Oak Ridge Today

Roane State launches new program in computer information technology

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Roane State Computer Information Technology

George Meghabghab, right, is the program director for Roane State’s new Associate of Applied Science in Computer Information Technology. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

 

Roane State Community College has launched a new program that includes extensive instruction in computer programming and prepares students for valuable tech industry certifications.

Classes for the new Associate of Applied Science in Computer Information Technology begin this fall. Nearly all of the program’s courses can be taken online.

“We are very excited about the computer information technology program,” program director George Meghabghab said. “Our curriculum is closely aligned with the skills tech companies want in their employees.”

Students will learn to develop applications, design and query databases, maintain and secure networks, and more. Course subjects include HTML and CSS, programming, database concepts, JavaScript, and network routing. [Read more…]

Fox Auto Salvage shutting down, could be replaced by heavy equipment leasing company

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Fox Auto Salvage July 22 2016

Fox Auto Salvage on Melton Lake Drive is shutting down, and the business could be replaced by a company that leases heavy equipment, the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission was told Thursday, July 21, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Fox Auto Salvage on Melton Lake Drive is shutting down, and the business could be replaced by a company that leases heavy equipment, the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission learned Thursday.

Owner Tom Fox of Fox Auto Salvage said the business has been open since 1981, and he’s owned it since 1997.

Fox Auto Salvage is no longer accepting salvaged cars, and the company has disposed of most everything, Fox said. [Read more…]

Next ‘Jazz on the Hill’ concert features Groove Therapy at Green McAdoo on Aug. 6

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Green McAdoo Organization Jazz on the Hill July 2 2016

The Jazz on the Hill concert on July 2, 2016, at the Green McAdoo Cultural Center in Clinton featured Jay Storm Project. (Submitted photo)

 

The next Jazz on the Hill concert features Groove Therapy (Keith Brown) at Green McAdoo Cultural Center in Clinton on August 6.

The Jazz on the Hill concert series is on the first Saturday of each month. It started July 2.

The concerts are hosted by the Green McAdoo Cultural Organization. They are open to the public.

“Bring your families, blankets, lawn chairs, etc.,” a press release said. [Read more…]

New ORNL tool probes for genes linked to toxic methyl mercury, could help Y-12 cleanup

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ORNL Andrew King Mercury Methylation Genes

Andrew King loads a gel with amplified gene fragments to detect the presence of mercury methylation genes in samples from East Fork Poplar Creek in Oak Ridge. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Environmental scientists can more efficiently detect genes required to convert mercury in the environment into more toxic methylmercury with molecular probes developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The research could help the cleanup work at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

“We now have a quick and easy-to-use tool that we can employ in any environment to test for the presence of microorganisms capable of methylating mercury and determine how abundant they are,” said ORNL’s Geoff Christensen, a post-doc and lead author of a paper published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

In 2013, ORNL researchers reported in Science on the discovery of two genes known to transform inorganic mercury into its highly toxic organic form. Development of the newly validated probes further advances research to protect human health, a press release said.

For this study, researchers tested the probes against 31 strains of microorganisms for which they know the ones that produce methylmercury and scored a 94 percent confirmation rate, the press release said. This validation procedure is critical to the next step of moving the probes into the field to help determine the amount of methylmercury likely to be generated in any given environment. [Read more…]

United & Strong: Roane County has community celebration on Aug. 1

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United and Strong Logo

Roane County leaders, churches, organizations, police officers, and firemen invite everyone to join them on Monday, August 1, at Roane State Community College as they unite together to celebrate the strength of Roane County while also praying for those communities who have had recent tragedies. The event will be held from 7:30-8:30 p.m. August 1 in the student lounge and will include a candle-lighting ceremony.

“The purpose of this event is to celebrate who we are and who guides us,” said Roane County Commission Chair Ron Berry. “That is what makes us stronger—standing united and loving one another regardless of our differences. So everyone is invited to come out and stand united, and help build an even stronger community.” [Read more…]

CNS reinforces commitment to small businesses

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Submitted

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC purchased more than $210 million in goods and services from small businesses during the first nine months of fiscal year 2016, including more than $149 million at the Y-12 National Security Complex and $61 million at the Pantex Plant. Small business contracting at Y-12 includes more than $10 million in small business obligations for work on the Uranium Processing Facility project, which is managed by Bechtel National Inc., through a subcontract with CNS, a press release said.

In recognition of the significant role small businesses play in the national economy—as well as the economies in East Tennessee and the Texas Panhandle—CNS uses small businesses in a variety of roles, from technical and administrative support to staff augmentation and construction support and strives to provide the maximum possible contracting opportunities to small businesses in a host of categories recognized by the Small Business Administration, the press release said. Those categories include 8(a), woman-owned, Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone), veteran-owned, service disabled veteran-owned small businesses, small and small disadvantaged businesses. [Read more…]

Scarboro Alumni Association celebrating with parade, Fun Day, Scholarship Banquet

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2014 Scarboro Reunion photo by Luther Simmons

2014 Scarboro Reunion photo by Luther Simmons

 

The Scarboro Community Alumni Association will hold a weekend of festivities July 29-30 that will include a parade, Fun Day, and Scholarship Banquet.

A Meet and Greet will be held Friday, July 29, starting at 6 p.m. at the Fraternal Order of Eagles located at 1650 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

Beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 30, organizations, churches, schools, political officials, and entertainers will participate in a parade starting from Spurgeon Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, going left on Benedict Avenue, left on Dillard Avenue, right on Hampton Road (passing the old Scarboro School Site), right on Wilberforce, and ending at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, a press release said.

The Fun Day event will follow with an array of food and non-food vendors, music, and activities for youth and adults at the Scarboro Community Center, which is at 148 Carver Avenue, from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. [Read more…]

Anderson County gets $40,000 tourism grant

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Bill Haslam during Presidential Visit at Pellissippi State

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is pictured above during a visit by President Barack Obama at Pellissippi State Community College on Friday, January 9. (File photo by Rob Welton)

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd recently announced that 29 communities will receive close to $1 million in Tourism Enhancement Grants to assist communities with tourism infrastructure assets. Anderson County received a $40,000 grant.

“We want to congratulate all 29 communities on receiving Tourism Enhancement Grants,” Haslam said in a press release. “These grants showcase how great the partnership is between tourist development and economic development. With the support of these grants, each community will be better equipped to succeed in our state, and I look forward to seeing these Tennessee communities thrive.”

The grants assist counties and cities in improving local assets to increase the economic impact of tourism.

“I am pleased to announce these 29 communities that have been awarded the Tourism Enhancement Grant,” Boyd said. “It is always exciting when communities choose to invest in economic development initiatives to grow and succeed in our state. Tourism development is economic development, and with the assistance of the Tourism Enhancement Grant and our partnership with Commissioner Kevin Triplett and the Department of Tourist Development, each community will be able to invest in their assets and grow their local economy.” [Read more…]

Several roads closed Tuesday, maybe Wednesday for road, utility work

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Several roads will be closed near Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, and possibly Wednesday, July 27, for roadway and utility work, officials said. (Image by City of Oak Ridge)

Several roads will be closed near Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, and possibly Wednesday, July 27, for roadway and utility work, officials said. (Image by City of Oak Ridge)

 

Note: This road closure notice has been updated. See newer story here.

Several roads will be closed near Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday and possibly Wednesday for roadway and utility work, officials said.

The roads will be closed for work by the Oak Ridge Public Works Department and Oak Ridge Electric Department. The closures will allow crews to patch a strip of the road on Pennsylvania Avenue and reset a utility pole on the island at the junction of the following roads: Pennsylvania Avenue from Hillside Road to Vermont Avenue, the east end of Pasadena Road, North Tulane, and the west end of Passmore Lane, a press release said. [Read more…]

Spontaneous combustion sparks small fire in warehouse

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Spontaneous combustion from oily rags discarded in a waste container appear to have started a Thursday morning fire at an Oak Ridge warehouse on July 21, 2016, authorities said. (Submitted photo)

Spontaneous combustion from oily rags discarded in a waste container appear to have started a Thursday morning fire at an Oak Ridge warehouse on July 21, 2016, authorities said. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

Spontaneous combustion from oily rags discarded in a waste container appear to have started a Thursday morning fire at an Oak Ridge warehouse, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department responded to the fire after a sprinkler system activated at a warehouse at 342 Warehouse Road at about 6:50 a.m. Thursday, July 21.

Firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the windows and doors of the building when they arrived, a press release said.

“The fire crew entered through the front door and quickly extinguished a fire in a waste container,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Butterfly Festival at UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge on July 30

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Butterfly Festival monarch (Submitted photo)

Butterfly Festival monarch (Submitted photo)

 

Monarch release and UT Insect Zoo are highlights

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will present a Butterfly Festival on Saturday, July 30, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the UT Arboretum Auditorium and surrounding grounds at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.  It is co-sponsored by the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center. The gate will be open at 8:30 a.m. Coffee and donuts will be sold from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The event, designed for children and adults of all ages, will take place rain or shine. This educational and fun activity features four speakers, two local native plant vendor,s and artisans. Speakers will give their presentations in the air-conditioned comfort of the Arboretum’s new Auditorium. The food vendors, plant vendors, and artisans will be stationed near the Program Shelter. The monarch butterfly release will take place on the patio outside the Auditorium.

The day’s highlight will be the release of 100 butterflies at approximately 2 p.m., in honor of the 50th anniversaries of UTAS and the Arboretum. We invite children to help release the monarch butterflies, which will be offered at a cost of $10 per butterfly. [Read more…]

Two injured, one picked up by medical helicopter after head-on crash on Mahoney Road

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Two-Car Crash on Mahoney Road July 21 2016 Slider

Two people were injured and one was picked up by a medical helicopter after a head-on two-vehicle crash on Mahoney Road in Oliver Springs on Thursday, July 21, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:30 a.m.

OLIVER SPRINGS—Two drivers were injured and one was picked up by a medical helicopter after a head-on two-vehicle crash on Mahoney Road in Oliver Springs on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday near New Mountain View Baptist Church. Charges are pending against one of the drivers, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The THP said a 1997 Cadillac STS driven by Blake Brakins, 33, of Oak Ridge, was traveling south on Mahoney Road when it crossed over the center line and crashed head-on into a 2016 Ford Fusion traveling north on Mahoney Road and driven by Isabel Cates, 80, of Oliver Springs.

Brakins and Cates were both injured, the THP said. Cates was wearing a seat belt, while Brakins was not, authorities said. [Read more…]