Oak Ridge Today

Two injured in Roane crash

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Information from WYSH Radio

Two people were injured in a Saturday traffic accident in Roane County.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said two vehicles were headed east on Interstate 40 around noon when they collided on the overpass near Gallaher Road. The collision caused one vehicle to fall off the overpass and land on Gallaher Road.

Troopers said the two people had to be cut from the vehicle, and that Lifestar was sent to the scene. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Two flown to hospital by Lifestar, more taken by ambulance after Friday crash in west Knox

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Multiple people were taken to the hospital on Friday night after a crash in west Knox County that resulted in at least three people being pinned in a vehicle or vehicles, authorities said.

Officers from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to 610 Canton Hollow Road just before 8:30 p.m. Friday after two vehicles were involved in a crash. [Read more…]

Gov. Haslam announces Insure Tennessee plan

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

NASHVILLE—Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam this month unveiled his Insure Tennessee plan, a two-year pilot program to provide health care coverage to Tennesseans who currently don’t have access to health insurance or have limited options. The program rewards healthy behaviors, prepares members to transition to private coverage, promotes personal responsibility, and incentivizes choosing preventative and routine care instead of unnecessary use of emergency rooms, a press release said.

The governor announced that he plans to call a special session to focus on the proposal after the 109th General Assembly convenes in January.

“We made the decision in Tennessee nearly two years ago not to expand traditional Medicaid,” Haslam said in the press release. “This is an alternative approach that forges a different path and is a unique Tennessee solution. This plan leverages federal dollars to provide health care coverage to more Tennesseans, to give people a choice in their coverage, and to address the cost of health care, better health outcomes, and personal responsibility. [Read more…]

Tennessee legislators request support for TennCare waiver extension

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—Nine members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation sent a letter this month to Marilyn Tavenner, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, requesting an extension of TennCare’s waiver approval from earlier this year.

Because Tennessee does not receive funding through the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital, or DSH, program that every other state participates in, the lawmakers are requesting continuing funds to support Tennessee hospitals that help tens of thousands of low-income patients receive medical coverage they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. Just last year, these hospitals provided $950 million in charity care and $720 million in unreimbursed medical services to low-income Tennesseans.

Unlike hospitals in every other state, Tennessee hospitals are unable to offset these expenses with the help of the Medicaid DSH program. [Read more…]

DOE works with transuranic waste while NM facility shut down

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TRU Waste Processing Center

The TRU Waste Processing Center southwest of Oak Ridge National Laboratory off State Route 95 is pictured above. (Photo courtesy TWPC/WAI)

 

Worker Handles Remote TRU Waste

A worker manipulates RH waste at the TRU Waste Processing Center. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board)

In February 2014, two incidents at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, in New Mexico caused the shutdown of the only facility in the U.S. that permanently disposes of transuranic waste, or TRU waste. That waste is disposed in shafts, or drifts, about a half-mile below ground in an ancient salt bed. Some of that waste has come from Oak Ridge.

After months of investigations into the cause of a truck fire and a radiological release two weeks later, the U.S. Department of Energy released a recovery plan at the end of September that outlines the steps necessary to resume limited waste operations in the first quarter of 2016.

“Key elements of the recovery plan include strengthening safety programs, regulatory compliance, decontamination of the underground, increasing ventilation, mine stability and underground habitability, and additional workforce retraining,” according to a statement on WIPP’s website. [Read more…]

Wildcats’ historic 14-0 season start ends in loss to Tucker, Ga.

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This season’s historic 14-0 start for the Oak Ridge Wildcats boys’ basketball team ended in a 65-49 loss to the Tucker Tigers of Georgia at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational near Atlanta on Friday.

The Wildcats, who are now 14-1 overall and 6-0 in District 3-AAA, advanced after the Friday night game to play Stephenson, Georgia, at 1 p.m. today (Saturday, December 27).

Closer to home, the Lady Wildcats will play the Loudon Redskins at 3:30 p.m. today in the Lenoir City Christmas Tournament. The Lady Wildcats are 4-9 overall and 1-2 in District 3-AAA.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Area credit unions join to launch CU Community Title Company LLC

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CU Community and Credit Union Services of East Tennessee, or CUSET, have teamed up to launch CU Community Title Company LLC, effective January 2, 2015.

The joint venture represents a groundbreaking collaboration between East Tennessee’s most successful subsidiaries of ORNL Federal Credit Union and Y-12 Federal Credit Union, both headquartered in Oak Ridge, a press release said.

“Title companies are a natural extension of the mortgage business,” said Ron Honeycutt, CUSET chairman. “Y-12 FCU and ORNL FCU are two of the area’s largest and most successful mortgage providers. Forming a title company gives us added flexibility in meeting the mortgage needs of our respective membership, while ensuring they receive the best value, convenience, and peace of mind.” [Read more…]

Roane State Foundation High Tea to raise funds for student scholarships

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Linda Brown and Cindy Whaley Plan High Tea

From left, Linda Brown and Cindy Whaley work on planning the Roane State Foundation’s Upstairs/Downstairs High Tea, an event inspired by the PBS hit “Downton Abbey.” (Photo courtesy Roane State)

 

More tea, Lord Crawley?

If you enjoy the PBS hit “Downton Abbey,” then take a moment to experience a taste of manor life at the Roane State Community College Foundation’s Upstairs/Downstairs High Tea.

The High Tea will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 24, at the Whitestone Country Inn in Kingston.

Tickets are $50 for individuals and $75 for couples, and they will go on sale Monday, January 5. Table sponsorships are available. Proceeds will be used for student scholarships. [Read more…]

Y-12 honors past plant manager and building’s namesake, Jack Case

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Michelle Hurst, Linda Fellers, and Patrick Case

Jack Case’s granddaughter Michelle Hurst points out to her mother Linda Fellers and uncle Patrick Case that the artist who created the bust of her grandfather “pretty well nailed it on the likeness.” The family loaned a number of Case’s personal articles, including the bust given to him as a birthday present by a friend’s wife who was a ceramics artist. Other Y-12 historical artifacts of Case’s were included in the Jack Case Center lobby display as a way of educating visitors and residents about the building’s namesake. (Photos courtesy CNS)

 

Family members of former Y-12 Plant Manager Jack Case (1967-1982) recently stopped by the Jack Case Center to check out a new display of a few of his items, some donated by them and others brought out of the Y-12 historical archives. Brothers Larry and Patrick, along with sister Linda Fellers, donated the artifacts and some valuable historic information about their father to help the keepers of Y-12’s history share the legacy of the building’s namesake.

“Most people that work at Y-12 today don’t remember my dad,” said Patrick Case, the youngest of the siblings. “If I worked in this building, I’d want to know who in the world Jack Case is. This display is not only a great tribute to him, but it’s a good way for people coming in and out of this building to quickly get a sense of why they named a building after him.” [Read more…]

Roane County Executive Woody to discuss county issues at Lunch With the League

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Ron Woody

Ron Woody

 

Roane County Executive Ron Woody will discuss what is happening in Roane County and why it is important to Oak Ridge residents during the first Lunch with the League on Tuesday, January 6. The program will start at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church’s new location at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

“A significant portion of Oak Ridge is located in Roane County, and Roane County government is planning for the future,” a press release said. “Mr. Woody will give his perspective on issues facing the Roane County and an update on the state of the county. The presentation will address education, property reappraisal, business recruitment, and development of tourism and funding of public services. A question-and-answer period will follow the presentation.” [Read more…]

Glazer, developer of former Downtown Shopping Center, dies at 93

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Guilford Glazer and Diane Pregerson Glazer

Guilford Glazer and Diane Pregerson Glazer (Source: Tel Aviv University)

 

Guilford Glazer

Guilford Glazer (Source: American Friends of Tel Aviv University)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.

Philanthropist and developer Guilford Glazer, whose company built the former Downtown Shopping Center in Oak Ridge in the 1950s, died at his Beverly Hills home in California on Tuesday. He was 93.

Glazer, who still owns property in Oak Ridge and Knoxville, was born in Knoxville in 1921. He was one of seven children born to Eastern European immigrants, according to a story in the Beverly Hills Courier. He studied engineering at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., for two years before joining the Navy during World War II, working in ship construction.

When he returned home from the war, Glazer entered the business world when he took over the family welding shop and turned it into a major steel fabrication business, Glazer Steel Corporation, the Courier said. Glazer Steel fabricated bridges and many other structures for the government of France, among many other customers.

“Glazer’s first development was a building in Knoxville that has been described as the city’s ‘first high-rise apartment building,'” the Courier said. “He entered the real estate business in 1951, when a company he led was selected by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to build a shopping center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. That shopping center opened in 1955 and not long after, Glazer picked up and moved to Los Angeles.” [Read more…]

Knox sheriff searching for suspect in robbery at Subway on Cedar Bluff

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Cedar Bluff Robbery Suspect

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the man who robbed the Subway at 446 North Cedar Bluff Road on Tuesday night. (Source: KCSO)

 

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the man who robbed the Subway at 446 North Cedar Bluff Road on Tuesday night.

The incident happened just before 9:45 p.m. when the suspect entered the store armed with a handgun and demanded money from the clerk, the Sheriff’s Office said. He fled on foot southbound through the parking lot of the west Knox County restaurant.

The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 30-40-years old, 5’11”-6’0”, and 170-180 pounds. He was wearing a blue coat, jeans, and a dark-colored ski mask at the time of the alleged robbery. [Read more…]