Oak Ridge Today

Fifth in nation: UT graduate program in nuclear engineering

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The graduate program in nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville has risen to fifth place among all universities in the country, according to the 2015 U.S. News and World Report graduate rankings released last week.

Nuclear engineering ranked sixth in the nation in last year’s list. In a press release, the University of Tennessee said it’s one of the college’s fastest growing graduate programs.

The College of Engineering’s overall graduate program also climbed to 36th among all public universities, moving up three spots since last year, the UT press release said. [Read more…]

Wildcats’ lead slips away in fourth quarter of state championship

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Oak Ridge Wildcats 2014 State Runner Up

The Oak Ridge Wildcats were named Class AAA State Runner-Up after a 60-58 loss to the Blackman Blaze in Murfreesboro on Saturday.

MURFREESBORO—The Oak Ridge Wildcats gave up an 11-point lead in a series of turnovers in the fourth quarter before losing to the Blackman Blaze 60-58 in a state championship game in Murfreesboro on Saturday.

Wildcats senior Jaylin Henderson had a game-high 24 points in the Class AAA final, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the combined scoring of four Blaze players who scored 10 or more each. The Wildcats were named 2014 State Runner-Up.

Oak Ridge (32-8) looked like it was headed to victory in the third quarter and early in the fourth, but the Blaze (28-6) stepped up the pressure and the Wildcats weren’t able to protect the ball.

Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said a series of five fourth-quarter turnovers, including back-to-back steals, shifted the momentum. Many of the Wildcats’ turnovers led to easy layups, and the Blaze went on a 14-0 scoring run at the Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. [Read more…]

Parents, staff again choose balanced school calendar

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Christopher J. Marczak

Christopher J. Marczak

A majority of Oak Ridge parents and school staff again favored a move from the traditional school calendar to a new balanced calendar that gives students about nine weeks of classroom instruction at a time, officials said.

The first vote was conducted through the Skylert callout system about one month ago in February, and the second vote was Thursday.

See this guest column by Chris Marczak, Oak Ridge Schools assistant superintendent, for more information on the Thursday night vote. [Read more…]

Wildcats will play for state championship after beating Arlington 57-56

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Arlington Tigers

The Oak Ridge Wildcats found a scoring formula that worked well on Friday: get the ball inside to senior Isaac Merian (#33) and let him fake out a defender before shooting in double and triple coverage.

MURFREESBORO—The Oak Ridge boys’ basketball team will play for a state championship for the first time in 51 years after beating the Arlington Tigers 57-56 in a semifinal game in Murfreesboro on Friday. It was a victory decided by a tie-breaking free throw with only a few seconds remaining.

The Wildcats (32-7) will now battle the Blackman Blaze (27-6) in the Class AAA state tournament finals in Murfreesboro on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Isaac Merian overcame double and triple teams on Friday to lead all scorers with 21 points. He often faked a shot, let a defender go by, and then fired.

“I just kept playing my game, and my shots kept falling,” said Merian, a 6-foot-6 power forward who also had three blocks. “It’s probably one of the most memorable games. I’ll tell this one to my kids.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge advances to state semifinals with 66-45 win over Jefferson County

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Jefferson County Quarterfinals

From left are seniors Isaac Merian and Jaylin Henderson and freshman Tee Higgins, and Wildcats basketball coach Aaron Green.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:02 p.m.

MURFREESBORO—Oak Ridge advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 1999 with a 66-45 win over Jefferson County in Murfreesboro on Wednesday.

The Wildcats (31-7) will play Arlington (29-4) in Murfreesboro at 11:30 a.m. CDT Friday (12:30 p.m. EDT) in a Class AAA state boys’ basketball semifinal game.

The Wildcats said teamwork was key to the Wednesday afternoon quarterfinal win at Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University. They cited steals—Oak Ridge had nine total—double-teaming on defense against the tall Patriots team, and improvements in rebounding compared to their performance during a Nov. 27 win over Jefferson County (30-6).

“We played more as a team,” said senior guard Jaylin Henderson, who scored 11 points and had four steals. “I think we were hot.” [Read more…]

Lake City’s name change to Rocky Top challenged in federal court

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Lake City Council Approves Rocky Top Name Change

The Lake City Council votes 4-0 in November to change the town’s name to Rocky Top, and Rep. John Ragan said he has draft legislation to approve the name change to introduce in the state legislature.

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

The Gatlinburg publisher of “Rocky Top”—a bluegrass tune, state song, and unofficial anthem for the University of Tennessee—filed a federal lawsuit on Monday that seeks to prevent Lake City from changing its name to Rocky Top as part of a plan to turn the former coal mining town into a tourist destination.

The publisher, House of Bryant Publications LLC of Gatlinburg, also owns many Rocky Top trademarks, and it believes that the proposed name change for Lake City “is an attempt to unfairly exploit the fame and goodwill of House of Bryant’s intellectual property,” according to a press release from Waddey Patterson, an intellectual property law firm based in Nashville.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Monday. The defendants are Lake City, Rocky Top Tennessee Marketing and Manufacturing Co., Anderson County Commissioner Tim Isbel, Franklin resident Brad Coriell, Lake City businessman Mark Smith, Lake City Vice Mayor Michael Lovely, and Knoxville resident Carl “Buddy” Warren. [Read more…]

Animal Shelter closure extended as workers battle deadly canine virus

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Oak Ridge Animal Shelter

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter on Belgrade Road is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter will remain closed two more days as workers battle an outbreak of deadly canine distemper.

On Wednesday, the Oak Ridge Police Department announced that two cases of canine distemper had been confirmed by an Oak Ridge veterinarian’s office and said a dog adopted in January may have contracted the often-fatal virus—although it wasn’t clear when or where.

The shelter was temporarily closed this past Thursday, and it was expected to re-open on Tuesday. But on Monday, Oak Ridge Police Department Lt. Robin Smith said it will now re-open this coming Thursday, giving the shelter staff more time to clean and disinfect. He said the staff is taking precautions to make sure they have totally eradicated the disease.

Smith said 30 dogs at the shelter had to be euthanized because of the virus. The staff had to assume that all the dogs at the shelter had been exposed, Smith said. He said some shelter dogs that showed symptoms were tested, and some results came back positive. [Read more…]

USEC bankruptcy filing won’t affect daily operations in Oak Ridge, company says

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Centrifuge Machine Manufacturing

In Oak Ridge, USEC workers take part in centrifuge operations, testing, and manufacturing for the American Centrifuge Project. (Photos courtesy USEC)

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and financial restructuring plan that USEC Inc. announced last week will not affect daily operations in Oak Ridge or the American Centrifuge Project, a company spokesman said Monday.

The bankruptcy filing and financial plan are a restructuring of the balance sheet of the parent company, USEC Inc., spokesman Paul Jacobson said. He said the company is trying to strengthen its balance sheet and be a stronger sponsor of the American Centrifuge Project, a “next-generation” U.S. uranium enrichment technology. USEC Inc. is a global energy company that is a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

The company currently has 304 people working on the centrifuge program in Tennessee. In Oak Ridge, workers take part in centrifuge operations, testing, and manufacturing.

“This plan for restructuring our debt and equity will have no effect on our employees, who will continue to receive paychecks and benefits in the ordinary course,” Jacobson said. “As we have communicated to our employees previously, some employees will be impacted by several ongoing initiatives that are unrelated to the restructuring.” [Read more…]

School Board, City Council resolve high school debt dispute

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Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education

A proposal to resolve a dispute over sales tax revenues and high school debt appeared to have majority support during a non-voting joint work session of Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education on Friday.

Despite opposition from a few residents and municipal officials, the Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education have resolved a dispute over Anderson County sales tax revenues and debt payments for the $66 million renovation of Oak Ridge High School.

The dispute, which started several years ago, centered on how to use the Oak Ridge school system’s portion of Anderson County sales tax revenues generated by a tax increase approved by county voters in a 2006 referendum. School officials had argued that they could keep their share of the revenues generated in the county outside of Oak Ridge, while city officials had said all the revenues, whether collected inside the city or outside of it, should be used for high school debt payments.

A resolution unanimously approved by the school board in February and the City Council in a 5-2 vote on Monday, March 3, allows the schools to keep its portion of the new Anderson County revenues collected outside the city. However, the resolution spells out how the money has to be spent: on technology enhancements, debt reduction, capital repairs and equipment, and grant matches and innovative educational projects. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge to play Jefferson County in state tournament Wednesday

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Oak Ridge Wildcats 2014 District Champions

The Oak Ridge Wildcats are pictured above celebrating a district championship win over the Hall Red Devils in February.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats boys’ basketball team will play Jefferson County in the first round of the state tournament on Wednesday.

The Division I Class AAA quarterfinals game starts at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats are 30-7, and the Jefferson County Patriots are 30-5. The Wildcats are Region 2-AAA runner-ups, and the Patriots are Region 1 runner-ups.

Oak Ridge beat the Dobyns-Bennett Indians 62-55 in a Class AAA sectional game on Tuesday to advance to the state tournament for the second year in a row. The Indians were Region 1 champions, beating Jefferson County 63-52 on Feb. 27. [Read more…]

Schools seek bids to replace demolished Blankenship bleachers

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Blankenship Field Visitors Bleachers

Declared unsafe, the visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been removed, and the project to replace them has been put out for bids.

The visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been demolished, and the Oak Ridge Schools are scurrying to replace them by the start of the high school football season this fall.

Project bids are being accepted through March 21, although it’s not clear yet who will pay for the new bleachers and other improvements at Jack Armstrong Stadium. The bids could be considered by the Oak Ridge Board of Education on March 24.

The board could also make a funding decision then, School Board Chair Keys Fillauer told Oak Ridge City Council members during a Monday night meeting. There are a range of options that include city funding, school funding, and donations, among others. [Read more…]

New Y-12, Pantex contractor website includes employment information

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Jim Haynes

Jim Haynes

The transition website for the new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Pantex Plant was posted online on Thursday afternoon. The new website for Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC is available at http://www.cnstransition.com.

CNS is the new managing and operating contractor at Y-12 in Oak Ridge and Pantex in Amarillo, Texas. The contract award, worth up to about $23 billion over 10 years, was first announced in January 2013 but delayed by a series of protests. The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the third and final protest on Thursday, Feb. 27. On Monday, officials at the National Nuclear Security Administration said the transition to the new contractor had started and was expected to last four months.

On Thursday, CNS spokesman Jason Bohne said the company would be adding much more information to the transition website during the next few weeks and months, including more details on the senior management team, proposed organization, messages to employees, and more.

The transition website includes a message from CNS President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Haynes, who has been senior vice president and deputy general manager for the current Y-12 contractor, B&W Y-12. Other members of the CNS leadership team include Michael Jones, transformation; Darrell Graddy, mission support; and Carl Strock, project director for the Uranium Processing Facility. [Read more…]