Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Chamber will lay off some workers, Economic Partnership to become dormant

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Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will lay off some employees, and its support corporation, the Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, will become dormant.

Its funding has been cut, and the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is laying off some employees, an official said Monday.

It will be a smaller organization, and the Chamber’s support corporation, the Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, will become dormant, its work absorbed by the Chamber, said Parker Hardy, president and chief executive officer of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

Hardy declined to name the employees who will be laid off or say how many workers might be affected, although he said the information could be shared later. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge woman dies five days after Highway 62 crash

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A 19-year-old Oak Ridge woman died Saturday morning at a Knoxville hospital five days after she drove through a guard rail on state Highway 62 in Morgan County and hit a creek bed, authorities said.

Jaania X. Dickerson was driving north in a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu four-door sedan at about 12:43 p.m. Monday, June 17, when she went off the right side of the road, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said. She then over-corrected and ran through a guard rail on the left side of the road before landing in the creek bed. [Read more…]

Organizers could consider separate weekends for Secret City, Lavender festivals

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Crowd at Secret City Festival

Thousands of people enjoy the Secret City Festival each year, including the Friday and Saturday night concerts.

Most years, the Secret City and Lavender festivals fall on the same weekend in June.

This year, due to the way they’re scheduled, the two festivals landed on separate weekends. And that gave organizers an opportunity to see how the festivals would do on separate weekends.

[Read more…]

Alexander proposes National Day of Remembrance for nuclear workers

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

Earlier this month, U.S. Sen Lamar Alexander introduced a resolution to designate Oct. 30, 2013, as the fifth National Day of Remembrance for nuclear weapons program workers.

“In Tennessee, more than 14,000 workers have made claims for compensation, many of whom worked countless hours with hazardous materials to build our country’s nuclear deterrent,” Alexander said. “Many Americans labored behind the scenes, and Tennesseans—like those from Anderson and Roane counties, for example—filed more claims than any other state. It’s these workers, and those all around the country, whose sacrifice we seek to honor with this day of remembrance.” [Read more…]

TBR approves tuition increases, surgical tech program at Roane State

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The Tennessee Board of Regents on Friday approved maintenance fee and tuition recommendations at its universities and community colleges.

The proposed increases for students taking 15 credit hours would amount to an extra $102 per semester for community college students.

The TBR also approved a new associate of applied science program, a collaborative surgical technology program through Walters State and Roane State community colleges. [Read more…]

No contamination, no injuries in small fire at waste processing center

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Note: This story was updated at 9:03 a.m.

No radiological or hazardous materials were released and no one was injured in a small fire at a waste processing center late Sunday night, federal officials said.

An alert was declared at about 11:45 p.m. Sunday after a fire alarm and sprinkler system activated in Room 327 at Building 7880, which is part of the TRU Waste Processing Center, the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office reported on its Facebook page. An “alert” is an event that has occurred at a building on a DOE site in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Parks director explains change from WWII re-enactments to ‘living history’ at Secret City Festival

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World War II Re-enactment at Secret City Festival

The Secret City Festival has previously included one of the largest World War II re-enactments in the South, pictured above, but organizers changed this year to a “Salute to Soldiers” program. (Archive photo)

It had been one of the largest World War II re-enactments in the South, featuring close to 200 people in a dozen 1940s-era vehicles at the annual Secret City Festival.

An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 spectators watched the two mock battles at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge each year as British and American forces fought and defeated German military personnel.

But this year, the two-day festival did not include the re-enactments. They were replaced by a new “Salute to Soldiers” program that featured World War II living history activities and demonstrations. That program included period military camps, vehicles, equipment, and demonstrations, as well as educational displays. [Read more…]

Rick Springfield concert the largest ever for Secret City Festival

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Rick Springfield at Secret City Festival

The Rick Springfield concert at the Secret City Festival on Saturday was the largest ever for the annual festival, an organizer said.

The Rick Springfield concert at the Secret City Festival on Saturday night was the largest ever for the annual two-day festival, an organizer said.

Final numbers weren’t available Saturday night, but total ticket sales could be somewhere around 3,000, said Joye Montgomery, head of entertainment and tickets and the Secret City Festival representative for the Arts Council of Oak Ridge.

“This is the biggest concert ever,” Montgomery said. [Read more…]

Secret City Festival continues today, ends with Rick Springfield concert

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The Dirty Guv'nahs at Secret City Festival

The Dirty Guv’nahs played at the Friday night concert at the Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge, and Rick Springfield will perform tonight.

The two-day Secret City Festival started yesterday and continues today.

See this Secret City Festival website page for an events schedule. The schedule includes links to the entertainment schedule; youth, children’s, and toddlers’ games and entertainment; and World War II living history demonstrations, a new feature this year.

The festival ends tonight with a concert by Rick Springfield and Casey Abrams from “American Idol.” See www.secretcityfestival.com for more information, or see this previous story on Oak Ridge Today for a summary of events.

Deputies arrest man accused of beating uncle with bat

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Joseph Allen Huskey

Joseph Allen Huskey

A Clinton man accused of beating his uncle with a wooden baseball bat on Saturday and stealing his prescription medications, including Xanax and oxycodone, was arrested Wednesday, authorities said.

Joseph Allen Huskey, 30, has been charged with especially aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and theft, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said. He is being held in the Anderson County Jail under a $152,500 bond.

Huskey allegedly beat his uncle at the Belmont Lane home they shared, breaking a bone in his right leg and bruising his shins, arms, and hands, according to a Sheriff’s Department incident report. [Read more…]

Police: Boy hit by car while riding bike out of driveway, across West Outer

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An Oak Ridge boy was hit by a car while riding a bike from a driveway on West Outer Drive across the road toward Waltham Lane on Thursday afternoon.

A witness said the eight-year-old boy rode in front of the car suddenly, not allowing the driver any time to stop or evade the collision. [Read more…]

Roane County man accused of shooting stepson in leg during dispute

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John Wayne Williams

John Wayne Williams

A Roane County man is accused of shooting his stepson in the leg with a shotgun during a family dispute Thursday night, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office said.

The shooting occurred at about 8:45 p.m. Thursday at 178 Maddox Hollow Road, which is south of Kingston between Watts Bar Lake and Interstate 75. [Read more…]