Oak Ridge Today

FEMA official to participate in session on emergency management culture

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Richard Serino

Richard Serino

A federal emergency management administrator will take part in a Wednesday conference call from Oak Ridge on organizational innovations in emergency management.

Richard Serino, deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will take part in a Think Tank session on how to cultivate innovation in the “white spaces” of emergency management, a press release said. The Think Tank is from 1-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the Zach Wamp Auditorium of the New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Serino will be joined by Jim Bassham, director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and officials from the U.S. Department of Energy.

[Read more…]

Fight for immigrant rights to be discussed at Lunch with the League

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A representative of a Nashville law firm will discuss immigration during Lunch with the League on Oct. 1.

R. Andrew Free of Ozment Law will be the guest speaker. The meeting starts at noon Tuesday, Oct. 1, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. [Read more…]

Local agencies receive more than $350K in highway safety funds

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Tennessee officials last week announced $21.1 million in grants to Tennessee agencies to support highway traffic safety efforts, with more than $350,000 designated for local law enforcement agencies.

The grants include about $180,000 to the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office for driving-under-the-influence abatement and prosecution, and roughly $40,000 to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department for reducing fatalities in the county. The Oak Ridge Police Department received about $25,000 for alcohol saturation and checkpoints. [Read more…]

Fifth ‘In God We Trust’ sign, flagpole, vets memorial celebrated at courthouse

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Anderson County General Session Court In God We Trust Sign

Steve McDonald of Calvary Baptist Church introduces a new “In God We Trust” sign on the side of the Anderson County General Sessions Division II Courthouse in Oak Ridge.

A sign inscribed with the national motto “In God We Trust” was unveiled on the side of a Anderson County courthouse in Oak Ridge on Friday.

It’s the fifth “In God We Trust” sign to be posted on a county courthouse since July in a citizen-led initiative that has prompted a debate over the proper separation of church and state.

Also celebrated during a lunchtime ceremony Friday were a flagpole and memorial to five Anderson County veterans killed in the past decade in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. [Read more…]

Pellissippi State receives $4.6 million federal grant

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez on Wednesday announced $474.5 million in grants to community colleges and universities around the country, including Pellissippi State Community College, for the development and expansion of innovative training programs in partnership with local employers, a press release said.

The 57 grants will support 190 projects in at least 183 schools in every state plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Pellissippi State’s grant is valued at about $4.6 million. Located near Oak Ridge in west Knox County, the community college is the leader of a consortium that received a total of roughly $12.7 million. [Read more…]

Tax financing meeting for Oak Ridge Mall postponed

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Oak Ridge Mall

A meeting to consider a tax financing agreement for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall has been postponed. The L-shaped mall is pictured at center above.

The meeting to consider a tax incentive that could be used to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall has been postponed in order to allow a city board to update its policy to reflect current state law, a city consultant said Friday.

The meeting, which had been scheduled for Sept. 26, could be rescheduled two to three weeks later, economic development consultant Ray Evans said.

He said the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board has a tax increment financing, or TIF, policy that was initially enacted in 2008 and last updated in 2011. [Read more…]

Senate passes Alexander, Udall resolution for nuclear workers’ Day of Remembrance

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Senate unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday by U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, and U.S. Senator Mark Udall, a Colorado Democrat, to designate Oct. 30, 2013, as the fifth National Day of Remembrance for nuclear weapons program workers.

“In Tennessee, more than 14,000 workers have made claims for compensation, many of whom worked countless hours with little-understood hazardous materials to build our country’s nuclear deterrent,” Alexander said. “Many Americans labored behind the scenes, and Tennesseans—like those from Anderson and Roane counties, for example—filed more claims than any other state. It’s these workers, and those all around the country, whose sacrifice we seek to honor with this day of remembrance.” [Read more…]

DOE, TEMA emergency forum set for Sept. 26 in Oak Ridge

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office will host another Oak Ridge Emergency Management Forum on Sept. 26. This year’s theme is “Back to Basics: Partnerships in Emergency Management.” Admission is free to the public and activities will begin at 8 a.m.

The DOE-ORO and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency collaborated to sponsor this year’s forum, which will be held at the Y-12 New Hope Center in Oak Ridge. The keynote speaker, Federal Emergency Management Agency Deputy Administrator Richard Serino, will speak about current innovations in emergency management partnerships. The all-day forum will also include panel and breakout sessions on a variety of topics. [Read more…]

U.S. must combat nuclear proliferation, maintain safe weapons arsenal, NNSA nominee says

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Frank Klotz

Frank Klotz

The United States must continue to lead international efforts to limit and reduce nuclear arsenals, combat nuclear proliferation, and secure nuclear materials across the globe, the retired military officer who has been nominated to lead the National Nuclear Security Administration told a Senate committee.

But the NNSA has a second, unique responsibility: maintain a safe weapons arsenal, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz said in prepared remarks to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday morning. [Read more…]

Council gives schools $250,000, school shutdown avoided

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Bruce Borchers and Mark Watson

During a special meeting Tuesday, Oak Ridge municipal officials agreed to give the city school system an extra $250,000 to avoid a potential loss of millions of dollars in state funding and avert a possible Oct. 1 school shutdown. Pictured above are Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers, left, and City Manager Mark Watson, who recommended the extra funding on Tuesday. (File photo)

In a short special meeting Tuesday, the Oak Ridge City Council agreed to give the city’s schools $250,000 to allow the system to avoid a potential loss of millions of dollars in state funding and avert a possible Oct. 1 shutdown.

The one-time transfer will come from higher-than-expected sales tax revenues in Roane County.

The vote was 4-1-1. Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller, and Council members Chuck Hope and Charlie Hensley voted in favor of the extra funding, which had been recommended by City Manager Mark Watson. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Fire Department starts assistance identification program

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ORFD Assistance Identification Program

Oak Ridge Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo signs up Senior Advisory Board member Dave McCoy for an assistance identification program. Looking on in the back is SAB member Al Skyberg. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Fire Department has started an assistance identification program to help improve emergency service to those in Oak Ridge who may have special needs.

During an emergency of any kind, time is extremely critical, a press release said.

“This program allows for advance notification to emergency responders of any special needs at the residence to which they are responding,” the release said. “Any Oak Ridge resident of any age with special needs is encouraged to fill out a form and be included in this program. Forms to be filled out for this purpose are available at the Oak Ridge Fire Department Headquarters and also at the Oak Ridge Senior Center. These forms are completely confidential and only available to emergency responders through the 911 system.” [Read more…]

Council approves locations for sewer system tanks, county donates land for one

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Emory Valley Road Sewer System Holding Tank

An earlier draft image of what a sewer system holding tank could look like on Emory Valley Road. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

CLINTON—The Oak Ridge City Council had already taken steps to move the planned sewer system holding tanks farther back from major roads or make them less visible, and on Monday, the Anderson County Commission agreed to donate a small parcel on Emory Valley Road for one of the tanks.

Oak Ridge officials have said the tanks are needed to help comply with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order that requires the city to end all sewer system overflows by September 2015. [Read more…]