Oak Ridge Today

Today is Oak Ridge’s 72nd birthday

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Y-12 Calutron Operators

Women enriching uranium in calutrons at Y-12 as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. (Photo by Ed Westcott)

 

It’s Oak Ridge’s birthday today, September 19.

Oak Ridge was picked for the top-secret Manhattan Project on September 19, 1942. That was the day 72 years ago when General Leslie Groves approved the acquisition of 59,000 acres of land along the Clinch River for what soon became the Manhattan Project, a federal effort to build the world’s first atomic bombs.

By the time President Roosevelt authorized the Manhattan Project on December 28, 1942, work on the East Tennessee site where the first production facilities were to be built was already under way.

Oak Ridge became the home of two uranium enrichment plants (K-25 and Y-12), a liquid thermal diffusion plant (S-50), and a pilot plutonium production reactor (X-10 Graphite Reactor). Groves approved Oak Ridge as the site for the pilot plutonium plant and the uranium enrichment plant in 1942. Manhattan Project engineers had to quickly build a town to accommodate 30,000 workers—as well as build the enormously complex plants. [Read more…]

‘Fight like Mikey’ inspires schools, community

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Information from WYSH Radio

It has been an emotional week in Oliver Springs as Norwood Middle School, Grand Oaks Elementary School, and the community have been honoring a 13-year-old boy who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Mikey Carter was a member of the Norwood Middle School football team, and when his teammates hosted Grace Christian Academy on Tuesday night, his younger brother Isiah was named honorary captain, allowed to wear his brother’s jersey and even scored a touchdown on a special play designed just for him. Mikey, who was a lineman for the Jaguars, is now too sick to play football and is at home in hospice care.

Tuesday night’s game also included the presentation of a check to the Carter family from Grace Christian to help with the family’s medical expenses, and both teams signed a football for the family and gave them posters of encouragement for Mikey.

The tributes did not end there, as on Wednesday, the football field at Grand Oaks Elementary School was named in his honor. If you would like to help the family offset the costs of Mikey’s care, you can donate by visiting their GoFundMe page at http://www.gofundme.com/dktqrc.

Mutt Strutt on Saturday benefits Animal Shelter

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Mutt Strutt 2014

The 4th Annual Mutt Strutt on Saturday will benefit the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter.

The charity dog walk is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday at the PetSafe Dog Park at Big Turtle Park on Oak Ridge Turnpike in west Oak Ridge. It’s been organized by the Young Professionals of Oak Ridge.

The Mutt Strutt will feature a group dog walk, raffle prizes, and dogs available for adoption.

Visit www.ypor.org for more information.

Street painting festival needs artists, sponsors

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2013 Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival

Winning chalk painting from the 2013 Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival. (Submitted photo)

 

Artists of all ages will “paint” sidewalk squares with chalk after community supporters “buy” squares by writing checks. In these ways, the 15th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival can be a big fundraising success, organizers say.

In addition, participants in this event can help improve East Tennessee’s economy by giving students the chance to learn valuable technical skills that companies require.

Artists and sponsors are needed for the 15th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival. It will be held Saturday, October 4 (the rain day is on Sunday, Oct. 5), at the Oak Ridge Branch Campus of Roane State Community College, 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

The purpose of the festival, organized and sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, is to raise funds for scholarships for Roane State students. The festival is also a competition for the artists; first-prize winners in a variety of categories and the People’s Choice award winner will get $50 cash awards. [Read more…]

Updated: What’s happening in Oak Ridge from Sept. 18-24

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Note: This story has been updated to correct the opponent in and location of the Oak Ridge Wildcats football game on Friday, September 19.

Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge from Thursday, September 18, and continuing through September 24.

This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]

Alexander Inn, Family Pride to receive historic preservation award

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Guest House Senior Living Concept

Artist concept of the Guest House/Alexander Inn Senior Living Center. (Images courtesy ORHPA)

The company converting a historic two-story hotel in Jackson Square into an assisted living center will receive a historic preservation award on Thursday. The award presentation will be held at the front door of the Guest House/Alexander Inn at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

“When Rick Dover and Family Pride acquired the property in May 2013, it was in total disrepair,” a press release said. “A $6 million investment will restore this beloved icon to its former glory.”

“We’re going to faithfully restore this building to its original look, from the soda-fountain bar in the lobby to the beautiful wide porch out front,” Dover said.

The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is included as part of the proposed new Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge. It’s been removed from an annual list of endangered places in East Tennessee published by the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance.

Top military leaders and scientists once stayed at the Alexander Inn. The renovation by Family Pride started in July 2013, the culmination of a years-long preservation effort. [Read more…]

Community Mediation Services has Giant Garage Sale this weekend

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Community Mediation Services of Anderson County, or CMS, is having its annual Giant Garage Sale on Friday and Saturday.

The garage sale is scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the yellow Eagle building at 1650 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

For more than 28 years, CMS has helped hundreds of juveniles and families come up with their own solutions to difficult conflicts and concerns, using well-trained, community volunteer mediators, a press release said. This fall, in addition to its three other mediation programs, CMS will be working with the Anderson County Schools on school attendance (truancy) issues. [Read more…]

Food, music at Taste of Oak Ridge to benefit Free Medical Clinic

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Taste of Oak Ridge

 

The format will be the same, but this year’s Taste of Oak Ridge will be held at the new Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church on Oak Ridge Turnpike—instead of in Jackson Square. It was moved because organizers weren’t sure when construction work might start on a revitalization project at Jackson Square.

Taste of Oak Ridge features food from Oak Ridge restaurants and performances by local musicians.

The sixth annual festival, scheduled from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday, will raise money to benefit the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge. The Free Medical Clinic provides free medical care to residents of Anderson, Roane, and Morgan counties who don’t have insurance and can’t afford to pay for care.

Area restaurants will showcase some of their finest food in small portions. The price range for the “tastes” from each vendor will be $1 to $4 per item. Tickets will be available for purchase at entrances to the event. Attendees can buy as many tickets as they want for $1 each. In addition, beer and wine will be available to buy.

This year’s Taste of Oak Ridge will be held in the parking lot of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at its new address at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike, north of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building. [Read more…]

Abolitionist, women’s rights leader to be portrayed at AAUW meeting

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Teresa Collard and Lisa LeBleu

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an abolitionist and women’s rights leader, will be remembered in a historical portrayal during a Monday, September 22, meeting of the Oak Ridge Branch of the AAUW.

The presentation is titled “In Her Own Voice: Elizabeth Cady Stanton Remembers.”

The AAUW will meet at 11:30 a.m. in Room 102 of the Activities Building of First United Presbyterian Church. A catered luncheon will be served at 11:30 a.m., with the program beginning at noon.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, along with Susan B. Anthony, headed a group, which was also interested in women’s rights, that gathered 400,000 signatures on a petition to bring about the immediate passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to end slavery in the United States, a press release said. [Read more…]

Lunch with League: tnAchieves paves path to higher education

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Graham Thomas

Graham Thomas

Graham Thomas, tnAchieves director of community partnerships, will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday, September 16, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

tnAchieves, a partnering organization to Governor Bill Haslam’s Tennessee Promise, serves primarily first-generation, low-income students in an effort to increase this population’s likelihood of earning a college credential. While the funding provided by Tennessee Promise is critical to increased post-secondary access, tnAchieves data confirms that working with a mentor further enhances a student’s likelihood of entering the post-secondary pipeline, a press release said. In fact, the University of Tennessee’s Center for Business and Economic Research found that students participating with tnAchieves are nearly 21 percent more likely to enter college. [Read more…]

Candlelight vigil for Erin Corwin in Oak Ridge on Friday

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Erin Corwin

Erin Corwin

Erin Renae (Heavilin) Corwin of Twentynine Palms, California, went to be with the Lord on August 16, 2014. Erin, originally from Oak Ridge, was a doting wife, daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend.

Erin’s friends remember her as being a great confidant who was always willing to go above and beyond to help anyone she knew. Erin’s love for animals, especially horses, will live on in the memories of those closest to her. Erin’s nurturing soul led her to become the mother of dozens of animals in her short life. Her “children” ranged from fish and guinea pigs to cats and dogs.

Before her husband Jon’s career in the United States Marine Corps took them to California, Erin worked at Tractor Supply in Oak Ridge and spent most of her free time with her horse or checking out the latest yard sales with her mom and brother. Though Erin enjoyed being in California, she and Jon were looking forward to being able to move back to East Tennessee next year. [Read more…]

Photos: Remembering fallen heroes of Sept. 11, 2001

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Sept. 11, 2014 Ceremony with Firefighter at Y-12

Y-12 photo courtesy Consolidated Nuclear Security

 

Area firefighters, police officers, Oak Ridge school students and staff, and others came together on Thursday to remember and honor the fallen heroes of September 11, 2001. There were ceremonies at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge High School.

The firefighters were at Y-12 this week for their annual Fire Officer Conference, held in conjunction with Safety Fest.

The ceremony at Oak Ridge High School included students and staff, and the Oak Ridge police and fire departments. [Read more…]