Oak Ridge Today

Two fires reported early Friday

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Oak Ridge Fire Department firefighters responded to two structure fires early Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, including one at around 4:29 a.m. on Newport Drive. (Photo from City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge Fire Department firefighters responded to two structure fires early Friday. No one was injured in either fire.

The first fire was reported at 12:42 a.m. Friday at 109 Houston Avenue. When they arrived, Oak Ridge firefighters found a detached garage that was on fire, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

The second fire was reported about three hours later, at around 4:29 a.m. It was a structure fire at 129 Newport Drive.

“Firefighters got the fire under control and are remaining on scene this morning extinguishing hot spots,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release Friday.

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AC man charged with attempted murder after alleged shooting

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Cody Alexander Thomas

A 24-year-old Anderson County man was charged with attempted murder Friday after an alleged shooting following an argument in Clinton on Wednesday sent another man to a hospital with a gunshot wound on the right side of his abdomen, according to court records and Clinton police officers.

Besides attempted murder, a Class A felony, Cody Alexander Thomas, who has a Marlow address, was also charged with three other felony counts: unlawfully carrying or possessing a weapon, possessing a firearm while committing a dangerous felony, and tampering with evidence.

The shooting was reported at about 2:05 a.m. Wednesday on Rolling Acres Lane, which is off Longmire Road near the Clinch River and State Route 61 a few miles east of downtown Clinton.

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Election is Thursday

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The Anderson County general election and state and federal primary elections are Thursday.

Competitive races include the Democratic and Republican primaries for U.S. Senate, Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives in District 33 in Anderson County, an Anderson County Commission seat in District 6 in Oak Ridge, and seats on the Anderson County School Board.

Voters can cast ballots in the county general election and either the Democratic or Republican state and federal primary election.

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Kairos Power begins construction on demonstration reactor​

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Kairos Power has started construction on a test nuclear reactor in west Oak Ridge. The Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor is the first of its type to be approved for construction by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the first non-light-water reactor to be permitted in the U.S. in more than 50 years, a press release said. (Image courtesy Kairos Power)

Kairos Power has started construction on a test nuclear reactor in west Oak Ridge.

The Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor is the first of its type to be approved for construction by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the first non-light-water reactor to be permitted in the U.S. in more than 50 years, a press release said.

The NRC approved a construction permit for the test reactor at Heritage Center industrial park, the former K-25 site, in December.

“Hermes represents a critical milestone on Kairos Power’s iterative path to commercializing advanced reactor technology,” the press release said.

Kairos Power said it has contracted with Barnard Construction Company Inc. to perform sitework and excavation at the Hermes site in Oak Ridge, and that work began earlier this month.

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Outdoor Pool to close for season Aug. 12

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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool is pictured above on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Indoor Pool to re-open Monday

The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool will closed for the season on Monday, August 12, and the Indoor Pool will re-open Monday, July 29, after being closed for a few months for renovations.

The last day the Outdoor Pool will be open is Sunday, August 11, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for open swim, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

The Puppy Pool Party, marking the official end of the season, is set for Saturday, August 17, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

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Blount County man dies in single-vehicle crash in Oak Ridge

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A Blount County man died Thursday night in a single-vehicle crash in Oak Ridge.

William F. Alldis, 34, of Louisville, Tennessee, was pronounced dead at the crash site, the City of Oak Ridge said in a news release.

Oak Ridge Police Department officers responded to the 200-block area of Lafayette Drive after a call about an erratic driver at 8:51 p.m., and a crash was reported minutes later at 8:53 p.m., the release said.

When they arrived at 8:55 p.m., officers began life-saving measures until they were relieved by Oak Ridge Fire Department firefighters and Anderson County Emergency Medical Services medics. However, these life-saving measures were not successful, the release said.

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Paddle with a Ranger: Learn about Clinch River Valley history

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Bring your human-powered watercraft and explore the history of life on the Clinch River on Saturday.

“On a quiet bend of Melton Hill Lake sits the oldest surviving structure in Oak Ridge, the Freels Bend Cabin dating back to 1810,” the National Park Service said. “On a 1.5-mile roundtrip paddle from Guinn Park, explore the history of the Clinch River Valley leading up to the Manhattan Project.”

Note: This is a paddle program on Melton Hill Lake. Freels Bend Cabin is on U.S. Department of Energy property, and no landings will be permitted. 

The trip is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 22. To participate, please bring your own self-propelled watercraft. No boats are provided by the NPS.

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Learn about K-25 history with park ranger Saturday

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K-25 (Image credit: U.S. Department of Energy/Ed Westcott)

You can get an introduction to the history of the K-25 plant, which once had the world’s largest building, with a National Park Service ranger on Saturday.

K-25 was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bomb, before Germany could.

Saturday’s talk is titled “K-25: Enriching Uranium in Happy Valley.” It is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. at the K-25 Overlook across from the K-25 site, which is now known as Heritage Center or East Tennessee Technology Park. The talk is free, and it is expected to last about one hour.

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K-25 cleanup shifting to groundwater

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An aerial view of the East Tennessee Technology Park shows the Main Plant Area left of Poplar Creek and the K-31 and K-33 Area at right. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

Crews are expected to finish remediating soil, reversing or stopping environmental damage at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge this year, and federal cleanup managers are shifting their focus to groundwater. It’s the final phase of cleanup at the former uranium enrichment site.

Now also referred to as Heritage Center and East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), the K-25 site produced fuel for nuclear weapons and reactors starting in the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II and continuing through the Cold War. The site has been shut down for almost four decades, and a massive cleanup project has been under way for many years.

The groundwater work can begin with the recent signing of two records of decision between the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. That’s according to “EM Update,” an electronic newsletter published by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management.

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ORHS graduation could be rescheduled, moved depending upon weather

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A previous Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony at Blankenship Field in 2016. (File photo by Julio Culiat)

Rain and thunderstorms are possible Friday and Saturday, and the Oak Ridge High School graduation could be rescheduled or moved depending upon the weather.

Oak Ridge Schools announced the plan on Tuesday.

ORHS graduation is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, May 7, at Blankenship Field (the football field), with gates opening at 6 p.m.

The National Weather Service forecast for Oak Ridge currently calls for a 50 percent to 80 percent chance of rain on Friday, with a thunderstorm possible after 2 p.m.

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Aurora may be visible again Saturday night

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Screenshot of image by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center

The aurora may be visible in the sky again Saturday night, depending upon the weather, federal forecasters said.

Severe and extreme geomagnetic storms associated with coronal mass ejections, or solar eruptions, are likely Sunday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

When the material from the sun arrives at Earth, it can cause a geomagnetic storm. During the storm, an aurora may be visible. An aurora is a natural electrical phenomenon characterized by shimmering lights in the upper atmosphere at night, usually near the northern or southern magnetic pole. They happen when energetic particles from the sun interact with atoms in the upper atmosphere.

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Aurora may be visible in sky

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Screenshot from National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Center

It appears that the chances are low in Tennessee, but an aurora may be visible in the sky over the northern half of the country this weekend, and possibly as far south as Alabama.

The National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a watch for a severe geomagnetic storm, saying it is possible later in the day Friday and continuing through the weekend. At least seven Earth-directed coronal mass ejections are in transit, the NWS said.

However, “exact timing remains somewhat uncertain,” forecasters said.

A coronal mass ejection is a solar eruption. When the solar materials arrive at Earth, a geomagnetic storm can result.

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