Oak Ridge Today

Protesters will say nuclear weapons illegal under UN treaty

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

OREPA Spring Demonstration at Y-12
Members of Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and supporters gather across from the Y-12 National Security Complex to protest the plant’s Uranium Processing Facility in April 2013. (File photo)

Protesters plan to hang a banner at a nuclear weapons production site in Oak Ridge early Friday afternoon that will declare the weapons illegal under a United Nations treaty.

The banner, which will say “Nuclear Weapons Are Illegal,” will be hung on a fence across from the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Scarboro Road. The banner will be hung after parts of the international agreement—the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons—are read, organizers said.

Protesters said they also plan to hang a poster of the text of the treaty and 122 yellow “X”s on the fence, one for every nation that voted in favor of the treaty at the United Nations.

“January 22, 2021, will be a historic day for nuclear weapons,” according to a press release from Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, which has organized weekly and annual events opposing nuclear weapons for many years. “On that day, at midnight, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force, establishing in international law a categorical ban on nuclear weapons, seventy-five years after their development and first use.”

[Read more…]

TVA will blast rock to build substation

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Valley Authority is building a substation off Old Edgemoor Lane at Haw Ridge Park, near Edgemoor Road in east Oak Ridge. The construction work is pictured above on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority and its work crews will blast rock in the next several weeks to build an electrical substation in east Oak Ridge. The new substation is being built before the Bull Run Fossil Plant, across the Clinch River in Claxton, closes in 2023.

The blasting was scheduled to start Thursday, January 21, but it was delayed due to weather. When it starts, the blasting work could last three weeks, TVA said in a press release. Controlled, low-charge detonations will be used to blast the rock. Blasting will occur periodically between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and traffic and pedestrian controls will be in place, TVA said.

The new Anderson County substation site is off Old Edgemoor Road at Haw Ridge Park, near Edgemoor Road.

[Read more…]

Police chief to speak to League of Women Voters on Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Robin Smith

Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith will speak to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The meeting will be virtual, conducted online, because of COVID-19. It is scheduled to start at noon Tuesday, January 19.

Smith has served with the Oak Ridge Police Department since 2012. He served as a lieutenant for two years before being promoted to captain and then deputy chief, a press release said. He was appointed ORPD chief in October 2018.

[Read more…]

Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will feature ORHS principal

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Garfield Adams

A celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday morning will feature Garfield Adams, Oak Ridge High School principal.

It’s the 33rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Program, and it’s titled “The Community Speaks.” The theme for this year’s program is “A Change Has Come.”

The program is virtual, and it will be on Zoom Webinar. The program will feature a past first-place winner of the NAACP Essay Contest, a press release said.

[Read more…]

Controlled burns start this week on DOE land

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Energy is starting a series of controlled burns of grassland areas on the Oak Ridge Reservation this week.

The controlled burns could continue through mid-April, depending upon weather. The burns will be on the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Three Bend Area off Pump House and Bull Bluff Roads, and other managed grassland areas off Bethel Valley Road and off Highway 58, a press release said.

The controlled burns will take place at:

[Read more…]

Rep. Fleischmann tests positive for COVID

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Chuck Fleischmann

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Fleischmann announced his positive diagnosis on Sunday.

Chuck Fleischmann

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge, has tested positive for COVID-19.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:

Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Mason, an IDB member, community volunteer, dies of COVID complications

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

David Mason

David Lane Mason, a member of the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and community volunteer, died of COVID-19 complications on Monday. He was 79.

Mason was a former deputy director of environmental management and enrichment facilities at the former K-25 site, and he retired from the United States Enrichment Corporation in 2005 as the director of Centrifuge Engineering and Manufacturing Project, according to his obituary.

As a founding member of the Oak Ridge Rowing Association, Mason helped develop and build the rowing course at Melton Hill Lake, his obituary said. As a member of the Sunset Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, he helped establish the annual Da Vinci Arts and Science Fair for elementary and middle school students, the obituary said.

A nuclear physicist and Oak Ridge resident, Mason died at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville on Monday. He was a community advocate for more than 50 years, his obituary said.

Here is more information about Dave Mason from his obituary:

[Read more…]

Tammy Dunn appointed Oak Ridge city attorney

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Tammy Dunn

The City of Oak Ridge has appointed Senior Staff Attorney Tammy Dunn as the next city attorney.

Dunn assumes her new position this week, when current City Attorney Kenneth Krushenski retires, a press release said. Dunn, a native Oak Ridger, has been with the city’s Legal Department for more than 20 years, beginning when she was still in law school, the press release said.

“Technically, I worked for the city even earlier than that,” Dunn said in the press release. “I worked at the Oak Ridge Public Library Children’s Room during my break between undergrad and law school.”

She worked as a law clerk in the Legal Department for two years before stepping in as acting staff attorney for six months before officially transitioning to staff attorney, a role she filled for two more years, the press release said.

[Read more…]

AC Clerk, Trustee’s offices drive-through only temporarily starting Monday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Public encouraged to use online options

The Oak Ridge offices of the Anderson County Clerk and Trustee will be temporarily closed to in-person transactions starting Monday for construction to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Anderson County Clerk’s and Trustee’s main offices in Clinton and Andersonville are not affected by this temporary closure to the public, a press release said. The
offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

While the Oak Ridge offices will be closed to in-person service, employees will still be available to serve customers at the drive-through location in Oak Ridge, the press release said. It’s located at 728c Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge. It will be open
for renewals only from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. In addition, residents can drop off title work and park in a space to wait while the paperwork is processed and returned to them, the press release said. The Trustee’s Office staff will continue to collect property tax payments at the Oak Ridge drive-through and accept calls to make appointments for the tax relief and freeze program, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge Council to meet online Monday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council will meet electronically on Monday, rather than in-person, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Monday.

Council members will be able to participate by video and audio conferencing. It will be streamed online on the city’s website and broadcast on Comcast Channel 12.

The city asked residents to watch the meeting online or on television because of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s executive orders that limit public gatherings to help prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

“Meeting electronically and limiting in-person access to the meeting is necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare in light of COVID-19,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge man arrested after alleged store robbery

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

An Oak Ridge man was arrested Sunday night after allegedly robbing the J & C Market on East Tennessee Avenue, police said.

Tyrone N. Partridge, 43, reportedly displayed a handgun and demanded the contents of the register at the market at around 9 p.m. Sunday, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. An initial investigation showed that, during the robbery, Partridge pushed the clerk to the ground and fled the store on foot, police said.

Oak Ridge Police Department officers interviewed the clerk and canvassed the neighborhood before receiving a tip from a citizen about a suspicious vehicle nearby, the press release said. A man matching the description of the robbery suspect, later identified as Partridge, was contacted inside and then fled on foot, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Ashley Golden promoted to director of ORISE health studies program

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Ashley Golden

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education promoted Ashley Golden to director of its health studies program, where she previously served as a group manager and biostatistician.

In her new role, Golden will oversee the health studies program, including organizational strategy and implementation along with the day-to-day operations, a press release said. She also will serve as a subject matter expert for epidemiologic investigations, biostatistical analyses, and interdisciplinary projects in the areas of occupational health, radiation exposure and dosimetry, medical surveillance, public health, and survey analyses.

“We are thrilled for Ashley to take on this new role because of her extensive knowledge and experience in health research, especially in biostatistics,” said Jim Vosburg, director of ORISE. “She has proven herself as a natural leader, and we can’t wait to see how she will continue to energize our health studies program.” [Read more…]