ASAP of Anderson is celebrating 10 years of prevention on Tuesday, September 4.
ASAP’s mission is to prevent and reduce substance misuse among youth and adults in Anderson County.
You can join them for a 10th Anniversary Celebration and logo reveal on from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, September 4, at Anderson County Chamber of Commerce. In addition to the logo reveal, there will be light lunch, cake, and takeaway “swag” for attendees, a press release said. [Read more…]
Development of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s quantum random number generator began with basic components including an LED light, the source from which a field of quadrillions of photons are produced. The device can detect and measure the quantum statistics of photons present in the field and use each one as the basis for creating truly unique encryption keys that are impossible to decipher or predict. (Photo credit: Brian Williams/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)
A company called Qrypt Inc. will incorporate a quantum random number generator developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory into existing encryption techniques, strengthening cyber security, a press release said.
Qrypt has exclusively licensed the technology from ORNL, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory. It’s intended to help defend against cyber attacks, including those posed by quantum computing.
Encryption uses codes or mathematical algorithms to make information such as messages or stored data unintelligible to unauthorized readers. Quantum computers make use of the quantum states of electrons or other particles to store and process information as quantum bits.
The press release said Qrypt will incorporate ORNL’s quantum random number generator into the company’s existing encryption platform. It will use inherent quantum randomness to create unique and unpredictable encryption keys enabling virtually impenetrable communications, the press release said. [Read more…]
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management now has a powerful, trailer-mounted vacuum for cleaning and maintaining the important liquid and gaseous waste operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy DOE EM)
Federal site cleanup workers reported in August that they had begun removing contaminated sludge and debris from tanks, sumps, and valve boxes at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s liquid and gaseous waste operations using a powerful, new trailer-mounted vacuum.
The equipment has already enhanced safety and operational efficiency, according to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.
“Without the vacuum, personnel would be required to fully dress in personal protective equipment and remove the sludge and debris with shovels and buckets,” DOE said. “In addition to being closer to contaminated materials in confined spaces, workers would face an increased chance of slips and falls while climbing in and out of slippery areas in the protective suits.”
Using the vacuum technology has eliminated the risk of heat stress for employees, who would otherwise perform manual labor in protective suits during the hot Tennessee summer, DOE said. [Read more…]
Simon Byrne
The Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force has named a new director after the former director was elected Anderson County sheriff.
Russell Barker had previously been the director, but he was elected sheriff on August 2.
On Tuesday, Anderson County’s law enforcement leaders, acting as the Board of Directors of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, named Simon Byrne as director, District Attorney General Dave Clark said. [Read more…]
David Kropaczek directs the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, U.S. a Department of Energy Innovation Hub headquartered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)
A consortium that is based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and works on next-generation commercial nuclear reactors has named a director.
David J. Kropaczek will lead the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, which is based at ORNL, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory.
CASL, which launched in 2010 as DOE’s first Energy Innovation Hub, has brought together the nation’s supercomputing facilities and leading nuclear experts and institutions to pursue an aggressive 10-year mission—to predict the performance of existing and next-generation commercial nuclear reactors through comprehensive, science-based modeling, and simulation, a press release said. [Read more…]
Dale Pendley and the Oak Ridge Community Band are pictured above in this submitted photo.
Submitted
As summer comes to a unofficial close on Labor Day, it is official that Dale Pendley’s many years of outstanding service as conductor of the Oak Ridge Community Band from 2001 to 2018 comes to a close as he heads into retirement. The Community Band is inviting all Oak Ridgers and area residents, particularly former Community Band members, former band students of Pendley during the years he worked as an educator in the Oak Ridge Schools, family, and friends to come on down to A.K. Bissell Park on Monday, September 3, at 7 p.m. to join with band members in giving Dale Pendley a warm send-off and many best wishes for his retirement.
Dale Pendley has been with the Oak Ridge Community Band since 1996, originally as a member of the trombone section, later becoming assistant conductor in 1998, and he was appointed the band conductor in 2001 after the retirement of former director Steve “Doc” Combs. Pendley is a graduate of Tyner High School in Chattanooga and received his bachelor and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He taught in the Knoxville City Schools and started the band program in the Grainger County Schools. From 1980 to 2012, he taught band in Oak Ridge Schools at both Jefferson Middle School and Oak Ridge High School. In addition to teaching and conducting, Pendley has performed with the University of Tennessee Trombone Choir, the Babahatchie Community Band, the Oak Ridge and Knoxville Symphony Orchestras, and numerous jazz and dance bands. Dale and his wife Rita have three grown children and one grandchild. [Read more…]
The City of Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department has announced its first-ever Fall Break Junior Camp. Registration will begin on Tuesday, September 4. Camp will be held October 1-5.
Sign-ups are open to campers from kindergarten up to 11 years old, a press release said. Space is limited and the camp will fill up quickly, so early registration is recommended, the release said.
Walk-in registration with cash or check payment will be available during regular Civic Center hours (8 a.m. to 10 p.m.). Walk-in registrants should complete an online profile/account before coming in to register. Staff will complete the registration at the front desk. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board is planning a job fair for teenagers on Wednesday, September 12. It’s scheduled from 1:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. in the Oak Ridge High School Café.
The event will introduce students to possible job opportunities and provide them with information on resume writing and interviewing skills. The event will also serve as an excellent opportunity for vendors to meet potential employees, a press release said.
Vendors that have already signed up include: Big Ed’s Pizza, Kroger, ASAP, RecruitWise, the Boys and Girls Club of Oak Ridge, and the City of Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department. Additional vendors are expected. [Read more…]
The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above in this submitted photo.
A federal safety board has announced the appointment of two Oak Ridge resident inspectors, primarily at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and a major board reform has been announced.
The appointment of the first inspector, Matthew Duncan, was effective August 20. The appointment of the second, Brandon Weathers, is effective in December.
The two will serve as Oak Ridge resident inspectors for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, an independent federal agency responsible for safety oversight at U.S. Department of Energy defense nuclear facilities.
In Oak Ridge, the DNFSB reports often focus on activities at Y-12, but they can also include work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. ORNL is a DOE Office of Science lab, and Y-12 is a National Nuclear Security Administration site. The NNSA is a DOE agency. [Read more…]
Christy Viola Comer
Note: This story was updated at 1:20 p.m. September 3.
A Rocky Top woman has been arrested and charged with homicide in the death of an 83-year-old man, state authorities said.
Christy Viola Comer, 37, was arrested by special agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, with help from several local law enforcement agencies, a TBI press release said.
On Friday morning, authorities found the body of J.C. Copeland outside of his home in the 600 block of Jacksboro Avenue in Rocky Top. TBI agents started investigating at the request of Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark and with help from the Rocky Top Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force. [Read more…]
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Tennessee Valley Authority is accepting public comments on proposed changes to plans for converting from wet to dry handling and storage of coal ash and other materials at its Bull Run Fossil Plant near Claxton, across the Clinch River from Oak Ridge.
The proposed changes are detailed in a draft supplemental environmental assessment posted at www.tva.gov/nepa, a press release said. This supplemental assessment will look at proposed environmental impacts of a revised plan to close and partially remove wet ash impoundments on site at Bull Run.
“TVA plans to repurpose the stilling impoundment and a portion of the fly ash impoundment for use as process water basins,” the press release said. [Read more…]
Pat Postma, left, presents the Postma Young Professional Medal to Wade Creswell, chief executive officer of Roane Alliance, during an East Tennessee Economic Council meeting on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. (DOE photo courtesy Lynn Freeny)
Note: This story was updated at 2:25 p.m.
Wade Creswell, president and chief executive officer of Roane Alliance, is leaving his position to begin work with an area business. His last day at the Alliance will be September 21.
The departure was announced Wednesday by Chris Whaley, chair of the Roane Alliance Board of Directors.
Pam May, Roane Alliance vice president, will serve as interim president and CEO until the board decides on the long-term future of the position, a press release said.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation of the great work that Wade has done in his four and a half years leading the Roane Alliance,” Whaley said in a statement sent to the Board of Directors for the Roane Alliance, Chamber of Commerce, and Industrial Development Board. “His passion, vision, and love for Roane County have fueled his tireless work for this county and region, and I sincerely appreciate all he has done.” [Read more…]
