Oak Ridge Today

Transition to new contractor under way at Y-12, Pantex

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The transition to a new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex, pictured above, and Pantex Plant in Texas is already under way and could be completed in four months.

Note: This story was last updated at 10:22 a.m. March 4.

The transition to a new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Texas is already under way and could be completed in four months, federal officials said Monday.

The transition to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC of Reston, Va., had originally been scheduled to be complete by May 2013, but it was delayed by three rounds of protests. The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the third and possibly final protest by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, of Lynchburg, Va., on Thursday.

On Monday, the National Nuclear Security Administration said CNS will start managing and operating the weapons production plants at Y-12 and Pantex at the end of the four-month transition period. [Read more…]

Council postpones traffic camera vote

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Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday postponed a decision on whether to extend or terminate a five-year contract with its traffic camera vendor.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:40 a.m. March 4.

The Oak Ridge City Council postponed a vote on traffic cameras on Monday. Council had been expected to either extend the five-year contract with the camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. of Arizona, or terminate it.

But council member Chuck Hope had to leave unexpectedly, and it wasn’t clear that there would be a majority to either extend the contract for two years or end it. That meant that both resolutions could have failed in 3-3 votes.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said the contract could now be discussed during a March 24 special meeting or during the regular April meeting. But the current contract expires April 21. [Read more…]

Clarksville woman taken to UT hospital after driver falls asleep, car rolls

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A Clarksville woman was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville early Sunday after the driver of a car in which she was riding fell asleep, and the vehicle rolled, went airborne, and struck a series of objects on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge, including a tree and utility pole, authorities said.

The 2011 Toyota Camry four-door sedan was headed north in the right-hand lane of South Illinois Avenue at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday when it first struck a right-hand curb at Centrifuge Way, the former Boeing Road, an Oak Ridge Police Department crash report said. The car then entered a median, rolled over onto its passenger side, struck a utility pole and an embankment, and became airborne, the report said. The vehicle then struck a second curb, became airborne again, struck a tree and embankment at the same time, and came to rest at the bottom of a second embankment. [Read more…]

TSBDC honors Oak Ridge Today with Rising Star Award

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Oak Ridge Today Rising Star Award

Jutta Bangs, director of the local Tennessee Small Business Development Center, presents a 2013 Rising Star Award to John Huotari, co-owner and co-publisher of Oak Ridge Today.

The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College has awarded the 2013 Rising Star Award to Dawn and John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today.

Each year, the Rising Star Award is given by the TSBDC network to a small business client in each of the regions served. The awards recognize the perseverance and successes of the businesses, a press release said.

Local TSBDC Director Jutta Bangs helped Dawn and John Huotari with the start-up and marketing of their online news outlet.

“We would like to thank the TSBDC and Jutta for their help and guidance in getting Oak Ridge Today started,” said John Huotari, co-owner and co-publisher of the local news website. “Their assistance was invaluable, particularly in the start-up phase. Jutta has continued to provide important advice on issues ranging from marketing to website content to hiring employees.” [Read more…]

Weather: Schools, courts, offices closed; Wildcats sectional game now on Tuesday

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Note: This story was last updated at 1:20 p.m.

Schools in Anderson County, Clinton, and Knox and Morgan counties are closed today (Monday) because of weather conditions and possible icing. And the Wildcats boys’ basketball sectional game in Kingsport, featuring Oak Ridge and Dobyns-Bennett, has been postponed to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Roane State Community College is closing its Campbell, Cumberland, Morgan, Scott, and Fentress county campuses due to icy roads. The campuses in Oak Ridge and Loudon, Knox, and Roane counties are open, but classes at the Clinton facility have been canceled.

The afternoon docket for the Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton has been canceled starting at 1 p.m. The afternoon docket for Anderson County Juvenile Court has also been canceled. And the Anderson County Courthouse closed at 1 p.m.

Tennessee officials said state offices will be closed the remainder of the day statewide, but mission-critical state employees will report to work as usual. [Read more…]

Traffic camera revenues top $6 million, city keeps $2.6 million

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Traffic Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike

The traffic camera for the westbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike in front of Oak Ridge High School. More than half of the speeding violations issued in 2013 were at the camera systems near the high school.

The four traffic camera systems in Oak Ridge have generated more than $6 million in ticket revenues during a roughly five-year period. The city has kept $2.6 million of that, while the camera vendor has collected the other $3.6 million.

The amount of money generated each year has fallen from about $2 million in fiscal year 2010 to roughly $1 million today. That could be at least in part because drivers have grown more accustomed to the cameras.

The automated devices issue $50 citations to drivers who speed or run red lights, and the proceeds are split between the city and camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz. So far, the city has collected about 42 percent of the total revenues while Redflex has kept 58 percent.

The city revenues were originally put into a general fund, but starting in Fiscal Year 2011, they were deposited into a special fund that has been used to pay for pedestrian safety projects. That fund now has a cash balance of $778,305. [Read more…]

DOE awards contract to small business for mercury project at Y-12

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Y-12 Water Treatment Plant Announcement

In May 2013, state and federal officials announce a plant to treat mercury-contaminated water at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Pictured from left are Mark Whitney, Robert Martineau, Lamar Alexander, Dave Huizenga, and Stan Meiburg.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or EM, awarded the task order to Strata-G in Knoxville on Wednesday. The company will collect data and perform characterization at Outfall 200 at Y-12.

The task order is the first project in a five-year, multi-phase contract estimated at $15 million, DOE said in a press release Friday. The contract uses a bidding process among three small businesses for various characterization projects at EM’s cleanup sites in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

One Anderson man gets life, second 30 years in meth conspiracy

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Jeffery Scott Braden

Jeffery Scott Braden

Two Anderson County men convicted of conspiring to manufacture 50 grams or more of methamphetamine were sentenced to lengthy prison terms this week, federal officials said Friday.

Officials estimate that the conspiracy resulted in the production of about 1,500 grams of methamphetamine.

Jeffrey Scott Braden, 37, of Vowell Mountain—the only one of 42 people indicted in the conspiracy to go to trial—received a mandatory life sentence on Thursday in a hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan in Knoxville, officials said.

Then, on Friday, Varlan sentenced conspiracy leader Lawrence “Stoney” Scriver, 46, of Lake City, to serve 30 years, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said in a press release. [Read more…]

Car, driver involved in pedestrian hit-and-run on Monday not yet identified

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The car and driver that hit and injured an Oliver Springs man on Old Batley Road on Monday night have not been identified, according to preliminary information released by state officials on Friday.

The unidentified vehicle and driver were traveling north on Old Batley Road near State Highway 62 in Anderson County at about 7:07 p.m. Monday when they hit Derek Jones, 23, of Oliver Springs.

“Vehicle 1 was exiting a left hand curve heading north on Old Batley Road when it hit pedestrian Derek Jones,” state officials said. “Mr. Jones was walking on the right hand side of the roadway heading north. The vehicle struck Mr. Jones, causing him to enter a ditch and then left the scene. Mr. Jones was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.” [Read more…]

Small fire at Clinton industrial plant injures none, damage minimal

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Information from WYSH Radio

A fire broke out at the Techmer PM facility in Clinton late Wednesday afternoon. Officials said the call came in at around 5 p.m., and when Clinton firefighters arrived, they quickly determined that the fire was small and contained to the plant’s exhaust system.

No injuries were reported, and damage was limited. The exact cause of the fire is under investigation.

Clinton Fire Department expansion to cut response times

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Information from WYSH Radio

Workers are building an expansion of the Clinton Fire Department’s headquarters that will create a place where three on-duty firefighters can stay during their shifts, including a sleeping area, a kitchen, a day room, and both men’s and women’s bathrooms. The expansion will also create a new office for the Fire Department.

Officials said that expanding the headquarters and creating space for on-call firefighters to remain on the premises should cut down on response times on the western side of the city.

Clinton Fire Chief Archie Brummitt said the department conducted a study of fire hall locations with the Municipal Technical Advisory Service—or MTAS—several months ago that determined that the majority of the calls answered by the department are centered in and around Clinton’s downtown area. [Read more…]

Gov. Haslam supports national preservation award for Alexander Inn

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Alexander Inn Groundbreaking

Local, state, and federal officials join volunteers and nonprofit and business executives for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic Alexander Inn in November.

Gov. Bill Haslam is supporting a nomination for a national historic preservation award for a project converting the Alexander Inn in Oak Ridge into an assisted living center.

Knox Heritage and East Tennessee Preservation Alliance have nominated the hotel for the 2014 The National Trust/Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Award for Federal Partnerships in Historic Preservation.

In a Feb. 25 letter, Haslam said he supports the nomination. The letter was sent to Stephanie Meeks at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C.

The Alexander Inn was built during World War II, when Oak Ridge raced to help build the world’s first atomic weapons as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. Guests who once stayed at the two-story hotel included Gen. Leslie Groves, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. [Read more…]