Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Schools PTA-PTO’s candidate meet-and-greet

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Oak Ridge Schools PTA-PTOs will have a candidate meet-and-greet on Thursday, October 20. It’s scheduled from 7-8 p.m. in the Oak Ridge High School Cafeteria. It will feature candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education and Oak Ridge City Council.

“Please come join us at the Oak Ridge Schools PTA- PTO’s Candidate Meet and Greet,” a press release said. “You will have the opportunity to speak with the Board of Education and City Council candidates about their visions for our school district and our city. We look forward to seeing you there!”

This press release was submitted by Holly Cross.

Reminder: League forum tonight features candidates for City Council, Board of Education

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Reminder: A forum tonight will feature candidates for the Oak Ridge Board of Education and the Oak Ridge City Council. It is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, October 4, at the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater.

It’s the first of three candidate forums in October organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.

The second forum will be on Thursday, October 6, at Roane State Community College City Room on the Oak Ridge campus. This will include the Oak Ridge candidates for the Anderson County Charter Commission. To begin the forum, there will be a short presentation from a subject matter expert on the process of reviewing and changing a county charter. This forum will be from 7 to 9 p.m. [Read more…]

Tuesday forum to feature candidates for City Council, Board of Education

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A forum in Oak Ridge on Tuesday will feature candidates for Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Board of Education, and city judge.

The forum will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 4, in the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike. It’s been organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.

Candidates for Oak Ridge City Council [Read more…]

Reminder: School board candidate forum is Thursday morning

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Reminder: The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has a forum for candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education on Thursday morning.

It’s the second of three candidate forums for the November 8 election.

The Board of Education candidate forum will start at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, September 29, in the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Joyce Conference Room. It’s free and open to the public.

There are three candidates for two seats on the school board: the incumbents, Angi Agle and Keys Fillauer, and challenger Myra Mansfield. [Read more…]

Letter: Dodson has gift for collaboration, teamwork, problem solving

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To the Editor:

We hope by now that everyone is aware of Jim Dodson’s strong record of community service. The lists of organizations in which he participates and the awards he has received are extensive. His community service alone is enough to recommend a vote for him for Oak Ridge City Council. But there is something else about Jim Dodson that we believe makes him an excellent candidate. He so actively listens to others as they express concerns.

We first encountered Jim Dodson as our children’s teacher. His ability to keep a classroom of middle school students engaged, encourage them to participate in school and community projects, and bring out the best in them is remarkable. His ability to coach middle school athletes and also to bring out students’ creative talents in the art studio demonstrates his ability to appreciate all aspects of his students. The fact that the Tennessee Education Association granted him the Distinguished Educator Award, that he was named National Middle Level Art Educator in 1999, and was appointed to the Tennessee Board of Humanities by Governor Haslam speaks volumes for his qualities as a teacher. And as a teacher, he has experience with and appreciation for the diverse population living in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Letter: Former Children’s Museum director endorses Dodson for City Council

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To the Editor:

I strongly endorse Jim Dodson as a candidate for the Oak Ridge City Council. During the 19 years that I have known Jim, I have always found him to have the good of the community at heart. While serving as executive director of Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, collaborating with Jim was always a highlight. His fairness and sincerity are outstanding qualities that I have experienced and observed through the years. He has the ability to draw people together and is extremely adept at working with a group to accomplish set goals.

He has worked with Children’s Museum staff to bring educational experiences to the children of our area and served on the museum’s Board of Trustees. His educational endeavors are known throughout the state, accordingly earning him several well-deserved honors for his work. [Read more…]

League of Women Voters having three candidate forums

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The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge is having three candidate forums in October.

The first will be on Tuesday, October 4, at the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater. This will include the candidates for the Oak Ridge Board of Education and the Oak Ridge City Council. It will be from 7 to 9 p.m. October 4 with candidates being briefed at 6:45 p.m.

The second forum will be on Thursday, October 6, at Roane State Community College City Room on the Oak Ridge campus. This will include the Oak Ridge candidates for the Anderson County Charter Commission. To begin the forum, there will be a short presentation from a subject matter expert on the process of reviewing and changing a county charter. This forum will be from 7 to 9 p.m., with candidates being briefed at 6:45 p.m. [Read more…]

Letter: Make Vogel one of your three choices for City Council

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To the Editor:

We are very fortunate to have several candidates running for City Council on issues that Council actually works on. Continuing good schools seems to be on all platforms and should be. Safety for citizens and the community is also very important. How to pay for these without raising taxes is probably the most important part of the platform. Oak Ridge is a city dependent on the U.S. government more than most Tennessee cities. During the early years, scientists and engineers from the “plants” lived in Oak Ridge and made it a well-run, highly educated city that was famous the world over.

Some of the “plants” are still here and now are making scientific breakthroughs that are changing manufacturing in this country. 3-D printing, carbon fibers, and the Spallation Neutron Source are part of great scientific achievements. However, less than one-half of the employees live in Oak Ridge, and almost no new manufacturing is moving here to take advantage of this great success coming out of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex. That can change. [Read more…]

City Council, DOE manager to discuss relations, hiring, housing; water rates also on agenda

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Kenneth R. Tarcza

Kenneth R. Tarcza (Photo courtesy DOE Oak Ridge Office)

 

Some members of the Oak Ridge City Council and some residents have had a few concerns related to the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, including whether the DOE sites are doing enough to encourage new employees to live in Oak Ridge and whether DOE is paying enough on its payments in lieu of taxes to the City of Oak Ridge.

A more recent concern is whether DOE is paying enough for water supplied by the city to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, which are both federal sites.

On Tuesday, the Oak Ridge City Council could discuss these issues as it meets in a non-voting work session with Kenneth R. Tarcza, manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Operations. The work session, which is open to the public, starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane (behind the Kmart shopping center).

Among the DOE-related items on the agenda are a discussion and review of city-DOE relations, local hiring for DOE projects, housing, and “other related issues.” [Read more…]

Not sure what the Charter Commission is? Hear from candidates on Tuesday

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has a forum for candidates for the Anderson County Charter Commission on Tuesday morning.

It’s the first candidate forum for the November 8 election.

The Charter Commission candidate forum will start at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, September 20, in the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Joyce Conference Room. It’s free and open to the public.

There are 20 candidates for eight seats on the new Charter Commission. The Tuesday morning forum at the Oak Ridge Chamber will feature candidates from the county’s District 6, District 7, and District 8, which all include parts of Oak Ridge.

There are seven candidates for those three seats: [Read more…]

Council wants to roughly triple proposed water rate at ORNL, Y-12

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Oak-Ridge-Water-Treatment-Plant-2009-1

The Oak Ridge Water Treatment Plant is pictured on Pine Ridge above the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

Note: This story was updated at 6:50 p.m.

Some Oak Ridge City Council members have questioned whether the federal government is paying enough for municipal water at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, and on Monday, four of them proposed roughly tripling a potential new high-volume water rate at the two federal sites in 2017.

The new water rate would apply to water consumption over 20 million gallons per month, which would limit it to ORNL and Y-12. The two sites use a total of more than 100 million gallons of water per month.

The new rate is expected to go into effect in April 2017 only if Oak Ridge and the U.S. Department of Energy aren’t able to agree on a contract for water at ORNL and Y-12 by the end of March. Those two federal sites now pay a flat annual rate but could default to what is known as a retail rate if the contract lapses.

The city staff had proposed a new default rate of $1.08 per thousand gallons for consumption over 20 million gallons starting January 1, 2017. The following year, in 2018, the staff had proposed a $1.35 rate.

But four City Council members—Rick Chinn, Charlie Hensley, Trina Baughn, and Chuck Hope—voted to raise the $1.08 rate in 2017 to $3 per 1,000 gallons. Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Smith, and Council member Kelly Callison voted against the increase. [Read more…]

Council to consider water rate, sewer rate, trash fee increases

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Oak Ridge City Council 2014

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above in 2014. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:38 a.m.

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider increases in the water and sewer rates that would go into effect in January 2017 and January 2018 during a regular meeting tonight (Monday, September 12). Council will also consider a trash fee increase that members endorsed during budget deliberations in June.

A 6 percent increase has been proposed for both water and sewer rates starting January 1, 2017. The next year, effective January 1, 2018, a 4 percent increase has been proposed for water rates and a 6 percent increase has been proposed for sewer rates.

A home that uses the minimum amount would pay an extra $2.26 per month for water and sewer starting in 2017 and an additional $2.17 per month in 2018.

A home that uses 5,000 gallons per month would pay $5.33 more per month for both water and sewer in 2017 and another $4.87 in 2018.
[Read more…]