Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge from Friday, December 12, and continuing through December 17.
This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Christmas Parade on Saturday
Santa Claus and helpers ride on an Oak Ridge fire truck during the 2013 Christmas Parade. (File photo by D. Ray Smith)
The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade starts at 6 p.m. Saturday, December 13. More than 100 entries have registered to participate.
The parade will start at Corporate Center on the corner of Lafayette and Laboratory Road. From there, the parade will travel down Lafayette to the Oak Ridge Turnpike. It will continue west on the Turnpike to Oak Ridge High School. The judge’s stand will be located in front of the Chamber. [Read more…]
Holiday Hike on Cedar Hill Greenway on Saturday
The City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee is leading a Holiday Hike on Cedar Hill Greenway on Saturday.
Hikers will walk a 2.5-mile loop. The hike starts at Cedar Hill Park at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
City employee Daniel McFee said it’s about a 1.5-hour hike, and it’s open to the public.
McFee said the hike would probably be rated beginner to moderate. It has varying terrain on a mostly single-track trail. There are some hills, but they’re not real bad, McFee said.
DA: Criminal investigation under way in apartment death, but so far, no arrest, charges
Dave Clark
A criminal investigation is under way in the death of a 29-year-old man at an apartment in Oak Ridge early Monday, but there has not been an arrest yet and no charges have been filed, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said Thursday.
Thomas Steven Thrasher Jr., 29, was found dead in a second-floor apartment when the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a report of a possible intruder at about 4:40 a.m. Monday at 615 West Vanderbilt Drive.
Clark said an autopsy has been performed by the Anderson County medical examiner.
“As a result of the circumstances, the Oak Ridge Police and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have been conducting a criminal investigation,” Clark said. “There has been no arrest or charges filed at this time.” [Read more…]
Y-12 retirees plan benefits protest at DOE Oak Ridge Office on Thursday
Protesters object Thursday afternoon (December 4) to changes to health insurance benefits announced at the Y-12 National Security Complex in October. At center is Becky Montgomery, who retired from Y-12 in June after 35 years. The demonstrators have planned a second protest on Thursday, December 11, at or near the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office on Administration Road.
Retirees from the Y-12 National Security Complex plan to protest changes to their health insurance benefits in Oak Ridge on Thursday.
It’s the second protest for the retirees, who object to changes scheduled to go into effect under the new Y-12 contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security, on January 1.
The protest is scheduled from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Thursday, December 11, at or near the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office on Administration Road. [Read more…]
Final episode of ‘Classroom Under the Sea’ on Thursday
During the final episode of Classroom Under the Sea on Thursday, December 11, aquanauts Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain will put their experience in perspective. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)
In their last “Classroom Under the Sea” episode before resurfacing, Roane State Community College professors Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain will reflect on their record-breaking 73-day underwater mission and discuss the future of ocean preservation.
The live program starts at 1 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, December 11. Viewers can watch at roanestate.edu/classroomunderthesea and on youtube.com/classroomunderthesea.
Cantrell and Fain have lived and worked in an underwater habitat—Jules’ Undersea Lodge on Key Largo in the Florida Keys—since October 3. While living in the habitat, they have hosted “Classroom Under the Sea,” an online lecture series presented by Roane State and the Marine Resources Development Foundation on Key Largo. [Read more…]
Heitman family wants death investigation re-opened
Alexander John Heitman
Note: This story was last updated at 11:45 a.m. Dec. 11.
The family of a former Oak Ridge school employee found dead of a shotgun wound in Cocke County more than three years ago wants authorities there to reopen the investigation of their son’s death, a press release said.
The family of Alexander “Alex†J. Heitman has also hired an attorney, retired Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugh B. Ward Jr. of Knoxville law firm Young Williams. Ward has Oak Ridge connections, serving on several local boards and as the city’s administrative hearing officer.
Heitman’s family asked for the death investigation to be re-opened after Cocke County Circuit Court Judge Ben Hooper on Monday ordered Coroner Terry Jarnigan to stay away from crime scenes and dead bodies in Cocke County. The Newport Plain Talk reported that Jarnigan allegedly compromised a corpse he was told would be sent for an autopsy in November.
WBIR-TV in Knoxville reported that Jarnigan resigned Tuesday. The Heitmans said the former county coroner oversaw their son’s crime scene.
The Plain Talk reported in June that the District Attorney’s office in Newport said it saw no reason to re-open the investigation of Heitman’s death, which has been ruled a suicide. [Read more…]
TBI investigating apartment death
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death of a 29-year-old man found dead in a second-floor apartment at this Rolling Hills Apartments building in Oak Ridge on Monday.
Note: This story was last updated at 4 p.m.
State authorities are investigating the death of a 29-year-old man in an Oak Ridge apartment on Monday.
Oak Ridge police officers said Thomas Thrasher was dead when they arrived at a second-floor apartment at 615 West Vanderbilt Drive at about 4:40 a.m. Monday. The Oak Ridge Police Department, which had responded to a report of a possible intruder, said the death was “suspicious,” and they turned the case over to Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark.
Clark asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to investigate, TBI Public Information Officer Susan Niland said Wednesday.
Niland said the cause of death has not been determined pending an autopsy. She said it’s not clear how long the autopsy might take or how many tests have to be performed. [Read more…]
Anderson County woman dies in crash on Lake City Highway
Information from WYSH Radio
An Anderson County woman died in a single-vehicle crash on Lake City Highway Tuesday morning, authorities said.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 71-year-old Marianna Pearson of Clinton had been headed south in a Mazda 626 at around 9 a.m. Tuesday when she lost control of the car while negotiating a right-hand curve near Pumphouse Lane. The car went off the left side of the road and struck an embankment.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Sheriff: 25 indicted on drug charges
Paul White
Note: This story was updated at 11:45 a.m.
Twenty-five people were indicted on drug-related charges by an Anderson County Grand Jury in November after investigations by the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit, authorities said Wednesday.
Deputies have been out making arrests on these indictments while also continuing investigations on related drug activity, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said in a Wednesday morning press release.
The drug investigations were conducted during the last few months. White said the indictments were for the manufacture, sales, delivery, or possession of illegal drugs, and those indicted either sold to undercover agents or possessed drugs for resale.
“These indictments primarily include charges resulting from sale or possession for resale of prescription or legend drugs, as well as marijuana and methamphetamine-related offenses,” White said. [Read more…]
NNSA: Field work to prepare Y-12 for UPF is on schedule, under budget
Field work to prepare the Y-12 National Security Complex for building the Uranium Processing Facility is on schedule and under budget, federal officials said. (Photo courtesy NNSA)
Field work to prepare the Y-12 National Security Complex for building the Uranium Processing Facility, or UPF, is on schedule and under budget and has surpassed 500 days without a recordable accident or injury, a press release said.
Site Readiness, the first construction subproject for UPF, began in late spring 2013 and is expected to be completed in winter 2015.
“The Site Readiness subproject is setting the standard for quality UPF construction on budget,†said Don Peters, federal construction manager for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s UPF Project Office. “We’ve accomplished a lot of work in an area that stretches across an approximate five-mile linear footprint.â€
The press release said that work either completed or under way includes relocation of Bear Creek Road, including a new bridge; relocation of several potable water lines; rerouting of overhead electrical lines; construction of a haul road; mitigation for wetlands impacted during road construction; development of the west borrow and wet spoils areas to receive soils for later project phases; demolition of a parking lot, a decommissioned guard tower, and other structures; and construction of sediment basins to protect Y-12 natural resources from erosion and sedimentation. [Read more…]
Robbins named deputy manager of NNSA Production Office
Teresa M. Robbins
Teresa M. Robbins has been named deputy manager for the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office, or NPO.
In her new role, Robbins is responsible for day-to-day management and tactical execution of NPO activities. NPO is responsible for contract management and technical oversight of the consolidated contract at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.
“Ms. Robbins has a wealth of technical and project management experience and excellent personnel management skills,†said Steve Erhart, NPO manager. “She is a great addition to the senior executive team in NNSA.”
Robbins has more than 20 years of experience in nuclear facility operations, engineering, safety analysis, maintenance, and risk analysis within the U.S. Department of Energy complex, a press release said. She previously held several leadership positions at NNSA, where she served as the deputy federal project director for the Uranium Processing Facility project, and more recently as acting senior scientific and technical adviser and then as the acting assistant manager for environment, safety, health, and quality for NPO. [Read more…]
