Oak Ridge Today

Free Science Saturdays offered in Oak Ridge

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

ORAU Science Saturdays

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to bring students and scientists together through a weekly program called Science Saturdays. (Image courtesy of ORAU)

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to bring students and scientists together through a weekly program called Science Saturdays.

Students in grades 8-12, along with their parents, are invited for six Saturday morning presentations in February and March where they will learn about a variety of engaging science topics through interactive presentations and hands-on activities.

[Read more…]

Alexander supports balanced budget amendment to U.S. Constitution

Posted at
By 3 Comments

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Wednesday announced he will be an original cosponsor of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“For eight years as governor, I balanced Tennessee’s budget, and other states balance their budgets—I don’t see why Washington can’t do the same,” said Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.

The second-term senator said the federal government is borrowing 42 cents of every dollar it spends, and that’s money the country dosen’t have.

[Read more…]

City: Turn recyclables into rewards

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Waste Connections of Tennessee will be placing new stickers on brown recycle carts during the next few weeks in order to remind residents of the rewards offered by RecycleBank for recycling.

“If you don’t have a RecycleBank Account, remember to activate, recycle, and redeem your points in order to receive great rewards like discounts for groceries, merchandise, and more at local businesses and national retailers,” a press release said.

You can activate your account at www.recyclebank.com or by calling (888) 727-2978. You will need to supply your full address to sign up for rewards.

Spending cuts could lead to Y-12 furloughs, ORNL reactor shutdown

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

A report released Wednesday said the automatic federal spending cuts set for March 1 would require furloughs at the Y-12 National Security Complex and a shutdown of the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The report was issued by Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee.

It said Y-12 would have to furlough 700-1,000 of its 4,500 employees for up to six months, and there would be hundreds of layoffs at national laboratories, universities, research facilities, and private sector companies that rely on grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science for energy research, the report said.

[Read more…]

Sport 4 Peace co-founder to address Girls Inc. Committee of 100

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Sarah Hillyer in Baghdad

Sarah Hillyer in Baghdad, Iraq (Submitted photo)

Sarah Hillyer, co-founder of Sport 4 Peace, will be the guest speaker at the Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge annual Committee of 100 luncheon on Feb. 15 at New Hope Center, 602 Scarboro Road, Oak Ridge.

The annual luncheon honors a select group of women who each contribute $100 or more to help address the growth and development of girls through programs offered at Girls Inc. The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 15. Girls Inc. invites women of the community to join the committee. To become a member of the Committee of 100 and attend the luncheon, contact Carol Mullane, executive director of Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge, at  (865) 482-4475.

[Read more…]

Moscow Nights perform at Children’s Museum International Festival Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Moscow Nights

Moscow Nights (Submitted photo)

Moscow Nights, an ensemble of energetic musicians from Russia, will be featured performers at the International Festival on Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. Moscow Nights’ concerts offer audiences an entertaining glimpse of Old Russia through music, humor, song and dance, inviting audience participation.

Festival goers will experience entertainment, crafts and cuisines from cultures around the world at the family friendly event, with musical entertainment on stage throughout the day. Participants will dine on international cuisine, children will make international crafts to take home, and all will visit booths displaying crafts and traditions from world cultures.

[Read more…]

Florida widow sues Clinton hotel over leg laceration

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A Florida widow and freelance author and illustrator has sued the Red Roof Inn in Clinton for up to $400,000 over a leg laceration she says she received while staying at the hotel in August.

Lauretta J. Evans, 76, said she was on her way home to Florida on Aug. 7 when she stopped at the Red Roof Inn on Buffalo Road, according to a lawsuit filed in Anderson County Circuit Court on Feb. 8.

[Read more…]

Police chief stops two theft suspects at former fitness center

Posted at
By 4 Comments

James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

For the second time in a week, Oak Ridge Police James T. Akagi has helped arrest two suspects.

Last week, the chief tackled one of two men who fled from him in a car through Scarboro and then on foot.

This week, Akagi stopped a white van at the former Paragon Athletic Club on Emory Valley Road. In the back of the van, an apparent HVAC unit valued at $11,000 was visible through an open rear hatch, and it appeared to have been cut from the fitness center, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Nathan Stinnett said in affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

[Read more…]

North Carolina company signs purchase contract on Oak Ridge Mall

Posted at
By 40 Comments

Oak Ridge Mall

An aerial view of the Oak Ridge Mall, which has been renamed the Oak Ridge City Center and is pictured at center in the photo above.

A North Carolina company has signed a contract to purchase the Oak Ridge Mall.

Crosland Southeast, a development and investment company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., signed a contract in late January to buy the mostly empty mall from Oak Ridge City Center LLC, according to a Wednesday morning press release from the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

“We feel the Oak Ridge market is under-served in terms of retail and feel very positive about the retailers we believe we can bring to this new center,” Crosland Southeast partner Tim Sittema said in a Wednesday morning press release from the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

A sale price for the roughly 60-acre site in the heart of Oak Ridge has not yet been disclosed, but it would become public after the deal closes.

“In my book, this is one of the most exciting days I’ve had here in a decade at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce,” said Parker Hardy, president of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. “This is a big deal.”

[Read more…]

Alexander, Fleischmann release statements on State of the Union

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann

In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, President Barack Obama called for raising the minimum wage, doing more to fight global warming, and reducing the deficit through spending cuts and tax increases.

The president also called for voting on new gun laws, reforming Medicare and the tax code, and working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every child.

[Read more…]

Council unanimously approves $150,000 contract for Jackson Square work

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jackson Square Revitalization

A concept plan by Benefield Richters of Knoxville for the $1 million revitalization of historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge.

After a brief discussion Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council unanimously agreed to award a $150,000 contract to a company that will help in the first phase of a $1 million project to redevelop Jackson Square, the city’s original town center.

The contract for design services was awarded to Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineering Inc. of Knoxville. V&M will help with services ranging from deed research and field surveys to preliminary plans and construction estimates.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said V&M has helped with the redevelopment of Gay Street in Knoxville.

The work is part of a project funded with help from a Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant that was announced by Gov. Bill Haslam in Jackson Square in June 2012.

[Read more…]

Council accepts $480,000 grant for railway museum at K-25

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Southern Appalachia Railway Museum Building

A plan for the proposed Southern Appalachia Railway Museum at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site. (Submitted image)

Although they had concerns about potential worst-case scenarios, Oak Ridge City Council members on Monday unanimously agreed to accept a state grant worth up to $480,000 for construction of a railway museum at Heritage Center, a project first proposed more than a decade ago.

By approving the resolution, Council also authorized the city to enter into a construction management agreement with the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee and Heritage Center LLC. That agreement calls for CROET and Heritage to offer the 20 percent local match required under the grant, or $120,000, as well as associated construction management services.

[Read more…]