Oak Ridge Today

Oliver Springs man dies in two-car crash on Schaad Road

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An Oliver Springs man died in a two-car crash on Schaad Road on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

James Shultz, 50, was driving west on Schaad Road in a 2005 Chevrolet Impala when he apparently crossed the center line and hit an eastbound 2004 Ford Escape driven by Kevyn Sterchi, 18, of Knoxville, the Knoxville Police Department said, citing the findings of a preliminary investigation.

Shultz was not wearing a seatbelt, the KPD said in a Thursday morning statement. He was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. [Read more…]

Passed in House, Manhattan Project Park amendment falls short in Senate

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K-25 Aerial

Now mostly demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building is pictured above. The site could be included in a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

The legislation to create a Manhattan Project National Park that would include Oak Ridge has fallen short in the U.S. Senate, but the representative from Washington state who wrote the House amendment vowed to press ahead next year.

The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives in June as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. But it was not included in the final text of the defense bill released late Tuesday night, said U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, the Washington Republican who wrote the amendment.

Besides Oak Ridge, the park would include Hanford, Wash., and Los Alamos, N.M. The three cities played key roles in the Manhattan Project, a top-secret program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

“I’m disappointed, but not deterred,” said Hastings, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. “To all the advocates for this park: You’ve given great energy, enthusiasm, and expertise to this effort to date, and I know that will continue until our goal is accomplished, which I am confident it will ultimately be.” [Read more…]

Alexander replaces chief of staff after child porn raid at former aide’s home

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

The former chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander has been taken off the payroll following a child pornography raid at the former aide’s home, and the Republican senator from Tennessee has already named a new chief of staff.

David Cleary, who has worked for Alexander for eight years, is the new chief of staff, Alexander said in a Wednesday evening press release. The senator said Cleary is well-prepared for the position.

Earlier Wednesday, Alexander said the Senate legal counsel’s office told him that law enforcement agents were searching the home of Ryan Loskarn, 35, who had been the senator’s chief of staff in his Washington, D.C., office. The search was related to child pornography allegations, Alexander said.

“I am stunned, surprised, and disappointed by what I have learned,” the senator said. [Read more…]

Report: Y-12 security officer likely pulled the trigger on weapon that fired

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Y-12 National Security Complex Sign

An investigation has concluded that a security officer at the Y-12 National Security Complex probably inadvertently pulled the trigger when a weapon fired inside a “hardened” vehicle in July, discharging one round and slightly injuring two guards.

An investigation has concluded that a security officer at the Y-12 National Security Complex probably inadvertently pulled the trigger when a weapon fired inside a “hardened” vehicle in July, discharging one round that hit an interior wall and produced fragments, and slightly injuring two guards.

The accidental discharge occurred just after midnight on July 28, which, coincidentally, was the one-year anniversary of the July 28, 2012, security breach at Y-12.

The National Nuclear Security Administration said little after the accidental discharge. But the agency did acknowledge that two security police officers, or SPOs, received minor injuries and were treated at Y-12 before being taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, where they were treated and released. The NNSA also said the incident was under investigation.

Now, officials have concluded a four-month investigation, and B&W Y-12, the plant’s managing and operating contractor, has released a summary of the findings. [Read more…]

Sen. Alexander’s chief of staff placed on leave during child pornography investigation

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Note: This story was last updated at 12:52 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Wednesday said his chief of staff in Washington, D.C., has been placed on leave as law enforcement agents search the man’s home to investigate child pornography allegations.

“I was just informed by the United States Senate legal counsel’s office that law enforcement agents are conducting a search of the personal residence of Ryan Loskarn, the chief of staff of my Washington, D.C., office, regarding allegations involving child pornography,” Alexander said in a Wednesday morning statement. “I am stunned, surprised, and disappointed by what I have learned. Based on this information, I immediately placed Mr. Loskarn on administrative leave without pay. The office is fully cooperating with the investigation.”

U.S. Postal Inspectors conducted the raid of Loskarn’s home, according to NBC News.

“The Postal Inspectors Service was involved in a law enforcement action in Southeast D.C.,” a spokesman for the agency told NBC News, declining further comment.

Loskarn is a longtime Alexander aide and was named the Tennessee Republican senator’s chief of staff in 2012, according to Politico. [Read more…]

ORNL FCU donates $65,000 to United Way, a 65 percent increase

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ORNL Federal Credit Union and United Way of Anderson County

Pictured above from left to right are Lisa Thompson and Chris Boler, co-chairs of ORNL Federal Credit Union employee campaign; Leslie Daugherty, ORNL FCU loaned executive; and Edwena and Charles Crowe, 2013 UWAC campaign chair family. (Photo courtesy United Way of Anderson County)

Each fall, ORNL Federal Credit Union employees help raise funds for the United Way of Anderson County, and  donations this year were up more than 65 percent, a press release said.

ORNL FCU raised roughly $66,000, the release said. The money came from employee donations, ORNL FCU’s corporate donation, and an interactive employee auction site. The fundraising total was up significantly from 2012.

The theme of this year’s internal fundraising effort was Uni and Ted Way’s Excellent Adventure, a parody of the movie “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” the release said. [Read more…]

Council agrees to buy car wash to build sewer system tank

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Mullins Car Wash

The Oak Ridge City Council has approved the purchase of Mullins Performance Car Wash in south Oak Ridge to allow the city to build a sewer system holding tank.

A car wash in south Oak Ridge could soon be replaced by a sewer system holding tank.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday voted 5-1 to buy the car wash, owned by businessman Terry Mulllins, for $125,000.

The land is at the southern gateway to Oak Ridge, near the intersection of Scarboro Road and South Illinois Avenue. The city agreed to buy the property so workers can place the proposed tank, officially called an equalization basin, farther away from the busy intersection and make it less visible. The intersection is used by thousands of drivers every day, including workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The tank is one of three equalization basins that the city plans to build in order to comply with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order that requires Oak Ridge to repair all sewer system overflows by September 2015. [Read more…]

Activists ask federal officials to build UPF underground at Y-12

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Uranium Processing Facility

Pictured above is the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex, with the administrative area in the front and the fortified section of the building in the rear. (Submitted image)

The proposed multi-billion-dollar building that would process uranium at the Y-12 National Security Complex should be buried below ground, an Oak Ridge nonprofit organization and a Washington, D.C.-based group told federal safety officials in a Monday letter.

The groups planned to make their request during an all-day meeting and public hearing of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board in Knoxville on Tuesday. The board is meeting in two sessions from 8 a.m. to noon and 2 to 6 p.m. today (Tuesday) at the Knoxville Convention Center.

The Monday letter was from the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability in Washington, D.C. Among the dozen signatories is Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, a group that has long been critical of the nuclear weapons work at Y-12. OREPA said the letter’s signatories represent thousands of members at sites across the country. [Read more…]

Commercial, nuclear facilities the focus of safety forum on Wednesday

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The Oak Ridge Business Safety Partnership will hold its last community safety forum of 2013 on Wednesday at the American Museum of Science and Energy.

The program is titled “Safety in Commercial and Nuclear Facilities: Programs that Work.” It’s scheduled from 8 to 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Speakers include Shane Strickland, Alcoa safety manager;  Paul Wasilko, safety culture program manager at the Y-12 National Security Complex; Chris Patton, safety services division director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and Doug Giles, plant protection safety area manager at Eastman. Each will make a 15-minute presentation about the safety program at his facility, followed by a panel discussion at the end with audience questions and answers. [Read more…]

Anderson mayor used lawsuit agreement to settle scores, sheriff says

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Anderson County Detention Facility Expansion

The salary dispute between the Anderson County mayor and sheriff focused on the spending to hire up to 36 new jailers to staff a 212-bed expansion that is still under construction at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton.

CLINTON—He had reserved comment until a judge signed an order resolving a staffing dispute, but then Anderson County Sheriff Paul White accused Mayor Terry Frank of using a lawsuit agreement to try to settle perceived political scores—and he came to the defense of the two county officials that Frank attacked Friday.

“Sheriff White regrets that Mayor Frank has used the settlement of the salary suit, which (she) could have used as an event to set a more civil tone in Anderson County politics, as an opportunity to attempt to settle perceived political scores with Law Director Jay Yeager and Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski,” the sheriff said in a Monday afternoon press release, after the lawsuit order had been signed by Knox County Circuit Court Judge Dale Workman. “Sheriff White cannot express how much he believes that Director Yeager and Commissioner Iwanski are decent and selfless public servants and that the people of Anderson County are lucky to have such competent and dedicated individuals working for the efficient operation of their government. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge’s first dog park now open

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PetSafe Big Turtle Park Dog Park

The city’s first dog park is now open at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge. Officials and pet owners celebrated with a ribbon-cutting on Monday.

The city’s first dog park is now open at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge. Officials and pet owners celebrated with a ribbon-cutting on Monday.

The dog park has been planned for five years. It was made possible by a $100,000 donation by Radio Systems Corp.

The PetSafe Dog Park features include separate fenced areas for small dogs and large dogs, benches, water fountains, and a shade structure.

Community members and their dogs joined city officials and representatives from Radio Systems Corp. and PetSafe at a dedication ceremony on Monday morning to mark completion of the new park.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Mayor, sheriff reach agreement on salary suit, but war of words follows

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Anderson County Detention Facility Expansion

The salary dispute between the Anderson County mayor and sheriff focused on the spending to hire up to 36 new jailers to staff a 212-bed expansion that is still under construction at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton.

CLINTON—The Anderson County mayor and sheriff reached an agreement Friday that could end their five-month-old legal dispute over an annual salary agreement, possibly closing one expensive and contentious chapter in local government even as it opened a new war of words between top officials.

Knox County Circuit Court Judge Dale C. Workman could sign the agreement Monday morning.

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and Sheriff Paul White said the agreement allows the sheriff to hire 15 full-time permanent deputies and additional temporary deputies when the sheriff deems appropriate as he prepares to open a 212-bed jail expansion. But the hiring must stay within the spending limit approved by the Anderson County Commission this year, and the temporary employees cannot work more than six months.

Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Frank and White announced the agreement in a one-page press release distributed Friday. The case had been scheduled to be heard in Knox County Circuit Court on Monday morning. [Read more…]