Oak Ridge Today

Registration for 2017 Summer Camp began April 1

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Registration for the 2017 Summer Camp sponsored by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department began on Saturday, April 1. Online registration is available at https://apm.activecommunities.com/oakridgerecandparks/Home.

Space is limited, and the camp will fill up quickly, a press release said. Early registration is recommended.

In addition to online registration, walk-in registration for cash or check payment will be available during regular Oak Ridge Civic Center hours (8 a.m. to 10 p.m.). Walk-in registrants should complete an online profile/account before coming in to register. The staff will complete the registration at the front desk, the press release said.

The first session of camp will begin on June 5 and run for eight consecutive weeks, Monday through Friday. There will be no camp on Tuesday, July 4. Campers must be six to twelve years of age, or have completed kindergarten, the press release said. [Read more…]

Road closure on Lafayette on Saturday for traffic signal repairs

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The City of Oak Ridge will temporarily close Lafayette Drive to northbound traffic at Emory Valley Road from approximately 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 1. Traffic will be detoured onto Emory Valley Road.

The closure is necessary to begin repairs on the traffic signal at that intersection, a press release said. The metal upright and mast arm that supports signal heads for northbound Lafayette Drive traffic was damaged during a car crash on January 13.

The repair will require the removal, inspection, and replacement of the metal upright and mast arm, the press release said. The complete repair will take between six and 18 weeks, depending on the degree of damage to the structural foundation of the pole. [Read more…]

Community Wellness Fair hosted by city, schools on Wednesday, April 5

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The City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee and Oak Ridge Schools Coordinated School Health are teaming up to host a Community Wellness Fair on Wednesday, April 5, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center. Admission is free and everyone is invited, a press release said.

The fair is set to begin at noon and will run until 5 p.m. A variety of health screenings will be offered. Topics to be covered include: [Read more…]

Scarboro skeptical, wants more discussion, but Council picks park for preschool

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About 100 people turned out for a community meeting on selecting Scarboro Park for the new Oak Ridge Preschool on Thursday, March 23, 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

About 100 people turned out for a community meeting on selecting Scarboro Park for the new Oak Ridge Preschool on Thursday, March 23, 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Residents and former residents of the Scarboro neighborhood are divided over whether to build the Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. While some support the project, others are skeptical of the city’s motives and have signed a petition opposing the site. One resident asked for more time for discussion, at least a few more meetings, during a special meeting on Monday.

But the City Council voted 5-1 to select Scarboro Park as the site for the new Oak Ridge Preschool. That vote had been postponed during a regular City Council meeting two weeks ago in order to allow city and school officials to meet with Scarboro residents this past Thursday.

Council members and other officials have portrayed the preschool project as an opportunity, a $10 million investment in the community. City officials have said the site is centrally located, the land is flat and city-owned, and its crime statistics are a bit better than those at the first preferred site, Elm Grove Park.

They have pointed out that Scarboro Park is only a half-mile from the nearest fire station, and most of the park—about 85 percent of it—would still be a park. They said the park is large enough that the 40,000-square-foot preschool could be expanded and could include 20 classrooms. The park could still include the recreational amenities—basketball courts, tennis courts, and a youth-size baseball field—although they might be moved within the park, officials said. [Read more…]

Tennessee Valley Corridor returns to Huntsville for 2017 Summit

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Tennessee Valley Corridor Logo

The Tennessee Valley Corridor, or TVC, will return to Huntsville, Alabama, to hold its yearly science and technology Summit from May 31 to June 1. The Summit, themed “Huntsville and the TVC: Smart. Innovative. Collaborative,” will be held at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, or USSRC, and will be hosted by Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and USSRC Chief Executive Officer Deborah Barnhart.

“The Tennessee Valley Corridor is home to some of the smartest minds on the planet and this annual summit draws the best and the brightest,” Mayor Battle said. “We look forward to an exciting and engaging exchange of ideas and opportunities.”

The Summit will convene more than 300 government, business, academic, and community leaders from the five-state region, which includes the 10 congressional districts in East and Middle Tennessee, North Alabama, Western North Carolina, Southwest Virginia, and Eastern Kentucky.

The Summit will focus on Huntsville’s and NASA’s role in the region, the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit throughout the TVC, and the federal missions in the region. Registration for the Summit is now available at TennValleyCorridor.org. [Read more…]

Weaver presents program on African-American involvement in Manhattan Project to Oak Ridge youth

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On February 22, in honor of Black History Month, Rose Weaver, in conjunction with Manhattan Project National Historical Park, presented an informative program on African-American involvement in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the “Secret City.” (Photo courtesy Manhattan Project National Historical Park)

On February 22, in honor of Black History Month, Rose Weaver, in conjunction with Manhattan Project National Historical Park, presented an informative program on African-American involvement in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the “Secret City.” (Photo courtesy Manhattan Project National Historical Park)

 

On February 22, in honor of Black History Month, Rose Weaver, in conjunction with Manhattan Project National Historical Park, presented an informative program on African-American involvement in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the “Secret City.”

Weaver is an active member of the Oak Ridge community and has a passion for preserving the history of the African-American presence since the city’s inception, a press release said. During the past 15 years, Weaver and her late brother, Terry Weaver, have been gathering oral histories and artifacts for a traveling exhibit to tell the stories of the rich history of Oak Ridge and to share with area youth.

She gave her program to a group of 20 young girls at Girls Inc. in Oak Ridge, the press release said. The girls are participating in a year-long educational program called Parks in Focus. The goal of the program is to educate the youths about the natural/cultural history of the area as well as basic photography skills. [Read more…]

OREPA to present information about U.S. weapons programs at United Nations

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Ralph Hutchison

Ralph Hutchison

The United Nations conference on a nuclear weapons ban opens in New York City on Monday, March 27. The purpose of the conference is to “negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading toward their total elimination,” a press release said.

Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, will be presenting in a side event during the conference on Tuesday, March 28, with colleagues from other nuclear weapons sites, the press release said. The panel discussion, “US Nuclear Modernization Under President Trump: Implications for the Ban Treaty Process,” was organized by the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. The focus will be on U.S. efforts to modernize the entire nuclear weapons program, the release said. [Read more…]

Emert running for Anderson County mayor

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Steve Emert

Steve Emert

Steve Emert, chair of the Anderson County Commission, is running for Anderson County mayor as a Republican in the 2018 election.

Emert has served the last five years as a county commissioner from District 3, which includes Norris and Andersonville. He has been county commission chair for the past two years.

When he was elected to County Commission in 2012, Emert said in a press release, he immediately started furthering his education in every aspect of the local government, and he earned the CPA designation (certified public administrator).

Emert is a longtime local businessman and entrepreneur, the press release said. [Read more…]

NRC has accepted TVA’s early site permit application for small nuclear reactors

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TVA-SMRs-at-NRC-Meeting-April-12-2016

The Tennessee Valley Authority applied for an early site permit in May 2016 that could help prepare for small modular nuclear reactors at the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge, possibly as soon as the mid-2020s. Pictured above at a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting on the early site permit on Tuesday, April 12, 2016, is Dan Stout, TVA senior manager, small modular reactors. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority submitted an application last May for an early site permit for small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs, at the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, accepted the application for “docketing and detailed technical review” in December.

The early site permit application is for two or more SMRs.

A specific reactor design has not been selected. The NRC said TVA has identified parameters for a surrogate nuclear plant, and the NRC will use them to evaluate the site’s suitability for building and operating a new nuclear plant.

“If NRC determines that the site is suitable for the building and operation of a new nuclear plant, prior to building and operation of a plant at the site, NRC would need to review and approve an additional application from TVA (either a combined license (COL) or a construction permit (CP)) that includes a specific reactor design,” the NRC said on its website.

The project’s timeline, which includes a detailed technical review, is now in the hands of the NRC, and it will likely take several years, TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said Friday. [Read more…]

Council to discuss General Sessions Court, legislative updates

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The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above in December 2016. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council is scheduled to discuss a project to relocate the Anderson County General Sessions Court from a private building on Bus Terminal Road to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road during a work session on Monday evening.

Council is also scheduled to receive a legislative update and possibly discuss issues of interest to Oak Ridge, including bills related to the Industrial Development Board, school financing bills, and other bills of interest to cities.

The work session will follow a special meeting scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Monday, March 27, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. The one item on the special meeting agenda is a vote on whether to build the new preschool at Scarboro Park. [Read more…]

Council scheduled to vote on Scarboro Park for preschool on Monday

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The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to build a new preschool at Scarboro Park during a special meeting on Monday, March 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council is scheduled to vote on selecting Scarboro Park for the new preschool during a special meeting on Monday.

The special meeting starts at 7 p.m. Monday, March 27, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education selected Scarboro Park in February. [Read more…]

Bob Clement, former member of Congress, to speak, sign books at Green McAdoo

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Former member of Congress, Bob Clement (D-TN) will speak and sign books at the Green McAdoo Cultural Center in Clinton on Monday, April 10, 2017. (Submitted photo)

Former member of Congress, Bob Clement (D-TN) will speak and sign books at the Green McAdoo Cultural Center in Clinton on Monday, April 10, 2017. (Submitted photo)

Former U.S. Congressman Bob Clement, a Tennessee Democrat, will read and sign his new memoir in Clinton in April.

Clement’s new memoir is titled “Presidents, Kings, and Convicts: My Journey from the Tennessee Governor’s Residence to the Halls of Congress.” The memoir shares his front row seat to some of America’s most significant events, including the 1956 desegregation of Clinton High School, a press release said.

Clement will be at the Green McAdoo Cultural Center in Clinton from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, April 10. The Green McAdoo Cultural Center is at 101 School Street in Clinton.

Clement’s book describes behind-the-scenes accounts of some of his most memorable events beginning with his childhood growing up in the Tennessee governor’s mansion to becoming a Tennessee Valley Authority director, military officer, college president, successful businessman, and a member of Congress for eight terms, a press release said. It features a chapter on the desegregation of the South, specifically the role his father, Frank G. Clement, played in helping to integrate Clinton High School, fighting against the racial intolerance of the day, the press release said.

“He was instrumental in restoring order after the tragic bombing of the school in 1958, and ushering 12 black students back to the school in an act of racial equality and tolerance,” the press release said. [Read more…]