Oak Ridge Today

Monologue Slam will feature artistic competition, fundraising

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The first East Tennessee Monologue Slam Fundraiser for Veterans and First Responders will be in Clinton on Saturday, November 12, and it will benefit the Infinite Warrior Foundation.

The Monologue Slam will feature a performance competition, and it will be at E. Claire’s Coffee House in Clinton in partnership with Actor’s Way In acting studio. It is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. November 12.

“Each performer is given three minutes to perform a monologue of their choice and then receive critiques from the judges,” a press release said. “After the first round of actors have gone up, three finalists are selected to move on to the second round.

“Here’s where things get interesting. In the second round, finalists are given plot twists that must be incorporated into their original piece. Some twists have included the actor now being drunk at their wedding or turning into a werewolf.

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Thursday forum for City Council, BOE candidates

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There is a Thursday evening forum for candidates for Oak Ridge City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education.

The candidate forum is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 20, in City Room A-111 in the Coffey/McNally Building at Roane State Community College, 701 Briarcliff Avenue. It’s been organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.

Candidates running for Oak Ridge City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education have been invited to participate, a press release said. William “Bear” Stephenson has been invited to moderate.

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CNS awards $120K in grants

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CNS Community Investment Grant Recipients are pictured following a grant ceremony on Oct. 17, 2022. (Submitted photo)

Twenty-two East Tennessee nonprofits received a total of $121,600 from the Consolidated Nuclear Security Community Investment Fund at a ceremony October 17.

Since 2015, the fund has awarded 180 grants to more than 120 nonprofit organizations and educational institutions in 20 East Tennessee counties, totaling a combined $1.04 million, a press release said.

The Community Investment Fund is a partnership between CNS, the managing and operating contractor of Y-12 National Security Complex, and the East Tennessee Foundation.

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League presentation today: ‘Taliban rule and Afghan women’

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On Tuesday, the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge will host Masooma Hussaini, a graduate student in journalism at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She will share first-hand information about the destruction of human and female rights in Afghanistan after the take-over by the Taliban.

This virtual event will be held at 12 p.m. Eastern time via Zoom.

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State, federal candidate forum on Tuesday

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There will be a forum on Tuesday for candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives and Tennessee House and Senate.

The candidate forum is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and it is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, in Roane State Community College City Room A-111 in the Coffey/McNally Building, 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

Candidates running for the U.S. House Third Congressional District, Tennessee Fifth Senatorial District, and Tennessee House of Representatives Districts 32 and 33 have been invited to participate, a press release said. William “Bear” Stephenson has been invited to moderate.

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Almost 5,000 pounds of hazardous waste collected

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Almost 5,000 pounds of hazardous household waste was collected at a drop-off event in Anderson County this month.

The Household Hazard Waste drop-off on October 1 was sponsored by Anderson County Solid Waste Management Department and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. They collected 4,798 pounds of household hazardous waste, a press release said.

The TDEC collection report indicated 1,874 pounds of poisonous material (e.g., pesticides) was dropped off that day by area residents at the collection site in Oak Ridge. Other hazardous materials collected included 664 pounds of oil-based paint, 769 pounds of non-hazardous liquid, 616 pounds of flammable liquid, 460 pounds of corrosive material, 289 pounds of aerosol containers, and 61 pounds of fluorescent tubes.

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Norton Road home destroyed by fire

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A home on Norton Road in Oak Ridge was destroyed in a fire on Sunday, and a resident had injuries that were not life-threatening. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

A home on Norton Road in Oak Ridge was destroyed by a fire on Sunday, and a resident had injuries that were not life-threatening.

The house fire was reported at about 5 p.m. Sunday, September 4. When Oak Ridge firefighters arrived, they saw a large amount of smoke and fire coming from the home, a press release said.

“The fire was under control within 20 minutes of arrival, but fire crews remained on scene for the next several hours to put out hot spots,” the press release said.

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Y-12 now getting power from Pine Ridge substation

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The Pine Ridge substation now serves the Y-12 National Security Complex, including the Uranium Processing Facility. (Photo provided by CNS Y-12)

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The Y-12 National Security Complex flipped the switch on a new era as crews finalized the process of moving the entire site’s electrical supply to the new Pine Ridge substation.

In June, the Building 9204-02 (Beta 2) and Building 9201-01 (Alpha 1) electrical feeds were disconnected from the Elza-1 substation, marking the final load transition to Pine Ridge.

The new substation was built as one of seven Uranium Processing Facility Project subprojects. Designed and built by the Tennessee Valley Authority, Pine Ridge substation construction began in 2017 and was completed in 2020 at a cost of $60 million. The project team received the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary’s Project Management Achievement Award for finishing $13 million under budget and six months ahead of schedule. It is a 70-MVA (mega volt amp) facility and includes:

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Man sentenced to 8 years after fleeing, crashing, attempting carjackings

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An Oak Ridge Police Department officer was injured in a crash and children were taken to the hospital as a man fled from police on South Illinois Avenue around Panera Bread on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, authorities said. (File photo by City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Police Department)

An Oak Ridge man received an eight-year sentence Tuesday when he pleaded guilty to seven charges after fleeing from police on South Illinois Avenue four years ago, crashing, and attempting two carjackings in the Panera Bread drive-through.

Khristoff Deshawn Lee, 29, pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court Tuesday afternoon to two counts of attempted carjacking, two counts of reckless aggravated assault, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a weapon, and evading arrest.

TBI investigating man’s death

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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death of a 39-year-old man during an interaction with Oak Ridge police officers in the Hendrix Creek subdivision on Sunday afternoon.

Oak Ridge Police Department officers had made contact with the man, Tyler Jones, after receiving a report of a suspicious person around Heritage Drive, the TBI said. He began showing signs of distress, and medical personnel were called.

“At some point during the encounter, after medical personnel arrived, Jones became unresponsive,” the TBI said. “Officers immediately rendered aid until paramedics arrived. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”

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Oak Ridge tennis court dance is Thursday

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Join National Park Service rangers in Oak Ridge for a tennis court dance this Thursday, July 21, 2022. (Photo credit: U.S. Department of Energy/Ed Westcott)

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will host a Tennis Court Dance in Oak Ridge on Thursday, July 21.

The dance is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Jackson Square tennis courts.

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DOE bus tours restart in Oak Ridge

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U.S. Department of Energy public bus tours have resumed in Oak Ridge after a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo from DOE)

U.S. Department of Energy public bus tours have resumed in Oak Ridge after a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tours began running again on July 11, and they are scheduled to continue through November.

“The program is a longtime staple in the community, helping educate residents and visitors about the site’s rich history and current missions,” DOE said in an EM Update newsletter published Tuesday. (EM stands for environmental management.)

The tour program started in 1996 and has attracted tens of thousands of visitors from all 50 states, DOE said.

The three-and-a-half-hour tours allow visitors to see all three DOE sites on the Oak Ridge Reservation, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Y-12 National Security Complex, and East Tennessee Technology Park.

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