You can walk through Wheat with a National Park Service ranger on Saturday, July 13, and learn more about the history of this community before the Manhattan Project.
Wheat was in an area that is now west Oak Ridge, and it was one of the communities displaced by the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.
The free July 13 walk is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
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From U.S. Department of Energy “EM Update” email newsletter
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management crews at Oak Ridge are moving closer toward completing the first-ever demolition of a former uranium enrichment facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex as crews reroute utilities around the structure.
Workers are slated to begin demolition on the Alpha-2 building this fall. Initiating teardown of the facility is an EM priority for 2024.
The 325,000-square-foot Manhattan Project-era facility is one of nine uranium enrichment process buildings constructed at Y-12. Its removal by the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and contractor UCOR will eliminate a high-risk excess contaminated facility, enable modernization, and clear land to support national security missions.
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Submitted
Roane State Community College and its nonprofit Foundation hosted a ceremony on July 2, 2024, commemorating a major milestone in the construction of the college’s new Knox Regional Health Science Education Center in west Knoxville.
Construction crews hoisted and installed the final piece of steel for the facility’s frame as part of the event. Project supporters and members of the community were invited to watch the “topping off” ceremony. Many of those in attendance signed their names to the beam prior to it being lifted into place at the top of the structure.
“This moment is symbolic as we move ever closer to opening the doors of this new campus, a facility which will help the college fulfill its mission of strengthening lives through the power of higher education and building thriving communities,” said Scott Niermann, Roane State Foundation’s executive director.
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The City of Oak Ridge is sponsoring its annual fireworks show to celebrate Independence Day. The display will be held in Alvin K. Bissell Park on July 4, and it is scheduled to begin at dark, around 9:45 p.m.
The Oak Ridge Community Band will perform prior to the fireworks, a press release said. The concert is free, but donations are accepted by the band to help cover the cost of equipment and other expenses. The music is expected to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Anyone planning to attend is advised to bring a lawn chair or blanket for outdoor seating. A safety zone will be established by the Oak Ridge Fire Department, the press release said. Please sit only in the designated areas. The walking trail and most of A.K. Bissell Park will be closed for safety reasons during the fireworks show and set up.
[Read more…]Bring your human-powered watercraft and explore the history of life on the Clinch River on Saturday.
“On a quiet bend of Melton Hill Lake sits the oldest surviving structure in Oak Ridge, the Freels Bend Cabin dating back to 1810,” the National Park Service said. “On a 1.5-mile roundtrip paddle from Guinn Park, explore the history of the Clinch River Valley leading up to the Manhattan Project.”
Note: This is a paddle program on Melton Hill Lake. Freels Bend Cabin is on U.S. Department of Energy property, and no landings will be permitted.
The trip is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 22. To participate, please bring your own self-propelled watercraft. No boats are provided by the NPS.
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department and Explore Oak Ridge are teaming up to host the first-ever Oak Ridge Outdoor Festival on Saturday.
The free event will be a day of fun activities at Oak Ridge parks, including disc golf, pickleball, kayaking, hiking, mountain biking and plein-air art, a press release said.
The festival is set for Saturday, June 22, from 9 a.m. to noon. There will be two sessions offered, so attendees could participate in two sessions. The first is from 9 to 10:15 a.m. and the second is from 10:45 a.m. to noon.
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You can get an introduction to the history of the K-25 plant, which once had the world’s largest building, with a National Park Service ranger on Saturday.
K-25 was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bomb, before Germany could.
Saturday’s talk is titled “K-25: Enriching Uranium in Happy Valley.” It is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. at the K-25 Overlook across from the K-25 site, which is now known as Heritage Center or East Tennessee Technology Park. The talk is free, and it is expected to last about one hour.
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The annual Lavender Festival is Saturday in Jackson Square.
It’s the 24th festival and presented by the City of Oak Ridge. It’s scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the city’s historic center.
“Lavender Festival celebrates good health, local creativity, the environment, and of course, all things lavender!” a press release said. “The highlight of the festival are 150 juried artisan and food vendors, with handmade and locally grown items, everything from pottery and woodworking, iron work, handmade baskets, and more.”
Some of the new artisan vendors this year include Aviary Broom Co., Butter from the Block, Millborne Bakery, Marigold & Marie, and Rising Star Leather. New food vendors include Groovy Grub, Knox Bun, Frog Juice, and Barriga Llena.
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge Fire Department will unveil a new Safe Haven Baby Box on Wednesday, June 12. It will be a place where mothers can safely and anonymously drop off their newborn babies during a crisis, a media advisory said.
The baby box has been installed in honor of Baby Wyatt, a newborn whose body was found wrapped in an oversized T-shirt along the banks of Melton Hill Lake on March 26, 2020, the advisory said. His identity remains unknown.
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Members of the Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival team gather in this year’s festival t-shirts. They are, from left, seated, Pat Postma, Matt Tucker, Liz Tucker, Becky Dodson, and Ram Uppuluri. From left, standing, are Vanessa Spratling, Martha Hobson, Kay Brookshire, Charles Crowe, Judy Wilson, Ray Smith, Sue Byrne, and Mark Watson. (Photo by Linde Mills)
Volunteers from civic, charitable, and business organizations throughout the community are planning to welcome three renowned storytellers to Oak Ridge for the June 7 and 8 Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival at the Historic Grove Theater.
Members of the three Oak Ridge Rotary Clubs are taking lead roles in the Flatwater Tales team planning the festival, which originated in 2018 as a community project led by Emily and Charlie Jernigan, Pat Postma, and Martha and David Hobson.
This year, Sue Byrne and Martha Hobson are co-chairing the Flatwater Executive Committee. Others on the Executive Committee are Lydia Birk, treasurer; Charles Crowe, leading the revenue team; Becky Dodson, heading the promotion team; and Pat Postma, secretary who is also on the performances team with Liz Tucker and Matt Tucker.
The storytellers coming to Flatwater Tales are Charlotte Blake Alston, Josh Goforth, and Bil Lepp. [Read more…]
Crews are expected to finish remediating soil, reversing or stopping environmental damage at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge this year, and federal cleanup managers are shifting their focus to groundwater. It’s the final phase of cleanup at the former uranium enrichment site.
Now also referred to as Heritage Center and East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), the K-25 site produced fuel for nuclear weapons and reactors starting in the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II and continuing through the Cold War. The site has been shut down for almost four decades, and a massive cleanup project has been under way for many years.
The groundwater work can begin with the recent signing of two records of decision between the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. That’s according to “EM Update,” an electronic newsletter published by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management.
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From “EM Update” newsletter
Long vacant parking lots at the former K-25 site at Oak Ridge were full again on a recent Saturday afternoon as retired employees gathered for a first-ever reunion.
“There are some folks here that I have not seen since I retired,” said Bob Merriman, who began working at the K-25 site in 1963. “It’s amazing to be able to visit with them and to see them still doing well.”
What started as a plan to host a small picnic quickly turned into much more.
“I said we’ll have it down here at Turtle Park in Oak Ridge, but I think I’m going to open it up to all K-25 workers,” said Pam Toon, an event organizer who started work at the site in 1987. “When I did, massive amounts of people signed up.”
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