Oak Ridge Today

Special Council meeting tonight on school debt, EPA settlement

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Oak Ridge City Council tonight will discuss an agreement that could resolve a months-old dispute with the School Board over debt payments for the city’s $65 million high school renovation.

At issue is the amount of money the Oak Ridge school system should transfer to the city to help cover the payments. The dispute primarily centers on the use of money raised by a half-cent sales tax increase approved by Anderson County voters in 2006.

One school board member has argued that the schools have overpaid the city by $1.4 million, while others contend that the school system owes the city hundreds of thousands of dollars and must pay it.

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New Eddie Hair gas pumps now open

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New gas pumps at Eddie Hair Tire in Oak Ridge

A steady stream of customers buy gas at a dozen new pumps at Eddie Hair Tire in Oak Ridge on Monday. The new pumps have been open about a week, and the expanded station at the redeveloped corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Georgia Avenue sells 100 percent gas as well as the more common gas-ethanol mixture.

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Anderson County committee discusses no-tax-increase budget today

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An Anderson County committee this afternoon will consider a budget that doesn’t include a tax increase or an additional $2 million requested by the Sheriff’s Department.

Anderson County Mayor Myron Iwanski said the extra $2 million requested by Sheriff Paul White would increase his department’s budget by 20 percent in the fiscal year that begins July 1. The sheriff’s budget has already doubled during the past six years, Iwanski said.

The mayor said the sheriff could make minor adjustments in his $10 million budget and the assignments of his 175 authorized employees. Those adjustments would allow the dormitory at the overcrowded jail to be staffed until a new pod is built. That pod will have extra beds that can be rented to produce the revenue to hire more jailers, Iwanski said.

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Rowing clubs race in Oak Ridge

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Rowers race Saturday in the April 2012 SIRA regatta on the Clinch River in Oak Ridge

Rowers race Saturday in the Southeastern Intercollegiate Rowing Association regatta at the Oak Ridge Marina. Sixty-four rowing clubs from 22 states competed in the weekend regatta.

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Breakfast with Legislators on Monday morning

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Local legislators will meet with the public on Monday morning at Breakfast with the Legislators at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The hour-long breakfast, likely the last this year, starts at 7:30 a.m. in the Civic Center Social Room at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

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Planners and protesters participate in Thursday forum

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PlanET Group Discussion

Emily Woodle, City of Knoxville Community Development project specialist, left, and Jim Dickson, YMCA of East Tennessee president and chief executive officer, help rank top regional issues during a PlanET forum Thursday.

Their mission challenged by protesters, several dozen regional leaders who met in Oak Ridge on Thursday said poor air quality, drug abuse, and the large number of low-skilled jobs are among the issues that ought to be addressed as a new five-county plan is developed.

Other top-priority issues include improving regional school quality, reducing the obesity rate, and providing access to affordable housing and more transportation alternatives.

A protestor at the April 19 PlanET meeting

Knoxville resident Kevin Desmond protests outside a PlanET meeting at Flatwater Grill on Thursday.

Thursday’s forum was organized by PlanET, and about 75 people attended, including an estimated 30 protesters inside and more outside. The protesters were concerned about property rights and wanted to know, specifically, what PlanET might propose.

Some also tied the planning process to Agenda 21, a United Nations resolution passed in 1992 that was designed to encourage nations to use fewer resources and conserve open land by steering development to already dense areas.

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Jada Blade plays Lincoln’s on Saturday

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Local rock band Jada Blade plays at Lincoln’s Sports Grille in Oak Ridge at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 21.

Chamber of Commerce has Fiesta Primetime today

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Parker Hardy at Primetime

Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce President Parker Hardy cooks hot dogs at a Primetime business-to-business expo in October 2011.

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has its Fiesta-themed Primetime networking event today.

Primetime starts at 4:30 p.m. at New Hope Center at 602 Scarboro Road.

It’s the Chamber’s premier networking event of the spring and designed to stimulate sales, so anyone—Chamber member or not—is encouraged to attend.

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Celebration of the Young Child at Children’s Museum April 27

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Barbara Bailey Hutchison, a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter, will be the featured performer April 27 at the Celebration of the Young Child at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The celebration offers family entertainment and children’s activities from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the museum, which is located at 461 W. Outer Drive. Hutchison will perform from 10-10:30 a.m. with finely crafted songs and clever stories that entertain and inspire young audiences.

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Two Y-12 workers honored by NNSA

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Harry Peters

Peters

Kathy Bracic

Bracic

Two employees at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge have been honored by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Defense Programs.

The two workers, Harry Peters from the Y-12 Site Office and Kathy Bracic of B&W Y-12’s Facility Engineering Organization, have been named NNSA DP Employee of the Quarter.

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Auto partnership could make cars lighter, more fuel-efficient

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Cars and trucks could become lighter and more fuel-efficient under a joint partnership announced last week that makes use of research conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The joint partnership between Ford Motor Co. and Dow Automotive Systems seeks to develop low-cost, high-volume carbon fiber composites for next-generation vehicles. It will leverage work that The Dow Chemical Company has already begun through partnerships with ORNL.

Ford wants to cut the weight of new cars and trucks by up to 750 pounds by the end of the decade. It’s a key component of the company’s strategy to improve fuel efficiency, according to an ORNL press release.

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New Senior Center supporters could outnumber opponents

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Oak Ridge City Council

At Monday's City Council meeting, Linda Daugherty, right, of the University of Tennessee, presents survey results that suggest supporters of a new Oak Ridge Senior Center could outnumber opponents. Also pictured are Council members Charlie Hensley, left, and David Mosby.

Building a new Oak Ridge senior center has been hotly debated for more than a decade, and opinions about replacing the current center on Emory Valley Road remain divided.

Still, a recent survey by the University of Tennessee suggested supporters of a new center could outnumber opponents.

Almost half of those who responded to the survey, or 49 percent of respondents, said they either somewhat strongly or strongly support building a new center. That’s more than double the 21.2 percent who said they are somewhat or strongly opposed.

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