Oak Ridge Today

City egg hunt April 12

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the 2014 Egg Hunt at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 12. Hundreds of children are expected to participate in this annual spring event, and more than 15,000 candy and prize filled eggs will be hidden in A.K. Bissell Park with a first, second, and third place prize egg in each age group, a press release said.

Participants should assemble in the Civic Center gymnasium prior to 110 a.m. The children will be divided into separate age groups from four years old through 4th grade, and they will be escorted to their respective hunt areas. This event will be held “rain or shine,” so participants should dress for the weather. If severe weather prevents hiding the eggs outdoors, they will be given away in the gym and a drawing will be held for the prizes.

The Recreation and Parks Department staff will make a reasonable effort to provide appropriate accommodations for special needs. Parents of children who require a more accessible hunt area are encouraged to call ahead. [Read more…]

Education Foundation will award $80,000 more to Oak Ridge teachers

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The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award another $80,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers this year, and applications are now being accepted for the 2014 grant cycle.

This year, the Foundation will award $80,000 in grants to teachers, administrative staff, and student groups as part of its ongoing “Making the Critical Difference” campaign. Grant applications are due no later than March 31.

This campaign provides resources and teaching tools over and above those funded with tax dollars, typically in the range of $500 to $5,000, a press release said. The grants are not intended for salaries or to replace items that may have been cut from the schools’ annual budgets. Since the program began in 2004, the Foundation has awarded a total of more than $399,000 to dozens of teachers in every grade. ORPSEF grants may be made for educational programming, professional development, equipment, facilities, travel, conferences, or other purposes that might be approved by the Foundation. [Read more…]

ORISE report shows nuclear engineering graduation rates on the rise in 2013

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Number of graduate degrees expected to remain consistent but undergraduate degrees could see decrease starting in 2015; UT among Top 3 degree-granting programs

The number of college students graduating with majors in nuclear engineering continues to increase, according to a report by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, which surveyed 32 U.S. universities with nuclear engineering programs. The report, titled “Nuclear Engineering Enrollments and Degrees Survey, 2013 Data,” includes degrees granted between Sept. 1, 2012, and Aug. 31, 2013.

Graduate, undergraduate nuclear engineering degrees increased from last year [Read more…]

Church Women United to highlight state, national developments during Friday lunch

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Church Women United will have the second meeting of its new lunchtime series in Oak Ridge on Friday. The meeting will focus on state and national development in Church Women United.

The meeting starts at 11:30 a.m. Friday with a reception with refreshments at Grace Lutheran Church, which is at 131 W. Gettysburg Ave. in Woodland. There will be short meeting at noon, followed by the program. The program will finish in time for attendees to return to work or attend other events at 1 p.m., a press release said.

Past Tennessee state president Donna Mosby will highlight developments at the state and national levels in a presentation titled “Church Women United in Action,” the release said. Visitors are encouraged to drop in and stay however long they can. Brown bag lunches are welcome! For more information, contact Gay Marie Logsdon at (865) 483-7940.

Transition to new contractor under way at Y-12, Pantex

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The transition to a new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex, pictured above, and Pantex Plant in Texas is already under way and could be completed in four months.

Note: This story was last updated at 10:22 a.m. March 4.

The transition to a new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Texas is already under way and could be completed in four months, federal officials said Monday.

The transition to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC of Reston, Va., had originally been scheduled to be complete by May 2013, but it was delayed by three rounds of protests. The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the third and possibly final protest by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, of Lynchburg, Va., on Thursday.

On Monday, the National Nuclear Security Administration said CNS will start managing and operating the weapons production plants at Y-12 and Pantex at the end of the four-month transition period. [Read more…]

Council postpones traffic camera vote

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Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday postponed a decision on whether to extend or terminate a five-year contract with its traffic camera vendor.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:40 a.m. March 4.

The Oak Ridge City Council postponed a vote on traffic cameras on Monday. Council had been expected to either extend the five-year contract with the camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. of Arizona, or terminate it.

But council member Chuck Hope had to leave unexpectedly, and it wasn’t clear that there would be a majority to either extend the contract for two years or end it. That meant that both resolutions could have failed in 3-3 votes.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said the contract could now be discussed during a March 24 special meeting or during the regular April meeting. But the current contract expires April 21. [Read more…]

Clarksville woman taken to UT hospital after driver falls asleep, car rolls

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A Clarksville woman was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville early Sunday after the driver of a car in which she was riding fell asleep, and the vehicle rolled, went airborne, and struck a series of objects on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge, including a tree and utility pole, authorities said.

The 2011 Toyota Camry four-door sedan was headed north in the right-hand lane of South Illinois Avenue at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday when it first struck a right-hand curb at Centrifuge Way, the former Boeing Road, an Oak Ridge Police Department crash report said. The car then entered a median, rolled over onto its passenger side, struck a utility pole and an embankment, and became airborne, the report said. The vehicle then struck a second curb, became airborne again, struck a tree and embankment at the same time, and came to rest at the bottom of a second embankment. [Read more…]

TSBDC honors Oak Ridge Today with Rising Star Award

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Oak Ridge Today Rising Star Award

Jutta Bangs, director of the local Tennessee Small Business Development Center, presents a 2013 Rising Star Award to John Huotari, co-owner and co-publisher of Oak Ridge Today.

The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College has awarded the 2013 Rising Star Award to Dawn and John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today.

Each year, the Rising Star Award is given by the TSBDC network to a small business client in each of the regions served. The awards recognize the perseverance and successes of the businesses, a press release said.

Local TSBDC Director Jutta Bangs helped Dawn and John Huotari with the start-up and marketing of their online news outlet.

“We would like to thank the TSBDC and Jutta for their help and guidance in getting Oak Ridge Today started,” said John Huotari, co-owner and co-publisher of the local news website. “Their assistance was invaluable, particularly in the start-up phase. Jutta has continued to provide important advice on issues ranging from marketing to website content to hiring employees.” [Read more…]

Weather: Schools, courts, offices closed; Wildcats sectional game now on Tuesday

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Note: This story was last updated at 1:20 p.m.

Schools in Anderson County, Clinton, and Knox and Morgan counties are closed today (Monday) because of weather conditions and possible icing. And the Wildcats boys’ basketball sectional game in Kingsport, featuring Oak Ridge and Dobyns-Bennett, has been postponed to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Roane State Community College is closing its Campbell, Cumberland, Morgan, Scott, and Fentress county campuses due to icy roads. The campuses in Oak Ridge and Loudon, Knox, and Roane counties are open, but classes at the Clinton facility have been canceled.

The afternoon docket for the Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton has been canceled starting at 1 p.m. The afternoon docket for Anderson County Juvenile Court has also been canceled. And the Anderson County Courthouse closed at 1 p.m.

Tennessee officials said state offices will be closed the remainder of the day statewide, but mission-critical state employees will report to work as usual. [Read more…]

Guest column: Schools ask for second vote on calendars

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Christopher J. Marczak

Christopher J. Marczak

By Chris Marczak

We want your vote..one more time! The Oak Ridge Board of Education has asked for one more community vote for the two calendars that are being proposed for the Oak Ridge School system starting for the 2015-16 school year.

The first vote collected on Feb. 10 showed English-speaking parents favored the balanced calendar 1,094 to 183; Spanish-speaking families were split down the middle with a 43-to-43 vote; and staff favored the balanced calendar 395 to 176.

The two calendars being proposed are called a traditional calendar and a balanced calendar. Both of these proposed calendars have been looked at and discussed by the district’s Curriculum and Instruction team; a district Calendar Committee comprised of teachers and administrators; the Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Board made up of parents from all schools; Superintendent Bruce Borchers; and me. Both calendars give staff and parents a choice in the type of calendar they want for the children of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Probation company announces literacy program for probationers

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PSI Probation has established a literacy program for probationers that will emphasize instructional reading for those with reading deficiencies, a press release said.

In addition, PSI is going to help any probationers who want to earn a high school diploma through a GED program. That help is being offered at the request of Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Don A. Layton, a press release said. [Read more…]

DOE Oak Ridge Office signs DOD National Guard and Reserve support statement

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DOE DOD Statement Signing

DOE-ORO Manager Larry Kelly, accompanied by retired Maj. Gen. Jack D’Araujo, ESGR Tennessee Area Chair, recently signs a Statement of Support with the Department of Defense Committee for Employer Support of Guard and Reserve (ESGR) affirming ORO’s support for its employees that serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office Manager Larry Kelly has signed a Statement of Support with the Department of Defense Committee for Employer Support of Guard and Reserve, or ESGR. The statement affirms ORO’s support for its employees that serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

ORO Manager Larry Kelly, along with retired Maj. Gen. Jack D’Araujo, ESGR Tennessee area chair, and retired Brig. Gen. Jim Mungenast, vice chair for Tennessee’s DOD Committee for the ESGR organization, participated in the signing. [Read more…]