Oak Ridge Today

City household trash pickup starts Monday

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The citywide household trash pick-up program will begin Monday, March 27. Household rubbish, old appliances, and minor remodeling materials will be picked up. 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:

  • Residents should place all materials near, but not beyond, the curb. Keep materials off sidewalks and out of parking areas and gutters.
  • There is a limit of one truckload of material per residence. A truckload is defined as one pickup truck or approximately 3′ high x 4′ wide x 8′ long, approximately 100 cubic feet maximum.
  • Crews will not pick up hazardous items, paint, tires, or piles of rubbish that are mixed with brush or limbs. Compressors must be removed from refrigerators and air conditioners before collection by crews.
  • All materials must be in place no later than 7:30 a.m. on the scheduled pick-up day. Any materials put out after 7:30 a.m. on the scheduled day may not be picked up.

[Read more…]

Wetland restoration project on Melton Lake Greenway on March 5

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Melton Lake Wetland Restoration

The Healthy Waters Program in Oak Ridge will be conducting an invasive plant removal on the Melton Lake Greenway, under the Edgemoor Road bridge, on Sunday, March 5, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

This is in an effort to restore a wetland along the greenway by removing non-native invasive plants, cleaning up trash, and planting native trees, grasses, and flowers, a press release said.

Tina Ball and Caitlin Craighead, the AmeriCorps members serving in Oak Ridge with the Public Works Department’s Stormwater Management Program, have received a grant through the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, or TWRA, to make this project possible, the press release said. [Read more…]

Help identify photos in Oak Ridge Library’s Ruth Carey collection

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From the Oak Ridge Public Library Ruth Carey photo collection (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

From the Oak Ridge Public Library Ruth Carey photo collection (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Public Library needs your help. The library is privileged to house the photography collection of Ruth Carey, an original Oak Ridge resident and longtime photographer for The Oak Ridger from the 1960s to the mid-1990s. Her photo collection is vast and varied, including pictures of key political and cultural figures, community events, and weddings. Figures such as Alex Haley and Guilford Glazer, for instance, appear in several photos. Unfortunately, many of the photographs do not include notes about who is in the photo or when or where it was taken.

With the help of volunteers, Oak Ridge Public Library staff members Teresa Fortney and Jordan Reed have begun digitizing the collection. Some of the photographs that have been digitized are available for public viewing online at www.orpl.org. However, Carey’s collection was so comprehensive, only a portion of the total number of photographs have been digitized. As the library continues its digitization efforts, it is important that the people and places are identified so as not to lose this important part of our history. [Read more…]

Senior Center moving into Civic Center

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The current Oak Ridge Senior Center on Emory Valley Road. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The current Oak Ridge Senior Center in a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road in central Oak Ridge. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

A new target date has been set for the Oak Ridge Senior Center’s temporary transition to the Civic Center on the Oak Ridge Turnpike. Recreation and Parks Department Director Jon Hetrick says they now expect to begin the move in January.

Senior Center activities will then be held in a wing of the Civic Center near the indoor pool facility. Part of the area currently houses administrative offices for Recreation and Parks employees. Most of those employees will relocate to the Scarboro Center while a city-owned building on Badger Avenue is undergoing minor renovations. Once changes to that building, the former Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, are complete, staff will move into the Badger Avenue location permanently.

An architectural firm retained by the city is working on plans for a brand new Senior Center. The aim is to locate it on the same property with the Civic Center. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge supports ORNL, LeMond Composites carbon fiber partnership

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Jones LeMond Watson and Creswell Aug 31 2016

Pictured above at a meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, on a new carbon fiber partnership between Oak Ridge-based company LeMond Composites and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are, from left, Steve Jones (Oak Ridge economic development consultant), Greg LeMond (LeMond Composites), Mark Watson (Oak Ridge city manager), and Wade Creswell (president of The Roane Alliance). (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

By City of Oak Ridge

The City of Oak Ridge is proud to support the recent announcement that LeMond Composites, a new company in Oak Ridge offering solutions for high-volume and low-cost carbon fiber, has secured a licensing agreement with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The news was made public on August 29 in a release from LeMond Composites. The company, founded earlier this year by three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, focuses on making carbon fiber composites with global applications. The agreement with ORNL will make LeMond Composites the first company to offer these newly developed products to the transportation, renewable energy, and infrastructure markets.

LeMond Composites plans to build their first carbon fiber production line at their recently purchased facility on Palladium Way at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. Their first commercially available product is expected to be ready in early 2018.

“I am ecstatic about this unique technological application for carbon fiber in our community,” Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch said. “We look forward to working with LeMond Composites to create jobs and further investment in Oak Ridge.” [Read more…]

Sewer rehab continues in August, with manhole repairs starting Monday

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Sewer rehabilitation continues in August, and starting Monday, August 24, Portland Utilities will be back in town doing manhole repair, primarily in the Central City Sewer Shed. Portland Utilities will notify residents by knocking on their doors on a case-by-case basis. They will be working for about three weeks, deepening upon the weather, a press release said.

The sewer rehab is being done Morgan Contracting, working under contract for the City of Oak Ridge. They are rehabilitating the city’s sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and in roadways, the release said.

Residents should have already received letters on colored paper (green for Morgan Contracting) and door hangers providing general information and the applicable contractor’s contact information. [Read more…]

City officials meet with NPS, DOE, other communities to discuss Manhattan Project park

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Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

A delegation from the City of Oak Ridge recently traveled to Los Alamos, New Mexico, to participate in a meeting with officials from the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Energy, and from Los Alamos and the Hanford communities to discuss the newly designated Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The meeting was sponsored by the Energy Communities Alliance, or ECA, which supported attendance at the meeting with travel grants to the participants.

The three-day event, with more than 50 in attendance, began with a tour of the cultural resources and Manhattan Project era sites at Los Alamos National Laboratory. David Klaus, deputy under secretary of management and performance with DOE, was the keynote speaker. He emphasized the importance of preserving the history of the Manhattan Project, and pointed to the important scientific and technological advancements that originated from that era.

Victor Knox, associate director for park planning, facilities, and lands for the National Park Service, then briefed attendees on the status of a memorandum of agreement, or MOA, currently under development by DOE and NPS. The draft MOA, which has been released for public comment, will govern the respective roles of the secretary of interior and secretary of energy in administering the park and its facilities. Completion of the MOA is the first major milestone required by the enacting legislation, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama last December. [Read more…]

Two designs for Peace Pavilion for Friendship Bell to be presented Aug. 13

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International Friendship Bell

The International Friendship Bell is pictured above at Alvin K. Bissell Park before its housing structure was dismantled after the wood pavilion deteriorated. (Photo courtesy Peace Bell/Facebook)

 

The Oak Ridge International Friendship Bell has become an iconic symbol of Oak Ridge and a source of much pride. The bell is in need of a new home, and the community is invited to participate in planning for a new Peace Pavilion to house the International Friendship Bell from 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, August 13, at the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater.

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Advisory Board and the Youth Advisory Board are hosting this community input session, where two proposed designs for a new pavilion will be presented. The board wants to hear opinions from the community, which will be important in determining the pavilion’s design. The International Friendship Bell Advisory Committee supports the designs and will assist with the community input session and fundraising for the pavilion.

A monument to peace and friendship with Japan, the bell was designed and cast to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the City of Oak Ridge. The bell was removed last year from the original wood pavilion, which had deteriorated after housing the bell for nearly 20 years in Alvin K. Bissell Park. The need for a new pavilion allows for a new expression of the bell and its place in Oak Ridge.

The new designs being considered surround the bell with open space and a greatly enlarged plaza. A community gathering place is envisioned, with an open design that invites large groups to gather at the bell. [Read more…]

Sewer line inspections continue in Oak Ridge

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The Oak Ridge Public Works Department continues to use state-of-the-art technology to perform inspections of the city’s sewer system, a press release said.

This technology employs a sonar machine that emits a repeating series of tones, similar to a musical scale. In open areas, it can be heard over long distances. While harmless, the tones emitted by the machine are low enough in frequency that residents nearby may be able to feel and, in some instances, hear them.

Testing is ongoing, but it will be concentrated to certain areas depending upon weather constraints and other factors. This area includes California Avenue to Florida Avenue, north of the Oak Ridge Turnpike. Residents will notice signs posted on main roads stating “Acoustic Sewer Inspection in Area” while crews are working in their neighborhoods.

Questions can be directed to the Public Works information line at (865) 425-3619 or by email to [email protected].

More specific information may also be found on the city’s website at SewerProject.OakRidgeTN.gov/work-activities.

Spotlight: Oak Ridge firefighter completes grueling smoke diver class

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Steve London

Steve London

Part of being a successful firefighter is the ability to control fear—and rely on skills that must be constantly renewed and sharpened.

An Oak Ridge firefighter recently completed one of the most grueling courses designed to teach survival techniques, and he will be training other Oak Ridge firefighters soon.

Thirty-nine firefighters from several departments qualified to begin this punishing six-day course, but only 12 of those finished the class. The Georgia Smoke Diver course, conducted by the Georgia Fire Academy and the Georgia Smoke Diver Association, is a six-day, 60-hour program designed for experienced firefighters who want realistic training in skills including firefighter rescue, thermal imaging, teamwork, discipline, and situational awareness.

One of the 12 firefighters who finished the class was Steve London of the Oak Ridge Fire Department. London holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee in environmental studies, and he is a firefighter/paramedic for the City of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Sewer rehab work continues week of Oct. 6

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More rehabilitation work of the city’s sewer collection pipes is scheduled to continue this week, starting Monday, October 6.

The work is being done by Hurst Excavating and Morgan Contracting under contract with the City of Oak Ridge. It includes rehabilitating sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and in roadways, a press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Animal Shelter celebrates 40 years with half-price adoptions

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Oak Ridge Animal Shelter Peabody

Peabody at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter is celebrating 40 years at its 395 Belgrade Road location with a whole month of specials and activities.

Through the month of October, the Shelter will feature half-price adoptions. Every available animal will have an adoption fee of $55 instead of $110. The discount price still includes spaying and neutering, microchips, DHPP and Bordatella vaccines (for dogs), FVRCP vaccine (for cats), a rabies vaccine, a dose of Frontline (for fleas and ticks), and a dose of dewormer.

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter will be participating in several events for their celebration and invite you to attend: [Read more…]