Information from WYSH Radio
After Anderson County Schools officials received complaints from parents about overcrowding on a bus route, a second route was added this week.
Parents informed school leaders that a bus serving Norwood Middle School and Clinton High School was crowded enough that, at times, students were forced to stand or even sit on the floor. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education will have a joint work session on Thursday, January 26, to discuss site selection for the preschool, the revitalization of Blankenship Field, an energy savings project, and the budget and capital improvements.
The preschool site selection could include Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge and Scarboro Center.
The joint work session is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, January 26, in the Multi-Purpose Room at the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane. See the agenda here.
River Reaches—Updated Data Analysis and Temporal Trend Evaluations in Biota: 2009-2015, Tennessee Valley Authority, Kingston, Tennessee (By Arcadis)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Atlanta reported Thursday that monitoring data shows that areas of Watts Bar Reservoir affected by the 2008 ash spill in Kingston have returned to “pre-spill” conditions.
The ash spill occurred at the Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston Fossil Plant. It released 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash on December 22, 2008.
Environmental data collected from 2009-2015 shows the fish community, benthic macroinvertebrates (bugs), sediment quality, and tree swallow colonies have recovered to baseline conditions that existed before the spill, the EPA said.
The cleanup was accomplished in three phases under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or CERCLA, commonly known as Superfund. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge National Lab’s Ayyoub Momen demonstrates ultrasonic clothes dryer technology for David Danielson, assistant secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, or EERE. (Photo courtesy DOE)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has received significant interest from appliance manufacturers who could enter into an agreement to continue developing the technology to build a dryer that uses vibrations, rather than heat, to dry clothes.
The cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, could develop the technology into a full-scale commercial product.
This month, Oak Ridge Today asked about the current status of the project, which has been highlighted by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. An earlier announcement had said that the project term was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2016.
Omar Abdelaziz of ORNL said DOE has continued to fund this work and will fund the laboratory’s efforts in the upcoming CRADA. [Read more…]
ORNL’s Yang Song (seated), Dale Hensley (standing left), and Adam Rondinone examine a carbon nanospike sample with a scanning electron microscope. (Photo by Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
In October, Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced that scientists had developed an electrochemical process that uses tiny spikes of carbon and copper to turn carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into ethanol.
This month, Oak Ridge Today asked if the process using the very small catalysts could be used on a large scale to convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into ethanol, and if that might be used to combat climate change.
Here is the response from researcher Adam Rondinone, lead author of a team’s study published in ChemistrySelect:
“If we are successful, then yes, this process will take us a little bit closer to the goal of mitigating climate change. But many other technologies and changes will also be needed, because of the scale of the problem. Also, this technology is more focused on what to do with CO2 (carbon dioxide) once it has been captured. While it could feasibly be coupled to a capture mechanism for extracting CO2 from the air, it will more likely be used to intercept and recycle emissions from point sources like power plants. Ultimately, it will just be one solution out of many that we will need to implement in order to prevent serious climate changes.” [Read more…]
All programs are back on schedule after crews had to replace a piece of equipment that controls the temperature of the water in the Oak Ridge Civic Center’s indoor pool. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
All programs are back on schedule after crews had to replace a piece of equipment that controls the temperature of the water in the Oak Ridge Civic Center’s indoor pool.
The pool was forced to close on Wednesday, January 4, but it re-opened at noon on Saturday, January 14, once crews were able to make the needed repairs. The new pool heater is more energy-efficient than the previous model, a press release said. The water was back up to its normal temperature of 83 degrees shortly after re-opening.
Here’s a list of some of the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department programs currently under way at the indoor pool facility: [Read more…]
Dentist Adam Wohl is pictured above in one of the rooms at Cosmetic and Restorative Dentistry of Tennessee on East Division Road in central Oak Ridge on Friday, Oct. 28, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
A new dental practice opened in Oak Ridge in the fall.
The dental practice is called Cosmetic and Restorative Dentistry of Tennessee, and it’s in the Professional Village on East Division Road in central Oak Ridge. It’s owned by Dr. Adam Wohl, who graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and the UT Health Science Center College of Dentistry in Memphis in May.
Dentistry runs in the family. Wohl’s father, Barry Wohl, was a periodontist in Oak Ridge for a long time before retiring 20 years ago. He practiced next to Dr. G.R. Birdwell on Laboratory Road and built those buildings. Adam Wohl said his grandfather was a dentist in Connecticut, and a few cousins are also dentists.
Wohl, who is from West Knoxville, has ties to the area, and he said everyone was good to his father here. [Read more…]
The first waterfront Nine Lakes Wine Festival will be at Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge in May.
This two-day festival will offer a Winemakers Dinner on May 19, and a Grand Tasting on Saturday, May 20. There are expected to be 100 Tennessee wines from 20 wineries, live music, and food. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Police Department officers started a memorial with stuffed animals on Saturday morning for a child killed in a fatal crash at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive on Friday evening, Jan. 13, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 4 p.m.
The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the adults injured in a fatal two-vehicle crash on Friday evening, although the cause hasn’t been determined yet.
The crash killed a three-year-old boy. It was reported at about 5:20 p.m. Friday at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive in central Oak Ridge. It involved a total of 11 people, including three juveniles.
Besides the three-year-old who died, five other people who were in an SUV that ended up near a stoplight pole on the northeast corner of the intersection were injured and taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. The five injured included four adults and one child. One of the adults was released from the hospital over the weekend, the City of Oak Ridge said.
The names of the juveniles involved in the crash are not being released, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. The occupants of the SUV were: [Read more…]
Loren Hart, center, provided inspiration for the Children’s Museum’s new mascot, with her artwork of a bear in blue overalls. With her are her parents, Jennifer Lee and Len Hart, and her sister Matti. (Submitted photo)
The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge has a new mascot.
The newest addition to the Children’s Museum was recently unveiled at its annual Holiday Gala. As supporters gathered to celebrate the holidays, Board President Tom Beehan, Executive Director Beth Shea, and Marketing Chair Gene Patterson introduced the crowd to Charlie the Curious Bear, the museum’s new mascot.
The image of the cuddly brown bear, with expressive eyes, wearing blue bib overalls and cap, was inspired by student Loren Hart, who took part in an art competition in the Oak Ridge Schools to create the museum’s new mascot. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Public Works Department will be performing road repairs on the gravel section of Tuskegee Drive beginning Wednesday, January 18, and lasting until Wednesday, January 25.
The work will require sections of the road to be closed on weekdays between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., weather permitting. Provisions will be made for residents to access their properties. There will be no through traffic during the closure. [Read more…]
Joanne Logan
The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will present a program on global warming and climate change on Thursday in Oak Ridge.
The program, titled “It’s all in the Timing: Impacts of Global Warming on Ecosystems and Phenology,” is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, January 19, in the City Room at Roane State Community College.
It will be presented by Joanne Logan, who is an associate professor at the University of Tennessee and a renowned expert on the subject, a press release said. Logan is an associate professor in the UT Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science. She has studied applied and agricultural climatology for 30 years, and she directs the undergraduate program in environmental and soil siences, the press release said. [Read more…]
