Oak Ridge Today

PTA-PTO Council has City Council, school board candidate forums

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David Bradshaw

David Bradshaw

The Oak Ridge parent-teacher associations and parent-teacher organizations have scheduled two candidate forums, which will focus on questions related to education.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education candidate forum will be held on Wednesday, October 1. The City Council candidate forum will be held on Wednesday, October 8.

Both forums will be held at the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater from 6 to 7:30 p.m. In each case, there will be a candidate meet and greet at 5:30 pm, and visitors will also have a chance to directly 
speak with candidates from 7:30 to 8 p.m., a press release said.

For more information, contact moderator David Bradshaw at oakridgeschoolsptaptos@gmail.com.

Sitel to add 125 jobs in Oak Ridge

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Sitel Logo

Sitel on Monday announced a major hiring effort of more than 125 new employees at the company’s Oak Ridge facility. Newly hired associates will provide inbound customer service support for a leading loan acquisition and servicing provider. The hiring effort will continue within the local community for the next 60 days, a press release said.

“Thanks to the hard work and dedication the Sitel Oak Ridge staff has provided our clients, we’re able to bring more job opportunities to the Oak Ridge community,” said Oak Ridge Site Director Cassidy Klundt. “We look forward to expanding our current team and continuing to provide high-quality customer service support on behalf of our clients.” [Read more…]

Today is Oak Ridge’s 72nd birthday

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Y-12 Calutron Operators

Women enriching uranium in calutrons at Y-12 as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. (Photo by Ed Westcott)

 

It’s Oak Ridge’s birthday today, September 19.

Oak Ridge was picked for the top-secret Manhattan Project on September 19, 1942. That was the day 72 years ago when General Leslie Groves approved the acquisition of 59,000 acres of land along the Clinch River for what soon became the Manhattan Project, a federal effort to build the world’s first atomic bombs.

By the time President Roosevelt authorized the Manhattan Project on December 28, 1942, work on the East Tennessee site where the first production facilities were to be built was already under way.

Oak Ridge became the home of two uranium enrichment plants (K-25 and Y-12), a liquid thermal diffusion plant (S-50), and a pilot plutonium production reactor (X-10 Graphite Reactor). Groves approved Oak Ridge as the site for the pilot plutonium plant and the uranium enrichment plant in 1942. Manhattan Project engineers had to quickly build a town to accommodate 30,000 workers—as well as build the enormously complex plants. [Read more…]

High school seniors can sign up for Tennessee Promise at RSCC on Saturday

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Tennessee Promise Logo

High school seniors can sign up for the Tennessee Promise and fill out their college application as part of Scholarship Saturday on September 20 at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus.

Computer labs in the new Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building will be open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and enrollment counselors will be available to help seniors complete their Tennessee Promise applications and college applications.

Pizza will be provided. The campus is located at 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

The event is designed to encourage students to enroll in Tennessee Promise, the state’s new program that provides two years of community college or technical school tuition-free for any student graduating from a Tennessee high school.

The deadline to apply for the Tennessee Promise is Nov. 1. [Read more…]

Updated: What’s happening in Oak Ridge from Sept. 18-24

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Note: This story has been updated to correct the opponent in and location of the Oak Ridge Wildcats football game on Friday, September 19.

Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge from Thursday, September 18, and continuing through September 24.

This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]

Oak Ridge firefighters save five lives, fire trucks help, chief says

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Oak Ridge Firefighters Lifesaving Medals and Harness Family

Oak Ridge firefighter and engineer Michael Vanosdale, left; Captain Eric Rackard, second from left; and paramedic Austin Keathley, right, helped save the life of Jason Harness, 50, second from right, on July 21. The three firefighters received Lifesaving Medals during a September 5 ceremony for three new fire engines. Also pictured is Nicole Harness. “These are the men that saved my husband’s life,” she said.

 

Oak Ridge firefighters have saved five lives so far this year, and the department’s fire trucks—which carry $30,000 worth of medical gear, including cardiac equipment—played a key role, Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said this month.

The five lives have all been saved since January; they were cardiac saves, Kerley said.

“That wouldn’t happen without these trucks,” the chief said during a September 5 ceremony to unveil three new Sutphen fire engines, the first for the Oak Ridge Fire Department in about 16 years.

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley

During that ceremony, three firefighters received Lifesaving Medals for their role in saving the life of Jason Harness, 50, on July 21 at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

Harness’ wife, Nicole Harness, reported that her husband was in the car and not breathing that summer evening. The rescuers who responded moved Jason Harness from the vehicle to the ground, where “he was found to be pulseless, not breathing, and unresponsive,” Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said.

Harness had had a massive heart attack, with 100 percent blockage. [Read more…]

Volley ‘Cats sweep Dragons, 5-0 in district play

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Lady Wildcats Volleyball, Clinton, and Emma and Olivia Milloway

Sisters Emma and Olivia Milloway get a block for the Lady Wildcats against the Clinton Lady Dragons on Thursday. (Photos by Loren Bonds)

 

By Carmen Foster, Head Coach

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcat volleyball team took on district rival Clinton High School on Thursday night.

The Lady Wildcats beat the Lady Dragons in straight sets: 25-10, 25-22, and 25-15. They were led by seniors Rachel Card (#27), Mattie Livengood (#12), Sami Viau (#3), Emily Campbell (#30), and Rachel Loeffler (#21).

It was a well-played match, with contributions coming from all of the varsity players.

Standouts included seniors: [Read more…]

Photos: Remembering fallen heroes of Sept. 11, 2001

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Sept. 11, 2014 Ceremony with Firefighter at Y-12

Y-12 photo courtesy Consolidated Nuclear Security

 

Area firefighters, police officers, Oak Ridge school students and staff, and others came together on Thursday to remember and honor the fallen heroes of September 11, 2001. There were ceremonies at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge High School.

The firefighters were at Y-12 this week for their annual Fire Officer Conference, held in conjunction with Safety Fest.

The ceremony at Oak Ridge High School included students and staff, and the Oak Ridge police and fire departments. [Read more…]

ORHPA celebrates 15th anniversary at Scarboro Road gatehouse

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Bobbie Martin at Oak Ridge City Council

Bobbie Martin, one of the people who helped start the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association 15 years ago this month, accepts the keys to the Midtown Community Center, which includes the historic “Wildcat Den.” This was the culmination of close to two years of work that began with a newspaper article Bobbie wrote and the contact by Mick Wiest that brought the two of them and several others together in September 1999 and to ultimately to form ORHPA. (Submitted photos)

 

The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association will celebrate its 15th anniversary during a Thursday night meeting at the “Midway Gatehouse” on Scarboro Road. That’s the location of the group’s original meeting.

The anniversary meeting is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, September 11. Parking is limited there. Organizers said those attending should consider parking at the nearby Y-12 Federal Credit Union and carpooling from there, or they could carpool with friends from the Midtown Community Center parking lot.

“Come by the Gatehouse anytime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to enjoy refreshments, see displays, and view the historic building and its artifacts, as well as help celebrate 15 years as an organization,” a press release said.

Here is the story of how the ORHPA began: [Read more…]

What’s happening in Oak Ridge from Sept. 11-17

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Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge from Thursday, September 11, and continuing through September 17.

This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]

Oak Ridge celebrates 200th anniversary of national anthem on Sunday

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Star-Spangled Banner Day Oak Ridge

The City of Oak Ridge will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the national anthem on Sunday afternoon at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. (Submitted image)

Oak Ridge will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the national anthem on Sunday afternoon at the Oak Ridge Civic Center Amphitheater.

The Star-Spangled Banner Day celebration starts at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Oak Ridge Civic Center complex is located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

A short program honoring the national anthem will begin at 4:30 p.m., and the national anthem will be sung at 5:00 p.m., a press release said.

“We’d like to invite families across Tennessee to join America’s Secret City in honoring this important national anniversary,” said Jane Miller, Oak Ridge mayor pro tem. “This will be a wonderful event as we celebrate the birthday of our national anthem and pay honor to the great United States of America.”

The event is jointly sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge, Anderson County, Roane County, the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Knoxville/Oak Ridge Staybridge Suites Hotel, and the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. Everyone is invited to this community event, the press release said. Families are welcome to bring their own chairs and blankets to sit on. [Read more…]

Assessment team to visit DOE disposal facility, meet with community

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Three members of the consulting team selected to conduct a community impact assessment of the U.S. Department of Energy’s proposed Environmental Management Disposal Facility will visit Oak Ridge on Monday and Tuesday, September 8 and 9. The purpose of the visit is to tour the existing disposal facility and the site of the proposed EMDF, to gather information, and to meet with local stakeholders, a press release said.

The team members are Karl Kalbacher, project manager and director of environment, economics and grant services for The Ferguson Group in Washington, D.C.; Mark Rockel, principal consultant for ENVIRON International Corporation; and Jason Miller, principal of ENVIRON International Corporation.

The team will be available to meet community stakeholders on both days: [Read more…]