Oak Ridge Today

WYSH: Green McAdoo soon to be part of state museum system

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Green-McAdoo-Cultural-Center

Information from WYSH Radio

The Clinton City Council on Monday unanimously approved a resolution to transfer the Green McAdoo Cultural Center and Museum to the Tennessee State Museum, a move officials said will ensure that the facility remains open to tell the story of the first black students to attend a previously all-white, Southern, public high school in 1956.

The state budget passed earlier this year included $100,000 to be used exclusively for maintenance and operational expenses at the museum, located on School Street. The museum opened in 2006, on the 50th anniversary of the day in 1956 when 12 black students walked from the former Green McAdoo School down the hill to Clinton High School and into history. Green McAdoo was, at the time, the school for black students in Clinton. [Read more…]

Report: Chair of nuclear safety board proposes eliminating it

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Sean Sullivan (Photo credit: DNFSB.gov)

Sean Sullivan (Photo credit: DNFSB.gov)

The chairman of a nuclear safety board that provides recommendations and advice on public health and safety issues at certain federal facilities, including two in Oak Ridge, has proposed eliminating the board, according to an investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.

In its October 19 report, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity said it had obtained a June 29 letter from Sean Sullivan, the Republican chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, to Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

The center has posted the five-page letter online along with an attached one-page historical summary of the five-member board, which issues weekly reports for U.S. Department of Energy sites that include Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, among other activities. In his letter, Sullivan said the board is a “relic of the Cold War-era defense establishment.”

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is an independent oversight organization within the executive branch. It was created by Congress in 1988 to provide advice and recommendations to the secretary of energy on public health and safety at the defense nuclear facilities managed by DOE. Those reports are publicly available and posted online, and they have been used by reporters and public interest organizations, among others. The Center for Public Integrity said the DNFSB has helped persuade the federal government to impose tighter safety rules and regulations at most of the eight nuclear weapons sites. [Read more…]

ORNL, City of Oak Ridge partner on sensor project to capture city trends

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UrbanSense passively collects anonymous, open-source data from cellular towers to generate real-time estimates of population density in cities. Insights on how people interact with urban infrastructure helps cities like Oak Ridge, above, assess their needs and plan effectively for future development. (Image by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

UrbanSense passively collects anonymous, open-source data from cellular towers to generate real-time estimates of population density in cities. Insights on how people interact with urban infrastructure helps cities like Oak Ridge, above, assess their needs and plan effectively for future development. (Image by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are partnering with the City of Oak Ridge to develop UrbanSense, a comprehensive sensor network and real-time visualization platform that helps cities evaluate trends in urban activity.

The project, initiated by ORNL’s Urban Dynamics Institute, centers on addressing cities’ real-world challenges through applied urban science. Oak Ridge is the first city to test the new technology, which uses open-source, anonymous data from virtual and physical sensors.

“Preparing for urban growth and planning for future infrastructure development and resource demands are global problems, but cities need ways to be proactive on a local level,” said UDI Director Budhendra Bhaduri. “Our goal in bringing science to cities is to put the right tools and resources in the hands of city managers and urban planners so that they can assess local impacts and make strategic decisions to get the best return on future investments.”

UDI researchers Teja Kuruganti and Gautam Thakur from ORNL’s Computer Science and Engineering Division are collaborating with Oak Ridge Director of Administrative Services Bruce Applegate on the design and deployment of UrbanSense.

The prototype designed for Oak Ridge monitors population density, traffic flow, and environmental data including air and water quality, with a total of seven sensors to be installed in the city. “The longer they are in place and the more data they collect, the better the city’s sense of its trends will be,” Thakur said. [Read more…]

Chattanooga doctor running for U.S. House, in Oak Ridge on Saturday

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Danielle Mitchell

Danielle Mitchell

 

Danielle Mitchell, a Chattanooga doctor and independent business owner of a community health care clinic, is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2018 election, a press release said.

Mitchell is a Democrat who hopes to unseat Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, in next year’s election in Tennessee’s Third District, the press release said. The Third District includes Oak Ridge.

Mitchell is running on a platform that prioritizes “people policy” over partisan politics, as well as a focus on viable solutions that benefit all Tennesseans, the press release said.

She will be in Oak Ridge for a special breakfast and town hall discussion on Saturday morning, October 28, according to the press release. That breakfast, called “Pancakes with a Purpose,” is scheduled from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, October 28, in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, which is located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. There is a suggested donation of $20 and all are welcome, the press release said. [Read more…]

Congressmen praise consolidated contract at Y-12, Pantex

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U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry, left, a Texas Republican, and Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, are pictured above after an East Tennessee Economic Council meeting on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry, left, a Texas Republican, and Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, are pictured above after an East Tennessee Economic Council meeting on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Two congressmen, one from East Tennessee and other the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, praised the consolidated contract that has been used to manage and operate the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge for more than three years.

The two sites are managed by Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC. Y-12 and Pantex are involved in nuclear weapons work and nuclear nonproliferation, and providing enriched uranium for naval, research, and isotope production reactors.

The transition to the consolidated contract, one of the most complex in the history of the U.S. Department of Energy, was completed on July 1, 2014. At that time, officials said the contract included a total annual operating budget of $1.5 billion and employment of about 8,000 in Tennessee and Texas. [Read more…]

WYSH: Clinton bridge project delayed again

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Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

The Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge is pictured above on Clinch Avenue near downtown Clinton. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

Clinton will have to continue to wait for the Lewallen Bridge replacement project to proceed as city officials have told WYSH Radio that the Tennessee Department of Transportation has not yet obtained the necessary permits from either the Tennessee Valley Authority or the Coast Guard that would allow the work to begin.

Clinton City Manager Roger Houck said that the permit application process will likely take six to nine months, meaning that the timeline has been pushed back once again by the state.

A request for bid proposals is now expected to be sent out next month, with those bids tentatively scheduled to be opened in January. TDOT could award a contract for the new bridge in February and construction, provided the necessary permits have been obtained, could now begin sometime in the spring. [Read more…]

State representative to speak at Democratic Women’s Club

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John Mark Windle

State Rep. John Mark Windle will be guest speaker at the Oct. 23, 2017, meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club. (Submitted photo)

 

State Representative John Mark Windle will be the guest speaker at the Monday, October 23, meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club. The club will host a pot luck dinner at 6 p.m. in the Club Room of the Clinton Community Center, 101 South Hicks Street in Clinton.

Windle, a Democrat representing District 41, which includes Morgan, Jackson, Overton, and part of Fentress Counties, will discuss what to expect in the next session of the Tennessee General Assembly. He will also address the electability of Democratic candidates.

Windle was elected to the state house in 1990, and he served as majority floor leader from 1997-2000. [Read more…]

City to begin managing Centennial Golf Course, releasing private firm from its contract

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Centennial Golf Course is pictured above in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Centennial Golf Course is pictured above in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The City of Oak Ridge will begin managing Centennial Golf Course internally through the Recreation and Parks Department, releasing the private firm Billy Casper Golf from its management contract, a press release said. The transition will begin immediately and is expected to be complete by the end of November.

“The city chose to make the move in order to initiate repairs to the facility on an aggressive timeline,” the press release said.

The golf course will not close during the management transition or subsequent renovations. Nine holes will remain open while crews work on the rest of the course. Cart path repairs are planned along with drainage improvements and the installation of guard rails and other safety measures. The driving range and clubhouse will also remain open. The city will be honoring passes and memberships purchased prior to this change, the press release said.

“Golf is an extremely dynamic sport, and we have to adapt in order to remain competitive,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said of the decision. “Our goal is to have a truly great public golf course and this is the first step in making that a reality.” [Read more…]

Once like a small city, Happy Valley has been sold

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An early aerial photo of Happy Valley, a construction camp that was like a small city and used to help build the former K-25 in west Oak Ridge. This picture was taken May, 22, 1944, by Ed Westcott, the official government photographer in Oak Ridge during World War II. (Photo courtesy Ed Westcott/Emily Hunnicutt)

An early aerial photo of Happy Valley, a construction camp that was like a small city and used to help build the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. This picture was taken May, 22, 1944, by Ed Westcott, the official government photographer in Oak Ridge during World War II. (Photo courtesy Ed Westcott/Emily Hunnicutt)

 

It was once home to a large construction camp that was like a small city and housed workers building K-25 during World War II.

Now the 160-acre parcel known as Happy Valley has been sold.

Happy Valley was in west Oak Ridge, across State Route 58 from the K-25 site. One of three major sites in Oak Ridge, K-25 was built to enrich uranium for atomic weapons as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II.

Today, Happy Valley appears to be mostly a rolling tree-covered landscape between Oak Ridge and Kingston along SR 58. To the public, there is little or no obvious evidence of what was once there—homes, a grocery store, schools, a post office, recreation halls, a gas station, and a bowling alley.

But those who have walked the property have seen evidence of the small city that was once there. [Read more…]

Next City Blueprint meeting scheduled for Oct. 26

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Midtown Residential City Blueprint Oct 2017

The Oak Ridge Community Development Department is continuing the Oak Ridge City Blueprint effort with a discussion focused on the Midtown residential neighborhood. An open house will be held between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 26, at Robertsville Middle School.

Families living in this subarea are encouraged to attend and provide ideas and suggestions for possible neighborhood improvements, a press release said.

“Please note that no formal presentation is planned for this event,” the press release said. “Those attending can come and go anytime during the open house to meet, ask questions, and share thoughts with city staff and board representatives.” [Read more…]

U.S. Senate candidate Mackler will be in Oak Ridge on Thursday

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James Mackler

James Mackler

 

James Mackler, the first Tennessee Democrat to launch a 2018 U.S. Senate campaign, will be in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

Mackler, a Nashville attorney and Iraq War veteran, will be the keynote speaker at the Anderson County Democratic Party general meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 19, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, a press release said.

U.S. Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, is not seeking re-election in 2018. U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn, also a Tennessee Republican, has announced she will run for Corker’s seat.

A press release said Mackler left his job six months ago as a prosecutor and defense attorney to run for Corker’s seat. [Read more…]

You can see the future home of the K-25 History Center on Thursday

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A rendering of the K-25 History Center at the Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4 at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

A rendering of the K-25 History Center at the Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4 at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

 

A celebratory event on Thursday will formally launch a project to commemorate the history of the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a uranium-enrichment site that was once known as K-25 and built to help make the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

Thursday’s celebration will be followed by a public tour from 2 to 4 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge, the event is part of the city’s 75th Anniversary celebration. It will feature a walk-through of the future home of the K-25 History Center, which will be located in the city’s Fire Station Number 4 at the East Tennessee Technology Park. The U.S. Department of Energy and URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR, DOE’s lead cleanup contractor, will unveil plans and the layout for the History Center before construction starts, a press release said.

Large graphics placed throughout the building will provide the visitor a preview of the finished center, the press release said. [Read more…]