Oak Ridge Today

Zacharia retiring as ORNL director

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Thomas Zacharia has served as laboratory director since July 2017. (Photo credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

Thomas Zacharia plans to retire as director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the end of 2022 after 35 years at the nation’s largest science and energy laboratory, a press release said.

Zacharia has served as laboratory director since July 2017, overseeing the lab’s extensive $2.5 billion research portfolio and staff of nearly 6, the press release said.

“An incredible leader, extraordinary collaborator, and powerhouse innovator, Thomas is leaving a profound impact on ORNL and the world,” said Randy Boyd, University of Tennessee system president and chairman of the UT-Battelle board of governors. UT-Battelle operates ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

In his tenure as lab director, Zacharia spearheaded significant growth in ORNL’s staff and portfolio, established new research initiatives, and guided the lab through the COVID-19 pandemic, the press release said.

Among milestones during Zacharia’s tenure as director, the press release said, the laboratory has:

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Investigation under way in West Outer Drive house fire

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Three people are safe after a house fire on West Outer Drive on Friday morning, July 15, 2022. (Photo from City of Oak Ridge)

Three people are safe after a house fire on West Outer Drive on Friday morning.

Fire crews arrived on scene of the home, located at 687 West Outer Drive, within three minutes of the call, a press release said. They arrived at 10:06 a.m. to find the home on fire with heavy smoke coming from the roof.

One man suffered injuries that weren’t life-threatening after escaping through a window, the press release said. He was treated on scene and did not need to be taken to the hospital.

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Update on downtown Oak Ridge Tuesday

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Wayne Blasius

A city official will give an update on the proposed development of downtown Oak Ridge during a lunchtime meeting Tuesday.

The presentation will be led by Wayne Blasius, director of the Oak Ridge Planning and Development Department. The online Lunch with the League meeting has been organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and it is scheduled from 12 to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 15.

“Because of its unique development as a community to support the Manhattan Project (during World War II), the City of Oak Ridge lacked a central downtown,” a press release said. “In the fall of 2019, the city prepared a vision for a new city center, which included zoning changes, property acquisition, and soliciting development. With zoning changes and property acquisition in place, on August 6, 2021, the Oak Ridge Land Bank held its ‘Toast the Town’ event to hear the formal announcement of the call for development. Two excellent proposals were received in response to the (request for proposals) and will be considered for approval by the Land Bank Board at their business meeting, March 15, 5:30 pm (location to be announced). Interested community members are encouraged to attend.”

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ORHS Masquers presents ‘Into the Woods’

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The production of ‘Into the Woods’ by Oak Ridge High School Masquers features Emmaline Estep as “Rapunzel,” Anna Younger as “Cinderella,” Norah Younger as “the Witch,” Max Mischler as “Jack,” Emily Salko as “Little Red Riding Hood,” and Jack Lloyd as “the Narrator.” (Photo submitted by ORHS Masquers)

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s extracurricular drama program, is presenting “Into the Woods,” the Stephen Sondheim musical based on the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tales, in four performances this weekend.

The performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, March 4; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, March 5; and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 6, at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center at Oak Ridge High School.

“Into the Woods” blends the story of Cinderella, Jack, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, the Baker, his Wife, and the Witch into a single interwoven tale of adventure and loss, a press release said. Backed by the brilliant music and lyrics of Sondheim, the songs explore choices the characters must make and how they process the experiences they are having. The first act brings every character their dreamed successes and is very family friendly, the press release said.

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Oak Ridge names first honorary poet laureate

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Erin Elizabeth Smith

The City of Oak Ridge has named Erin Elizabeth Smith as its first honorary poet laureate. Smith will serve in this role for a two-year period, a press release said.

“In this role, she will inspire and promote literacy and literature to the residents of the city at things like cultural events and city celebrations,” the press release said. “With Oak Ridge being a unique community as the first and primary Manhattan Project site, it places a high value on literacy as foundation to our other values of education, science, technology, and environmental stewardship.”

In the fall of 2021, Oak Ridge City Council was approached about the concept of establishing the honorary position of poet laureate for the city. City Council was in concurrence, the Oak Ridge Poet Laureate Committee was created, and a nomination and selection process took place, the press release said.

Smith was selected after a detailed review of three nominees and was formally designated to the role at the February 14 City Council meeting.

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Roane State employees receive excellence awards

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Four Roane State Community College employees have been recognized as winners of the prestigious Excellence Award bestowed by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development. (Photo by RSCC)

Four Roane State Community College employees have been recognized as winners of the prestigious Excellence Award bestowed by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development.

NISOD has been named the country’s leading provider of professional development for community college faculty, staff, and administrators by the American Association of Community Colleges, a press release said. The organization is more than 40 years old and provides faculty-focused programs and resources.

Honorees were nominated by their academic deans as well as Vice President of Student Learning Diane Ward and Roane State President Chris Whaley. Faculty and staff members chosen for the honor must demonstrate an outstanding commitment and contribution to their students and colleagues, the press release said.

The following RSCC employees were recognized this year:

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Police ask for help finding missing man

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Arthur Lee

The Oak Ridge Police Department and several area agencies are searching for a missing Oak Ridge man near Melton Hill Lake.

Arthur Lee, 59, was last seen Sunday and may have been in the area of Melton Lake Drive and Melton Lake Peninsula, a press release said.

ORPD, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and the Blount County Sheriff’s Office began searching for Lee around 11 a.m. Tuesday, the press release said. The Oak Ridge Fire Department help search with its boat on Melton Hill Lake.

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Tennessee Holocaust Commission accepting student entries for 2022 contest

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Mira Kimmelman challenged students and those in her audiences to reflect upon the history of the Holocaust and contemporary examples of injustice. (Submitted photo)

“The Holocaust is a lesson in human (and inhuman) history that took place because of hate, bigotry, indifference—all characteristics that know no bounds. These traits spread like wildfire. If we remain indifferent to human suffering, it can happen again; it can happen here, and who knows who the next victims will be? Only by remembering the bitter lesson of Hitler’s legacy can we hope it will never be repeated. Teach it, tell it, read it.”—Mira Ryczke Kimmelman, “Echoes from the Holocaust”

Mira Kimmelman challenged students to reflect upon the history of the Holocaust and contemporary examples of injustice as she gave talks about her own experiences for more than 50 years, according to Larry Leibowitz, Knoxville attorney who is chair of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission.

The Mira Kimmelman “Learning from the Holocaust” Contest, established after her death in 2019, continues her legacy, a press release said. The contest invites Tennessee high school and middle school students to submit essays and projects that reflect how the lessons of the Holocaust are relevant to current events and their own lives.

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CROET president tells Oak Ridge story on national podcast

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Teresa Frady

Teresa Frady, president of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, is the Spotlight Interview guest on this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, which covers U.S. Department of Energy environmental management activities around the nation.

Hosted by Michael Butler, the episode is available on all podcast platforms and can be accessed at www.gonefissionpodcast.com, a press release said.

Frady shared with Butler’s listeners CROET’s mission to help DOE transition underused assets such as land, buildingsm and equipment to private sector companies at the East Tennessee Technology Park, also known as the Heritage Center. She recently replaced Lawrence Young, who had served as CROET’s president and chief executive officer since its founding in 1995.

“Our partnership with DOE in transferring federal land helps the region with creation of quality jobs but also adds the property to Roane County and City of Oak Ridge tax rolls,” she said in the press release. “This helps the communities and saves the federal government money since DOE no longer has to maintain those assets.”

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Breakfast with Legislators on Feb. 28

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The first Breakfast with the Legislators this year is scheduled for Monday morning, February 28.

The breakfast will be virtual, and it scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. It has been organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.

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Workers devise strategies to clean up high-risk contaminated lab at ORNL

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Workers lower detection equipment through an opening in the roof of the East Cell Bank at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to capture readings inside the facility. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management/UCOR)

Innovation has been required as federal cleanup crews work to deactivate and demolish the final portion of the former Radioisotope Development Laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The structure is known as the East Cell Bank, and it is on the U.S. Department of Energy’s list of high-risk excess contaminated facilities, said a press release from DOE Office of Environmental Management. The East Cell Bank is located in the heart of ORNL, near ongoing research missions.

Workers with cleanup contractor UCOR characterized the final cell to identify potential radiological and hazardous contamination, the press release said. They conducted the work in stages under a six-story protective structure erected to ensure nearby facilities and ongoing research missions at ORNL aren’t impacted by the cleanup.

The crews began by taking surveys and readings from an opening at the front of the structure, the release said. They used long-reach tools and a specialized radiation detector. The detector overlays a radiation-intensity color map on a picture of the environment and identifies gamma-ray emitting nuclides and their locations.

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Willow Ridge Garden Center named small business of month

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce recently presented Willow Ridge Garden Center with its Small Business of the Month designation for February 2022. Pictured are Christine Michaels, Greg Steele, Kelley O’Dell, Scott Russell, Chris Johnson, April Fugate, Lora Barker, Florenda Howard, and Norm Nelson. (Submitted photo)

 

Willow Ridge Garden Center has been named the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Month for February 2022.

The award is sponsored by Enrichment Federal Credit Union.

Willow Ridge Garden Center is located at 97 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

“When the weather is bleak, wet, dreary, and cold, it may not seem like the time to visit Willow Ridge Garden Center,” a press release said. “But, according to garden center retail manager Greg Steele—or ‘Greg the Friendly Garden Guy’ to followers of the Willow Ridge Facebook page—it’s always planting season. ‘We are here year round and you can plant year round. There is not a time when you can not plant, so you can always get your hands dirty—it’s good for you!'” [Read more…]