The Oak Ridge Public Works Department will begin work on an earth-moving project at Groves Park on Tuskegee Drive starting Monday, May 22, a press release said.
The work is expected to take crews at least two weeks to complete, weather permitting. The work is for beautification, and crews will be leveling off some mounds of dirt to clean up the area, officials said.
Heavy equipment will be used to move dirt in the area. [Read more…]
The City of Oak Ridge has again been designated as a Green Power Community by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, officials said in May 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
The City of Oak Ridge has again been designated as a Green Power Community by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The city is collectively using more than 32 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet 16 percent of the community’s total electricity use, a press release said.
“This is a huge honor, and we are proud to be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” Oak Ridge Electric Department Business Office Manager Marlene Bannon said. “Using green power helps our community become more sustainable, while also sending a message to others across the country that supporting clean sources of electricity is a sound business decision and an important choice in reducing climate risk.” [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Central Services Complex is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
The Oak Ridge Public Works Department and Public Works Employee Relations Committee is having a Public Works Community Open House and Touch-the-Truck event on Thursday, May 25.
The event will be held in recognition of Public Works Week in the City of Oak Ridge and National Public Works Week (May 21-27). The open house will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Central Services Complex, which is located at 100 Woodbury Lane.
“The purpose is to provide an event at which the community can learn about all the different divisions that make up the Public Works Department,” a press release said. “Public Works is much more than just water and sewer services. They are, in short, the people who maintain and improve the systems and services vital to the city’s health, safety, and comfort. Those systems and public services include, but are not limited to, water distribution, sewer collection, water and wastewater treatment, street, sidewalk, and storm drain repair and maintenance, stormwater management, public building maintenance and management, snow removal, and city fleet maintenance.” [Read more…]
Kathryn Baldwin, Oak Ridge community development director, will retire at the end of July.
Baldwin announced her retirement in an email that was sent to members of the Oak Ridge Land Bank, the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals, and the Oak Ridge Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday.
“I wanted to personally inform you that I’ve decided to retire at the end of July,” Baldwin said. “For 16 years, it has been my pleasure to serve the men and women who sit on boards that represent the City of Oak Ridge. Each of you bring a unique perspective to actions taken by our individual boards and commissions. In addition, you do so with an unsurpassed commitment to ethics, creativity, respect, and the health and wellbeing of the Oak Ridge community. The fact that you have put your faith in me and the Community Development staff has been a personal honor. I look forward to watching the City of Oak Ridge grow and prosper under your leadership.” [Read more…]
You can join a park ranger for a bicycle ride and learn more about the history of Oak Ridge on Melton Lake Greenway on Saturday morning, May 13, 2017. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)
You can join a park ranger for a bicycle ride and learn more about the history of Oak Ridge on Melton Lake Greenway on Saturday morning.
The free program is presented by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. It will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 13, at Elza Gate Park, former entry point to the “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. [Read more…]
The Tennessee Valley Authority has applied for an early site permit that could allow small modular nuclear reactors at the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge, possibly as soon as the mid-2020s. Pictured above at a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting on the early site permit on Tuesday, April 12, 2016, is Dan Stout, TVA senior manager, small modular reactors. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission will seek public comments on what environmental matters it should consider during its review of the early site permit application for the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge.
The NRC will seek the comments during two meetings in Oak Ridge on Monday that are part of the process used to develop an environmental impact statement.
The first meeting is from 1-4 p.m. Monday, May 15, in the Pollard Technology Conference Center Auditorium at 210 Badger Avenue in Oak Ridge. The second meeting is from 6-9 p.m. that same day.
The Tennessee Valley Authority submitted an application last May for the early site permit for small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs, at the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge. The early site permit application is for two or more SMRs. The NRC accepted the application for “docketing and detailed technical review” in December.
A specific reactor design has not been selected. TVA has identified parameters for a surrogate nuclear plant, and the NRC will use them to evaluate the site’s suitability for building and operating a new nuclear plant. [Read more…]
Submitted
Oak Ridge resident Peggy Brummett is just one of many happy participants in the MORE2 Program offered in our community and she urges others to apply.
“I would highly recommend this to anyone!” Brummett said in a recent interview. “I don’t understand why there aren’t a whole lot more Oak Ridgers applying. It’s made a huge difference in our home.”
Brummett applied for the MORE2 program, hoping it would help with her utility bills and, more importantly, with her peace of mind.
“I can now sleep better knowing I can rely on our heat or air conditioning and knowing it won’t cost us so much in the future,” Brummett said. “And as a bonus, there is less dust in our house.”
She suspected her old heating, ventilation, and air conditioner (HVAC) wasn’t working effectively, and her utility bills were proof she was correct. Her home was losing a great deal of costly energy due to air leakage, inadequate insulation, and the poorly working HVAC unit.
At no cost, the MORE2 Program provided a new HVAC unit, new insulated ductwork, and performed air sealing throughout the home. Brummett is recently retired from a large retail establishment in Oak Ridge, where she worked in customer service. Having worked in customer service, she knows good service when she sees it and commented on the program. [Read more…]
The recently passed Tennessee budget includes $100,000 for the maintenance, restoration, and operation of the Green McAdoo Cultural Center in Clinton, a press release said.
The funds were secured in the budget by Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally and Representative John Ragan, both Oak Ridge Republicans, the press release said.
The Green McAdoo Cultural Center commemorates the Clinton 12, the first black students to integrate a public high school in the South, the release said.
“The story of the Clinton 12 is a pivotal event in the history of our state and our region that must never be forgotten,” Ragan said in the press release. “The Green McAdoo Cultural Center serves an important function in our community to remind us of this important history. I am proud the state will play a part in furthering the important mission of the center.” [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Community Development Department is continuing the Oak Ridge City Blueprint effort with a discussion focused on the Woodland neighborhood. An open house will be held between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday, May 15, at Woodland Elementary School to gather additional community feedback, a press release said.
Families living in the area are encouraged to attend and provide their ideas and suggestions for how the neighborhood can be made even better. Those attending can come and go anytime during the open house to share their thoughts with City staff.
The blueprint is being coordinated by the Community Development Department, with input from the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission, as well as other boards, commissions, and City leaders, the press release said. Once finished, the blueprint will be a guiding document that provides direction for future growth, development, and decision-making. [Read more…]
Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library will have its Spring 2017 Book Sale May 11-14 in the Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium.
The sale will include fiction and nonfiction books, magazines, audiovisual materials, and other publications covering almost every subject, a press release said. A few non-publication items will also be available. Most titles are 50 cents or $1 each. Titles withdrawn from the Library are half-price Thursday through Saturday. The Silent Auction begins on Thursday evening and ends at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Thursday evening from 5 to 7:30 p.m. is a preview sale for members. Memberships will be available at the door ($5 per individual, and $10 per family). (Scanning devices cannot be used during the preview sale on Thursday.) [Read more…]
The first home to be torn down in Anderson County as part of the state’s HHF Blight Elimination Program was being demolished at 678 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, May 3, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.
It’s being described as a first: An Oak Ridge home is being demolished Wednesday as part of a state blight elimination program. It’s the first home to be torn down in Anderson County as part of the state’s HHF Blight Elimination Program.
The property being demolished is at 678 West Outer Drive. It’s owned by the Oak Ridge Land Bank. The demolition, being done by First Place Finish, is estimated to cost close to $3,600, and it is expected to be completed today (Wednesday, May 3).
The work is being funded by the U.S. Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund, or HHF. Tennessee’s HHF Blight Elimination Program is administered by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, or THDA. Anderson County is one of six counties in the Volunteer State included in the program.
Under the Blight Elimination Program, qualified nonprofits and land banks can apply for loans of up to $25,000 to cover the cost of acquiring a blighted abandoned home, demolishing it, “greening” the property, and maintaining the vacant lot. The greened lot can then be transformed into new affordable housing or another use that is approved by THDA and is expected to stabilize and improve the neighborhood. [Read more…]
Clinton Highway (US 25W) south of Clinton between Foust Carney Road and East Wolf Valley Road was temporarily closed starting Monday because of trees and power lines that had fallen, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said Monday afternoon, May 1, 2017. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)
After four large power poles were replaced, all four lanes of Clinton Highway, both the northbound and southbound lanes, re-opened at about 6 a.m. Tuesday, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.
Earlier, both northbound lanes and one southbound lane had re-opened at about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, Lucas said.
A section of Clinton Highway had been closed south of Clinton between Foust Carney Road and East Wolf Valley Road starting Monday because of trees and power lines that fell when strong winds blew through East Tennessee on Monday afternoon. The highway was completely blocked, and both northbound and southbound lanes were closed.
“The Clinton Utilities Board did an outstanding job of replacing four large power poles, repairing a fifth, and re-installing all the lines as quickly as they did considering all the damage,” Lucas said. [Read more…]
