Oak Ridge Today

Fire destroys Clinton home

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Clinton Fire Department Patch

Information from WYSH Radio

A fire early Friday morning destroyed an unoccupied home on Baker Avenue in Clinton.

The Clinton Fire Department was dispatched at 6:08 a.m. Friday and arrived within three minutes to find heavy smoke and fire coming from the rear of the home. The Clinton Utilities Board cut off electricity to the scene as fire crews began their attack.

After gaining entry into the house and battling flames in a back room, two firefighters were ordered back out due to the ferocity of the flames burning in the basement and the attic.

Continuing the battle from outside, crews eventually were able to get back in and finally brought the blaze under control.  Firefighters left the scene just after 8:15 a.m. No injuries were reported, but the house suffered extensive damage.

The owner’s son and some other family members arrived on scene and said that there were some items missing from the house, and the Clinton Police Department was called in to investigate.

Anderson County school board to discuss compromise on raises

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Board of Education will meet in a special-called session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night (May 26) in the boardroom on the fifth floor of the Jolley Building in downtown Clinton.

The board is expected to discuss a compromise put forward by its Budget Committee to seek 2 percent raises for county teachers instead of the 4 percent raises they initially called for in budget negotiations. Funding just those raises at 4 percent would require the equivalent of a 23.5-cent property tax increase, which is highly unlikely to be approved by the Anderson County Commission.

Budget deliberations are continuing, and adjustments are still being made to the system’s proposal for the new fiscal year that begins July 1, including a reported $800,000 in cuts made last week by school officials.

Following this evening’s special-called meeting, BOE members are expected to meet with county commissioners to continue working on the fiscal blueprint for 2015-2016.

NAACP in Oak Ridge, Anderson County meets tonight

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The May meeting of the NAACP in Oak Ridge and Anderson County is at 6 p.m. today (Tuesday, May 26) at the Scarboro Community Center.

Organizers said past events and upcoming projects will be discussed.

“The political action committee has been working on developing a law enforcement summit and will provide an update,” a meeting notice said.

See Oak Ridge Schools proposed budget here

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Oak Ridge Schools has posted its proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 on its website.

The May 13 budget proposal had a starting deficit of $807,890. That deficit was due to revenues not keeping up with expenditures, officials said.

There was an additional investment of $1.9 million requested. The biggest part of that, about $1 million, was for a proposed 3 percent cost of living adjustment with benefits. An extra $484,000 was requested for experience step increases with benefits.

There were also additional staff requests that were part of the $1.9 million “additional investment.” The staff requests would total about $363,000, including for a communications director and four technology-related positions. [Read more…]

School board to discuss renaming Alternative Program as Secret City Academy

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Oak Ridge school officials will discuss renaming the Oak Ridge Alternative Program as the Secret City Academy during a meeting tonight (Tuesday, May 26).

Here’s the rationale, according to the meeting agenda for the Oak Ridge Board of Education: [Read more…]

School board to consider budget, balanced calendar tonight

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider the proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 during a meeting tonight (Tuesday, May 26). It’s the first of two readings of the budget, and tonight’s meeting will include a public hearing.

Also tonight, the school board will consider balanced calendar options for the 2016-2017 school year. Three options have been presented. See the three options here: Oak Ridge Schools 2016-2017 Balanced Calendar, Oak Ridge Schools 2016-2017 Balanced Calendar B, and Oak Ridge Schools 2016-2017 Balanced Calendar B V2.

In other business tonight, the Board of Education will consider: [Read more…]

JMS girls selected as regional winners in national computer science competition

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Jamie Lindsley and Klara Proffen

Jamie Lindsley, left, and Klara Proffen, right, students at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, have been selected as regional winners in a national computer science competition for middle school girls. (Submitted photo)

 

Two students at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge have been selected as regional winners in a national computer science competition for middle school girls.

The students, Jamie Lindsley and Klara Proffen, wanted to help patients overcome their anxiety before a MRI scan, so they developed a virtual reality MRI simulator for the national online ProjectCSGirls competition. This online competition promotes computer science among middle school girls and has attracted hundreds of students from around the United States who submit their projects, a press release said.

Lindsley and Proffen have been invited to attend the competition’s national awards gala in June in the Washington area, the press release said.

More on the competition is available here: www.projectcsgirls.com.

More on the project is available here: https://sites.google.com/site/mrisimulator/.

ORHS AP Chemistry students place third in nation in science competition

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Eddie Anderson

Eddie Anderson

Advanced Placement Chemistry students at Oak Ridge High School placed third in the nation in chemistry in the National Science League competition, the school’s Science Department said.

The students are in the AP Chemistry class taught by Eddie Anderson at ORHS.

The test was given to all AP Chemistry students, the Science Department said. [Read more…]

Memorial Day concert on Monday dedicated to veterans

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Oak Ridge Community Band July 4, 2014 Concert

The Oak Ridge Community Band performs during a July 4, 2014 concert. (Photo by Larry Perry)

 

Special recognition will be given to area veterans and those currently serving in the military during an annual Memorial Day Concert by the Oak Ridge Community Band on Monday. The concert will start at 7 p.m. Monday, May 25, at A.K. Bissell Park.

During the show, the Oak Ridge Community Band will “kick off” its 71st season of outstanding band music with a program of patriotic music and popular American favorites, a press release said.

“The Memorial Day concert is an excellent way for area residents, families, and friends to end the holiday weekend and have the opportunity to honor the men and women who have served in the military to maintain our freedom,” the release said. [Read more…]

Kent named HR director for DOE Oak Ridge

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Melanie Kent

Melanie Kent

Melanie M. Kent was recently named director of the Human Resources Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

In her new position, Kent has the responsibility for providing leadership and direction for the development and implementation of comprehensive Human Capital Management strategies, a press release said.

Kent has more than 30 years of experience in federal human resources providing the full range of services to multiple DOE program organizations, including Science, Environmental Management, Nuclear Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Fossil Energy.

Kent began her federal career in 1979 in the human resources arena. She served as the chief of the Federal Human Resources Branch in the DOE ORO from May 2001 to April 2015. [Read more…]

Curran at ORNL receives SAE Foundation industry leadership award

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Scott Curran and SAE Leadership Award

Stefan Pischinger Young Industry Leadership Award winner Scott Curran, center, is congratulated by SAE Foundation Board Chairman Mazen Hammoud of Ford Motor Company and Patrick Hupperich, FEV North America Inc. president and CEO. (Photo: SAE Foundation)

 

Scott Curran, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has received the Society for Automotive Engineers Foundation’s 2015 Stefan Pischinger Young Industry Leadership Award.

The award, given this week at this year’s SAE Foundation Annual Celebration in Detroit, highlights early career individuals who demonstrate leadership potential and promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)-based researched in their respective fields. The SAE Foundation is the charitable branch of the SAE International professional society.

A recipient of three engineering degrees from the University of Tennessee, Curran has been an active member of the SAE since his college days and has been involved in DOE’s Advanced Vehicle Technical Competition as both a student and an advisor. [Read more…]

Balajee named director of Cytogenetic Biodosimetry Lab at REAC/TS

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Adayabalam Balajee

Adayabalam Balajee

Research scientist brings more than 20 years of laboratory expertise to the position

Adayabalam Balajee has been named the director of the Cytogenetic Biodosimetry Laboratory, which is operated as part of the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, or REAC/TS, at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

In his new position, Balajee will manage the operations and staff at the CBL, which is one of only two labs in the U.S. where chromosome abnormality analysis is used for ionizing radiation dose assessment, a press release said. The process for this analysis starts with a blood sample from someone who a physician thinks may have been exposed to radiation.

Prior to joining the CBL, Balajee held the position of research scientist at the Center for Radiological Research, Department of Radiation Oncology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, where he had been employed since 1999. Balajee also spent five years as a visiting fellow at the Gerontology Research Center at the National Institutes of Health in Baltimore. [Read more…]