The citywide brush pickup program will begin in Oak Ridge on Monday, April 29. Tree limbs as well as bagged yard clippings and leaves will be picked up, a press release said. City collection efforts will follow the accompanying schedule as closely as possible.
“Residents have always been very cooperative, and we ask for their continued cooperation this year by following a few guidelines,” the press release said:
[Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department has temporarily closed Alvin K. Bissell Park Playground due to a partially fallen tree nearby. The playground will remain closed until crews are able to safely remove the tree, a press release said.
Safety fencing has been installed around the playground, and signs have been posted to notify the public of the closure, the press release said.
“All residents and visitors should avoid the area until further notice,” the release said.
[Read more…]The next Lunch with the League program will be held on Tuesday, April 16. The speaker will be Jon Hetrick, director of the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department.
Hetrick will provide an update on the department, which is responsible for planning, organizing, supervising, and coordinating a comprehensive plan of leisure activities for the citizens of Oak Ridge, a press release said. It is also charged with providing safe and well-maintained facilities for its patrons. The department maintains more than 30 city-owned properties, including athletic fields, horticultural displays, playground areas, tennis courts, community center buildings, and swimming pools.
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The City of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Senior Center are working to implement a new transportation program for senior citizens. The program, called “MyRide Oak Ridge,” has already provided its first ride with the full program set to roll out soon, a press release said.
On Friday afternoon, April 12, local senior Willie Wade was driven by Pat Gengozian, chair of the Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board and the program’s first volunteer driver.
The City of Oak Ridge has offered transportation help to its senior population since 1974. Due to changes in grant reporting procedures from the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the current taxi coupon program will be ending June 30. When fully operational, the new MyRide Oak Ridge program will allow for a new way to provide this assistance, the press release said.
The program includes door-through-door service provided by volunteer drivers in their own vehicles. This service helps seniors be more independent by allowing them to take trips to the grocery store, social events, and medical appointments, the press release said. It will also allow volunteers to accompany seniors into the store or doctor’s office, if needed, as well as help carry in groceries or other items.
[Read more…]The 2019 season of Oak Ridge Reservation nature walks continues on Sunday, April 14, with a wildflower and old growth forest walk.
More than 1,100 vascular plants, 72 fish, 34 mammals, and more than 200 bird species have been observed on the U.S. Department of Energy reservation. This year, the public is invited to eight nature walks designed to highlight the rich flora and fauna diversity of the ORR and to demonstrate the work being done to sustainably manage and conserve this resource, a press release said. The series closes with a history talk in August.
Reservations for the following events must be made in advance by noon the Thursday prior to each walk by contacting Tracy Clem at (865) 574-5151 (bodinetm@ornl.gov). If weather forces postponement of an event, it will be announced on Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Information Line at (865) 574-9836 (i.e. 574-XTEN) at least two hours before the scheduled start of the walk. Children are allowed on the walks; no pets, please.
Sunday, April 14: Wildflower and old growth forest walk
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A new class of workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex has been added to a federal energy employees compensation program that was established about two decades ago, officials announced Thursday.
The affected employees would have worked at Y-12 between January 1, 1958, and December 31, 1976. They would have been employees of the U.S. Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, or their contractors and subcontractors. They would have had an aggregate of at least 250 work days. That could have occurred either only through this employment or in combination with work days that meet the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in what is known as the Special Exposure Cohort.
The notice that the new class of employees has been added to the Special Exposure Cohort was published in the Federal Register by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. Oak Ridge Today reported in December that the class was being evaluated, based on exposure to radiation from thorium metal parts and plutonium-241 isotopes, and reported in March that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had designated the class of employees to be added. The new designation became effective March 28.
[Read more…]April 15 is just around the corner, and the IRS VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Center is ready for the final rush. Volunteers at the Tax Center have submitted 1372 during February and March with a total of $1,650,441.00 refunded to citizens of Anderson, Roane, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, and surrounding counties, a press release said. The Center can process 160-180 returns each week.
The VITA program is designed to assist senior citizens and low-to-medium income individuals and families. There is no charge for this service. The VITA Tax Center is sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service and supported by the Anderson County United Way. Taxpayers need to bring photo identification, a copy of last year’s return, Social Cecurity cards for all people listed on a return, health coverage forms, all relevant income forms (W-2s, 1099s, Social Security annual statement) and documentation for daycare, education, and itemized deduction expenses, the press release said.
The Tax Center is located in the Trinity Center at 320 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge. It is open Tuesday-Friday from 3 to 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon. Taxpayers are seen on a first-come basis. Volunteers will also be available on Monday, April 15, from 3 to 5:30 p.m.
This press release was submitted by Diane Edwards.
The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will again consider revisions to the plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.
The potential revisions will be discussed during a Planning Commission work session at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.
The most recent version of the revised plan is similar to what Oak Ridge officials have seen before with minor variations. Some things have been incorporated that were only discussed before, such as sidewalks.
After being discussed today, the potential changes could be considered by the Planning Commission for a recommendation to Oak Ridge City Council next week, during an April 18 meeting. The changes would be considered as an amendment to the planned unit development for Main Street Oak Ridge. Among other things, the revisions would replace proposed multifamily residential units near Rutgers Avenue with retailers, and they would propose mixed-use areas in a future phase along Wilson Street.
[Read more…]
A ribbon-cutting has been scheduled at the renovated K-25 Visitors Center and Overlook in west Oak Ridge on Thursday, April 25.
The ceremony has been scheduled from 4-6 p.m. April 25. The ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
“This project has been a labor of love between Bionomics and Roane County Visitors Bureau/The Roane Alliance, and we are excited for you to see all the changes that have already taken place,” a press release said. [Read more…]
Join a park ranger for a bike ride on Melton Lake Greenway in Oak Ridge to learn more about the city’s history. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present the free program at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 27, 2019. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)
You can join a park ranger for a bike ride down Melton Lake Greenway and learn more about the city’s history later this month.
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present the free program on Saturday, April 27, at 10 a.m. The program will begin at Elza Gate Park, a former entry point to the once-secret city, and continue down Melton Lake Greenway.
“Rangers will stop several times along the bike ride to point out the rich history that is found within the Oak Ridge area,” a press release said.
The ride will be approximately eight miles round-trip; it is recommended that visitors bring drinking water, the press release said. [Read more…]
Federal health and safety officials are evaluating another class of Y-12 employees for a workers compensation program that involves certain illnesses and work at sites that are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy.
The petition being evaluated now could include all laborers who fabricated or processed uranium between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1994, in any area at Y-12. The petition was received November 1 and qualified for evaluation on March 25.
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The Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge is pictured above. The road running from bottom to top on the right (east) side of the Clinch River connects to Bear Creek Road in southwest Oak Ridge. Highway 58 is off to the top left of the photo and the Heritage Center is to the north. (Photo courtesy TVA)
Note: This story was last updated at 11:30 a.m.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a final environmental impact statement, and the staff has recommended, based upon the environmental review, issuing an early site permit for the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge, where two or more small modular nuclear reactors could be built.
The final environmental impact statement, or EIS, was issued by the NRC on April 3. A notice of the EIS and the staff’s recommendation was published in the Federal Register on Monday, April 8.
The 935-acre Clinch River Nuclear Site is located in Roane County along the Clinch River. [Read more…]
