Oak Ridge Today

UT professor, ORNL staff member to be honored for supercomputing accomplishments

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Jack Dongarra

Jack Dongarra

KNOXVILLE—Jack Dongarra, distinguished professor of computer science at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, is being honored for his leadership in high performance computing.

He will receive the Association for Computing Machinery-Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society Ken Kennedy Award on Nov. 19 in Denver at SC13, the International Conference on High Performance Computing.

Dongarra, who is also a distinguished research staff member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is being recognized for designing and promoting standards for mathematical software used to solve numerical problems common to high-performance computing. His work has led to the development of major software libraries of algorithms and methods that boost performance and portability in high-performance computing environments. [Read more…]

Secret City Half Marathon Weekend to feature new 5K, 10K races; health, fitness expo

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Secret City Half Marathon

The Secret City Half Marathon Weekend at the end of November will feature 5K and 10K races, and a new Health and Fitness Expo.

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau announced the changes on Wednesday. The marathon weekend is Nov. 30-Dec. 1.

“With less than two months to the race, runners and walkers are encouraged to lace up their running shoes and sign up soon to participate in one of these great family friendly athletic events in Oak Ridge,” a press release said.

The first-ever Secret City 5K and 10K races will be held Saturday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 a.m. Both courses start and end near the Oak Ridge Civic Center and run through the streets of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

McNally, Yager named honorary members of Roane State Foundation board

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

Ken Yager

Ken Yager

State senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager have been named honorary members of the Roane State Foundation’s board of directors.

McNally and Yager have lengthy records of civic involvement, a press release said. McNally has received the Legislative Hero 2012 award from Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations; received the CASA President’s 2012 Award; was named a Rotary International Paul Harris fellow; and received the 1996 Distinguished Service Award from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy.

Yager serves as a board member of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee and the Roane County Heritage Commission. In addition, he is a member of the chambers of commerce in Dayton and Spring City, and in Campbell, Fentress, Morgan, Pickett, Roane, and Scott counties. He was named 2013 Legislator of the Year by the East Tennessee Development District. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools reassigns middle school principals

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Oak Ridge Schools Principals

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers, center, announced reassignments of middle school principals on Wednesday, including James Hundertmark, right, who has been Robertsville Middle School principal. Also pictured is Christopher Scott, vice principal of curriculum and instruction at Oak Ridge High School.

Principals at Robertsville and Jefferson middle schools have been reassigned, education officials said Wednesday.

Robertsville Middle School Principal James Hundertmark is moving to the School Administration Building, where he will be the special projects administrator, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said.

Meanwhile, Jefferson Middle School Principal Bruce Lay has been reassigned as RMS principal, Borchers said. Philip Cox, who has been JMS vice principal, will become interim principal. [Read more…]

Follow-up: New details of fatal Clinton wreck

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Information from WYSH Radio

More information is now available about Friday’s fatal accident on Highway 61 at the on-ramp to I-75 North in Clinton.

The wreck occurred at about 7:06 a.m. Friday, and it killed Christopher Strunk, 32, of Oneida. The Clinton Police Department reported that Strunk was a passenger in a Honda Civic driven by Shawn Wright, 26, of Pioneer.

The accident happened when a car driven by David Kittrell of Mississippi was in the left lane near the on-ramp and Wright’s car pulled into his path while trying to get on to the interstate. Kittrell’s car “T-boned” Wright’s car and both vehicles spun around before coming to rest against a guard rail. Strunk, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was declared dead at the scene by Emergency Medical Services personnel, and Wright suffered injuries that sent him to the University of Tennessee Medical Center by ambulance. [Read more…]

Electrical fire damages mobile home in Marlow

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Information from WYSH Radio

A woman escaped injury when her mobile home caught fire Tuesday night.

The blaze was reported shortly after 10:15 p.m. Tuesday at a home on Center Valley Road in Marlow, and the occupant, Mildred Campbell, was able to make it out safely. She told investigators that she had smelled what she described as “waxy burn smell” and that her fire alarm then went off.

The property owner told Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies that Campbell had recently replaced the bathroom floor, and firefighters from the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department determined that the fire was electrical and had started under that floor. The fire—which has been ruled accidental—caused damage to the floor of the mobile home, which is north of Oak Ridge.

Federal contractors, agencies consider shutdowns, furloughs as funding dispute drags on

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Joe L. Evins Federal Building

The U.S. Department of Energy will soon start shutting down nonessential operations, resulting in employee and contractor furloughs, unless Congress passes a spending bill. Pictured above is DOE’s Oak Ridge Office at the Joe L. Evins Federal Building.

Furloughs possible at DOE, UCOR, other federal contractors; some SAIC employees on leave

The government shutdown is now in its second week, and the U.S. Department of Energy could start shutting down nonessential operations soon—resulting in employee and contractor furloughs—unless Congress quickly approves a spending bill, officials said Tuesday.

Federal contractors with operations in Oak Ridge are also considering possible shutdowns and furloughs because congressional Democrats and Republicans have failed to reach an agreement on a spending bill to keep the government operating in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

In a Tuesday message to employees, UCOR President Leo Sain said the company, the government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, has not been told to shut down yet. [Read more…]

ORHS has 11 seniors named National Merit semifinalists

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Oak Ridge High School National Merit Semifinalists

Eleven seniors at Oak Ridge High School have been named National Merit semifinalists. Ten are pictured above. (Submitted photo)

Eleven seniors from the Class of 2014 at Oak Ridge High School have been named National Merit semifinalists.

Semifinalists are students who score in the top 1 percent in their state on the PSAT, or preliminary SAT test. The students took the test as juniors to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, or NMSQT, a press release said.

The students are pictured at left. [Read more…]

ORHS students commended in 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program

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Oak Ridge High School Commended Students

Ten of the 11 Commended Students at Oak Ridge High School are pictured above. From left in the front row are ORHS Principal David Bryant and students Sydney Buckner, Maria Dazevedo, and Vicki Huang. In the second row are Natalie Cross, Jane Abernathy, and Andrew Skipper. In the top row are Warren LaForest, Ian Barclay, Riley Fitchpatrick, and Nicholas Goldstein. Not pictured is Dasha Morin.

Eleven Oak Ridge High School students have been named Commended Students in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The students are Jane L. Abernathy, Ian A. Barclay, Sydney N. Buckner, Natalie R. Cross, Maria M. Dazevedo, Riley M. Fitchpatrick, Nicholas Goldstein, Dasha N. Gorin, Vicki Huang, Warren J. Laforest, and Andrew D Skipper.

ORHS Principal David Bryant will present a letter of commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the program, to these scholastically talented seniors, a press release said. [Read more…]

ADFAC’s Dine and Donate event begins Monday

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ADFAC Dine and Donate

Five area restaurants will donate a portion of their sales on Monday to support the charitable work of Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC.

The participating restaurants are:

  • Hoskins in Clinton
  • Mediterranean Delight in Oak Ridge
  • Razzleberry’s in Oak Ridge
  • Riverview Grill in Clinton, and
  • Subway locations in Clinton, Lake City, Oliver Springs, and Oak Ridge (Four Oaks Center). [Read more…]

Arrests made in aggravated burglary involving 11 guns

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John Edward Farmer

John Edward Farmer

Eric Keith Lane

Eric Keith Lane

Eleven rifles and shotguns were reported missing after an aggravated burglary in Roane County last month, and authorities investigating the case arrested two men on Monday, a press release said.

The alleged burglary occurred Sept. 19 on Collins Road, which is north of Oak Ridge near the intersection of Blair Road and Old Harriman Highway.

The press release said Roane County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Kate Bell and Sgt. Richie Stooksbury were searching for John Farmer in connection with the alleged burglary on Monday when Bell found the vehicle matching the description of the Collins Road incident, Sheriff Jack Stockton said in the release. [Read more…]

Free Medical Clinic moving to larger location this weekend

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After nearly four years in its original location on Robertsville Road, the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge is moving. The clinic will be closed Friday and Monday for the move. When it reopens Tuesday, it will be at its new location at 116 East Division Road.

The new location is across the Oak Ridge Turnpike from Methodist Medical Center and behind Zaxby’s restaurant. The (865) 483-3904 phone number and (865) 481-0203 fax number will remain the same, a press release said.

The release said the larger space has more examination rooms, reception and waiting areas, and administrative office space, and it will help FMCOR better meet the needs of the increasing number of patients. [Read more…]