Oak Ridge Today

UCOR awards $45,000 in STEM education mini-grants

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Dyllis Springs kindergarten students build problem-solving, creativity, and spatial skills with Lego projects. (Photo courtesy UCOR)

Submitted

Drones, a manufacturing simulator lab, and hands on meteorology are among the classroom projects that United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) will fund through its 2024 mini-grants. UCOR awarded $45,000 in mini-grants to fund 41 projects for East Tennessee K-12 teachers in 29 schools. The grants support projects in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as well as related classes.

With this year’s awards, UCOR has given a total of $395,000 to fund STEM and STEM-related projects since 2012.

“STEM education is an important part of both our community outreach and our workforce development program. It’s exciting to read the grant proposals and see all of the projects teachers are doing to expose students to future STEM careers,” said UCOR Community and Education Outreach Coordinator Shannon Potter.

This year’s mini-grants went to elementary, middle, junior high, and high schools and included projects such as:

[Read more…]

Crews clean up demolished ORNL reactor

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

An aerial view of the site of the Low Intensity Test Reactor after U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management crews demolished it. Crews have since shipped the reactor vessel and backfilled the pit where the facility had stood. (Photo courtesy UCOR/DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

Workers have finished cleaning up after demolishing the Low Intensity Test Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The work was done by cleanup contractor UCOR for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.

Workers finished the tearing down the Low Intensity Test Reactor and disposing rubble and debris last fall, achieving a federal environmental management priority that year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.

“However, the reactor vessel remained on the building’s footprint until it could be shipped for final disposition offsite,” DOE said in its “EM Update” newsletter.

[Read more…]

ORHS graduation could be rescheduled, moved depending upon weather

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A previous Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony at Blankenship Field in 2016. (File photo by Julio Culiat)

Rain and thunderstorms are possible Friday and Saturday, and the Oak Ridge High School graduation could be rescheduled or moved depending upon the weather.

Oak Ridge Schools announced the plan on Tuesday.

ORHS graduation is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, May 7, at Blankenship Field (the football field), with gates opening at 6 p.m.

The National Weather Service forecast for Oak Ridge currently calls for a 50 percent to 80 percent chance of rain on Friday, with a thunderstorm possible after 2 p.m.

[Read more…]

Aurora may be visible again Saturday night

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Screenshot of image by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center

The aurora may be visible in the sky again Saturday night, depending upon the weather, federal forecasters said.

Severe and extreme geomagnetic storms associated with coronal mass ejections, or solar eruptions, are likely Sunday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

When the material from the sun arrives at Earth, it can cause a geomagnetic storm. During the storm, an aurora may be visible. An aurora is a natural electrical phenomenon characterized by shimmering lights in the upper atmosphere at night, usually near the northern or southern magnetic pole. They happen when energetic particles from the sun interact with atoms in the upper atmosphere.

[Read more…]

Aurora may be visible in sky

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Screenshot from National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Center

It appears that the chances are low in Tennessee, but an aurora may be visible in the sky over the northern half of the country this weekend, and possibly as far south as Alabama.

The National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a watch for a severe geomagnetic storm, saying it is possible later in the day Friday and continuing through the weekend. At least seven Earth-directed coronal mass ejections are in transit, the NWS said.

However, “exact timing remains somewhat uncertain,” forecasters said.

A coronal mass ejection is a solar eruption. When the solar materials arrive at Earth, a geomagnetic storm can result.

[Read more…]

Legal Aid Society presentation at Lunch with League

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mary Michelle Gillum

Two representatives of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will be featured at Lunch with the League in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The two representatives are Mary Michelle Gillum and Paula Trujillo. Gillum is the director of the Legal Aid Society’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, also known as the Tennessee Taxpayer Project, and Trujillo is an outreach community paralegal of the Tennessee Taxpayer Project.

Lunch with the League is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

“All are welcome to bring their lunch or purchase a boxed lunch for a nominal fee,” a press release said. “Coffee and tea will be served. The presentation will begin at noon.”

[Read more…]

Victory & pollinator gardens open to public June 1

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Victory and pollinator gardens at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will be open to the public on Saturday, June 1, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park said.

The gardens will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 1 for the Seeds of Victory Program, the park said in a newsletter.

[Read more…]

Manhattan Project Park summertime tennis court dances start May 16

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Image courtesy Manhattan Project National Historical Park)

The summertime tennis court dances organized by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park start in two weeks.

The first dance of this summer is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, on the Jackson Square Tennis Courts. They continue monthly on the third Thursday.

“The park recreates the open air tennis court dances held during the Manhattan Project to entertain the
75,000 war workers and their families contained within America’s Secret City (Oak Ridge),” a newsletter said. “The dances are an all-ages event, and all are encouraged to participate. Featuring swing music
from the 1940s, you might get bit by the jitterbug out on the court.”

[Read more…]

School staff not allowed to carry guns

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Schools will not allow teachers and other staff members to carry guns in buildings, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Wednesday. Borchers made the announcement in a notice sent to school families.

His announcement came the day after the Tennessee House of Representatives passed legislation to allow some trained teachers and school staff to carry handguns. Republicans approved the bill in a 68-28 vote despite pleas from Democrats, students, and gun-reform advocates, The Tennessean reported.

“Yesterday, Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill that would allow teachers and other staff members to carry concealed handguns on school campuses should a school district decide to allow it,” Borchers said. “If Governor (Bill) Lee signs the legislation allowing concealed firearms in schools into law, Oak Ridge Schools will not allow teachers or school staff to carry firearms in our buildings. The safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and it is our core belief that our ongoing safety initiatives have a greater positive impact on our overall safety than arming staff would.”

[Read more…]

League has Brown Bag with legislators Friday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge will host a Brown Bag Lunch with the Legislators on Friday.

The session is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. Friday, April 26, in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, Senator Ken Yager, and representatives John Ragan and Monty Fritts have been invited to bring those who attend up to date on what’s happening in the Tennessee General Assembly, a press release said.

[Read more…]

Deputy city manager announced

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Tom Pessemier (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge City Manager Randy Hemann has selected Tom Pessemier as his next deputy city manager.

Pessemier is scheduled to begin Monday, May 6.

He has 16 years of municipal government and finance experience, serving in various roles including city manager, assistant city manager, public works director, community development director, and city engineer, a press release said.

He most recently served three years as city manager and public works director in Independence, Oregon. Before that, he was assistant city manager of Sherwood, Oregon, for six years, the press release said.

[Read more…]

ORPD participates in Drug Take Back Day

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Police Department and ASAP of Anderson will participate in the national DEA Drug Take Back Day next Saturday.

The Drug Take Back Day is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27. Anyone in the community can drop off their expired or unused medication to a police officer at the ORPD at 200 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, a press release said.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the most common method of obtaining pills is through family and friends.

“Prescription drugs could be easily stolen at home when they are left in unlocked cabinets and drawers,” the press release said.

[Read more…]