Oak Ridge Today

Y-12 FCU Gives Foundation presents two new grants

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Pictured above during a check presentation to Free Medical Clinic are Amber Price, Y-12 FCU Gives Foundation; Jackie Clay, executive director, Free Medical Clinic and board members Carol Smallridge and Judy Wilson; and Janie Click and Stephanie Zuleger, Y-12 FCU Gives Foundation. (Photo by Y-12 Federal Credit Union)

Pictured above from left to right during a check presentation to Free Medical Clinic are Amber Price, Y-12 FCU Gives Foundation; Jackie Clay, executive director, Free Medical Clinic and board members Carol Smallridge and Judy Wilson; and Janie Click and Stephanie Zuleger, Y-12 FCU Gives Foundation. (Photo by Y-12 Federal Credit Union)

 

Free Medical Clinic and Oak Ridge Computer Science (ORCS) Girls were the newest recipients of grants from Y-12 FCU Gives Foundation, a press release said. A check presentation ceremony was conducted at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union branch in Oak Ridge on Monday, August 7.

Y-12 FCU Gives Foundation was established by Y-12 Federal Credit Union, a full-service financial provider headquartered in Oak Ridge, with 14 branches located in Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Knox, Roane, and Sevier counties serving 108,413 members. The foundation was established to extend the Y-12 FCU mission of “people helping people” into the philanthropic realm of charitable giving and support.

Y-12 FCU Gives Foundation will improve communities by delivering human and financial resources, the press release said. The Foundation Board of Directors will use their compassion, accountability, and dedication to make a difference in the hearts and lives of the communities served in the areas of: [Read more…]

United Way funds discretionary grants

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United Way of Anderson County awarded nearly $50,000 in grants to local nonprofits as part of its first Discretionary Grant cycle last month, a press release said.

United Way of Anderson County awarded nearly $50,000 in grants to local nonprofits as part of its first Discretionary Grant cycle last month, a press release said.

 

United Way of Anderson County awarded nearly $50,000 in grants to local nonprofits as part of its first Discretionary Grant cycle last month, a press release said.

While UWAC’s standard grant cycle focuses on programs that will have a long-term impact on clients’ lives, the Discretionary Grant offers funding for one-time, project-based requests that will enable the organizations to improve or expand the reach of existing programs and provide better service to their clients, the press release said. [Read more…]

Reminder: Emerald ash borer workshop at UT Arboretum this evening

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An ash tree is pictured above in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

An ash tree is pictured above in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Tree Board is hosting a workshop focused on the impact of the emerald ash borer in the area. The event, scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, August 29, will provide important information regarding the emerald ash borer for property owners, landscapers, and others involved in the maintenance of green spaces, a press release said.

Ash trees make up a significant percentage of the urban forest in the area and have traditionally been a landscaping staple. Many of these trees in Oak Ridge are already dead or beyond treatment, but a significant number can be saved. At the workshop this evening, experts from around the area will address issues that include the identification of affected ash trees and responses to emerald ash borer infestation, including appropriate treatment. [Read more…]

Osteoporosis the topic of Health Night at MMC this evening

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Daniel Benson

Daniel Benson

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes thinning of bones. Over time, this weakens the bones and can make them more fragile and more likely to break—even under minor stress or spontaneously. It can affect any bone, but the hip, spine, and wrist are most often involved.

People with osteoporosis may not get any symptoms. Some may have pain in their bones and muscles. Sometimes, a collapsed vertebra may cause severe pain, decrease in height, or spinal deformity such as a hunched back. Because many people do not experience symptoms, or may not associate their symptoms with osteoporosis, the condition can be left unchecked until advance symptoms, such a broken bone, occur. Osteoporosis is, in fact, the leading reason of broken bones among the elderly. That’s why understanding the risk factors and prevention tactics is so crucial. [Read more…]

Tennessee gubernatorial candidate to visit Oak Ridge today

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Craigh Fitzhugh

Craigh Fitzhugh

Craig Fitzhugh, a Democratic candidate for Tennessee governor, is visiting Oak Ridge this evening.

Fitzhugh will have a meet and greet from 7 to 8 p.m. today (Tuesday, August 29) at Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Café at 223 Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. The event is being sponsored by the Anderson County Democratic Party, a press release said. The public is invited.

“‘People Matter,’ the campaign slogan of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Craig Fitzhugh, ties together the very essence of why he has thrown his hat into the race for governor in 2018,” the press release said. “It connects voter concerns from across the state.”

When asked why he chose “People Matter” as his slogan, Fitzhugh said he’s concerned Tennessee is falling behind, citing education, jobs, infrastructure, and health care, particularly the expansion of Medicaid as top issues, the press release said.

“The problems and the situations that people in North Nashville and south Memphis find themselves in are not much different than those in Ripley, or Columbia or Etowah, or other communities,” Fitzhugh said. “There are things that we can do to give people an opportunity to better their lives.” [Read more…]

DOE disposing of uranium-233 waste stored at ORNL

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ORNL CEUSP Waste Shipping

During training, workers removed a type of shipping cask that was expected to be used to transport 403 canisters of uranium-tainted waste from Oak Ridge National Laboratory to Nevada National Security Site northwest of Las Vegas. (File photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Office of Environmental Management)

 

This story was updated at 5 p.m. Aug. 30.

They haven’t agreed on a final budget number, but the Trump administration and the U.S. House and Senate have proposed spending between about $33 million and $52 million in the next fiscal year to continue disposing of uranium-233 waste materials that are stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in a building that is the oldest continuously operating nuclear facility in the U.S. Department of Energy complex.

The uranium-233, or U-233, waste is now stored in secure vaults in Building 3019, which was built in the 1940s at ORNL. Removing the waste could allow ORNL to relax its overall security posture, which will reduce costs, eliminate nuclear safety issues, and make the campus more conducive to collaborative science, according to a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee report published in July.

Some of the waste is from a 1960s research and development test in New York, and it is being shipped to the Nevada National Security Site, a former nuclear weapons proving ground about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. In interviews this summer, DOE officials in Oak Ridge declined to discuss the amount of that waste that has been shipped to Nevada or to say how long the shipments might continue. But they are making progress, said Jay Mullis, acting manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management.

Once all of those materials are shipped, the remaining U-233 at ORNL will be treated in “hot cell” facilities across the street from Building 3019, at Building 2026. The DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management owns both buildings.

Mullis said there is other U-233 waste stored in Building 3019, including from glovebox research at ORNL, from reactor plates, and from conglomerate materials. [Read more…]

Mission need approved for lithium production facility at Y-12, but cost, schedule not determined

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Scarboro Road on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The mission need has been approved for a new lithium production facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex and various alternatives have been reviewed, but the cost and schedule have not yet been determined, a federal official said this month.

“Y-12 is working to ensure that its lithium production capability is maintained for current and future defense program missions,” said Steven Wyatt, public affairs manager for the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office. “This is a challenge as this work is performed in 9204-2, a building that was constructed during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project. Ultimately, our goal is to replace 9204-2 with a modern facility, but until that has been achieved, we will continue to make improvements as needed.”

Building 9204-2 produces non-nuclear materials associated with stockpile stewardship missions, Wyatt said.

“We are not at liberty to provide any further details on this work,” he said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge to begin 75th Anniversary Celebration in September

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Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch

Oak Ridge will begin its 75th Anniversary Celebration in September, a press release said.

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren L. Gooch announced Thursday that the city will form a committee to help coordinate and circulate information about the 75th anniversary, the press release said.

The 75th anniversary festivities will begin in September and continue through the end of 2018, the release said.

Among the planned events are a lecture presented by the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association on September 15, 2017, titled “The Legacy of Place” by guest speaker Denise Kiernan, author of “The Girls of Atomic City” and “The Last Castle.”

The Oak Ridge Fire Department plans to host “Then and Now,” a 1940s-era Fire Prevention Parade along Oak Ridge Turnpike on October 7, 2017.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex will celebrate the anniversaries of their respective beginnings as well, the press release said. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society to hold fall wildflower walk meet & greet in September

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Kris Light is pictured above on a fall wildflower walk at the University of Tennessee Arboretum. (Photo by UT Arboretum Society)

Kris Light is pictured above on a fall wildflower walk. (Photo by UT Arboretum Society)

 

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will host a meet-and-greet followed by a fall wildflower walk at Haw Ridge Trails on Saturday, September 2. The event is scheduled from 9-11 a.m.

Kris Light, an expert naturalist, educator, and photographer will lead this fun, educational, and easy walk, a press release said. Participants may want to bring a camera to take pictures of the many wildflowers, the release said.

Describing the walk, Light said, “Most people think of springtime as wildflower season, but late summer and fall color the fields and roadsides in gold, purple and white. Come to the fall wildflower walk to learn more about the wildflowers of the fields.” [Read more…]

ORNL, TVA, NuScale Power, others to present at nuclear supply chain workshop

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Nuclear Suppliers Workshop Oak Ridge September 6-7 2017 Oak Ridge

The agenda has been finalized for the Nuclear Suppliers Workshop in September that will be hosted by the U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council and the East Tennessee Economic Council.

On September 6-7, companies interested in being part of the supply chain and searching for manufacturing opportunities around small modular reactors, next generation nuclear technology, nuclear medicine, and national security programs are invited to attend the Nuclear Suppliers Workshop at Pollard Technology Conference Center in Oak Ridge.

Thomas Zacharia, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be the keynote speaker, a press release said. The Tennessee Valley Authority, NuScale Power, Duke Energy, AMS Corporation, Teledyne Brown Engineering, and others will also present. [Read more…]

Household Hazardous Waste Collection event set for Sept. 16

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Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event 2017 flyer

Anderson County Solid Waste Management and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation are sponsoring a Household Hazardous Waste Collection event on Saturday, September 16.

The collection is scheduled between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Central Services Complex located at 100 Woodbury Lane (behind the Hobby Lobby shopping center). This is a state-sponsored household hazardous waste event and is open to all residents of Tennessee, a press release said.

Household hazardous waste is considered anything that is generated in the household that has a hazardous property. Examples include household disinfectants, drain cleaners, adhesives, pesticides, old gasoline, and pool chemicals. A material is considered hazardous if it is flammable, corrosive, toxic, or reactive with heat or contact with metals, the press release said. [Read more…]

Barbershop Harmony Society presents ‘I’m Going South’ at Grove Theater in September

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SmokylandSound_Sept2017 v5

A show in Oak Ridge in September will feature the Southern Harmony Brigade chorus and other singers.

The show is titled “I’m Goin’ South,” and it will be presented by the Greater Knoxville Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

The show is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Saturday, September 9, in the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge.

The show was announced by the Smokyland Sound Barbershop Harmony Chapter.

The Historic Grove Theater is located at 123 Randolph Road in Grove Center. [Read more…]