Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge man sentenced to 14 years for child pornography

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James Edward Hiatt

James Edward Hiatt

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:38 p.m.

An Oak Ridge man was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison on Wednesday for distributing and possessing child pornography, authorities said.

James Edward Hiatt, 33, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

He had been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of distributing and possessing child pornography on February 17, 2016.

A sentencing memorandum filed September 11, 2017, said seized computer equipment found that Hiatt had about 2,900 digital images of child pornography and 1,400 digital videos. The child pornography included prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit activity, including “disturbing depictions of sadistic conduct, bondage, and bestiality involving very young children,” the sentencing memorandum said.

Hiatt consented to be interviewed during a search and admitted to knowingly downloading child pornography, the sentencing memorandum said. [Read more…]

Centrus, X-energy contract supports work on advanced nuclear fuel

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo courtesy USEC/Centrus Energy Corp.)

 

Note: This story was updated at 3:15 p.m.

A contract between two companies that have operations or employees in Oak Ridge will support continued work on the production of fuel for advanced nuclear reactors, possibly within six years or so.

The two companies, Centrus Energy Corp. and X Energy LLC, announced the services contract in a press release on Wednesday.

The companies had announced in September that they were exploring a collaboration for the possible production of fuel for advanced nuclear reactors, and they had signed a memorandum of understanding for the potential collaboration.

They said then that they were working toward the development of a fuel fabrication facility that could possibly be in Oak Ridge, where Centrus, formerly known as USEC, has had operations for about 15 years. Oak Ridge could be a nexus for the advanced reactor industry in the United States, one official said at the time. It’s not clear yet how large the fuel fabrication facility would be or what the total investment might be.

In the Wednesday press release, the two companies said the services contract announced this month builds upon the September memorandum of understanding.

“This contract is the initial implementation of that agreement,” said Jeremy Derryberry, Centrus senior communications manager. “Our team in Oak Ridge will be working with X-energy on this project.” [Read more…]

Man dies, teen injured in Oliver Springs crash

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A 44-year-old man died and a teenager was injured in a two-vehicle crash in Oliver Springs on Sunday evening, authorities said.

Anthony M. Maston, who has an address listed in Oliver Springs, was driving north in a 2016 Kia sport utility vehicle on State Route 62 when he crossed the center line into the southbound lane and hit a southbound 2010 Nissan Altima car driven by a 17-year-old Oliver Springs girl, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a report.

Maston died due to the crash, which was reported at about 8:17 p.m. Sunday near the intersection with State Route 61, the THP said. He was not wearing a seat belt, the report said.

The 17-year-old driver of the second vehicle, the Nissan Altima car, was injured. She wasn’t wearing a seat belt either and neither was her 16-year-old passenger, the THP said. [Read more…]

Man dies in Clinton Highway crash

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An 86-year-old man died in a two-vehicle crash on Clinton Highway late Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Fred Lay, who has a Clinton address, was driving east on Bull Run Road in Claxton in a 2005 Mercury Sable car when he turned onto southbound US Highway 25W (Clinton Highway), the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a report. His vehicle turned into the path of a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer sport utility vehicle driven south in the inside lane of Clinton Highway by Marissa N. McCormick, 27, of Powell, and the two vehicles collided, the report said.

Southbound Clinton Highway heads toward Knoxville.

Lay died due to the crash, which was reported at about 4:56 p.m. Tuesday, the THP said. McCormick was not injured. [Read more…]

Robotics: After regional alliance win, Secret City Wildbots will compete in World Finals in Houston

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After a regional alliance win at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday, March 24, 2018, the Secret City Wildbots robotics team of Oak Ridge, Team 4265, is headed to the World Finals in Houston in April. (Photo by Angi Agle)

After a regional alliance win at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday, March 24, 2018, the Secret City Wildbots robotics team of Oak Ridge (Team 4265) is headed to the World Finals in Houston in April. (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

Information and photos submitted by Angi Agle

KNOXVILLE—After a regional alliance win in Knoxville on Saturday, the Secret City Wildbots robotics team of Oak Ridge is headed to the World Finals in Houston in April.

The Wildbots finished the qualification rounds ranked number eight at Thompson-Boling Arena at the University of Tennessee. That made the Wildbots a team captain, eligible to select two more teams for their alliance.

However, captains select their alliance partners in the first round, with the highest-ranked team picking first. Team 2614, MARS (Mountain Area Robotics) of Morgantown, West Virginia, was the number one seed and selected Team 4265 (the Secret City Wildbots) as their first alliance pick.

The two then agreed upon Team 4306, the Robo Komodos of Franklin, Tennessee, as their third alliance partner. [Read more…]

Education Foundation to award over $100K in grants in April ceremony

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The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award more than $104,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers at a ceremony on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award more than $104,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers at a ceremony on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award more than $104,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers at a ceremony on Wednesday, April 25, a press release said.

Chuck Carringer, who has previously worked for Oak Ridge Schools and is now president of Chuck Carringer Executive Coaching, which provides leadership and management development services, will be the featured speaker at the April ceremony, the press release said. His talk will be titled “Teachers Making a Difference.”

The ceremony is open to the public, and it will be held in the Oak Ridge High School cafeteria beginning at 4 p.m. April 25. Demonstrations and displays of some of the projects and technology funded by the Foundation will be given after the formal ceremony, the press release said. Light refreshments will be provided courtesy of Oak Ridge Utility District.

Here are the 2018 grant recipients: [Read more…]

Candidate forum for Anderson County mayor is Monday

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Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building

The Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building is pictured above on the Roane State Community College campus in Oak Ridge.

 

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Advocacy Committee will be hosting a series of candidate forums during the election season.

The first forum, which is Monday evening, will be for candidates running for the office of Anderson County mayor. Both candidates for the Republican nomination, Steve Emert and Terry Frank, will participate, a press release said.

The Anderson County mayor’s race will be determined in the May 1 primary because there are no Democrats running for the office.

Monday’s forum is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. April 2 at Roane State Community College’s Goff Building in Oak Ridge. The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. All candidate forums are free and open to the public. [Read more…]

Ben Stephens appointed to Oak Ridge school board

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Ben Stephens

Ben Stephens

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday appointed Benjamin Stephens to fill the seat being vacated by Vice Chair Robert S. Eby, who is resigning at the end of March in order to serve on the Tennessee State Board of Education.

Stephens will serve through the county election in August. The winning candidate in that election will then serve through the November election, which will have candidates for municipal, state, and federal offices.

Stephens is manager of academic partnerships at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has been involved in community activities, and he serves on the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission.

At Monday’s meeting, BOE member Angi Agle said she and Laura McLean, another board member, served on a 2020 Committee with Stephens and were impressed with his service there.

Stephens said he has worked with the board on several strategic plans, and he is honored to serve on the Oak Ridge Board of Education. [Read more…]

Anderson County residents among 44 indicted in meth distribution conspiracy

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A group of Anderson County residents was part of an alleged methamphetamine distribution ring that involved 44 people and a conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in East Tennessee and elsewhere, federal officials said Monday.

A 30-count indictment was returned against the 44 people by a federal grand jury in Greeneville in East Tennessee on January 9. Among those indicted were nine residents of Clinton, Oliver Springs, Powell, and Rocky Top, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Eastern District of Tennessee on Monday. There were also four Knoxville residents indicted and a dozen in Bristol and Kingsport in upper East Tennessee, among other defendants in Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Clinton Police Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oliver Springs Police Department, and Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County were among the agencies that helped with the investigation, the press release said.

Here are the people that were indicted in the alleged methamphetamine distribution conspiracy: [Read more…]

Monday night: Oak Ridge school board to consider appointing new member

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider appointing a new school board member tonight (Monday, March 26).

The new member will replace Bob Eby. Eby, who has been vice chair of the school board, announced in February that he was resigning at the end of March because Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is appointing him to serve on the Tennessee State Board of Education effective April 1.

Eby will represent Tennessee’s Third Congressional District, which includes Oak Ridge, on the state school board, according to his resignation letter. [Read more…]

Tonight: Learn about candidates, campaigns at Democratic Women’s Club Meeting

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Will Winters

Wil Winters

You can learn about campaigning and meet Democratic candidates running for county and state offices in Oak Ridge tonight, a press release said.

“Join the Blue Wave Campaign, learn how volunteers can campaign effectively, and meet the Democratic candidates running for county and state offices,” the press release said.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. Monday, March 26, at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club has invited candidates running for any office in Anderson County, from county sheriff to state governor, to attend or send a campaign representative to the meeting, the press release said. [Read more…]

Breakfast with Legislators is Monday

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The next Breakfast with the Legislators is Monday. It’s hosted by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.

Tennessee senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to speak about this session of the Tennessee General Assembly, and respond to questions and hear opinions from the audience, a press release said. The public is invited to attend.

The meeting will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Monday in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, which is 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.  A free continental breakfast will be served, the press release said. [Read more…]