Oak Ridge Today

Alexander proposes National Day of Remembrance for nuclear workers

Posted at
By 4 Comments

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

Earlier this month, U.S. Sen Lamar Alexander introduced a resolution to designate Oct. 30, 2013, as the fifth National Day of Remembrance for nuclear weapons program workers.

“In Tennessee, more than 14,000 workers have made claims for compensation, many of whom worked countless hours with hazardous materials to build our country’s nuclear deterrent,” Alexander said. “Many Americans labored behind the scenes, and Tennesseans—like those from Anderson and Roane counties, for example—filed more claims than any other state. It’s these workers, and those all around the country, whose sacrifice we seek to honor with this day of remembrance.” [Read more…]

TBR approves tuition increases, surgical tech program at Roane State

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Board of Regents on Friday approved maintenance fee and tuition recommendations at its universities and community colleges.

The proposed increases for students taking 15 credit hours would amount to an extra $102 per semester for community college students.

The TBR also approved a new associate of applied science program, a collaborative surgical technology program through Walters State and Roane State community colleges. [Read more…]

No contamination, no injuries in small fire at waste processing center

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 9:03 a.m.

No radiological or hazardous materials were released and no one was injured in a small fire at a waste processing center late Sunday night, federal officials said.

An alert was declared at about 11:45 p.m. Sunday after a fire alarm and sprinkler system activated in Room 327 at Building 7880, which is part of the TRU Waste Processing Center, the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office reported on its Facebook page. An “alert” is an event that has occurred at a building on a DOE site in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Parks director explains change from WWII re-enactments to ‘living history’ at Secret City Festival

Posted at
By 17 Comments

World War II Re-enactment at Secret City Festival

The Secret City Festival has previously included one of the largest World War II re-enactments in the South, pictured above, but organizers changed this year to a “Salute to Soldiers” program. (Archive photo)

It had been one of the largest World War II re-enactments in the South, featuring close to 200 people in a dozen 1940s-era vehicles at the annual Secret City Festival.

An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 spectators watched the two mock battles at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge each year as British and American forces fought and defeated German military personnel.

But this year, the two-day festival did not include the re-enactments. They were replaced by a new “Salute to Soldiers” program that featured World War II living history activities and demonstrations. That program included period military camps, vehicles, equipment, and demonstrations, as well as educational displays. [Read more…]

Rick Springfield concert the largest ever for Secret City Festival

Posted at
By 4 Comments

Rick Springfield at Secret City Festival

The Rick Springfield concert at the Secret City Festival on Saturday was the largest ever for the annual festival, an organizer said.

The Rick Springfield concert at the Secret City Festival on Saturday night was the largest ever for the annual two-day festival, an organizer said.

Final numbers weren’t available Saturday night, but total ticket sales could be somewhere around 3,000, said Joye Montgomery, head of entertainment and tickets and the Secret City Festival representative for the Arts Council of Oak Ridge.

“This is the biggest concert ever,” Montgomery said. [Read more…]

Secret City Festival continues today, ends with Rick Springfield concert

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Dirty Guv'nahs at Secret City Festival

The Dirty Guv’nahs played at the Friday night concert at the Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge, and Rick Springfield will perform tonight.

The two-day Secret City Festival started yesterday and continues today.

See this Secret City Festival website page for an events schedule. The schedule includes links to the entertainment schedule; youth, children’s, and toddlers’ games and entertainment; and World War II living history demonstrations, a new feature this year.

The festival ends tonight with a concert by Rick Springfield and Casey Abrams from “American Idol.” See www.secretcityfestival.com for more information, or see this previous story on Oak Ridge Today for a summary of events.

Sustainability group will form large ‘350’ with people at Secret City Festival today

Posted at
By 4 Comments

Submitted

Secret City Sustainability, a student-led initiative to promote divestment from fossil fuels, is having an event at the Secret City Festival at 2 p.m. today. They are going to make a large “350” with people to signify the organization 350.org.

The organization was founded by Bill McKibben, a leading environmental activist who will be coming to speak at the Oak Ridge High School Auditorium on Aug. 18. The students are trying to get the word out about his talk by forming a “350” in the grass.

Deputies arrest man accused of beating uncle with bat

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Joseph Allen Huskey

Joseph Allen Huskey

A Clinton man accused of beating his uncle with a wooden baseball bat on Saturday and stealing his prescription medications, including Xanax and oxycodone, was arrested Wednesday, authorities said.

Joseph Allen Huskey, 30, has been charged with especially aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and theft, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said. He is being held in the Anderson County Jail under a $152,500 bond.

Huskey allegedly beat his uncle at the Belmont Lane home they shared, breaking a bone in his right leg and bruising his shins, arms, and hands, according to a Sheriff’s Department incident report. [Read more…]

Police: Boy hit by car while riding bike out of driveway, across West Outer

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

An Oak Ridge boy was hit by a car while riding a bike from a driveway on West Outer Drive across the road toward Waltham Lane on Thursday afternoon.

A witness said the eight-year-old boy rode in front of the car suddenly, not allowing the driver any time to stop or evade the collision. [Read more…]

Roane County man accused of shooting stepson in leg during dispute

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

John Wayne Williams

John Wayne Williams

A Roane County man is accused of shooting his stepson in the leg with a shotgun during a family dispute Thursday night, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office said.

The shooting occurred at about 8:45 p.m. Thursday at 178 Maddox Hollow Road, which is south of Kingston between Watts Bar Lake and Interstate 75. [Read more…]

Clinton car dealership hit by thieves

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

The Clinton Police Department is investigating the theft of some $570 worth of auto parts from Worthington Motors on South Seivers Boulevard.

Owner David Worthington called police shortly before noon Thursday after discovering that someone had broken into a locked, fenced-in area on the lot and stolen several items. Worthington reported that the suspect or suspects stole four black SHO wheels with a honeycomb pattern, 20 old radiators, and two old batteries being saved for scrap metal and two aluminum wheels. [Read more…]

TBI seeks public’s help in Morgan man’s murder

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is asking for the public’s help in finding out who killed an elderly Morgan County man whose body was found inside his house last weekend.

Morgan County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the home of Harold Dean Reed, 76, on White Oak Creek Lane last weekend and found the man’s body with what were described as obvious signs of trauma. [Read more…]