Oak Ridge Today

Secret City Festival features ‘something for everyone’

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Homemade Wine Band

The Homemade Wine Band played after the Friday morning opening ceremony at the Secret City Festival.

The annual Secret City Festival started today, and it features Manhattan Project bus tours and history displays, World War II living history activities and demonstrations, arts and crafts and antiques dealers, food vendors and exhibitors, a children’s festival area and youth events, and a car show and concerts.

“Join more than 20,000 visitors and residents to celebrate the end of World War II and the heritage of Oak Ridge from 1945 to the present,” a press release said.

Oak Ridge was built during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, a federal program to build the world’s atomic bombs, and the festival celebrates the city’s heritage.

Festival organizers have provided an overview of some of the many activities and events taking place at this year’s festival:
 [Read more…]

Secret City Festival announces return of ‘Kid City Circuit’

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Submitted

For the second year in a row, Oak Ridge has been named a Playful City and is proud to announce the return of the Kid City Circuit to the children’s area of the Secret City Festival. Playful City USA is a nationally recognized program honoring cities and towns that make play a priority and use innovative programs to get children active, playing, and healthy.

Because the Secret City Festival is focused on community unity and children’s and family activities are such a big part of the festival, organizers are excited about the return of this festival favorite. [Read more…]

Chancellor Lantrip announces retirement

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Note: This story was updated at 1:51 p.m.

William E. Lantrip, longtime chancellor in Anderson County’s Seventh Judicial District, has announced he will not seek re-election in 2014.

“I have shared this decision with my fellow judges and members of the bar for some time and now believe it appropriate to make this decision known publicly,” Lantrip said in a Friday morning press release. “I have encouraged those interested in this office to consider pursuing election during next year’s election. I look forward to completing my service as I contemplate my retirement.” [Read more…]

Federal decision on new protest of Y-12, Pantex contract due Sept. 25

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

Federal officials have a Sept. 25 deadline to rule on a new protest filed last week by one of the two teams that lost a contract competition earlier this year to manage two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The new bid protest was filed on June 17 by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, a team led by Babcock and Wilcox Co. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has 100 days to respond to the latest protest but could issue a decision earlier.

The bid protest is related to the consolidated management and operating contract at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. [Read more…]

State releases information on weekend crashes that ended high-speed chase

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The Tennessee Highway Patrol has released information on the Saturday night crashes in Oak Ridge that ended a high-speed chase, caused one vehicle to overturn, and sent two people to a hospital.

The chase started in Kingston late Saturday night after the suspect, Austin Cody Burns, 21, of Tellico Plains, nearly collided head-on with a vehicle driven by a deputy, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office reported. Burns allegedly fled from Roane County and Kingston Police Department officers at speeds that exceeded 90 mph. [Read more…]

IMPACT Services cleanup coming to end with one million pounds shipped

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IMPACT Services Waste

The last of more than one million pounds of low-level radioactive waste at the former IMPACT Services site at Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge will be shipped out next Thursday.

Considered a success story, the one-year, $1.2 million state project to ship out more than one million pounds of low-level radioactive waste from the west Oak Ridge site of a company that declared bankruptcy about one year ago will end next week.

Already, about 1.1 million pounds of waste in about 1,200 containers have been shipped off the Heritage Center site, including to other processors and sites in Oak Ridge, Florida, and an EnergySolutions landfill in Clive, Utah, officials said during a Thursday morning tour.

A half-dozen shipments remain between now and Friday, June 28, said Judy Hardt, project manager for SAIC, which is performing the on-site work under a contract with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools opens new Data Center

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Oak Ridge Schools Data Center

Oak Ridge Schools recently opened a new Data Center at Oak Ridge High School, a press release said.

The Data Center will house all of the critical systems used to operate Oak Ridge Schools, including phones, e-mail, Internet access, and file storage, the release said. It will also serve as a connection point for the new, joint schools and city fiber project that will provide high-speed access to both the schools’ and the city’s operations.

The new facility will also allow for the consolidation of equipment previously stored at individual school buildings, the release said. [Read more…]

UCOR presents awards to small businesses

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UCOR Small Business Awards

UCOR presented awards to eight small business at its Inaugural Small Business Awards ceremony, held Wednesday, June 12, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge.

UCOR is the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor for the Oak Ridge Reservation, and it has subcontracted more than 70 percent of its work to small businesses, exceeding its subcontracting commitment to DOE, a press release said. [Read more…]

First Presbyterian Church offers movie nights for middle-schoolers

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“Movie Nights” for Oak Ridge middle school students will be Friday, June 28, at First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Lafayette Drive. The movie will be “Ramona and Beezus.”

Children ages 10 to 13 are invited to bring their friends to play table games, create crafts, and enjoy pizza and drinks, as well as watch the movie, from 6 to 9 p.m. during the second and fourth Friday of every month, a press release said. [Read more…]

‘Nikon Small World’ exhibition open at AMSE

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“Nikon Small World” will be open from June 14 through Sept. 15 at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

Art and science combine in “Nikon Small World” as the photos showcase the delicate balance between scientific technique and artistic quality, a press release said. “We are proud that this competition is able to demonstrate the true power of scientific imaging and its relevance to both the scientific communities as well as the general public,” explained Eric Flem, communications manager for Nikon Instruments. [Read more…]

Banking for small business seminar June 27

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center will present a workshop from 2 to 3:30 p.m. June 27 on banking for small business.

Topics will include: [Read more…]

Free workshop for small business owners June 27

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center will offer a free workshop for small business owners and entrepreneurs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 27.

The seminar discussion includes the forms of business organization, tax requirements, business licenses, business planning, and financing options, with additional discussion about Small Business Administration loan guarantee programs. [Read more…]