Oak Ridge Today

Recreation, Parks Board to discuss upcoming year during Saturday work session

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Advisory Board will discuss its work plan for the upcoming year during a Saturday morning work session. The Board will also discuss ways it can work alongside the Recreation and Parks Department on long-range planning.

The work session starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, January 31, in the Club Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

For more information about the Recreation and Parks Department, call (865) 425-3450 or visit www.orrecparks.org for information on all of their programs.

Sewer rehab work continues week of Jan. 26

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More rehabilitation work of the city’s sewer collection pipes is scheduled to continue this week, starting Monday, January 26.

The work is being done by Hurst Excavating and Portland Utilities Construction Company under contract with the City of Oak Ridge. It includes rehabilitating sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and in roadways, a press release said. [Read more…]

Democrats to discuss early years of Planned Parenthood in Monday meeting

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A former president of the first Planned Parenthood in the Southeast will discuss the organization during a Monday evening meeting of Democrats.

Elizabeth Peelle helped organize and then served as president and volunteer executive director from 1969 to 1970 for Planned Parenthood of the Southern Mountains, the first Planned Parenthood in the Southeast, serving health care needs of women in Anderson County and surrounding Appalachian counties, a press release said. She drafted the first proposal for outside funding that led to a professional staff for the agency.

Peelle then organized Tennesseans for Choice in 1989 because Planned Parenthood could not lobby for the pro-choice view, and she served as its president for the first eight years, the press release said. [Read more…]

Haslam announces winners of LEAP competition, including Roane State

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Submitted

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam in December announced the recipients of the Labor Education Alignment Program, or LEAP, competition, a state effort focused on increasing opportunities for Tennesseans to obtain a certificate or degree beyond high school that is aligned with the needs of the workforce in their communities.

“These types of intentional partnerships between local agencies and their colleges or TCATS are what we want to see across the state as a significant piece of the Drive to 55 initiative,” Haslam said. “Tying the training and skills that our colleges are teaching directly to current workforce needs will help more Tennesseans qualify for good paying, high quality jobs.”

The communities and colleges selected as LEAP recipients exemplify the collaboration and alignment between workforce needs and higher education that are at the core of the Drive to 55,” Haslam said. [Read more…]

Breakfast with Legislators kicks off Monday

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

John Ragan

John Ragan

This year’s Breakfast with the Legislators kicks off Monday.

Breakfast with the Legislators is a monthly morning meeting with state legislators from Oak Ridge and Anderson and Roane counties. It’s held the first few months each year while the Tennessee General Assembly is in session in Nashville.

It includes brief updates of the legislative session from local legislators and a question-and-answer session with those who attend. It’s open to the public. [Read more…]

Sen. McNally reappointed chair of Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

Tennessee Senator Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, has been reappointed chairman of the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee.

Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey made the appointment during the General Assembly’s organizational session, which ended Saturday. McNally has led the committee as chairman since 2007.

“I am very pleased to be reappointed to this role in our Finance Committee” McNally said in a press release. “This will be another challenging year for our budget, and I look forward to working on solutions to the issues we face.” [Read more…]

Hike for Your Heart at Haw Ridge on Feb. 7

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Haw Ridge Park Parking Lot

Part of the Melton Lake Greenway is pictured above at the Haw Ridge Park parking lot.

 

Oak Ridge city and school officials will kick off Heart Health Month with a walk and hike at Haw Ridge Park on February 7.

Hike for Your Heart is a 4.2-mile walk with optional trail hiking included. It starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, February 7, and the public is invited. The walk and hike has been organized by the City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee and Oak Ridge Coordinated School Health.

The walking path has varied elevations, a press release said. Walkers will leave the Haw Ridge parking area on Edgemoor Road promptly at 9 a.m. February 7. [Read more…]

Tuskegee Road to be closed temporarily for repairs

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City of Oak Ridge Seal

Parts of Tuskegee Road in central Oak Ridge will be closed temporarily for repairs to the gravel section of the road. The closure is scheduled to start Monday, January 26, and end Friday, January 30, weather permitting.

The repairs will be done by the Oak Ridge Public Works Department. The work will require sections of the road to be closed during the day starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 3 p.m., a city press release said.

There will be no through traffic during the closures, although provisions will be made for residents to access their properties.

For additional information about the Public Works Department, call (865) 425-1875 or visit www.OakRidgeTN.gov.

Alexander to chair Energy, Water Subcommittee, which oversees Oak Ridge funding

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander has been elected chair of a Senate subcommittee that oversees funding for federal sites in Oak Ridge, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Nuclear Security Complex.

Alexander, who is a Tennessee Republican, was elected chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development by Senate Republicans on Tuesday, his office said in a press release.

“If we’re going to power our 21st-century economy, we need to pursue policies that don’t pick winners and losers in the marketplace, and that instead enable innovation in our free enterprise system,” Alexander said. “That means unleashing nuclear power and other sources of the cheap, clean, reliable energy we need. It also means using our taxpayer dollars wisely: by supporting government-sponsored research that leads to innovation and jobs, and by controlling the costs of big construction projects in Tennessee and across the country.” [Read more…]

State: Tennessee roads good, but per-capita highway revenue the lowest

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Tennessee’s per-capita revenue for highways in 2010 was the lowest of the 50 states, but its roads are generally rated as being of good quality, officials said Tuesday.

Tennessee was fourth-highest among 50 states in the percentage of roads in good condition and 13th-lowest in percent of deficient bridges.

A study by the Offices of Research and Education Accountability in the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury said the state’s fuel taxes have stagnated and are not expected to be sufficient to maintain existing infrastructure and meet long-term transportation demands. [Read more…]

ORAU wins contract worth up to $89 million from EPA

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Oak Ridge Associated Universities Building MC-100

The Oak Ridge Associated Universities Building MC-100 is pictured above.

Oak Ridge Associated Universities recently won a five-year contract worth up to $89 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to manage the EPA Environmental Research and Business Support Program, which provides opportunities for exceptional undergraduate and recent bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral graduates to participate in the EPA-sanctioned research and administrative projects.

Through this work, ORAU will recruit and place employees at 13 EPA Office of Research and Development laboratories and research centers across the U.S.  These participants in both business and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields will receive hands-on training in real-world settings at these laboratories and research centers while contributing to EPA’s mission, a press release said. [Read more…]

Guest column: Next six-month challenges in Roane County

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Ron Woody

Ron Woody

By Ron Woody, writing in the January 2015 “County Executive’s Newsletter to the County Commission”

“Next Six Month Challenges”

As we begin the next calendar year, we thought it would be appropriate to identify some challenges which will come before commission in the next six months. As always, the beginning of the calendar year starts the annual budget process. Commission has made many major steps over the last number of years in establishing a more formal budget development process as budget focus has been divided into operating budgets and capital budget. We are not to the point we should be yet in both funding and understanding, but much as been accomplished and that I call a success.

Now to our six-month challenges:

  1. More deployment of capital budget. We plan on working on this in February and March. The questions to be answered are: Are we setting aside enough funds for replacement of our assets? Where do these set-aside funds come from and how do we protect these funds from competing services?
  2. Insuring that the county has a successful reappraisal program which includes not only accurate value but an understanding of the reappraisal impact.
  3. Funding of operational budgets which are either strained (general government) or suffering major loses (schools).
  4. Educational plans of capital improvements and related funding whether consolidation of schools are considered or not.

[Read more…]