Oak Ridge Today

‘Strain tuning’ reveals promise in nanoscale manufacturing

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Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have reported progress in fabricating advanced materials at the nanoscale. The spontaneous self-assembly of nanostructures composed of multiple elements paves the way toward materials that could improve a range of energy-efficient technologies and data storage devices.

ORNL Materials Science and Technology Division researcher Amit Goyal led the effort, combining theoretical and experimental studies to understand and control the self-assembly of insulating barium zirconium oxide nanodots and nanorods within barium-copper-oxide superconducting films.

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More than 600 run in Secret City Half Marathon, results online

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Secret City Half Marathon

About 560 runners competed in the Secret City Half Marathon, which started and ended on Briarcliff Avenue Sunday morning. (Photo courtesy of Frank Chmielewicz)

More than 600 adults and children ran in the Secret City Half Marathon and Relay in Oak Ridge on Sunday, organizer Frank Chmielewicz said.

It was the third year for the race, and final fundraising totals should be available in a few weeks, Chmielewicz said.

Race results are available at the Secret City Half Marathon website. They include overall results and finishes by age group and relay team results.

Top local finishers in the half marathon included Ed Wright of Oak Ridge (No. 3) and Jeremy Sexton of Clinton (No. 5).

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Two Anderson County properties receive preservation awards

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CapitalMark Bank and Trust Preservation Award

Pictured is David Bradshaw, second from right, with an East Tennessee Preservation Award for CapitalMark Bank and Trust in Oak Ridge, and Todd Morgan, left, chair of the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance’s advocacy committee, state historic preservation officer Patrick McIntyre, and ETPA President Scott Brooks. (Photo by Ethiel Garlington.)

Two Anderson County properties have received preservation awards from the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance.

The Anderson County award winners were CapitalMark Bank and Trust, and Jon Overton Log House.

The 2012 East Tennessee Preservation Awards were announced during a recent preservation conference at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, a press release said. About 100 people from all parts of East Tennessee attended the conference.

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Advance Auto workers to lose jobs at Andersonville warehouse

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About 80 workers will lose their jobs at an Advance Auto Parts warehouse facility on Mountain Road in Andersonville, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.

Advance Auto Parts said Friday that the company will move its low-demand products that were housed only in the Andersonville warehouse to other distribution facilities around the country. Ten to 15 employees will remain at the East Tennessee facility, but the move will cost about 80 people their jobs, WYSH said.

The company said full-time workers who lose their jobs will be offered a severance package and job placement help. The remaining positions will be filled based upon seniority and qualifications, the radio station said.

Council to hear updates on animal shelter, railway museum

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The Oak Ridge City Council will hear updates tonight on the animal shelter, where two of three employees recently resigned, and the proposed Southern Appalachia Railway Museum, which has been in danger of losing a $480,000 state grant.

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi is scheduled to give an overview of the animal shelter during a City Council work session at 7 p.m. today at the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane. This morning, Akagi said the city has hired two new animal control officers.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson and City Attorney Ken Krushenski are scheduled to give the updates on the railway museum.

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Voices of the Manhattan Project website launched Friday

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The Atomic Heritage Foundation and the Los Alamos Historical Society launched a new website Friday titled “Voices of the Manhattan Project.”

“This is the first step in creating a national repository or directory for oral history collections of Manhattan Project veterans and their families,” the Atomic Heritage Foundation said. “With the Congress considering legislation to establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park, this website, with its first-hand accounts of this top-secret project, will be an important resource for scholars, students and members of the public.”

Oak Ridge played a key role in the Manhattan Project, a top-secret program to build the world’s first nuclear weapons during World War II, and the website includes interviews with several people who worked in Oak Ridge during the war.

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Medal of Honor recipient visits Y-12

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Col. Bruce Crandall at Y-12

Pictured with Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall, a Medal of Honor recipient, at the Y-12 National Security Complex History Center are Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Don Naab, left, Y-12’s Ray Smith, and WSI-Oak Ridge Deputy General Manager Jim Rackstraw. Rackstraw served with Crandall in Vietnam. (Photo by B&W Y-12)

Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall visited the Y-12 National Security Complex last week. Now retired from the U.S. Army, Crandall is one of 80 living Medal of Honor recipients.

Awarded the nation’s highest award for military valor, Crandall flew more than 900 combat missions during the Vietnam War. His bravery in rescuing wounded soldiers and bringing supplies to ground troops was memorialized in the book, “We Were Soldiers Once … And Young,” and in the film “We Were Soldiers.”

He was in East Tennessee to promote the 2014 Medal of Honor Convention, which will be hosted in the Oak Ridge-Knoxville area, and to promote the school program Character Counts.

Oak Ridge Fireballs win dodgeball tournament

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Dodgeball Champs

Dodgeball tournament champions Oak Ridge Fireballs are pictured above, from back, Molly Landmesser, Ryan Pointer, Coach Lisa Summers, Mihir Mehta, Juan Fernandez, and from front left, David Laubach, Catherine King, Monil Mehta, and Andreas Sauter. Not pictured are Daniel Colburn and Drew Stokes. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board hosted a Youth Dodgeball Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 10. After three rounds of pool play, the Oak Ridge Fireballs faced off against Evan’s Shadow in the championship match, with the Fireballs winning 3-1.

It’s one of several events the Youth Advisory Board has scheduled this year. The board is co-hosting a Breakfast with Santa at Grove Theater on Dec. 1, and reservations are now available.

For more information about future dodgeball events, stop by the Oak Ridge Civic Center or call (865) 425-3450. You can also visit the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department website at www.orrecparks.org.

New outdoor classrooms at Dutch Valley and Fairview elementary schools

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Construction has been completed on outdoor classrooms at Dutch Valley and Fairview elementary schools in Anderson County, and students, officials, and volunteers will celebrate with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday.

The classrooms were built with a $20,000 grant awarded to Keep Anderson County Beautiful in the spring of 2012. The grant was from Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation.

The new outdoor classrooms each include an 18-foot by 36-foot concrete pad with a covered pavilion and picnic tables that allow students to see and study nature in all seasons and different weather, a press release said.

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Grants program for school classroom projects discussed Tuesday

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A board member of a local nonprofit organization that helps schools will give a Tuesday presentation on a program that uses grants to fund classroom projects in Oak Ridge.

The presentation by Cathy Toth of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

“We are well aware of the ORPSEF efforts in the renovation of Oak Ridge High School,” Toth said in a press release. “Most of us are not aware that ORPSEF has quietly been making a difference with a grants program that has funded dozens of classroom projects in every school in Oak Ridge. The grants provide resources beyond what can be provided by tax dollars to help make the critical difference between adequate and outstanding academic experiences and performance.”

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Breakfast with Santa on Dec. 1, reservations available

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The 13th Annual Breakfast with Santa will be at the Grove Theater on Dec. 1.

The breakfast starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m. It’s hosted by the Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board and Grove Theater.

Organizers suggest a $5 donation per participants from ages 3 and up, payable at the door. The activities include a breakfast buffet, Christmas crafts, holiday movies in the theater, and photos with Santa.

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This weekend: arts and crafts, ballet, theater, half-marathon

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There is much to do in Oak Ridge this weekend, ranging from arts, crafts, and theater to ballet, disc golf, and a half marathon.

We’ve already posted stories about some of the events, including today’s cash mob and “The Wiz” at Oak Ridge Playhouse. We’ve also written about the Secret City Half Marathon and free Turkey Bowl Disc Golf on Sunday.

But we’ve also added several new events to our new events calendar. They include an arts and crafts fair at the Oak Ridge Civic Center, Girls Inc. Parade of Trees at Pollard Auditorium, Folk Art Nativities at Oak Ridge Art Center, and “The Nutcracker” ballet at Oak Ridge High School. Those are all happening today, although there is another performance of “The Nutcracker” tomorrow (Sunday).

Please check out our events calendar for more details on these and other events.