Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Police Department Junior Police Academy registration opens

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The Fourth Annual Junior Police Academy is being offered again by the Oak Ridge Police Department.

This year, the ORPD will offer one academy for the Junior Class, designed specifically for middle and high school students from June 22-26. Registration is also open to rising fifth-graders to middle school. The ORPD is also offering a Senior Class for former JPA graduates only. The Senior Class offers advanced training and activities. The Senior Class is scheduled from July 6-10.

JPA cadets will be given presentations by several Oak Ridge Police Department officers on topics that include K9 and SWAT operations, traffic stops, and much more, a press release said. Cadets will also visit the prestigious Law Enforcement Innovation Center, Anderson County Detention Facility, and Oak Ridge Police Department, and they will be given a presentation by the Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention, in reference to substance abuse through awareness, and education. [Read more…]

Joint venture CU Insurance Services of Tennessee now open

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CU Insurance Services of TennesseeA new joint venture between Y-12 Federal Credit Union and ORNL Federal Credit Union known as CU Insurance Services of Tennessee LLC is now open, a press release said.

CU Insurance Services of Tennessee was formed to “provide a wide variety of personal insurance solutions to members, including homeowner, automobile, personal umbrella, boat, fire, RV, and motorcycle coverage,” the press release said.

“The new agency represents several top-rated carriers to allow members to customize protection while focusing on a premium payment plan that fits their budget,” the release said. [Read more…]

ADFAC: Give Mom a late Mother’s Day treat—on purpose!

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Popeyes Dine and Donate May 2015

Two children stop by Popeye’s in Oak Ridge for a quick after-school snack. Dedicated to providing “Louisiana Fast” food, Popeye’s menu takes a step outside the box, offering chicken and seafood prepared spicy or blackened. Side items range from freshly made biscuits and Cajun fries to red beans and rice and jambalaya. (Photo submitted by ADFAC)

 

On Monday, May 11—the day after Mother’s Day—several local restaurants will donate a portion of their sales to support Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC.

Across Oak Ridge and Anderson County, these 12 restaurants provide a unique opportunity for a slightly late gift that gives back to the community.

“The moms in our lives do so much to help us and others,” said Cande Seay, chair of the Dine and Donate committee. “A special meal out is a great way to show your appreciation of Mom’s hard work. Dining out on Monday, May 11, at one of our fabulous Dine and Donate restaurants gives you the chance to treat your Mom and pay it forward in her honor!”

Restaurants participating on Monday, May 11, are: [Read more…]

Land Bank has first housing strategy meeting on Thursday

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Oak Ridge Land Bank Housing Strategy

The Oak Ridge Land Bank Corporation will host its first housing strategy meeting on Thursday. The goal is to address the city’s housing situation while building partnerships in a collaborative effort to promote the city “as the place to live and work by improving our community’s neighborhoods,” a press release said.

The work session is scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday, May 14, at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

Agenda items including the state of housing, a mobile tour, and partner presentations by ADFAC (Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties), Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County, Oak Ridge Housing Authority, and Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools has five upcoming budget meetings in May

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Oak Ridge Schools will meet to discuss the Fiscal Year 2016 budget on the following dates:

  • May 13 at 5:30 p.m.—Budget presented to board
  • May 20 at 5:30 p.m.—Budget work session
  • May 21 at 5:30 p.m.—Budget work session
  • May 26 at 5:30 p.m.—Regular meeting of the board and public hearing of budget—First Reading
  • May 27 at 4:30 p.m.—Budget work session (if needed)
  • May 28 at 4:30 p.m.—Adoption of budget—Second Reading

BES Technologies celebrates one million gallons of recycled water

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BES Technologies Rad Waste Water Laundry Operations

BES Technologies LLC, or BEST, has reached a major milestone by recycling one million gallons of radiological waste water through its laundry operations at the East Tennessee Technology Park.

“This represents the prevention of one million gallons of water that would have gone into our environment, but instead was cleaned and re-used,” a press release said. “This recycling process not only avoids environmental insult, but also allows for savings to be passed on to customers by cleaning and reusing water.”

The press release said the laundering service uses a state-of-the-art radiological water treatment system, and it is able to reuse more than 70 percent of the water used in its process. [Read more…]

Roane County Budget Committee meets Monday

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The Roane County Budget Committee will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, May 11, at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston.

The Budget Committee includes Ron Woody, Steve Kelley, Bobby Collier, Randy Ellis, and Ron Berry.

The committee will meet in in the first floor conference room at the courthouse. The meeting on Thursday, May 7, was canceled.

The Budget Committee meetings are open to the public.

Sound Company presents Songs of Seuss on Friday, Saturday

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Sound Company Songs of Seuss

The Sound Company Children’s Choir of Oak Ridge presents Songs of Seuss in historic Grove Theater this weekend. Performances are scheduled for Friday, May 8, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 9, at 3 p.m.

“The rhetorical dexterity of Theodor Seuss Geisel, which inspired the stylings of ‘Seussical the Musical’ on Broadway, is inspiring our young performers today to stretch their imaginations and creativity,” said Sound Company director Katy Wolfe.

“Sound Company vocalists, from elementary to high school ages, will be singing selections from ‘Seussical,’ exploring new ways to express visually and aurally a sense of wonder at the world around them,” Wolfe said in a press release. “Just like the original works of Dr. Seuss, these songs can entertain young and old alike!”

During the performance, you may recognize a certain cat in a red striped hat, the press release said. [Read more…]

Atomic Heritage meets with Japanese mayors to discuss Manhattan Project park

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AHF Meets with Nagasaki and Hiroshima Mayors

AHF President Cindy Kelly with Nagasaki Mayor Tomahisa Taue on her right and Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui on her left. (Photo by AHF)

 

The Atomic Heritage Foundation, the nonprofit organization that worked for 15 years to create a Manhattan Project national park, met with the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this month to discuss how the story of the atomic bomb will be interpreted.

The meeting, which was held at the Institute of International Education at the United Nations Plaza in New York City, marked a “positive first step in opening a dialogue with the Japanese, whose input will be important to the interpretation of the new park,” a press release said. In addition to the two mayors, the Atomic Heritage Foundation also met with Japanese local government officials.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first nuclear weapons during World War II. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will include Oak Ridge; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Hanford, Washington.

The meeting in New York City on Friday, May 1, began with opening remarks from Nagasaki Mayor Tomahisa Taue and Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, who described the suffering of those affected by the atomic bombing, a press release said. They expressed hope that interpretation of the new Manhattan Project Park would not end with the dropping of the bomb but also “focus on what happened under the mushroom cloud.”

The United States dropped one bomb over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, and a second over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Japan surrendered a few days later. Uranium for the first weapon, code-named “Little Boy,” was enriched at federal sites in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

AC seniors rally for new senior center

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Tuesday in Clinton, Anderson County seniors took their quest for a new Senior Center to the front steps of the Courthouse.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 5, seniors convened in front of the Courthouse carrying signs indicating their desire for a new senior center and reminding county officials that they and their demands are not going anywhere.

Currently housed in a small facility in downtown Clinton, the Office on Aging—which serves as the de facto Senior Center—and the Council on Aging have been actively searching for a suitable building. A couple of months ago, they thought they had found a suitable location for a Senior Center, but that deal fell through when the rent turned out to be higher than the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency—or ETHRA—was willing to pay. ETHRA provides a significant portion of the Office’s budget. [Read more…]

Total reported crimes down 18 percent in Oak Ridge

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There was an overall 18 percent drop in reported crimes in Oak Ridge in 2014, officials said Thursday.

The annual numbers, which compared 2014 to 2013, were released by the Oak Ridge Police Department and the City of Oak Ridge.

Anderson County released its annual crime statistics on Wednesday, and they showed crime was down in all of the county and its cities by 12 percent in 2014—and down by 42 percent over the last eight years.

The Oak Ridge numbers were generated by Oak Ridge Police Department Crime Analyst David Gordon in coordination with the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office.

“The Police Department achieved reductions in crime from last year in many categories,” a City of Oak Ridge press release said. “However, some are of particular note and should be highlighted.

“Here is a quick summary of the attachment for 2014 crime stats (compared to 2013), with an approximate +/- factor of .5 percent, which includes those reductions which are most significant: [Read more…]

DA: Crime down 12 percent in Anderson County

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Crime dropped 12 percent in Anderson County and its cities in 2014, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said Wednesday.

It’s the eighth year in a row that crime has dropped, according to statistics released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Clark said in a press release. He said crime is down 42 percent in the county and its cities during the past eight years.

During that same period, crime was down in Tennessee by an “impressive” 16 percent, Clark said.

“However, locally, we have more than doubled the crime reduction that has been accomplished across the state,” he said. [Read more…]