Oak Ridge Today

Weather: Closings, delays for Friday

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Anderson County Schools will be closed Friday because of the weather. The Central Office will follow the inclement weather procedure.

Oak Ridge Schools will open two hours late to allow any ice that forms overnight to melt. The schools will not serve breakfast Friday morning, so parents should make sure their children eat before coming to school.

A 10 a.m. starting time has been authorized for employees of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office, Oak Ridge Environmental Management Site Office, Oak Ridge Nuclear Energy Site Office, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, and Oak Ridge DOE Inspector General, with unscheduled leave (previously referred to as liberal leave) authorized if needed.

Normal hours are in effect for Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office employees, with unscheduled leave (previously referred to as liberal leave) authorized if needed.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Schools, govt. offices, businesses, DOE offices, Y-12 closed Thursday

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Snowman at Blankenship Field

Children build a snowman at Blankenship Field on Thursday morning. From left are Killian Fillmore, Andrew Bivens, Gavin Hensley, and Liam Hensley.

Note: This story was last updated at 10:29 a.m.

Oak Ridge Schools are closed Thursday, and so is the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office is also closed as are the Oak Ridge Environmental Management Site Office, Nuclear Energy Site Office, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, and Oak Ridge DOE Inspector General offices. Decisions about reporting instructions for Friday will be made later Thursday or early Friday morning. Employees should check the weather hotline and Facebook later for updates for Friday.

Schools in Clinton and Anderson, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, and Roane counties are also closed. So are Anderson County government offices and courts. And so are many businesses.

City of Oak Ridge offices will open at noon Thursday.

Waste Connections, Inc. will not be picking up refuse or recyclables on Thursday because of the weather conditions.  Thursday’s routes will be picked up on Friday, Feb. 14, and Fridays on Saturday, Feb. 15.  Please have all refuse and recyclables out by 7 a.m. For additional information you can contact Waste Connections Inc. at (865) 482-3656 or visit www.WasteConnectionsTn.com. [Read more…]

Information International wins major ORNL IT support contract

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Information International Associates

Pictured above is the headquarters of Information International Associates on Union Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

Information International Associates has won a five-year contract worth up to $24 million to provide information technology support to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The contract includes a one-year base and four one-year options. IIa will lead a team that includes Science Applications International Corp. and other partners with special capabilities, including Qbase, CADRE5, and EMC2 Corp., a press release said.

The work will include application development, systems administration, cyber security, help desk support, and data center management.

 

[Read more…]

Officials say little about Monday hearing on Y-12, Pantex contract

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Y-12 National Security Complex

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

Officials said little about the federal hearing held Monday to discuss the consolidated but contested contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The hearing is related to the protest filed by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, which has contested the decision to award the contract to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC of Reston, Va. Originally announced in January 2013, the contract could be worth up to $22.8 billion over a decade.

The hearing had originally been scheduled for Jan. 29, but it was rescheduled. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge team wins regionals in National Science Bowl, headed to finals

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Jefferson Middle School National Science Bowl Regional Champs

Pictured above from left are coordinator Ken Mayes, Catherine Humphreys, Sadie Lloyd, coach Sharon Wiliford, Joseph Andress, Lawrence Zhang, Henry Shen, and Greg Mills, DOE-ORO representative.

Competition managed by DOE Office of Science

A team of students from Oak Ridge was among 14 teams of middle and high school students who won their regional competitions for the 2014 National Science Bowl this past weekend and are advancing to the National Finals in Washington, D.C., in April.

The Oak Ridge team is from Jefferson Middle School. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced the winners on Monday.

“The National Science Bowl challenges students to excel and heightens their interest in fields vital to America’s continued scientific advancement,” Moniz said. “Congratulations to these students for advancing to the National Finals. I wish them the best of luck in the competition.” [Read more…]

ORNL, Local Motors agree to pave way to world’s first 3-D printed vehicle

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Local Motors and ORNL on 3-D Printing

A new partnership between Local Motors and ORNL will explore vehicle design and construction using 3-D printing technologies. The project will make use of equipment at DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, such as the large-scale additive manufacturing machine operated here by ORNL’s Peter LLoyd.

Local Motors Inc. and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have signed a new partnership to develop and deliver technology to produce the world’s first production 3-D printed vehicle.

The cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, between Local Motors and ORNL will explore ways to make vehicle construction more efficient—including by lower production time, costs, and part count—and raise standards for control, safety, aesthetics, and mechanical flexibility.

“The primary tool in this drive for efficiency is a combination of material science and cutting-edge advanced manufacturing techniques that are both additive and subtractive,” an ORNL press release said. ORNL is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratory system.

“By invoking the principle of open-source, this partnership—and future efforts like it—will drive a true paradigm shift in hardware product development and automotive manufacturing technologies,” said Jay Rogers, co-founder and chief executive officers of Local Motors. “Just as exciting as the vision of delivering the first direct digital manufactured car is that we will be engaging future consumers to contribute and evangelize its creation. We are living in a time when speed to market trumps slow-going protectionism. Local Motors’ open development platform is what delivers this very speed.” [Read more…]

Seattle man arrested during Y-12 protest crossed blue trespass line, police say

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Christopher Ryan Spicer Arrest at Y-12

Christopher Ryan Spicer of Seattle was arrested and charged with criminal trespass at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Sunday. (Photo courtesy Ralph Hutchison)

The Seattle man who was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Sunday had repeatedly failed to comply with police commands, and he crossed a blue trespass line at the main entrance to the nuclear weapons plant, authorities said.

Christopher Ryan Spicer, 31, was participating in a weekly protest at Y-12 at about 6 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Bear Creek and Scarboro roads. This protest was significant because it occurred less than two days before the scheduled sentencing of the three protesters who broke into Y-12 in July 2012 and spray-painted slogans and splashed blood on a uranium storage building.

Dozens of people came to Knoxville from across the country for the Tuesday sentencing of the three: Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli. However, it was postponed to Feb. 18 because of snow.

Christopher Ryan Spicer

Christopher Ryan Spicer

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer James Elkins said Spicer was among the protesters on Sunday evening before he crossed a street and walked toward the Y-12 guard shack. Spicer repeatedly failed to comply with orders given by him and ORPD Sgt. Roy Heinz, Elkins said in a warrant filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. The officers told Spicer to stop as he approached the blue trespass line at the federal site, Elkins said. [Read more…]

Free Science Saturdays offered in Knoxville by ORAU, ORNL

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ORAU and ORNL Science Saturdays

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to bring students and scientists together through a weekly program called Science Saturdays that will feature engaging science topics taught through interactive presentations and hands-on activities. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to bring students and scientists together through a weekly program called Science Saturdays. Students in grades 8-12, along with their parents, are invited for three Saturday morning presentations in February, when they will learn about a variety of engaging science topics through interactive presentations and hands-on activities.

“Science Saturdays provide a unique opportunity for students to have direct interaction with scientists from ORNL,” said Marie Westfall, interim associate director for ORAU’s Center for Science Education. “Through this program, we hope to excite students about the subject of science by introducing subjects and activities not found in their daily education.” [Read more…]

Rep. Fleischmann keeps key subcommittee assignments

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann has retained seats on all three of his House Appropriations subcommittees, including the Energy and Water Subcommittee, which is important to work in Tennessee’s Third District, a press release said.

The congressman said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers announced the subcommittee assignments on Wednesday.

“I take my role as an appropriator very seriously and am thrilled to continue my membership on the Homeland Security, Labor Health and Human Services, and Energy and Water subcommittees,” said Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge. “We made great progress over the past year, and I look forward to continuing my fight for responsible spending levels. As Tennessee’s sole House appropriator, I will continue to keep the needs of the state in mind throughout all of my work on the committee.” [Read more…]

Judge says Y-12 protesters not contrite as snow delays sentencing

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Y-12 Plowshares Protesters

Pictured above are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28, 2012, and vandalized a uranium storage building. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

KNOXVILLE—The three protesters who cut through fences and vandalized a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July 2012 have not shown contrition or accepted responsibility for what they’ve done, a federal judge said during a Tuesday sentencing hearing.

The three anti-nuclear weapons activists—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—have acknowledged that they splashed human blood, hung crime scene tape, and hammered on the side of the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility on July 28, 2012. They have freely given interviews to reporters and admitted that they spray-painted slogans—they called them “Biblical graffiti”—on the side of the HEUMF, which stores most of the nation’s bomb-grade uranium.

But acknowledging their actions is not the same as contrition, U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar suggested during a Tuesday sentencing hearing at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Courthouse in Knoxville. To accept responsibility, the trio would have to show contrition and remorse, and acknowledge that what they did was wrong, Thapar said.

However, the defendants have fought the government at every step in the 18-month-old case, the judge said. [Read more…]

Work at Y-12 delayed until 10 a.m. Wednesday

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Work at the Y-12 National Security Complex was also delayed Wednesday morning because of the weather.

Employees are delayed until 10 a.m. Wednesday, Y-12 said in a statement.

A few inches of snow fell across the region, and there was snow, ice, and slippery spots on many roads.

DOE Oak Ridge Office opens late Wednesday

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Joe L. Evins Federal Building

Joe L. Evins Federal Building

Due to road conditions, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office will not open until 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29.

After that, an unscheduled leave policy (previously known as liberal leave) is in effect for employees. For the latest updates, employees can call (865) 576-9398.