Oak Ridge Today

Twenty dragon boat teams ready to race May 31

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Dragon Boat Races

Teams take part in the annual Dragon Boat Festival in Taipei on May 28, 2009. Originally the summer event was a time to ward off bad spirits but now it is a celebration of the life of Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet who opposed the corruption of the imperial court. More than 200 teams from Taiwan and abroad will compete in the three-day race. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK LIN (Photo credit should read PATRICK LIN/ AFP/ Getty Images)

 

Commit to a competitive sport and community support. 

That could be the motto of the inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, a fundraiser for community nonprofit service organizations that will be launched by the three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge.

Already at least 20 boat teams are being organized, with more expected to register soon at http://oakridge.racedragonboats.com/.

At least 15 companies and organizations have paid or pledged a total of more than $25,000.

The Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival will be held Saturday, May 31, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park. [Read more…]

Photos: Riley Mozingo parade, carnival

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Riley Mozingo

Five-year-old Riley Mozingo was diagnosed with brain cancer May 10, 2010. A princess-themed carnival was held Friday at Lake City Elementary School in her honor. All proceeds from the carnival will help fund her bedroom renovation. See story here. (Photos by Sara Wise)

[Read more…]

Riley, 5, loves princesses but battles brain tumor

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Riley Mozingo

Five-year-old Riley Mozingo was diagnosed with brain cancer May 10, 2010. A princess-themed carnival was held Friday at Lake City Elementary School in her honor. All proceeds from the carnival will help fund her bedroom renovation. (Photos by Sara Wise)

LAKE CITY—“Come on, let’s go,” shouts Riley Mozingo as she drags her good friend, Anderson County Schools junior Emilee Hooks, toward the bounce house outside Lake City Elementary School.

Riley is a typical five-year-old. She loves princesses—especially The Little Mermaid, Ariel—and has big dreams to become a doctor when she grows up. But one thing sets Riley apart: she was diagnosed with astrocytoma grade 3.

She has had eight procedures since she was diagnosed with the brain tumor on May 14, 2010, and has undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Now, she has to attend physical therapy sessions because she has trouble with her left side. Her tumor hasn’t shrunk—it actually got bigger during chemo—but it’s stayed about the same size with radiation.

Riley Mozingo and Little Mermaid

Riley admires a Little Mermaid-themed game during the carnival.

But it’s not all bad for Riley. She’s about to have her bedroom renovated by Special Spaces of Knoxville. The nonprofit organization renovates rooms for sick children all across the country, especially those with life-threatening illnesses. Riley is getting a princess-themed room.

Melanie Lamberson of Special Spaces said that once she heard about a five-year-old with cancer, she knew she had to help. [Read more…]

New rowing coach resigns

Posted at
By 7 Comments

Marc DeRose

Marc DeRose

The head coach hired in August has resigned from the Oak Ridge Rowing Association.

Coach Marc DeRose, who was also rowing director, has concluded that this was “not the right fit for me and my family,” a Friday afternoon press release said.

The release said a team of veteran ORRA leaders has moved into new roles within the organization. The new team management approach started after the resignation of DeRose, who replaced longtime head coach Allen Eubanks late last summer.

“We wish Marc and his family all the luck in the world,” ORRA President Terry Holley said. “We’re fortunate to have so many outstanding individuals ready to step in and make sure we don’t skip a beat. We may be nearing the end of the season, but we have no doubt we will finish strong.”

In the meantime, the work is being divided into four distinct areas, each with a key person in charge, the release said, “someone everyone involved with ORRA knows and respects. The four areas and those in charge are: [Read more…]

Student at UT’s Bredesen Center wins $50,000 ORNL prize

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Andrew Lepore Big Idea ORNL Check

Bredesen Center student Andrew Lepore stands with the $50,000 check he won as part of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Next Big Idea competition. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

KNOXVILLE—With the first set of Bredesen Center graduates at the University of Tennessee set to receive their doctorates next week, students who will be in the next wave of graduates are already finding success.

Andrew Lepore, working out of the Materials Science and Technology Division through the center, recently won a prestigious Oak Ridge National Laboratory-related prize at the Next Big Idea competition. Lepore is on track to receive his doctorate in 2016.

“For him to go in there against some more seasoned researchers, against students who are further along, and come out with one of the three awards speaks highly of him and of the quality of students we have here,” said Bredesen Center Director Lee Riedinger. [Read more…]

More than 60 Thunderbirds expected for Mockingbird Run this weekend

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mockingbird Run

The Sixth Annual Mockingbird Run will be in Oak Ridge from Friday to Sunday. (Submitted photo)

 

Car enthusiasts from 10 states will gather in Oak Ridge from Friday, May 2, to Sunday, May 4, for the sixth annual Mockingbird Run hosted by the Smoky Mountain Classic Thunderbird Club. The Mockingbird Run is expected to bring in more than 60 Thunderbirds for a weekend packed with tours, friendship, and fun.

“We are excited to host this year’s Mockingbird Run, and we encourage the community to welcome the Smoky Mountain Classic Thunderbird Club to town,” Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Katy Brown said. “We have worked closely with this organization to make this year’s event an entertaining and educational visit.”

Conference planners focused on the “top secret” theme this year in an effort to add mystery and intrigue. Participants will visit local attractions, learn the significance of various historic sites, and dine in local restaurants. Y-12 National Security Complex Historian Ray Smith will guide the group on a tour of the Y-12 New Hope Center and serve as a guest speaker for the event. The club will also tour Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Saturday. Members of the K-9 Search On Site LLP team will also be on hand for a demonstration that morning. [Read more…]

‘One more house’: UT-Battelle helps honor Myricks through Habitat project

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Tim and Teresa Myrick and Habitat for Humanity

UT-Battelle is supporting a Habitat for Humanity project that honors Tim and Teresa Myrick. (Photo: Jason Richards)

UT-Battelle joins community in honoring Myrick’s years of service through Habitat for Humanity project this summer

UT-Battelle is contributing $10,000 in matching donations to a Habitat for Humanity project dedicated to Tim and Teresa Myrick, who have been enduring supporters of the organization that provides shelter for deserving families.

Tim Myrick’s handiwork dots the Oak Ridge landscape. He was a major contributor to the modernization campaign at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that resulted in a sparkling new east campus. He helped lead the renovation of the town’s high school.

He’s been involved in all the Anderson County Habitat for Humanity projects in some way—58 in all.

He wants to add to that tally. There is some urgency in the matter.

“With the cancer thing I set priorities: fighting cancer, the Habitat project, Living Waters, building a new church, doing some fly fishing,” he said. [Read more…]

Red Cross to honor heroes at luncheon on Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

American Red Cross Logo

The American Red Cross in Oak Ridge will recognize individuals who exemplify courage, kindness, and unselfish character at its 15th Annual Heroes Luncheon at noon Tuesday at the DoubleTree Hotel.

The Red Cross will honor local heroes from nominations submitted by the community. Those honored will include military, police, fire, first responders, and other local heroes, a press release said.

Nominees are people who have responded to a crisis to provide comfort or leadership and/or have provided an example to others in the community about dedication to the community in a time of need. Categories include Professional Rescuer/Responder (police, EMT, firefighter), Youth Good Samaritan (21 and younger), and Community Service.

Since 2000, the annual event has recognized hundreds of Anderson County heroes. [Read more…]

Splitting UPF project into two buildings could save money, senator says

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

Money could be saved on the new Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex by splitting up the project into two buildings rather than one, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said during a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

One building could be used for high-security work, Alexander said during a hearing of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee. That high-security building would cost several times as much as a second building used for low-security work, Alexander said.

Not all of the work has to be conducted in a high-security facility, the Tennessee Republican said, and some of it could be conducted in the low-security building.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the two-building proposal is included in a so-called Red Team Review of the UPF project. That report could be made public this week. Federal officials and members of Congress have already been briefed on it. [Read more…]

Sexual act offered to investigator during prostitution investigation, sheriff says

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Young Hwa Park

Young Hwa Park

An employee at a spa in Anderson County offered a sexual act to a Sheriff’s Department investigator in exchange for money during an undercover prostitution investigation on Tuesday, authorities said.

Two women from Duluth, Ga., were arrested and charged with prostitution offenses, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said in a Wednesday afternoon press release.

The investigation at the recently opened “spa” called King Accupressure on Andersonville Highway started after the Sheriff’s Department was notified by the Law Director’s Office, White said. The investigation led Sheriff’s Department officials to believe that prostitution activity was occurring, White said.

An undercover operation was conducted Tuesday, and an employee of the business offered a sexual act to an investigator in exchange for money, the sheriff said. [Read more…]

Y-12, Pantex workforce reductions could total about 170 jobs

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex Scarboro Road Entrance

The Scarboro Road entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above.

Workforce reductions at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, are expected to total about 170 jobs, officials said this week.

That’s about 2 percent of the roughly 7,900 workers at the two nuclear weapons plants.

The workforce reductions are expected to come through a voluntary separation program, or VSP.

The majority of the reductions, or 140 positions, would be at Y-12. The other 30 would be at Pantex.

The VSPs are being considered as a new federal contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, prepares to take over at Y-12 and Pantex on July 1. CNS, which was first announced as the new consolidated contractor in January 2013, has promised to save the federal government more than $3 billion during the next decade. [Read more…]

Two arrested after prostitution investigation, Sheriff’s Department says

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anderson County Detention Facility

The Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton is pictured above.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department arrested two people Tuesday afternoon after a prostitution investigation at a recently opened spa on Andersonville Highway near Norris, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said this morning.

The Sheriff’s Department is working with Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark on some additional enforcement action on the business, Lucas said, and more information should be released later today.

More information will be added as it becomes available.