Information from WYSH Radio
A man pleaded guilty on Wednesday in Knoxville to killing a former Anderson County Jail employee during an armed robbery outside a Knoxville credit union in December 2010.
Brandon Johnson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and other charges and was sentenced to 45 years in prison with no early release in the shooting death of 46-year-old Davida Nicholson.
A winter storm could affect the southern Appalachians starting tonight and continuing through Friday night, and significant icing is possible across much of the East Tennessee Valley, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service in Morristown said subfreezing surface temperatures and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will result in a wintry mix of precipitation across the area.
Employers are invited to participate in a Feb. 27 job fair for Roane State Community College students who are pursuing careers in health care and plan to graduate this year.
The fair is planned for Wednesday, Feb. 27, from 2-5 p.m. at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Ave. Setup begins at 1 p.m.
Chuck Fleischmann
Bob Corker
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann voted for a bill that passed the House on Wednesday that temporarily increases the nation’s debt ceiling and requires each house of Congress to pass a budget.
Known as the “No Budget, No Pay” Act, the bill would withhold pay for legislative members if they fail to pass a budget.
“Not having a budget wouldn’t fly for hardworking Americans at home or at work, and it shouldn’t be allowed in Congress,” said Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge. “We cannot ever truly constrain spending if the Senate will not pass a budget. With the passage of this bill, the Senate Democrats will finally be obligated to produce a path to get our fiscal house in order.”
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers developed a nanoporous solid electrolyte (bottom left and in detail on right) from a solvated precursor (top left). The material conducts ions 1,000 times faster than its natural bulk form and enables more energy-dense lithium ion batteries. (Submitted photo)
Looking toward improved batteries for charging electric cars and storing energy from renewable but intermittent solar and wind, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed the first high-performance, nanostructured solid electrolyte for more energy-dense lithium ion batteries.
Today’s lithium-ion batteries rely on a liquid electrolyte, the material that conducts ions between the negatively charged anode and positive cathode. But liquid electrolytes often entail safety issues because of their flammability, especially as researchers try to pack more energy in a smaller battery volume. Building batteries with a solid electrolyte, as ORNL researchers have demonstrated, could overcome these safety concerns and size constraints.
American Water Resources of Tennessee has mailed a solicitation for service line insurance to Oak Ridge homeowners.
Homeowners should be advised of the following:
LaShanda Miller
Oak Ridge Associated Universities has announced the promotion of LaShanda Miller to director of talent management.
In her new role, Miller will manage and provide leadership for the talent management department, programs, and staff, as well as develop and implement workforce restructuring strategies, plans, programs, and policies.
Prior to her promotion, Miller served as manager of development and performance at ORAU.
It took about 20 minutes to demolish the last section of the North End of the historic K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge on Wednesday morning. Shut down for several decades, K-25 was built to enrich uranium during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, and it was once the world’s largest building under one roof.
Watch the last section of the North End crash to the ground in this video:
Work crews demolish the last section of the North End of the historic K-25 Building in Oak Ridge on Wednesday. K-25 was built to enrich uranium during World War II and was once the world’s largest building under one roof.
Work crews demolished the last section of the North End of the historic K-25 Building in Oak Ridge on Wednesday morning.
Workers used a giant, orange demolition machine known as a high reach shear to bring down the four-story building, once the world’s largest under one roof. At times, the shear resembled a large dinosaur as its massive black jaws bit into the building’s 67-year-old skeleton.
Reporters, officials, and workers watched on a clear but chilly East Tennessee morning as the high reach shear sliced through vertical steel columns and tugged at horizontal beams. After about 20 minutes, the North End crashed to the ground. So did any dreams of preserving it that might have remained.
Oak Ridge Associated Universities and its subcontractors have marked a key safety milestone—three million safe work hours without any days away, restricted, or transferred (DART) due to injury.
The accomplishment occurred over a 10-month period, since the corporation’s last DART case in February 2012.
Information from WYSH Radio
The East Tennessee Human Resource Agency will be distributing applications for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program for the rest of this month.
To receive an application by mail, call (800) 552-0127, extension 4825, and leave your name and mailing address. For more information, visit the ETHRA website at http://www.ethra.org/sites/default/files/publications/liheap-application.pdf.
As part of an effort to count homeless individuals and families for the Jan. 24 “Point In Time Count,” or PITC, a free community meal at Grace Covenant Church at 5 p.m. Thursday is open to community members who are homeless, a press release said.
The dinner is being organized by Trinity Outreach Center of Hope, or TORCH, a new nonprofit working to support the most economically challenged in our area and leading the Jan. 24 homeless count in Anderson County.
