Oak Ridge Today

Firefighters extinguish Palmer Road chimney fire

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Palmer Road Chimney Fire

The Oak Ridge Fire Department responds to a chimney fire on Palmer Road on Sunday afternoon. (Photos by Tom Scott)

Firefighters used pressurized water cans and ladders to extinguish a chimney fire on Palmer Road on Sunday afternoon.

Firefighters also used a pole to remove creosote in the chimney during the 2:30 p.m. fire, an Oak Ridge Fire Department report said.

Firefighters put out a fire in the fireplace and carried the contents outside, where they extinguished them, the report said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge carbon fiber plant could lower cost of strong, lightweight material

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Carbon Fiber Technology Facility

Gary R. Lownsdale of Plasan Carbon Composites, right, talks to Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, center, near a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 hood at the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility on Tuesday as federal, University of Tennessee, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory officials listen.

A unique manufacturing plant in west Oak Ridge that started operating about six weeks ago can make 25 tons of carbon fiber each year. It’s material that could be used for prototype parts in products ranging from cars and airplanes to wind turbine blades and natural gas tanks.

The $35 million Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Horizon Center Business Park is designed to “scale up” laboratory research on low-cost carbon fiber, make enough material to help industrial partners build prototype carbon-fiber composite parts, and develop a skilled manufacturing workforce.

Carbon fiber is strong and lightweight, but it is also expensive and that has limited its use.

Officials hope to use the 42,000-square-foot Carbon Fiber Technology Facility to change that. They want to make producing carbon fiber as cost-efficient as manufacturing steel or aluminum. [Read more…]

Forty-two face federal charges for allegedly conspiring to make 50+ grams of meth

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Federal Meth Prosecution

Flanked by local, state, and federal law enforcement officers, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian, center, announces that 42 people, including many Anderson County residents, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine.

CLINTON—In an unprecedented case, 42 people, including many Anderson County residents, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges they conspired to make 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

U.S. Attorney William C. Killian announced the charges during a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton.

Other charges listed in a 17-count indictment filed March 19 in U.S. District Court in Knoxville include possessing the equipment, chemicals, products, and materials used to make meth; maintaining homes used to manufacture the illegal stimulant, including one residence within 1,000 feet of Claxton Elementary School; and federal firearms violations. [Read more…]

MMC Health Night: When minutes matter—behind the scenes of a heart attack

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Milan Sheth

Milan Sheth

Nathan Sweet

Nathan Sweet

When you’re having a health emergency like a heart attack, every minute matters. Methodist Medical Center and the Anderson County Emergency Medical Services work together to make sure patients get the treatment they need as quickly as possible.

Methodist’s emergency heart team includes interventional cardiologists, emergency room doctors, nurses, technicians, and EMS personnel. Each one is trained and ready 24 hours a day, every day of the year. It’s their mission to open blocked arteries—as quickly as possible—and they do it 25 minutes faster than the national benchmark. [Read more…]

DOE, ORNL to celebrate carbon fiber facility, announce manufacturing initiative

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Officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will celebrate a unique carbon fiber facility on Tuesday morning.

DOE will also announce a new U.S. manufacturing initiative during the ceremony at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Horizon Center Business Park in west Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Sequester scenarios: Y-12 officials no longer expect furloughs

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Earlier scenarios had called for possible furloughs at the Y-12 National Security Complex in response to automatic federal budget cuts that went into effect March 1—the so-called sequester—but plant officials said they no longer expect the temporary layoffs.

However, B&W Y-12, the plant’s managing and operating contractor, said it is implementing spending reductions, including in summer intern and educational assistance programs. The company is deferring employee award benefits for services, performance, and special recognition; and suspending upgrades to personal computers, wireless projects, and the information technology infrastructure. In addition, some discretionary travel, professional development training, and materials and supplies purchases will be significantly reduced, B&W Y-12 said in a statement. [Read more…]

THP: Anderson County man dies in Sunday motorcycle crash

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Andersonville man died early Sunday morning when his motorcycle ran off the side of a wet roadway near Lake City.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said the accident occurred shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday on Offutt Spur Road when 43-year-old Harold B. Hensley Jr. had been headed west on Offutt Spur. [Read more…]

NSPS now provides security services at DOE sites in Oak Ridge

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National Strategic Protective Services LLC announced Monday morning that it now provides guard services at U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge.

NSPS won the protective force services work under a five-year, $182 million contract announced in January. The company will guard the East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Joe L. Evins Federal Building, and part of the Oak Ridge Reservation. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge kindergarten early enrollment ends March 29

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A change in Tennessee law now requires students to turn five years old on or before Aug. 31, 2013, to enroll in kindergarten this fall, but Oak Ridge Schools is taking applications for early enrollment.

The applications will be accepted through Friday, March 29. This will be the beginning of a two-part registration process that will be completed just prior to school starting for the 2013–2014 school year, a press release said. [Read more…]

After 13 years guarding federal facilities, WSI leaves Oak Ridge

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WSI Oak Ridge

Friday was the last day for many employees at security company WSI Oak Ridge, which lost its contracts to protect federal facilities after the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

After 13 years of protecting federal facilities, WSI Oak Ridge has left the Secret City.

Friday was the last day for many employees at WSI, and the contract ended Sunday, spokeswoman Courtney Henry said.

Formerly known as Wackenhut Services Inc., the company once provided up to 1,000 security police officers and support staff at federal facilities that included East Tennessee Technology Park, the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex.

But WSI lost its contract to guard Y-12, a National Nuclear Security Administration site, after the July 28 security breach, and it did not win a separate contract to protect local U.S. Department of Energy sites, including ETTP, ORNL, the Federal Building, and the rest of the Oak Ridge Reservation. That contract was awarded to National Strategic Protective Services LLC, or NSPS. [Read more…]

Music Arts has student recital

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Music Arts Recital

Pictured at a recent Music Arts recital are, front row, from left to right, Melody Guo, Torie Scott, Eli Ferguson, Atticus Harris, Catherine Albert, and Sam Neary; and second row, instructor Jodi Harbin, D.J. Roberts, instructor Lois White, Joseph LaFreniere, Kelsey LaFreniere, instructor Andy Bryenton, Bonnie Moon, and Melody Simmons. (Submitted photo)

Music Arts students recently played cello, piccolo, flute, and piano during a recital at West Village Christian Church on Robertsville Road.

“The performances went off without a hitch on Sunday afternoon, with applause filling the room as each of the students and instructors finished their performances,” a press release said. “This was something that we put on as a showcase of the many talents that abound here at Music Arts and was the first of 2013.”

Students that took part in the Feb. 24 recital were Sam Neary, Catherine Albert, Melody Guo, Eli Ferguson, Atticus Harris, D.J. Roberts, Joseph LaFreniere, Kelsey LaFreniere, Bonnie Moon, and Melody Simmons. [Read more…]

Robertsville Middle School technology team finishes in top three in nine state events

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Robertsville Middle School at TSA Competition

Robertsville Middle School at 35th Tennessee TSA State Conference (Submitted photo)

The Technology Student Association at Robertsville Middle School competed in a recent state conference in Chattanooga and finished in the Top 3 in nine events.

Twenty-seven students from the TSA chapter at RMS competed in 22 different group and individual events at the 35th Tennessee TSA State Conference, which included 649 middle and high school competitors from 61 Tennessee schools.

Listed below are the students who placed in the Top 3 in the state in their events: [Read more…]