Ray Burney has been promoted to battalion chief in the Oak Ridge Fire Department.
Burney, who has recently served as an Oak Ridge Fire Department captain, takes on the new role following Eric Rackard’s promotion to fire marshal last month, the city said in a press release.
Burney will be battalion chief of the ORFD’s A Shift.
“I truly do appreciate Chief (Travis) Solomon for giving me this opportunity in my career, and I look forward to working with everyone,” Burney said.
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Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs has been promoted to deputy city manager. He will start his new job Monday, March 8.
In his new position, Suggs will help with several projects, including the new water plant, economic development projects, computer software, and the transfer of the Oak Ridge Airport project, the city said in a press release.
Suggs’ promotion will allow other potential leaders to advance, most immediately in the Oak Ridge Electric Department, the press release said. Ardo Ba, who is currently the department’s electric operations manager, will serve as interim electric director.
“The city is fortunate to have someone with a unique set of engineering, business, and operations knowledge and experience who is able to step up,” Suggs said of Ba. “I am confident that I am leaving the department in capable hands.”
Suggs joined the City of Oak Ridge in 1989 as assistant director of public works after having served in related professional positions in Texas. He began serving as electric director in 1991.
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They won the District 3-AAA championship game against Clinton. They advanced to the Region 2 championship game by defeating West and Maryville in quarterfinal and semifinal games.
On Thursday, in the championship game, they finished second in the region, losing 55-52 to Bearden after narrowing a 15-point Bulldogs lead late in the third quarter to one point late in the fourth.
Tonight, Monday, March 8, the Oak Ridge Wildcats (26-5) will play for a chance to compete in the state basketball tournament. They will travel to Dobyns-Bennett (25-4) in Kingsport in upper East Tennessee for one of eight Class AAA sectional games across the state. The winners of the sectional games advance to the state tournament in Murfreesboro, and the season is over for the losers.
[Read more…]The victim of a shooting in Claxton on Thursday was reported to be in critical but stable condition on Friday.
The shooting was reported Thursday on Edgemoor Road at Mooncrest Lane, across from the Dollar General Store.
[Read more…]A 66-year-old man died Thursday after police said he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed on Oak Ridge Turnpike, according to the city.
The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the crash, which was in front of Oak Ridge High School, at about 6:13 p.m. Thursday. The initial investigation shows that James Lynch lost control of the motorcycle, which then slid on its side for about 50 feet before hitting the back of a small van, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.
Lynch later died at Methodist Medical Center.
Witnesses told investigators the sun was in Lynch’s eyes. Investigators also believe speed was a factor, the press release said. No use of drugs or alcohol are suspected.
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By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
Roane State Community College played a crucial role in an experiment to get high-speed Internet to rural communities currently lacking what’s become an essential component of modern life.
It’s an effort to bridge the digital divide in Roane County, where about 30 percent of households lack access to robust, affordable broadband internet.
That includes some 6,000 students who must have internet access for online learning.
Internet access “is paramount in current situations such as COVID-19 and the remote learning requirements it presents,” said Egon Hillermann. He’s the director of ROANEnet, an organization that advocates for improving high-speed internet access.
[Read more…]
The parking lots at Melton Lake Park will be closed to the public during a regatta next week.
The regatta, the 2021 Oak Ridge Louisville Cardinal Invitational Regatta, is scheduled on Saturday, March 13, and Sunday, March 14. It’s hosted by the City of Oak Ridge in partnership with the Oak Ridge Rowing Association, a press release said.
It’s an invitation-only event, and it will feature elite college women’s rowing teams who will compete in one of the first events of the season, the press release said.
To comply with ACC and Big 10 COVID-19 guidelines, this is a “no spectator” event, the press release said. As a result, the parking lots at Melton Lake Park will be closed to the public during the regatta, the release said.
[Read more…]
This year’s regatta season will start next week with the Cardinal Invitational in Oak Ridge. That rowing competition with the University of Louisville is scheduled from March 13-14 at Melton Lake Park.
Other rowing events will begin in late April and run almost every weekend through May, a press release said.
This year, the Oak Ridge Rowing Association will host, for the first time, the NCAA Division I American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship, the press release said.
The races this year follow the cancellation of six regattas in 2020, including the NCAA Division I, II, and III Championships, the press release said.
[Read more…]OAK RIDGE, Tenn.— The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education was recognized recently as a silver-level recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy’s GreenBuy award for fiscal year 2020. The GreenBuy Award Program recognizes DOE sites for achieving stringent sustainable acquisition goals which extend beyond the government’s “green” minimum compliance requirements.
ORISE received the bronze level award in the fiscal years of 2019, 2018 and 2015. The sliver level achieved this past fiscal year required meeting more stringent goals of select products in categories. For example, the bronze level required that ORISE meet the goals of four products in at least two categories. Under the silver level, those requirements increased to six products in at least three categories.
“Environmental stewardship is fundamental to ORISE and our commitment that all programmatic and business functions will operate in a way that is both safe and environmentally sustainable; we are also proud that we have recycled more than we threw away for the past several years,” said ORISE Director Jim Vosburg. “ORISE is honored for our purchasing efforts to be recognized with DOE’s silver-level GreenBuy award; we were able to achieve it through exceptional multi-departmental coordination to integrate sustainable products and energy-efficient equipment and systems into our facilities and operations.”
ORISE’s silver-level award is based on six products/goals: 1) Mobile Phones, 2) Imaging Equipment (Copiers, Multifunctional Devices, Printers), 3) Computers & Displays (Desktops, Integrated, Monitors, Notebooks, Tablets, Thin Clients, Workstations), 4) Chillers, 5) IT Calculation Goal, and 6) IT Recycling Goal. These products spanned three GreenBuy Program product categories; 1) Construction, 2) Electronics, and 3) Other.
Fiscal year 2020 products had to meet one, and in some cases multiple, environmental standards, including Energy Star® certified; EPEAT GOLD, SILVER and/or BRONZE registered; and Federal Energy Management Program standards. The IT Recycling goal, new to the GreenBuy Program in fiscal year 2020, was achieved by ORISE since 100 percent of the electronic equipment sent for recycling was recycled by R2 Certified Recyclers, which is the leading standard for electronics repair and recycling. The R2 Standard provides a common set of processes, safety measures, and documentation requirements for businesses that repair and recycle used electronics.
For more information on the DOE GreenBuy Award Program, visit https://www.energy.gov/ehss/greenbuy-awards
About ORISE
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education is a U.S. Department of Energy asset that is dedicated to enabling critical scientific, research, and health initiatives of the department and its laboratory system by providing world-class expertise in STEM workforce development, scientific and technical reviews, and the evaluation of radiation exposure and environmental contamination. ORISE is managed by ORAU, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and federal contractor, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science
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Visit our website: https://orise.orau.gov
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Wayne Blasius, community development director for the City of Oak Ridge, will discuss the current status of Downtown Oak Ridge during a lunchtime meeting on Tuesday.
The meeting will be hosted by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and it will be online. League members and nonmembers receiving this announcement will receive the zoom link before March 2, a press release said.
For instructions on how to access the presentation on Tuesday, send an email to maryannreeves1@att.net. A couple of days following the presentation, you may view the recorded session on the League’s website at https://my.lwv.org/tennessee/oak-ridge.
[Read more…]The annual water quality report is now available for viewing on the City of Oak Ridge website, and the report says Oak Ridge water was in compliance with state and federal drinking water requirements, a press release said.
You can read the report here: www.oakridgetn.gov/online/water-quality-2020.
Also known as the Consumer Confidence Report, it was mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1998 as an amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act, the press release said.
[Read more…]
Note: This story was updated at 7:30 p.m.
Jennifer Granholm, a former Michigan governor, was sworn in as energy secretary on Thursday.
Granholm was the first female governor of Michigan, and she is the second woman to lead the U.S. Department of Energy.
Her swearing-in ceremony on Thursday followed a 64-35 confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate. U.S. senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, both Tennessee Republicans, were among the 35 senators who voted against Granholm’s confirmation.
Granholm is the 16th secretary of energy.
U.S. Department of Energy sites and operations in Oak Ridge include East Tennessee Technology Park; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Oak Ridge Office; Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management; Office of Scientific and Technical Information; and Y-12 National Security Complex.
[Read more…]