Information from WYSH Radio/BBB-TV
On Tuesday, the Kingston City Council voted 5-2 on first reading to increase the city’s property tax rate by 23 cents per $100 of assessed value.
BBB-TV reported that supporters of the increase said it is necessary to avoid laying off five workers and because of flat sales tax revenues.
The Council also voted Tuesday to raise water rates by 5 percent. [Read more…]
The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society is offering a Moonlight Hike on Saturday, September 26. The hike is scheduled from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the UT Arboretum at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.
“Join us as we walk Arboretum trails by the light of the silvery moon,” a press release said.
The hike will begin at the Visitors Center near the parking lot at 7:30 p.m. The 1.5-mile hike will be led by experienced volunteers.
The full moon is Sunday, September 27. The walk was scheduled a day early so that older schoolchildren could participate on a non-school night. [Read more…]
Almost half of the participants in the Expanding Your Horizons conference for middle school girls at Maryville College on September 12 will be from Oak Ridge Schools.
The day-long event will include hands-on activities in science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, led by women scientists, a press release said.
At the conference, girls will get a chance to meet STEM role models and learn more about careers in those fields. The goal is to motivate girls to become innovative and creative thinkers ready to meet 21st century challenges, the release said.
Maria Toncray, executive director of Expanding Your Horizons, congratulated Oak Ridge Schools for attracting so many participants. [Read more…]
NASHVILLE—The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will consider three applicants when it meets September 25 in Harriman to select nominees for the impending criminal court vacancy in the 9th Judicial District, which serves Loudon, Meigs, Morgan, and Roane counties.
The impending vacancy has been created by the announcement by Judge E. Eugene Eblen that he is retiring effective December 31, 2015.
The applicants are:
John Mason, left, Auburn University vice president of research and economic development, and CNS vice president for mission engineering Mike Beck sign a memorandum of understanding that will allow the two entities to collaborate on projects. (Photo submitted by Auburn)
Consolidated Nuclear Security, which operates the Y-12 National Security Complex, recently signed an agreement with Auburn University with the goal of creating collaborations in areas ranging from computing to advanced machine tool development, a press release said.
The partnership between the university and CNS, which also manages and operates the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, was created to formalize areas of interest, identify potential collaborative, and cooperative efforts, and establish a framework and boundaries for future discussions, the press release said.
“By combining the talents and resources of Auburn and Y-12, we’re creating a pipeline that flows both ways,” said Mike Beck, CNS vice president for mission engineering. “We look forward to working with some of the university’s brightest students as interns and grads to help us meet our important national security mission, and we are hopeful they can use our real-world manufacturing environment to help develop and prove some of their projects.” [Read more…]
Workers assemble a sewer system holding tank near Emory Valley Road on Wednesday afternoon, April 1, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Five years and $17 million later, Oak Ridge has satisfied a federal administrative order that required the city to repair all sewer system overflows by the end of this month, officials announced Wednesday.
Mark Watson
Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said he has received a “closure letter” from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stating the City’s Administrative Order pursuant to the Clean Water Act has been fulfilled, a press release said. The letter, signed by James Giattina, director the Water Protection Division at EPA’s regional office in Atlanta, states that the EPA Region 4 “has determined that the city has satisfied the requirements of the referenced order and hereby closes the order.”
In 2010, the EPA filed an administrative order against the city for excess “Inflow and Infiltration” affecting the wastewater collection lines within the city’s primary service areas. The EPA considered the reported system overflows and piped overflows to be a violation of the Clean Water Act, the press release said. The administrative order contained various program requirements to eliminate the overflows, ensure adequate capacity system wide, and to develop a formal management, operation, and maintenance program, or MOM.
“I am pleased to report that the challenge of the EPA administrative order charged against our city is over!” Watson said. “We have received written confirmation that we have done a substantial job in addressing the findings of the Environmental Protection Agency against Oak Ridge. The order is now closed and we can begin to maintain a consistent and ongoing maintenance effort of this important sewage infrastructure for the community.” [Read more…]
Safety Fest TN will hold safety demonstrations that are open to the public next week, including an auto rollover simulation, a slip simulator, and a tree stand safety demonstration.
The demonstrations will be in the parking lot at the New Hope Center, at the front of Y-12 National Security Complex, at 602 Scarboro Road from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, September 15.
The free demonstrations are in conjunction with more than 60 safety classes that will be conducted during the week of September 14-18 at six locations in Oak Ridge and Knoxville. The classes are free of charge to those who register. [Read more…]
Robert McKamey
WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today
Note: This story was updated at 11 a.m.
The current chair and vice chair of the Anderson County Commission are both seeking the chairmanship when Commission elects new officers later this month.
Robert McKamey, the current chair, had already announced his intention to seek another one-year term. Now, vice chair Steve Emert has announced his intention to challenge McKamey.
McKamey and Emert were appointed chair and vice chair in September 2014. It was a first term for both. Both were re-elected to the County Commission last year.
McKamey represents District 5, which includes Marlow and Dutch Valley. [Read more…]
Kendre K. Shields
A Nashville man has been charged with four counts of aggravated assault after a shot was reportedly fired into a vehicle with three adults and a five-year-old child at the Rocky Top Market on Jefferson Avenue early Sunday, authorities said.
Kendre’ K. Shields, 19, of Nashville, has also been charged with reckless endangerment, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a city press release.
Authorities said the shooting into the occupied vehicle was reported at the Rocky Top at 20 Jefferson Avenue at about 12:15 a.m. Sunday, September 6. [Read more…]
The Crime Prevention Unit of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is presenting a Church Safety and Security Seminar on Saturday, September 19, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. at LifeHouse Church at 535 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge. This free seminar is open for all churches and denominations.
The Church Safety and Security Seminar is being presented for area houses of worship to assist with emergency planning, a press release said.
“Prior preparation is essential for successful prevention and mitigation of potentially catastrophic events,” the release said. “This seminar will offer valuable information to help prepare.”
An effective plan for keeping congregations safe requires a complete team effort and coordination, the release said. It involves participation of the pastoral staff, ushers, greeters, parking lot attendants, deacons, elders, trustees, medically trained personnel, and many others. Every member of the church team should make plans to attend this seminar. [Read more…]
Daniel Colburn is pictured above at Cliffs of Dover. (Submitted photo)
By Jessica Steed
Daniel Colburn absorbed history and archeology as he studied thermodynamics and circuits during a study abroad program in London this summer.
Colburn, a junior at the University of Tennessee, was awarded a $2,000 Dr. Adrian R. Lawler Exchange Student Scholarship in the fall of 2014, which supported his participation in the five-week UT engineering program in London, his first experience abroad. In the Chancellor’s Honors Program, Colburn is majoring in mechanical engineering, with a minor in business and maintainability and reliability.
“We partnered those academic experiences with some real world experiences outside the classroom,” Colburn said of the London study abroad program. [Read more…]
The Clinch Bend Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution will celebrate Constitution Week with a discussion of the separation of government powers at their September 12 meeting.
The guest speaker will be attorney Tim Elrod of Ogle, Elrod, and Baril. Elrod will present “Separation of Powers: The Three Branches of Government and the Effect on Our Lives Today,” a press release said.
The meeting will start at 1 p.m. Saturday, September 12, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Oak Ridge.
For more information, contact www.tndar.org/~clinchbend or (865) 945-5605.
