Oak Ridge Today

Fiscal prudence requires ORNL to prepare for smaller budgets, director says

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Thom Mason

Thom Mason

Many budget questions remain unresolved heading into the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 and there could be another $100 million drop in funding, so Oak Ridge National Laboratory is implementing plans to further reduce overhead spending and opening a voluntary separation program that could reduce the workforce by up to 475 jobs, Director Thom Mason said Thursday.

Employees can apply for the Voluntary Separation Program, or VSP, from Oct. 1 to Nov. 14. Those employees who are accepted will leave the payroll by Dec. 31.

Lab officials emphasized that they hope the number of staff cuts is smaller than 475. ORNL has about 4,400 to 4,500 employees. [Read more…]

ORNL could trim staff by up to 475, but officials hope for fewer cuts

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Central Campus

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s central campus is pictured above. (Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Department of Energy)

With the federal budget under pressure, Oak Ridge National Laboratory has permission to reduce its staff by up to 475 employees, but officials hope they don’t have to make that many cuts.

The workforce reduction could come through what is known as a voluntary separation program, or VSP. Those who apply and are accepted would leave the payroll Dec. 31, ORNL Communications Director David Keim said Thursday.

Keim said the lab had to ask the U.S. Department of Energy for permission to make the cuts, and ORNL sought the highest number of possible reductions. [Read more…]

No comment from NNSA on next step for Y-12, Pantex contract

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Y-12 National Security Complex Sign

Federal officials declined to comment Wednesday on the next step in the process to award a consolidated contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

Federal officials declined to comment Wednesday on the next step in the process to award a consolidated contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office announced in an eight-page decision that it had denied or dismissed three elements of a bid protest filed June 17 by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, a team led by Babcock and Wilcox Co. But it wasn’t clear what would happen next.

“No comment,” Kate Black, a contractor for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said in a brief e-mail response to a question about the next step on Wednesday afternoon. [Read more…]

Mall redevelopment could cost $80 million, create close to 1,000 jobs

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Oak Ridge Mall Master Plan

The site plan for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall shows a multi-use, town center development with retail, office, hotel, and residential properties. (Submitted image)

The project could include retail, hotel, office, and residential properties, and generate more than $2 million per year in new city and county sales tax revenues, consultant says

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

The North Carolina company that wants to redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall has unveiled its site plan for the 60-acre property.

The $80 million redevelopment could include new retail, hotel, office, and residential properties. It would create almost 1,000 new jobs and increase annual city and county sales tax revenues by more than $2 million, according to an estimate by a city consultant.

The two remaining anchor stores at the 500,000-square-foot mall, JCPenney and Belk, would stay. So would Walmart and the Cinemark Tinseltown theater.

Meanwhile, the existing interior space between the anchor stores would be demolished. Previous mall redevelopment plans had also called for demolishing that interior retail space. [Read more…]

GAO denies, dismisses second protest of Y-12, Pantex contract award

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Tuesday rejected a three-part protest filed in June by one of the two teams that lost a competition earlier this year to manage two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas, a contract that could be worth up to $22.8 billion. Pictured above is one of the plants, the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy B&W Y-12)

The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Tuesday denied or dismissed three elements of a protest filed in June by one of the two teams that lost a competition earlier this year to manage two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas, a contract that could be worth up to $22.8 billion.

The bid protest was filed on June 17 by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, a team led by Babcock and Wilcox Co. NP2 was one of three bidding teams that sought to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. [Read more…]

School board accepts extra $250K to avoid funding loss, school shutdown

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education in two separate meetings on Monday quickly approved a budget amendment that accepts an extra $250,000 from the city, avoiding a potential loss of millions of dollars in state funding and averting an Oct. 1 school shutdown.

The additional funding had been requested by the school board, and it was approved by the Oak Ridge City Council in a 4-1-1 vote during a special meeting last week. After the council approved the extra money, the school board then had to amend its budget in two separate votes, or readings. Education officials are now expected to send the amended school system budget to state officials by Sept. 30. [Read more…]

UT-Battelle builds second home for ADFAC

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ADFAC UT-Battelle Home

Annie Cacheiro, right, executive director of Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, and Thom Mason, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, speak at a dedication for a home built by volunteers on Jay Lane.

Volunteers from UT-Battelle have completed their second home in two years for ADFAC, a nonprofit agency that helps low-income residents.

Officials and volunteers celebrated last week with a ceremony at the new single-story, two-bedroom home on Jay Lane.

“It’s a blessing,” said Emily Mitchell, 24, the new homeowner. “I know I couldn’t do it on my own.”

Mitchell, who has a two-year-old daughter, now lives on Van Hicks Place. She is the family self-sufficiency coordinator for the Oak Ridge Housing Authority. [Read more…]

Police: Two bicyclists injured after running stop signs, hitting vehicles

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Two bicyclists, including a child, collided with vehicles after running stop signs in two separate incidents this weekend, and one of the riders was flown by medical helicopter to a Knoxville hospital, authorities said.

The first collision occurred at about 5 p.m. Saturday when Thomas M. Trosper, 44, of Oak Ridge, ran a stop sign on Latimer Road and struck the right front side of a 1995 Dodge van driven westbound on North Jefferson Circle, a crash report said. [Read more…]

Vehicle strikes two cars, house before fleeing, police say

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An unknown driver in an unknown vehicle hit two parked cars on Outer Drive early Saturday morning, sideswiped a tree, and struck a house before fleeing, authorities said.

The crash at about 1:40 a.m. Saturday just east of Florida Avenue damaged the foundation of a home at 97 Outer Drive, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Daniel Freytag said in a report. [Read more…]

Schol board to hear about budget, capital improvements, Common Core

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education is scheduled to hear presentations on the budget process for next year, capital improvement plans, and Common Core standards during a six-hour retreat on Thursday.

The retreat, which also includes presentations on other topics, is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the School Administration Building Conference Room at 304 New York Ave. See the agenda here: School Board Retreat Agenda.

ORPD identifies motorcyclist who died in fiery Highway 95 crash

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The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the motorcyclist who died in a fiery three-vehicle crash on Highway 95 on Sunday.

Jeffrey Floyd, 23, of Clinton, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a vehicle driven by Patricia Scofield, 57, of Louisville at about 5 p.m. Sunday, the ORPD said in a press release. Both vehicles were almost completely engulfed in flames when officers arrived. [Read more…]

One killed in crash involving car, two motorcycles on Highway 95

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One person was killed in a collision involving a car and two motorcycles on Highway 95 early Sunday evening, authorities said.

The fatal crash occurred about one-half mile south of Bethel Valley Road, west of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said the names of the people involved, and the descriptions of their vehicles, will not be released until notifications have been made. The ORPD is currently investigating the incident, a statement said.