The annual water quality report is now available for viewing on the City of Oak Ridge website, and the report says Oak Ridge water was in compliance with state and federal drinking water requirements, a press release said.
You can read the report here: www.oakridgetn.gov/online/water-quality-2020.
Also known as the Consumer Confidence Report, it was mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1998 as an amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act, the press release said.
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Note: This story was updated at 7:30 p.m.
Jennifer Granholm, a former Michigan governor, was sworn in as energy secretary on Thursday.
Granholm was the first female governor of Michigan, and she is the second woman to lead the U.S. Department of Energy.
Her swearing-in ceremony on Thursday followed a 64-35 confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate. U.S. senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, both Tennessee Republicans, were among the 35 senators who voted against Granholm’s confirmation.
Granholm is the 16th secretary of energy.
U.S. Department of Energy sites and operations in Oak Ridge include East Tennessee Technology Park; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Oak Ridge Office; Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management; Office of Scientific and Technical Information; and Y-12 National Security Complex.
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ORNL Federal Credit Union recently announced that the Anderson County Family Justice Center would lease office space in its building located on Broadway Avenue in Oak Ridge. The credit union also underwrote a number of improvements to make the space more conducive to the nonprofit’s needs, a press release said.
In July 2019, the Anderson County Family Justice Center was created by a state-funded grant aimed at helping to combat child abuse, domestic abuse, and elder abuse, the press release said. There are a total of 13 centers throughout the state. The organization’s purpose is to provide a safe, convenient location to help victims of abuse break the cycle of violence and become thriving survivors.
The Anderson County Family Justice Center partners with 15 local organizations—such as Helen Ross McNabb, YWCA Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, and the Seventh Judicial District Attorney General’s office in Anderson County—to offer free and confidential resources to victims, the press release said. The types of services offered include law enforcement, mental health, legal assistance, and temporary housing.
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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship with a 52-43 win over Powell on Monday. They advanced to a Region 2-AAA semifinal game with a 67-58 quarterfinal win over Farragut on Friday.
It was the sixth consecutive district championship win for the Lady Wildcats.
Oak Ridge (21-4), which is coached by Paige Taylor, will host Maryville (23-5) in the semifinal game at Wildcat Arena on Monday.
Here are photos from the Monday and Friday games by Zack James and Luther Simmons. (See our story here.)
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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship with a 52-43 win over Powell on Monday. They advanced to a Region 2-AAA semifinal game with a 67-58 quarterfinal win over Farragut on Friday.
It was the sixth consecutive district championship win for the Lady Wildcats.
Oak Ridge (21-4), which is coached by Paige Taylor, will host Maryville (23-5) in the semifinal game at Wildcat Arena on Monday.
With their district championship win on Monday, the Lady Wildcats finished first in the District 3-AAA tournament. That meant they played the fourth-place team in District 4, Farragut, in the Region 2 quarterfinal on Friday.
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ORUD has announced its new president and general manager, Jeff Patterson.
Patterson has been an employee of ORUD for a long time, the natural gas provider said in a press release Wednesday.
The ORUD Board of Commissioners made the announcement on Wednesday, February 24, after its monthly board meeting. Patterson succeeds Sue Kristjansson, who left in December 2020.
ORUD has provided natural gas in Anderson and Roane Counties for nearly 70 years.
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The Tennessee Valley Authority is conducting routine maintenance inside the boiler at the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton, and the activities, which make use of the plant’s public address system, might continue for the next week or so, a spokesman said Monday.
During the maintenance, TVA is using small blasting caps to remove the buildup of slag, a byproduct at the coal-fired plant.
Residents in Anderson County have been asking about the recent sounds of sirens at Bull Run, including at night.
In a statement, TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said TVA is using the plant’s public address system to alert and communicate with employees on site, but no sirens or other alarms are activated.
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge boys and girls basketball teams will play for district championships on Monday and Tuesday. It’s the sixth consecutive trip to the district championship game for the girls and the ninth for the boys.
The Lady Wildcats (19-4) will play Powell (15-3) for the District 3-AAA girls championship at 7 p.m. Monday, February 22, in Wildcat Arena. The two teams also played for the district championship last year. Oak Ridge won that game 64-53.
Coached by Paige Taylor, Oak Ridge won district championships in each of the past five seasons, including two victories over Powell.
In the boys tournament, the Wildcats (23-4) will play Clinton (16-4) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, also in Wildcat Arena. The two teams also played for the district championship last year. Oak Ridge won that game 73-69.
The Wildcats have won the past two district championships. They are coached by Aaron Green, who recently achieved his 300th victory in 11 years.
The winners and losers of the district championship games this week will advance to the Region 2-AAA tournaments.
[Read more…]Natural gas rates will increase for Oak Ridge Utility District customers because of weather-related price increases and higher transportation costs. Rates are expected to decrease when weather-related spikes decline.
The rates will increase because there has been a rise in the price of natural gas related to the recent extreme weather, ORUD Director of Finance/Controller Robert DePriest said Friday.
Also, in January, there was an increase in the transportation costs that ORUD pays for the delivery of natural gas to its distribution system, DePriest said in a statement.
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats will play in a district semifinal girls basketball game tonight (Friday, February 19).
Oak Ridge (18-4) will play Clinton (9-12). The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in Wildcat Arena at Oak Ridge High School.
The winner will play for the District 3-AAA championship on Monday.
The game will be broadcast on WCAT Live on YouTube, Channel 15 on Comcast cable television, and online at http://Prepradio.com.
The Lady Wildcats finished the regular season undefeated in the district, 14-0. It was their first undefeated regular season in the district since the 2016-2017 season. However, they only had one district loss in each of the past three seasons, including both the regular season and playoffs, defeated by Powell once and Campbell County twice.
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The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss a special recreation district that would allow a motorsports park, among other potential uses.
The special recreation district is being considered as a zoning ordinance amendment. The Planning Commission will meet online, and the meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. today (Thursday, February 18).
A motorsports park has been proposed at the Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. The proposal has both supporters and detractors.
The zoning ordinance amendment would not endorse that specific proposal. Instead, it would create a new zoning district, the special recreation district, which could be used for large-scale recreation and entertainment developments.
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The City of Oak Ridge will have its second public meeting on a new sign at the city’s entrance on South Illinois Avenue at 3 p.m. today (Thursday, February 18).
The public meetings are to receive input on the design of the new sign, which will be at the entrance to Oak Ridge from Knox County in Solway.
The sign will be placed on the island between South Illinois Avenue (Pellissippi Parkway/State Route 62) and Bethel Valley Road. It would be near the exit drivers use to go to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex.
The public meetings are being held online on Zoom. The first meeting was Wednesday. During the meetings, people can join and view the designs, ask questions, and leave their feedback verbally or in the chat. The two meetings will be audio- and video-recorded and subtitles will appear on screen for those who are hearing-impaired.
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