Fireworks at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2017. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)
Several readers submitted photos from the fireworks show in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, July 4, 2017. Here are photos by D. Ray Smith, Donna King, and Liz Bartlett.
Fireworks at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2017. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)
United Way of Anderson County has relocated to 728 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge.
The offices are now in a section of the former Daniel Arthur building that was recently vacated by the Emory Valley Center. This move will help United Way to not only maintain, but further drastically reduce, its low overhead costs, allowing more of each donation to go directly to individuals and families in need, a press release said.
“United Way of Anderson County thanks their board, volunteers, and the staff of Emory Valley Center for their help and support during the move,” the press release said. If you have any questions about the new location or the services offered by UWAC and its partners, call (865) 483-8431 or send an email to director@uwayac.org. You can also visit www.uwayac.org for updates.
This press release was submitted by Naomi Asher.
Roane State adjunct professor Jason Fox, right, is pictured with Capt. Joseph Cate, also with the Morristown-Hamblen EMS, as they receive the statewide “Star of Life” award for reviving an infant. (Photo by Roane State)
By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
A Roane State Community College adjunct instructor at the college’s Knox County Center for Health Sciences put his extensive training to use to save the life of a just born, premature infant who had stopped breathing and had no pulse.
For his actions, which he said were a “combination of training, instinct and a miracle,” Jason Fox received a statewide award titled the “Star of Life.”
Fox, who has been with Roane State for a year, is also a lieutenant with the Morristown-Hamblen EMS. He is credited, along with Morristown-Hamblen County EMS’ Captain Joseph Cate, for reviving the infant—who was three months premature when he was born at home.
“We asked what the baby’s name was and told her (mother Kellie Henrikson) that we would do everything in our power to save his life,” Fox said. The EMS professionals used cardiopulmonary resuscitation to revive Tanner Enix after the infant hadn’t been breathing for 11 minutes. [Read more…]
Thomas Chartrand, 51, returned to college late in life and obtained his associate’s degree from Roane State Community College in May. (Photo by Roane State)
By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
At age 51 with his new Roane State Community College associate degree in hand, Thomas Chartrand said he has learned a valuable life lesson.
“When anything gets hard in life, you can’t give up,” the Oak Ridge resident said. “If you give up, you’ll never have a chance to reach your goals and dreams.”
Despite numerous challenges, starting with a rough-and-tumble childhood, he didn’t give up.
Chartrand took night classes at Roane State after work while helping wife Keri raise their two young children, Tristan and Kyla. He recalls often studying past midnight. Now, he says, “I feel much better about myself, knowing that I earned my degree. The last thing you want to do is look back and wished you’d done it,” he said. “It’s never too late.”
It took him five years to earn his degree in contemporary management. That’s because he was often working overtime at his day job, attending and coaching his son’s sports games, and balancing work commitments. That’s why he had to cut down on the number of credit hours he could take each semester.
One class, Probability and Statistics, proved a temporary setback. Even though he had to take it again, he finished his Roane State career with a 3.4 grade point average. He said he was on the President’s List once and the Dean’s List twice. “With the help of all the great instructors and my advisor, David Rath, I was given the support that I can do this, and I did!” Chartrand said. [Read more…]
Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge
A reminder: The City of Oak Ridge is once again sponsoring a fireworks show to celebrate Independence Day. The display will be held in Alvin K. Bissell Park on Tuesday, July 4, and it is scheduled to begin at dark, around 9:45 p.m.
The Oak Ridge Community Band, now in its 73rd year, will perform prior to the fireworks. 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. Please sit only in the designated areas.
What: Independence Day Concert and Fireworks Display [Read more…]
Merlin Theodore, new director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility. (Photo by ORNL)
A new director has been hired at the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Merlin Theodore most recently worked in Moses Lake, Washington, where she established a laboratory and promoted organizational excellence at a startup facility, SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber, ORNL said in a story published on its website in March. SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber is one of the largest carbon fiber production facilities in the United States, ORNL said.
While at SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber, Theodore boosted workflow efficiency by 97 percent and achieved 94 percent cost savings by developing new testing methods to determine sizing concentration on fiber surface, ORNL said. She also played an instrumental role in resolving technical issues for automaker BMW.
Theodore was the first in her family of 11 siblings to pursue graduate studies and then take up a career as a technology innovator. Her path eventually led her to ORNL, the lab said.
Before the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility and SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber, Theodore worked for Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Georgia Tech, and Universal Technology Corporation, or UTC, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a research scientist and laboratory manager. [Read more…]
Xavier Harper
Xavier Harper, a rising fourth-grader at Linden Elementary School, competed in the USA Gymnastics Trampoline and Tumbling National Championships from June 27-July 2 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Xavier finished second in the nation on trampoline for level 9 in the 10 and under age group. He is affiliated with Premier Athletics in Knoxville. [Read more…]
An Australian ornithologist has found a secretive marsh bird, a Purple Gallinule, on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory said in a post published on Twitter on Sunday, July 2, 2017. (Screenshot from ORNL video)
An Australian ornithologist has found a secretive marsh bird, a Purple Gallinule, on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory said in a video post published on Twitter on Sunday.
Australian ornithologist Liz Znidersic recently came to ORNL to study secretive bird species, ORNL said in the video. She found the new bird using video and audio equipment.
The Purple Gallinule is typically only found in coastal or tropical areas.
“The Purple Gallinule has not been found on the Oak Ridge Reservation ever,” Znidersic said in the video. “This is the first one to be found also in Roane County.” [Read more…]
A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory has identified a novel microbial process that can break down toxic methylmercury in the environment, a discovery that could potentially reduce mercury toxicity levels and support health and risk assessments. Microscopy images by Jeremy Semrau, University of Michigan. (Screenshot from a video by ORNL)
Note: This story was originally published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory on May 31.
A team led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has identified a novel microbial process that can break down toxic methylmercury in the environment, a fundamental scientific discovery that could potentially reduce mercury toxicity levels and support health and risk assessments.
Methylmercury is a neurotoxin that forms in nature when mercury interacts with certain microbes living in soil and waterways. It accumulates at varying levels in all fish—particularly large predatory fish such as tuna and swordfish—and, when consumed in large quantities, can potentially cause neurological damage and developmental disorders, especially in children.
A previous ORNL-led study, published in Science in 2013, unlocked the genetic code that led scientists to accurately identify microbes responsible for methylmercury production in the environment. Following this finding, the ORNL team has now discovered which bacteria perform the reverse process, called demethylation. Details are published in Science Advances.
“Much attention has focused on mercury methylation or how methylmercury forms, but few studies to date have examined microbial demethylation, or the breakdown of methylmercury at environmentally relevant conditions,” said Baohua Gu, co-author and a team lead in ORNL’s Mercury Science Focus Area. [Read more…]
Alan Carr
Senior historian Alan B. Carr will discuss the history of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico during a talk in Oak Ridge next week, a press release said.
Carr will speak to the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association’s public and membership meeting on Tuesday, July 11. That meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. July 11 at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road.
(Note: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, not the second Thursday, the normal date for the ORHPA’s monthly meetings. This is being done to accommodate Carr’s schedule as he is coming to Oak Ridge on business travel and must leave on Thursday, the press release said.)
The press release said Carr currently serves as senior historian for Los Alamos National Laboratory. During his tenure as a laboratory historian, which began in 2003, Carr has produced several publications pertaining to the Manhattan Project, early nuclear weapons design, and nuclear testing history, the release said. [Read more…]
Pictured above from left are Uranium Processing Facility Federal Project Director Dale Christenson, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, Secretary Rick Perry, Rep. Chuck Fleischman, and UPF Project Director Brian Reilly. (Photo by NNSA)
Note: This story was originally published by the National Nuclear Security Administration on May 24.
While he visited Oak Ridge in May, new Energy Secretary Rick Perry made his first visit to the planned Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex, a project that has been described as the single largest government investment in Tennessee since World War II.
Perry visited the UPF project with U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander and Representative Chuck Fleischmann, both Tennessee Republicans, and UPF Federal Project Director Dale Christenson and UPF Project Director Brian Reilly.
Christenson and Reilly provided an update on the project’s progress and discussed key upcoming milestones, including achieving 90 percent design by September 2017, the National Nuclear Security Administration said in a post published May 24. Y-12 is an NNSA site. [Read more…]
The rear of the Applewood Apartments building at 186 Hillside Road is picture above on Saturday, July 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 12:25 p.m.
CLINTON—A court has dismissed a case that once called for a $400,000 fine against the owner of three now-vacant Applewood Apartments buildings on Hillside Road in Oak Ridge.
Charges against the original defendant, former Applewood Apartments manager Tammy Sandlin, have been dismissed, and she is the only properly named defendant in the complaint, Anderson County Circuit Court Judge Don R. Elledge said in a dismissal order filed Wednesday, June 21.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals had issued an opinion on October 15, 2015, that vacated, or voided, the $406,520 judgement against Applewood Apartments owner Joseph J. Levitt Jr. because he had not been effectively added as a defendant in the city’s lawsuit, Elledge said.
At that time, the Court of Appeals remanded the case, or sent it back to, Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton for further proceedings, “including the filing and serving of an amended complaint or city warrant against Mr. Levitt,” Elledge said in his order to dismiss.
The Court of Appeals decision essentially said that Levitt has to be given a chance to defend himself, Elledge said during a motion hearing in Circuit Court on Friday, June 9. A jury trial had been scheduled for March 9, 2018. The City of Oak Ridge is the plaintiff.
But no amended complaint has been filed by the city since the Court of Appeals decision almost two years ago, and Levitt has never been served with an amended complaint, Elledge said during the June 9 motion hearing. [Read more…]
