Oak Ridge Today

Health night lecture to discuss Carpal Tunnel Syndrome on Tuesday

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Daniel Branaham

Daniel Branaham

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Join Methodist Medical Center and board-certified orthopedic surgeon and hand specialist, Daniel Branham, M.D., for a look at carpal tunnel syndrome during Health Night on the Town. The lecture will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in the Ridge Conference Room of Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, 990 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which the median nerve is compressed as it passes through an opening from the wrist to the hand called the carpal tunnel. While it doesn’t have a specific cause, there tend to be certain contributing factors including frequent, repetitive, small, or grasping movements with the hands; joint or bone disease; hormonal or metabolic changes; or wrist injuries. Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome come on gradually and can include pain in the wrist and forearm; weakness and loss of mobility in the hand; numbness in the fingers, except the little and ring fingers; tingling in the fingers when the wrist is tapped; and decreased grip strength.

Dr. Branham will discuss this common condition and its treatment options at Health Night on the Town, a free lecture series that is open to the public. [Read more…]

Boyd to discuss Gov. Haslam’s ‘Drive to 55’ campaign at Altrusa

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Randy Boyd

Randy Boyd

Randy Boyd, Knoxville CEO of Radio Systems and special education adviser to Gov. Bill Haslam, will discuss the statewide initiative “Drive to 55” during a Wednesday luncheon in Oak Ridge.

Boyd will also discuss the Tennessee Promise, which aims to raise the percentage of Tennesseans with degrees or certificates from 32 percent to 55 percent by 2025, during a Wednesday meeting of the Altrusa Club at the Doubletree Hotel.

“The Tennessee Promise will provide all Tennessee high school graduates with the opportunity to attend a community college or Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) free of tuition and fees and provide them with a mentor to ensure their success,” Boyd said. [Read more…]

Sewer rehab work continues this week

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More rehabilitation work of the city’s sewer collection pipes is scheduled to continue this week

The work is being done by Hurst Excavating and Morgan Contracting under contract with the City of Oak Ridge. It includes rehabilitating sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and in roadways, a press release said.

Residents should already have received color-coded letters and door hangers (orange for Hurst Excavating and purple for Morgan Contracting) providing general information and each contractors’ contact information. [Read more…]

Boys and Girls Club has baseball sign-ups, evaluations this week

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The Boys and Girls Club of Oak Ridge has baseball sign-ups through March 28.

It’s for boys and girls from five to 12 years old.The sign-ups are $25 for active club members and $40 for inactive or non-club members.

Baseball evaluations are at 6 p.m. Thursday for children who are seven and eight years old, and at 6 p.m. Friday for kids from 9-12.

Roane State has open house for home-schoolers, private school students

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Roane State Community College will host an April 3 open house for home-school students, private school students, and their families.

The open house will be Thursday, April 3, from 6-8 p.m. in the City Room at the college’s Oak Ridge campus, 701 Briarcliff Ave.

Visitors will learn about Roane State’s academic programs and its dual enrollment program, which allows students to earn college credit and high school credit at the same time. Guests will also be able to meet with Roane State faculty and staff.

For more information about the April 3 open house, contact Priscilla Gitschlag at (865) 354-3000 ext. 2200, or gitschlagp@roanestate.edu. Please RSVP by March 31.

Highland View spring cleanup on Saturday

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The Highland View Neighborhood Watch will have a spring cleanup on Saturday morning. It’s scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, and volunteers can sign in at the Oak Ridge Children’s Museum.

“Join us as we work toward making our neighborhood something to be proud of,” a flyer said. “From Highland Avenue to Illinois and side streets, we’re conquering the accumulated trash and garbage. The more participants, the easier and faster we get to enjoy spring in our home neighborhood.”

The flyer said the goal is to eliminate garbage along West Outer. [Read more…]

Redflex prepared to discuss options on traffic camera contract

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Traffic Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike

The traffic camera for the westbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike in front of Oak Ridge High School is pictured above. More than half of the speeding violations issued in 2013 were for vehicles driving west here.

Note: This story was last updated at 4:17 p.m. March 24.

Oak Ridge City Council could consider extending the controversial traffic camera contract on Monday, but not without some changes. Among the proposed changes are mobile units, different camera locations, and a new revenue split between the city and the camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., of Phoenix, Ariz.

On Thursday, Redflex said it is negotiating these and other issues with Oak Ridge officials.

“Redflex is very proud of our five-year public safety partnership with the City of Oak Ridge,” said Jody Ryan, Redflex communications director. “We are prepared to discuss various options to ensure the city’s traffic safety camera program is comprehensive and provides the highest public safety value.”

Council has been presented two options to consider during a special Monday night meeting. One would extend the five-year contract for two years with the changes. A second would end the program when the current agreement expires April 21. [Read more…]

Reward offered for car, brush arsons near Linden Elementary

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Linden Elementary School Brush Fire

The Oak Ridge Fire Department has battled two brush fires near Linden Elementary School in the past 30 days. This one was March 22 behind the school. (Photos by Tom Scott)

Note: This story was last updated at 1:18 p.m.

Oak Ridge authorities are offering a reward to anyone who has information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people who started a car and brush fires at or near Linden Elementary School during the past month.

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said three fires have been extinguished at the following addresses in the past 30 days: 

  • A woods fire at 5:15 p.m. Feb. 27  on Montclair Road near Linden Elementary School.
  • A car fire at 6:20 p.m. March 8 at Linden Elementary School. A second car had been vandalized.
  • A woods fire at 4:48 p.m. March 22 behind Linden Elementary School.

“All three of these fires are under investigation through the joint efforts of the Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Police Department,” Kerley said in a press release. “The fires are possibly connected to the same person(s) or people, so several individuals, not yet identified, are of interest in each of these fires.” [Read more…]

Low bid on Blankenship bleachers: $524,000

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Blankenship Field Visitors Bleachers

Deemed to be unsafe, the visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been removed, and replacing them could cost more than $500,000.

The low bid on the bleacher replacement project at Blankenship Field came in at $523,940, a school official said Friday.

The bid on the project to replace the demolished visitor bleachers includes grading work and a handicap sidewalk at Jack Armstrong Stadium. Proposals were accepted through Friday. The recommended proposal from Dant Clayton Corp. of Louisville, Ky., will be considered by the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday.

Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools maintenance and operations supervisor, said the project could cost another $40,000 if the Wildcat Crossing stairs on the home side of the field are reconditioned. That would make the total cost $563,940. It was the lowest of two qualified bids.

Thacker said funding for the project has not yet been identified. It’s been discussed at several recent meetings of the Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education. Municipal and education officials have said options include city funding, school funding, a mix of the two, and donations. Earlier this month, School Board Chair Keys Fillauer told City Council that a funding decision could be made Monday. [Read more…]

DOE report co-chaired by UT professor calls for renewed focus on high-end math research

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Jack Dongarra

Jack Dongarra

Professor also ORNL researcher, co-author of Top 500 ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers

KNOXVILLE—The U.S. Department of Energy recently released a report co-chaired by Jack Dongarra, a distinguished professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, in which he stresses the importance of prioritizing research into high-end mathematics to help keep the United States on the cutting edge of computing.

“Exascale computing (capable of one quintillion floating point operations per second) will enable us to solve problems in ways that are not feasible today and will result in significant scientific breakthroughs,” said Dongarra, of UT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “However, the transition to exascale poses numerous scientific and technological challenges.”

Dongarra, one of five National Academy of Engineering members on the faculty of UT’s College of Engineering, said that increased funding for the development of new models and ways of gathering data is key to unlocking a number of those challenges. [Read more…]

Headrick announces second run for Congress in Third District

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Mary Headrick

Mary Headrick

Mary Headrick, a retired physician who lives in Maynardville, recently announced a second run for Congress in Tennessee’s Third District.

Headrick is a Democrat who also ran in 2012 but lost to the incumbent, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Republican who was first elected in 2010.

“All the people, especially the working families and retirees of District 3, deserve representation,” Headrick said in a press release. “They are not getting it. Special wealthy and corporate interests hold the power and benefits while the middle class shrinks and democracy falters. Too few people control too much money and power, and they are grabbing more by ‘buying’ a Congress that will pass laws and regulations to enhance their personal profit at the expense of the rest of us. I will defend our economy, jobs, Social Security, Medicare, public education.” [Read more…]

If elected, Wamp could become youngest member of Congress

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Weston Wamp and Verrner Anderson

Weston Wamp, right, a Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, talks to Verner Anderson, who volunteered for the first campaign of Wamp’s father, Zach Wamp, in 1994.

If elected this year, Weston Wamp could become the youngest member of Congress. The Chattanooga Republican turns 27 this month.

If elected, he would return the East Tennessee seat to a member of the Wamp family. His father, Zach Wamp, held the seat for 16 years, from 1994-2010.

Wamp tried to unseat the incumbent, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, once before, in 2012. He wasn’t successful. Now, he’s trying again.

“Tennessee’s Third District deserves better representation,” Wamp said during a recent interview in Oak Ridge. “At the very least, they deserve a choice at the ballot box.”

Wamp suggested Fleischmann’s record could hurt the two-term congressman. Wamp said many federal employees and U.S. Department of Energy contractors are not pleased with Fleischmann’s performance, especially after a high-profile budget vote that led to a partial government shutdown in October. [Read more…]