee on Tuesday.
The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.
Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:
Basic
Pro
Temporary
If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:
Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831
Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.
James Edward “Ed” Westcott
James Edward “Ed” Westcott, Sr., 97, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, passed away peacefully at his daughter’s home, where he lived, on March 29, 2019.
He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on January 20, 1922, to parents Jamie Rupert Westcott and Lucille Green Westcott, who preceded him in death. Ed had one brother, Hugh “Buddy” Westcott, who also preceded him in death.
Ed was a member of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church.
He grew up in Nashville, and he graduated from Andrews High School and attended the Watkins Art School in Nashville, Tennessee. He received his training in photography from the Photo Craft Studio, Shadow Art Studio, and from an internship with the National Youth Administration.
He was married June 16, 1941, to a former Nashvillian, Esther Seigenthaler Westcott, who passed away in 1996. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior Jordan Graham finished first in the boys 100-meter dash in the Hardin Valley Invitational this past weekend.
Graham finished first with a time of 10.93 seconds.
He was followed by Austin-East senior Jazine Pelcher at 10.97 seconds, Cleveland senior Zylon Cooper at 11.15, Catholic sophomore Nicklaus Iverson at 11.17, and Maryville junior Jackson Jett at 11.26.
In other top results, Oak Ridge senior Erin Van Berkel finished third in the girls discus with a throw of 114 feet and five inches.
Wilson Central junior Zoe Vlk finished first in that event with a throw of 136-11, and Jefferson County junior Jaycee Schroder finished second with a throw of 124-05. Oak Ridge freshman Amelia Van Berkel was 13th at 94-00. [Read more…]
K-25-69 Close up of welding in prefabrecation shop 1944 bld.300 (Photo by Ed Westcott)
The Oak Ridge History Museum will host “HerStory: A Photography Exhibition of Women in the Secret City.” The exhibit will open Friday, March 29, and will be open every Friday and Saturday during the month of April.
“From janitor to homemaker to chemist, the women of the Manhattan Project worked hard and talked little,” a press release said. “During World War II, Oak Ridge was a government town of 70,000 workers, primarily women who lived in a camp-like environment of barbed wire, security checkpoints, and code words. Workers were fingerprinted, interviewed, assigned a job, and given a clearance badge. Housing was limited and cramped and often unheated. Food at the cafeterias was in short supply and lines were long.” [Read more…]
Fire crews battle a brush fire near the railroad tracks at Elza Gate in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 p.m.
Fire crews battled a brush fire near the railroad tracks at Elza Gate in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.
The fire was burning in brush on a steep embankment about 20 feet high along the railroad tracks. It had also spread to nearby brush.
Smoke was visible over the east end of Oak Ridge at about 3:30 p.m., in the area east of Elza Gate Park.
Firefighters responded from the Oak Ridge Fire Department, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department, and Oliver Springs Fire Department. The Oak Ridge Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and Tennessee Department of Agriculture also responded.
Witnesses told authorities that some railroad equipment had sent sparks flying around the time of the fire, but the City of Oak Ridge wasn’t able to confirm a cause on Friday night. [Read more…]
Submitted photo
Join a National Park Service park ranger for a ranger-led walk in the Jackson Square area on Wednesday.
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present this free program at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 3. The program will begin at Jackson Square just outside the Oak Ridge Playhouse. The walk will be about one half mile, so wear comfortable walking shoes, a press release said.
The stops will include the tennis courts, the Guesthouse, and the Chapel on the Hill. There will be stories about the development and significance of each site, the press release said. [Read more…]
It is spring cleaning time in East Tennessee and Keep Anderson County Beautiful is joining with Ecyclers USA and Knighthurst Shredding to help you erase your trace, a press release said.
Seventy-five-year-old asphalt pavement found in the overgrowth adjacent to the bridge on Historic Emery Road. (Submitted photo)
Volunteers are seeking help for a March 30 cleanup of the Historic Emery Road in Oak Ridge.
“The Emery Road is both the best kept secret of Oak Ridge and a national treasure,” a press release said. “Even though the century-and-a-half old Emery Road Rock Pillar Bridge is in the heart of the downtown area, few are aware of this monument to the past, nor that the oldest road in the state passed through the center of our town. This colonial settlement trail should have been formally recognized long ago, just as the Natchez Trace has been. A grassroots group of citizens seek to change this oversight, first by cleaning up the parkland surrounding it, where the invasive underbrush catches all the blowing litter from the surrounding businesses, and then by getting it recognized as a proper heritage park.
“If you think our deeper heritage as a community is important, come join us in the cleanup on March 30, 2019, at the Midtown Community Center (Robertsville Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.” [Read more…]
