Oak Ridge Today

Roane Chamber announces 2013 Youth Leadership Academy graduates

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Roane Chamber Youth Leadership Academy Graduates

The Roane Chamber’s 2013 Youth Leadership Academy graduates and their schools:
(Back row, left to right) Kara Brindley (Rockwood High), Samantha Schaefer (home schooled), Hunter McClure (Roane County High), Peyton Jones (Oliver Springs High), Shelby Dailey (Midway High), and Jordan Zurcher (Roane County High); (Front row, left to right) Sarah Hooper (Academy Director, Roane State Community College faculty), Jonathan Cate (Oliver Springs High), Bryce Laughlin (Rockwood High), Ian Barnett (home schooled), Hayden Hester (Midway High), Matt Snow (Harriman High), and Lindsey Seymour (Harriman High).

Twelve Roane County high school students graduated this year from Roane County Chamber of Commerce’s Youth Leadership Academy held at Roane State Community College. The students, representing the county’s five high schools and home-schooled groups, formed six school teams. As a part of the academy requirements, each team will be completing a community service project in the coming months.

The students and their school teams are: Lindsey Seymour and Matt Snow for Harriman High; Shelby Dailey and Hayden Hester for Midway High; Jonathan Cate and Peyton Jones for Oliver Springs High; Hunter McClure and Jordan Zurcher for Roane County High; Kara Brindley and Bryce Laughlin for Rockwood High; and Ian Barnett and Samantha Schaefer are home-schooled. [Read more…]

General manager resigns from new DOE security contractor

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Greg McDowell

Greg McDowell

The general manager of the new federal security contractor in Oak Ridge has resigned for personal reasons, the company said in a Friday statement.

Greg McDowell, general manager of National Strategic Protective Services LLC, is a member of the NSPS senior leadership team, and he was instrumental in the successful transition of the U.S. Department of Energy security contract from WSI Oak Ridge to NSPS in March, the statement said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge UU church has July 14 groundbreaking at new site

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Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Site

The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will have a July 14 groundbreaking ceremony at its new 4.6-acre home in front of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, at right in background, on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Moving across town to make way for a new shopping center, members of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will have a July 14 groundbreaking ceremony at their new home in front of the Federal Building on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Church members announced in late February that they had purchased a 4.6-acre parcel at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Laboratory Road in front of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, which is used by the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office. They plan to be in a new building there by Thanksgiving 2014. [Read more…]

Lafollette man drowns on Norris Lake

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Lafollette man drowned Thursday on Norris Lake, according to the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.

The body of Ralph Ward, 65, was found floating in the lake near the Powell Valley Marina at around 3:45 pm Thursday after dispatchers received a 911 call from a nearby address on Cliffs Drive. [Read more…]

City board reconsiders Price Florist demolition, repair order

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Price Florist

A city board has declared Price Florist on Oak Ridge Turnpike a nuisance and unfit for human occupation and use, and on Thursday, members will reconsider a demolition or repair order for the building, which is now for sale.

A potential demolition order is looming, and the building is for sale.

For decades, it was home to Price Florist, but it’s now in “severe disrepair,” according to the Oak Ridge city staff.

In June, the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals declared the now-unused store on busy Oak Ridge Turnpike to be a nuisance and unfit for human occupation or use. The board stopped short of issuing a demolition order and gave the property owner 30 days to present a repair or demolition plan. [Read more…]

Four SSAB members finish terms, recognized 
for service

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SSAB Members Recognized

Tom Valunas, Chuck Jensen, and David Martin (left to right) were recognized for their service to the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board by Susan Cange, the board’s deputy designated federal officer, at the June meeting. Not pictured is Jan Hart, who was unable to attend. (Submitted photo)

Four members of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board were recognized for their service at the June meeting as they completed their terms on the board. Two of them, Chuck Jensen and David Martin, completed three two-year terms and finished their work on the board as the current secretary and chair, respectively. Jan Hart and Tom Valunas each served one term and decided not to apply for second terms.

ORSSAB is a federally appointed citizens’ panel that provides independent advice and recommendations to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Environmental Management, or EM, program to clean up portions of the Oak Ridge Reservation. [Read more…]

Reminder: Summer camps ongoing

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There are still opportunities to enroll your children in summer camps.

The Summer Camps section on Oak Ridge Today includes information on upcoming summer camps at First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, Continuous Threads Sewing Studio, and the City of Ridge.

OREPA celebrates world court opinion on nuclear weapons on Sunday at Y-12

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OREPA Spring Demonstration at Y-12

Members of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and supporters gather across from the Y-12 National Security Complex to protest the plant’s proposed Uranium Processing Facility in April. OREPA will read a 1996 world court opinion on nuclear weapons during a Sunday vigil.

An Oak Ridge organization that opposes the nuclear weapons production work at the Y-12 National Security Complex has organized a Sunday reading of a world court opinion on the legality of the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons.

Open to the public, the reading will be part of a 5 p.m. weekly Sunday vigil at the main entrance to Y-12 at East Bear Creek and Scarboro roads. [Read more…]

ORNL Federal Credit Union launches small business cash mob campaign

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ORNL Federal Credit Union recently announced it has launched a Small Business Counts cash mob campaign, and it was scheduled to start this month.

A cash mob is a group of people who assemble at a local business to make purchases as a gesture of support for that business as well as the overall community, a press release said. The credit union’s grassroots program, Small Business Counts, is designed to help local merchants in the 16 East Tennessee communities that it serves through the use of promotion, social networking, and even direct financial support. [Read more…]

Fireworks rescheduled, but Norris Day activities continue as weather allows

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Information from WYSH Radio

The threat of steady, soaking rainfall Wednesday through Friday has forced Norris to postpone its annual fireworks display until Friday, July 26, but all other Norris Day activities on the Norris Commons sponsored by the Lions Club will go on as planned starting at 8 a.m. today (July 4).

In a press release, the Norris Lions Club said it will conduct its annual Norris Day activities as weather allows today at Norris Commons. Scheduled indoor activities include the traditional barbecue lunch in the Norris Middle School Cafeteria, the Quilt Show in the Norris Fellowship Church, and the Library’s annual book sale in the McNeeley Building. Also, the evening awards program will be held at the Norris Community Building. [Read more…]

State releases fireworks guidelines to minimize injury, property risks

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Submitted

Celebrating our nation’s independence with consumer fireworks has been a longstanding tradition in the United States. However, thousands of people, most often children and teens, are seriously injured each year through their use.

State Fire Marshal and Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak encourages Tennesseans to be fireworks smart this July Fourth by opting to attend organized fireworks displays: “We would encourage you to enjoy the holiday at a public display presented by trained professionals, where compliance with state-of-the-art fire codes offers a safer way to celebrate our nation’s independence.” [Read more…]