Oak Ridge Today

State certification means 110-acre Horizon Center site is ready for development

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Tennessee Certified Site at Horizon Center

The Select Tennessee Certified Site at Horizon Center is pictured at center above. A 28-acre portion of the parcel at left has been identified as a primary data center site. (Submitted photo)

Tennessee officials have identified 110 cleared acres in Horizon Center as one of the first sites in the state to be named a certified site, meaning the property has met certain rigorous standards and is ready for development.

It’s now the second certified site in Horizon Center, a business park on State Route 95 in west Oak Ridge.

The 110-acre site has been designated as a Select Tennessee Certified Site by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. [Read more…]

TBI Study: Simple assault the most frequent domestic violence offense, females more likely to be victims

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NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday released a report focused on domestic violence that occurs between family members entitled “Family Violence Study 2012.” The study is based on offenses reported by law enforcement agencies to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System in 2012, where approximately 14.5 percent of all crimes reported were domestic in nature.

Of the 2012 domestic violence offenses, 41,708, or 50 percent, were reported as having a familial victim-to-offender relationship. It is important to note that the parameters of the study did not include certain valid domestic violence relationships particularly boyfriend and girlfriend, which was the most commonly reported domestic violence relationship in 2012. The study also gives insight into the influence of drugs and alcohol in familial violence. [Read more…]

RSI named regional small business subcontractor of the year

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Tom Beehan and Rick Ferguson at RSI Solar Ceremony

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, left, and RSI Vice President Rick Ferguson at a May 2012 ceremony for an RSI solar farm at Heritage Center. (Photo courtesy Lynn Freeny/U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office)

The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Restoration Services Inc. of Oak Ridge as Subcontractor of the Year in Region IV, which includes eight southeastern states.

RSI was recognized for its hard work, innovative ideas, and dedication to the community, a press release said.

“The SBA is pleased to recognize your achievements and your role in driving our nation’s economic growth,” said John Shoraka of the SBA Office of Government Contracting and Business Development. The SBA announced regional awards as they prepared to celebrate the 50th anniversary of National Small Business Week from June 17-21. [Read more…]

WYSH: Nephew allegedly assaults uncle, steals pills

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Clinton man reported that he had been assaulted and robbed by his nephew late Saturday night, according to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

An ACSD deputy was sent to Tennova North Medical Center in Knoxville early Monday morning, where he spoke with the victim, William Scarbrough, 53. Scarbrough told the deputy that at around midnight Saturday, his 30-year-old nephew Joseph Allen Huskey—who lives with him—had come in to his bedroom and hit him several times with a baseball bat before stealing his prescription oxycodone and Xanax pills and fleeing the scene. [Read more…]

NNSA declines to comment on new protest over Y-12, Pantex contract

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Y-12 National Security Complex

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex at Scarboro and Bear Creek roads.

Federal officials and a contracting team declined to comment Tuesday on a new protest filed over the competition to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The Babcock and Wilcox Co. announced Monday that its contracting team, Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, has filed a new protest with the Government Accountability Office related to the consolidated Y-12 and Pantex contract.

The new protest came about five months after earlier protests filed by NP2 and another contracting team, Integrated Nuclear Production Solutions LLC. Those protests were filed in January, after the National Nuclear Security Administration announced it had awarded a contract valued at about $23 billion to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, to manage and operate Y-12 and Pantex. [Read more…]

IDB endorses project to add power at Horizon Center, subject to TVA grant

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With a pre-application deadline this Wednesday, the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board agreed last week to commit $750,000 to a project to increase the electrical capacity at Horizon Center Business Park if the city gets a matching grant from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The project, which would add 14 megawatts to the park’s electrical capacity with the potential to add more later, would extend power from a substation on Blair Road in west Oak Ridge to the edge of Lot 5 on the back side of Horizon Center. It would install 13 kilovolt lines on poles that could hold 69 kilovolt lines later. [Read more…]

Protomet Corp. breaks ground on $6.25 million expansion

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Protomet Expansion Groundbreaking

Protomet breaks ground Friday on a $6.25 million expansion in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park. Pictured above from left are Operations Director Andrew Jenkins and Engineering Director Matt Reid of Protomet; LeRoy Thompson, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development regional director; Protomet President Jeff Bohanan; Sherry Browder, Oak Ridge Economic Partnership chair; Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan; and David Wilson, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board chair.

Protomet Corp. broke ground on Friday on a $6.25 million expansion of its manufacturing facility in Bethel Valley Industrial Park, allowing the company to more than double its space, consolidate operations with a Blount County facility, and expand production.

The expanded facility, which could be complete by the end of the year, will have more  than 40,000 square feet, and it will bring more than 30 jobs to Oak Ridge, a press release said. It is the second multi-million dollar investment at the company’s Oak Ridge site. [Read more…]

UT football coach helps ORNL kick off United Way campaign

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Butch Jones at ORNL United Way Kickoff

Fans of University of Tennessee football and supporters of the United Way had a chance to see UT coach Butch Jones, right, on Monday at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s United Way campaign kickoff. (ORNL photo by Jason Richards)

University of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones helped Oak Ridge National Laboratory kick off this year’s United Way campaign on Monday morning.

“United Way means everything,” Jones said after discussing leadership—and football—with several hundred workers at ORNL. “It’s a great way to give back to your community.”

He said United Way agencies help about 100,000 people in the Knoxville area. [Read more…]

Secret City Festival announces new concert security measures

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

The Secret City Festival will have tighter security at the Friday and Saturday night concerts this year, and visitors could experience a few delays as organizers try to make the shows safer, a press release said.

No backpacks or coolers will be allowed into the concert site, and all bags will be subject to search, the release said.

“In light of recent events, we’re being extra vigilant in our protection of our attendees, staff, and the community during the festival concerts,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. [Read more…]

Anderson Commission unanimously approves budget with small tax cut

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Note: This story was updated at 1:12 p.m. June 18.

CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission unanimously approved a budget that cut the property tax rate by one-third of a penny on Monday.

It was a small but symbolic gesture, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said when she proposed the move, and commissioners endorsed it, during a special meeting last week.

For now, officials have resolved an impasse over whether there was enough money to cover the cost of new jailers hired in the past year by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department for a jail dormitory that is already open—and to pay for more than 30 new jailers needed when a 212-bed addition opens later this year or early next. [Read more…]

B&W-led team files new protest over Y-12, Pantex contract

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

The Babcock and Wilcox Company announced Monday that Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, has filed a new protest with the Government Accountability Office related to the combined management and operating contract at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

“NP2 has expressed concern over the fairness of the procurement and selection process and the form and scope of the revised request for proposals issued to bidders on June 6,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Man allegedly flees from Kingston to Oak Ridge, tries to run officers off road, crashes into cars

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Note: This story was last updated at 1:28 p.m. June 18.

KINGSTON—A Tellico Plains man driving a Ford pickup truck allegedly almost had a head-on collision with a Roane County deputy in Kingston on Saturday night, fled from officers at speeds over 90 mph, aggressively drove toward patrol cars trying to box him in on Gallaher Road, and crashed into several vehicles in Oak Ridge, causing significant injuries to passengers in one vehicle, authorities said.

The suspect has been identified as Austin Cody Burns, 21, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office said. An incident report said Burns’ ex-girlfriend had broken up with him earlier in the day, and he allegedly stole her pickup truck. [Read more…]