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Information about Oak Ridge Schools registration, orientation

Posted at 3:09 pm July 2, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

All students new to Oak Ridge Schools need to register at their respective schools from Monday, July 9, to Wednesday, July 20, from 9 a.m. to noon. Parents who pre-registered kindergartners in May also need to complete the registration process on those dates, a press release said.

Registration for new students in grades 9-12 will be made by appointment only, the press release said. For more information regarding high school registration, contact the registrar at (865) 425-9524. Information necessary for new student registration includes the following:

  1. Child’s birth certificate (a certified copy for school records, not the hospital copy or mother’s copy)
  2. Child’s Social Security number (optional)
  3. Health insurance provider
  4. The Tennessee Department of Health Certificate of Immunization available from your doctor or Health Department consisting of two parts:
    • Immunizations — A Tennessee Department of Health Certificate of Immunization form showing the complete dates (month, day, and year) immunizations were administered.
    • Health Examination — A physical examination is required for all children entering Tennessee schools (K-12). Oak Ridge Schools require a physical examination current since January 1 of the year the student will enter kindergarten. Students entering the seventh grade will also need to provide proof of the T-dap immunization.
  5. Grades 1-12 only — Provide the name, address, and phone number of the school(s) where your child previously attended or provide report cards or withdrawal forms.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Front Page News, K-12 Tagged With: Jefferson Middle School, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools, orientation, registration, Robertsville Middle School

Oak Ridge ranked No. 4 in nation for ‘green power’ sales rate

Posted at 2:34 pm July 2, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Electric Department worker on a utility pole. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge Electric Department worker on a utility pole. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Electric Department has ranked number four in the nation on a list of Top 10 utility “green power” programs, officials said.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, granted the award to the Oak Ridge Electric Department in recognition of its leadership in voluntary renewable energy programs, a press release said.

The Oak Ridge Electric Department was ranked number four on the NREL list for Top Green Power Sales Rate in 2017, achieving a sales rate of 7.09 percent.

“The City of Oak Ridge Electric Department has made great strides in promoting renewable energy solutions, and CORED customers are active participants in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Green Power Switch (GPS) and Green Power Switch Southeastern RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates) programs,” the press release said. “These programs allow residential and commercial customers to support the environment through the purchase renewable energy. Both programs are Green-e Energy certified.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: green power, green power programs, green power sales rate, Green Power Switch, Jack Suggs, Marlene Bannon, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Electric Department, Tennessee Valley Authority, Top Green Power Sales Rate, TVA

Workers demolish contaminated building at ETTP

Posted at 2:09 pm July 2, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Crews began tearing down Building K-633 at the East Tennessee Technology Park in May 2018 and completed the project in June. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

Crews began tearing down Building K-633 at the East Tennessee Technology Park in May 2018 and completed the project in June. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

 

One of the most contaminated buildings left at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, has been demolished, federal officials said.

Demolition crews began tearing down Building K-633, which was once used to evaluate uranium enrichment equipment, in May and completed the project in June, according to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.

The work was done by the Oak Ridge environmental management, or EM, program and its cleanup contractor URS|CH2M Oak Ridge, or UCOR.

“This project eliminates one of the most contaminated remaining buildings at the East Tennessee Technology Park,” DOE said.

Building K-633—the K-633 Test Loop Facility—is the fourth building Oak Ridge’s EM program has removed from ETTP’s Poplar Creek area since last year, DOE said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Front Page News, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Building K-633, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, EM, environmental management, ETTP, gas centrifuge enrichment, gaseous diffusion, K-25 site, K-633 Test Loop Facility, Karen Deacon, Office of Environmental Management, Poplar Creek area, Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, uranium enrichment equipment, URS|CH2M Oak Ridge

First of its kind, Family Drug Treatment Court opening in Anderson County

Posted at 12:59 pm July 2, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Family Drug Treatment Court Ribbon Cutting July 11 2018

A Family Drug Treatment Court, the first of its kind in Anderson County, launched this week, and there will be a ribbon-cutting next week, a press release said.

The Anderson County Family Drug Treatment Court will be called R2: The Recovery and Resilience Program, the press release said.

R2 is a program for juvenile offenders who have substance misuse issues and have not been successful in maintaining drug abstinence. The program is a minimum of nine months and will incorporate treatment, family therapy, and group therapy paired with accountability and goal setting, the press release said.

“By addressing barriers in the home, we will enable adolescents in Anderson County to break free from the grip of generational drug abuse, setting them up to be successful contributors to our society,” said Anderson County Juvenile Court Judge Brian Hunt.

The press release said the program has been a priority for a large number of stakeholders in the community for many years. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Community, Courts, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Nonprofits, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Anderson County Family Drug Treatment Court, Anderson County Juvenile Court, Anderson County Schools, ASAP of Anderson, Brian Hunt, City of Rocky Top, drug abstinence, drug abuse, Family Drug Treatment Court, family therapy, group therapy, juvenile offenders, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, Oak Ridge Schools, R2: The Recovery and Resilience Program, substance misuse, Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs, United Way of Anderson County

Exclusive: Cromwell, co-defendants sentenced to 20-50 years for fraudulent liens

Posted at 2:38 pm June 30, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge resident Lee Harold Cromwell, 68, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on 28 counts of forgery and filling fraudulent liens during a hearing in Nashville criminal court on Wednesday, June 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge resident Lee Harold Cromwell, 68, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on 28 counts of forgery and filling fraudulent liens during a criminal court hearing in Nashville on Wednesday, June 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge resident Lee Harold Cromwell, 68, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on 28 counts of forgery and filling fraudulent liens during a hearing in criminal court in Nashville on Wednesday, June 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge resident Lee Harold Cromwell, 68, was sentenced on 28 counts of forgery and filling fraudulent liens during a criminal court hearing in Nashville on Wednesday, June 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

NASHVILLE—Five East Tennessee men who have been identified as “sovereign citizens,” including one from Oak Ridge and another from Clinton, were sentenced to 20-50 years in prison on Wednesday after filing fraudulent liens worth hundreds of millions of dollars against public officials, law enforcement officers, and others.

The five defendants—who included Austin Gary Cooper, 69, of Clinton, and Lee Harold Cromwell, 68, of Oak Ridge—had earlier been convicted of more than 200 counts of forgery and filing unlawful liens. That was at the end of a six-day trial in Davidson County Criminal Court in Nashville in late April.

Their sentencing hearing was Wednesday. It lasted more than three hours.

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Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Davidson County, For Members, Front Page News, Nashville, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider, Tennessee Tagged With: 20th Judicial District, A. A. Birch Criminal Justice Building, Anderson County Criminal Court, Austin Gary Cooper, Cheryl Blackburn, Christopher Alan Hauser, Dave Clark, Davidson County Criminal Court, Don Elledge, Elaine Cuthbertson, Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force, filing fraudulent liens, forgery, forgery of more than $250000, fraudulent liens, Heather Brackett, James Michael Usinger, James Robinson, Jared Mollenkof, Lee Harold Cromwell, Lesli Oliver Wright, Mark Irwin, Midtown Community Center, Nashville public defender's office, Pamela Auble, paper terrorism, Roger Moore, Ronald James Lyons, Sarah King, sentencing hearing, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General, sovereign citizen, sovereign citizen ideology, sovereign citizens, TBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tony Thompson, unlawful liens, vehicular homicide, Wendy Hamil

Oak Ridge Community Band has July 4 concert

Posted at 11:12 pm June 28, 2018
By Barbara Gritzner Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Community Concert Band in a July 4 concert. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Community Concert Band in a July 4 concert. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band will present its annual Independence Day concert on Wednesday, July 4, at Alvin K. Bissell Park.

The concert is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. The concert is free, and it will be followed by the Oak Ridge fireworks show.

“Because the concert and fireworks traditionally attract large crowds, the public is encouraged to come early for good seating,” a press release said. “Bring chairs or blankets and plan to enjoy an exciting evening of music and fireworks celebrating the 242nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Entertainment, Front Page News, Music, Top Stories Tagged With: Alvin K. Bissell Park, Anne Scott, benefit concert, Deidre Ford, fireworks, Independence Day, Independence Day concert, Oak Ridge Community Band, Oak Ridge fireworks, Sarah Walters, Sean Greene, Tim Powers

Carjacking suspect arrested after hospital release

Posted at 10:05 pm June 28, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Bradley Allen Thomas

Bradley Allen Thomas

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:30 p.m.

The suspect in the carjacking of a van occupied by a woman in a wheelchair on Saturday, followed by a police chase and crash, was arrested after he was released from a hospital on Thursday, authorities said.

Bradley Allan Thomas, 30, of Knoxville, was arrested by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies when he was released from the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. Thomas, who was seriously injured, had been taken to UT Medical Center after the Saturday afternoon crash at Clinton Highway and Powell Drive in Knox County.

Thomas is the suspect charged in the carjacking in the parking lot of the Red Lobster restaurant on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon, Lucas said.

“Oak Ridge Police officers served their warrants related to the carjacking, and Thomas was also served with warrants on the pursuit by deputies,” Lucas said after Thursday’s arrest. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Knox County, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Tennessee, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated robbery, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, arrest, Bradley Allan Thomas, carjacking, chase, crash, driving on a suspended license, especially aggravated kidnapping, evading arrest, failure to maintain lane, improper passing, Jonathan Acker, Mark Lucas, Mary Rose Jackson, Oak Ridge Police Department, obedience to traffic control signal, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, Red Lobster, Tennessee Highway Patrol, University of Tennessee Medical Center

More charges pending after carjacking, chase, crash

Posted at 5:59 pm June 28, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The driver of a vehicle allegedly stolen from a woman in a wheelchair in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 23, 2018, fled from law enforcement officers, running red lights and passing vehicles in the turn lane at high speed, before crashing into a car and a traffic light pole on Clinton Highway at Powell Drive in Knox County, an incident report said. (Submitted photo)

The driver of a vehicle allegedly stolen from a woman in a wheelchair in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 23, 2018, fled from law enforcement officers, running red lights and passing vehicles in the turn lane at high speed, before crashing into a car and a traffic light pole on Clinton Highway at Powell Drive in Knox County, an incident report said. (Submitted photo)

 

More charges are pending after a carjacking of a van occupied by a woman in a wheelchair in Oak Ridge on Saturday led to a police chase and crash on Clinton Highway in Knox County.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has already said it would seek warrants against the suspect, Bradley Allan Thomas, 30, of Knoxville, and the Oak Ridge Police Department said criminal charges are pending.

Now, in a preliminary crash report, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said it is filing its own charges. They include reckless endangerment, reckless driving, obedience to traffic control signal, failure to maintain lane, improper passing, and driving on a suspended license.

“These are all THP charges and do not include outside agencies’ pending charges,” the crash report said.

An Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report said deputies would seek warrants against Thomas for evading arrest and reckless endangerment. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Knox County, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Tennessee, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Bradley Allan Thomas, carjacking, chase, crash, Donna Hillard, driving on a suspended license, evading arrest, failure to maintain lane, improper passing, Jonathan Acker, Oak Ridge Police Department, obedience to traffic control signal, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, Tennessee Highway Patrol, THP

About 11,500 customers lose power due to lightning strike at substation

Posted at 5:29 pm June 28, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

About 11,500 homes and businesses lost power due to a lightning strike at one of the city’s main substations on Thursday morning, officials said.

The widespread power outage was reported at 6:18 a.m. Thursday. Power lost due to the lightning strike was restored before 7:15 a.m., the Oak Ridge Electric Department said.

The Electric Department said there were widespread electric outages as storms moved through the area Thursday morning. The storms included high winds, heavy rains, and intense lightning. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories, Weather Tagged With: electric outages, lightning strike, Oak Ridge Electric Department, power outage

Driver of van stolen from woman in wheelchair fled, crashed

Posted at 12:19 am June 27, 2018
By John Huotari 4 Comments

The driver of a vehicle allegedly stolen from a woman in a wheelchair in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 23, 2018, fled from law enforcement officers, running red lights and passing vehicles in the turn lane at high speed, before crashing into a car and a traffic light pole on Clinton Highway at Powell Drive in Knox County, an incident report said. (Submitted photo)

The driver of a van allegedly stolen from a woman in a wheelchair in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 23, 2018, fled from law enforcement officers, running red lights and passing vehicles in the turn lane at high speed, before crashing into a car and a traffic light pole on Clinton Highway at Powell Drive in Knox County, an incident report said. (Submitted photo)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m. June 28.

The driver of a van allegedly stolen from a woman in a wheelchair in Oak Ridge on Saturday fled from law enforcement officers, running red lights and passing vehicles in the turn lane at high speed, before crashing into a car and a traffic light pole on Clinton Highway in Knox County, an incident report said.

The carjacking was reported in the parking lot of the Red Lobster restaurant on South Illinois Avenue at about 1:50 p.m. Saturday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. During the carjacking, a female passenger, who was not injured, was forced from her wheelchair and the van, a 2003 Chevy Venture.

Alerted to the carjacking, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Corporal Jonathan Acker went to Oak Ridge Turnpike and Melton Lake Drive to watch for the vehicle. After a few minutes, he saw it traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike, and he turned to get behind it.

The driver, later identified as Bradley Allan Thomas, 30, of Knoxville, began speeding up and passing cars on the shoulder, Acker said in the incident report. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Bradley Allan Thomas, carjacking, evading arrest, Jonathan Acker, Oak Ridge Police Department, reckless endangerment

ORNL’s Bland receives DOE Secretary’s Appreciation Award for computing leadership

Posted at 9:24 pm June 26, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Buddy Bland (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Buddy Bland (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Arthur “Buddy” Bland, program director of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has received the Secretary’s Appreciation Award for his nearly four decades of achievements in providing high-performance computing resources for science, a press release said.

Bland was cited by U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry for his work “in recognition of nearly 40 years of leadership in delivering high-performance computing resources to address the nation’s science and engineering challenges across a wide array of disciplines and for critical contributions to the success of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility and sustained U.S. leadership in high-performance computing and computational science.”

Bland led the project to deliver the Summit supercomputer, launched June 8 at ORNL as “the world’s most powerful and smartest supercomputer” with a peak performance capability of 200 petaflops, or 200,000 trillion calculations per second. Summit was listed number one in the TOP500 list released on Monday. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Arthur "Buddy" Bland, DOE Office of Science, high-performance computing, Jaguar, Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Rick Perry, Secretary’s Appreciation Award, Summit supercomputer, Thomas Zacharia, Titan, Top500 List, world’s most powerful and smartest supercomputer

For first time since 2012, US has top supercomputer in world

Posted at 1:37 pm June 25, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Summit supercomputer was named number one on the TOP500 List, a semiannual ranking of the world’s fastest computing systems on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Summit supercomputer was named number one on the TOP500 List, a semiannual ranking of the world’s fastest computing systems on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

 

For the first time since 2012, the United States has the most powerful supercomputer in the world, and it’s again located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The new supercomputer, called Summit, is capable of 200 petaflops, or 200,000 trillion calculations per second. Equipment delivery for Summit was completed in March, and officials celebrated the launch of the supercomputer in a ceremony attended by U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on June 8.

The last time the United States had the top supercomputer was in November 2012. That machine, which is still in use, is named Titan, and it’s also at ORNL. It’s now number seven on the semiannual TOP500 list, which was released Monday.

China had held the top spot since June 2013, and the country had held the top two spots since June 2016. That ended with Monday’s TOP500 announcement. Previously at number one and number two, the top two Chinese supercomputers have fallen to number two and number four.

ORNL, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory, now has two of the top seven systems on the list. They are Summit at number one and Titan at number seven. The United States now has six of the top 10 machines, according to the TOP500 list. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: AI Bridging Cloud Infrastructure, China, Chuck Fleischmann, Cray, exascale computing, High Performance Linpack, hybrid CPU-GPU architecture, IBM, IBM Power9 central processing unit, ISC High Performance conference, Jaguar, Japan, Lamar Alexander, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Lenovo, Linux operating system, Mellanox EDR InfiniBand network, Milky Way-2A, most powerful supercomputer, NVIDIA Tesla V100 graphics processing unit, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, petaflops, quantum computing, Red Hat, Sierra, smartest supercomputer, summit, Sunway TaihuLight, supercomputer, supercomputers, Thomas Zacharia, Tianhe-2, Tianhe-2A, Titan, Top500, Top500 List, U.S. Department of Energy, United States

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