Oak Ridge Today

Roane State’s Herron wins EMS Advocate honor

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Pictured, from left: John Fitzsimmons, retired director of Lincoln Medical Center EMS, Roane State’s Thomas Herron, and Rick Valentine, director of the Sevier County Ambulance Service. (Photo courtesy Linda P Photography)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Roane State’s Thomas Herron knows first-hand the trauma that EMS personnel can experience as part of their jobs.

Twenty-four years ago, he and a partner responded to an emergency call for a nine-year-old who did not survive. “I knew it bothered me, but I never realized how deeply at first,” Herron said.

Then, in March 2019, he learned that his partner from that call had taken their own life. A note was found that “mentioned me and that call,” said Herron, a Roane State assistant professor and clinical coordinator.

The incident was seared into his psyche, prompting Herron to launch a campaign to make EMS personnel aware of the “exploding problems with mental health issues” also faced by firefighters and law enforcement personnel.

“We’ve always told ourselves we’re supposed to be tougher,” Herron said, “but there’s so much research showing we’re missing the early warning signs of mental health issues.”

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Madison Lamon wins President’s Award, Roane State’s highest student honor

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Madison Lamon

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

It was the perfect setting for a surprise announcement: surrounded by her teammates and coach at a team cookout.

Madison “Madi” Lamon watched on a YouTube livestream on Awards Night that she had been named the winner of Roane State Community College’s highest student honor – the President’s Award.

“I was very surprised,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting it at all.”

Lamon, 19, a pitcher for the Roane State Raiders softball team, is the latest recipient of the award, and on an auspicious occasion – the 50th anniversary of the community college. Current Roane State President Chris Whaley won the award as a student in 1989.

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CNS donates $10,000 to Oak Ridge High School NJROTC

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Oak Ridge High School Principal Garfield Adams, Cmdr. Keith Klemm, Y-12 Site Manager and retired Capt. Gene Sievers, and Chief Ryan Nicholls at a recent ceremony where Consolidated Nuclear Security provided a $10,000 donation to support the Navy Junior ROTC program’s continued excellence. (Photo provided by Oak Ridge High School.)

The Oak Ridge High School Navy Junior ROTC began four years ago with a donation from Consolidated Nuclear Security. As the first class of seniors who have been with the program all four years graduates, CNS is making another significant donation to the program, a press release said.

On May 19, parents and NJROTC community partners attended a ceremony at Oak Ridge High School to celebrate the cadets’ accomplishments. During the ceremony, Y-12 Site Manager and retired U.S. Navy Captain Gene Sievers announced a $10,000 CNS donation for continued support of the program. Other organizations provided scholarships and awards to the cadets, the press release said.

“It’s vitally important to support programs like this in schools,” Sievers said. “Providing these students with a way to explore military careers and leadership while still in high school can significantly affect their career trajectory.”

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ORAU awards 35 research grants, $175K to junior faculty

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Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

ORAU has awarded competitive research grants totaling $175,000 to 35 junior faculty from its member institutions. The annual grants are made through the company’s Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards program that provides funds to enrich the research and professional growth of young faculty, a press release said.

The recipients, each of whom is in the first two years of a tenure track position, will receive $5,000 in seed money for the 2021-2022 academic year to enhance their research during the early stages of their careers. Each recipient’s institution matches the ORAU award with an additional $5,000, making the total prize worth $10,000 for each winner, the press release said. Winners may use the grants to purchase equipment, continue research, or travel to professional meetings and conferences.

Since the program’s inception, ORAU has awarded 804 grants totaling about $4 million, the press release said. Including the matching funds from member institutions, ORAU has facilitated grants worth more than $8 million, the release said.

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Y-12 deploys system to counter unauthorized drones

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Y-12 National Security Complex has deployed a system to counter unauthorized drones. Y-12 produces parts for nuclear weapons and stores highly enriched uranium, among other guarded national security missions.

Oak Ridge Today reported in November 2018 that Y-12 was one of four sites housing special nuclear materials where the National Nuclear Security Administration was deploying systems to counter drones. Deployed by the Office of Defense Nuclear Security, the systems have the capability to detect, identify, track, and intercept unsanctioned and suspicious drones, the NNSA said in 2018. At that time, one system had already been deployed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

The NNSA announced in a press release Monday that the system to counter unauthorized drones had been deployed at Y-12. The Y-12 system is intended to detect, identify, and track potentially malicious threats posed by drones, the NNSA said.

“The National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office (NPO) is announcing this deployment and the airspace restriction to the public to minimize the threat of unauthorized UAS (unmanned aircraft system) flights over Y-12,” said Teresa Robbins, NPO manager. “This will enhance our ability to effectively protect this vital national security facility.”

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USA Cycling Championships in Oak Ridge, Knoxville next week

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Two years ago, the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships opened Thursday, June 27, 2019, on Melton Lake Drive with the Individual Time Trial events. (File photo by Julio Culiat)

The USA Cycling National Pro Road, Criterium, and Time Trial Championships will be in Oak Ridge and Knoxville next week, June 17-20.

Oak Ridge will host the ITT (Individual Time Trial) National Championships for the third time in partnership with Visit Knoxville, a press release said.

The National Championships are scheduled just before the 2021 Olympics in Japan, where several Olympic athletes are expected to compete.

“This is an exciting time for Oak Ridge as we continue to show our natural assets and city to competitors from all over the world”, Hannah Fatheree, event manager for Explore Oak Ridge said in the press release. “We are grateful to the residents and visitors of Oak Ridge for their patience with traffic impacts and hope everyone comes out to watch the time trials.”

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Drive-through food giveaway scheduled for Saturday, June 19

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The Oak Ridge Hoofers Golf Group in conjunction with the Burlington Food Pantry and Second Harvest will be sponsoring a Drive-Through Food Giveaway on Saturday, June 19.

The drive-through will be in the parking lot of the Scarboro Community Center, and it will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a press release said.

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Registration open for summer reading at Clinton Library

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Clinton Public Library
Clinton Public Library

Registration is open for the 2021 Summer Reading Program at the Clinton Public Library.

“This year’s theme is ‘Tails and Tales,’ so join us at the library for a summer filled with exciting programs and activities,” a press release said.

The library, partnering with the Anderson County Animal Shelter, will kick off Summer Reading 2021 on Tuesday, June 8, with a special adoption fair on the front library lawn.

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New COVID-19 case rate continues slow decline

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These charts show the number of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations reported by month in Anderson County from March 2020 through May 2021. (Data from Tennessee Department of Health/Charts by Oak Ridge Today)

The average number of new COVID-19 cases reported each day in Anderson County has continued to slowly decline in May and early June, and the positivity rate has remained low. However, 10 more hospitalizations and one more death have been reported in the past three weeks.

The average number of new cases in the county during the past two weeks has been 3.6. That’s down from an average of 5.6 new cases per day during the previous two weeks.

It appears to be the lowest number of new cases per day, on average, since one year ago, in June 2020. That was before COVID-19 cases peaked in Anderson County in July and then peaked again in the winter, with many more cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from November 2020-January 2021.

The decline in the average number of new cases per day has been slow, especially starting in about April. Oak Ridge Today reported more than three weeks ago that the new daily case average had dropped to about six, and the positivity rate was about 3 percent.

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Learn about Wheat, a community before the war, during Saturday walk

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Wheat Community Before the Manhattan Project
The Wheat community before the Manhattan Project during World War II in the area that is now west Oak Ridge. (Photo submitted by National Park Service)

You can learn about Wheat, a community before World War II, during a walk in west Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The walk will be led by a National Park Service ranger starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 5. The program will begin at Blair Road and the North Boundary Greenway.

Wheat was a community that existed in what is now west Oak Ridge before the city was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons, before Germany could.

Oak Ridge is one of three sites that are part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The other two are Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

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Manhattan Project Park re-opens

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The National Park Service visitor center is pictured above at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The visitor center for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge re-opened on Tuesday.

The visitor center had been shut down for many months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The visitor center is at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on West Outer Drive. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

Oak Ridge is one of three sites that are part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The other two are Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico. All three were part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs, before Germany could. The park tells the story of the workers and their missions during and after the war.

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ORNL FCU summer concerts return this summer

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The Summer Sessions concert series produced by ORNL Federal Credit Union will return this summer after being canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The free concert series will kick off in July and continue through October, a press release said. It will feature bluegrass and Americana bands from throughout the region.

The first show will be held on Saturday, July 17, and it will feature Sierra Hull and Justin Moses. Hull, a native of Byrdstown, Tennessee, is an accomplished singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist who made her Opry debut at the age of 10, the press release said. Hull is married to and currently tours with Moses, a former member of Ricky Skaggs’ band, Kentucky Thunder. Opening for Hull and Moses will be The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, a bluegrass band formed in the Great Smoky Mountains.

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