The Midtown Community Center on Robertsville Road is pictured above. (Submitted photo)
In August, the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association announced that it was opening the historic Midtown Community Center to the public on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and the organization has plans for a new Oak Ridge History Museum.
The announcement was made by the ORHPA’s Oak Ridge History Museum Committee.
The Midtown Community Center is open to the public: [Read more…]
Ed Westcott was the official government photographer in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. (File photo)
A Manhattan Project National Historical Park program this month will focus on three unique Manhattan Project employees: Ed Westcott, Ernest Wilkins Jr., and Leona Woods.
The program is free. It is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Saturday, September 22, at the historic Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge.
“We will delve into Leona Woods’ contribution as one of the few female scientists, Ed Westcott’s influential photography as the Manhattan Project’s only official photographer, and Ernest Wilkins Jr.’s lasting impact on the fields of mathematics, science, and engineering,” a press release said. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Fire Department will host a “Stop the Bleed” course on Tuesday, September 18, at 6 p.m. Participation is limited to 20 people, and there is no cost involved in taking the course.
Stop the Bleed is a national awareness campaign and call-to-action, a press release said. Stop the Bleed is intended to cultivate grassroots efforts that encourage bystanders to become trained, equipped, and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives, the press release said.
“No matter how quickly emergency crews are able to respond, bystanders will always be first on the scene,” the press release said. “An injured person can die from blood loss within minutes, so working quickly to stop the bleeding is imperative. By learning what simple actions to take following a traumatic injury, you may be able to save a life.”
Stop the Bleed classes are taught at Oak Ridge Fire Department Station 3, which is located at 333 Tuskegee Drive in Oak Ridge. To register for one of the free courses, call (865) 425-3520 or send an email to emocsari@oakridgetn.gov.
Visual of the location of the new bridge over the Clinch River connecting downtown Clinton to South Clinton. (Image via Clinton Mayor Scott Burton/Facebook)
The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce will show a video this month that will include 3D animations of the new bridge over the Clinch River in downtown Clinton and other images highlighting a new downtown vision.
The video, titled “Clinton: The Downtown Vision,” will be shown from 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, September 25, at Faith Promise’s Anderson County campus, which is at 96 Mariner Point Drive, a press release said.
“The Chamber has partnered with QK4 Inc. to create a video that showcases 3D animations of the new ‘green bridge,’ streetscapes, and more of what the vision holds,” the press release said. “This will be the first time that the video has been shown publicly.” [Read more…]
A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)
The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider whether to issue bonds of up to $16.5 million to build a new Oak Ridge Preschool and Oak Ridge Senior Center, and redevelop Scarboro Park.
The two projects have an estimated cost of roughly $16 million, according to the City Council agenda for Monday. The bond resolution includes about $500,000 extra for the costs of issuing the bonds and for project contingencies.
The Preschool and Scarboro Park improvements have a total estimated cost of about $12.5 million. About $11.1 million of that is for construction.
The Senior Center has a total estimated cost of roughly $3.5 million. About $3.1 million of that is for construction. [Read more…]
A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)
The City of Oak Ridge has opened the bidding period for two major projects: the new Oak Ridge Preschool with Scarboro Park improvements and the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. Interested parties must submit bids before the deadline early next month. Studio Four Design Inc. of Knoxville is the architectural firm chosen to design both buildings.
The new preschool will be a single-story facility of about 33,000 square feet on Carver Avenue. The build site is inside Scarboro Park, a roughly 10-acre parcel, a press release said. The project includes improvements to the adjacent park area such as lighted basketball/tennis courts, a baseball field, a public pavilion, green space, and a walking trail.
The current senior center is temporarily operating out of the Civic Center’s Recreation Building. The new senior center will be built next door, just to the west of the Recreation Center. The single-story, approximately 11,000 square foot facility will overlook part of A.K. Bissell Park. Plans include a large kitchen, craft and exercise rooms, billiards parlor, lounge, and other common space, the press release said. [Read more…]
Clarissa Sharee Tindell
A Knoxville woman who fled from the Tennessee Highway Patrol in a car in Anderson County last year as methamphetamine and heroin were discarded from the moving vehicle pleaded guilty to four charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison on Tuesday.
About 60 grams of methamphetamine and less than a gram of heroin were thrown out of a car window and two patrol vehicles were hit during the police chase, which started in Clinton and ended in Rocky Top on Sunday, July 30, 2017, according to court proceedings and affidavits.
The plea agreement hearing for the driver of the 1992 Honda Accord, Clarissa Sharee Tindell, 25, was Tuesday in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. Her plea was by information, meaning she entered a plea before she was formally charged in an indictment by the Anderson County Grand Jury. Early pleas can lead to agreements more favorable to defendants.
Tindell, who was represented by defense attorney Paul Sexton of Oak Ridge, had been charged earlier in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton in a case that included additional counts such as aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during a felony, speeding (117 mph in a 45 mph zone), and failure to yield the right of way, among other charges. Those charges were waived to the Grand Jury on June 6. [Read more…]
The Visitor’s Overlook, part of the Happy Valley property purchased in November 2016, is pictured above across from East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
K-25 Overlook will be ‘bigger and better,’ provide Manhattan Project and recreational information
The K-25 Overlook next to State Route 58 in west Oak Ridge will soon be re-opening as a much larger and nicer visitor center that will also have a new purpose, a press release said.
Owner John McCormick, vice president of Bionomics, purchased the 160-acre property known as Happy Valley through an auction at the end of 2016. The overlook on SR 58 across from the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, was part of the purchase.
But the overlook needed building repairs and updates to the historical information inside, the press release said. In 2017, McCormick partnered with Pam May, vice president of the Roane Alliance, who reached out to local historians, the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Energy, and Explore Oak Ridge to discuss the future of the overlook.
“The idea to expand the overlook into a visitor center and recreational hub came from the National Park Service in one of the early meetings,” May said. “That aligned perfectly with what John had envisioned—to create trails and open spaces that people could enjoy while also learning Happy Valley’s history through its landmarks still evident on the property.” [Read more…]
The American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge on Monday, Jan. 2, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The flat top house at the American Museum of Science and Energy is moving from its current location on South Tulane Avenue.
The new location hasn’t been announced yet, although an announcement about the move will be made Monday by representatives of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.
The AMSE location on South Tulane Avenue has been used for more than 40 years. But it closed in late July because the museum is moving to a new location at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall. The new AMSE will be near JCPenney on the northeast side of Main Street Oak Ridge. It is scheduled to open in October. [Read more…]
Anderson County Commissioners are pictured above after being sworn in at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. At center front (third from left) is Tracy Wandell, who was elected chair by the other commissioners, and at right front is Jerry Creasey, who was elected vice chair. (Photo courtesy Shannon Wandell)
Information from WYSH Radio
Newly elected and re-elected Anderson County commissioners were sworn in Tuesday morning at the Courthouse in Clinton.
Following the swearing-in ceremony, commissioners held a brief meeting during which they elected Tracy Wandell to serve as the next chair of the Commission, succeeding Tim Isbel.
Longtime Commissioner Jerry Creasey was elected vice chair. [Read more…]
The Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge over the Clinch River in downtown Clinton is pictured above in December 2013. (File photo/Oak Ridge Today)
Information from WYSH Radio
Wednesday afternoon, a pre-construction meeting for the project to replace the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge over the Clinch River in Clinton was held at the Knoxville regional office of the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
Contractor Blalock and Sons Construction announced during the meeting that traffic warning signs marking the project will be installed next week, with the project officially getting started on Monday, September 17.
Recently-retired Clinton Public Works Director Lynn Murphy is acting as a consultant for the city and will serve as the liasion between Blalock, the state and the city. On Wednesday, Murphy said that he has requested a seven-day notice for the eventual closing of Riverside Drive between Meadowbrook Street and South Seivers Boulevard, which will also include the boat launch under the current span connecting Clinton and South Clinton on Highway 25W. A natural gas line and a sanitary sewer pipe running underneath Riverside will have to be excavated and relocated as part of the project. [Read more…]
Safety Fest TN is next week in Oak Ridge. Safety Fest TN is an annual community event that offers more than 90 free safety classes and demonstrations to residents and companies, a press release said.
Safety Fest TN is scheduled from September 10-14. This year’s training classes will be offered at Y-12’s New Hope Center, ORAU’s Pollard Technical Center, and other local venues.
Registration and a complete list of classes can be found at www.safetyfesttn.org. [Read more…]
