Oak Ridge Today

Smyser Lecture: Author to discuss ‘Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters’

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James Mahaffey

James Mahaffey

A nuclear power author will discuss one of his books, “Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters from the Ozark Mountains to Fukushima,” during a May 26 lecture in Oak Ridge.

It’s the 19th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series. It will feature James Mahaffey, formerly of the Georgia Institute of Technology and later head of advanced research at Nanoventions Inc. in Roswell, Georgia.

The talk is sponsored by Friends of ORNL, or FORNL. It is free of charge and will be held at the American Museum of Science and Energy, which is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge.

A reception will be held in the museum lobby starting at 5:30 p.m. (snacks will be served), and the lecture starts at 6 p.m. in the museum auditorium. This talk should be of interest to the general public, a press release said.

It said Mahaffey has written two popular books about nuclear power. The first one, “Atomic Awakening,” is a history of nuclear power, and it includes the Clinton Works at Oak Ridge as part of the story. [Read more…]

Lake City High All Class Years Reunion is July 2

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Everyone who graduated, attended, or taught at Lake City High School is invited to the All Class Years Reunion from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 2.

The “Evening of Fellowship and Reminiscing” will be held at the school, now called Lake City Middle School, at 1132 South Main Street in Lake City, which is now known as Rocky Top.

Music, refreshments, and class photos will be part of the activities. There is no cost to attend. [Read more…]

ORHS Choral Department has Spring Concert on Thursday

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ORHS Choral Department Collage

The Oak Ridge High School Choral Department will present its annual Spring Concert on Thursday, May 19, 2016. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge High School Choral Department will present its annual Spring Concert on Thursday, May 19.

Students representing the five high school choirs will take the audience on a musical journey around the world, a press release said. Elizabethan motets, German art songs, Motown favorites, a selection or two from “Pitch Perfect,” and the ever-popular “Rainforest Sound Scape.”

“Join the ORHS Choral Department as we celebrate the school year and say farewell to our seniors,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Lo, featured artist, to play piano suite with Community Orchestra this weekend

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Bernadette Lo

Bernadette Lo

Featured artist Bernadette Lo will play the “CROMOS Piano Suite” by Osvaldo Lacerda at Oak Ridge Community Orchestra concerts this weekend.

The first concert is at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at First Baptist Church of Oak Ridge.

The second concert is at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 22, in the Cokesbury United Methodist Church in West Knoxville.

Also included in these two programs are Schubert’s “Symphony No. 5” and the rousing “Finlandia” by Sibelius.

Lo is a Knoxville-area collaborative pianist, soloist, and teacher. [Read more…]

Reminder: Public hearing, first reading of school budget this evening

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Oak Ridge Schools School Administration Building

Reminder: The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider the Oak Ridge Schools budget in the first of two readings at 5:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, May 18). The meeting will include a public hearing.

 

Reminder: The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider the Oak Ridge Schools budget in the first of two readings at 5:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, May 18). The meeting will include a public hearing.

The second and final reading is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 23.

The school board meets in the Robert J. Smallridge School Administration Building at 304 New York Avenue.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Friday lecture: Man’s quest for fusion, the role of ITER

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Mark Henderson

Mark Henderson

A member of the technical staff at ITER, a magnetic fusion device in southern France, will discuss man’s quest for fusion and the role of ITER in a Friday evening lecture in Oak Ridge.

The lecture starts at 6 p.m. Friday, May 20, at the American Museum of Science and Energy. It will be by Mark Henderson, member of the Technical Staff, ITER Organization in St. Paul-les-Durrance, France.

Henderson will provide a first-hand account of the wide scope of technologies involved in operation of the ITER tokamak (the magnetic fusion device), as well as the current status of design, development, and construction of the experimental fusion facility, a press release said. ITER is the only fusion device in the world that is presently being designed to achieve a burning plasma of hydrogen isotopes. [Read more…]

Relay for Life is in Oak Ridge on Friday

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Relay for Life Oak Ridge is Friday, May 20, at the Oak Ridge High School track. It’s scheduled from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday.

Here is the schedule of events for what will be a fun evening that will raise money and awareness of the awfulness of cancer, and the effects it has on so many people, a press release said. [Read more…]

Backyard chickens, Centennial Golf Course among items for Council work session

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Oak Ridge City Council on July 27, 2015

The Oak Ridge City Council is expected to discuss backyard chickens, Centennial Golf Course, and Anderson County General Sessions Court during a non-voting work session on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A change in city ordinances that would allow backyard chickens is on the agenda for an Oak Ridge City Council work session tonight (Tuesday, May 17). Also on the agenda during the non-voting work session are options for the city-owned Centennial Golf Course and an update on the relocation of Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II.

The work session starts at 6 p.m. in the Central Services Complex Multipurpose Room on Woodbury Lane, which is behind the Kmart shopping center.

The City Council approved the backyard chicken ordinance in the first of two readings on Monday, May 9. There could be amendments to the ordinance on second and final reading in June. [Read more…]

Warrants: Narcotic pain-reliever suspected in fatal crash

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Christy-Duncan-Memorial-Oak-Ridge-Turnpike-May-10-2016

The driver charged with vehicular homicide in a fatal three-vehicle crash in Oak Ridge on Friday, May 6, 2016, is suspected of using a narcotic pain-reliever, authorities said. The crash at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson Avenue killed Christy Duncan, a 37-year-old Harriman mother who was an employee of Roane County Schools and attended church in Oak Ridge. A Mother’s Day memorial was set up near the crash site on Sunday, May 8, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The driver charged with vehicular homicide in a fatal three-vehicle crash in Oak Ridge on May 6 is suspected of using a narcotic pain-reliever, authorities said.

Vicki G. Gilmore, 61, of Oak Ridge, had constricted pupils and droopy eyelids after the Friday night crash, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Derek A. Burchfield wrote in affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

The crash was reported at about 9:47 p.m. Friday, May 6, at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson Avenue.

All witness statements said Gilmore was driving fast in the westbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike, Burchfield said. A blue Nissan Altima was on the inside lane at the red light. Inside that car were Christy Duncan, 37, of Harriman, and her four-year-old daughter Janna.

In the outside lane was a silver Lexus occupied by Jason Watson, according to the affidavits, which are attached to arrest warrants.

“All statements say Gilmore failed to slow down or even hit the brakes, crashing into the rear of Duncan’s vehicle before sliding sideways into Watson’s vehicle,” the affidavits said. [Read more…]

City, county could move General Sessions Court to Emory Valley Road

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Anderson-County-General-Sessions-Court-Exterior-Nov-19-2015

A few options have been considered, and Anderson County will now study whether to move the General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A few options have been considered, and Anderson County will now study whether to move the General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road.

Related to that proposal are plans to move the Oak Ridge Senior Center, which is now at the Emory Valley Road building, to the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Also up for a possible move is the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department. That department now occupies part of the Civic Center, where the Senior Center could move, but the department’s administrative offices could move to a vacant building on Badger Road that once housed Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.

The idea is that moving the administrative wing of Recreation and Parks to the Badger Road building could free up space for seniors at the Civic Center, which in turn would help create space at the county-owned building for the General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge one of 12 school districts to receive grants for summer reading programs

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On Friday, May 13, Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced the recipients of the 2016 Read to be Ready Summer Grant.

Earlier this year, in conjunction with the launch of the statewide Read to be Ready Campaign, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation gave a $1 million gift to the department to award for summer reading programs during the next three years. This spring, the department received more than 200 proposals and has selected 12 summer programs from across the state to receive funding, a press release said.

“With less than half of the state’s third-graders currently reading on grade level, we must approach reading in new and innovative ways,” McQueen said in the press release. “Read to be Ready summer grants will support individual communities as they tailor their approach to reading to meet the needs of the families they serve.”

Read to be Ready is a coordinated approach to move third-grade reading proficiency in Tennessee to 75 percent by 2025. The campaign seeks to raise awareness about the importance of reading, unite efforts to address the reading gap, highlight best practices, and build partnerships. Read to be Ready summer grants are designed to support students even after the last day of school, the press release said.

The awarded program recipients’ region, district, and director of the program are below: [Read more…]

Five arrested after drug investigation in Anderson County

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Michael Antonio Johnson

Michael Antonio Johnson

Note: This story was updated at 10:32 p.m.

Five people were arrested Friday, May 13, after a search warrant was served at an Old Dutch Valley Road home, authorities said. Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigators and agents with the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force were assisted by the Sheriff’s Aggressive Criminal Enforcement Unit and Special Weapons and Tactics Team in serving the search warrant, which was obtained after an investigation into illegal drug and other criminal activity at the home, a press release said.

The two residents of the home, Michael Antonio Johnson, 44, and Lucy Jane Lowe, 35, were arrested for several felony and misdemeanor drug, weapons, and conspiracy offenses, the press release said.

Two others, Branden Charles Dye, 23, of Clinton, and Roxanne Nicole Luckey, of Briceville, were arrested for misdemeanor drug charges, authorities said. [Read more…]