Mark Watson
The city manager will present his proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 during a work session at 7 p.m. today in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.
The budget presentation had earlier been scheduled for May 6, but it has been changed due to scheduling conflicts, a city press release said. [Read more…]
An unidentified suspect fired on a security officer at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant near Spring City early Sunday morning, and the officer fired back. No one was injured, and the suspect fled. (Photo courtesy of TVA)
An unidentified suspect fired multiple rounds at a security officer on patrol at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant early Sunday morning, and at least one round hit the security officer’s vehicle, an official said.
The Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear security officer fired back, also shooting multiple rounds.
The suspect appeared to have initially been on the ground but may have fled in a boat, TVA spokesman Jim Hopson said.
The shots were fired just after 2 a.m. this morning on the east side of the 1,700-acre plant, near the Tennessee River, toward the plant’s southern boundary, TVA said. The officer was several hundred yards outside the protected area where the reactor and power equipment are located. [Read more…]
Steve Jones
Former Clinton City Manager Steve Jones has been hired by the City of Oak Ridge to provide economic development support services, with a particular emphasis on industrial and commercial recruitment.
The term of the support services agreement is April through October 2013. Jones will be paid $3,500 per month and will report to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson.
“Steve was extremely successful as a recruiter during his 10-year tenure as city manager of Clinton,” Watson said. “With the advent of the Uranium Processing Facility project and the upswing in industrial activity in the region, the city will benefit from having a professional business developer focusing everyday on opportunities for Oak Ridge. I look forward to having Steve representing us at the regional and state levels.” [Read more…]
Bob Corker
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, also voted Wednesday against the bipartisan Toomey-Manchin amendment to expand background checks for potential gun purchasers.
Like U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, Corker said he supported what is known as the Grassley amendment.
“Like most Americans, I want to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and dangerous mentally ill people,” Corker said in a press release Wednesday evening. “Today, I supported the Grassley amendment to enhance mental health reporting requirements, which I believe is the central issue, and to improve the background check system in a way that is not an impediment to Second Amendment rights. [Read more…]
Pictured above at U.S. District Court in Knoxville are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.
The three protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July want to call a retired bishop, a doctor, a former U.S. attorney general, a civil rights leader, and a retired military officer and diplomat as witnesses in a Tuesday hearing and May 7 trial in Knoxville.
The proposed witnesses include former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, civil rights sit-in participant Robert Booker, doctor Ira Helfand, retired Col. Mary Annette Wright, and retired U.S. Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton.
The three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—also want six hours, and not 1.5, to question prospective jurors for their May 7 trial in U.S. District Court. [Read more…]
Lamar Alexander
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Wednesday joined senators opposing one amendment that would have expanded background checks for potential gun purchasers and another to ban assault weapons.
New gun-control measures are being considered four months after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Wednesday’s votes were considered major defeats for supporters of tougher gun laws.
A Tennessee Republican, Alexander said he instead supports a proposal offered by senators Chuck Grassley, a Iowa Republican, and Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican. He said the Grassley-Cruz amendment would strengthen federal prosecution under existing gun laws and clarify which records must be included in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. [Read more…]
The proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Submitted image)
President Barack Obama’s budget request for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 includes $326 million for the Uranium Processing Facility project at the Y-12 National Security Complex, federal officials said this week.
The president’s proposed budget, which still has to be considered by Congress, was released last week. The National Nuclear Security Administration released details on Monday.
The NNSA has also posted highlights of the president’s budget request. [Read more…]
Omega Plastics will expand its corporate headquarters in Clinton, investing $8.2 million and adding 80 new positions in Anderson County, state officials and company executives announced Wednesday.
The expansion will add an extra 85,000 square feet, more than doubling the company’s current facility in the Carden Farm Industrial Park, a press release said. It said Omega Plastics is a world leader in “plastics extrusion molding solutions for prototype and low-volume production.”
The company supplies clients across the globe in medical, consumer packaging, automotive, and security and safety productions. [Read more…]
The flags at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton have been lowered to half-staff and will remain so through sunset Saturday in honor and memory of the victims of Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon, a press release said.
Anderson County Veterans Service Officer Leon Jaquet lowered the flags late Tuesday morning after receiving notification from the Office of President Barack Obama, who issued a presidential proclamation ordering the lowering of U.S. flags at all public buildings and grounds as a mark of respect for the victims.
“Such acts of evil are always difficult to understand,” Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said. “My prayers are with the victims, their families and those who so bravely responded to help.”
Oak Ridge resident Mark Cristy was running in the Boston Marathon on Monday when two bombs exploded near the finish line. Cristy was not injured. Above, he runs in a half marathon in New Zealand a few years ago. (Photo courtesy Mark Cristy)
Amy Viars heard the first explosion about 30 minutes after she finished the Boston Marathon on Monday.
It struck her as strange. Then, about 10 seconds later, a second explosion. It seemed out of place. Maybe it was a cannon celebrating Patriots Day or a Red Sox win.
“It just got eerily quiet,” said Viars, a Powell resident who works at Oak Ridge Associated Universities. “Everyone just got eerily silent.”
Amy and her husband James, who was there to cheer her on in her first Boston Marathon, decided to leave. About the time they started walking to their car, a quarter-mile away at the Prudential Center, they began hearing sirens. [Read more…]
At front left are Vada Oberlin and Secretary Shirley Auble of SARG presenting a check to Julie Armes of the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter. In back are President Jack Archer, Secretary Jan Baker, Police Chief James T. Akagi, Vice President Sara Moore, ORPD Capt. Mike Uher, Linda Gonda, and Lt. Robin Smith. (Submitted photo)
Shelter Animal Rescue Group recently presented a $10,000 check to the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter from an auction last year, and SARG is getting ready for this year’s auction. It’s scheduled for Friday.
The $10,000 check was from the 2012 Paws for Life Gala Auction. The funds are going to assist the shelter with updating and creating a clinic area to do exams, shots, microchipping, and other general exams. SARG will also use the funds to help some animal owners with surgical and medical needs for their pets, a press release said.
This year’s gala auction is at 6 p.m. Friday at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge. The press release said the gala will benefit many programs that help hundreds of dogs and cats in Anderson County. [Read more…]
Note: This story was updated at 2:49 p.m.
CLINTON—After hours of discussion and five meetings, the Anderson County Commission has agreed to place four black granite signs inscribed with the national motto “In God We Trust” in gold letters above each of the four doors at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.
The signs would be paid for by donations. Commission agreed to accept contributions and donations in the Anderson County Budget Director’s Office.
It’s the third time the signs have been considered by the commission since February. They’ve also been considered twice by the Anderson County Operations Committee. Much of the debate among commissioners and residents has focused on the whether the signs should be posted at all—some opponents would like to keep a strict separation between church and state—and whether other mottos such as “E pluribus unum” and “Liberty and Justice for All” should also be included. [Read more…]
