Oak Ridge Today

Vandals damage Claxton mausoleum

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a weekend break-in at Woodhaven Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens in Claxton that resulted in the theft of four crypt covers valued at $500 each and more than $5,000 in damages.

Deputy Robert Sexton reported that he had been checking on businesses in Claxton when he noticed the glass on the back door of the mausoleum on Edgemoor Road had been broken out with a lift truck jack used to lift caskets. Inside, the culprits destroyed four other crypt covers, tore the thermostats off the walls, and destroyed light fixtures, benches, and other items. [Read more…]

Briceville man killed in logging accident

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Briceville logger was killed Friday morning while cutting trees in Campbell County. The Sheriff’s Office says that the accident occurred at a worksite on Sharps Lane in Caryville at around 9:30 a.m. Friday.

Investigators say that 60-year-old Calvin Daugherty was cutting a series of trees, and when one fell, it struck the top of a second, smaller tree. The top of the second tree broke off and hit Daugherty, who struck his head on a rock when he fell to the ground. [Read more…]

Secret City Sounds begins Friday with The Breakfast Club

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Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club

The 2013 Secret City Sounds concert series starts Friday with The Breakfast Club.

Friday’s free concert starts at 7 p.m. at the pavilion at A.K. Bissell Park.

The Breakfast Club was formed in 1993, and it is a 1980s tribute band. A press release said the group, a longtime local favorite, has shared the stage with numerous music legends, including Whitesnake, The Romantics, Poison, Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, Hootie and The Blowfish, White Lion, The Smithereens, and Edwin McCain. [Read more…]

Roane State graduation is Friday, Saturday

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Gaye Jolly

Gaye Jolly

Cuyler A. Dunbar

Cuyler A. Dunbar

Roane State Community College will hold commencement ceremonies on May 10-11.

Both events, to be held in the gym on the Roane County campus in Harriman, will be equal in presentation. [Read more…]

Y-12 protesters remain jailed while judge considers whether crimes violent

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Y-12 Protesters Detention Hearing

Michele Naar-Obed, wife of Y-12 protester Greg Boertje-Obed, and supporter Paul Magno, center, listen outside U.S. District Court on Thursday as supporter Bill Bichsel of Tacoma, Wash., talks to the media.

KNOXVILLE—The three protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and vandalized a uranium storage building will remain jailed while a federal judge considers whether their crimes were violent.

Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli were convicted of property depredation and willfully injuring national defense premises on Wednesday. They had a detention hearing Thursday morning. [Read more…]

Kevin Hall named DOE Oak Ridge Office deputy manager

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Kevin Hall

Kevin Hall

The U.S. Department of Energy has named Kevin Hall as deputy manager for the Oak Ridge Office.

“In this role, Hall reports directly to the ORO manager, with responsibilities for the integration of operational and internal business activities, and serves as a focal point to address cross-cutting issues, internal initiatives, and continuity of leadership for the ORO,” a press release said.

“Kevin is an experienced executive with vast leadership and management skills,” said DOE-ORO Manager Larry Kelly. “He will be a huge asset to our operation, and I am excited to welcome him to our management team.” [Read more…]

UT names advanced manufacturing expert as Governor’s Chair with ORNL

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Sudarsanam Suresh Babu

Sudarsanam Suresh Babu

Sudarsanam Suresh Babu, an authority in the production, design, and performance of transforming materials into parts, has been named the 11th University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair.

Babu will serve as Governor’s Chair for Advanced Manufacturing. He begins on July 1.

Babu, a professor in the Welding Engineering Program in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University, directed a National Science Foundation Industry and University Cooperative Research center focused on materials joining for energy applications. [Read more…]

Y-12 protesters guilty of two federal charges, jailed overnight

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The Fruit of Justice is Peace Slogan on HEUMF at Y-12

Three anti-nuclear weapons activists who sneaked into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28 splashed human blood and, quoting Proverbs, sprayed paint on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. The protesters also hammered the building, causing it to chip, and strung up crime scene tape. (Submitted photo)

KNOXVILLE—The Catholic nun, house painter, and laborer who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on a uranium storage building were found guilty on two federal counts Wednesday, one charging them with property depredation of more than $1,000 and the other alleging they willfully injured national defense premises.

The three protesters—Megan Rice, 83; Michael R. Walli, 64; and Greg Boertje-Obed, 57—were taken to the Blount County jail after the verdict was read at the end of a two-day trial in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. Dozens of courtroom supporters sang softly as the three anti-nuclear weapons activists were taken into custody after about 2.5 hours of deliberations by the nine men and three women on the jury panel.

Boertje-Obed, Rice, and Walli have a detention hearing on Thursday morning. Each faces up to 30 years in prison. [Read more…]

After GAO upholds protests, NNSA to request more info from Y-12, Pantex bidders

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

After one federal agency upheld parts of two bid protests, a second one on Wednesday announced it will request more information from the three teams that submitted bids on a contract to manage and operate two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

In January, the National Nuclear Security Administration announced it had awarded a contract valued at about $23 billion to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. [Read more…]

Y-12 protester case goes to jury this afternoon

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Y-12 Plowshares Protesters

Pictured above are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

Note: This story was last updated at 12:51 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—The case against three anti-nuclear weapons activists who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and vandalized a uranium storage building could go to a jury this afternoon.

The government rested its case yesterday, and the defense rested this morning after the three defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—testified.

The three acknowledge sneaking into Y-12 on July 28, cutting through high-security fences, and pouring blood and spray-painting biblical passages on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where most of the nation’s bomb-grade uranium is stored. But they say they were religiously motivated and peacefully protesting the plant’s nuclear weapons work, symbolically disarming the 811-acre plant. [Read more…]

Government rests in federal trial against Y-12 protesters

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The Fruit of Justice is Peace Slogan on HEUMF at Y-12

Three anti-nuclear weapons activists who sneaked into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28 allegedly splashed human blood and, quoting Proverbs, sprayed paint on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. The protesters also hammered the building, causing it to chip, and strung up crime scene tape. (Submitted photo)

The government rested on Tuesday in the federal trial against three protesters accused of vandalizing a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July.

The three anti-nuclear weapons activists—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—face charges of property depredation and willfully injuring national defense premises.

Jury selection was Monday, and the trial started Tuesday.

It resumes at 9 a.m. today in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

Rice is expected to resume testifying this morning.

Registration for Wilderness First Responder begins

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Roane State Community College’s Continuing Healthcare Education Department is accepting sign-ups for its Wilderness First Responder course May 13-20.

The Wilderness First Responder, held at Camp Wesley Woods in Townsend, provides extensive training in handling medical emergencies in the wilderness. The class is designed for those who operate extensively in the outdoors, such as outdoors enthusiasts, wilderness guides, environmental educators, and missionaries.

[Read more…]