Oak Ridge Today

Volunteers needed for new MyRide Oak Ridge Senior Transportation Program

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MyRide-Oak-Ridge-Training-Session
A training session for MyRide Oak Ridge Senior Transportation Program is pictured above at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The new MyRide Oak Ridge Senior Transportation Program is hosting its third Volunteer Driver Information and Training Session from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturday, August 17, at the Oak Ridge Senior Center.

MyRide Oak Ridge began with a “soft launch” in the spring and provided its first ride on April 12, a press release said. Through the program, volunteers will use their personal vehicles to drive seniors to doctor appointments, grocery stores, pharmacies, and other essential destinations.

The program allows seniors to keep some of their independence while still participating in social activities like going to church, playing bingo at the Senior Center, or volunteering, the press release said.

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Roane State’s Technology Building renamed for Sen. Ken Yager

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Roane State Community College Technology Building

The Technology Building at Roane State Community College’s main campus in Harriman has been renamed in honor of Tennessee Sen. Ken Yager. (Photo by Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

One of the first buildings constructed on Roane State Community College’s Roane County campus has been renamed in honor of a lifelong public servant who is now a state senator.

The Tennessee Board of Regents has approved the community college’s request to rename the 41-year-old Technology Building the Ken Yager Building.

“Senator Yager has been an advocate for Roane State students for many years, as Roane County Executive, as a Roane State faculty member and dean, and now as a member of the Tennessee General Assembly,” Roane State President Chris Whaley said. [Read more…]

Puppy Pool Party is Aug. 18

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A dog enjoys the Puppy Pool Party at the Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road in 2016. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The annual Puppy Pool Party is scheduled for Sunday, August 18.

The Puppy Pool Party is scheduled the day after the season ends at the city’s Outdoor Pool on Providence Road. The last day for open swim at the pool will be Saturday, August 17, from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. The Puppy Pool Party will take place on Sunday, August 18, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“This is the fourth year for the puppy pool party, an event that marks the end of the summer swimming season at the outdoor pool,” a press release said. “Owners may only wade in water up to knee deep and must clean up after their pet.”

Children are not allowed in the pool during the event, the press release said.

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CDC awards $167 million dose reconstruction contract to ORAU

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Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

ORAU and its partners have received a $167 million multi-year contract for work that includes radiation dose reconstructions for a federal compensation program that involves certain illnesses and work at sites affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy.

ORAU announced the contract in a press release on Wednesday.

ORAU and its partners started work on the original contract in 2002, or 17 years ago. The new contract is for one year with four, one-year options, the press release said.

The contract is with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The work will support the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH.

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Fallen tree causes widespread power outages

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A fallen tree caused the widespread power outages in Oak Ridge on Sunday afternoon, city officials said.

On Monday, the city didn’t have an exact number of homes and businesses affected by the power outages after heavy rain and lightning hit Oak Ridge on Sunday afternoon. The Oak Ridge Police Department had reported on Sunday that the power outage was nearly citywide.

On Monday, the Oak Ridge Electric Department said a fallen tree along Oak Ridge Turnpike near Gum Hollow Road caused the outage on Sunday. Three substations were affected, which led to outages across much of the city. The outage lasted about one hour, the city said.

Power restored after being out across most of city

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Note: This story was updated at 4:30 p.m.

Power has been restored to most, if not all, customers after being out across nearly all of Oak Ridge on Sunday afternoon, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

If you are still without power, you can call (865) 425-1803.

The cause of the power outages weren’t immediately clear, but there were thunderstorms over Oak Ridge on Sunday afternoon. The storms brought heavy rain and lightning and thunder.

It wasn’t immediately clear how long the power was out for different customers and where.

It would be the second major outage in Oak Ridge since mid-June, the weekend of the Secret City Festival, when the city had several electrical power outages. The most widespread outage that weekend occurred Saturday afternoon, when approximately 11,455 homes and businesses were affected across the city. The outage area included nearly everything north of the Oak Ridge Turnpike and west of Rutgers Avenue. Other areas in the central-south part of the city were also affected. Power was out for about two hour and 20 minutes.

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City will work to improve visibility at Tyler, Tennessee

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Tyler Road Tennessee Avenue Intersection July 29 2019
The intersection of Tyler Road and Tennessee Avenue is pictured above on Monday, July 29, 2019, looking west down Tennessee Avenue.

The City of Oak Ridge on Friday said the recommended sight distance is already available at the intersection of Tyler Road and Tennessee Avenue, where the stoplight will be removed, and the city will be taking action to improve the line of sight for drivers looking left from Tyler Road.

An Oak Ridge Today reader had asked about obstructions at the intersection that affect visibility looking left from Tyler Road to Tennessee Avenue. There are two utility poles there, as well as a hospital sign and utility box, and the reader had mentioned vegetation and the roadside hill alongside the eastbound lanes of Tennessee Avenue.

This week, City of Oak Ridge spokesperson Sarah Self said the utility box, which appears to be the widest of the obstructions next to the intersection, will be removed when the traffic signal is decommissioned in October.

Public Works crews will soon trim the trees and other vegetation there to provide an extended view, Self said.

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Fatal aircraft crash occurred shortly after takeoff, NTSB says

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The fatal aircraft crash near Oliver Springs Airport occurred shortly after takeoff on Saturday, July 13, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The crash of the Quicksilver MXII was reported at 5:18 p.m. July 13, the NTSB said. The airplane was an experimental, amateur-built model, the board said. It was a two-place, open cockpit, high-wing airplane made of aluminum tubes and fabric with a 50-horsepower Rotax 503 engine and three-blade propeller.

The non-certified pilot, who owned the plane, was fatally injured in the crash, which was on the other side of a tree line east of the airport. The pilot has been identified as Patrick Lucas, 45, of Morristown.

The Quicksilver took off headed mostly north on runway 33. But after takeoff, the airplane appeared to “crab into the wind,” the NTSB said, citing a witness. That would generally mean that it was turned somewhat sideways from its forward direction of travel in order to counteract winds from the side, or crosswinds.

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NRC could finish design review of small reactor by 2020

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Cross-sectional view of the NuScale Power small modular reactor building. (Image courtesy NuScale Power)

NuScale Power of Portland, Oregon, said Monday that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed the second and third phases of its review of NuScale’s design for a small modular nuclear reactor, and the NRC is on track to complete the design review by September 2020.

This could be important to Oak Ridge because small modular reactors are possible at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge, although there are additional approvals that would be required.

The completion of the second and third phases of the NuScale design review is six weeks ahead of schedule, the company said in a press release on Monday.

“Completing phases 2 and 3 of the NRC’s design review certification process is a critical milestone for our company and the advanced nuclear industry,” said NuScale Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Hopkins.

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Anderson County plans $2.8 million animal shelter

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The proposed Anderson County Animal Shelter is pictured above in this plan by Blankenship and Partners LLC of Knoxville on Thursday, July 25, 2019.

Note: This story was last updated at 12:45 p.m. July 26.

A $2.8 million animal shelter is planned in Anderson County, possibly inside the city of Clinton.

The current animal shelter is on Blockhouse Valley Road in the Claxton community. It has 12 dog runs and 12 cat cages. It’s a 720-square-foot animal holding facility, the first in the county, and it cost about $25,000 to build. It was built by the county on county property with help from local contractors and inmate labor. It opened in the fall of 2015, about six months after Anderson County Commission approved an animal task force, said former Anderson County Commissioner and Oak Ridge resident Robin Biloski, who has helped lead the animal shelter project, including through fundraising.

“It was little, but it spoke volumes,” Biloski said during an unveiling ceremony for the plans for the new shelter at Calhoun’s restaurant in Oak Ridge on Thursday evening.

The new shelter would be much larger than the current facility. It would be more than 10,800 square feet, including about 2,900 square feet for kennels. It could have 20 dog kennels—30 total including kennels for animals that need to be quarantined and for miscellaneous animals such as pigs—and space for 20 to 30 cats, said Brian Porter, Anderson County Animal Control and Shelter Director.

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NRC has public hearing on Clinch River Nuclear Site in August

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This image shows the location of the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge. (Image by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission from the April 2019 “Reader’s Guide” for the “Final Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit at the Clinch River Nuclear Site.”)


The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have a mandatory hearing on August 14 regarding an application for an early site permit for one or more small modular nuclear reactors at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge. It’s the final step in the agency’s review of the application.

The Commission hearing will include testimony and exhibits from the Tennessee Valley Authority, which applied for the early site permit, as well as from the NRC staff. The testimony and exhibits will be about the question of whether the NRC staff’s review adequately supports the findings that are necessary to issue a permit, a press release said.

The August 14 hearing will begin at 9 a.m. in the Commission Hearing Room at NRC Headquarters at 11555 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland. The hearing will be open to public observation and webcast. A detailed agenda and presentation slides will be available in advance on the Commission’s meeting page.

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Outdoor Pool hours extended into August

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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department is extending open hours at the outdoor pool into the month of August. The new schedule will begin on Thursday, August 1, as follows: 

  • Monday-Friday: 100-meter Lap Swim from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
  • Monday-Friday: Kiddie/Shallow Open Swim from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
  • Wednesdays: After-school Open Swim from 3-8 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday: Open Swim from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
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