Oak Ridge Today

Host families needed for Roane State international students

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Emma Ellis

Emma Ellis

Hosting an international student is rewarding and fun, said Roane State Community College student exchange coordinator Emma Ellis.

“You get a different perspective, not only of the country the student is from but on the world and sometimes even on yourself,” Ellis said. “Hosting helps you grow as a person, and it’s fun.”

Roane State is seeking families to host international students. As student exchange coordinator, Ellis works directly with host families. She and her family are also hosting a student from Ukraine during the spring semester. [Read more…]

AAUW features Tennessee women of courage

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Tennessee Women of Courage

For its Women’s History Display at the Library this year, the American Association of University Women, or AAUW, has chosen to feature a forthcoming book,’’Tennessee Women of Vision and Courage,” which has been put together by the Tennessee Women Project.

The directors of the Tennessee Women Project, Ruth Johnson Smiley and Charlotte Crawford, will address the AAUW at its March 25 meeting at 11:30 a.m. in the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Social Hall.

In previous years, “Women Leaders in World Government’’ have been featured, as well as ‘’Outstanding Women in East Tennessee,’’ in the organization’s Women’s History Month displays at the Library.

AMSE announces bridge building contest winners

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Bearden Bridge Building High Point Trophy

Bearden High School in Knoxville receives the High Point Trophy at a recent bridge building contest at the American Museum of Science and Energy. Pictured above, from left, are Bearden High School student Hayes Griffin, physics teacher William Schult, and students Jack Li, J.J. Shankles, David Maulick and Bryan Fitzsimmons. (Submitted photos)

The American Museum of Science and Energy has announced the winners in the East Tennessee Model Bridge Building Contest earlier this month.

The contest was held March 9 at AMSE. Students entered 113 model bridges, and 74 of those qualified to be tested, an AMSE press release said. The entries came from students at Oak Ridge High School, Bearden High School, Brentwood High School, Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, Christ’s Legacy Academy, and two homeschool students. [Read more…]

Guest column: Questions remain on Oak Ridge cleanup funding

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David Martin

David Martin

By David Martin, Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board chair

There is great uncertainty on what the looming federal budget cuts will be and what effect they will have on funding for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Environmental Management, or EM, program at the Oak Ridge Reservation. We can be confident that budget cuts are coming. It is going to take a coordinated effort on the part of the DOE-Oak Ridge EM, regulators, and stakeholders to minimize the impact on current and future remediation projects, and on the men and women who carry out this work.

Right now DOE-EM is operating on a temporary six-month budget. This budget covers just the first half of Fiscal Year 2013 and is based on half of the FY 2012 budget. We should know soon how changes in the federal budget affect Oak Ridge EM for the second half of 2013. This still leaves the 2014 budget in question. [Read more…]

Clinton Fire Department receives $389,000 grant

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Information from WYSH Radio

Clinton officials announced Friday morning that the Clinton Fire Department has received a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response—or SAFER—grant that will pay the salaries and benefits for four more firefighters for the next two years.

The city was notified Friday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security that the grant award totals $388,944. City leaders thanked the area’s congressional delegation for their assistance in obtaining the funding. There is no local match for the grant.

Jefferson Middle School student technology team wins 10 awards

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Jefferson Middle School at State TSA Competition

Jefferson Middle School TSA members and faculty advisers Chris Jaeger and Bruce McMaster at TSA State Competition in Chattanooga. (Submitted photo)

The Technology Student Association at Jefferson Middle School received 10 awards in eight events during an annual competition earlier this month, a press release said.

The annual TSA State Competition was March 14-17 in Chattanooga. The JMS team did well in team and individual events, the press release said. The JMS awards included five first-place finishes, four second-place, and one third-place finish.

Members earning first place included: [Read more…]

Manufacturing tech, forest monitoring system win tech transfer awards

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Technologies from Oak Ridge National Laboratory are among winners of 2013 national and regional Federal Laboratory Consortium Awards.

ORNL’s awards, which recognize outstanding work in transferring a federal laboratory-developed technology to the commercial marketplace, were in the Excellence in Technology Transfer and Interagency Partnerships categories. [Read more…]

Board reaffirms decision to declare four Applewood buildings ‘unfit’

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Applewood Apartments Board Hearing

Jim Odle of Odle and Young Architects in Knoxville shows a picture of a repair during a Thursday code enforcement hearing on four Applewood Apartments buildings. Also pictured at front center is Joe Levitt, owner of the apartment complex.

With no objections from members, a city board on Thursday reaffirmed a decision from more than two years ago to declare four Applewood Apartment buildings unfit for human occupation and use, and declare them nuisances.

Joe Lee, a member of the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals, said the board’s November 2010 decision on the four buildings on Hunter Circle has already been upheld by the Anderson County Chancery Court and the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

It wasn’t immediately clear what might happen next, including whether apartment owner Joe Levitt, a Knoxville attorney, might appeal the decision, and whether the city might issue an order to vacate the buildings. [Read more…]

‘Breakfast with Legislators’ on Monday

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This month’s ”Breakfast with the Legislators” will be on Monday morning at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The hour-long breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m. in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Social Room. A free, light continental breakfast will be served. [Read more…]

Three men allegedly invade home; steal shotgun, watches

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Note: This story was updated at 4:13 p.m.

Three men pushed their way into the home of a 78-year-old man on Ulysses Lane on Wednesday night and allegedly stole a 12-gauge shotgun, a wallet, and three watches, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said the home invasion happened at about 9:40 p.m. Wednesday. The victim answered a knock at the door, and three men wearing dark clothes, blue jeans, and masks allegedly pushed their way into the home, demanding jewelry, pills, and guns, according to a report by ORPD Officer Michael E. Swigert. [Read more…]

Director resigns from Anderson County alternatives to jail program

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Note: This story was updated at 6:39 p.m.

The director of an Anderson County program meant to save money and reduce crime and the jail population has resigned.

Mike Baker, director of the county’s alternatives to incarceration program, announced his resignation Thursday in a letter to Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, Anderson County commissioners, and members of an advisory board. His last day will be April 4. [Read more…]

Haslam to speak, Trammell to be honored at Chamber of Commerce luncheon

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Gov. Bill Haslam will be the featured speaker at an annual Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Tuesday, and the Eugene Joyce Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented posthumously to longtime Chamber board member and volunteer Kerry Trammell.

The Tuesday luncheon is the Chamber’s kickoff ceremony for the 2013 Program of Work. The annual event marks the beginning of the Chamber’s program year, and all Chamber member representatives are encouraged to attend, a press release said. [Read more…]