Oak Ridge Today

Obama administration delays employer health care mandate until 2015

Posted at
By 10 Comments

Mark Mazur

Mark Mazur

Responding to business concerns, the Obama administration announced Tuesday that it would delay until 2015 the new health care law’s mandate that employers provide workers with health insurance.

New reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act will also be delayed a year. Questions about the new employer mandate and reporting requirements have been a concern for businesses across the nation, including in and around Oak Ridge.

“We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively,” said Mark J. Mazur, assistant secretary for tax policy. Mazur made the announcement on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website. [Read more…]

Registration open for Exercise for Fitness classes

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring Exercise for Fitness, an adult exercise program taught by Charlotte Hensley. The class meets at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 9–10:30 a.m.

“This well-balanced program offers exercise routines that include stretching, toning, Pilates, and aerobics,” a press release said. “The instructor incorporates the use of a variety of equipment including fitness balls, hand weights, steps, and hoops to provide a comprehensive workout for each participant.” [Read more…]

Three arrested, crowd pepper-sprayed during arrests at fireworks show

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Information from WYSH Radio

Three people were arrested Saturday night during the “Fire on the Water” fireworks show at Sequoyah Marina on Norris Lake after a disturbance that ended with an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputy deploying pepper spray on an allegedly angry crowd of onlookers.

The incident began at around 9:30 p.m. Saturday when a homeowner on Sequoyah Drive approached three deputies assigned to a special detail to monitor the festivities and told them that he was having a private engagement party on his property. He told the deputies that two men and a woman had come onto the property from the public area roped off for fireworks viewing, taken beer, threatened party guests, and refused to leave. [Read more…]

Teen Battle of the Bands on July 20

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Guitar Player at Battle of the Teen Bands

A guitar player is pictured above at a previous Battle of the Teen Bands at A.K. Bissell Park.

Y-12 Federal Credit Union is hosting a Teen Battle of the Bands at 6 p.m. July 20 at the A.K. Bissell Park Pavilion behind the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

This is an all-ages community event, and admission is free. Concessions and T-shirts will be available.

In case of rain, the event will be moved to the gym inside the Oak Ridge Civic Center. For more information, send an e-mail to bands@y12fcu.org.

July 4 fireworks in Oak Ridge rescheduled to Sunday

Posted at
By 3 Comments

July 4, 2012 Fireworks

The July 4 fireworks show in Oak Ridge has been rescheduled for 10 p.m. Sunday at A.K. Bissell Park. (Photo by Charles Samuels)

The July 4 fireworks in Oak Ridge have been rescheduled from Thursday to Sunday, an official said Tuesday.

“After consulting with the National Weather Service and our fireworks contractor Pyro Shows, I have made the decision to re-schedule the event,” Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said in a press release. “The community investment is too great for the event to not be spectacular.”

He said heavy rain is expected Wednesday and Thursday, and that could cause problems setting up and loading the shells. The rain could also result in misfires during the Independence Day show and make it difficult for residents and visitors to sit outside and enjoy the display. [Read more…]

IDB endorses professional services contract with Chamber

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce could provide an office for the Industrial Development Board, store its files, prepare its meeting minutes and agendas, and take care of its accounting under a proposal endorsed Monday.

The Chamber would do the work for $25,000 per year, IDB Chair David Wilson told board members. [Read more…]

Responding to traffic delays, Y-12 asks for volunteers to start work later beginning July 8

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Y-12 National Security Complex Traffic

Responding to morning traffic delays, particularly at its east entrance on Bear Creek Road, the Y-12 National Security Complex has asked some employees to volunteer to start their work day later after July 8.

Responding to morning traffic delays at its entrances, the Y-12 National Security Complex has asked some employees to volunteer to come into work later in the day starting July 8.

Significant traffic delays have been an issue since a lost driver who did not have a badge or permission to be at Y-12 said she was waved into the nuclear weapons plant on June 6.

Since then, Y-12 officials have said the plant has changed its approach to checking badges at the east and west gates. The more rigorous security checks are “here to stay,” B&W Y-12 General Manager Chuck Spencer said in a June 27 message to employees.

But the new procedures have led to traffic delays, particularly at the east entrance between 5:15 and 6:15 a.m., when vehicles can back up as far as the former Dean Stallings Ford on South Illinois Avenue. [Read more…]

Council to discuss electronic signs, land banks, mall partnership

Posted at
By 7 Comments

Rivers Total Car Care Electronic Sign

The Oak Ridge City Council will discuss proposed changes to the city’s electronic sign ordinance during a Monday evening work session. Pictured above is Toney Stevens of Rivers Total Car Care, who has participated in the discussion.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will discuss a proposed ordinance that would prohibit animated video and scrolling messages on electronic signs.

Council will also discuss economic development options related to a public-private partnership on Oak Ridge Mall properties, and commercial and industrial areas of the city.

During a non-voting work session Monday night, Council will also hear a presentation on land bank legislation. The work session starts at 7 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room at the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane. [Read more…]

IDB to discuss contract on Bethel Valley lot, agreement with Chamber

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board on Monday will discuss a contract to purchase a lot in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park and an agreement with the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

The IDB meets at 4 p.m. Monday in the Municipal Building Training Room.

State investigates late-night boat collision on Norris Lake

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A late night two-boat collision on Norris Lake resulted in one injury and one arrest, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said in a Sunday evening press release.

Union County Wildlife Officer Rick Roberts reported that on Saturday around midnight between Waterside Marina and Point 19, a runabout style boat carrying five passengers struck a pontoon boat carrying six passengers from behind. The collision sent two occupants of the runabout, who were not wearing life jackets, into the water. A nearby boat rescued the two ejected passengers.

A female passenger onboard the pontoon boat sustained minor head injuries and was transported to Tennova-North Knoxville Medical Center, the TWRA said. [Read more…]

TVA finishes excavating spilled coal ash at Kingston plant, starts covering disposal area

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Cleanup

Ash that spilled into the brown embayment pictured above has been removed, and workers are placing a black liner over an ash containment cell, pictured at center, preparing to close it late next year. More than 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash spilled in December 2008 when a storage cell used by the Kingston Fossil Plant, back left, failed.

KINGSTON—It was the largest ash spill in U.S. history. A dike failed on a storage cell on a cold December night more than four years ago, and roughly 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash surged out, covering about 300 acres of land and water near the Kingston Fossil Plant.

No one was injured, but 40 homes in the area were affected. The ash filled three embayments north of the coal-fired plant, covered Swan Pond Road, and flowed into the Emory River. Three homes became uninhabitable because of structural damage.

The work to clean up the gray sludge, which had been four to six feet deep, has been under way since the Dec. 22, 2008, spill. On Friday, officials paused to celebrate two milestones in the six-year, $1.2 billion project. [Read more…]

Sen. Alexander, others introduce bipartisan nuclear waste legislation

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

Four U.S. senators, including Lamar Alexander, introduced a bipartisan, comprehensive plan this week that they said would safeguard and permanently dispose of tens of thousands of tons of dangerous radioactive nuclear waste currently accumulating at sites dispersed across the country.

A press release said the proposal, the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2013, would establish a new nuclear waste administration and create a consent-based process for siting nuclear waste facilities. It would also enable the federal government to “address its commitment to managing commercial nuclear waste, limiting the costly liability the government bears for its failure to dispose of commercial spent fuel.

“The integrated storage and repository system established by this legislation will expand opportunities for nuclear power to supply low-carbon energy, and will provide long-term protection of public health and safety for both commercial and defense high-level waste,” the release said. [Read more…]