Oak Ridge Today

About 11,500 customers lose power due to lightning strike at substation

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About 11,500 homes and businesses lost power due to a lightning strike at one of the city’s main substations on Thursday morning, officials said.

The widespread power outage was reported at 6:18 a.m. Thursday. Power lost due to the lightning strike was restored before 7:15 a.m., the Oak Ridge Electric Department said.

The Electric Department said there were widespread electric outages as storms moved through the area Thursday morning. The storms included high winds, heavy rains, and intense lightning. [Read more…]

Driver of van stolen from woman in wheelchair fled, crashed

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The driver of a vehicle allegedly stolen from a woman in a wheelchair in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 23, 2018, fled from law enforcement officers, running red lights and passing vehicles in the turn lane at high speed, before crashing into a car and a traffic light pole on Clinton Highway at Powell Drive in Knox County, an incident report said. (Submitted photo)

The driver of a van allegedly stolen from a woman in a wheelchair in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 23, 2018, fled from law enforcement officers, running red lights and passing vehicles in the turn lane at high speed, before crashing into a car and a traffic light pole on Clinton Highway at Powell Drive in Knox County, an incident report said. (Submitted photo)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m. June 28.

The driver of a van allegedly stolen from a woman in a wheelchair in Oak Ridge on Saturday fled from law enforcement officers, running red lights and passing vehicles in the turn lane at high speed, before crashing into a car and a traffic light pole on Clinton Highway in Knox County, an incident report said.

The carjacking was reported in the parking lot of the Red Lobster restaurant on South Illinois Avenue at about 1:50 p.m. Saturday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. During the carjacking, a female passenger, who was not injured, was forced from her wheelchair and the van, a 2003 Chevy Venture.

Alerted to the carjacking, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Corporal Jonathan Acker went to Oak Ridge Turnpike and Melton Lake Drive to watch for the vehicle. After a few minutes, he saw it traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike, and he turned to get behind it.

The driver, later identified as Bradley Allan Thomas, 30, of Knoxville, began speeding up and passing cars on the shoulder, Acker said in the incident report. [Read more…]

ORNL’s Bland receives DOE Secretary’s Appreciation Award for computing leadership

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Buddy Bland (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Buddy Bland (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Arthur “Buddy” Bland, program director of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has received the Secretary’s Appreciation Award for his nearly four decades of achievements in providing high-performance computing resources for science, a press release said.

Bland was cited by U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry for his work “in recognition of nearly 40 years of leadership in delivering high-performance computing resources to address the nation’s science and engineering challenges across a wide array of disciplines and for critical contributions to the success of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility and sustained U.S. leadership in high-performance computing and computational science.”

Bland led the project to deliver the Summit supercomputer, launched June 8 at ORNL as “the world’s most powerful and smartest supercomputer” with a peak performance capability of 200 petaflops, or 200,000 trillion calculations per second. Summit was listed number one in the TOP500 list released on Monday. [Read more…]

For first time since 2012, US has top supercomputer in world

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Summit supercomputer was named number one on the TOP500 List, a semiannual ranking of the world’s fastest computing systems on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Summit supercomputer was named number one on the TOP500 List, a semiannual ranking of the world’s fastest computing systems on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

 

For the first time since 2012, the United States has the most powerful supercomputer in the world, and it’s again located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The new supercomputer, called Summit, is capable of 200 petaflops, or 200,000 trillion calculations per second. Equipment delivery for Summit was completed in March, and officials celebrated the launch of the supercomputer in a ceremony attended by U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on June 8.

The last time the United States had the top supercomputer was in November 2012. That machine, which is still in use, is named Titan, and it’s also at ORNL. It’s now number seven on the semiannual TOP500 list, which was released Monday.

China had held the top spot since June 2013, and the country had held the top two spots since June 2016. That ended with Monday’s TOP500 announcement. Previously at number one and number two, the top two Chinese supercomputers have fallen to number two and number four.

ORNL, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory, now has two of the top seven systems on the list. They are Summit at number one and Titan at number seven. The United States now has six of the top 10 machines, according to the TOP500 list. [Read more…]

ORPD: Man forces woman from wheelchair & vehicle in reported carjacking

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A woman was forced from her wheelchair and vehicle during a carjacking reported in Oak Ridge on Saturday, and the suspect crashed after a police chase into Knox County, authorities said.

The carjacking was reported in the parking lot of the Red Lobster restaurant on South Illinois Avenue at about 1:50 p.m. Saturday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

“It was reported that a man forcibly took a vehicle that was occupied by an adult female passenger in a wheelchair,” the ORPD said. “After taking the vehicle, the suspect forced the passenger from her wheelchair and from the vehicle in the restaurant parking lot. The victim was not injured.” [Read more…]

Photos: Lavender Festival 2018

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The Lavender Festival is pictured above in Jackson Square on Saturday, June 16, 2018. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

The Lavender Festival is pictured above in Jackson Square on Saturday, June 16, 2018. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Here are photos by Julio Culiat of the Lavender Festival in Jackson Square on Saturday. [Read more…]

Shen of ORHS one of 20 U.S. high school students selected for USA Biology Olympiad Finals

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Photo of Henry Shen courtesy of Oak Ridge High School teacher Sharon Thomas.

Photo of Henry Shen courtesy of Oak Ridge High School teacher Sharon Thomas.

 

Henry Shen of Oak Ridge High School is one of 20 high school students selected for the 16th Annual USA Biology Olympiad National Finals.

The top 20 students were announced by the Center for Excellence in Education in May.

Nearly 10,000 talented students from across the country registered for the USA Biology Olympiad, or USABO. Nearly 700 were selected as semi-finalists, a press release said.

The 20 finalists were selected following completion of a three-part, two-hour exam in April.

The 20 finalists will meet from June 23 to July 5 at the University of California San Diego for 10 days of biology instruction that includes laboratory training and conceptual understanding, followed by two days of testing, the press release said. [Read more…]

Council expected to appoint new member on July 9

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The Oak Ridge City Council is expected to appoint a new member on July 9 to fill the seat being vacated by Hans Vogel, who is resigning and moving to take a new job at Idaho National Laboratory.

Vogel, who was elected to a four-year term in November 2016, is serving through June 30. Currently employed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vogel will become director of strategic irradiation capability for the Advanced Test Reactor at INL, which is in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

The new City Council member appointed Monday, July 9, will serve until a special municipal election on November 6. The person elected in the special election will then serve the final two years of Vogel’s four-year term.

The City of Oak Ridge is currently accepting applications to fill the pending City Council vacancy. Those who are interested must submit application materials to the City Clerk’s Office by 5 p.m. Thursday, July 5.

“Any qualified voter is eligible to serve on City Council if he or she has been a resident of the city for one year preceding the day of appointment and provided that, before taking office, he or she resign any state, county, or other municipal office which is filled by public election or position of employment with the City of Oak Ridge,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Updated: Council approves $800,000 contract for synthetic turf at Blankenship

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Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was published at 4:15 p.m. June 19 and updated at 6 p.m. June 20.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday approved a $800,000 contract to buy and install synthetic turf at Blankenship Field.

Council approved the contract in 5-0 vote during a special meeting Tuesday evening in the Multipurpose Room in the Central Services Complex in central Oak Ridge.

The contract was awarded to Field Turf USA Inc. of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. The company has a regional office in Calhoun, Georgia.

The contract says the purchase and installation of the synthetic turf are not to exceed $800,000. [Read more…]

First Water Safety Day will have demonstrations on life jackets, water rescues

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Oak Ridge Water Safety Day 2018

A first-ever Water Safety Day in Oak Ridge will feature demonstrations on boating and life jacket safety, open water rescues, lifeguard skills, and more, a press release said.

The Water Safety Day was announced by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department. It’s scheduled from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. Saturday, June 30, at the Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool.

Water Safety Day is a partnership between the Recreation and Parks Department, Oak Ridge Fire Department, and Oak Ridge Police Department, as well as the Anderson County Volunteer Rescue Squad and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the press release said. [Read more…]

Clinton has July 4 fireworks in Lakefront Park

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Information from WYSH Radio

The city of Clinton has released its plans for its annual Independence Day celebration at Lakefront Park.

The event will begin at 5 p.m. July 4 and end with fireworks at 10 p.m. at Lakefront Park in Clinton.

There will be bounce houses, bungee run, basketball game, rock climbing wall, obstacle course, water slide, human hamster balls, and trackless train that are available to the public at no charge, although kids must have a free wrist band to ride. Also available will be laser tag for children and a game truck for children craving video game excitement at no charge.

There will also be food vendors, antique cars on display, and music from 5-9:45 p.m. Performers will include John Fee & The Honky Tonk Playboys, and possibly some other special guests who will likely be announced in the next few days.

Festival of Hope raises $50,000 for American Cancer Society

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The Festival of Hope at Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge on Friday, June 15, 2018, raised $50,000 for the American Cancer Society. Opening ceremonies recognized more than 60 area cancer survivors who attended, and that was followed by the Cancer Survivors lap, pictured above. (Submitted photo)

The Festival of Hope at Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge on Friday, June 15, 2018, raised $50,000 for the American Cancer Society. Opening ceremonies recognized more than 60 area cancer survivors who attended, and that was followed by the Cancer Survivors lap, pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

The Festival of Hope at Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge on Friday raised $50,000 for the American Cancer Society, a press release said.

The Festival of Hope opened with Matt Hinkin from WATE-TV as the emcee, the press release said. Opening ceremonies recognized more than 60 area cancer survivors who attended.

That was followed by the Cancer Survivors lap down the peninsula, where survivors were cheered on by the participants and public. Each survivor was provided a purple cancer survivor’s T-shirt and had a medallion placed around their neck by Lynda Vinyard and Kim Monroe, the press release said.

Teams participating at the event included Professional Case Management, St. Mark United Methodist Church in Clinton, Oak Ridge Veterinary, Clinton Physical Therapy Center, Fast Pace Urgent Care, Oak Ridge Baptist Church, Barry Sanders family team, and Lynda Vinyard family team. [Read more…]