Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary, Altrusa present literacy grant awards

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Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Altrusa Literacy Award Grants

The Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club and Altrusa recently selected the winners of the 2013 Literacy Award Grants. Pictured above from left are Janet Swift of Altrusa, Emily Spahr of Clinton Elementary School, Sheila Michels and Zabrina Minor of TORCH, Jill McMaster of Roane Imagination Library, Linda Dalton of Oak Ridge Preschool, Doris Doherty of ADFAC, Rhoni Basden of Girls Inc., Kat Hall of Norris Middle School, Brenda Thornburgh of ORBRC, and Melinda White of Oak Ridge Preschool. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club and Altrusa recently awarded roughly $19,000 in 14 literacy grants to 10 organizations.

The grants are awarded based on a competition that is judged by a committee of Rotarians and Altrusans, a press release said. Winners are celebrated during March of each year when Rotary International observes Literacy Month.

The total presented in the 2013 literacy grant awards was $18,987. [Read more…]

Police rescue unconscious driver from burning vehicle

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Irene Lane Crash

Oak Ridge police officers rescued an unconscious driver from this burning vehicle on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge Police Department)

Oak Ridge police officers rescued an unconscious driver from a burning vehicle that went down an embankment on Irene Lane on Friday night, authorities said.

The unnamed driver, a 26-year-old Oak Ridge resident, was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after the 11:30 p.m. crash, which shut down the northbound lanes of North Illinois Avenue, authorities said.

Eight officers responded, and they used fire extinguishers to fight the flames and keep police from getting burned, an Oak Ridge Police Department statement said. The Oak Ridge Fire Department also responded.

[Read more…]

Asbestos removal in final stage at Federal Building

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Joe L Evins Federal Fuilding

A four-month project to remove asbestos-containing insulation from the Joe L. Evins Federal Building in Oak Ridge is wrapping up, and federal employees and contractors could move back in next month.

Work crews are wrapping up a four-month project to clean up and remove asbestos-containing insulation from the Joe L. Evins Federal Building in Oak Ridge, and displaced federal workers and contractors could move back into the building next month, a spokeswoman said Friday.

“We have reached the final stage of the project and expect to have the building available to tenants in May,” said Saudia Muwwakkil, regional public affairs officer for the U.S. General Services Administration, which owns the building.

There have been about 350 workers in the five-story building, which is home to the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office as well as a district office for U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann. The workers include roughly 200 federal employees and close to 150 contractors. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Fire Department names firefighter, officer of the year

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Bryan Chase Firefighter of the Year

Firefighter and Paramedic Bryan Chase, left, was named 2012 Oak Ridge Fire Department Firefighter of the Year. Also pictured above is ORFD Chief Darryl Kerley. (Submitted photos)

The Oak Ridge Fire Department recently held a ceremony recognizing its 2012 Firefighter of the Year and Officer of the Year. The Oak Ridge Fire Department has implemented a formal awards program to recognize members for outstanding efforts and this was the first time awards have been issued for Firefighter and Officer of the Year.

Firefighter/Paramedic Bryan Chase was selected as the Firefighter of the Year by a group of his peers for his efforts during 2012. Chase has been with the department since 2007 and is currently assigned to Station 4. [Read more…]

Site work starts at Weigel’s on South Illinois

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Weigel's Construction

Site work has started on a new Weigel’s convenience store that will include 16 gas pumps and could open later this summer or in the early fall on South Illinois Avenue.

Site work has started for a new Weigel’s on South Illinois Avenue.

The convenience store is expected to include 16 gas pumps and could open in the late summer or early fall, said Chris Ooten, Weigel’s real estate director.

The roughly 4,000-square-foot store will be on a 1.5-acre parcel south of TNBank.

Ooten said Weigel’s closed on the property about a month ago and has been working on utilities since then. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Peace Forum donates $7,500 to Rotary Peace Centers

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Oak Ridge Peace Forum Donates to Rotary Foundation

Past District Governor and Zone 30 Coordinator Karen Wentz, right, presents a check for $7,500 from the Oak Ridge Peace Forum to Rotary Foundation Chair Wilf Wilkerson, left, and Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka at Duke University. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Peace Forum has donated $7,500 of its net proceeds to the Peace Centers Endowment of The Rotary Foundation.

“The Rotary Peace Centers offer an avenue for extending peace activities throughout the world through its growing cadre of Peace Fellows,” said Fred Heitman, chair of the Peace Forum planning committee, which decided in early April to make the donation.

The Oak Ridge Peace Forum is sponsored by Rotary District 6780, which is now led by District Governor Jack Bailey of Oak Ridge.

More than 250 people attended the Peace Forum on March 9 in Pollard Auditorium. The planning committee consisted mostly of representatives of three Rotary clubs in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Allstate Foundation donates to ADFAC on behalf of local agent, volunteer

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ADFAC and David Erb

The Allstate Foundation recently made a $1,000 contribution to ADFAC on behalf of local agent David Erb. Pictured from left are Erb, ADFAC Executive Director Annie Cacheiro, and Cande Seay, ADFAC vice president and development committee chair. (Photo submitted by ADFAC)

The Allstate Foundation recently made a $1,000 contribution to Aid To Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, a press release said.

The contribution was made through the Allstate Agency Hands in the Community grant program in honor of local agent David Erb in recognition of his volunteer work with the agency. Erb serves on the ADFAC Development and Public Relations Committee and is an active member of the “Dine and Donate” Committee, which is a new event that is replacing ADFAC’s “Feed The Need,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge brush pickup starts Monday

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The city-wide brush pickup  program for Oak Ridge begins Monday, April 29. City collection efforts will follow the accompanying schedule as closely as possible. The schedule is a general guide and can vary considerably due to weather conditions and/or the amount of participation by residents.

The city asks residents to follow a few guidelines: [Read more…]

Pic: Roane Chamber honors 2013 business award winners

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Roane Chamber Business Awards

The Roane County Chamber of Commerce on Friday presented its annual business awards during a banquet at the Whitestone Country Inn. (Submitted photo)

The Roane County Chamber of Commerce on Friday presented its annual business awards for 2013 before a crowd of community and business leaders attending the Chamber’s 67th Annual Banquet at Whitestone Country Inn.

The awards included:

  • Chamber Ambassador of the Year—Rose Meza, of Harriman Care and Rehab;
  • Business of the Year—Foust Family Fitness, of Kingston;
  • Paul E. Goldberg Young Professional Award—Brantley Rivers, president of Acme Brick and Block;
  • Roane Chamber Woman of the Year—Gail Lyke, of First Bank of Tennessee; and
  • Distinguished Service Award—Paul Cowell, of Whitestone Country Inn.

Government asks court to dismiss one charge against Y-12 protesters

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Y-12 Plowshares Protesters

Pictured above are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

Note: This story was last updated at 9:47 a.m. April 29.

Federal prosecutors have asked the U.S. District Court in Knoxville to dismiss one of the charges against the three anti-nuclear weapons activists accused of breaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and splashing blood and spray-painting slogans on a uranium storage building.

A motion filed on Thursday said the United States has determined that it is unable to establish jurisdiction for that charge, one of three faced by the defendants: Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli. That charge alleges that the trio destroyed and injured, and attempted to destroy and injure, Y-12 property. [Read more…]

Court will not limit time for jury examination in Y-12 protester case

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A federal judge will not limit the time used to examine prospective jurors during jury selection on May 6 in the trial against three anti-nuclear weapons activists accused of breaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex last summer and vandalizing a uranium storage building.

As previously reported, attorneys for the defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—had asked for six hours for jury selection because of the publicity the unprecedented security breach has generated. [Read more…]

Solar company, German Energy Agency dedicate first U.S. solar project

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Vis Solis Solar Park

Local and state officials joined business executives and German officials at a Thursday ribbon-cutting ceremony for a 50 kilowatt photovoltaic solar array at Heritage Center.

Note: This story was updated at 9:25 a.m. April 29.

A Tennessee solar company and the German Energy Agency, or dena, celebrated their first U.S. solar project Thursday, a 50 kilowatt photovoltaic solar array at Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge.

The array includes seven ground-mounted trackers that are 20 feet high. They each include 28-30 solar panels. The trackers adjust themselves to capture the most sunlight, using two sensors each to adjust from east to west and tilting up and down.

It’s a public-private partnership involving dena and Vis Solis LLC of Franklin, Tenn., a subsidiary of Vis Solis GmbH in Breesen, Germany. Also involved is German manufacturer DEGERenergie.

It’s a $250,000 to $300,000 investment, said Carlos Mayer, Vis Solis chief executive officer. [Read more…]