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SMRs, other nuclear reactors possible at Clinch River site

Posted at 5:30 pm November 27, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Small modular reactors and other types of new nuclear reactors could be considered for power generation at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge.

The Tennessee Valley Authority announced its preferred alternative for the 935-acre site in the Federal Register in October.

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Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: BWRX-300, Clinch River Nuclear Site, environmental impact statement, Federal Register, GE Hitachi, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Jim Hopson, nuclear reactor, record of decision, small modular reactors, SMR, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Second man arrested after gas station robbery

Posted at 12:28 pm November 27, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

James Hunter Oran

A second Oak Ridge man was arrested after a robbery was reported at a gas station on Lake City Highway on Monday.

James Hunter Oran, 21, has been charged with facilitation of a felony and accessory after the fact. He is alleged to have driven the 21-year-old man charged with the robbery, Carlos Hernandez, to and from the Rocky Top 76 gas station and waited for Hernandez while he was in the store, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Premium Content Tagged With: accessory after the fact, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Carlos Hernandez, facilitation of a felony, James Hunter Oran, robbery, Rocky Top 76, Sharon Baird

Chamber’s Christmas Parade is Saturday, Dec. 10

Posted at 4:47 pm November 23, 2022
By James Kesterson Leave a Comment

A photo from a previous Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade. (File photo by Eli Welton)

The annual Christmas Parade in Oak Ridge will be Saturday, December 10.

It’s organized by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by The Cowperwood Company.

This year’s theme is “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

More than 80 floats are expected to participate in the parade, which is scheduled from 6 p.m. to roughly 8 p.m. The parade route will include Lafayette Road, then Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, Holidays, Top Stories Tagged With: Christmas parade, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

Test reactor would help with decarbonization, supporters say

Posted at 3:55 pm November 23, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Kairos Power has proposed a Hermes test reactor at the Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. A model of the test reactor is pictured at a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 11:20 a.m. Dec. 1.

A nuclear test reactor proposed in west Oak Ridge could help as the United States tries to lower carbon dioxide emissions and reduce the effects of climate change, supporters said during a public meeting last week.

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Filed Under: Business, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Slider Tagged With: construction permit, DOE, EIS, environmental impact statement, fluoride salt-cooled reactor, HALEU, Heritage Center, Hermes, Hermes test reactor, high-assay low-enriched uranium, Jim Hopf, K-31, K-33, Kairos Power, Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, NRC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Peyton Doub, Scott Burnell, test reactor, Tracy Boatner, TRISO, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Oak Ridge man charged with gas station robbery

Posted at 1:04 pm November 23, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Carlos Hernandez

A 21-year-old Oak Ridge man was arrested and charged with robbery, kidnapping, and theft after allegedly holding two gas station employees at gunpoint and taking money from a cash register at Rocky Top 76 on Lake City Highway on Monday.

Carlos Hernandez was charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, theft of $1,000 to $2,500, and tampering with evidence.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Premium Content Tagged With: Anderson General Sessions Court, Carlos Hernandez, kidnapping, robbery, Rocky Top 76, Sharon Baird, tampering with evidence, theft

ORNL center will make isotopes for medicine, research, security

Posted at 12:48 pm November 21, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory had an October 24 groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Stable Isotope Production and Research Center. A design image of the new center is pictured above.

Note: This story was updated at 11 a.m. Nov. 22.

For decades, Oak Ridge made stable isotopes. Those are non-radioactive forms of atoms that can be used in medicine and industry, and for research and national security.

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Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Premium Content, Science, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, DOE, Geraldine Richmond, Inflation Reduction Act, isotope separation, Jennifer Granholm, Johnny Moore, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Science, ORNL, stable isotope center, stable isotopes, Thomas Zacharia, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Stable Isotope Production and Research Center

Football: Powell eliminates Oak Ridge

Posted at 10:27 am November 19, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Powell eliminated Oak Ridge from the Class 5A football playoffs in a 43-13 quarterfinal win on Friday.

The Panthers (11-2) advance to a semifinal game against West (13-0) next Friday, November 25. It’s a rematch of a semifinal game last year. Powell won that game 35-7 on the way to a state championship.

The season is over for the Wildcats (7-6). They lost to the Panthers twice this year, once during the regular season in a 30-14 loss on September 30 and then again in the playoffs on Friday.

Powell had almost twice as many yards on offense on Friday as Oak Ridge, 442 to 249, and more than double the number of first downs, 14 to 6. The Panthers had one player run for more than 100 yards and another with more than 100 yards receiving.

Powell senior quarterback Jordyn Potts, who has committed to Tennessee Tech, threw for 250 yards against Oak Ridge with five touchdowns and one interception. He was 16-of-26 passing (about 62 percent completions), according to preliminary game statistics by Oak Ridge’s Mark and Shawna Haste.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Sports Tagged With: Ayden Greene, Brian Kelley, Class 5A playoffs, Connor Wheeler, Ethan Garza, football, Gianni Magdos, Jordyn Potts, Oak Ridge, Panthers, Powell, Pryce Davis, Wildcats

Man receives two-year sentence after fatal hit-and-run

Posted at 8:44 pm November 18, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigated a deadly hit-and-run crash involving a pedestrian between Brussels Road and Bogola Road on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Tuesday morning, Aug. 11, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A 31-year-old man received a two-year sentence and was placed on supervised probation when he pleaded guilty Friday to charges filed after a fatal hit-and-run crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike more than two years ago.

The defendant received credit for time served in jail from August 11, 2020, to June 29, 2021.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Premium Content, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Christian Ariel Ordonez-Alvarenga, Donny L. McGhee, driving without a license, fatal hit-and-run crash, hit-and-run crash, leaving the scene of an accident involving a death, Matthew R. Johnston, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Turnpike, plea agreement

Union wants to use former hardware store as trade school

Posted at 8:39 am November 18, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A plumbers and steamfitters union wants to use a former hardware store on Oak Ridge Turnpike for a trade school. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A plumbers and steamfitters union wants to use a former hardware store for a trade school.

A rezoning for the project was recommended in a voice vote by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday. There was no opposition.

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Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: ACE Hardware, John "Jake" Greear, Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission, Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union #102, ProE Engineering Services, rezoning, trade school, zoning

City will pay at least $15 per hour for permanent, full-time work

Posted at 2:35 pm November 16, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Full-time permanent employees of the City of Oak Ridge will earn at least $15 per hour starting in January under a resolution unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday.

Seasonal, part-time, and temporary employees would not be guaranteed this wage.

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Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: compensation plan, livable wage, living wage, minimum wage, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge City Council, pay range, updated compensation plan

Arboretum Nature Book Trail features new insect book

Posted at 1:16 pm November 16, 2022
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Nature Book Trail at the University of Tennessee Arboretum features “Bugs on the Job,” a book by author Nancy Kelly Allen and illustrator Martyna Nejman. (Photo by UT Arboretum Society)

The Nature Book Trail at the University of Tennessee Arboretum features “Bugs on the Job,” a book by author Nancy Kelly Allen and illustrator Martyna Nejman.

The Nature Book Trail is about half a mile in length. It begins near the parking lot by the UT Arboretum Visitors Center at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

“It is an easy trail for children and adults to hike, with two benches to rest on along the way; however, it is non-accessible for people with disabilities,” the press release said. “The 14 beautiful trail signs feature Ian Sect, a roving reporter who interviews 10 different insects to learn about their roles in nature as decomposers, pollinators, or colonizers.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Education, Front Page News, Science Tagged With: Bugs on the Job, Nature Book Trail, University of Tennessee Arboretum, University of Tennessee Arboretum Society, UT Arboretum

City announces Thanksgiving closures, schedule changes

Posted at 12:57 pm November 16, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

City of Oak Ridge offices and facilities will be closed on Thursday, November 24, and Friday, November 25, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Oak Ridge Public Library and book drop, Oak Ridge Civic Center and indoor pool, Senior Center, and Scarboro Center will be closed through the weekend, from Thursday, November 24, through Sunday, November 27, a press release said.

The Tennessee Centennial Golf Course will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 24, only and will re-open on regular schedule Friday, November 25.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge Tagged With: Oak Ridge, Thanksgiving

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