Oak Ridge Today

Eschenberg, UPF federal project director, retiring from federal service May 30

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John Eschenberg

John Eschenberg

Note: This story was last updated at 1:19 p.m.

John Eschenberg, federal project director for the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, announced Monday that he’s retiring from federal service on May 30.

Eschenberg said his decision to leave federal service is driven by a desire to “focus on new career opportunities in the private sector and to further my focus on serving nonprofit organizations.” Eschenberg said he is heavily involved with the Emory Valley Center (an institution for the developmentally and intellectually disabled) and its plan to start construction of a new facility in Oak Ridge later this fall.

Eschenberg has been the federal project director of the Uranium Processing Facility for almost three years, and he has been in Oak Ridge nearly six. He has served under six different U.S. Department of Energy secretaries, in five different states, and in all of its major programs, Eschenberg said in an email announcement obtained by Oak Ridge Today. [Read more…]

Altman scores three as Hilltoppers end Wildcats’ season, move on to state

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Blake Clowers and Science Hill Elliot Fry

Oak Ridge’s Blake Clowers fights Science Hill’s Elliot Fry for possession. (Photo credit: Dave Ongie/Johnson City Press)

 

Junior midfielder Lucas Altman scored three goals as Science Hill ended Oak Ridge’s season in a 3-1 win in a sectional playoff game in Johnson City on Saturday. The Hilltoppers move on to play in the state tournament in Murfreesboro next week.

The Wildcats (15-5-2) scored first on a goal from senior forward Blade Kimbro less than 10 minutes into the game.

“Blade gave us everything he had,” Oak Ridge coach Jeff Trombly said. “He played really well.”

But Science Hill (19-2-2) tied it 1-1 about halfway through the first half on the first of three goals, a hat trick, by Altman. Altman scored again with about 8:15 left in the first half.

“We started off well,” Trombly said. “After that, we sort of lost our composure for about 10 minutes, and they scored two goals. It was hard for us to come back for us after that.” [Read more…]

Public Notice: Public comment period, public hearing on Annual Action Plan

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City of Oak Ridge

Equal Housing Opportunity Logo

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

 

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Entitlement Program

for the City of Oak Ridge, Tennessee

 

NOTICE OF 30-DAY PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

AND CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING

For

Annual Action Plan of the Consolidated Plan

CDBG Program Year 2015-City of Oak Ridge Fiscal Year 2016

 

The Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development is a requirement of the 1990 National Affordable Housing Act and the Community Development Plan, for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Such a plan is required of entitlement communities, which receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds under HUD’s housing and service programs related to the needs of low- and moderate-income persons. The development of the sixth City of Oak Ridge Consolidated Plan took place during the eight-month period of September 2013 through April 2014 and is to be utilized for the three-year period of July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2017 (CDBG Program Year 2014 through Program Year 2016). [Read more…]

Tennessee Para Cycling Open comes to Oak Ridge this weekend

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Jason Kimball

Pictured above is racer Jason Kimball, an Iraq war veteran who will compete at the Tennessee Para Cycling Open in Oak Ridge this weekend (May 16-17). Kimball will also coach the Learn to Race Class on Friday morning in Oak Ridge. Jason was wounded multiple times in combat and was severely injured during Special Forces training, and races in the C3 disability class. (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge is fast becoming known as a “human-powered sports” Mecca, and a new event scheduled for May 16 and 17 is serving to underscore that reputation.

The city will play host to the Tennessee Para Cycling Open, a racing event featuring competitors who are paraplegics, amputees, or otherwise physically challenged. There will be different categories of racers who will compete on conventional or adapted race bikes or hand cycles.

More than half of the competitors will be wounded warriors who were injured while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, some of whom race for the Paralyzed Veterans Racing, which is affiliated with Paralyzed Veterans of America, a major sponsor of the event. Two racers—one from Cuba and one from Colombia—will lend an international flavor, a press release said. [Read more…]

Atomic Heritage meets with Japanese mayors to discuss Manhattan Project park

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AHF Meets with Nagasaki and Hiroshima Mayors

AHF President Cindy Kelly with Nagasaki Mayor Tomahisa Taue on her right and Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui on her left. (Photo by AHF)

 

The Atomic Heritage Foundation, the nonprofit organization that worked for 15 years to create a Manhattan Project national park, met with the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this month to discuss how the story of the atomic bomb will be interpreted.

The meeting, which was held at the Institute of International Education at the United Nations Plaza in New York City, marked a “positive first step in opening a dialogue with the Japanese, whose input will be important to the interpretation of the new park,” a press release said. In addition to the two mayors, the Atomic Heritage Foundation also met with Japanese local government officials.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first nuclear weapons during World War II. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will include Oak Ridge; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Hanford, Washington.

The meeting in New York City on Friday, May 1, began with opening remarks from Nagasaki Mayor Tomahisa Taue and Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, who described the suffering of those affected by the atomic bombing, a press release said. They expressed hope that interpretation of the new Manhattan Project Park would not end with the dropping of the bomb but also “focus on what happened under the mushroom cloud.”

The United States dropped one bomb over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, and a second over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Japan surrendered a few days later. Uranium for the first weapon, code-named “Little Boy,” was enriched at federal sites in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Gooch: Main Street No. 1 priority, gives updates on National Park, reappraisals, airport

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Main Street Oak Ridge Site Plan April 16, 2015

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch on Tuesday said his number one priority for the community is the successful development of Main Street Oak Ridge, which would redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall. Pictured above is a cropped picture of the Main Street Oak Ridge site plan as of April 16. A link to a larger PDF version of the plan is included in the story below.

 

Note: Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch gave an update on positive developments and challenges during a talk to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, May 5. Here is a lightly edited version of his remarks, which organized the positive developments and challenges into sections. Gooch was appointed mayor by the seven-member Oak Ridge City Council on November 24. This is his first four-year term on the City Council.

It is a distinct privilege for me to serve as your mayor, but I always preface my remarks by saying that I am not speaking today for Council or for the city manager. I have one vote on Council, but I do consider myself to be the chairman of the board of directors for the city.

In that capacity, as I enter my sixth month of service as mayor, I want to share my thoughts about positive developments in our city, discuss near-term challenges that we face, share the results that I have from the community survey that I have been conducting, and leave time for your questions and comments.

First. My number one priority for our community is the successful development of Main Street Oak Ridge (which would redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall), and it is moving forward. Last week, Crosland Southeast announced that MDC Development Group of Atlanta will be the hotel developer for the project. MDC is also a major developer in the senior housing industry and 15 months ago opened Canterfield Oak Ridge Assisted Living. It has been very successful and well-received in our community.

I was advised yesterday (Monday, May 4) that the retail leasing component of the Main Street project is moving forward, as are the negotiations with a developer for the multi-family housing component of the Main Street project. Groundbreaking and demolition for Main Street is on schedule to begin by June 30. [Read more…]

Education Foundation grant takes English language learners on Titanic voyage

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Glenwood Elementary Ice Water Experiment

Students test the icy cold waters as they study the Titanic voyage and the sinking of the ship in a project developed for English language learners. (Submitted photos)

 

English language learners in Oak Ridge’s four public elementary schools are becoming experts on the Titanic as they conduct science experiments to learn about icebergs, build boats with straws, and explore the historic event as they read history and fiction.

The first- through fourth-graders are taking “A Titanic Voyage for English Language Learners,” a project helping them become more confident in their English skills through a variety of learning experiences. The four English as a second language, or ESL, teachers received a $1,544 grant from the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation last year to buy materials needed for the multi-school project.

The grant will also make possible a field study on May 5 at the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, where students will draw on their studies to have discussions and ask questions as they build on their knowledge of the Titanic and of English.

“They are getting science, social studies, and all the language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing,” said Cherie Adcock, ESL teacher at Woodland Elementary School. “Their response has been great, and they are excited.” [Read more…]

Atomic Heritage to discuss Manhattan Project interpretation with Japanese mayors

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Hiroshima Peace Bell

Hiroshima Peace Bell (Source: Atomic Heritage Foundation)

 

The Atomic Heritage Foundation will meet Friday with the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to discuss the interpretation of the Manhattan Project, the top-secret effort in World War II to create an atomic bomb, and its legacy for the world today, a press release said.

The meeting will be at the Institute of International Education at the United Nations Plaza in New York.

The Atomic Heritage Foundation led efforts to establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park for more than a decade. (The City of Oak Ridge also supported the park and lobbied for it.) The park was approved in legislation that passed Congress in December, and it includes Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

“Now AHF is working on the interpretation of the park and welcomes a dialogue with the Japanese to consider this world-changing history from both an American and an international perspective,” the press release said. “The meeting with the mayors is a first step in the process.” [Read more…]

Police respond to Y-12 Credit Union, which closes, but not clear why

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Oak Ridge Police Department officers were at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning. The credit union was cordoned off and then closed, but it’s not clear why.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:42 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Tuesday morning, and the bank was cordoned off and then closed but it’s not clear why.

The ORPD has referred questions to the FBI office in Knoxville and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.

The call to the ORPD came in at about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. Officers blocked the entrance to the credit union, and at one point, they visually checked cars in a parking lot across Midland Road from the bank.

ORPD detectives were at the scene and remained there for at least a few hours afterward. The Credit Union is near the intersection of Lafayette Drive and South Illinois Avenue. [Read more…]

Gooch to discuss positive developments, challenges, community survey

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Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch will give an update on positive developments and identify challenges during a lunchtime meeting on Tuesday, May 5. Gooch will also discuss the results of a recent community survey and could discuss other issues that affect Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The mayor will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, May 5. The program will start at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The press release said Gooch ran for Oak Ridge City Council in 2014 because he believed in Oak Ridge, had great pride in a city with an unparalleled history of accomplishments, and wanted to be an active part of the city’s future. He was elected in November 2014 and then chosen by fellow City Council member to serve as Oak Ridge mayor. [Read more…]

Arts Council asks for your support in United Arts Fund Drive

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Arts Council of Oak Ridge Logo

The Arts Council of Oak Ridge is asking for your support in this year’s United Arts Fund Drive.

The annual drive kicked off March 15 and ends April 30.

Here is the letter the Arts Council sent to arts supporters in March:

Dear Arts Supporter,

Oak Ridge has always had a strong arts community—even as a secret city—and the arts continue to be essential to the health and vitality of Oak Ridge and Anderson County today. They enhance community development, spur urban renewal, attract new businesses, draw tourism dollars, create an attractive environment for skilled, educated workers, and help make the Oak Ridge area a great place to live, work, worship, and play. The arts organizations in Oak Ridge are vital because they support and supplement school activities, attract tourists and visitors, and offer volunteer and participation opportunities. [Read more…]

City brush pick-up starts Monday, April 27

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The citywide brush pick-up program in Oak Ridge will start Monday, April 27.

Tree limbs and bagged yard clippings/leaves will be picked up. City collection efforts will follow the accompanying schedule as closely as possible, a press release said. The proposed schedule is a general guide and can vary considerably from the actual schedule due to weather conditions and/or the amount of participation by residents.

Residents have always been very cooperative and we ask for their continued cooperation this year by following a few guidelines, the release said: [Read more…]