Oak Ridge Today

Court will not limit time for jury examination in Y-12 protester case

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A federal judge will not limit the time used to examine prospective jurors during jury selection on May 6 in the trial against three anti-nuclear weapons activists accused of breaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex last summer and vandalizing a uranium storage building.

As previously reported, attorneys for the defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—had asked for six hours for jury selection because of the publicity the unprecedented security breach has generated. [Read more…]

Solar company, German Energy Agency dedicate first U.S. solar project

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Vis Solis Solar Park

Local and state officials joined business executives and German officials at a Thursday ribbon-cutting ceremony for a 50 kilowatt photovoltaic solar array at Heritage Center.

Note: This story was updated at 9:25 a.m. April 29.

A Tennessee solar company and the German Energy Agency, or dena, celebrated their first U.S. solar project Thursday, a 50 kilowatt photovoltaic solar array at Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge.

The array includes seven ground-mounted trackers that are 20 feet high. They each include 28-30 solar panels. The trackers adjust themselves to capture the most sunlight, using two sensors each to adjust from east to west and tilting up and down.

It’s a public-private partnership involving dena and Vis Solis LLC of Franklin, Tenn., a subsidiary of Vis Solis GmbH in Breesen, Germany. Also involved is German manufacturer DEGERenergie.

It’s a $250,000 to $300,000 investment, said Carlos Mayer, Vis Solis chief executive officer. [Read more…]

City sponsors co-ed flag football tournament on May 18

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a “Just for Fun” Co-ed Flag Football Tournament at Robertsville Middle School on Saturday, May 18.

The entry fee for this double elimination tournament is $150. The tournament will be limited to the first 8 teams to register by May 11. All participants must be at least 18 years of age. [Read more…]

House committee passes bill to set up Manhattan Project National Park

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

A U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation to establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that would include sites in Oak Ridge and Hanford, Wash., and Los Alamos, N.M.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

The legislation stalled in the last session of Congress, but it has been reintroduced this session. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge High School again ranked sixth best in Tennessee

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Oak Ridge High School has been ranked sixth-best in Tennessee in the 2013 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s Best High Schools.

Oak Ridge was also No. 6 last year. [Read more…]

Alexander, Corker support legislation to allow states to collect online sales taxes

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker announced their support this week for federal legislation that would allow states to collect sales taxes on items bought online and through catalogs.

“Currently, remote businesses do not have to collect sales taxes in the states they sell into, while brick-and-mortar businesses do, creating a price disadvantage,” said Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.

He said the Marketplace Fairness Act would grant states the option to require that remote businesses, such as those selling online or through catalogs, collect sales taxes on purchases within states’ borders. The U.S. Senate voted 74-20 on Monday to begin debating the legislation. [Read more…]

Watson’s budget proposes same tax rate, less funding for Chamber, ORCVB

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The budget proposed by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson on Monday would not raise property taxes, but it would slash funding for the Chamber of Commerce, and Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The ORCVB funding could be cut from $410,000 to $300,000, Watson told City Council members during a Monday night work session. The city needs “more heads in beds,” more people staying here and more events, Watson said.

The chamber’s contract with the city is now worth about $260,000. The city could instead use $125,000 for funding of services and projects—sending city officials on recruiting trips, for example—and spend $55,000 on memberships in organizations such as the Roane Alliance and Anderson County Economic Development Association. [Read more…]

Y-12 protesters arrested during demonstration will not contest charges, group says

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OREPA March to Y-12

Three members of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance will not contest the charges filed against them during this April 6 march from the Oak Ridge Civic Center to the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Three members of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance will not contest charges filed against them for impeding the flow of traffic during an April 6 demonstration that ended at the Y-12 National Security Complex, the group said in a press release Monday.

The three OREPA members were arrested as about 70 protesters marched from the Oak Ridge Civic Center to Y-12 during an annual spring demonstration. [Read more…]

Former attorney general says Y-12 work unlawful, nuclear weapons should be eliminated

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Ramsey Clark

Ramsey Clark

Note: This story was updated at 3:54  p.m.

KNOXVILLE—A former U.S. attorney general who said he has been involved in many cases that address the legality and wisdom of the nation’s nuclear arms policy on Tuesday said he supported the mission of the three protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July, splashing blood and spray-painting slogans on a building that stores most of the country’s bomb-grade uranium.

“I agree absolutely with their purpose, which is to eliminate nuclear weapons,” said Ramsey Clark, who was U.S. attorney general from 1967-1969.

The three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—face a May 7 trial in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. Clark could testify for them. [Read more…]

Closed-circuit TV may be used for jury selection in Y-12 protester case

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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. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

There could be 70 potential jurors during jury selection for the May 7 trial against three protesters accused of breaking into Y-12 National Security Complex last summer, so supporters and reporters might not be allowed in the courtroom.

One defense attorney said there would be a problem fitting everyone into even the largest courtroom in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, but another said jury selection is part of the trial and should be open to the public.

U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar said federal officials may try to set up a closed-circuit television system for jury selection, which could last several hours. [Read more…]

Motive unknown for Sunday shooting at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant; suspect could be male

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Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

A Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman declined to speculate on a motive for a Sunday morning shooting at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Rhea County, but he said the suspect could be a male wearing a dark-colored sweatshirt with a hood.

Other than that, officials have little information on the suspect, who appears to have fled in a small boat, TVA spokesman Jim Hopson said Monday.

“It was difficult to provide any kind of description,” he said.

The unidentified man was spotted by a nuclear security officer at about 2 a.m. Sunday. The guard was on a routine patrol in a pickup truck on the perimeter of the 1,700-acre plant. As the officer came around a curve, the truck’s headlights illuminated a person on the shore of the Tennessee River, on the eastern side of the plant and near its southern boundary. [Read more…]

Delivery truck scrapes against railroad trestle, carries away large steel beam

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Potters Truck and Elza Drive Railroad Trestle

A large steel beam rests on a Potter’s Home Center delivery truck after the top of the truck scraped against the bottom of a railroad trestle on Elza Drive on Friday morning.

A delivery truck for Potter’s Home Center scraped against the bottom of a railroad trestle on Elza Drive on Friday morning, and a large steel beam from the bridge ended up on top of the truck, authorities said.

The 1997 Ford F80 truck was driven by Dennis Randolf Neal, 44, of Jamestown. He was not injured.

An Oak Ridge Police Department report said the bridge is marked with 11’5″ signs. Neal told police he had driven through the area before. [Read more…]