Oak Ridge Today

Documentary about Roane State honored

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Roane State Documentary Honored

The award-winning film “Roane State: 40 Years of Class” is available on Roane State campuses. (Submitted photo)

A documentary commemorating Roane State Community College’s 40th anniversary has received another honor.

Roane State alumnus Keith McDaniel of Secret City Films in Oak Ridge wrote and directed “Roane State: 40 Years of Class.” The documentary recently received a 2012 National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) District 2 Silver Medallion Award.

NCMPR District 2 includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, and The Bahamas.

The film had previously earned second-place honors in the 33rd annual Telly Awards and a third-place award from the Tennessee College Public Relations Association (TCPRA).

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UCOR ships 15,000 loads of waste from K-25

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K-25 Building Demolition Debris

Some of the debris from the demolition of K-25’s east wing. (Submitted photo)

UCOR has shipped 15,000 loads of demolition debris from the K-25 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the company announced last week.

The 15,000 loads represent approximately two million square feet of the deteriorated former gaseous diffusion building, built during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. That square footage is the equivalent of 40 NFL football fields combined.

The material has been sent to the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility in Oak Ridge for permanent disposition.

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Video: Oliver Springs Marching Bobcats at 2012 Christmas Parade

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OLIVER SPRINGS—Here is a short video of the Oliver Springs Marching Bobcats at the Dec. 15 Christmas parade in Oliver Springs.

This is the second video we have posted on our new YouTube channel, which is available at http://www.youtube.com/oakridgetoday.

Enjoy.

Educators respond to proposals to allow armed teachers in Tennessee

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The Tennessee Education Association said this week that it is neutral on gun laws.

But the organization did release a statement after some legislators proposed allowing teachers to carry guns in Tennessee schools. The proposals followed the Dec. 14 school shooting at Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 students, six adults, the gunman, and his mother.

Here’s the TEA statement:

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Y-12 employees help make holiday merrier for many

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Bicycles from Y-12 Workers

Bicycles and helmets provided by Y-12 workers await distribution to area charitable agencies. (Submitted photo)

Nearly 50 workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex served as Santa’s elves in the Y-12 Employees’ Society’s 2012 Angel Tree program. The society collaborates with various charitable agencies to help provide holiday gifts for families deemed eligible for assistance by their county’s Department of Human Services.

The elves, working with donations provided by hundreds of Y-12 co-workers, did the additional footwork needed to fulfill the holiday gift wishes of 497 children in Anderson, Roane, Morgan, Loudon, Scott, and Monroe counties. Coordinated this year by Y-12 employee Jessica Smith, the program is now in its seventh year.

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Video: Oak Ridge High School marching band at Christmas parade

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Oak Ridge Today has added a YouTube channel. It’s available at www.youtube.com/oakridgetoday.

Our first video features the Oak Ridge High School marching band at the Dec. 8 Christmas parade. Enjoy.

Author of Smoky Mountains Park history book at AMSE on Saturday

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The Great Smoky Mountains National Park BookA history exhibit curator and author will present a program and sign his book, “The Great Smoky Mountains National Park/Postcard History Series,” at the American Museum of Science and Energy on Saturday.

The program by Adam H. Alfrey, curator of exhibits at the East Tennessee History Center in Knoxville, will draw from public and private collections of vintage postcards, a press release said. It starts at 2 p.m. Saturday at AMSE.

The press release said the pictorial history “boasts more than 200 vintage images and provides readers with a unique opportunity to reconnect with the history that shaped their community.”

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Cheerleaders decorate MMC hospitality homes for cancer patients

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Oak Ridge High School Cheerleaders at Hospitality Houses

Cheerleaders from Oak Ridge High School helped to decorate the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center for Christmas. The houses offer temporary lodging to patients and families who must travel for extended care at Methodist, even during the holidays. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge High School cheerleaders recently decorated two hospitality homes at Methodist Medical Center for Christmas.

The Hospitality Houses provide a home away from home for cancer patients and families receiving extended medical care at Methodist Medical Center.

“But just because some guests can’t be home during the holiday season doesn’t mean they have to miss the festive feel of garland-draped porches and trees glittering with lights,” a press release said.

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Alleged serial bank robber apprehended

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Information from WYSH Radio

Law enforcement officials announced Thursday that a suspected serial bank robber was apprehended minutes after allegedly holding up a bank in Alcoa.

Gerald Hytken of Lenoir City, 79, is suspected of robbing four banks in the past two years and is facing federal charges for, among other things, allegedly robbing an Oak Ridge bank last year.

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NNSA Administrator D’Agostino retiring in January

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Thomas P. D'Agostino

Thomas P. D’Agostino

Thomas P. D’Agostino, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, announced his retirement today.

In a statement Friday, D’Agostino said he will retire Jan. 18, the end of President Barack Obama’s first term. He has been NNSA administrator and under secretary for nuclear security for more than five years. He was also deputy administrator for defense programs for two years.

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is an NNSA site. The NNSA is a separate agency within the U.S. Department of Energy.

D’Agostino has had 36 years of federal service, rising through the ranks of the U.S. Navy and then leading nuclear security efforts at DOE.

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Snow possible today, but not likely on Christmas, forecasters say

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There is a slight chance of snow this morning and again this evening, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

The NWS says the chance of precipitation is 20 percent, and that could mean snow before 1 p.m., rain this afternoon, and snow and rain after 5 p.m.

There were very light snow flurries in Oak Ridge  at about 3:30 a.m. today (Friday).

Forecasters do not expect snow on Christmas. The forecast now calls for a 30 percent chance of showers on Christmas Day, with a high near 52.

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Sheriff: Two arrested after Briceville burglary

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An intruder fled a Briceville home Wednesday after the resident, who had been asleep upstairs, woke up and called out, authorities said.

The resident had heard someone break into his home and walk up his stairs, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said in a press release Thursday.

After the intruder fled, the resident and a neighbor saw a white Jeep leave the area. The neighbor followed the Jeep in her car but lost sight of it as it traveled toward Lake City, White said.

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