Oak Ridge Today

Three possibly injured after truck crashes into Waffle House

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Truck Crash at Waffle House

Three people inside the restaurant had possible injuries and one person was taken to the hospital after a Ford Ranger pickup truck crashed into the side of the Waffle House on South Illinois Avenue just after noon Friday.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3 p.m.

Three people inside the restaurant had possible injuries and one of them was taken to the hospital after a pickup truck crashed into the side of the Waffle House on South Illinois Avenue just after noon Friday, police officers and workers said.

Emergency workers also checked out the male driver at the scene, but he declined to be taken to the hospital, authorities said.

The crash, which punched a hole in the wall behind the grill, occurred at about 12:08 p.m. Friday. The cause wasn’t immediately known, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

There were reports that there had been a small explosion at the grill, but that hadn’t been confirmed, the ORPD said.

Several employees and customers inside the Waffle House reported hearing a boom or explosion.

“It sounded like it was blowing up,” server Deborah Driggers said. “All I remember is screaming, ‘Everyone out because we’ve got gas.'” [Read more…]

ORHS Class of 1994 has 20-year reunion on Friday, Saturday

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The Oak Ridge High School Class of 1994 has its 20th reunion on Friday and Saturday, September 12 and 13.

Here is the website with more information and to register: http://1994orhsreunion.bigcartel.com/.

Guest column: IRS warns of continuing scam phone calls

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NASHVILLE—The IRS continues to warn the public to be alert for telephone scams. The callers often claim to be with the IRS and usually demand money.

Based on the most recent figures released, there have been at least 90,000 complaints about these phone scams and about 1,100 victims who have lost an estimated $5 million.

“Be suspicious of anyone who calls demanding your money or your private information,” said IRS spokesman Dan Boone. “These con artists can sound very convincing and will probably try to intimidate you into giving them what they want.”

Boone said the callers may know a lot about you and usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. They use fake names and bogus IRS badge numbers. If you don’t answer, they often leave an “urgent” callback request. [Read more…]

Lincoln’s Sports Grille requests court hearing after beer permit revoked

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Lincoln's Sports Grille

Lincoln’s Sports Grille on South Illinois Avenue is pictured above. (File photo)

A few days after its beer permit was revoked late last month, Lincoln’s Sports Grille requested a hearing in Anderson County Chancery Court and asked that the revocation be put on hold while the legal case is pending.

Lincoln’s, which had its beer permit revoked by a city board on August 28, said it has been hit with a “more substantial penalty than similar establishments have faced with similar conduct.”

The beer permit of the popular restaurant and bar, which opened about 4.5 years ago, was revoked for one year after its fifth show cause hearing before the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board, and the second called after Lincoln’s sold beer to a minor.

In a petition filed September 2, Lincoln’s asked the Anderson County Chancery Court for a hearing to determine whether the business “violated any rules of conduct pertaining to the sale of beer and the appropriate punishment.”

The litigation could be protracted, the petition said. Lincoln’s is represented by Oak Ridge attorney Kevin C. Angel.

“Failure of this court to issue a stay of the Beer Board’s decision will result in irreparable loss to the petitioner (Lincoln’s) because it severely impacts petitioner’s ability to do business while the matter is pending,” Lincoln’s said. “On the other hand, if this court grants a stay and ultimately upholds the decision of the Beer Board, the petitioner can still be suspended for a year after this court’s decision. Thus, a stay of the Beer Board’s decision is in the interest of justice.” [Read more…]

Honors: DA Clark named a governor of Tennessee Bar Association

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

District Attorney General Dave Clark has been named a governor of the Tennessee Bar Association. The 23-member board controls the activities and business of the Tennessee Bar Association in all its activities across the state.

The TBA represents more than 10,000 lawyers in Tennessee in trying to “foster legal education, maintain the honor and dignity of the profession of law, cultivate professional ethics, and promote improvements in the law and administration of justice,” a press release said.

“It is an honor to be selected to serve in a leadership role among my peers and to help continue the service of the Tennessee Bar Association,” Clark said in the release.

Clark, who represents the Seventh Judicial District (Anderson County), was elected to a second eight-year term as DA in the August 7 county election.

DOE program funds alloy research led by UT; ORNL collaborates

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Haixuan Xu

Haixuan Xu

KNOXVILLE—An international research team led by an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville has received a grant to help with work involving a key component of nuclear reactors.

The U.S. Department of Energy grant is worth $800,000 over three years, and it has been awarded to UT Assistant Professor Haixuan Xu. It’s part of the Nuclear Energy University Programs funding and will be used to work on a pair of particular steel alloys, a press release said.

“Getting support on this will allow us to investigate and understand the defect evolution in these materials,” said Xu, of the UT Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “What we hope to gain is fundamental insight into the effects of radiation on the alloys so that we can better predict and detect how they will break down over time and adjust the materials accordingly.”

The alloys in question would be used in sodium-cooled reactors. Xu’s research is important because little is known about how the materials stand up to high levels of radiation over time. [Read more…]

NWS: Showers, thunderstorms this afternoon, evening

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Showers and Thunderstorms

Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown

Showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and evening could lead to locally heavy rainfall and minor flooding, forecasters said.

Lightning and gusty winds are also possible, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

There is a 70 percent chance of thunderstorms this afternoon and tonight near Oak Ridge, with a high of 83, the NWS said.

There is a 60 percent chance of showers on Friday, with a high of 81.

The greatest chance of precipitation in the area today is late this afternoon through midnight, forecasters said.

High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL named Nuclear Historic Landmark

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High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL

The High Flux Isotope Reactor vessel at Oak Ridge National Laboratory resides in a pool of water illuminated by the blue glow of the Cherenkov radiation effect. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

The High Flux Isotope Reactor, or HFIR, now in its 48th year of providing neutrons for research and isotope production at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been designated a Nuclear Historic Landmark by the American Nuclear Society.

“This designation from the ANS recognizes HFIR’s role in the history of the nuclear age, but it also speaks to the excellence of its design and operation,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said. “HFIR remains one of the world’s most capable reactor-based neutron science, radioisotope production, and materials irradiation facilities, and we expect that to continue for many years.”

The designation was proposed by the ANS honors and awards committee and approved on initial ballot by the board of directors.

“The ANS Nuclear Historic Landmark signifies that a nuclear facility has played an important role in nuclear science and engineering,” ANS President Michaele C. Brady Raap said. “HFIR, with its preeminent role in isotope production and neutron science, certainly meets that criteria.”

The reactor was conceived in the late 1950s as a production reactor to meet anticipated demand for transuranic isotopes (“heavy” elements such as plutonium and curium). HFIR today is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility and one of the world’s sole sources of the radioisotope californium-252, used in industry and medicine. ORNL is a DOE lab. [Read more…]

Body found in Andersonville; death ruled suicide

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Information from WYSH Radio

A 56-year-old Knoxville woman committed suicide in the woods off of Indian Gap Road in Andersonville, according to a report from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle in a gravel pull-off on Indian Gap found the car unoccupied on Tuesday evening with a woman’s identification and other personal belongings inside the vehicle.

Deputies contacted the Knox County Sheriff’s Office since her information identified her as a Knox resident, and they learned that the woman and her husband had been involved in a domestic dispute the previous night. Her husband told investigators that he had called the KCSO, but that his wife had left their home before deputies arrived. [Read more…]

Girl Scouts have recruitment event on Saturday

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Girl Scouts Troop 20509 Brownies

Brownies from Girl Scout Troop 20509 are, from left to right, Becca Seay, Daphne Seay, Kaitlynn Perkins, and Kayla Howard. They display the “stained glass butterflies” they completed to earn the Bug Badge. (Submitted photos)

 

Oak Ridge Girl Scouts and the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians are holding a recruitment event from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Oak Ridge Civic Center (Rooms A and B) on Saturday, September 13. All girls who would like to join Girl Scouts, the largest volunteer organization for girls and women in the world, are encouraged to come with their parents to the event, where they will be able to register to become a Girl Scout and find out more about scouting, a press release said.

The Oak Ridge Girl Scout service unit will have activities and information exhibits about girl scouting. The Oak Ridge  Girl Scouts are sponsoring a toy drive to benefit the Holiday Bureau and girls who bring new or gently used toys to donate will receive a “toy drive” service patch to wear on their GS uniform, the release said. [Read more…]

Guest column: Council looks to future in policy, planning meetings

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Note: This is a brief report to the town on Oak Ridge City Council meetings on policy and planning.

Following a vote in June to do so, City Council has been having two policy and planning meetings each month.

At our first meeting, we agreed to follow the general outline of the Comprehensive Plan in order to give ourselves focus. We added a section for the U.S. Department of Energy. Council members Chuck Hope, Trina Baughn, David Mosby, Charlie Hensley, and Anne Garcia Garland have been attending. City attorney Ken Krushenski, a couple of interested citizens, and the press have attended also.

The most encouraging outcome so far has been that the five have begun to operate as a team. We are looking at ways to improve the council’s effectiveness.

Those who follow the Council agenda online will have noticed that Monday’s agenda included a resolution from Council to have four things occur: [Read more…]