Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge teams excel at state chess team championships

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Oak Ridge High School Freshmen Chess Team in March 2018: Levi Parish, Adam Herron, Kenny Adams, and Dan Joy (Photo courtesy Esther Parish)

Oak Ridge High School Freshmen Chess Team: Levi Parish, Adam Herron, Kenny Adams, and Dan Joy (Photo courtesy Esther Parish)

 

Every year, the top four scholastic chess teams in each of the four grade divisions qualify to join teams from the other three regions to compete for the Tennessee Chess Association scholastic team championships, which were held March 24 at Tennessee Tech University.

Four Oak Ridge schools—Linden Elementary School, Robertsville Middle School, Jefferson Middle School, and Oak Ridge High School—qualified a total of six teams for this year’s event. That meant that about 1/10th of the players were Oak Ridge students (Oak Ridge has about 0.4 percent of the state’s population).

In the Primary (K-3) section, the Linden team of Ricardo Smith, William Hetrick, Quinn Richardson, and Kaylee Tress finished 11th overall.

In the Elementary (K-6) section, Jefferson (Brian Qu, Isaak Nussbaum, Gavin Koentop, and Toby Croft) finished fifth, while Robertsville (Leo Ehlers, Patrick Wurm, Daisy Kercher, Brandon Bonamarte, and Zachary Williamson) took 10th. [Read more…]

Emory Valley Center fundraiser tonight will recognize McNally

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

 

The Emory Valley Center will be hosting its annual fundraiser in the Caldwell-Thompson building for the first time this year on Thursday, April 5, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The organization will begin a new tradition this year by presenting the Emory Valley Center Compassion Award to Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally. Each year, EVC plans to present this award to someone in the community who has supported Emory Valley Center in a variety of ways, a press release said.

Emory Valley Center reported on Monday that tickets for the fundraiser tonight (Thursday, April 5) have sold out. [Read more…]

Tennessee Mountain Writers Conference starts tonight, continues through Saturday

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Image by Tennessee Mountain Writers

Image by Tennessee Mountain Writers

 

Tennessee Mountain Writers will celebrate its 30th Annual Conference with the theme “No Grit, No Pearl” on Thursday through Saturday, April 5-7, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge. The conference will include workshops, writing contests, networking, manuscript evaluations, publishers, editors, book signings, a bookstore, vendors, and more, a press release said.

Marilyn Kallet will lead the Poetry workshops and will be the keynote speaker at the awards banquet, the concluding event of the conference, the press release said. Kallet, Nancy Moore Goslee Professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, has published 17 books, including “The Love That Moves Me,” poetry from Black Widow Press (2013), and “How Our Bodies Learned,” lyric poetry from Black Widow Press (January 2018). She teaches poetry workshops each spring in Auvillar, France, for the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, at their French studio. She has performed her poems on campuses and in theaters across the United States, as well as in France and Poland as a guest of the U.S. Embassy. The University of Tennessee lists her as a specialist in poetry and dreams, poetry and healing, and poetry’s role in times of crisis.

Kelly O’Connor McNees will lead the Writing for Young People workshops and will be the General Session speaker. McNees is the author of “The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott,” “The Island of Doves,” and “In Need of a Good Wife,” a finalist for the 2013 Willa Award. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post and The Toast, and is forthcoming in the Chicago Anthology, the press release said. She is the recipient of the 2017 Meg Medina Artist-in-Residency Scholarship from the Highlights Foundation. She runs Word Bird Editorial Services, which helps writers of all stripes improve their craft and prepare their work for publication, and speaks at libraries, conferences, and book clubs. Born and raised in Michigan, she lives in Chicago with her family. [Read more…]

UPF lawsuit moved from DC to Knoxville

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A rendering of the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Image from May 2017 courtesy of NNSA)

A rendering of the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Image from May 2017 courtesy of NNSA)

 

The federal lawsuit that asks for an environmental review of the new multi-building design for the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex has been transferred from Washington, D.C., to Knoxville.

The transfer of the civil complaint had been requested in September by the defendants, U.S. Energy Secretary James Richard “Rick” Perry and Frank G. Klotz, former administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. The NNSA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Energy that manages nuclear weapons programs and facilities, including Y-12, among other activities.

United States District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, who was assigned the case in December, granted the motion to transfer the lawsuit from the District of Columbia to U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, which includes the Knoxville division, on March 23.

The 44-page federal lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on July 20, argues that a new environmental impact statement should be prepared for the new design for the UPF, the largest federal construction project in Tennessee since World War II. The plaintiffs allege that the NNSA’s decision to use several new buildings for the UPF, rather than just one, and continue to use some old buildings at Y-12 for some nuclear weapons work is risky because the old buildings could collapse during a major earthquake, possibly leading to a nuclear accident that could release radiological materials.

Federal officials denied that allegation and others in a 29-page response filed September 29. They’ve called some allegations vague, ambiguous, or speculative, and they have said that safety and technical analyses are under way at Y-12. Some buildings may require seismic upgrades, depending upon evaluation results, and an Extended Life Program is meant to ensure that two buildings—Building 9215 and Building 9204-2E—will safely support future operations, federal officials said. [Read more…]

Tonight: Republican Party candidates forum in Oak Ridge

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Anderson County Republican Party Primary Candidates Forum April 3 2018

The Anderson County Republican Party has a candidates forum in Oak Ridge tonight (Tuesday, April 3).

The forum will feature candidates for these seven Anderson County offices: mayor, sheriff, circuit court clerk, clerk, trustee, register of deeds, and road superintendent. The candidates are running in the May 1 Anderson County Republican Party primary.

The forum will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, at the Wildcat Den at 102 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge. The doors will open at 6 p.m. for light refreshments, seating, and mingling with Republican primary candidates, a press release said. [Read more…]

Woman receives three-year sentence in drug overdose

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Heather Marie Rau

Heather Marie Rau

 

An Oak Ridge woman received a three-year prison sentence in a plea agreement on Monday after a drug overdose that reportedly involved a fentanyl analogue last year left a man unconscious on a hallway floor with a very weak pulse and unable to breathe on his own.

Heather Mariue Rau, 30, pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday to charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment with illegal narcotics (acrylfentanyl), promotion of methamphetamine manufacture, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drugs for sale, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Those charges were from two separate indictments against Rau last year.

A second, duplicate charge of possession of drug paraphernalia was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Rau must pay court costs and fines that appear to total close to $9,000, according to criminal judgements filed by the Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk. She will receive credit for time served after being jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton since February 16, 2017. As a standard offender, her release eligibility has been set at 30 percent. [Read more…]

Grace Lutheran Church celebrates ‘Rising of the Son’ Easter Sunday

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Grace-Lutheran-Church-Outdoor-Cross

The outdoor cross at Grace Lutheran is draped for Easter Sunrise Services. (Submitted photo)

 

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church invites you to join in celebration of the “Rising of the Son” on Easter Sunday, April 1.

Services will be held at 7 a.m. (sunrise outside), at 9 a.m. (contemporary service), and 11:15 a.m. (traditional service). The Men’s Group will provide breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church is a part of the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It is located at 131 West Gettysburg Avenue in Oak Ridge.

“Grace Lutheran Church is a Christian church dedicated to proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ in a diverse community by loving our neighbors as ourselves, developing vibrant ministries to meet current and emerging needs, and helping people know Jesus,” a press release said. For more information, call (865) 483-3787 or visit the church on the web at www.graceoakridge.org.

James Peery to lead ORNL’s Global Security Directorate

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James Peery

James Peery

 

James Peery, who led critical national security programs at Sandia National Laboratories and held multiple leadership positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory before arriving at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory last year, has been named associate laboratory director of global security at ORNL, a press release said.

Peery succeeds Brent Park, who was recently confirmed as deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Park has led the Global Security Directorate since July 2010.

“James will be responsible for ensuring that ORNL is applying its research strengths to the highest priorities for our nation’s security, and his more than two decades of experience in creating successful initiatives makes him well qualified to lead the Global Security Directorate staff in its compelling mission,” said ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia. [Read more…]

ORNL’s Dean named associate laboratory director for physical sciences

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David J. Dean

David J. Dean

 

David J. Dean has been named associate laboratory director for physical sciences at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, effective May 1.

The Physical Sciences Directorate encompasses the laboratory’s materials science and technology, chemical sciences, nanoscience, physics, and isotope production research programs and activities, a press release said.

“In his new position, David will pursue excellence across our broad physical sciences portfolio, with particular emphases on quantum materials, structural materials and alloys, soft materials, nanoscience, and applications of materials and chemistry in energy and security,” said ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia. [Read more…]

Anne Marie White sworn in as DOE assistant secretary for environmental management

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Anne Marie White was sworn in on Thursday in Washington, D.C., as assistant secretary for environmental management at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Environmental management, or EM, is DOE’s cleanup program, and it’s one of the major federal programs in Oak Ridge.

As assistant secretary, White will provide leadership to continue the safe cleanup of the environmental legacy brought about from five decades of nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research, a press release said. She will work closely with communities that have partnered with DOE and its predecessor agencies for many decades, the press release said. [Read more…]

Household trash pickup starts Monday

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The citywide household trash pickup program in Oak Ridge will start Monday, April 2. Household rubbish, old appliances, and minor remodeling materials will be picked up, a press release said. City collection efforts will follow the accompanying schedule as closely as possible.

“Residents have always been very cooperative and we ask for their continued cooperation this year by following a few guidelines,” the press release said: [Read more…]

Spending bill has $639 million for DOE cleanup in Oak Ridge

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Y-12 Biology Complex aerial

An aerial view of the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Plans call for eventually demolishing the complex. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

 

The federal spending bill approved last week includes $639 million for the federal government’s cleanup program in Oak Ridge, including what could be full funding for a top priority deactivation and demolition project at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The $639 million for the current fiscal year is an increase of $141 million or more, compared to recent fiscal years, and it’s the most money appropriated in a while.

Besides Y-12, the fiscal year 2018 funding will be used for U.S. Department of Energy cleanup projects at East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“It’s very positive for us,” said Jay Mullis, manager of the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. Mullis gave a brief update at a meeting of the Oak Ridge Reservation Communities Alliance on Monday.

In addition to $125 million to deactivate and demolish the Biology Complex at Y-12, the fiscal year 2018 spending bill includes $17.1 million in funding for the planned Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12, about $200 million for continued cleanup work at ETTP, and a total of roughly $12 million for the Environmental Management Disposal Facility, or EMDF. That’s a proposed landfill that could be west of Y-12 and accept waste from future cleanup work at Y-12 and ORNL, possibly early in the 2020s. The project plan for EMDF is expected to be open to public comment later this summer. [Read more…]