Oak Ridge Today

DOE Oak Ridge awards $33.4 million telecommunications contract

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DOE Oak Ridge Telecommunications Contract

Robert Forshay, left, partner alliance manager with Black Box Network Services, and Kevin Hall, manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office, sign a telecommunications contract for the Oak Ridge Federal Integrated Communications Network. (DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Integrated Support Center-Oak Ridge has awarded a $33.4 million telecommunications contract to Mutual Telecom Services Inc., doing business as Black Box Network Services, or Black Box.

Black Box is responsible for providing operations, maintenance, and upgrades to the Oak Ridge Federal Integrated Communications Network at the Oak Ridge Townsite, East Tennessee Technology Park, Y-12 National Security Complex, Office of Secure Transportation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. The Oak Ridge Townsite refers to the Federal Building, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Building 2714 Complex, and various locations in the local vicinity.

“We are pleased to announce Black Box as the Oak Ridge Reservation’s integrated telecom service provider,” Oak Ridge Office Manager Kevin Hall said. “This selection comes after many months of evaluations by our selection team for this crucial service, and we are excited to have Black Box on board as our new partner.”

The company has more than 30 years of experience supporting U.S. government locations with similar needs and requirements. Black Box is located in Needham, Massachusetts. The contract has a two-year base and three one-year options. A 90-day transition begins on June 1.

DOE Oak Ridge awards $11.3 million support contract to Alaskan native corporation

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Allison White of Alutiiq and Kevin Hall of DOE Oak Ridge

U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office Manager Kevin Hall congratulates Allison White, director of operations, professional, and administrative services for Alutiiq LLC, on the recent award of an $11.3 million small business contract for support services to the DOE Oak Ridge Office. (Submitted photo)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office recently awarded a $11.3 million support services contract to Alutiiq Professional Training LLC.

The company is an Alaskan native corporation headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, and a member of the 8(a) Business Development Program, a press release said.

The contract is for administrative and technical support services that total $11.3 million for a period of performance that is just under five years, including a seven-month base period and four one-year option periods, the press release said. The contract will employ approximately 36 people in Oak Ridge, the DOE Thomas Jefferson Site Office in Virginia, and the DOE Brookhaven Site Office in New York. [Read more…]

Council to discuss impact of proposed DOE landfill during Friday meeting

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Oak Ridge Reservation with Bear Creek Valley

The proposed Environmental Management Disposal Facility would be built between the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, or EMWMF.

 

Oak Ridge officials will discuss the community impact of a proposed landfill that would hold waste from cleanup work at federal sites during a work session on Friday.

The Oak Ridge City Council work session is scheduled from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 8, in the Municipal Building Training Room.

Council will be briefed on the Draft Community Impact Assessment of the proposed Environmental Management Disposal Facility by Karl Kalbacher, project manager for The Ferguson Group, a company that helps the city with its federal legislative agenda in Washington, D.C.

The Environmental Management Disposal Facility would be built on Bear Creek Road west of the Y-12 National Security Complex near another landfill that is already in use and has been operating since 2002. It could cost $1 billion, including construction and 23 years of operations. [Read more…]

DOE Environmental Management has community budget workshop on Wednesday

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U.S. Department of Energy Logo

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management is hosting its annual Community Budget Workshop on Wednesday, April 29.

The purpose of this year’s workshop is for interested members of the community and stakeholders to learn about our program’s top cleanup priorities, and to provide input on additional priorities that they would like OREM to consider as officials begin developing the Fiscal Year 2017 budget.

The workshop is scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, in the Pollard Auditorium at 210 Badger Avenue in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

DOE offers expanded public bus tours of federal sites in Oak Ridge

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DOE Public Bus Tour

Public bus tours of the U.S. Department of Energy’s facilities in Oak Ridge are now offered nine months of the year. (File photo courtesy DOE/Lynn Freeny)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s public bus tour of federal sites in Oak Ridge is now offered to visitors nine months out of the year, versus only summer months as in the past.

This popular tour of the 33,000-acre DOE Oak Ridge Reservation offers visitors a first-hand look at all of the DOE’s Oak Ridge facilities and provides historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 70-plus years.

The reservation-wide tour is a popular attraction for tourists visiting the area.  Since its inception in 1996, the DOE public tour program has attracted approximately 35,000 visitors from all 50 states. The three-hour DOE tour allows visitors to see the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation and learn about its rich history and how Oak Ridge became a secret city of 75,000 people with a mission to end World War II. [Read more…]

Kevin Hall named DOE Oak Ridge Office manager

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Kevin Hall

Kevin Hall

The U.S. Department of Energy has named Kevin Hall as the manager of its Oak Ridge Office. Hall has served as the office’s deputy manager since April 2013.

As manager, Hall oversees the Oak Ridge Integrated Support Center, which provides critical mission support services in the personnel, finance, budget, procurement, legal, security, and emergency management, and employee health and safety on a local and national level, a press release said.

Hall is also responsible for managing the 33,500-acre Oak Ridge Reservation. This function involves managing issues that impact areas surrounding Oak Ridge National Laboratory, East Tennessee Technology Park, and National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office, and leading projects that may affect multiple sites. [Read more…]

DOE awards contract for sludge buildout project

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Transuranic Waste Processing Center

The Transuranic Waste Processing Center in west Oak Ridge, south of Bethel Valley Road on Highway 95, is pictured above. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy/Oak Ridge Office)

 

Federal officials have taken the first step in treating 2,000 cubic meters of transuranic sludges stored in Melton Valley storage tanks.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management announced it had awarded a contract to CH2M Hill Constructors Inc. for the Sludge Processing Facility Buildouts Project at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center. The center is in west Oak Ridge, south of Bethel Valley Road on Highway 95.

The transuranic waste comes from past operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said Mike Koentop, executive officer of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. The sludge is stored safely and securely now, but there are regulatory milestones to meet, Koentop said. [Read more…]

DOE Oak Ridge awards $9.6 million contract to Chickasaw Nation Industries

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Cris Van Horn, seated right, DOE-ORO deputy director for procurement and contracts, along with DOE-ORO Procurement and Contracts staff Trae Crowder and Keturah Moore, standing, congratulate Tyler Sparks, LLC manager of Chickasaw Nation Industries Global Solutions LLC, for the current award of a 5-year, $9.6 million SBA 8(a) Business Development Program contract for financial management support services at the DOE Oak Ridge Office. (DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

Cris Van Horn, seated right, DOE-ORO deputy director for procurement and contracts, along with DOE-ORO Procurement and Contracts staff Trae Crowder and Keturah Moore, standing, congratulate Tyler Sparks, LLC manager of Chickasaw Nation Industries Global Solutions LLC, for the current award of a 5-year, $9.6 million SBA 8(a) Business Development Program contract for financial management support services at the DOE Oak Ridge Office. (DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office has awarded a five-year, $9.6 million contract to Chickasaw Nation Industries Global Solutions LLC for financial management support services. The contract will employ about 17 people in Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The contract was awarded through the Small Business Administration 8(a) Business Development Program.

“We are pleased with the selection of Chickasaw Global Solutions as the next financial management support contractor at the Oak Ridge Office,” said ORO Deputy Manager Kevin Hall. “The services provided under this contract are vital to our success, and we look forward to building a productive, professional relationship with this company.” [Read more…]

Big day: Main Street Oak Ridge, Manhattan Project Park on Thursday’s agenda

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Main Street Oak Ridge Presentation

Pictured above during a presentation on Main Street Oak Ridge last week are Crosland Southeast partner James Downs, right; Barry James, Crosland Southeast senior vice president, center; and Houston E. Daugherty, Cannon and Cannon vice president.

 

A vote that could help Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall, is on Thursday’s agenda. So is an open house on the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

They are among two of the biggest projects in Oak Ridge in years, and both are considered key parts of an economic renaissance that also includes new business development along Oak Ridge Turnpike and South Illinois Avenue, a new Kroger Marketplace shopping center, the proposed multi-billion-dollar Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and the announcement by metal powder manufacturing company CVMR this month that it will move its operations from Toronto to Oak Ridge, investing $313 million and adding 620 jobs.

A rezoning has been requested for Main Street Oak Ridge. It will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission during a meeting that starts at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 26, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. The Planning Commission will also consider a planned unit development, or PUD, master plan for the project. [Read more…]

DOE re-opening Clark Center Park after cleanup

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Clark Center Park Water View

A view of Melton Hill Lake near a boat ramp and between two picnic areas at Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge.

 

Federal officials have finished significant cleanup work at Clark Center Park after the winter weather a few weeks ago, and they are re-opening the park.

John Shewairy, assistant manager for administration in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office, said workers have roped off one area of the 80-acre park where a large tree fell. They won’t be able to clear that area until the ground dries up. [Read more…]

Clark Center Park temporarily closed as DOE assesses weather-related damage

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Clark Center Park Water View

A view of Melton Hill Lake near a boat ramp and between two picnic areas at Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge.

 

Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge is temporarily closed while federal officials assess any damage to trees caused by the recent ice and snow, and to give workers time to remove any potential risks, such as trees that are ready to fall.

The park, normally open all year, could be closed for another week or so, depending upon the weather, said John Shewairy, assistant manager for administration in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

“We have limited access to the park so we can assess and tend to any damage to trees caused by the ice and snow of the past couple weeks,” Shewairy said Monday. “Once we have taken care of any potential safety concerns, we’ll restore access to the property.” [Read more…]

Memphis school wins DOE Tennessee Science Bowl

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DOE Science Bowl Winners 2015

Tennessee Lausanne Collegiate School of Memphis first-place winners pictured above at the Blount County campus of Pellissippi State Community College are Prashanth Raj, Ted Letsou, Tony Chen, Raghav Ranga, and Rishab Jain, with their trophy. (DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

Countless hours studying math and science has paid off for some exceptionally bright students from one college preparatory academy—the Lausanne Collegiate School of Memphis—who won the Tennessee Science Bowl this past weekend. Lausanne’s Team 1 competed against 53 other high school teams on February 27-28 to place first in the annual competition.

Lausanne edged out their competition by successfully answering a host of challenging questions in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, earth and space science, and energy.

Held at Pellissippi State Community College’s Blount County Campus, the Tennessee Science Bowl is the nation’s third-largest regional competition. The regional bowl prepares students to compete nationally with other exceptional students from schools across the country. [Read more…]