Oak Ridge Today

IDB, Council to consider longer tax agreement, road improvements for mall project

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Main Street Oak Ridge Site Plan without Tenants

A Main Street Oak Ridge site plan from Tuesday, without tenants shown. (Submitted image)

 

Oak Ridge Village Area Rendering

In two special meetings today, local officials will consider adding another 10 years to a tax incentive agreement for the long-awaited redevelopment of the Oak Ridge mall, and they will also consider authorizing improvements to public infrastructure, including the rebuilding of three private roads: Main Street East, Main Street West, and Wilson Street.

The tax incentive is known as tax increment financing, or TIF. It would use new property tax revenues generated at the mall site, which will be renamed Main Street Oak Ridge, to help pay for development costs.

A 20-year, $13 million TIF and economic impact plan were approved by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, City Council, and Anderson County Commission in November, and by Tennessee officials in January.

But the IDB and City Council will now consider extending the TIF term to 30 years. The extension would also have to be approved by the Anderson County Commission and Tennessee officials. [Read more…]

Cadre5 wins Small Business Subcontractor of Year award

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SBA Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Award

Pictured above from left are Chris O’Neal (Cadre5), Gina Holman, Steve Hicks, Walter Perry, and Ken Lowery (Cadre5). (Submitted photo)

 

KNOXVILLE—Cadre5, a software engineering firm specializing in custom software development, was recently presented with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2014 Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Award for Region 4, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Cadre5 was nominated by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where it has worked on more than 20 projects that met or exceeded its cost and schedule performance goals.

Tennessee District Director Walter Perry and Procurement Center Representative Gina Holman of the Area III Office of Government Contracting, on behalf of Carol Thompson, Area III director, presented Cadre5 with the award at the East Tennessee Economic Council board meeting this month.

“Cadre5 is an outstanding example of how this Tennessee small business community can meet national laboratory mission needs and those of private industry,” Thompson said. “It speaks well of their strong performance in government contracting opportunities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which has enabled growth in their business and creation of jobs in Tennessee.” [Read more…]

Guest column: Technology in the classroom

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In 2012, the scientific community was shocked to see six Italian scientists arrested and placed on trial for the manslaughter of 309 people. How did they manage to kill 309 people? Easy: They failed to predict an earthquake.

As insane as it sounds, two years later these scientists are still stuck in an appeal process, and they are still facing a potential six years in prison. Now long off everyone’s radar, the questions this prosecution poses to Western civilization have faded from our memory.

At stake and at issue are the underlying ideologies of what our machines and the data they generate actually mean to us as human beings. Unfortunately, these ideologies remain in the background of our educational and technological decision-making. The lives and the minds of our students are rapidly becoming intertwined with their technologies and the haste we feel in harnessing this cultural phenomenon is driven by a competitive economic desire to “stay ahead” of the technological curve.

With the exception of perhaps a few hold-over “Luddites,” no one I know is against the use of technology in the classroom. On the flip side, however, I must say that in all my conversations about classroom technology, I have never—not even once—heard a citizen or educator discuss what the use of that technology actually means to a human being. [Read more…]

ORHS Homecoming Parade is Friday

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David Bryant

David Bryant

The Oak Ridge High School’s annual Homecoming Parade is Friday, and ORHS Principal David Bryant is inviting the community to attend.

The parade starts at 6:15 p.m. Friday, October 3.

There is a new route for the parade this year. It will follow Central Avenue to Tennessee to Towne Road to Broadway and then to Blankenship, Bryant said. [Read more…]

Award-winning author of ‘Bomb’ to visit Oak Ridge, stop at AMSE

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Bomb

By Scot Smith

The American Museum of Science and Energy will host award-winning author Steve Sheinkin on Tuesday, October 7. Among other books, Sheinkin has written “Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon.”

Sheinkin’s presentation at AMSE is scheduled for 6 p.m. October 7. His other public presentation will be for the University of Tennessee’s Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature. That lecture will take place on Monday, October 6, at 7 p.m. in the Hodges Library Auditorium on the UT campus, a press release said. Books will be available for purchase and signing at both events.

During his stay in East Tennessee, Sheinkin will also present programs for students at Oak Ridge School and Jefferson and Robertsville Middle Schools, the Webb School, and the Episcopal School of Knoxville. [Read more…]

The ABCs of giving—Y-12 donates school supplies to ADFAC

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Y-12 School Supplies Donated to ADFAC

CNS Security Police Officer John Fellers, left, and Y-12 Site Manager Bill Tindal deliver school supplies to the Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties office. (Submitted photo)

 

Y‑12 National Security Complex employees donated more than $2,000 and numerous school supplies to ensure students in need are starting the school year with what they need. Working with Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC, employees donated money along with some 144 wide-ruled notebooks, 132 packs of crayons, 111 packs of pencils, 80 packs of paper, and 66 packs of glue sticks.

“Employees once again shared their giving spirit with those in our communities,” Y‑12 United Way Chair Yvonne Bishop said.

While the event precedes the site’s formal United Way campaign kickoff, Bishop said site employees always are ready to respond. ADFAC volunteers use the donations to provide backpacks and school supplies to fulfill more than 7,000 requests for assistance. [Read more…]

Chamber has two candidate forums this week

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Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has two Election Selection candidate forums this week.

The first is Tuesday morning, September 30, and it will feature the 10 candidates for Oak Ridge City Council. The second is Thursday morning, October 2, and it will feature the eight candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education.

The forums have been organized by the Chamber’s Pro-Growth Advocacy Committee. They are open to the public.

Doors to both forums open at 7 a.m. There will be 30 minutes of meet-and-greet time among the candidates, Chamber members, supporters, community members, and attendees, a press release said. [Read more…]

Children’s Museum awarded $137,108 grant by museum institute

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Healthy Living Exhibit

 

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded $137,108 to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge this month.

The museum will use the grant funds to develop its new Kids in Action! Healthy Living Exhibit and programs. Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will plan, develop, and construct “Kids in Action,” a healthy living exhibit and accompanying educational programs to support healthy nutrition, healthy activity, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, and community wellness, a press release said. [Read more…]

Saturday: Household hazardous waste drop-off, prescription drug take-back

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There is a prescription drug take-back in Oak Ridge through 2 p.m. today (Saturday, September 27). There is also a collection of household hazardous waste, and it also ends at 2 p.m.

The prescription drug take-back is at the Oak Ridge Police Department at 200 South Tulane Avenue. The ORPD is doing this in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration Prescription Drug Take-Back Day and Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) of Anderson County.

“The Oak Ridge Police Department will give the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs,” a press release said. “The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.” [Read more…]

Fifty evacuated, one treated after small fire at Callaghan Towers

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Robert Burk and Jean Rivera Evacuation

Oak Ridge Fire Department firefighter and paramedic Robert Burk, right, evacuates Jean Rivera, a resident of the six-story Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road after a small fire on Thursday afternoon. Burk is carrying Rivera’s dog Taco. Rivera, who can’t walk steps, said firefighters practically had to carry her downstairs. “I’m shook up,” she said. “I’m nervous.”

 

About 50 residents were evacuated and one person was treated for smoke inhalation after a small fire was reported in an apartment at Frank Callaghan Towers on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The fire appears to have been caused by an electrical short at an outlet in a second-floor apartment on the northwest side of the building, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

A clothes hamper full of clothes ignited, and the fire burned the side of an entertainment center, two lamps, and materials around a window, Kerley said.

“It was a fairly small fire, but it generated a lot of black smoke,” he said. The first three floors of the six-story building were evacuated, and two cats were rescued from the apartment that burned. The apartment resident was not at home at the time. [Read more…]

UU Church’s last community meal at current location

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Stone Soup Community Meal

From left to right, volunteers Jinx Watson, Beatrice Holt, Todd Sherline, and daughter Poppy prepare for guests at an earlier ORUUC Stone Soup Free Community Meal. The next meal will be served tonight Friday, September 26. Everyone is welcome. (File photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will celebrate four years of the Stone Soup free community meal tonight (Friday, September 26).

It’s the last community meal at the church’s current location at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Robertsville Road. The church is moving to a new home on Oak Ridge Turnpike north of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building.

“Everyone is welcome to come to the fourth birthday celebration,” a press release said.

Dine-in or takeout will be available from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Social Hall of the church located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge. Diners will be served homemade beanie weenie soup, pimiento cheese sandwiches, classic coleslaw, and chocolate cake. [Read more…]

Clinton Homecoming highlighted by Wall of Fame inductions

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Clinton High School Header

 

Information from WYSH Radio

Tonight (Friday, September 26) is Homecoming at Clinton High School, and among the festivities taking place this evening will be the induction of four new members into the school’s Wall of Fame.

Thomas Underwood graduated from CHS in the late ’30s after playing football and later served in World War II, where he was shot down during combat and earned a Purple Heart, among other medals, for his service. Underwood also served in the Korean conflict before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. [Read more…]