Oak Ridge Today

Roads slippery as more snow falls; NWS advises against travel

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More snow fell in Oak Ridge on Friday night, and parts of many roads, including Pellissippi Parkway going into Knox County, were slippery. Pictured above is South Illinois Avenue at Weigel’s gas station and convenience center just before midnight on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

More snow fell in Oak Ridge on Friday night, and parts of many roads, including Pellissippi Parkway going into Knox County, were snow-covered and slippery.

Before midnight Friday, sections of roadway were clear on Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue in central Oak Ridge, but many side streets, including heavily traveled roads like Tennessee Avenue and New York Avenue, were covered by a layer of snow. Other snow-covered roads included Tulane and Rutgers avenues, and Providence and Robertsville roads.

The National Weather Service in Morristown advised people to stay off the roads, unless travel is absolutely necessary. [Read more…]

Weather cancellations, closings at schools, sporting events

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Snow was falling in Oak Ridge at noon Friday, and more was expected through Saturday morning. Schools and government offices have announced closures and early dismissals, and sporting events have been canceled.

Oak Ridge Schools said it has staff closely monitoring the weather and the roads. If a decision is made to dismiss early, a notification will be posted on Twitter and through Skylert.

The Oak Ridge-Halls basketball games scheduled for Friday night at Wildcat Arena have been canceled and rescheduled for Monday, January 23. [Read more…]

Updated: Few inches of snow possible through Saturday, NWS says

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Snow will move into the area later Friday evening and night (Jan. 6, 2017), and this map shows the current forecasted snowfall totals expected. Snowfall accumulations will be greatest along the Northern Plateau of East Tennessee and the Cumberland mountains of Southwest Virginia. With surface temperatures below freezing, snow will accumulate on untreated roads. This may result in in negative travel impacts to motorists. (Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 a.m. Jan. 6.

A few inches of snow are possible in the Knoxville area from Thursday through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

The potential snowfall ranges from 1.7 inches in Norris to 3.0 inches in Knoxville from Friday to Saturday morning, the NWS said.

The forecast calls for a possible 2.2 inches in Kingston, 1.6 inches in Wartburg, 3.7 inches in Maryville, and 5 inches in Gatlinburg.

A winter weather advisory was in effect from 7 p.m. Thursday to 7 a.m. Friday.

Then, a winter storm watch is in effect from 1 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Senior Center moving to Civic Center this month

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Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

 

The Oak Ridge Senior Center will move to the Oak Ridge Civic Center this month, officials said Thursday.

The Senior Center will be open at its current site on Emory Valley Road through Saturday, January 21, the City of Oak Ridge said in a Thursday press release.

The Senior Center will move to the Civic Center Recreation Building during the week of January 23 to January 28, and it will be closed to the public. [Read more…]

City Council to consider $120,000 for golf course

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Centennial Golf Course Dec 10, 2015

The Tennessee Centennial Golf Course is pictured above in east Oak Ridge on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider approving $120,000 to continue operating the Tennessee Centennial Golf Course in east Oak Ridge off Edgemoor Road.

The request comes about one year after Council approved, in a 6-1 vote, a $325,000 transfer for operations at the golf course. About $225,000 of that transfer, a cash infusion, was for outstanding accounts payable, including for expenses that included clothing in the pro shop, a management fee, fertilizer, and irrigation costs. Another $100,000 was operational funding for the winter, including maintenance of the greens.

The request is smaller this year, but the golf course is still short of money needed to operate, despite all marketing efforts, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said in a Wednesday memo to City Council members.

“The slow winter season now requires funding to pay necessary costs and salaries through the winter quarter (January-March 2017),” Watson said.

Most of the $120,000 in funding—or $70,024 of it—would be used for accounts payable. The rest would be used for cash flow and salaries, Watson said. [Read more…]

City Council to consider elections, appointments to 23 boards, commissions

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The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above in December 2016. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider elections and appointments to 23 boards and commissions during its Monday night meeting.

The boards and commissions include the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Industrial Development Board, Land Bank Corporation, and Beer Permit Board, among others.

The Monday meeting starts at 7 p.m. January 9 in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. You can see the agenda here. See information about the elections and appointments here.

Fast-moving weather system could bring snow to East Tennessee

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Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown

A fast moving clipper will push across the southern Appalachian region late this afternoon through Friday morning. Rain showers will change to snow across Southwest Virginia this evening and snow showers will continue to spread across the area overnight. Snowfall accumulations will be greatest along the Northern Plateau of East Tennessee and the Cumberland mountains of Southwest Virginia where 1 to 3 inches are possible. Elsewhere, up to 1 inch of snow is expected across valley locations, before tapering off around sunrise Friday morning. With surface temperatures below freezing, snow will accumulate on untreated roads. This may result in in negative travel impacts to motorists, especially during the Friday morning commute. (Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown)

 

Note: This story was updated at 11 a.m.

A fast-moving weather system could bring snow to East Tennessee as it pushes across the southern Appalachian region late Thursday afternoon through Friday morning, forecasters said.

Rain showers will change to snow across Southwest Virginia on Thursday evening, and snow showers will continue to spread across the area overnight, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown. Snowfall accumulations will be greatest along the Northern Plateau of East Tennessee and the Cumberland mountains of Southwest Virginia, where one to three inches are possible.

Elsewhere, up to one inch of snow is expected across valley locations, before tapering off around sunrise Friday morning. [Read more…]

UCOR, DOE cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, earns 94 percent of award fee

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UCOR workers take down the final portion of Building K-27, achieving Vision 2016, a DOE goal to remove all of the former uranium enrichment buildings at the East Tennessee Technology Park by the end of 2016. K-27 was the fifth and final gaseous diffusion building to be demolished at the site. Successful demolitions of the four other buildings were completed from 2006 to 2015. (U.S. Department of Energy photo)

 

UCOR, the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, received about $3.4 million for its performance from April through September 2016, or 94 percent of the total award fee available, federal officials said.

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM, recently issued the six-month fee determination scorecard for UCOR, or URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, after completing its evaluation.

“Contractor award fee evaluations determine what will be paid based on performance against stated objectives in accordance with annual award fee plans,” the DOE Office of Environmental Management, or EM, said in the EM Update electronic newsletter on December 29. “EM releases information relating to contractor fee payments to further transparency.”

According to UCOR’s scorecard, the company received an overall rating of “very good” for project management and “high confidence” for cost and schedule based on cost and schedule indexes, the newsletter said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management cuts costs by $5.4 million

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Sue Cange, who was manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and is now EM principal deputy assistant secretary in Washington, D.C., is pictured above at the end of demolition of the K-27 Building on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM, has cut costs by $5.4 million, federal officials said.

OREM is one of several U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management, or EM, sites that reduced costs by more than $100 million in fiscal year 2016, which ended September 30.

The costs were reduced in response to a challenge from EM leaders to free more funding for cleanup, DOE said in a December 29 EM Update electronic newsletter.

The Savannah River Operations Office realized more than $34.1 million in cost reductions, officials said. It was followed by the Richland Operations Office with more than $31.6 million; Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office with more than $16.8 million; Office of River Protection with more than $12.7 million; Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management with $5.4 million; and Idaho Site with more than $4 million.

“Reducing our costs by more than $100 million is a tremendous accomplishment, and we are going to continue to look for ways to work smarter and identify further savings in fiscal year 2017,” EM Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Sue Cange said. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs fire rating improves

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The Oliver Springs Fire Department announced last year that effective October 1, 2016, the department was to be an ISO class 4/4y department. That was an improvement from its previous rating of 6/9.

“This could mean a possible savings on your homeowners insurance if you live within the Town of Oliver Springs,” the Fire Department said. “This is also dependent upon your individual insurance carrier.” [Read more…]

Senior Advisory Board to continue discussing move to Civic Center

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The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board on Monday is scheduled to continue discussing the move of the Oak Ridge Senior Center to the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. Monday, January 9, in Room 54 of the Senior Center, which is at 728 Emory Valley Road.

See previous story here.

Middle School Math Competition is Saturday

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The Oak Ridge High School Mu Alpha Theta Math Club is hosting its first Mini Mu for any interested middle school students.

The club will have several types of math competitions, open to all levels of middle school students, on Saturday, January 7. Registration is from 8:30 to 9 a.m., and the competition is until 2 p.m. in the ORHS cafeteria, a press release said. Competitions include ciphering, individual and team tests, mental and speed math, and a poster competition. [Read more…]