Oak Ridge Today

Pre-Festival tonight: WDVX live broadcast with Ridge City Ramblers

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Ridge City Ramblers

Ridge City Ramblers

 

A live radio broadcast show in Oak Ridge tonight will feature Ridge City Ramblers and Kukuly and Gypsy Fuego. It’s a pre-festival event for the Secret City Festival this weekend.

Ridge City Ramblers plays bluegrass, and Kukuly and Gypsy Fuego plays gypsy jazz, according to WDVX 89.9 FM, a listener-supported radio station that will broadcast the show live.

The concert is this evening (Monday, June 4). The music is scheduled to start at 6 p.m., according to WDVX and ORNL Federal Credit Union, which is presenting the show.

It’s the first in a series of free summer concerts in Oak Ridge called the “Summer Sessions” and presented by ORNL Federal Credit Union. Performers will include bluegrass and Americana bands from throughout the region. Future concerts will be held on the following Saturdays: July 21, August 18, September 8, and October 6. All concerts will be held outdoors at the pavilion in Alvin K. Bissell Park at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge. They are free. The full lineup can be found on ORNL FCU’s Facebook page or at ornlfcu.com/summer-sessions. [Read more…]

McGuire Books closing, while Packard’s store re-opened

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McGuire Books in Oak Ridge is closing. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the store, which also sells CDs, DVDs, games, and electronics, on Thursday, May 24, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

McGuire Books in Oak Ridge is closing. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the store, which also sells CDs, DVDs, games, and electronics, on Thursday, May 24, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

McGuire Books in Oak Ridge is closing, while Packard’s Games and Movies in Clinton has re-opened and Packard’s in Kingston is expected to re-open.

The McGuire Books store in Oak Ridge, which also sells compact discs, digital video discs, games, and electronics, said it was closing after it was searched and some items were seized by law enforcement starting at about noon Thursday, May 24. The store was open the next day, Friday of last week, with a skeleton crew of staff members, although there were, at that time, shelves that were conspicuously empty at the front of the store. Law enforcement officers were reported to have taken DVDs, games, and some other items.

The search last week, which continued into Thursday night and involved several large moving trucks, was led by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force of Anderson County. The CTF was helped by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, the Eighth Judicial District Drug Task Force, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and Clinton Police Department. Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark and Assistant District Attorney General Ryan Spitzer were also at the store.

Officers were observed removing boxes of items from McGuire Books and packing them into the moving trucks last week. Crime scene tape blocked entry to the store, and a Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force crime scene truck was parked out front. The purpose of the search has not been announced. [Read more…]

Reminder: Flatwater Festival, Flatwater Tales this weekend

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Ridge City Ramblers perform at the Flatwater Festival in 2017. (Photo courtesy Flatwater Festival)

Ridge City Ramblers perform at the Flatwater Festival in 2017. (Photo courtesy Flatwater Festival)

 

Reminder: The second Flatwater Festival presented by the three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge will be held from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at Melton Lake Park.

And the Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival, which will feature three world renowned storytellers, has events on Friday and Sunday. It is the first storytelling festival in the Oak Ridge area.

Organizers said the Flatwater Festival on Saturday will include bands, beer, boat races, and bounce houses; wine, water, and soda; and face painting, food vendors, and fun for all, including corn hole games.

New this year is a team-building regatta featuring up to 20 boats. It will be held from 12:30 to 5 p.m. in collaboration with the Oak Ridge Rowing Association. A “build a boat” race by participants who make their own cardboard boats ahead of time will be held at 5 p.m. [Read more…]

Victim identified in fatal crash

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One person died in a two-vehicle crash on Melton Lake Drive near the rowing course finish line on Sunday, May 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

One person died in a two-vehicle crash on Melton Lake Drive near the rowing course finish line on Sunday, May 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Authorities have identified the female driver who died in a head-on two-vehicle crash on Melton Lake Drive on Sunday night as Jessica Hotchkiss, 37, of Clinton.

No other details had been released as of Tuesday, and the Oak Ridge Police Department said the investigation was ongoing.

The fatal crash was reported at about 11:23 p.m. Sunday just south of the tower at the Oak Ridge rowing course finish line. It involved a sport utility vehicle and a Comcast utility bucket truck.

The ORPD said then that it appeared the SUV had crossed the center line, striking the Comcast truck head-on. [Read more…]

Demolished building once helped protect city, enriched uranium at Y-12

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A building that was mostly demolished on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, once helped to protect enriched uranium at Y-12, and it was used by military police and the Oak Ridge Police Department to help protect the city. Part of the building, a former secure federal communications center, was still standing among the demolition debris late Wednesday afternoon. This picture was taken looking southeast from near the intersection of Bus Terminal Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A building that was mostly demolished on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, once helped to protect enriched uranium at Y-12, and it was used by military police and the Oak Ridge Police Department to help protect the city. Part of the building, a former secure federal communications center, was still standing among the demolition debris late Wednesday afternoon. This picture was taken looking southeast from near the intersection of Bus Terminal Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8:30 a.m. June 2.

A building that was mostly demolished on Wednesday once helped to protect enriched uranium at Y-12, and it was used by military police and the Oak Ridge Police Department to help protect the city.

The building at 101 Bus Terminal Road was once connected by radio to a Y-12 building that stored the world’s only supply of enriched uranium-235, according to a 2010 newspaper article published by D. Ray Smith, who cited Bill Sergeant, head of security after World War II.

A small section of the Bus Terminal Road building that still had historic artifacts—two holding cells and a heavy, bulletproof steel door—remained standing, surrounded by demolition debris, on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s not clear why that one section hadn’t been demolished yet, but the 2010 newspaper article by Smith said it had been a secure federal communications center and was built to be safe from attack. That small section of the building, which had no external windows, was reported to have a concrete ceiling that was one foot thick.

The building, which is at the intersection with Oak Ridge Turnpike, is now being completely demolished so a Taco Bell restaurant can be built there. The building had been extensively modified, and it’s not clear how much of it might have been considered historic.

Smith said the Bus Terminal Road building was once connected by radio to Building 9213, which stored uranium-235 for about a year at Y-12. Building 9213 is on the south side of Chestnut Ridge, which is on the south side of Y-12. After it briefly stored uranium, Building 9213 was used for criticality experiments for years, Smith said. It’s also been used to train the National Guard to identify and isolate radioactive sources as part of their training for homeland security. [Read more…]

City hosting more than 400 national, regional leaders at Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit

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More than 400 people will gather at the CNS Y-12 New Hope Center on Scarboro Road in south Oak Ridge from May 29-31 for the annual Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit. The theme of the summit is “Connecting People, Ideas, Opportunities.”

The event is hosted by Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch in cooperation with U.S. Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge.

The Summit will bring together regional leadership from five states—Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia—to discuss clean energy, cyber and national security, advanced manufacturing, and education. The Summit will also celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the City of Oak Ridge, the 85th Anniversary of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and 50th Anniversary of NASA’s Apollo 8 Mission.

If you did not register online, you can register onsite starting at 2 p.m. May 29 at the New Hope Center. [Read more…]

Tennessee Avenue reconstruction project to start Tuesday

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A road reconstruction project affecting Tennessee Avenue is scheduled to begin today (Tuesday, May 29), city officials said.

Adams and Sons Inc., working under contract for the City of Oak Ridge, will reconstruct a section of Tennessee Avenue beginning 400 feet east of its intersection with New York Avenue down to its intersection with Michigan Avenue, a press release said.

The contractor’s notice to proceed became effective Monday, May 21, and onsite activity was expected to begin after that, with construction signs placed earlier.

“The Public Works Department will use this project as an opportunity to replace the existing 1940s-era water main along Tennessee Avenue, in addition to making curb, gutter, and sidewalk repairs,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Lithium Production Facility could be built in area of Biology Complex at Y-12

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Federal officials have already approved the need for a new Lithium Production Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and in May 2018, they said it could be built on the east side of the 811-acre plant, possibly where the Biology Complex, the brick building at center, is now. The east side of Y-12 is pictured above from Scarboro Road on Sunday, May 20, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Federal officials have already approved the need for a new Lithium Production Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and in May 2018, they said it could be built on the east side of the 811-acre plant, possibly where the Biology Complex, the brick building at center, is now. The east side of Y-12 is pictured above from Scarboro Road on Sunday, May 20, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Federal officials have already approved the need for a new Lithium Production Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and this month, they said it could be built on the east side of the 811-acre plant, possibly where the Biology Complex is now.

Current plans call for demolishing the Biology Complex. Officials had recently been saying that removing buildings from that complex would allow the area to be used for “modern national defense missions.” But it hadn’t been clear what those missions might be.

On May 12, Steven Wyatt, public affairs manager for the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office, confirmed that the Lithium Production Facility could be built there. Y-12 is a NNSA site.

“We are in the early stages of planning for the Lithium Production Capability that is needed to replace the aging and obsolete 9204-2 building,” Wyatt said. “We are reviewing options for constructing a facility in the eastern portion of the Y-12 site, including the area of the Biology Complex.” [Read more…]

City, schools to present budgets to City Council on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

 

City and school officials will present their fiscal year 2019 budgets to Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Tuesday.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education budget, which has already been approved by the school board, will be presented by Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers and Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer. The city has typically provided a little less than 30 percent of the school system’s funding.

The proposed municipal budget will be presented by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. [Read more…]

One person dies in crash on Melton Lake Drive

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One person died in a two-vehicle crash on Melton Lake Drive near the rowing course finish line on Sunday, May 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

One person died in a two-vehicle crash on Melton Lake Drive near the rowing course finish line on Sunday night, May 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One person died in a head-on collision on Melton Lake Drive on Sunday night, authorities said.

The two-vehicle crash was reported at about 11:23 p.m. Sunday just south of the tower at the Oak Ridge rowing course finish line. It involved a sport utility vehicle and a Comcast utility bucket truck.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, but it appears that the SUV crossed the center line, striking the Comcast truck head-on, according to Oak Ridge Police Department Sergeant Jeremy Huddleston.

Authorities reported that a female driver died in the crash. Huddleston said the other driver was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville and released. [Read more…]

Local bands benefiting charities tonight, Saturday

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The Teno Family Band is one of the many performing groups to provide entertainment at the Turning Wheel Revue on Friday evening, May 25, 2018, at Swifty’s Atomic Bar & Grill, and Saturday evening, May 26, at the Historic Grove Theater. (Submitted photo)

The Teno Family Band is one of the many performing groups to provide entertainment at the Turning Wheel Revue on Friday evening, May 25, 2018, at Swifty’s Atomic Bar & Grill, and Saturday evening, May 26, at the Historic Grove Theater. (Submitted photo)

 

“Local musicians benefiting local charities.”

That’s the tagline for the Turning Wheel Revue, a fundraiser to be held Friday, May 25, and Saturday, May 26, in Oak Ridge.

The Friday event will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. at Swifty’s Atomic Bar & Grill (119 South Illinois Avenue), and the Saturday fundraiser will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Historic Grove Theater (123 Randolph Road).

The bands that will trigger toe-tapping on Friday evening will be The Lewis Brothers (Robbie & James), The Ryan Meeker Band, $teve, The Thrips, The Unnamed, and special guests.

Turning to the Saturday evening event, attendees will hear Jeremiah Johnson & Jackson Coleman, Joey Shackleford, Kasey Moore, Samantha Mason & Marian Vacaluic, Sarah Joyal, (Rick) Payson Lyon, The Teno Family Band, Tim & Jodi Harbin, The Young Band, Nothing Band, and special guests.

The 13 local nonprofit service organizations that will benefit from your presence are: [Read more…]

Law enforcement search at McGuire could continue through Thursday night

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The law enforcement search at McGuire—a store that sells used books, compact discs, digital video discs, and electronics—is expected to last hours and continue throughout the night Thursday May 24, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The law enforcement search at McGuire—a store that sells used books, compact discs, digital video discs, and electronics—is expected to last hours and continue through the night Thursday, May 24, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:45 a.m. May 25.

The law enforcement search at McGuire—a store that sells used books, compact discs, digital video discs, and electronics—is expected to last hours and continue through the night (Thursday night).

The Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force of Anderson County executed search warrants at McGuire Used Books, CDs, DVDs, Games, and More starting at about noon Thursday. There were reported to be about a dozen employees in the store at the time the search began.

Authorities declined to say why they were searching the store on Thursday afternoon. But they had a stack of moving boxes ready to be folded and numerous boxes folded and ready to be used, and there were several moving trucks parked near the store, including one right in front of it.

Crime scene tape blocked entry to the store, and a Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force crime scene truck was parked out front.

At about 10 p.m. Thursday, it appeared that boxes with items inside were occasionally being brought out of the store and loaded into the moving truck parked in front of McGuire. [Read more…]