Slider Archives - Page 10 of 165

DOE, UCOR to highlight ETTP transformation, opportunities

Posted at 2:56 pm February 21, 2022
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

*An artist’s rendering of what the redeveloped East Tennessee Technology Park could look like. (Image provided by U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)*

The U.S. Department of Energy and its contractor UCOR will highlight the transformation of the East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site) and discuss the economic opportunities there during a virtual event on Thursday.

The hour-long presentation is free and open to the public, and it is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

“Leadership from both organizations will share the final steps required to complete environmental cleanup activities at the former uranium enrichment complex and transition the site to private ownership, a process known as reindustrialization,” a press release said. “The event also includes a panel discussion with partners who helped create the vision and blueprint for this ambitious conversion.”

[Read more…]

Former AC school employees charged with theft

Posted at 1:54 pm February 17, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Two former Anderson County Schools employees have been charged with stealing more than $10,000 in a two-year period between January 2018 and January 2020.

Heather Dawn Heatherly, 44, of Jacksboro, and Stephanie Leann Jenkins, 43, of Powell, were indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on a single felony count of theft or more than $10,000 but less than $60,000 on February 1.

“The investigation was initiated by a complaint from a merchant that was concerned about the types of purchases being made with a government account,” said Dave Clark, Seventh Judicial District attorney general in Anderson County. “The Anderson County Schools promptly reported the matter to the Sheriff’s Department and suspended the employees.”

The lengthy investigation that followed included the ACSO, Anderson County Schools, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, and the District Attorney General’s Office.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge, others cheering for Higgins in Super Bowl

Posted at 11:19 am February 13, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak-Ridge-Higgins-TD-Catch-Clinton-Thomas-Aug-18-2016-Web-Cropped — Oak Ridge wide receiver Tee Higgins (5), who was then a senior, catches a 17-yard pass from junior quarterback Johnny Stewart before falling backward into the end zone for a touchdown near the left pylon, putting the Wildcats ahead of the Clinton Dragons 42-7 with 2:57 left in the first half at Clinton on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Higgins is defended here on his second TD catch by Clinton senior J’Quan Thomas (5). (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

People in East Tennessee and others across the country will be cheering for former Oak Ridge Wildcat Tee Higgins in the Super Bowl this evening (Sunday, February 13), and another former Wildcat, Zach Witherspoon, will be on the sidelines.

Higgins is a standout wide receiver who played for Oak Ridge and Clemson University, and he is playing in his second season for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals (10-7-0) play the Los Angeles Rams (12-5-0) at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The game will be broadcast on NBC at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Coverage of Super Bowl 2022 will air live on NBC and Peacock starting at 12 p.m. Eastern.

The Bengals advanced to the Super Bowl by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in overtime on January 30, with a game-winning 31-yard field goal by rookie kicker Evan McPherson. You can watch highlights of that game here and here, and read a scoring summary here.

[Read more…]

Woman charged with murder in husband’s death after 7 years

Posted at 12:54 pm February 7, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The wife of Thomas Steven “T.S.” Thrasher has been charged with first-degree murder after his death in 2014, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Samantha Anne Hendley, 35, of Harriman, was indicted last week by the Anderson County Grand Jury, and she was arrested and booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Monday morning, the TBI said. Her bond has been set at $1 million.

The indictment and arrest followed seven years of casework by TBI special agents, the agency said.

Thrasher, 29, was shot and killed inside his home at Rolling Hills Apartments on December 8, 2014.

[Read more…]

Updated: K-25 Viewing Platform will be built

Posted at 4:12 pm February 2, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Artist rendering of the new Viewing Platform, which will be located next to the recently constructed K-25 History Center overlooking the footprint of the K-25 Building. (Artist renderings by David Brown)

Note: This story was updated at 9 a.m. Feb. 4.

Two federal agencies have agreed to build a K-25 Viewing Platform at the historic site in west Oak Ridge that was used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants during World War II and the Cold War. The design is expected to be complete in March and the building completed by the end of 2023.

The construction agreement for the viewing building at the former K-25 site was signed by the U.S. Department of Energyâ€™s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The viewing platform will give visitors a view of the large 44-acre footprint of the former K-25 Building. K-25, which was the world’s largest building, was erected during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. The K-25 Building was demolished in 2013, and many other structures at the site have been removed as the federal government turns over property for private development.

The K-25 Building site itself is now part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. That project commemorates the workers, equipment, and processes used during the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

The K-25 Viewing Platform and associated exhibits are the final components of a multi-project agreement that the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management signed in 2012, clearing the way for demolition of the North Tower of the mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building. The projects commemorate the history of the K-25 site, which has also been known as the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

[Read more…]

ORNL employees, UT-Battelle donate $900K+ to nonprofits

Posted at 11:27 am January 31, 2022
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees gather on the campus quad for the Facilities and Operations Charity Carnival for Kids and Barbecue Cookoff to benefit East Tennessee Childrenâ€™s Hospital and St. Judeâ€™s Childrenâ€™s Research Hospital on June 23, 2021. (Photo credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees and the lab’s managing contractor UT-Battelle donated more than $900,000 to local nonprofit organizations in 2021.

Most of the donations, almost $800,000, came from laboratory employees. UT-Battelle provided an additional $144,000 in corporate contributions, a press release said. That’s a total of $944,000 in donations.

The contributions from ORNLâ€™s employees benefit 169 area and regional nonprofits, the press release said.

Organizations receiving funds include:

[Read more…]

Wildcats finish 4th in KISL swim meet

Posted at 7:07 pm January 27, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Wildcats swim team finished fourth out of 40 teams in the Knox-area Interscholastic Swim League (KISL) City Championship Meet at the University of Tennessee on Sunday.

With the fourth-place finish, the Wildcats have had top five finishes in back-to-back years at KISL for the first time in KISL records dating back to 1997.

“In fact, the highest place Oak Ridge High School had ever placed since 1997 is seventh back in 2003,” a press release said.

The Sunday swim meet was in the Allan Jones Aquatic Center at UT.

Out of 22 ORHS swimmers, nine swimmers competed in the finals, the press release said.

Here are meet results:

[Read more…]

Hospitals ask for your help

Posted at 4:22 pm January 26, 2022
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Methodist Medical Center Main Entrance — *Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Submitted photo)*

Emergency departments at hospitals in the Knoxville area are overflowing and many health care workers are absent due to illness, and health care systems are asking for your help as they start a third year battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our communities are still in an emergency,” the hospitals said in a statement Wednesday. “Health care systems continue to be under unprecedented strain. We remain committed to delivering the medical services needed by our communities, but we need your help.

The statement was issued by Covenant Health, which includes Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge; Tennova Healthcare; University of Tennessee Medical Center; Blount Memorial Hospital; and Sweetwater Hospital Association.

“The Omicron variant is racing through East Tennessee with lightning speed, spreading easily from person to person, increasing infections and hospitalizations,” the hospitals said in their statement. “This year. we are also seeing large numbers of patients with respiratory illnesses such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), pneumonia, and post-COVID-19 complications, in addition to heart attacks, strokes, and other emergent care needs. Our emergency departments are overflowing with these cases and other medical emergencies, leading to longer-than-usual wait times as we work to deliver care to all who are counting on us.”

[Read more…]

â€˜Brain Foodâ€™ need increases as federal aid reduced

Posted at 5:03 pm January 25, 2022
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

*Roane State Community College Brain Food volunteer Mariella Akers, left, with Sue Byrne from First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, a sponsor for the pantry. (Photo courtesy Roane State)*

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

â€œBrain Food,â€ the name of Roane State Community Collegeâ€™s pantry for students at the Oak Ridge Branch Campus, has seen a big increase in students taking advantage of the free service.

A reduction in federal assistance that went into effect in late September is seen as one of the reasons for the uptick, an official said.

At the Oak Ridge campus, between nine and 11 students were helped by Brain Food each week during the Spring 2021 semester, while that number jumped to 18 to 20 students in the fall.

Last year, more than 120 students were served. After tallying the reported members of each studentâ€™s household, pantry staffers estimate that a total of 373 people received assistance in 2021. Mariella Akers, Oak Ridge faculty secretary and Brain Food volunteer, added that 120 of those household members were children.

[Read more…]

Atomic Junior rower gets scholarship to Oregon State

Posted at 1:22 pm January 22, 2022
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Atomic Junior rower Mason Fischer of Oak Ridge High School has signed a letter of intent to Oregon State University, where she plans to major in kinesiology, a press release said.

She will be rowing for the Beavers in the powerful Pac-12 Conference, the press release said. Fischer is in her third year of rowing and was in the Atomic four that finished 8^thÂ nationally last spring.

[Read more…]

COVID cases exceed 250 per day

Posted at 3:05 am January 20, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

Â The number of new COVID-19 cases hit a pandemic high last week with more than 250 new cases per day, and deaths have increased to a level not seen since the winter 2020 surge, more than one per day. Positivity soared last week to a record 49%, with one out of every two patients testing positive for COVID-19. Hospitalizations at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge have tripled since after Christmas. About 22% of the county’s residents have been infected since the pandemic began roughly two years ago.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also haveÂ advanced subscription options. You can see themÂ here. We also acceptÂ donations. You can donateÂ here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

Note: This story was updated at 10:05 a.m.

The number of new COVID-19 cases hit a pandemic high last week with more than 250 new cases per day, and deaths have increased to a level not seen since the winter 2020 surge, more than one per day. Positivity soared last week to a record 49%, with one out of every two patients testing positive for COVID-19. Hospitalizations at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge have tripled since after Christmas. About 22% of the county’s residents have been infected since the pandemic began roughly two years ago.

Pro

Temporary

Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)