Oak Ridge Today

Y-12 operator exposed to lithium hydride received second-degree burns, returned to work

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An operator injured after being exposed to lithium hydride powder at the Y-12 National Security Complex in early April sustained second-degree burns, primarily on the face and scalp, but has returned to work, federal officials said.

The operator, who is not identified in federal reports, also received some first-degree burns. But in two separate reports, officials said the employee’s injuries were healing as expected without complications, and the worker was expected to make a full recovery. [Read more…]

Intoxicated, wearing only a shirt, woman tries to bite officer, police say

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Crystal Jane Wombles

Crystal Jane Wombles

She was extremely intoxicated and was outside on her porch wearing only a shirt when Oliver Springs police arrived, and neighbors said she had been completely naked a few minutes earlier, authorities said.

Crystal J. Wombles, 35, of Crystal Lane in Oliver Springs, was not wearing “bottoms or underwear…showing her bottom private parts to children and the neighbors,” Oliver Springs Police Department Patrolman Nathaniel W. Nelson said in an incident report. The neighbors had instructed their kids to go inside, the patrolman said. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs police seize pirated DVDs valued at $35,000 at flea market

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The Oliver Springs Police Department seized $35,000 worth of movies and cited a Loudon couple on misdemeanor charges after allegedly finding 1,740 pirated DVDs at a flea market on West Tri County Boulevard last week.

Gordon Gerald Mashburn, 64, and Wilma June Mashburn, 57, both of Loudon, had a table set up behind a pickup truck at the flea market, where they were selling the movies on Tuesday morning, July 9, OSPD Sgt. David M. Laxton said in an incident report. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge couple remains jailed after infant allegedly kicked in head

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David Lee Francis

David Lee Francis

Melissa Darnell Shillings

Melissa Darnell Shillings

An Oak Ridge couple accused of being involved in a domestic dispute on Saturday that resulted in a seven-month-old child being kicked in the head with a boot remained jailed Wednesday evening.

David Lee Francis, 38, and Melissa Darnell Shillings, 35, of Wainwright Road, are both charged with aggravated child abuse and domestic assault. [Read more…]

‘Diligent’ engineer discovers Y-12 water line break that spilled six million gallons

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East Fork Poplar Creek

East Fork Poplar Creek starts at a spring at the Y-12 National Security Complex and flows through Oak Ridge. About six million gallons of water spilled into it in early June, killing several thousand small fish, after a 10-inch water line ruptured at Y-12.

The break in a 10-inch water pipe at the Y-12 National Security Complex on a Friday night in June—it spilled about six million gallons of water and killed several thousand small fish—was discovered by a diligent engineer who had returned to the plant to check on an abnormal water tower report, officials said.

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board reported that the plant contractor’s utilities and environmental compliance organizations both had had indications of an abnormal condition, but B&W Y-12 had not established a procedure to respond to the signals.

“The break was discovered because a diligent system engineer decided to come back in to the site and check on an anomalous report of a low level in a water tower that had cleared as the pumps refilled the tank,” the DNFSB report said. “B&W management is evaluating ways to improve recognition of a problem from the available indications during off hours.” [Read more…]

Y-12 labs: Teachers watch frozen bananas snap, use bike to power light bulbs

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Teachers at Y-12 Labs

Daryl Smith, a Y-12 National Security Complex scientist, shows East Tennessee teachers that a balloon will shrink when dipped in liquid nitrogen during a “show and tell” laboratory on Friday.

In one room, bananas became brittle and snapped in clean lines after being dipped in super-cold liquid nitrogen.

In another room, teachers pedaling on a stationary bicycle with a generator attached learned it takes much more energy to power an incandescent light than compact fluorescent or LED bulbs.

The teachers were at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Friday for “show and tell” laboratories, learning experiments from Y-12 engineers and scientists that they could take back to their classrooms. It was part of the Innovation Valley’s Educators in the Workplace Lunch and Learn summer program. [Read more…]

Track Club has middle school cross country camp

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The Oak Ridge Track Club Youth Athletics Program has a middle school cross country camp that starts July 29.

This camp at Robertsville Middle School is for athletes planning to compete in middle school cross country during the fall 2013 season. Athletes should be entering 6th, 7th, or 8th grades. All middle school runners are welcome, regardless of school affiliation, a press release said. [Read more…]

Man allegedly starts fight, gets knife, threatens to ‘kill them all’

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Richard Carl Johnson Jr.

Richard Carl Johnson Jr.

An Oliver Springs man allegedly shoved a 13-year-old boy into a vehicle and tried to assault him Monday evening before being forced off the family’s property, but Richard Carl Johnson Jr., 48, later walked up and down a road near the family’s home while carrying a large knife, screaming, and threatening to “kill them all,” authorities said.

The boy’s father and older son had tried to stop the assault at Green Acres Trailer Park, but Johnson allegedly started swinging at them. A brief fight ensued, authorities said. Johnson was hit around his head and face “numerous times” and forced off the property and back across the street, Oliver Springs Police Department Sgt. Charles Graham said in arrest warrants. [Read more…]

Habitat for Humanity celebrates reorganized, cleaned-up store

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Habitat for Humanity ReStore

Local officials and Habitat for Humanity workers and volunteers celebrate with a June ribbon-cutting ceremony at the renamed home store, which has been cleaned up and offers lower prices, officials said.

Local officials and Habitat for Humanity workers and volunteers celebrated the opening of a reorganized, cleaned-up store in Grove Center during a June ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Formerly known as the Home Store, it’s now called ReStore, said Jennifer Sheehan, interim executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County.

Four large shipping containers that had been in front of the store and used for storage have been removed, and trees have been trimmed, creating a better line of sight to the store from the road, Sheehan said.

“We’re working hard to improve curb appeal,” she said. [Read more…]

County denies payment to attorney detained taking pictures near Clinton Middle

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CLINTON—With no discussion Monday, the Anderson County Commission denied a payment request from a local attorney who had allegedly demanded money before filing a lawsuit over an incident last fall where he was detained while taking pictures near Clinton Middle School.

Clinton attorney Phil Harber said he was photographing school buses that were parked on Marshall Street in Clinton on Oct. 10 when he was detained. The buses allegedly block the route to his home, and he was reportedly planning to use the pictures in a lawsuit against the city, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy William S. Lucas said in an incident report. [Read more…]

Beer Board approves short September suspension for Back 2 Brewski’s

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The Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board approved a suspension of up to two weeks for a Grove Center bar that was the scene of an April 14 fight involving two men, including one who police said was very intoxicated.

But the beer permit suspension, scheduled to start Sept. 1, could be shortened to one week if Back 2 Brewski’s meets a few requirements, including proving that employees who need training on responsibly serving alcohol complete a course by Aug. 30. [Read more…]

Three taken to hospital after two-car crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike

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Three people were taken to the hospital after a two-car collision on Friday morning in east Oak Ridge.

An Oak Ridge Police Department crash report said Edgar L. Cagley, 77, of Kingston tried to turn left from Elza Drive onto Oak Ridge Turnpike in a Hyundai sedan at about 11:09 a.m. Friday, but he did not yield to an eastbound Cadillac sedan driven by Margaret Burnett Martin, 84, of Oak Ridge. Cagley drove into Martin’s path, causing the collision, the report said. [Read more…]