Oak Ridge Today

C&D Tire fire under investigation

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A fire at C&D Tire in Oak Ridge on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, is under investigation. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The fire on Friday at C&D Tire is under investigation.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department arrived at the fire within two minutes after receiving the report of the fire, according to City of Oak Ridge spokesperson Lauren Gray.

The fire was reported at 6:27 p.m. Friday. It was under control in less than 10 minutes and extinguished in less than 15 minutes, Gray said.

On Sunday, the garage doors at the shop, a popular place to buy tires in Oak Ridge, were boarded up with yellow fire line tape strung across the doors.

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Crews prepare Y-12 building for demolition by removing asbestos, water

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Built in 1944, Beta-1 is a former Manhattan Project era enrichment facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management expects to demolish the 210,000-square-foot facility in 2026. (Photo courtesy Y-12/UCOR)

Workers have finished major pre-demolition work on a wartime building at Y-12 National Security Complex.

The deactivation work at the Beta-1 building included removing asbestos; old, brittle thorium-contaminated piping; and more than two million gallons of water.

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its contractor UCOR have been working toward the deactivation milestone since 2020, a press release said. Workers finished deactivating the above-ground floors of the Beta-1 facility in December. Now, only deactivation work in the basement remains before the teardown can begin. Demolition of Beta-1 is expected to begin in 2026.

Beta-1 was built in 1944 to enrich uranium for the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That federal project built the world’s first atomic bombs. Beta-1, a 210,000-square-foot, two-story building, was later converted to laboratory space for fusion-energy technology.

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Winter weather: Closings, cancellations, delays

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Photos courtesy Oak Ridge Schools/ Isaac Walton, transportation supervisor, and Allen Thacker, supervisor of maintenance and operations

Oak Ridge Schools will be closed again on Monday due to unsafe road conditions, and City of Oak Ridge offices will open three hours late.

The schools were closed four days after the holiday last week due to the winter weather, as were many other schools, offices, and businesses. Some roads were also briefly closed. The winter weather has included more than eight inches of snow, freezing temperatures, below-zero wind chills, and slippery roads and sidewalks.

On Sunday, the Oak Ridge Police Department and City of Oak Ridge said many roadways were still very icy despite being treated and plowed.

“Conditions are expected to worsen once the sun goes down,” they said. “Stay home, if possible.”

The schools said temperatures are projected to warm on Monday.

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Wind chill advisory issued

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Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown

Cold temperatures and wind chills below zero are expected Friday night into Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

The NWS issued a wind chill advisory starting 11 p.m. Friday and continuing through noon Saturday.

Temperatures were forecast to continue to fall quickly with most places in the single digits by Saturday morning.

“Below 0 wind chills are also expected late tonight (Friday night) through Saturday with most places barely reaching 20 degrees on Saturday,” the NWS said. “Temperatures Saturday night will fall to near or even below 0 in most places. A warming trend will follow into next week.”

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Freezing rain affects roads

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Rutgers Avenue is pictured above near Walmart early Friday morning, Jan. 19, 2024. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Freezing rain Thursday night affected roads in the region, and crashes, road closures, and icy roads were reported.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said the rain had turned most roads to ice.

“We advise that you do not travel as conditions may worsen throughout the night,” the ORPD said about 10 p.m. Thursday.

Friday morning, the department said police officers had responded to several weather-related crashes.

“The roads have had minor improvements,” the ORPD said. “However, there are still a large amount of troubled areas.”

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Wind chills expected below zero

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Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown

Wind chills below zero are expected through Tuesday night through noon Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

A wind chill advisory went into effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday and will continue until lunchtime Wednesday.

The low Tuesday night is forecast at 1 degree Fahrenheit, with a wind around 5 miles per hour and wind chill values between -2 and -7.

The high on Wednesday is supposed to be near 28 with wind chill values between -8 and 2.

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Roads, schools, businesses closed after heavy snow

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A snowplow works around Methodist Medical Center on Oak Ridge Turnpike during heavy snow on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Roads, schools, and businesses closed as snow fell for hours in Oak Ridge. The snow began about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, and snow continued to fall at about 6 p.m. Monday.

Oak Ridge Today measured almost seven inches of snow at about 5 p.m. Monday. The National Weather Service in Morristown had forecast between four to six and six to eight inches of snow in the Oak Ridge and Clinton areas.

“Very cold air is moving in across the region with sub-freezing temperatures continuing through Thursday,” the National Weather Service said. “Temperatures Tuesday night will be around zero!”

Roads, even main streets like Oak Ridge Turnpike, had a thick layer of snow on them, with a wet, slippery surface underneath. Traffic was light when normally it would be heavy, and most drivers drove slowly and cautiously, with some turning on their hazard lights.

“With significant snow accumulations across much of the area and very cold temperatures, hazardous travel conditions may develop,” the NWS said. “Avoid travel, but if you must, use caution.”

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New Year’s Eve Countdown with food trucks, bands, ball drop

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A New Year’s Eve countdown in Oak Ridge will feature food trucks, bands, and a ball drop.

There will also be fireworks, and the event and parking will be free, according to Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, which is presenting the countdown.

The event is scheduled from 9 p.m. Sunday, December 31, to 1 a.m. Monday, January 1, at Alvin K. Bissell Park. The park is located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Musical performers will include Eli Fox Band and Alex and the Animals, according to an event flyer.

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NRC approves construction permit for Hermes reactor

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An image showing the proposed Hermes demonstration reactor by Kairos Power. The test reactor would be built at Heritage Center industrial park in west Oak Ridge. (Image by Kairos Power)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a construction permit for a test reactor at Heritage Center industrial park in west Oak Ridge. The NRC decision was announced Tuesday, and construction could start next year.

The 35-megawatt thermal Hermes demonstration reactor would be built by Kairos Power, which has headquarters in Alameda, California, and a Tennessee operation in Oak Ridge.

Hermes would use molten salt to cool its reactor core. It would not generate electricity. Instead, it would provide operational data to support the development of a larger version for commercial power, the NRC said.

“A critical step on Kairos Power’s iterative pathway to commercializing its advanced reactor technology, the Hermes reactor will demonstrate the company’s ability to deliver clean, safe, and affordable nuclear heat,” the company said in a press release.

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Community Band has Christmas Concert & Sing Along

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You can enjoy Christmas songs and carols with the Oak Ridge Community Band this afternoon, Sunday, December 10.

The concert is scheduled to start at 3:30 pm. at the Grove Theater at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge.

“This is a free, family-friendly celebration and a great time to relax, take a break from shopping, and sing your favorite carols and hear familiar Christmas music,” an announcement said.

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Christmas Parade is Saturday evening

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Santa Claus participated in a previous Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade. (File photo credit: Ray Smith.)

The Oak Ridge Christmas Parade is this evening, Saturday, December 9. It is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

The parade is organized by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. The theme of this year’s parade is “Sleigh Ride.”

As in the past, the parade route is down Lafayette Drive to Oak Ridge Turnpike, and the parade will end at Oak Ridge High School.

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TVA retires Bull Run Fossil Plant

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An aerial view of the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton is pictured above. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Authority)

The Tennessee Valley Authority has retired the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton.

The plant burned the last of its onsite coal onsite in August, ending a 48-day run. TVA retired the plant December 1.

The TVA Board of Directors approved the retirement of Bull Run on February 14, 2019. That followed an environmental review process that included public input, TVA said.

Bull Run began operating in 1967. At the time it was the largest in the world in the volume of steam produced, according to TVA. Located on 750 acres in Claxton across from Oak Ridge, it was the only single-unit power plant in the TVA system, and it was designed to produce up to 950 megawatts. It has an 800-foot reinforced concrete chimney.

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