Oak Ridge Today

DOE conducting controlled burns on Oak Ridge Reservation

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The U.S. Department of Energy is conducting controlled burns of grassland areas on the Oak Ridge Reservation through mid-April, weather permitting.

People may see smoke from this activity. However, smoke in Oak Ridge and other areas in the region could also be the result of prescribed burns currently being undertaken by other federal and state agencies, a press release said.

It said the controlled burns are planned on the Three Bend Area off Pump House and Bull Bluff Roads and other managed grassland areas off Bethel Valley Road and off Highway 58.

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Y-12 celebrates new fire station, emergency operations center

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Y-12 Site Manager Gene Sievers talks about the plant’s new fire station and emergency operations center during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new fire station and emergency operations center at the Y-12 National Security Complex will replace “severely outdated” buildings that were constructed in the 1940s, about eight decades ago. The new buildings will improve working conditions, consolidate operations now conducted in separate places, and provide ample space for large equipment like fire trucks, federal officials and Y-12 leaders said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.

Workers at the plant, which manufactures components for the nation’s nuclear weapons, among other activities, have been talking about the new facilities for at least 13 years. The start of construction was celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony in April 2021. The new buildings, reported to have cost $68 million, are part of a “huge transformation,” an effort to modernize the site.

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One person seriously injured in Wednesday crash

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Two people were taken to a hospital, one with serious injuries, after a crash between a dump truck and a sport utility vehicle in Oak Ridge on Wednesday evening.

The crash was reported at about 7 p.m. Wednesday at Melton Lake Drive and Edgemoor Road (State Route 170). The Oak Ridge Police Department, Fire Department, and Public Works Department all responded, and so did Anderson County EMS (the ambulance service).

The crash involved a commercial vehicle (a privately owned dump truck) and a passenger vehicle (a mid-size SUV), the City of Oak Ridge said.

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Democratic Women’s Club to hear from AC Emergency Rescue Squad

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Representatives of the Anderson County Emergency Rescue Squad will be guest speakers when the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club meets at 6 p.m. Monday, January 23, at Shoney’s Restaurant, 204 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Chief Terry Allen and Paula Daniel from the Rescue Squad will speak about the nonprofit, volunteer-run emergency response organization that serves Anderson County, a press release said. The Rescue Squad responds to a wide variety of emergency situations, including missing children, traffic accidents, water rescues, and high school training events. [Read more…]

You may hear Y-12 sirens when maintenance performed

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There will be maintenance work on the public warning siren system in Oak Ridge during the week of January 23, and people in the area might occasionally hear audio from individual sirens around the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The sirens are strategically placed to notify the public in the unlikely event of an on-site emergency that has impacts beyond the site boundary.

In case of an actual emergency on the Oak Ridge Reservation, sirens will sound simultaneously with the standard tone.

For more information about what to do in the event of an emergency visit the Y-12 website at www.y12.doe.gov/about/emergency-public-information.

Officers can learn how to respond to radiological emergencies, thefts

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Consolidated Nuclear Security, which operates Y-12 National Security Complex, had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Emergency Response Training Facility on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new center in west Oak Ridge will train law enforcement officers how to respond to radiological emergencies or potential thefts of radioactive materials.

The Y-12 National Security Complex had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Emergency Response Training Facility on Monday, January 9.

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ORPD working with national center to identify newborn, find missing child

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Images from National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The Oak Ridge Police Department is working with a national center to find a child who was last seen in Oak Ridge in 2016 and to identify a newborn baby found floating along the shoreline of Melton Hill Lake almost three years ago.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has posted information about the two children on its website, which is partially funded through a U.S. Department of Justice grant.

In the first case, investigators said Maria Contreras Lopez was last seen in Oak Ridge on September 29, 2016. She was born August 9, 2000, and was 16 years old when she was last seen. She would be 22 now. Maria is female and Hispanic with brown hair and eyes. She could be about 5’3″ and 115 pounds.

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CTF: Drugs for sale, cash, gun found in home with young children

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More than 100 pills and about 100 grams of marijuana along with $9,000 in cash and a Glock 26 9 mm pistol were found in a home with three children younger than eight this month, law enforcement officers said.

The Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force searched the home on Utica Circle with a narcotics warrant on January 10.

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Fentanyl, meth allegedly found during narcotics search

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Fentanyl, methamphetamine, other suspected drugs, and a gun were found during a narcotics search of an Oak Ridge home this month, according to law enforcement officers.

The Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County searched the home on Jasper Lane on Monday, January 9.

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Man received 3-year sentence for assault on officer

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A man who had been accused of fighting with Oak Ridge police officers and significantly injuring one of them was sentenced to three years in prison when he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and reckless endangerment against one of the officers.

That officer had been taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville with a significant arm injury, and two other officers had been taken to Methodist Medical Center to have their injuries evaluated, the City of Oak Ridge said at the time. One had been hit with a taser taken by the defendant, according to affidavits filed at the time.

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ASAP, TN Highway Safety Office help reduce teen crashes

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ASAP of Anderson partnered with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office to effectively reduce teen crashes and fatalities in 2022, a press release said.

According to Tennessee’s Integrated Traffic Analysis Network, teenagers saw a greater reduction in speed-related crashes than other drivers from 2021 to 2022, the press release said.

“ASAP of Anderson is proud of our work to make the roads in Tennessee safer” said ASAP’s Prevention Coordinator Chantel Harris. “Our efforts like hanging up signs to not drive drowsy at every high school in Anderson County and encouraging our Youth Ambassador Coalition teenagers to post safe driving messages at their school have certainly helped.”

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Temps could stay below freezing through Christmas

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The extreme cold wind chills will continue much of the day on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022. When going outside, dress appropriately. Wear several layers of clothes, coat, hat, and gloves. (Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown)

Temperatures could stay below freezing through Christmas, and a wind chill warning remains in effect for Oak Ridge through early Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

The wind chill warning expires at 1 p.m. Saturday. The NWS forecast said wind chill values could range between -3 and 7 degrees Fahrenheit, with winds of between 5 and 10 miles per hour. Scattered snow flurries are possible between noon and 2 p.m. Saturday.

The high Saturday is forecast near 22. The low Saturday night is forecast at 12.

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