Nuclear workers and seniors will be offered free health care screenings, information, and entertainment during the fourth annual Cold War Patriots Resource Fair next week, a press release said.
The fair is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 27 in the New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
Oak Ridge will celebrate its 70th birthday today with historic displays and talks in Jackson Square, special games and activities, a preservation award, and a special free showing of “Fat Man and Little Boy.”
Gen. Leslie R. Groves selected the area that is now Oak Ridge—it was then 90 square miles of East Tennessee farmland—as the first site for Manhattan Project facilities on Sept. 19, 1942. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.
The 70th birthday festivities kick off at 3 p.m. today in Jackson Square.
A new roof system tested at Oak Ridge National Laboratory improves efficiency using controls such as a ventilation system that pulls air from the attic into an air space above the roof. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)
A new roof-and-attic system tested at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory keeps homes cool in summer and prevents heat loss in winter, a press release said.
Among the features designed to improve efficiency are a ventilation system that pulls air from the underbelly of the attic into air space above the roof, the release said.
“Heat that would have gone into the house is carried up and out,” says Bill Miller of ORNL’s Building Envelope Group. “And with a passive ventilation scheme, there are no moving parts, so it’s guaranteed to work.”
Oliver Springs and Clinton have received more than $800,000 in grants for water system improvements and housing rehabilitation, Gov. Bill Haslam announced Tuesday.
Haslam also announced about $1 million total in Community Development Block Grants for sewer system improvements in Lenoir City and a water line extension in Cocke County.
Haslam also announced grants from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for two local parks. One $100,000 grant will help Oliver Springs develop Carmichael Park and expand Arrowhead Park, and a second $22,000 grant will aid the continued development of Marlow Park in Anderson County, a press release said.
Note: This story was updated at 9:58 a.m. Sept. 19.
WSI Oak Ridge workers did not intend to do anything wrong when test questions associated with a federal inspection were distributed to employees in August, the company said in a statement Tuesday.
The test questions and other information were allegedly found in a patrol vehicle on Aug. 29. They were part of a federal investigation after the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and they were not supposed to be shared, a U.S. Department of Energy official said earlier this month.
In its statement Tuesday, WSI Oak Ridge said its investigation, which used independent legal counsel, found that the distribution of the papers was not meant to help employees that could have been tested.
B&W Y-12 recently donated $15,000 to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, a press release said.
The money will be used to turn the museum’s current space exhibit into a “Rocket Room,” taking children on an imaginary trip to Mars. An existing model rocket at the museum will be refurbished, and new interactive activities will bring outer space to preschoolers and other young children, the release said.
East Tennessee teachers accept more than $36,000 in education grants from Oak Ridge Associated Universities during a ceremony last week. (Photo submitted by ORAU)
Oak Ridge Associated Universities awarded more than $36,000 to about two dozen East Tennessee teachers during a grants ceremony last week.
The grants were used to buy educational materials and equipment such as interactive white boards, iPads, robotics kits, computers, and more. The equipment will help teachers “continue to meet rigorous, state-wide curriculum standards and enhance the learning experience of their students,” a press release said.
The grants were awarded to 23 teachers from 15 schools during the 11th annual ORAU Education Grants ceremony.
Officials, volunteers, and business owners celebrate the opening of Dean’s Bakery and Restaurant in Jackson Square during a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The owners of a new restaurant in Jackson Square serve made-from-scratch Southern food, and their meals cost $10 or less.
“It’s good, inexpensive fresh food,” said head chef and co-owner Dean Russell.
Dean’s Restaurant and Bakery opened June 11. It serves such food as fried catfish, turkey and dressing, Big Barney turkey club sandwiches, chicken and dumplings, pot roasts, country-fried steak, fresh vegetables, and steaks on weekends.
The work of a few security guards has been heavily scrutinized and repeatedly criticized since the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
Last week, the criticism came from members of the U.S. House of Representatives, who also directed their frustration at U.S. Department of Energy officials and the plant’s contractors, calling the security breach “appalling” and an “all-out failure.”
But in recent interviews, a guard and union representative defended the performance of the security police officers at Y-12.
“I did my job exactly the way I’ve been trained for 30 years,” said Kirk Garland, who was the first security guard to reach the three anti-nuclear weapons activists who sneaked into Y-12 before dawn on July 28 and vandalized a building where bomb-grade uranium is stored.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation is sponsoring a statewide competition for $1 million of grant funds for special litter projects that go beyond routine maintenance.
Local governments, community organizations, and nonprofits can apply, a press release said. Winning proposals may receive a total of $25,000 to $100,000, which will be used to reimburse expenses each quarter for up to three years.
A Wednesday morning program will introduce business owners and managers to the diversity of government purchasing, a press release said.
Presented by the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, the program will feature Marketing Consultant Paul Middlebrooks. It runs from 9 a.m. to noon at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.
Three positions have been eliminated in the Anderson County Zoning and Public Works Department, and taxpayers can expect to save more than $100,000 each year, Mayor Terry Frank announced Monday.
It’s part of an office restructuring triggered by the economic downturn, Frank said.
A press release said a department planning position and geographic information system, or GIS, coordinator job have both been eliminated. The planning work will now be handled by the East Tennessee Development District, working under a contract with the county. The mayor’s office and property assessor’s office will share a GIS coordinator, “reinstating shared services that have existed in the past.”
