A fallen tree on Wiltshire Drive caused widespread power outages in Oak Ridge on Thursday evening.
The City of Oak Ridge reported the power outages at about 8 p.m. Thursday. The city said the Oak Ridge Electric Department was working to repair power, and at about 9 p.m., the city said power could be restored to most customers within an hour.
City government facilities are returning to normal operations after more than a year of trying to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and the Oak Ridge Public Library will return to normal operating hours on Tuesday, June 1.
However, not all Oak Ridge municipal departments and services have returned to full capacity, a press release said.
Here is a COVID-19 update provided by the City of Oak Ridge on Friday:
Departmental services are continuing. City officials strongly urge citizens to conduct their business electronically, over the phone, and by mail whenever possible. Financial transactions can be handled electronically and via mail. If you need to reach a department, call the number listed below for each department or click here for a list of all departments. You can also reach a department by email or social media.
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After a long shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, the K-25 History Center re-opened Monday morning.
The K-25 History Center is located on the south side of the site where the K-25 Building used to be at what is now Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge. The K-25 Building was once the world’s largest. The K-25 History Center is on the second floor of the City of Oak Ridge fire station at Heritage Center.
The K-25 site was built during World War II, and it enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. The site was shut down in the 1980s. The site was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, and it was to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.
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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool opens for the season beginning Memorial Day weekend.
The pool will be open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 29, through Monday, May 31, a press release said. Beginning June 1, summer hours will be in effect. Public swim is Monday through Friday from noon to 7 p.m., Wednesday nights from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The pool will also be open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to noon for 100-meter lap swim.
“As a reminder, areas of the pool may be closed at times depending on activities, attendance, and staffing,” the press release said. “The kiddie pool will remain closed this season for repairs.”
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Murals celebrating nature, diversity, history, and outdoor activities have been painted on or near several Oak Ridge buildings, including at the boathouse and at ORNL Federal Credit Union.
Three murals have been painted near the ORNL Federal Credit Union headquarters on Rutgers Avenue. Another mural has been painted on the Oak Ridge Rowing Association boathouse at Melton Lake Park.
A fifth mural is being painted on an ORNL Federal Credit Union building on West Tennessee Avenue.
The first three murals painted at the credit union headquarters building on Rutgers Avenue were designed by students at Oak Ridge High School, Jefferson Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School, according to JMS art teacher Jim Dodson, who is also an Oak Ridge City Council member. The murals were created by Bryan Wilkerson, art professor at Roane State Community College. For their work, each of the schools received a $500 contribution to their art departments, and the students received a cash award, Dodson said.
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Tuesday approved the purchase of three drones that will help police officers and firefighters battle blazes, find lost people, and respond to calls about people barricaded with weapons.
The seven-member Council had deferred a vote on the drones during its May 10 meeting after members raised questions about privacy, civil liberties, and requests for images or videos inadvertently captured by the drones.
Jeff Cole is seeking re-election as Anderson County clerk in the 2022 election.
Cole has worked in the Anderson County Clerk’s office since 1989, and he has served as Anderson County clerk since 2002, a press release said.
Cole is a certified public administrator from the University of Tennessee, and he is a graduate of the University of Tennessee Local Government Leadership Program. Cole was president of the County Clerks Association for the State of Tennessee, and he was chosen as County Clerk of the Year by all county clerks in the state of Tennessee in 2015, the press release said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the office has had a continued interest in protecting Anderson County families and businesses that use the clerk’s office, the press release said. Recently, the office installed new counters that have enhanced safety features and allow for better service, the release said.
The County Clerk’s office is responsible for waiting on more than 120,000 customers a year, according to the press release. The office has more than $8 million in receipts per year and offers more than 15 different services to the citizens of Anderson County.
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Note: This story was last updated at 6:30 p.m.
With limited exceptions, garbage cans in Oak Ridge will have to be brought to the curb for the weekly pickup starting July 1, and there will be a $1.20 monthly fee increase for the waste disposal service.
The city’s previous 25-year contract is expiring, and the new contract will start July 1.
Unlike many cities, Oak Ridge has had a “backdoor pickup” garbage service for years, but that is ending. With that back door service, garbage would be picked up away from the curb—at a back door, for example.
Under the new contract, people with qualifying disabilities will still be eligible for backdoor garbage and recycling services. (More information is included below.)
As part of the contract change to curbside pickup, new large 95-gallon trash bins will be provided at no cost, a press release said.
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Residential lots have been proposed for the upper part of Oak Ridge Summit, the former Pine Ridge above South Illinois Avenue.
The 45-acre site could have 57 single-family lots, as well as open space, on a new street and cul-de-sac with access off Summit Drive on the former ridge, according to the agenda for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday.
The City of Oak Ridge wants to buy three drones for the Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department.
The drones could minimize risks to emergency responders, according to a city memo. Drones could help officers and firefighters perform dangerous tasks such as responding to reports of armed people and other imminent threats, and evaluating fires and hazardous material incidents, the city said. Drones could also help with searches for lost people, which are often impeded by dense vegetation or delayed while waiting for all-terrain vehicles or boats.
“A drone can perform these tasks without delay and without placing responders at risk,” the memo said.
The drones could be used for aerial observation and intelligence collection, the memo said.
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David Rasmussen
An international fusion energy project that involves Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be discussed in an online meeting on Wednesday, May 19.
The featured speaker will be David Rasmussen, the leader of the technical integration of the U.S. contributions to the international fusion project, which is under construction in France and known as ITER.
Rasmussen’s areas of responsibility have included the ITER plasma heating and fueling systems, a press release said. He has been a plasma research scientist at ORNL since 1981. He has more than 35 years of fusion and plasma science experience in diagnostic measurements and the technology development needed for magnetic confinement fusion and other plasma technology applications, the release said. Rasmussen received a Ph.D. in applied science, specializing in plasma physics, from the University of California at Davis in 1981 where his graduate work was a study of inertial laser fusion wave plasma interactions.
The May 19 talk is hosted by ORION, an amateur science and astronomy club based in Oak Ridge. The talk is scheduled to begin on Zoom at 7 p.m. May 19, and it is open to the public. If you are interested in joining, the Zoom meeting ID is 885 2873 5960, and the passcode is 716689. Alternatively, you can follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88528735960?pwd=KzY4bnBHcjlhTzg3L3pOcjY0TFovUT09. [Read more…]
Alan Robock
A climate science professor at Rutgers University will discuss how nuclear war could affect the climate and humanity during a virtual meeting in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, May 18.
Alan Robock will be the featured speaker at the virtual monthly meeting of Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The meeting will be open to the public, and it is scheduled to begin at noon Tuesday, May 18.
Robock is a distinguished professor of climate science in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His FORNL talk is titled “The Climatic and Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear War.”
The Zoom link (meeting ID) can be found by clicking on the lecture title on the home page of the new FORNL website at www.fornl.org and then clicking the link just below the title on the talk’s descriptive page. [Read more…]
