Oak Ridge Today

Local FIRST robotics teams dominate regionals, advance to national competition

Posted at
By 2 Comments

First Robotics Competition

From left, Oak Ridge High School’s Andreas Franco feeds discs into the team’s robot as Tag Groff, Oak Ridge National Laboratory mentor Mark Buckner, and Amelia DiAngelo manage the controls. (Photo by Jason Richards/ORNL)

Frisbee-flinging robots took over the Knoxville Convention Center last weekend, as thousands of high school students, mentors, and volunteers gathered for the third annual FIRST robotics Smoky Mountains regional competition.

Local teams Hardin Valley Academy, Oak Ridge High School, and Halls High School netted the championship title in a nail-biting finale at the regional event, qualifying them to compete in the national finals held April 24-27 in St. Louis. A team from Roane County High School, which won the Rookie All Star award, is also bound for nationals. The four high schools are among 14 teams sponsored by UT-Battelle, the managing contractor of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The FIRST robotics competition gives high school teams six weeks to design, build, and program a complex robot that can meet the intense demands of the year’s game. Throwing discs and climbing pyramids were among the challenges of the 2013 game, called Ultimate Ascent. [Read more…]

Reader pic: Breakfast Rotary donates to Emory Valley Center

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Breakfast Rotary Donates to Emory Valley Center

The Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club makes a donation to the Emory Valley Center Capital Campaign. Pictured from left to right are Pete Peterson, ORBRC president; Rotarian Gene Caldwell and Dottie Thompson, campaign co-chairs; and Rotarian Dub Shults. (Submitted photo)

Submitted

The Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club recently made a donation to the Emory Valley Center Capital Campaign.

The capital campaign is raising money to help replace an Emory Valley Center building on Emory Valley Road. The center is raising money to replace the 55-year-old building, which will be demolished.

The Emory Valley Center serves intellectually and developmentally disabled children and adults in East Tennessee.

Gene Caldwell and Dottie Thompson are co-chairing the capital campaign. Anyone wishing to donate may do so by mailing a contribution to P.O. Box 5328, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, or by going online to www.emoryvalleycenter.com.

Reader pic: Anderson Mayor speaks to Breakfast Rotary

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Terry Frank at Breakfast Rotary

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank speaks to the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club. (Submitted photo)

Submitted

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank recently spoke to the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club.

The mayor shared some of her personal views and opinions on Anderson County and the challenges facing county leaders, such as housing, drugs, taxation, and an overcrowded jail. Frank said many of these challenges are similar for other communities across the state and country.

She also spoke about some of the positive aspects of Anderson County. Among those: being a diverse community in terms of people, terrain, history, and assets—from the small historical town of Oliver Springs to the manufacturing companies in Clinton, and a focus on the future with science and technology in Oak Ridge.

Car burns on Hillside Road

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Hillside Road Car Fire

A car caught fire on Hillside Road near Hunter Circle on Saturday morning. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A car caught fire on Hillside Road at about 11:43 a.m. Saturday.

The car’s owner was driving west on Hillside Road near Hunter Circle when smoke started coming out from under the dash after she turned off her heater, an Oak Ridge Fire Department report said. She unlatched the hood and her passenger disconnected the battery, but the car, owned by Louise Long of Oliver Springs, had already started to burn.

By the time firefighters arrived, the passenger compartment was on fire, the report said. They were able to extinguish it with a water hose. [Read more…]

State will help companies with UPF project, recruit new ones

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Uranium Processing Facility

The proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Submitted image)

Many business leaders and public officials consider it a great opportunity.

The proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex could cost up to $6.5 billion and employ up to 1,500 workers during the peak construction period. It’s been called the largest federal capital project in Tennessee since the Manhattan Project, and construction could last another decade.

On Monday, Tennessee officials announced they will help companies that are already in the state and interested in working on the project, and recruit out-of-state businesses, particularly in the nuclear industry. Those new companies will be encouraged to stay in the state, said Bill Hagerty, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. [Read more…]

School board offers superintendent contract to Borchers

Posted at
By 15 Comments

Bob and Carol Smallridge and Bruce Borchers

Before the school board offered him the Oak Ridge Schools superintendent job on Monday, Bruce Borchers, right, speaks to Carol Smallridge, left, and interim Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bob Smallridge, second from right. Also pictured is Borchers’ son Jack.

The Oak Ridge school board has offered the superintendent’s job to Bruce Borchers, who is now superintendent of the Rockwood School District in Eureka, Mo.

The position, which has a salary range of about $175,000, is still subject to contract negotiations.

Board members approved the offer in a 5-0 vote during a short special meeting on Monday at Riverside Grille in Oak Ridge.  [Read more…]

Workers erect fence around Y-12 area once used for protests

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Y-12 Fence

After several recent trespassing incidents, workers put up a new temporary fence at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Monday. An Oak Ridge peace group objects to the fence because it encloses an area traditionally used for protests.

Workers started erecting a temporary fence at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Monday, enclosing an area that has traditionally been used for protests by an Oak Ridge nonprofit group.

Federal officials said they are installing the fence along Scarboro Road after three trespassing incidents involving five people in the past year. In one of those incidents, three anti-nuclear weapons activists penetrated a high-security area and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

On Thursday, the National Nuclear Security Administration said recent events have shown a greater threat of trespassing, and the response costs are increasing. [Read more…]

School board votes on superintendent finalist tonight

Posted at
By 18 Comments

One of three finalists for Oak Ridge Schools superintendent is in town today, and the Board of Education is scheduled to vote on whether to offer him a contract during a special meeting tonight.

The school board could offer a contract to Bruce Borchers, superintendent of the Rockwood School District in Eureka, Mo., Oak Ridge Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer said Monday. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project book starts with Y-12 photo, ends on NY Times best seller list

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Denise Kiernan

Author Denise Kiernan signs copies of “The Girls of Atomic City” after a lecture at the American Museum of Science and Energy. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)

A book project that started with a famous photo of women enriching uranium at the Y-12 National Security Complex during World War II has ended up on the New York Times best seller list.

It’s also led to appearances on major television shows for Denise Kiernan, author of “The Girls of Atomic City—The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II.” She’s recently been a guest on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, and PBS NewsHour.

Released March 5, “The Girls of Atomic City” remained at No. 33 on the hard cover nonfiction list on Sunday night.

“I’ve been thrilled with the response,” Kiernan said during a recent lecture and book-signing at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge. “The country is just fascinated with your town and your stories.” [Read more…]

Guest column: Kudos to Kiernan and her book, ‘Girls of the Atomic City’

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

This month, national author Denise Kiernan gave a wonderful talk at the American Museum of Science and Energy. Ms. Kiernan was in town to discuss her new book, “Girls of the Atomic City—The Untold Story of Women Who Helped Win World War II.”

The book made the New York Times best seller list.

Ms. Kiernan’s book chronicles the fascinating stories of the many women who came to Oak Ridge between 1943 and 1945 during the Manhattan Project. It’s great to see these pioneers recognized for their important contributions. [Read more…]

Roane Chamber has career day for high school juniors

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Roane County Chamber of Commerce is having its Fifth Annual High Schools Career Day on Friday.

Roughly 475 high school juniors and about 50 businesses are expected to participate in the career day, scheduled to be held in the Roane State Community College gymnasium. Every 11th grade student in the five Roane County high schools will attend, organizers said. [Read more…]

City historian to discuss last eight days of World War II

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Bill Wilcox and Clifton Truman Daniel

Oak Ridge City Historian Bill Wilcox, left, with Clifton Truman Daniel, grandson of President Harry S. Truman, who made the decision to use atomic bombs on Japan at the end of World War II. Wilcox helped Daniel with background information for his new book on the decision to use the bombs. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge City Historian Bill Wilcox will discuss the last eight days of World War II during a presentation next week.

It starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11, at the Wildcat Den at the Midtown Community Center.

“Most Oak Ridgers know the story of Oak Ridge’s founding in 1942 as part of the Manhattan Project and about how the uranium 235 for the world’s first atomic bomb used in warfare, ‘Little Boy,’ helped end World War II,” said a press release from the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. “Helped is correct. The two atomic bombs really did help, but even after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was no agreement in Japan’s ruling circle on surrender.” [Read more…]