Oak Ridge Today

Several hundred compete in Ben Martin Middle School track meet

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Ben Martin Invitational

Several hundred students from five regional middle schools, including Jefferson and Robertsville, competed in the Ben Martin Middle School Invitational track meet in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

Several hundred students from five middle schools competed in the first-ever Ben Martin Middle School Invitational track meet in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

The meet was named after Ben Martin, a legendary Sports Hall of Fame coach who won seven state championships as track coach at Oak Ridge High School. Thursday’s meet was at Ben Martin Track at the high school.

Martin was the first ORHS track and football coach, and he won championships in both sports and began the entire athletic program at the high school, ORHS Cross Country Coach Allen Etheridge said.

“I talked with longtime Oak Ridge coach Winston Russell today, who told me that he remembered coach Martin as the guy who was always there, the guy who would coach anyone at any time,” Etheridge said Monday. “(Martin) was an assistant football coach and was head basketball coach.”

Athletes from Cherokee, Jefferson, Karns, Rhea County, and Robertsville middle schools competed in Thursday’s meet, which included events ranging from relays and hurdles to long jumps and high jumps. [Read more…]

ORHS students work on branding, design ideas with mall redevelopment company

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ORHS Students Work on Mall Redevelopment

Standing from left to right are Buddy McWilliams, Payne Adkins, Abigail Clanton, and Chris Giese. Seated from left to right are Wesley Robinson and Alex Tavangaran. (Photo courtesy J. Clint LaFollette)

Submitted

For three classes at Oak Ridge High School, the future of the old Oak Ridge Mall property is something the students are taking personally. Nearly 60 students in the Digital Arts and Design and Virtual Enterprise classes have been working on a branding strategy for the once-thriving retail site, and their top ideas will be presented to Crosland Southeast, the Charlotte-based firm that has been working with the City of Oak Ridge to develop a plan to establish a multi-use work-live-play-shop destination.

“It has been an exciting project to work on, because there have been several attempts to revitalize this property, and all have failed due to, among other things, the lack of focus on the specific interest of Oak Ridge residents,” said Buddy McWilliams, an ORHS senior who is working on the project. “Crosland Southeast has shown that they want to be successful by looking at the interest of students and others who will be using the property.”

Crosland Southeast approached Oak Ridge School Board Chairman Keys Fillauer with the idea to work with the students, and an enthusiastic Fillauer discussed it with ORHS Principal David Bryant and teachers Linda Ousley and Clint Lafollette, and the project was off and running.

Ousley is the facilitator of the school’s Virtual Enterprise program. Ousley said that Crosland Southeast will get a good cross-section of Oak Ridge opinion by talking with the students, and the students are getting excellent experience they can use on their future resumes. [Read more…]

State selling award-winning ‘green’ house in Norris

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New Norris House

The state of Tennessee is selling the award-winning “green” New Norris House in Norris. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

KNOXVILLE—The state of Tennessee is selling one of the greenest homes in the state—the New Norris House.

Sealed bids will be taken through 1:30 p.m. (CST) on May 5. An open house will be held April 12, 2-4 p.m., at 143 Oak Road in Norris.

The New Norris House was completed in 2011 after a student-led team at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville worked for three years to bring the concept, first conceived in a classroom, to a modern and appealing home.

The house is a technologically advanced reinterpretation of the historic homes first built by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933 as part of the Norris Dam project. It has become a nationally recognized model for efficient and sustainable living. [Read more…]

ORISE: Number of health physics degrees up for undergrads, down for grads

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Enrollment data suggests current trend likely to continue in 2014 and 2015

The number of college students graduating with majors in health physics has increased slightly for bachelor’s degrees, but decreased for both master’s and doctoral candidates.

The report, titled “Health Physics Enrollments and Degrees Survey, 2013 Data,” surveyed 22 academic programs with enrollment and degree data between Sept. 1, 2012, and Aug. 31, 2013, including both students majoring in health physics or those enrolled in an option program equivalent to a major.

Undergraduate degrees increase while graduate degrees fall slightly [Read more…]

Featured at Obama speech, Sleek SuperTruck saves fuel, money

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David Koeberlein SuperTruck Cummins Engine

David Koeberlein, director of advanced engineering for Cummins and principal investigator on the SuperTruck project, says the prototype tractor-trailer uses exhaust heat that would otherwise be wasted to help power the crankshaft. (All photos courtesy ORNL/Genevieve Martin unless indicated otherwise)

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

Tractor-trailer prototype uses probe developed by ORNL for better gas mileage, cleaner exhaust

It’s a sleek, aerodynamic freight-hauling machine. With its wide tires, rounded edges, and body parts that hug the ground, this million-dollar prototype looks like it could be at home on a race track.

It’s already achieved celebrity status, serving as the backdrop for President Barack Obama during a February speech on greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards.

But the SuperTruck is more likely to end up hauling meat and potatoes from Boise to Boston.

SuperTruck at ORNL

The fuel-efficient SuperTruck, the result of a four-year collaboration between the trucking industry and the federal government, made a pit stop at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Tuesday.

Still, researchers have reason to celebrate. On Tuesday, they said the high-tech tractor-trailer has increased fuel efficiency by 75 percent. Fully loaded, the SuperTruck can drive 10.7 miles on a gallon of gas. That compares to an industry average of 5.8 to 6.5 miles per gallon.

“This is a really big deal,” said Claus Daniel, deputy director of sustainable transportation projects at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the SuperTruck made a pit stop on Tuesday.

It’s the result of a collaboration between the trucking industry and the U.S. Department of Energy. It’s not clear how soon the new technologies tested in the Cummins/Peterbilt tractor-trailer, which was built in Denton, Texas, will show up on the nation’s highways. [Read more…]

Human skull found near Norman Road in Claxton

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A Claxton resident who lives on Norman Road in Anderson County reported finding a human skull on his property on Tuesday, authorities said. The skull was apparently carried there by an animal.

Investigators with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department’s Criminal Investigation Unit, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and Regional Forensic Center responded to the scene, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said in a Tuesday afternoon statement.

“The skull was taken to the forensic center for examination to determine the age, sex, and race, along with how long the skull had been exposed to the elements,” Lucas said. “The area was searched by cadaver dogs from the Roane County Sheriff’s Office, but nothing else was located.” [Read more…]

ORHS Wildbots going to world championships after regional robotics win

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Secret City Wildbots FIRST Robotics Team

Oak Ridge High School’s “Wildbot” #4265 was among the winners at the Smoky Mountains Regional Robotics Challenge held this past weekend, and the team will now go to St. Louis for the World Championship. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)

By Mike Wehrenberg

The Smoky Mountains Regional High School Robotics Competition had an extremely successful event this past weekend, and Oak Ridge High School was one of the three regional winners. Collierville High School outside Memphis won the Rookie All Star award.

Both of these Tennessee high schools will receive an invitation to the world championships at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, where the Rams football team plays. About 50,000 people will be in attendance at the end of April for that competition.

This was our fourth year of competition at the Knoxville Convention Center in a game called Aerial Assist. Thirty-five teams from Tennessee competed, along with 14 teams from the surrounding states of Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It was a fantastic, “graciously professional,” and exciting event, with all the teams representing themselves, their STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs, and their ability to set and achieve goals in an powerful and emotional way.

Other Tennessee news of note: [Read more…]

Kix Brooks to headline Secret City Festival in June

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Kix Brooks with Mic

Country artist Kix Brooks performs at the Great Eastern Exposition in West Springfield, Mass., on Sept. 27. (Submitted photos)

Kix Brooks—one-half of the bestselling country duo Brooks and Dunn—will headline the Saturday night concert at the Secret City Festival in June.

The concert starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 14. Country-rock band Phoenix Drive will open.

“Kix Brooks enjoyed early career success as a songwriter before teaming up with Ronnie Dunn to form the highest-selling duo in the history of country music,” a press release said. “During their 20-year run together, Brooks and Dunn sold more than 30 million records, won more than 75 major industry awards, and celebrated 23 No. 1 hits.”

Brooks is now hosting the long-running syndicated radio program, American Country Countdown, where every week he counts country music’s Top 30 songs. Brooks has received many awards for his broadcasting abilities—including CMA National Broadcast Personality of the Year Award in 2009, 2011, and 2013—making him the first person to ever win a CMA Award in both the artist and broadcast categories. [Read more…]

Tennessee House gives Rocky Top go-ahead

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WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today

On Monday, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted unanimously to allow Lake City to change its name to Rocky Top. The House bill sponsored by Rep. John Ragan of Oak Ridge passed 89-0.

The name change is seen as a necessary first step toward turning the former coal mining town into a tourist destination, taking advantage of its two exits off of I-75. Plans currently call for an interactive 3-D theater, a restaurant, a water park and a hotel, as well as other attractions.

The state Senate has yet to schedule a vote on the companion bill to the House version, which is being sponsored by Sen. Randy McNally of Oak Ridge. If the Senate approves the measure as expected, the Lake City Council will have to vote again on the name change to ratify the private act that was endorsed Monday by the state House. [Read more…]

CNS announces org chart, senior leaders for Y-12, Pantex

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above.

The new federal contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, has started announcing members of its senior leadership team.

Jim Haynes, chief executive officer for Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, announced the leaders in a message posted on the company’s transition website on Saturday.

The executives are:

  • Jim Allen—chief operating officer
  • Darrell Graddy—senior vice president for mission support
  • Ken Freeman—senior vice president for safeguards, security, and emergency services
  • Rick Glass—senior vice president for mission assurance

“We will roll out our senior leadership team in phases, and over the next few weeks we will help you get to know the CNS leadership team through a series of articles, employee information meetings in Amarillo and Oak Ridge, and other opportunities for face-to-face interaction,” Haynes said. [Read more…]

Dragon Boat racers prepare for inaugural festival in May

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Penny Behling Emerald Youth Dragon Boat Racing

Penny Behling teaches youth and mentors of Emerald Youth’s Just Lead program the fundamentals of dragon boat racing on Monday at Melton Lake Park. (Photos by Sara Wise)

On Monday, Dynamic Dragon Boats came to Oak Ridge to prepare locals for the city’s Inaugural Dragon Boat Race scheduled for May 31.

Monday’s event served as a beginner’s guide to the city’s first event, but also hosted young adults in Emerald Youth Foundation’s JustLead group.

Penny Behling and her husband, Chris, own the Dragon Boat company, a Knoxville firm that participates in dragon boat events around the country. The pair said the sport is really gaining interest in the Knoxville area, with inaugural events in Oak Ridge and Blount County scheduled this spring and summer, as well as Knoxville’s Dragon Boat race June 21.

Dragon boats are long canoe-like boats adorned with the faces of Chinese dragons. They hold teams of 20 with participants arranged by size.

Behling said dragon boat festivals are gaining steam in the area simply because dragon boating is easy to do. This year, she has five scheduled events in Tennessee, and more nationwide.

“It’s very popular,” she said. “People realize they can do it and that it doesn’t take a super fit human being. This is something anybody can do.” [Read more…]

TVA builds pedestrian bridge over embayment at Kingston ash spill site

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KINGSTON—The Tennessee Valley Authority will be building a pedestrian bridge over the East Embayment as part of TVA’s commitment to restore the Swan Pond area near the Kingston Fossil Plant to as good as or better than it was before the 2008 ash spill, a press release said.

For the safety of the public and work crews, access to the East Embayment by boat will be temporarily closed beginning today (Monday), the release said. Signs will be posted on the shoreline and buoys will be installed across the embayment to restrict boating access.

Bank fishing still will be available on the East Embayment and can be reached by walking trails at Lakeshore Park. The main river channel on the Emory River also will remain open. [Read more…]