Oak Ridge Today

Y-12 protesters: Nun sentenced to three years, men receive five

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Bill Quigley, Michele Naar-Obed, and Chris Irwin

Defense attorney Bill Quigley, left; Michele Naar-Obed, wife of Y-12 protester Greg Boertje-Obed; and defense attorney Chris Irwin, center right, after a sentencing hearing in Knoxville on Tuesday.

Note: This story was last updated at 10:20 a.m. Feb. 19.

KNOXVILLE—The three protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July 2012 and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on a uranium storage building were sentenced to three to five years in prison on Tuesday.

Megan Rice, an 84-year old Catholic nun who last lived in Washington, D.C., received the shortest sentence. She was sentenced to 35 months, or just under three years. Rice is the oldest of the three anti-nuclear weapons activists. She also has the least extensive criminal history, Judge Amul R. Thapar said during a 4.5-hour sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Tuesday afternoon.

The other two protesters, Greg Boertje-Obed and Michael Walli, both were sentenced to 62 months, or a little more than five years. They have more extensive prior records. Boertje-Obed is a 58-year-old house painter from Duluth, Minn., and Walli is a 64-year-old Catholic worker and Vietnam veteran from Washington, D.C. Thapar said Boertje-Obed has 40 arrests and more than 20 convictions, and he has previously served time in prison. So has Walli. He was released on Jan. 5, 2012—about six months before the break-in—after an eight-month federal sentence for an earlier trespassing incident at Y-12.

“What do I do when eight months didn’t deter him?” Thapar asked defense attorney Chris Irwin. “It’s getting worse, not better.” [Read more…]

Sentencing for Y-12 protesters now consolidated, starts later Tuesday afternoon

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Y-12 Plowshares Protesters

Pictured above are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28, 2012, and vandalized a uranium storage building. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

A federal judge has delayed for about an hour the Tuesday afternoon sentencing hearing for the three anti-nuclear weapons activists who cut through high-security fences and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July 2012.

The three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—had originally been scheduled to have separate hearings starting at noon today (Tuesday) and continuing through 4 p.m. But in an order filed Tuesday morning, U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar said he would consolidate some aspects of the court’s analysis and allow all three defendants to remain in the courtroom during all three sentencing hearings.

The joint sentencing hearing will now start at 1:30 p.m. today (Tuesday) in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

An earlier consolidated sentencing hearing on Jan. 28 was delayed due to snow. [Read more…]

Wildcats advance to district championship with 69-67 comeback in semifinals OT

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Jaylin Henderson and Oak Ridge Wildcats

Senior guard Jaylin Henderson, left, leads the Oak Ridge Wildcats to a 69-67 come-from-behind overtime win over the Powell Panthers in a semifinal tournament game on Monday.

Note: This story was updated at 8:50 a.m.

POWELL—The Oak Ridge Wildcats erased a 17-point Powell lead in a semifinal tournament game on Monday and advanced to the district championship with a buzzer-beating 69-67 come-from-behind overtime win.

The Wildcats, who struggled on defense and with rebounding for much of the game, trailed the Panthers throughout the first three quarters, often by more than 10 points.

But a fired-up Jaylin Henderson came alive in the fourth quarter for the Wildcats, stealing balls on one end and scoring baskets on the other. He tied the game at 63-63 with about 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Senior forward Isaac Merian, who had been relatively quiet for much of the night, scored the winning basket in overtime, picking up a loose ball and banking in an off-the-backboard shot as time expired, giving the Wildcats their 69-67 victory.

Oak Ridge fans exploded with excitement, and Panthers fans left in stunned silence. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge woman dies in three-car crash in Alcoa

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An Oak Ridge woman died in a three-car crash in Alcoa on Monday morning, authorities said.

Claire B. Milner, 20, was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center after the crash on Alcoa Highway at Willow Road at 9:45 a.m. Monday, but she died of her injuries, the Alcoa Police Department said.

Milner had been driving a 2000 Ford Focus on Willow Road and had apparently stopped at the stop sign, then attempted to cross the southbound lanes of Alcoa Highway to turn left onto northbound Alcoa Highway, the APD said in a news release. Milner’s Focus was struck in the driver’s door by a 2006 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by Zackary A. Presnell, 33, of Knoxville, who was traveling south on Alcoa Highway, in the left lane of travel. [Read more…]

Former energy secretary compares global warming path to Russian roulette, with gun pointed at knee

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Steven Chu on Global Warming at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

During a lecture at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, former Energy Secretary Steven Chu compares global warming to Russian roulette, but with the gun pointed at a kneecap.

Former Energy Secretary Steven Chu sounded an alarm about global warming during a visit to Oak Ridge last week, comparing the current path to Russian roulette, but with the gun pointed at a knee—and with more bullets added each decade.

“Every decade you put in a bullet and you pull the trigger,” said Chu, a Stanford University professor who won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1997. “After four or five more decades, it could be fully loaded.”

The longest-serving secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, Chu gave a lecture at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Wednesday.

The globe is warming, and we might not feel the full effect of the greenhouse gases emitted by humans for another half-century or more, after the ocean has been warmed, Chu said.

“We’re going to glide to a temperature that we’re not really sure about, but I can guarantee that it’s warmer than it is today because of that ocean,” Chu said. “The damage that we’ve done today will not be seen for at least 50 years.” [Read more…]

New ORPD hardware, software package to allow officers to issue electronic citations

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Oak Ridge Police Department and Spillman Technologies

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi, left, explains a new hardware and software suite that the City Council agreed to buy for the police department on Monday.

Note: This story was updated at 5:30 p.m.

A new roughly $500,000 hardware and software suite purchased for the Oak Ridge Police Department includes an electronic citation system that will allow officers to scan driver’s licenses with handheld units and quickly issue multiple citations.

The new system will save time because it will, among other things, automatically download information from the electronic tickets, including into the court system, officials said.

“It’s a lot quicker, a lot more effective,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said during a January work session with the City Council.

Officials said the ability to issue tickets quicker could produce more revenue for the city and more effective law enforcement. They said it will also eliminate some problems with the current system, such as messy handwriting on paper tickets and the need to duplicate data entry in the police department and then again in the court system. [Read more…]

Anderson County eliminates Lady Wildcats 42-22; OR boys play Monday

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Anderson County eliminated the Lady Wildcats 42-22 in the second round of the District 3-AAA girls’ basketball tournament on Saturday at Powell.

The Lady Mavericks (16-11) will now play Halls (13-12) in a semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Powell.

The Lady Wildcats (8-21) had advanced to the second round after eliminating Clinton 51-37 in a first-round game at Powell on Tuesday. [Read more…]

Y-12 protesters to be sentenced in three hearings Tuesday

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The Fruit of Justice is Peace Slogan on HEUMF at Y-12

Three anti-nuclear weapons activists who sneaked into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28, 2012, splashed human blood and, quoting Proverbs, sprayed paint on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. The protesters also hammered the building, causing it to chip, and strung up crime scene tape. (Submitted photo)

The three anti-nuclear weapons activists who cut through high-security fences and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on the side of a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July 2012 will be sentenced in three separate hearings in Knoxville on Tuesday.

Their earlier consolidated sentencing hearing on Jan. 28 was delayed due to snow.

U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar has ordered that Michael Walli, a 64-year-old Catholic worker from Washington, D.C., be sentenced at 12 p.m. Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. Walli is facing the longest potential sentence, a range of about seven to nine years, for the damage caused during the unprecedented security breach.

Greg Boertje-Obed, a 58-year-old painter from Duluth, Minn., will be sentenced next, at 2 p.m. His recommended sentence is roughly six to eight years. [Read more…]

Pictures: Snow day in Oak Ridge

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Snow at South Illinois Avenue and Centrifuge Way

There are few cars on South Illinois Avenue near Centrifuge Way after a winter storm dumped eight to 12 inches of snow on parts of Oak Ridge and Anderson County.

More than eight inches of snow fell in parts of Oak Ridge between Wednesday night and Thursday morning as a major winter storm hit the Southeast. There were reports that up to 12 inches fell in parts of Anderson County. A National Weather Service meteorologist said it was the most snow in one storm in about 15 years.

Here are photos from across Oak Ridge on Thursday morning as some residents and workers cleared roads or shoveled sidewalks and driveways, while others enjoyed the day off by sledding at Blankenship Field.

Sledding at Blankenship Field

Adults and children enjoy sledding at Blankenship Field on Thursday.

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Most snow in about 15 years, Weather Service says

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Snowman at Blankenship Field

Kids build a snowman at Blankenship Field on Thursday morning after more than eight inches of snow fell in Oak Ridge. From left are Killian Fillmore, Andrew Bivens, Gavin Hensley, and Liam Hensley.

Note: This story was last updated at 5:02 p.m. with more photos.

More than eight inches of snow fell in parts of Oak Ridge between Wednesday night and Thursday morning as a major winter storm hit the Southeast, and there were reports of as much as 10 to 12 inches in parts of Anderson County. A meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Morristown said it’s the most snow in East Tennessee in more than a decade.

“It’s been about 15 years since we’ve had a snow like this,” NWS Meteorologist David Hotz said. “This is definitely one of the best ones we’ve had in quite a while.”

The last snowfall of a similar magnitude that he could recall was in either 1998 or 1999.

Other big snowfalls include the historic 1993 storm and a winter storm in 1996 that dumped 15 to 17 inches.

More than eight inches of snow fell in parts of Oak Ridge between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, and there were reports of as much as 10 to 12 inches in parts of Anderson County. A meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Morristown said it's the most snow in East Tennessee in more than a decade. "It's been about 15 years since we've had a snow like this," NWS Meteorologist David Hotz said. “This is definitely one of the best ones we’ve had in quite a while.” The last snowfall of a similar magnitude that he could recall was in either 1998 or 1999. Other big snowfalls include the historic 1993 storm and a 1996 storm that dumped 15 to 17 inches. The wet, heavy snow that started falling in Oak Ridge at about 7 p.m. Wednesday—it was the second round of snow that day—continued into Thursday morning. But with temperatures rising Thursday morning and the sun coming out, much of the snow was quickly melting. Still, many roads, particularly side streets, still had slush on them, and there were a few slippery spots. Crews from the Oak Ridge Public Works Department worked all day Wednesday, through the night, and into Thursday morning. They put down two layers of brine, or highly salted water, before the snow started and switched to salt trucks and snow plows once the snow started falling. Public Works Department Gary Cinder said there were no major problems. “It’s been a calm event," Cinder said. "It was a heavy snow. It was deep enough that we could push it, and it was wet enough that it would slide easily. It wasn’t sticking because of the brine.” It might have helped that many people stayed off the roads as many offices, schools, and businesses closed early on Wednesday—if they hadn't already been closed for the day—and remained closed on Thursday. Cinder said the Public Works Department was able to keep the main streets relatively clear. At times, the snow was heavy enough, though, that the snow was recovering roads that crews had already plowed. “A lot of times, they just had to go back and forth," Cinder said. Cinder said there were a few trees down and a few isolated power outages. In Anderson County, Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Anderson County Highway Department were working to clear the snow, but roads remained hazardous. "Travel is not advised," Lucas said in a Thursday morning e-mail. "We had several reports of minor accidents with cars off in the ditch or stuck in the snow, but since the snow didn't begin to fall until the evening hours, traffic was light. There also have been a few trees down as well." Lucas said there were also some power outages overnight, but it appeared that the Clinton Utilities Board had most of those restored except for a few isolated areas. He advised residents to check with CUB for details and said power outages can be viewed at http://outage.clintonub.com. Deputies went to their "snow plan" Wednesday evening and are patrolling the county in four-wheel-drive vehicles. "We are responding only to accidents with injury or those that are a significant traffic hazard," Lucas said. Cinder said Oak Ridge has eight trucks outfitted with snow plows in the front and salt spreaders in the back. The city has two bins that, when fully loaded, can store 2,400 tons of salt. Oak Ridge has plenty of salt for the rest of the winter, he said. There about 220 miles of roads in Oak Ridge and crews focus first on main streets and state routes such as Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike, then collector city streets such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Florida avenues, and then neighborhood side—if the snow lasts long enough and is heavy enough. The number of lane miles that crews have to take care of is double the road mileage because crews have to go up streets in one lane and then back down them in another. Hotz, the meteorologist, said water on East Tennessee roads could re-freeze tonight as the temperature drops into the 20s and that could cause problems, including black ice, especially on secondary streets that still have slush. Drivers should use caution when driving tonight, especially on secondary streets, although well-traveled roads and interstates should be in good shape, Hotz said. He said there could be another smaller storm system late Friday and Friday night. It could start with rain that changes over to snow, and there could be some light accumulations in East Tennessee valleys, but more snow is expected in the mountains, Hotz said. The temperature is expected to warm back up into the 50s and lower 60s next week, Hotz said.

Crews from the Oak Ridge Public Works Department worked all day Wednesday and through the night into Thursday to clear roads, including South Illinois Avenue, as more than eight inches of snow fell in parts of the city.

The wet, heavy snow that started falling in Oak Ridge at about 7 p.m. Wednesday—it was the second round of snow that day—continued into Thursday morning. But with temperatures rising Thursday morning and the sun coming out, much of the snow was quickly melting.

Still, many roads, particularly side streets, still had slush on them, and there were a few slippery spots.

Crews from the Oak Ridge Public Works Department worked all day Wednesday, through the night, and into Thursday morning. They put down two layers of brine, or highly salted water, before the snow started and switched to salt trucks and snow plows once the snow started falling.

Public Works Department Gary Cinder said there were no major problems. [Read more…]

Schools, govt. offices, businesses, DOE offices, Y-12 closed Thursday

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Snowman at Blankenship Field

Children build a snowman at Blankenship Field on Thursday morning. From left are Killian Fillmore, Andrew Bivens, Gavin Hensley, and Liam Hensley.

Note: This story was last updated at 10:29 a.m.

Oak Ridge Schools are closed Thursday, and so is the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office is also closed as are the Oak Ridge Environmental Management Site Office, Nuclear Energy Site Office, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, and Oak Ridge DOE Inspector General offices. Decisions about reporting instructions for Friday will be made later Thursday or early Friday morning. Employees should check the weather hotline and Facebook later for updates for Friday.

Schools in Clinton and Anderson, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, and Roane counties are also closed. So are Anderson County government offices and courts. And so are many businesses.

City of Oak Ridge offices will open at noon Thursday.

Waste Connections, Inc. will not be picking up refuse or recyclables on Thursday because of the weather conditions.  Thursday’s routes will be picked up on Friday, Feb. 14, and Fridays on Saturday, Feb. 15.  Please have all refuse and recyclables out by 7 a.m. For additional information you can contact Waste Connections Inc. at (865) 482-3656 or visit www.WasteConnectionsTn.com. [Read more…]

Weather Service warns of dangerous driving conditions as second round of snow starts

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Snowfall at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue

Heavy snow falls in Oak Ridge at about 7 p.m. Wednesday, and weather officials are warning of extremely dangerous driving conditions across the region.

The National Weather Service in Morristown warned of extremely dangerous driving conditions across the region on Wednesday night as a second round of snow started in Oak Ridge.

The 7 p.m. evening snow followed an earlier round of snow at about 2 p.m. Wednesday.

The Weather Service said the snow and subfreezing temperatures in the region will create slick roads and travel concerns across the region.

“Roads will become extremely treacherous overnight as snow and ice continues to accumulate and build up,” forecasters said. [Read more…]