John Huotari - Author at Oak Ridge Today

Pavement patching under way in Oak Ridge

Posted at 11:06 pm September 19, 2018
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Pavement patching and repairs are under way across Oak Ridge, and the work is expected to continue during the next three months, a press release said.

The work is being done by PRI of East Tennessee Inc., working under contract for the City of Oak Ridge.

The repairs are part of an effort to assist the Oak Ridge Public Works Department street crews with a backlog of approximately 140 open work orders for pavement repairs associated with water main breaks, the press release said. More than half of the repairs needed are the result of the more than 80 water main breaks from January 2018. [Read more…]

Man shot during argument, after crash at Maytag Laundry

Posted at 9:13 pm September 19, 2018
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At least one person was injured after a vehicle was reported to have crashed into the Maytag Laundry near South Illinois Avenue in central Oak Ridge on Tuesday evening, Sept. 18, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

At least one person was injured after a vehicle crashed into the Maytag Laundry near South Illinois Avenue in central Oak Ridge on Tuesday evening, Sept. 18, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A man was shot in the arm during an argument and after the crash into the Maytag Laundry on Tuesday evening, authorities said.

Before the crash, two men had been arguing, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department. The argument turned into a physical altercation, the ORPD said.

“During the altercation, one man appeared to reach inside the other man’s vehicle and held on as the vehicle was in motion,” the ORPD said in a press release. “The vehicle struck two other vehicles before crashing into the front of the building.”

The man outside the vehicle then fired a handgun at the male driver, hitting him once in the arm, the ORPD said. The male driver fled the scene on foot, but was soon located near the Oak Ridge Civic Center, the ORPD said. [Read more…]

Update: One injured after vehicle crashes into laundromat

Posted at 9:59 pm September 18, 2018
By John Huotari 1 Comment

At least one person was injured after a vehicle was reported to have crashed into the Maytag Laundry near South Illinois Avenue in central Oak Ridge on Tuesday evening, Sept. 18, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 19.

At least one person was injured after a vehicle crashed into the Maytag Laundry near South Illinois Avenue in central Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The crash was reported at the Tulsa Road business around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear. It also wasn’t clear if more than one person was injured.

The man who was injured was transported from the crash in an ambulance. [Read more…]

Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries opens in Oak Ridge

Posted at 10:53 am September 18, 2018
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Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries opened Monday, Sept. 17, 2018, on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. It’s the fifth Hwy 55 restaurant in Tennessee, and it will add 35 jobs to the Oak Ridge community, the company said in a press release.

Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries opened Monday on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

It’s the fifth Hwy 55 restaurant in Tennessee, and it will add 35 jobs to the Oak Ridge community, the company said in a press release.

Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries is an All-American, retro-themed diner, the press release said.

“Located at 441 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge, Hwy 55 will provide residents and visitors with an inviting dining experience featuring fresh, never-frozen burgers, premium sliced cheesesteaks piled high on steamed hoagies, and frozen custard made in-house every day,” the press release said. “With its open-grill design, the kitchen’s dedication and care when handcrafting meals is front and center.” [Read more…]

City identifies man who died in crash between mower, pickup

Posted at 1:10 pm September 14, 2018
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Note: This story was last updated at 11:20 a.m. Sept. 18.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the man who died while driving a commercial mower on South Illinois Avenue on Thursday afternoon as Danny Palmer.

The crash between the commercial mower being operated by Palmer, 75, and a GMC pickup truck was reported near Summit Place on South Illinois Avenue at about 2 p.m. Thursday.

Preliminary findings indicate that the pickup truck hit the mower, which was in the roadway at the time of the crash, the ORPD said. [Read more…]

Twenty tons of uranium could be used to produce tritium for nuclear weapons

Posted at 12:08 pm September 14, 2018
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Image courtesy National Nuclear Security Administration. SRS is the Savannah River Site.

About 20 metric tons of highly enriched uranium could be “down-blended” to low-enriched uranium and transferred to the Tennessee Valley Authority for use as a fuel to produce tritium for nuclear weapons, according to a public notice published in the Federal Register this week.

The project involves the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Watts Bar Nuclear Plant near Spring City in Rhea County, among other sites.

The National Nuclear Security Administration and TVA announced in August that they intend to enter into an agreement to “down-blend” highly enriched uranium to low-enriched uranium in order to help produce tritium, a key “boosting” component in nuclear weapons.

The highly enriched uranium used for the “down-blending” will be processed, packaged, and shipped from Y-12, according to the NNSA. Y-12 is an NNSA site, and it is the main storage facility for certain categories of highly enriched uranium. [Read more…]

Roane County man charged with stealing more than $250,000

Posted at 11:20 pm September 13, 2018
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Malbern Robert Edington

A Roane County man has been charged with the theft of more than $250,000 and knowing abuse, neglect, or exploitation, according to Anderson County court records.

Malbern Robert Edington, 37, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton on August 7. He has an arraignment scheduled for Friday in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.

Edington, who lives in Roane County north of Oak Ridge, was arrested August 24 by John Thomas of the Oak Ridge Police Department. He remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Thursday night. His bond has been set at $100,000. [Read more…]

Mower operator killed in crash on South Illinois

Posted at 8:39 pm September 13, 2018
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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a crash between a pickup truck and a riding lawn mower on South Illinois Avenue south of Lafayette Drive/Scarboro Road on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 13, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The operator of a commercial mower died after a vehicle struck it on South Illinois Avenue at about 2 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.

The crash was near Summit Place, just south of Lafayette Drive/Scarboro Road in south Oak Ridge.

The name of the mower operator will not be released at this time, pending notification of family, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a statement. The driver of the other vehicle, a GMC pickup truck, was not injured. [Read more…]

Police investigate crash involving riding mower on South Illinois

Posted at 4:00 pm September 13, 2018
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The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a crash that appeared to involve a pickup truck and riding lawn mower on South Illinois Avenue on Thursday afternoon.

The crash was reported at about 2 p.m. Thursday in the northbound lanes of South Illinois, coming into the city just south of Lafayette Drive/Scarboro Road. [Read more…]

Exclusive: Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against CNS

Posted at 11:35 am September 13, 2018
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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that was filed three years ago after Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC began managing and operating the Y-12 National Security Complex and made changes to health care benefits.

The changes in benefits led to protests, mostly by retirees, near Y-12 and the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office just before they took effect January 1, 2015.

Y-12 retirees Betty Hatmaker and Charlene Edwards, who had been among the protesters, filed the lawsuit that summer. The 31-page civil complaint was filed August 12, 2015, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. Hatmaker and Edwards sought to make their lawsuit a class action complaint, meaning they could have represented other plaintiffs, possibly including several thousand former Y-12 workers who retired between 1975 and 2015.

A trial had been scheduled for June 25, but the case was dismissed by Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan on May 30.

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Council approves initial bond resolution for Preschool, Senior Center

Posted at 1:27 pm September 11, 2018
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A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously approved an initial bond resolution of up to $16.5 million to build a new Oak Ridge Preschool and Oak Ridge Senior Center, and redevelop Scarboro Park.

It’s not the final bond resolution for the projects. The initial bond resolution approved in a 7-0 vote on Monday sets a ceiling amount for the debt issuance. A second resolution, a bond issuance resolution, will be brought to City Council, possibly at the October 8 meeting, for the actual bond issuance amount.

The City of Oak Ridge has opened the bidding period for the two projects, which have a total estimated cost of roughly $16 million. That announcement was made Friday.

But the city doesn’t know yet what the actual bids will be. And it’s not clear how steel tariffs might affect the projects, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. [Read more…]

Historic flat top house moving from AMSE to Children’s Museum

Posted at 12:39 pm September 11, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade will be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, officials said Monday, Sept. 10. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade will be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on October 2, project officials said Monday.

The Children’s Museum kicked off a Go Fund Me campaign for the project on Monday, inviting the community to help raise $25,000 to support the move and preserve and maintain the flat top.

The Children’s Museum said it offered to give the flat top a new home when AMSE announced that it is moving to Main Street Oak Ridge. The former AMSE location on South Tulane Avenue, which had been used for about four decades, closed in late July. The new AMSE location at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall, is expected to open in October. There isn’t enough space to keep the flat top as an exhibit at the new AMSE, a press release said.

But the Children’s Museum does have room for the flat top on its property, the press release said. The flat top will be southeast of the museum building, which is at 461 West Outer Drive in north Oak Ridge. [Read more…]