Oak Ridge Today

Foundation led efforts to create Manhattan Project Park

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Cindy-Kelly-Victor-Knox-Stephanie-Toothman-Nov-10-2015

AHF President Cindy Kelly with NPS Associate Directors Victor Knox and Stephanie Toothman. (Photo by Atomic Heritage Foundation)

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Atomic Heritage Foundation on Tuesday welcomed the official establishment of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park with units at Los Alamos, New Mexico; Hanford, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In a ceremony at the Interior Department on Tuesday morning, U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell signed an agreement that defines the respective roles of the Department of Energy and the National Park Service in implementing the new park, a press release said.

“Today is a milestone for Manhattan Project history,” said Foundation President Cynthia C. Kelly, who attended the ceremony along with the Foundation’s staff. “For more than a decade, the Atomic Heritage Foundation and our partners have been working to preserve Manhattan Project sites and create the park. The national park is long overdue and will provide Americans with an important opportunity to understand the Manhattan Project and its complex legacy for the world today.”

The sites of the Manhattan Project Park “are among the world’s most significant places, where work was done that changed the human world forever,” said Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Making of the Atomic Bomb” and a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. [Read more…]

Police investigate alleged animal cruelty but find no evidence to file charges

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The Oak Ridge Police Department has investigated a report of animal cruelty after a social media post said a dog had allegedly been smothered by its owner, but there is no evidence that allows charges to be filed, authorities said Tuesday.

The ORPD received the complaint of possible animal cruelty on Sunday, November 8, a press release said. Officers investigated the complaint and conducted interviews with a complainant, an employee of a local veterinary clinic, and the owner of the dog, who claimed her pet was being treated for severe heartworm issues, the press release said.

“The owner of the dog advised that her pet was very ill, and she put it down for compassionate reasons,” the release said. “Results of the investigation are being forwarded to the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office for further review. However, per Tennessee Criminal Law (TCA 39-14-212/Aggravated Cruelty to an Animal), no evidence exists at this time which allows officers to file charges against the owner of the dog.”

No other information is available at this time, the City of Oak Ridge said in the press release.

ORAU to honor veterans with event, open to community

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Oak Ridge Associated Universities will honor veterans in a Veterans Day event that is open to the community on Tuesday morning.

Lieutenant Colonel Martin Hartley, 151st Air Refueling Squadron commander, Tennessee Air National Guard, is scheduled to be the keynote speaker.

Entertainment will be provided by The Southern Brass along with a presentation of colors by the Anderson County High School ROTC.

The ceremony starts at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, November 10, at Pollard Technology Conference Center at 100 ORAU Way in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

ORPD: Power outage in west Oak Ridge may affect traffic lights

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There was a power outage on the west end of Oak Ridge on Monday morning, and it could affect traffic lights, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

In a text alert, the ORPD said utility workers are aware of the outage.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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Former POW featured at Veterans Day program on Tuesday

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William A. Robinson

William A. Robinson

A Veterans Day program on Tuesday will feature a former prisoner of war who is a retired U.S. Air Force captain.

William A. Robinson will be the featured speaker at the 10 a.m. program on Tuesday, November 10, at the American Museum of Science and Energy. It’s hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

The program is titled “To Those Who Watch for Us.” It’s in “honor of the courageous men and women who serve and have served in our nation’s armed forces,” a press release said.

The program, scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, is open to employees and the public. [Read more…]

Veterans/Armistice Day observed on Wednesday at Civic Center

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Submitted

A Veterans/Armistice Day observance will be held on Wednesday, November 11, at 11 a.m. in Meeting Rooms A/B in the Oak Ridge Civic Center. Veterans and members of the public are invited to attend the program, which will feature music, reflections, and poetry to celebrate peace and to honor those who have served our country in the military.

If you were born after 1960, there is a good chance you don’t know that November 11 is Armistice Day, as well as Veterans Day. Armistice Day celebrates the coming of peace at the end of World War I, once optimistically referred to as “The War To End All Wars.” It became an official U.S. holiday in 1926 and is still celebrated in Europe at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to commemorate the signing of the armistice at that moment in 1918.

Veterans Day was established as a U.S. holiday by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954 to honor all those who had served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Ever since, Armistice Day has been overshadowed in the U.S. [Read more…]

Public meeting Thursday to discuss ideas for Manhattan Project Park

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K-25 Building Aerial View

Now demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building, pictured above, was once used to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. Located in west Oak Ridge, the site could become part of a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

 

A Thursday evening meeting will focus on collecting ideas for the implementation of the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park staff will be represented, a press release said.

It’s the regular November meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. It starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 12, at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Roberstville Road.

The meeting will be held at the end of a day of: [Read more…]

Basketball: Meet the Wildcats Night is Tuesday

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Logo

The Oak Ridge High School basketball teams are participating in Meet the Wildcats Night at 6 p.m. Tuesday, November 10, in the Wildcat Arena. The public is invited, and admission is free.

The night will include boys and girls scrimmages, three-point contests, and slam dunk contests.

The girls basketball team will host a silent auction in the arena, and sample sandwiches will be given away.

“Bring the family for a fun-packed Tuesday evening with the basketball Wildcats!” organizers said.

Football photos: Oak Ridge and Soddy Daisy

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Oak Ridge Tee Higgins and Soddy Daisy Brandon Davis Nov. 5, 2015

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) makes a catch behind a fallen Brandon Davis (3) of Soddy Daisy during a 45-33 win for the Wildcats in a Class 5A football playoff game on Blankenship Field on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015.
(Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Oak Ridge Tee Higgins and Soddy Daisy Brandon Davis Nov. 5, 2015

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) jumps to catch the football over Brandon Davis (3) of Soddy Daisy during a 45-33 win for the Wildcats in a Class 5A football playoff game on Blankenship Field on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This post was updated at 5:45 p.m.

Oak Ridge beat Soddy Daisy 45-33 on big plays and turnovers in the first round of the 2015 Class 5A football playoffs on Blankenship Field on Thursday. Here are photos by Julio Culiat.

We will continue to add photo captions as we can.
[Read more…]

Y-12, ORNL tours offered Nov. 12 to celebrate new Manhattan Project Park

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DOE Public Bus Tour

A previous public bus tour of the U.S. Department of Energy’s facilities in Oak Ridge. (File photo courtesy DOE/Lynn Freeny)

 

Public bus tours will be offered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex on Thursday, November 12, as part of the celebration of the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The new park, which is still being set up, includes Oak Ridge.

The special-access tours at ORNL and Y-12 are part of other planned activities in Oak Ridge, and they will include a peek inside Y-12’s Building 9731 and 9204-3 (Beta 3) and ORNL’s historic Graphite Reactor.

Y-12 and Clinton Laboratories—the wartime name for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory—were constructed as part of the Manhattan Project in 1943. The Y-12 Plant provided the Uranium-235 needed for Little Boy, the world’s first nuclear weapon used in warfare. The historic Graphite Reactor at X-10 (now ORNL) proved that plutonium could be produced in a uranium reactor on an industrial scale. These facilities will eventually become a part of the Oak Ridge location of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge conducts city-wide disaster training today

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The City of Oak Ridge will be conducting a city-wide exercise of the Emergency Management System and Emergency Operations Center today. The full-participation exercise will begin at 11:15 this morning (Thursday, November 5) at Oak Ridge Fire Department headquarters located in the Municipal Building at 200 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The drill was planned and is administered by 10 instructors from across the United States and former Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency managers and trainers. The lead instructor is Phil McLaughlin, owner of the McLaughlin Training Group, a press release said. Chief McLaughlin is the retired deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Fire Department.

All city departments are represented in today’s drill, along with representatives from Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Anderson County Health Department, American Red Cross, Civil Air Patrol, Oak Ridge Schools, Methodist Medical Center, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the city manager’s office. [Read more…]

Family of Hannah Morris has receiving of friends, celebration of life on Sunday

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Hannah Kopp Morris

Hannah Kopp Morris

The family of Hannah Kopp Morris, a 20-year-old Oak Ridger who died after an accident in Pennsylvania on Thursday, will have a receiving of friends and celebration of Hannah’s life in Oak Ridge on Sunday.

Morris was a junior at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She was fatally injured when she was hit by a sport utility vehicle while crossing North Main street in Meadville at about 10:44 p.m. Thursday, according to the Meadville Tribune newspaper.

Morris, a neuroscience major, was taken to Meadville Medical Center for treatment, but was pronounced dead at 12:40 a.m. Friday, the newspaper reported. Her death was ruled accidental due to multiple blunt force trauma. [Read more…]