Oak Ridge Today

AC Events: Pickin’ in the Park, Wheelers for the Wounded, David Hall Cabin open house

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Here are three events happening in Anderson County this weekend:

Pickin’ in the Park Concert—Friday, October 2, at Norris Dam State Park

Join the Friends of Norris Dam State Park for the annual Pickin’ in the Park Concert held the first Friday of October from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. This event is an evening full of bluegrass music, barbecue, local craft vendors, laughter, and fun, organizers said.

The event is located at the historic amphitheater and tearoom on the east side of Norris Dam State Park. There is no entrance fee, but donations to the Friends of Norris Dam are strongly encouraged.

If you have any questions, call the park office at (865) 426-7461.

Wheelers for the Wounded—October 3 at Windrock Park [Read more…]

Former nuclear physics teacher in OR to be inducted into TN Women’s Hall of Fame

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Elizabeth Rona

Elizabeth Rona

Elizabeth Rona, a former nuclear physics teacher at the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies, will be inducted into the Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame on Monday, October 26.

Before she immigrated to the United States, Rona was the first woman to teach chemistry in any university in Hungary.

Once in the U.S., she was on the frontlines of the discoveries of isotopes and fission, and later contributed to work in the Manhattan project. She later taught on theory and methods of nuclear physics at the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies.

Rona is one of two inductees to be honored posthumously. The ceremony will honor a total of eight women from all three grand divisions of the state (East, Middle, and West), including an astronaut, judge, and civil rights pioneer. [Read more…]

Harvest Hike on Saturday postponed due to weather

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Wet Days Oct. 2, 2015

Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown

 

The Harvest Hike scheduled for Saturday, October 3, on Melton Lake Greenway has been postponed due to weather.

Officials said the National Weather Service in Morristown has issued flood advisories for East Tennessee starting Saturday morning with a 90 percent chance of heavy rain throughout the day and Sunday.

“We are postponing the Harvest Hike and will set a reschedule date next week,” officials said.

The hike is sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee and Oak Ridge Schools Coordinated Health.

Roane State invites public to Manufacturing Day in Clinton on Friday

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Roane State Manufacturing Day Open House Oct. 2, 2015

Roane State Community College will host an open house at its Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility as part of Manufacturing Day on Friday, October  2.

The event will last from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the facility, which is at 214 Nave Street in Clinton. The public is invited to visit the facility and learn more about Roane State courses in mechatronics and injection molding.

Representatives from area manufacturers will be at the facility to discuss job opportunities in manufacturing, and Roane State staff will demonstrate equipment used in its mechatronics and injection molding programs. [Read more…]

Eagle Bend Manufacturing expanding in Clinton, investing $55M, adding 127 jobs

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Anderson County Animal Shelter Eagle Bend Donation

Ed Steinebach, right, general manager for Magna International’s Eagle Bend Manufacturing plant  in Clinton, is pictured above at an Anderson County Commission meeting in July. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Eagle Bend Manufacturing, an auto parts manufacturer, is expanding its operations in Clinton, investing $54.9 million, and creating 127 new jobs, officials said Thursday.

It’s the company’s second expansion in just over three years. The expansion was announced Thursday by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd.

“We want to thank Eagle Bend Manufacturing for choosing to reinvest in Tennessee and creating these new jobs in Anderson County,” Haslam said. “Tennessee continues to be a global leader in automotive manufacturing, thanks in large part to the strong network of suppliers located around the state, and today’s announcement supports our goal of becoming the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”

Eagle Bend Manufacturing produces major body structures and assemblies for the automotive industry. Officials said the expansion will allow the company to add a new building to its facility, making room for additional equipment to meet demand. [Read more…]

Chipotle Mexican Grill opening on South Illinois

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Chipotle Oak Ridge Oct. 1, 2015

Chipotle Mexican Grill has applied for a beer permit for a store at 433 South Illinois Avenue, in the same shopping center as Great Clips, Pie Five Pizza, and Aspen Dental. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Chipotle Mexican Grill is opening on South Illinois Avenue. The restaurant will be in the same shopping center as the new Great Clips, Pie Five Pizza, and Aspen Dental.

The company’s website says the restaurant will be opening soon at 433 South Illinois Avenue.

Chipotle has applied for a beer permit, and the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board will consider the application at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, October 7, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Training Room.

The restaurant will be owned by Chipotle Mexican Grill LLC of Colorado.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

No one in corner booth when truck crashes through restaurant wall

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Los Caballeros Truck Crash on Oct. 1, 2015

A silver Dodge pickup truck crashed into a corner of Los Caballeros Mexican Family Restaurant on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, but the cause wasn’t immediately clear. (Photo by Kevin Rice)

 

No one was in the corner booth and the restaurant hadn’t opened yet when a pickup truck crashed through a wall at Los Caballeros on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Thursday morning.

The driver of the silver Dodge pickup was taken to the hospital. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear.

Authorities said the pickup truck also hit a parked Ford Mustang.

The crash was reported at about 10:50 a.m. Thursday.

The restaurant said it could open later today, depending upon what the health department says. [Read more…]

Police: Driver caught after fleeing from two-car crash on Waddell

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Waddell Circle Crash Car Sept. 30, 2015

Police say the driver of this white four-door car fled but was caught quickly after a two-vehicle crash on Waddell Circle late Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 30, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Police said the driver of a car that slammed into a parked pickup truck on Waddell Circle on Wednesday afternoon fled after the two-car crash but was caught quickly.

The crash was reported at about 4:50 p.m. at 161 Waddell Circle.

Chris Townsend, who lives on Waddell Circle, said he was walking upstairs when he heard the sirens. He was on his way to his sister’s house across the street.

He made it as far as his porch when he said he saw a white four-door car driving fast down the street. The car tried to make the righthand curve on the wet, narrow one-way residential street, but it wasn’t able to, Townsend said. [Read more…]

Tech initiative starts with laptop distribution at JMS, RMS in October

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Students in sixth grade at Jefferson Middle School and seventh grade at Robertsville Middle School will receive Lenovo laptops in October. It’s the first phase of the Oak Ridge Schools’ AccessOR digital technology initiative and the initial student device rollout.

Here are some specific plans, according to Oak Ridge Schools:

  • Students will be receiving the Lenovo Yoga 11e as well as a charger, protective sleeve, and insurance for each device. Lenovo calls the Yoga 11e a convertible laptop or durable multimode laptop that can be used as a laptop, tablet, tent, or stand.
  • The laptops will be etched with the Oak Ridge Schools’ logo and address.
  • The initial October rollout will include the sixth grade at Jefferson Middle School and the seventh grade at Robertsville Middle School. The choice of these grade levels came about from principals discussing the opportunity with their staffs, and it benefits Oak Ridge Schools as a whole to have teachers building out and sharing digital curricula in two grade levels.
  • The orientation/device distribution will take place from 5-8 p.m. October 20 at Robertsville Middle School and October 22 at Jefferson Middle School.
  • The kick-off will include:
    • policy/procedures/insurance discussion from school administrators,
    • digital citizenship talk from teachers about creating safe online environments for students,
    • device registration and roll out,
    • device testing with support of school staff, and
    • a question and answer session.
  • Students and parents will receive and sign a procedures and expectations document before receiving a device.
  • After learning from the initial rollout, Oak Ridge Schools plan to distribute devices to the rest of the middle school grade levels after winter break.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Small businesses invited to participate in DOE national lab vouchers pilot

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ORNL Industry Day Officials Sept. 24, 2015

David Danielson, left, DOE assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, is pictured above with officials at Industry Day at ORNL on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015, when a 3D-printed vehicle and building were unveiled. Other officials include ORNL Director Thom Mason; U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann; Johnny Moore, ORNL Site Office manager; and David Milhorn, UT executive vice president. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Small businesses in the clean energy sector are invited to apply for assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratories through the department’s new Small Business Vouchers Pilot.

David Danielson, DOE Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, or EERE, announced the launch of the pilot website during EERE’s Industry Day event on Wednesday, September 23, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“Small businesses that are developing the new clean energy technologies that are needed to cut carbon pollution and create good-paying American jobs often lack the resources necessary to move their innovative ideas from the laboratory bench to the marketplace,” Danielson said. “The EERE Small Business Vouchers pilot is designed specifically to help small businesses bring next-generation clean energy technologies to the market faster by leveraging the world-class capabilities of our national laboratories to solve small businesses’ most pressing challenges.” [Read more…]

ORAU exceeds $100,000 in annual giving campaign for eighth year in a row

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ORAU 2015 Annual Giving Campaign

The 2015 ORAU Annual Giving Campaign Chair Arlene Garrison, pictured right, Co-Chair Don Hanlon, pictured left, and ORAU President and CEO Andy Page reveal ORAU’s combined giving total of $127,404.42. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

 

For the eighth year in a row, ORAU has broken the $100,000 mark in donations as part of the annual giving campaign for the United Way and Community Shares.

During a concluding ceremony on September 29 in the ORAU Pollard Technology Conference Center, ORAU President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Page announced the 2015 ORAU Annual Giving Campaign total donation amount: $127,404.42.

As part of the total donation, ORAU and its employees pledged $97,835.18 to the United Way and $29,569.24 to Community Shares.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Signing ceremony for Manhattan Project park on Nov. 10 in DC

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Hanford B Reactor

The Hanford B Reactor (Photo courtesy Atomic Heritage Foundation)

 

By Atomic Heritage Foundation

The birthday of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, is now set for November 10, 2015.

While the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act became law on December 19, 2014, the Act requires that the Departments of Energy and Interior reach an agreement within a year of enactment on their respective roles in implementing the new park. At that time, the park will be officially established.

We understand that the Departments of Energy and the National Park Service leaders are close to an agreement. Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz and Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell are scheduled to have a signing ceremony on Tuesday, November 10, in Washington, D.C.

The Manhattan Project Park Act passed after the National Park Service’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget was in place, so the funds available in 2016 for NPS’s work on the park are limited to $180,000.

NPS Associate Director Victor Knox talked about 2016 as a transitional year for the new park, as the Park Service assumes management and focuses on how best to interpret the story of the Manhattan Project. The Department of Energy and its laboratories have been funding a variety of activities this year and have developed a five-year budget plan for restoring and providing public access to its historic assets. [Read more…]