Photo by October Sky Festival
The October Sky Festival is today (Saturday, October 21) in Oliver Springs. The festival is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at Arrowhead Park.
According to submitted information, the October Sky Festival will have: [Read more…]
Centennial Golf Course is pictured above in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
The City of Oak Ridge will begin managing Centennial Golf Course internally through the Recreation and Parks Department, releasing the private firm Billy Casper Golf from its management contract, a press release said. The transition will begin immediately and is expected to be complete by the end of November.
“The city chose to make the move in order to initiate repairs to the facility on an aggressive timeline,” the press release said.
The golf course will not close during the management transition or subsequent renovations. Nine holes will remain open while crews work on the rest of the course. Cart path repairs are planned along with drainage improvements and the installation of guard rails and other safety measures. The driving range and clubhouse will also remain open. The city will be honoring passes and memberships purchased prior to this change, the press release said.
“Golf is an extremely dynamic sport, and we have to adapt in order to remain competitive,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said of the decision. “Our goal is to have a truly great public golf course and this is the first step in making that a reality.” [Read more…]
An early aerial photo of Happy Valley, a construction camp that was like a small city and used to help build the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. This picture was taken May, 22, 1944, by Ed Westcott, the official government photographer in Oak Ridge during World War II. (Photo courtesy Ed Westcott/Emily Hunnicutt)
It was once home to a large construction camp that was like a small city and housed workers building K-25 during World War II.
Now the 160-acre parcel known as Happy Valley has been sold.
Happy Valley was in west Oak Ridge, across State Route 58 from the K-25 site. One of three major sites in Oak Ridge, K-25 was built to enrich uranium for atomic weapons as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II.
Today, Happy Valley appears to be mostly a rolling tree-covered landscape between Oak Ridge and Kingston along SR 58. To the public, there is little or no obvious evidence of what was once there—homes, a grocery store, schools, a post office, recreation halls, a gas station, and a bowling alley.
But those who have walked the property have seen evidence of the small city that was once there. [Read more…]
A fire destroyed a vacant home on South Walker Lane on Thursday night, Oct. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
No injuries were reported when a fire destroyed a vacant home on Thursday night, authorities said.
The fire was reported at 112 South Walker Lane at about 11:40 p.m. Thursday.
More than a dozen personnel from the Oak Ridge Fire Department responded, and they were able to get the fire under control within about 10 minutes, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. No injuries were reported. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, seated at right, and UCOR President and Project Manager Ken Rueter, also seated, sign a license that allows UCOR, the federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, to start construction of the K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned Fire Station Number Four at East Tennessee Technology Park on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. Also pictured standing is Jay Mullis, acting manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. (DOE photo by Lynn Freeny)
Construction of the K-25 History Center could start early next year on the second floor of Oak Ridge Fire Station Number Four at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. Officials celebrated with a signing ceremony and tours of the future home of the history center on Thursday. Here are photos from that event. [Read more…]
Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian and city historian, announces a book published posthumously that was written by Bill Wilcox, a former city historian, former technical director at K-25 and Y-12, and a passionate advocate for historic preservation, including of the former K-25 site. Smith announced the book at a ceremony unveiling plans for a K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned fire station at K-25, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
He was a passionate advocate for preserving Oak Ridge’s history.
He was known for his bow ties and captivating storytelling. He once led the effort to save the former K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge, or at least part of it.
Now the legacy of Bill Wilcox will live on at the K-25 History Center.
Construction on the history center could start early next year on the second floor of Oak Ridge Fire Station Number Four. That fire station, previously transferred to the city, is on the south side of the former K-25 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge.
Officials preparing for the construction of the history center gave tours of its future home at the fire station on Thursday. The tours followed a lunchtime celebration that featured tributes to Wilcox and included speeches and presentations by U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge officials, and federal contractors and historic preservation advocates. Wilcox was hailed as the “father of K-25 historic preservation.”
“He would have been really proud,” said Ray Smith, Wilcox’s friend and Y-12 National Security Complex historian and city historian. “His legacy lives on.” [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Community Development Department is continuing the Oak Ridge City Blueprint effort with a discussion focused on the Midtown residential neighborhood. An open house will be held between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 26, at Robertsville Middle School.
Families living in this subarea are encouraged to attend and provide ideas and suggestions for possible neighborhood improvements, a press release said.
“Please note that no formal presentation is planned for this event,” the press release said. “Those attending can come and go anytime during the open house to meet, ask questions, and share thoughts with city staff and board representatives.” [Read more…]
James Mackler
James Mackler, the first Tennessee Democrat to launch a 2018 U.S. Senate campaign, will be in Oak Ridge on Thursday.
Mackler, a Nashville attorney and Iraq War veteran, will be the keynote speaker at the Anderson County Democratic Party general meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 19, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, a press release said.
U.S. Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, is not seeking re-election in 2018. U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn, also a Tennessee Republican, has announced she will run for Corker’s seat.
A press release said Mackler left his job six months ago as a prosecutor and defense attorney to run for Corker’s seat. [Read more…]
A rendering of the K-25 History Center at the Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4 at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)
A celebratory event on Thursday will formally launch a project to commemorate the history of the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a uranium-enrichment site that was once known as K-25 and built to help make the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.
Thursday’s celebration will be followed by a public tour from 2 to 4 p.m.
Co-sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge, the event is part of the city’s 75th Anniversary celebration. It will feature a walk-through of the future home of the K-25 History Center, which will be located in the city’s Fire Station Number 4 at the East Tennessee Technology Park. The U.S. Department of Energy and URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR, DOE’s lead cleanup contractor, will unveil plans and the layout for the History Center before construction starts, a press release said.
Large graphics placed throughout the building will provide the visitor a preview of the finished center, the press release said. [Read more…]
Glenwood Elementary School students worked with Obed park rangers and practiced safe use of a telescope for viewing during the total solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)
Submitted by Oak Ridge Schools
The Great American Eclipse was unique in Oak Ridge, as we were on the coveted path of totality. Some solar eclipse fanatics will travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars just to get themselves into The Path. We took advantage of this rare opportunity that came to our back yard for the breathtaking experience of totality with our students and staff.
We had an interesting challenge, though. The edge of the path of totality cut through town in such a way that four of our schools would only experience a partial eclipse if students and staff stayed on campus. The total solar eclipse has several attributes that are not visible outside the path of totality, such as the sudden appearance of stars and planets, the solar corona becoming visible, and a temperature drop. To ensure all of our students had the opportunity for this rich total eclipse experience, we provided transportation to move everyone who wanted to participate into The Path. [Read more…]
Destany Lynn Cotner
A Clinton woman has pleaded guilty in a fatal car-pedestrian hit-and-run crash on Clinton Highway in March.
Destany Lynn Cotner, 25, pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday to two charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving death and driving under the influence (first offense).
As part of the plea agreement, two other charges were dismissed. Those charges were driving with a suspended or revoked license (first offense) and possession of contraband in a penal facility.
It was a plea by information, meaning Cotner had not yet been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury.
Cotner initially told the Tennessee Highway Patrol that she was the driver the night of the crash, but she later changed her story to say her co-defendant Isaac Irwin, 26, also of Clinton, was the driver, according to a narrative filed in the case and attached to warrants.
Cotner received a two-year prison sentence on the conviction of leaving the scene of an accident involving death. As a standard offender, her release eligibility is 30 percent. Her sentence on this felony conviction was suspended, and she will be placed on supervised probation. [Read more…]
Virtually all Roane State Community College freshmen have to take the college success course titled COLS 1010: Study-Organize-Succeed (SOS), and it now includes eight hours of public service.
Two college officials have compiled more than 100 volunteer opportunities with agencies and nonprofit organizations in the Roane State service area, and they are available via the college’s website.
Go to www.roanestate.edu/servicelearning to learn more.
Proceeds from a $2,000 college grant were used to research those opportunities, which span 10 counties: Anderson, Roane, Knox, Blount, Fentress, Campbell, Cumberland, Scott, Loudon, and Morgan. [Read more…]
