Oak Ridge Today

Soul Candy and The Traffic Jam play free concert on Friday

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Soul Candy and the Traffic Jam

Twelve-piece Knoxville band Soul Candy and the Traffic Jam plays a free concert Friday evening in Oak Ridge. (Photo by J.L. Kirk)

Secret City Sounds continues their Summer Concert Series with Soul Candy and The Traffic Jam on Friday, Aug. 9. This concert replaces Dishwater Blonde, who had to cancel do to unforeseen circumstances. The concert will begin at 7 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Civic Center Pavilion located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

“What do you get when you mix one smokin’ hot horn section, a hard-drivin’ funky rhythm section, and three talented and energetic female singers with musical theater experience?” a press release said. “You get Knoxville’s own Soul Candy and The Traffic Jam!” [Read more…]

Wisconsin professor, former Nuclear Society president to discuss need for nuclear power in U.S.

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Michael Corradini

Michael L. Corradini

The 16th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series continues on Tuesday, Aug. 13, featuring Professor Michael L. Corradini, director of the Wisconsin Energy Institute and past president of the American Nuclear Society. He will discuss “The Need for Nuclear Power in the U.S.”

The event is sponsored by Friends of ORNL (Oak Ridge National Laboratory). It’s free of charge and will be held at the American Museum of Science and Energy at 300 S. Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge. A reception for the speaker starts at 5:30 p.m. (snacks will be served) in the museum lobby, and his lecture starts at 6:30 p.m. This talk should be of interest to the general public. [Read more…]

UCOR celebrates two years in Oak Ridge

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Leo Sain at K-25

Leo Sain, president and project manager for cleanup contractor UCOR, near the east wing of the mostly demolished K-25 Building, built to enrich uranium during World War II and also used during the Cold War.

It’s been two years since UCOR, the federal government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, started working in the Secret City.

UCOR president Leo Sain celebrated with an Aug. 1 letter to employees that thanked them but also issued a reminder and challenge. Read the letter here.

Sain said he is very proud of the workforce—he called the company’s performance spectacular—and said work has been done safely, under budget, and ahead of schedule.

“At the end of two years, we’re one of the safest sites in the U.S. Department of Energy complex,” Sain said. “The credit for that goes entirely to you, the workforce, for staying focused on your work through all the distractions and changing hazards that come with the tasks we perform.” [Read more…]

Machines start moving dirt, debris; knocking down trees at Kroger Marketplace

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Kroger Marketplace Site Work

A half-dozen excavators, scrapers, dump trucks, bulldozers, and loaders move dirt and debris and knock down trees late Friday afternoon on the north side of the planned Kroger Marketplace shopping center in central Oak Ridge. The heavy equipment pictured above is working near Raleigh Road and the former Robin Lane.

An official groundbreaking for the new Kroger Marketplace shopping center hasn’t been announced yet, but a half-dozen bulldozers, dump trucks, excavators, loaders, and scrapers were moving dirt and debris and knocking down trees late Friday afternoon on the north side of the 25-acre site in central Oak Ridge.

The heavy equipment was working near Raleigh Road and the former Robin Lane, just southwest of Grove Center.

Oak Ridge Today has requested more information from a Kroger spokesman in Atlanta and will provide additional details as they become available. [Read more…]

Water tower at East Tennessee Technology Park demolished

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K-25 Water Tower Demolition

The K-1206-F Fire Water Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park—the former K-25 site—before it was demolished Saturday. (Submitted photo)

One of the most iconic structures at East Tennessee Technology Park—the checkerboard water tower that has dominated the site’s skyline for 55 years—has been demolished.

UCOR and its subcontracting partners brought down the 382-foot-tall tower on Saturday through a controlled explosive demolition that sent the structure toppling into an empty field.

Officially called the K-1206-F Fire Water Tower, the 400,000-gallon structure was designed and built by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company in 1958 to service the site’s fire protection system. It operated until June 3, when the valves were turned off. It was drained, disconnected, and permanently taken out of service on July 15. [Read more…]

DOE summer bus tours end Aug. 30

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DOE Public Bus Tour

This year’s public bus tours of the U.S. Department of Energy’s facilities in Oak Ridge end on Aug. 30. (Photo courtesy DOE/Lynn Freeny)

The public bus tours of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge facilities end Aug. 30. It’s the last day of the 2013 season.

The tours include stops at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12 National Security Complex, and East Tennessee Technology Park, and they provide historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 65 years.

So far this season, 1,148 visitors from 43 states have participated in the summer tour, a press release said. [Read more…]

What’s happening in Oak Ridge from Aug. 1-7

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Here is the weekly e-mail from the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, summarizing what’s happening in Oak Ridge from Friday, Aug. 2 to Wednesday, Aug. 7. You may also find information on the events calendar on Oak Ridge Today. [Read more…]

Roane State student awarded full scholarship to Lincoln Memorial University

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Angela Loy and Roane State Scholarship

Lincoln Memorial University Director of Admissions Sherry McCreary, left, and Roane State President Chris Whaley, right, congratulate 2013 Lincoln Memorial University transfer scholarship recipient Angela Loy of Knoxville. (Submitted photo)

Angela Loy felt stuck.

She had a stable job with good pay, but Loy wanted a change, a chance to follow her passion for caring for others.

That feeling led her to Roane State Community College, and now she is on her way to Lincoln Memorial University on a full tuition scholarship as the recipient of the 2013 Lincoln Memorial University transfer scholarship. [Read more…]

Roane State fee deadline is Aug. 13 for registered students

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Roane State Community College Harriman Campus

Roane State Community College students who have registered for classes must pay their fees by Tuesday, Aug. 13, at 4:30 p.m. to keep their class schedules. (Photo courtesy RSCC)

Roane State Community College students who have registered for classes must pay their fees by Tuesday, Aug. 13, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time to keep their class schedules, a press release said.

Students can pay fees at www.roanestate.edu. They need to log in to RaiderNet and click “Your Account” to get started. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge school bus routes announced

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Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge Schools have announced the bus routes for the 2013-2014 school year, including at Oak Ridge High School, pictured above.

Oak Ridge Schools have announced the 2013-2014 bus routes for Glenwood Elementary School, Jefferson Middle School, Linden Elementary School, Oak Ridge High School, Robertsville Middle School, and Woodland Elementary School.

The routes have been uploaded to Oak Ridge Today.

The links to the routes are below. The Oak Ridge Schools’ Preschool and Willow Brook Elementary School are on separate calendars. [Read more…]

Red Tent Women’s group meets Saturday

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Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Sanctuary

The Red Tent Women’s group meets at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Red Tent Women’s group will meet at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, and all women are welcome to attend, a press release said.

“This group is a place where a woman can set aside the mantles of wife, mother, or daughter, and just celebrate being a female in all the many aspects life offers,” the release said. “The group is non-denominational, open-minded, and works to promote honest discussions about womanhood.” [Read more…]

Last year for Keys Fillauer Golf Tournament, which has raised $650,000 for Ronald McDonald House

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Keys Fillauer

Keys Fillauer

In 35 years, the annual Keys Fillauer Invitational Golf Tournament and Clambake has raised $653,000 for the Ronald McDonald House in Knoxville, a press release said.

This year’s tournament is this weekend—on Friday, Aug. 2, and Saturday, Aug. 3—and it will be the last.

The press release said the inaugural KFI was in 1978 with nine participants at Southwest Point in Kingston. [Read more…]