Oak Ridge Today

Secret City Festival announces new concert security measures

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

The Secret City Festival will have tighter security at the Friday and Saturday night concerts this year, and visitors could experience a few delays as organizers try to make the shows safer, a press release said.

No backpacks or coolers will be allowed into the concert site, and all bags will be subject to search, the release said.

“In light of recent events, we’re being extra vigilant in our protection of our attendees, staff, and the community during the festival concerts,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. [Read more…]

Anderson Commission unanimously approves budget with small tax cut

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Note: This story was updated at 1:12 p.m. June 18.

CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission unanimously approved a budget that cut the property tax rate by one-third of a penny on Monday.

It was a small but symbolic gesture, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said when she proposed the move, and commissioners endorsed it, during a special meeting last week.

For now, officials have resolved an impasse over whether there was enough money to cover the cost of new jailers hired in the past year by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department for a jail dormitory that is already open—and to pay for more than 30 new jailers needed when a 212-bed addition opens later this year or early next. [Read more…]

B&W-led team files new protest over Y-12, Pantex contract

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

The Babcock and Wilcox Company announced Monday that Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, has filed a new protest with the Government Accountability Office related to the combined management and operating contract at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

“NP2 has expressed concern over the fairness of the procurement and selection process and the form and scope of the revised request for proposals issued to bidders on June 6,” a press release said. [Read more…]

State awards $200,000 grant for lighting at Oak Ridge Municipal Building, Civic Center

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Gov. Bill Haslam Check Presentation

Gov. Bill Haslam announces that Oak Ridge has received $200,000 in Clean Tennessee Energy Grant funding for lighting at the Municipal Building and Civic Center.

Gov. Bill Haslam on Monday announced that Oak Ridge is receiving $200,000 in Clean Tennessee Energy Grant funding for lighting in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building and Civic Center Complex.

The money will be used to replace and retrofit existing fluorescent lighting fixtures to LED lighting, a press release said.

It’s the first of 19 grant awards that the governor will be making in the next few weeks, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said in the press release. Funding for the projects comes from an April 2011 Clean Air Act settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority. [Read more…]

Anderson Commission considers small tax cut, re-established alternatives to jail

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CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission could officially approve a budget tonight that lowers the property tax rate by one-third of a penny, and commissioners will consider re-establishing the Alternatives to Incarceration program under the direction and control of the Sheriff’s Department.

Commission will also consider selling 22.4 acres in the David Jones Industrial Park, with a 4.27-acre swap. The land would be sold for $13,500 per acre, with 2.9 acres removed from the original parcel to be retained by Anderson County.

The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in Room 312 at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. [Read more…]

Two from Clinton apply for Appeals Court seat

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Information from WYSH Radio

Several people, including two from Clinton, have applied to fill an anticipated 2014 vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. The opening is the result of an announcement by Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Joseph Tipton that he will not seek re-election in August 2014, creating a vacancy effective Sept. 1, 2014.

Because the statutory provisions for the Judicial Nominating Commission expire June 30, the commission will meet this month to select a slate of candidates for Gov. Bill Haslam to choose from. The Court of Criminal Appeals opening is for the Eastern Tennessee Grand Division. [Read more…]

House passes Manhattan Project national park bill that would include Oak Ridge

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X-10 Graphite Reactor

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park would include the X-10 Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Submitted photo)

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday took an essential step toward establishing a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that could include Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash., a nonprofit organization said.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act was included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which the House passed Friday, the Atomic Heritage Foundation said in an e-mail.

“The new national park will be the first to recognize the top-secret project in World War II that changed the course of world history, science, and society,” the foundation said. [Read more…]

BBB: OS Budget Committee recommends water, sewer, tax rate increases

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Thursday, the Oliver Springs Budget Committee recommended a tax rate increase and across-the-board water and sewer rate increases as they prepare to adopt a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

BBB-TV reported that the committee recommended water and sewer rate increases for both residential and commercial customers as the city prepares to apply for a loan to make improvements to its aging wastewater plant. [Read more…]

Norris budget approved with no tax hike

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Monday, the Norris City Council voted on second and final reading to adopt its budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The budget approved this week contains no property tax rate increase, but it does provide 2 percent cost-of-living raises for city workers.

The Council did approve rate increases in water and sewer service that should cause customers’ bills to go up by anywhere from $5 to $10 a month. The increased rates are needed to pay for sewer improvements mandated by the state that will be undertaken during the next three years.

Anderson budget cuts tax rate; officials assure sheriff new jailers are covered

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CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission endorsed a budget Thursday that lowers the property tax rate, gives employees a day off, and is supposed to provide enough money to pay for jailers hired in the past year while allowing the sheriff to hire new ones for a jail addition that could open later this year.

The budget would also restore some funding for the relatively new Alternatives to Incarceration program, which Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank had proposed cutting by 80 percent, and add money to cover the cost of increased health insurance premiums for county employees.

The budget was endorsed in a 12-1-1 vote during a special meeting Thursday, the second this week. It could officially be adopted during the County Commission’s regular meeting on Monday. [Read more…]

Organizing for Action has Climate Cleanup at Melton Lake Park on Saturday

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Organizing for Action will be holding an event on Saturday called Climate Cleanup. This event will take place at 3:30 p.m. and be held at the pavilion at Melton Lake Park next to the New China Place restaurant in Oak Ridge.

Climate Cleanup will start with Organizing for Action fellow Scott Julius giving a speech about climate change, why the climate change deniers are wrong, and how this problem impacts Tennessee. His assistant Rose Williams will give a short speech about what one can do to help. Their goal is to encourage people to contact senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander to get them to sponsor comprehensive climate change legislation.

After the speeches, a  cleanup will take place to help remove litter from the park, allowing those present to do something tangible to help the environment. [Read more…]

Price Florist won’t be demolished yet, but declared a nuisance, unfit

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Price Florist

A city board has declared Price Florist on Oak Ridge Turnpike to be a nuisance and unfit for human occupation and use.

Price Florist won’t be demolished yet.

On Thursday, the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals declared the longtime business on Oak Ridge Turnpike to be a nuisance and unfit for human occupation or use. It’s already been vacated, and the property owner is cleaning it up.

But the six board members at Thursday’s meeting stopped short of issuing a demolition order. [Read more…]