Oak Ridge Today

Fifteenth Annual Pet Fest, Blessing planned on Saturday

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Pam Williams

Pam Williams and her Westie Jessica at the 2014 Pet Fest. (Submitted photo)

 

Grace Lutheran Church will celebrate its 15th Annual Pet Fest and Blessing on Saturday, October 1.

This year’s event will provide a chance to spend a productive day with your pet while you gather important information about the services and associations available to pets and their owners, a press release said. The Blessing of the Animals is held in the pavilion behind the church at 3 p.m. The church will also hold a Bake Sale, Rummage Sale, and Silent Auction to raise funds for all the participating rescue groups. Boy Scouts and other volunteers will walk your pet while you shop.

Activities will take place from 1-5 p.m. and parking will be available for the mobility-impaired at the church or in the Woodland Elementary School parking lot behind the church. [Read more…]

Local environmental board meets with federal, state agencies to discuss cleanup mission

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The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board holds its annual planning meeting in August 2016 with U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. (Submitted photo)

 

In August, members of a citizen’s advisory board met with representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to consider key issues for Oak Ridge Reservation cleanup in fiscal year 2017, which begins in October.

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board held its 2016 Annual Planning Meeting in Townsend, Tennessee, on August 6. The Saturday meeting brought together members of the Oak Ridge board, leadership from DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM, and liaisons from federal and state regulatory agencies to review cleanup accomplishments in FY 2016 and discuss priorities for FY 2017.

ORSSAB is a federally chartered citizens’ panel that provides recommendations to OREM on its environmental management activities at DOE sites locally. OREM encourages public participation in federal projects and meets regularly with the Oak Ridge board, as well as with other citizen and stakeholder groups within the community to gather public perspectives regarding a diverse cleanup mission that addresses legacy nuclear waste at sites across the Oak Ridge Reservation through numerous activities, including waste disposition, long-term stewardship, and site restoration. [Read more…]

Smallridge, a former school superintendent, running for Charter Commission

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Bob Smallridge

Bob Smallridge

Bob Smallridge is running for Anderson County Charter Commission in District 8, which includes the Emory Valley, Hendrix Creek, and Woodland voting precincts.

The eight-member Charter Commission will be elected in November with the purpose of considering and voting on possible changes to Anderson County government, a press release said.

Once elected and certified, the Commission will have nine months to come up with a recommended document for voter approval or rejection through a countywide referendum.

As pointed out in a recent newspaper editorial, a home rule charter provides, “numerous options for improving county government, but also ample opportunity to make government worse,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Fillauer, the school board chair, seeks re-election to BOE

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Keys Fillauer

Keys Fillauer

Keys Fillauer is seeking to be re-elected to the Oak Ridge Board of Education.

Fillauer has served on the school board for 15 years and has served as chair for the last four years. He also serves as East director for the Tennessee School Board Association Board of Directors.

Fillauer is a retired Oak Ridge teacher and coach. He taught and coached at Robertsville Junior High for 27 years and at Oak Ridge High School for four years, a press release said. Fillauer has been recognized as a member of the All Tennessee School Board, Tennessee Teacher of the Year, and Freedom Foundation Award winner, and he received the Governor’s Outstanding Tennessean Award.

Fillauer has also received the Service Above Self award from the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, the press release said. He is a member of the Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame and the Anderson County Hall of Fame.

Fillauer serves as president of a property management business in Cleveland, Tennessee. He is involved in many fundraising efforts, especially for the Ronald McDonald House, the press release said. [Read more…]

Park Service, DOE seek comment on foundation document for new Manhattan Project park

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Manhattan Project National Historical Park Opens Nov. 12, 2015

The iconic “War Ends” photo is recreated in part on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, with a “Park Opens” photo that celebrates the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge. (U.S. Department of Energy photo by Lynn Freeny)

 

The National Park Service and U.S. Department of Energy are asking the public to review and comment on a draft foundation document for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The park includes Oak Ridge, and it was established in November 2015.

The foundation document is designed to affirm the park’s core mission and significance, its key resources and values, and the interpretive themes that tell its stories, a press release said.

Formally established last November at DOE locations in three states, the park marks the history of the mid-20th Century people, science, and events that led to creation of the atomic bomb in the top-secret effort known as the Manhattan Project.

Foundation documents are guidance tools individualized for each of the National Park Service’s 413 units to direct basic park planning and management, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORNL United Way campaign tops $900,000, an increase from 2015

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s United Way campaign’s $900,000 “big check” with, from left, Ann Weaver, whose Facilities Management Division was the top special fundraiser; 2016 chair Sharon Kohler; co-chair Ken Tobin; Facilities and Operations Director Jimmy Stone, directorate challenge winner for large directorates; and David Keim, representing the Office of the Laboratory Director, the challenge winner for smaller directorates. (ORNL photo by Genevieve Martin)

 

The 2016 United Way campaign at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory raised $900,000—an increase of $30,000 over the 2015 campaign.

“This is a fantastic and generous offer of support from our employees, management, volunteers, and everyone who has been associated in one way or another with this year’s United Way effort,” said campaign chair Sharon Kohler.

The $900,000 total included a corporate contribution from UT-Battelle. Kohler credited the lab’s Leadership Givers, who contribute a certain percentage of their salary per pay period, for providing 65 percent of the total designated by staff through payroll deduction. There were 22 new Leadership Givers joining this year. [Read more…]

Football photos: Oak Ridge-Sevier County

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Oak Ridge sophomore Jordan Graham (22) runs during a 42-10 win over Sevier County on Blankenship Field on Homecoming Night on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

Oak Ridge jumped to a quick 35-0 first-quarter lead over Sevier County on Friday, and the Wildcats finished with a 42-10 win on Homecoming Night. Here are photos by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]

Roane State mechatronics program to host Open House on Sept. 26

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Roane State mechatronics director Gordon Williams, center, says mechatronics is a field that requires creativity along with technical skills. (Photo by Roane State)

 

It’s the well-paying field of mechatronics, where skilled technicians operate, maintain, and repair high-tech automated manufacturing systems, and Roane State Community College is hosting an open house in September to recruit for next spring’s mechatronics classes.

The event will be from 5 until 8 p.m. on Monday, September 26, at Roane State’s Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility, located in a former National Guard Armory off Charles Seivers Boulevard at 214 Nave Street in Clinton.

Current mechatronics students will be available to answer questions. Prospective students will have “the hands-on opportunity to work with the equipment, including robotic arms,” program director Gordon Williams said. Light refreshments will be served. [Read more…]

TORCH: Proud of community support for Applewood residents, but still work to do

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Applewood Apartments Hunter Circle Aug 8 2016 1

As of Friday, September 23, there were still 11 households that might not have a place to live when Applewood Apartments closes on September 30, according to an organization that helps homeless families in Anderson County. Pictured above is an Applewood Apartments building on Hunter Circle on Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

As of Friday, September 23, there were still 11 households that might not have a place to live when Applewood Apartments closes on September 30, according to an organization that helps homeless families in Anderson County.

The closure of the 13-building apartment complex on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle in the Highland View neighborhood was announced in early August.

Andy O’Quinn of Trinity Out-Reach Center of Hope, or TORCH, which is based in Oak Ridge, said he is “extremely proud” of the way the community and its organizations have worked together to help Applewood residents, but there is still work to do.

“At the moment, we are looking for landlords that would be willing to rent by the month to a few people that who receive a disability check and will be getting into income-based housing but need a place to go in the meantime,” O’Quinn said in a Friday status report. “We are also seeking two- and three-bedroom rentals below $550. for our working families. If you think you might have a unit to rent, please e-mail Andy O’Quinn at andy.oquinn@oakridgetorch.org.” [Read more…]

Jefferson Middle School student confesses to making social media threats, ORPD says

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An 11-year-old student at Jefferson Middle School confessed to making potential threats of violence on Friday morning, authorities said.

The threats were made over social media and were against students who attend Jefferson Middle School, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department.

When it learned of the threats, the ORPD Support Services Unit, or SSU, was sent to Jefferson to protect the property while an investigation was started by ORPD’s Criminal Investigations Division, or CID, a press release said. SSU officers and CID detectives coordinated with Oak Ridge Schools staff to interview several students who may have had knowledge of the threats, the press release said. [Read more…]

Roane State graduate’s 9/11 tribute gains national attention

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Roane State paramedic graduate Jason Harding said he was “absolutely amazed at the response” to his 9/11 tribute. Early on the morning of Sept. 11, Harding strapped on 75 pounds of firefighter gear and climbed 110 stories on a stair climbing machine at the Maryville Planet Fitness. (Photo courtesy RSCC)

Roane State paramedic graduate Jason Harding said he was “absolutely amazed at the response” to his 9/11 tribute. Early on the morning of Sept. 11, Harding strapped on 75 pounds of firefighter gear and climbed 110 stories on a stair climbing machine at the Maryville Planet Fitness. (Photo courtesy RSCC)

 

A public safety officer at McGhee Tyson Airport never dreamed his solitary, early-morning tribute on the anniversary of a national tragedy would gain so much attention.

Jason Harding’s unique way to observe the 15 anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks went viral on social media and caught the attention of national news outlets, from People magazine to Fox News.

Harding, who completed Roane State Community College’s paramedic program in September 2011, is a certified police officer, paramedic, and firefighter for the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority.

He went into Maryville’s Planet Fitness at 6 a.m. September 11, wearing 75 pounds of firefighting gear, and asked permission to use one of the gym’s stair climbing machines. [Read more…]

Centrus, ORNL agree on $25 million contract for work on gas centrifuge uranium enrichment technology

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo courtesy USEC/Centrus Energy Corp.)

 

Six months after signing one contract, Centrus Energy Corporation and UT-Battelle LLC have agreed on a new contract for engineering and testing work on technology that uses gas centrifuges to enrich uranium.

Enriched uranium can be used in nuclear power plants and in nuclear weapons, as fuel for nuclear naval vessels, and to ensure a tritium supply, which is needed to maintain the effectiveness of America’s nuclear deterrent, a press release said.

The new Centrus Energy-UT-Battelle contract is valued at about $25 million, and it runs through September 30, 2017. Under this new contract, Centrus scientists, engineers, and operators will “use the company’s unique facilities in Oak Ridge to develop and test technology improvements to reduce costs, improve manufacturability, and enhance the long-term reliability of U.S. uranium enrichment technology,” the press release said.

UT-Battelle operates Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The uranium enrichment technology is known as the American Centrifuge technology. It’s expected to support future national security and energy security needs, the press release said. [Read more…]