State Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Breakfast with Legislators is Monday

Posted at 6:59 pm April 18, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge League of Women Voters will host Breakfast with the Legislators on Monday, April 22. The meeting will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. A free continental breakfast will be served, a press release said.

Tennessee senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to speak about this session of the Tennessee General Assembly and respond to questions and hear opinions from the audience, the press release said. The public is invited to attend.

“The popular community event offers firsthand information on upcoming legislation and House and Senate committee activities, while prompting dialogue among legislators and citizens, and providing a great networking opportunity for members of the community,” the press release said.

Breakfast with the Legislators is held the fourth Monday of each month while the Tennessee General Assembly is in session.

Oak Ridge nature walks scheduled for April-June

Posted at 10:34 am April 13, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

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 ([email protected]). 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

[Read more…]

Next Breakfast with Legislators is Monday

Posted at 9:19 pm March 20, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

McNally-Ragan-Calfee-at-Breakfast-with-Legislators-April-25-2016

Pictured above at a Breakfast with the Legislators on April 25, 2016, are, from left, Tennessee Sen. Randy McNally, Rep. John Ragan, and Rep. Kent Calfee. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge League of Women Voters will host Breakfast with the Legislators on Monday, March 25. The meeting will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. A free continental breakfast will be served, a press release said.

Tennessee senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to speak about this session of the Tennessee General Assembly, and respond to questions and hear opinions from the audience, the press release said. The public is invited to attend.

Reminder: Breakfast with Legislators is Monday

Posted at 11:44 pm February 24, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge League of Women Voters will host “Breakfast with the Legislators” on Monday, February 25. The meeting will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. A free continental breakfast will be served, a press release said.

State senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to speak about the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly and respond to questions and hear opinions from the audience. The public is invited to attend, the press release said.

The popular community event offers firsthand information on upcoming legislation and House and Senate committee activities, while prompting dialogue among legislators and citizens, and providing a great networking opportunity for members of the community. [Read more…]

Work starts on next phase of Rails to Trails

Posted at 12:16 pm February 20, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Work has started on the next phase of Rails to Trails, a project to convert a former CSX railroad into a bicycle and pedestrian pathway in the center of Oak Ridge.

After about six months of discussions, the City of Oak Ridge has a right of entry, which allows geotechnical and surveying work to be done on the former railroad, said Jon Hetrick, director of the city’s Recreation and Parks Department. Geotechnical work allows holes to be bored in the ground for subsurface studies.

The survey and geotechnical work is being done by A. Morton Thomas and Associates of Kingsport. The Oak Ridge City Council awarded a $358,317 contract to that company in May. A. Morton Thomas is to provide environmental testing, master planning, design and engineering of the trail, and help with construction bidding.

After a Tuesday evening City Council work session, Hetrick said the geotechnical and survey work is required under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. The city hopes to have the NEPA phase approved through the Tennessee Department of Transportation by August, Hetrick said. [Read more…]

One lane of SR 116 open, with temporary signal, for 4-5 weeks

Posted at 1:05 pm February 15, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

State Route 116 is closed Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, in north Anderson County between Indian Fork Lane and Bunch Cemetery due to a slide after heavy rains on Wednesday, Feb. 6. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Department of Transportation)

State Route 116 was closed Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, in north Anderson County due to a slide after heavy rains on Wednesday, Feb. 6. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Department of Transportation)

One lane will be open on State Route 116 in mountainous north Anderson County, with a temporary traffic signal, for the next four to five weeks, a state official said Thursday.

The road, which is also known as New River Highway, was affected by a landslide near mile marker 9.4 after heavy rains on Thursday, February 7. The road was closed for several hours.

“The roadway is currently open to one lane of traffic under a temporary signal condition,” Tennessee Department of Transportation spokesperson Mark Nagi said Thursday. “The roadway will remain in this configuration over the next four to five weeks while TDOT works to repair the roadway at this location.” [Read more…]

TDOT: Section of SR 116 could be closed several weeks

Posted at 2:38 pm February 11, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

State Route 116 is closed Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, in north Anderson County between Indian Fork Lane and Bunch Cemetery due to a slide after heavy rains on Wednesday, Feb. 6. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Department of Transportation)

A section of State Route 116 in Anderson County could be closed three to four weeks after a landslide last week, a state official said Monday.

The closure was announced by Mark Nagi, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The section of SR 116 was closed Thursday morning in north Anderson County after a landslide following heavy rains on Wednesday. The hillside alongside and beneath the road gave way, and part of the road collapsed. [Read more…]

SR 116 closed after landslide in north Anderson County

Posted at 12:51 pm February 7, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A section of State Route 116 is closed Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, in north Anderson County due to a landslide after heavy rains on Wednesday, Feb. 6. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Department of Transportation)

Note: This story was updated at 12 p.m. Feb. 8.

A section of State Route 116 was closed Thursday morning in north Anderson County after a landslide following heavy rains on Wednesday, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The hillside alongside and beneath the road gave way, and part of the road collapsed.

TDOT spokesperson Mark Nagi said there is no timeline for how long the road might be closed, but it will be a long-term closure.

On Friday, WYSH Radio in Clinton reported that one lane of the road was open. [Read more…]

Hear from state legislators at Monday breakfast

Posted at 9:56 pm January 26, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge League of Women Voters will have its first Breakfast with the Legislators event of the year on Monday, January 28. The meeting will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. A free continental breakfast will be served.

State senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to speak about the legislative outlook for this session of the Tennessee General Assembly and respond to questions and hear opinions from the audience, a press release said. The public is invited to attend.

State approves demolition of Biology Complex buildings at Y-12

Posted at 2:50 pm January 5, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Tennessee officials have approved the demolition of two large buildings—buildings 9207 and 9210—at the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex, Y-12 announced in December 2018. (Photo courtesy Y-12)

Tennessee officials have approved the demolition of two large buildings at the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The Biology Complex once housed more people with doctorates than anywhere in the world, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. DOE has said the men and women who worked there radically enhanced the world’s knowledge in biology, including the discovery of the Y chromosome.

Y-12 announced in December that the Tennessee Historical Commission had approved the demolition of the two buildings: Buildings 9207 and 9210. The buildings date back to the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. Oak Ridge was part of that project.

The demolition work at the Biology Complex is being overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. [Read more…]

See draft layout drawings for proposed Oak Ridge Airport

Posted at 7:15 pm December 21, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A May 2018 draft of the airport layout drawing for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport at East Tennessee Technology Park along State Route 58 in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority/Michael Baker International)

A layout plan has been submitted for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport, and now officials are waiting for a response from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The response could arrive any day, according Bill Barley, vice president of CHA Consulting, which has an office in Louisville. Barley and Mike Reiter of Michael Baker International, an architectural firm, gave an update about the Oak Ridge Airport project during a meeting of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority Board of Commissioners at McGhee Tyson Aiport in Alcoa on Wednesday.

The letter from the FAA could be a conditional approval, which is standard, Barley said.

If approved and funded, the airport would have a 5,000-foot runway, and it would be built on the south side of the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. It would be near Highway 58, on 170 acres of land that have been declared excess by the U.S. Department of Energy. The runway could run roughly parallel to the highway.

Here are a few images from the draft airport master plan in May for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport, courtesy of Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority and Michael Baker International. [Read more…]

Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council

Posted at 10:34 pm November 6, 2018
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Warren Gooch

Note: This story was last updated at 12 a.m.

The four incumbents—Mayor Warren Gooch, Council members Kelly Callison and Ellen Smith, and Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn—were re-elected to four-year terms on Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday, according to unofficial election results in Anderson and Roane counties.

The final results mirrored the results of early and absentee ballots in Anderson County.

There were four City Council seats up for regular election and five candidates for those seats.

Gooch had the most votes Tuesday, a total of 7,916 in the two counties (6,774 in Anderson County and 1,142 in Roane County). Gooch also had the highest number of votes in the transitional 2014 election, his first City Council election. [Read more…]