Oak Ridge Today

City starts sending out sewer rehab letters on Monday

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Beginning next week, residents located in the east end of Oak Ridge should be receiving an information letter in the mail from the city concerning sewer rehabilitation work in the area. The letter is on purple paper and provides general information concerning the sewer work.

Morgan Contracting Inc. will be conducting preconstruction work in the area, a press release said. This work includes tasks such as locating manholes and walking the terrain of the area, so residents may see workers in their yard or along the greenbelt.

The work areas are located: [Read more…]

Sound Company celebrates ‘Greatest Hits’ this weekend

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Sound Company Children's Performing Choir

The Sound Company Children’s Choir is pictured above in a previous performance. (File photo)

Sound Company, Oak Ridge’s Children’s Performing Choir, will present a unique choral performance entitled “Just Sing!” this weekend, a press release said.

The Saturday show features The Nashville Singers. It will start at 5:30 p.m. at the Historic Grove Theater at High Places Church.

The Sunday show begins at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.

The “Just Sing!” shows will include these songs: [Read more…]

Open house offers information on Affordable Care Act on Saturday

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ACA Volunteer Jim Nelson

Affordable Care Act Volunteer Jim Nelson is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

An open house to provide information about the Affordable Care Act, sometimes called “Obamacare,” will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Grace Lutheran Church in Woodland.

Anyone who is interested in learning more about the new health care act is invited to attend this educational event, especially those who need to get health insurance in the new marketplace. Those attending will be able to access both printed information and computers to get online resources, a press release said.

Community volunteers, including some experienced with the Tennessee Health Care Coalition, will be present to make sure their neighbors have access to affordable, quality health care, and accurate information about the ACA, the release said. [Read more…]

Public Defender Marshall seeks re-election in 2014

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Tom Marshall

Tom Marshall

Anderson County Public Defender Tom Marshall has announced that he will seek re-election to a fourth eight-year term in 2014.

Marshall has served as Anderson County public defender since 1989, and he is also an adjunct law professor at Roane State Community College.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina School Of Law, Marshall was appointed Anderson County public defender by Gov. Ned McWherter in 1989, a press release said. He was then elected by Anderson County voters in 1990 and re-elected in 1998 and 2006. [Read more…]

Roane wreck kills one

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Kingston man died in a single-vehicle crash early Friday morning in Harriman.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol reports that Patrick E. Fly of Kingston, 22, had been headed south on Swan Pond Road at around 1:30 a.m. in a Nissan Altima when he failed to negotiate a curve. His car skidded and left the roadway, flipping several times and ejecting Fly, who was not wearing a seatbelt. [Read more…]

Free car winterizations for seniors on Saturday

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The Oak Ridge Senior Center has partnered with local businesses to offer free car winterizations for seniors on Saturday.

The first-of-its-kind event is open to seniors 50 and older at the Senior Center on Emory Valley Road. A 12-point vehicle check will be provided free of charge on a first-come, first-serve basis. The event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. [Read more…]

State school report cards show growth in Anderson, Clinton, Oak Ridge

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Wednesday, the Tennessee Department of Education released the annual state Report Card and local school systems made significant gains.

In Anderson County, assessment scores in elementary and middle schools scored As in math and social studies and Bs in reading and science. A year ago, the system received Bs in math and social studies, a C in reading, and a B in science. [Read more…]

Arson suspected in AC fire

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Information from WYSH Radio

Firefighters from the Andersonville and Medford Volunteer Fire Departments responded to a fire this morning that destroyed a mobile home on Stephens Lane.

No injuries were reported, but the fire is being investigated as a case of arson after authorities discovered what were described as suspicious items at the scene.

More information will be provided as it becomes available.

Flashlights, batteries needed for typhoon relief effort

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Information from WYSH Radio

Kingston City Manager David Bolling has friends in the Philippines, and despite the massive damage caused by last week’s Typhoon Haiyan, was able to speak with them earlier this week.

He took the opportunity to ask them what they needed and how East Tennessee might be able to help. Surprisingly, the answer was that they are in need of flashlights and batteries.

As it happens, Bolling also knows a group that is headed to the Philippines this weekend, so he is spearheading a drive to collect new and used flashlights along with batteries to send with them. [Read more…]

AC Mavericks baseball standout signs to play at Auburn

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Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County High School baseball standout Hunter Tackett signed his scholarship papers on Wednesday to continue his athletic and academic careers at Auburn University.

Congratulations to Hunter Tackett and his family and good luck down on “The Plains!”

NNSA partners with Russia to recover ‘dirty bomb’ material

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WASHINGTON, D.C.— The National Nuclear Security Administration, in partnership with the Russian Federation, has successfully completed the removal of 14 Russian radioisotope thermoelectric generators, or RTGs, from the Northern Sea Route. These devices, which contain high-activity radioactive sources, powered navigational beacons along Russia’s northern coastline. With this removal, the U.S. Department of Energy has completed its efforts to recover RTGs along the Northern Sea Route, a press release said.

RTGs were used for many years in Russia to generate electrical power at remote locations, including lighthouses and navigational beacons. The 14 RTGs recently recovered by DOE contain more than one million curies of strontium-90, a high-activity radioisotope that could be used in a dirty bomb. [Read more…]

ORAU exceeds $100,000 in annual giving campaign for sixth consecutive year

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ORAU Annual Giving

The 2013 ORAU Annual Giving Campaign Chair Sarah Roberts, pictured far right; Co-Chair Michael Ickowitz, pictured far left; ORAU President and CEO Andy Page, pictured second from left; and keynote speaker Edwena Crowe, one of four Crowe Family members serving as the 2013 United Way of Anderson County Campaign Family, reveal ORAU’s combined giving total of $132,109.32.

For the sixth year in a row, Oak Ridge Associated Universities has broken the $100,000 mark in donations as part of the annual giving campaign for the United Way and Community Shares, a press release said.

During a concluding ceremony on Nov. 12 in the ORAU Pollard Technology Conference Center, ORAU President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Page announced the 2013 ORAU Annual Giving Campaign total donation amount—$132,109.32. As part of the total donation, ORAU gave $98,432.34 to the United Way and $33,676.98 to Community Shares. [Read more…]