Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge receives $1.2 million grant for Rails to Trails

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The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The City of Oak Ridge has received a $1.2 million grant that it can use for the proposed Rails to Trails project.

The executive board of the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization approved the grant in October, said Ellen Zavisca, senior transportation planner.

It could be used for project planning and property acquisition for the Rails to Trails project, and possibly to start construction, said Jon Hetrick, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department director.

Hetrick said the grant was awarded by TPO, but it’s actually a Tennessee Department of Transportation grant. The city is entering into a contract with TDOT for the grant, and the Oak Ridge City Council could consider accepting the grant in July.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson briefly mentioned the $1.2 million grant during a budget presentation to City Council members on Tuesday of this week. The city would administer the $1.2 million grant but would have to follow certain TDOT requirements.

The Rails to Trails project would convert a few miles of former railway that runs through the center of Oak Ridge into a bicycle and pedestrian trail. The railway runs from Melton Lake Drive in east Oak Ridge; past Jefferson Middle School and near the Hank’s Market shopping center in central Oak Ridge; and to the Y-12 National Security Complex. [Read more…]

Business leaders support new life for Friendship Bell

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Pictured above are Alan Tatum, left, and Ken Rueter. (Photo by UCOR)

Pictured above are Alan Tatum, left, and Ken Rueter. (Photo by UCOR)

 

Submitted

When Ken Rueter and Alan Tatum met beside the iconic Friendship Bell in Bissell Park recently, they took a moment to reflect on the importance of preserving what the Bell symbolizes to the Oak Ridge community.

Tatum, an accelerator systems and stable isotopes group leader at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is co-chair of the International Friendship Bell Advisory Committee along with Pat Postma. Rueter is President and Project Manager of URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR, cleanup contractor for the East Tennessee Technology Park and other sites on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation. Both men serve on the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Advisory Board.

The occasion of their May meeting was UCOR’s donation of $15,000 toward an effort to construct a new peace pavilion for the 8,300-pound bronze bell. Cast in Japan in 1993, the bell was dedicated at its current location in 1996 as a 50th anniversary landmark for the creation of the City of Oak Ridge, home to nuclear production facilities that helped end World War II. The bell symbolizes the bonds of peace and friendship that have been forged by Oak Ridge and Japan in the decades since the war ended. [Read more…]

Fountain open again in Jackson Square

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The splash pad in Jackson Square is open. Here's a picture shared by reader Anna Freeman on Saturday, May 27, 2017. Pictured is her son Eli Freeman, 15 months. (Photo by Anna Freeman)

The interactive fountain or splash pad in Jackson Square is open again. Here’s a picture shared by reader Anna Freeman on Saturday, May 27, 2017. Pictured is her son Eli Freeman, 15 months. (Photo by Anna Freeman)

 

In the past month or so, we’ve had a few inquiries from readers about the splash pad or interactive fountain in Jackson Square and when it might open.

On Saturday, reader Anna Freeman reported that it’s open, and she shared a photo with Oak Ridge Today.

On Tuesday, the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department said the fountain, which some refer to as a splash pad, had been closed so the pumps could be repaired. It’s back open now, the City of Oak Ridge said in a statement.

Authorities identify adults injured, killed in Friday’s crash

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One person died and four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash involving a sedan and an SUV near the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, May 26, 2017, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

One person died and four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash involving a sedan and an SUV near the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, May 26, 2017, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Authorities have identified the three adults injured and one adult killed in Friday’s two-vehicle crash near the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue.

Killed in the crash was Ashley Blalock, 30, of Knoxville. She was a passenger in a sedan driven by Tabitha Douglas, 26, of Corryton, who was injured in the crash. Also in the vehicle was a 7-year-old Corryton girl. The City of Oak Ridge said the Oak Ridge Police Department will not release the name of the juvenile, who was also injured.

The other vehicle involved in the crash was a sport utility vehicle. The two people in the SUV were also injured. They were driver Celia Sparks, 78, and passenger Jeffrey Sparks, 52, both of Knoxville.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

The crash was reported at about 2:47 p.m. Friday at Commerce Park Drive, which is across from the Arboretum. [Read more…]

One person dies, four injured in two-vehicle crash near UT Arboretum

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One person died and four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash involving a sedan and an SUV near the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, May 26, 2017, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

One person died and four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash involving a sedan and an SUV near the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, May 26, 2017, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One person died and four people were injured in the two-vehicle crash near the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 2:47 p.m. Friday at Commerce Park Drive, which is across from the Arboretum.

The two vehicles involved were a sedan and a sport utility vehicle, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

Three people were inside the sedan: two adults and one child. The adult passenger was killed. The adult driver and child passenger were injured.

Two adults inside the SUV were injured, the city said.

All of the victims were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. Two were taken by UT Lifestar medical helicopters and two by ambulance, the city said. The extent of their injuries and current conditions are unknown. Their identities haven’t been released. [Read more…]

Citing federal law, readers ask whether DOE can close AMSE, move its missions

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The American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge on Monday, Jan. 2, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:20 a.m. May 25.

Citing a section of federal law, readers have asked whether the U.S. Department of Energy can legally stop operating the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue and move its public education and outreach missions over to renovated space at Main Street Oak Ridge.

On Wednesday, federal officials said the law does not affect the current plan. That plan includes transferring the AMSE property to the City of Oak Ridge and then to a private developer, and moving DOE’s public outreach and education missions from the museum property to Main Street Oak Ridge.

At issue is an appendix in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001, which is also known as Public Law 106-554 and approved on December 21, 2000.

In that law, there are sections related to AMSE in Appendix D, Title IV, Sections 401-404 (a bit before the halfway point of the document if you’re looking for them in the PDF).

Among other things, the sections say that AMSE—The Museum—is designated as the “American Museum of Science of Energy,” and it “shall be the official museum of science and energy of the United States.”

Also, the sections say the term “Museum” means the museum operated by the Secretary of Energy and located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. That’s where AMSE is now. [Read more…]

Community meeting on new Oak Ridge Preschool is Thursday

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Preschool Flyer Meeting 3 (May 25)

Oak Ridge City Council voted during a special-called meeting on March 27 to select the Scarboro Park site as the location for a new Oak Ridge Preschool. As part of the ongoing dialogue with the community about this future facility, city leaders will host another public forum-style meeting at the Scarboro Community Center on Thursday, May 25, from 6 to 8 p.m., a press release said.

Two previous community meetings were held at the same venue, one on March 23 and another on April 20, to discuss the preschool. Members of the community who attended those meetings were able to see preliminary concepts, ask questions, and provide input on decisions, the press release said.

The City of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Schools have been working to choose a site for the new preschool for about two years. Once the building is complete, the preschool will relocate from the school administration building on New York Avenue. Members of a committee formed to recommend possible sites looked at city-owned properties and a multitude of factors that would impact future students, their families, and the community as a whole, the press release said. Scarboro Park, the site ultimately selected by City Council and the Oak Ridge Board of Education, is across the street from the Scarboro Community Center on Carver Avenue. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Public Works has open house Thursday

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The Oak Ridge Public Works Department and Public Works Employee Relations Committee (PwERC) have invited residents of Oak Ridge to a Public Works Community Open House and Touch-the-Truck event on Thursday, May 25.

The event will be held in recognition of Public Works Week in the City of Oak Ridge and National Public Works Week (May 21-27). The open house will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Central Services Complex, located at 100 Woodbury Lane.

The purpose is to provide an event at which the community can learn about all the different divisions that make up the Public Works Department, a press release said.

“Public Works is much more than just water and sewer services,” the press release said. “They are, in short, the people who maintain and improve the systems and services vital to the city’s health, safety and comfort. Those systems and public services include, but are not limited to, water distribution, sewer collection, water and wastewater treatment, street, sidewalk, and storm drain repair and maintenance, stormwater management, public building maintenance and management, snow removal, and city fleet maintenance.” [Read more…]

Two protesters questioned, released at Y-12’s east gate

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Two women protesting the U.S. Department of Energy and trying to inform the public of the effects of global warming were questioned and released at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge on Monday morning, authorities said.

New Energy Secretary Rick Perry was at Y-12 for a tour on Monday morning, but it’s not clear if the two women were there because of Perry.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a call of two protesters trespassing at Y-12’s east gate at 301 Bear Creek Road at about 10:13 a.m. Monday. Perry was reported to have left the nuclear weapons plant by then. [Read more…]

School board adopts budget asking city for more money for salary increase

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Oak Ridge Schools School Administration Building

This is a cropped version of a photo by Julio Culiat.

 

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday adopted a budget that will ask the Oak Ridge City Council for more money for a 2.5 percent salary increase for teachers and staff members.

The total amount needed to fund the 2.5 percent salary increase is $855,810, after about $98,000 worth of budget adjustments.

Most of the money for the salary increase could be available if the City of Oak Ridge agrees to continue putting into the budget $538,046 worth of funding that was given to the school system last year on a one-time basis to help pay for a digital device initiative that includes convertible laptops for students, among other expenses. In other words, the school board will ask the city to make that $538,046 a recurring source of funding, as opposed to non-recurring (one-time) money.

The school board will then ask for an additional $317,764 on top of the $538,046, or $855,810 total.

The budget passed on a second and final reading on Monday in a 5-0 voice vote with no opposition. [Read more…]

School board expects to ask city for more money for salary increases for staff

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Oak Ridge Schools presented its proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 to the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Tuesday, May 9, 2017.

Oak Ridge Schools presented its proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 to the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Tuesday, May 9, 2017.

 

The Oak Ridge Board of Education expects to ask the Oak Ridge City Council for more money for a 2.5 percent salary increase for teachers and staff members.

The total amount needed to fund the 2.5 percent salary increase is $855,810, after about $98,000 worth of budget adjustments.

Most of the money for the salary increase could be available if the City of Oak Ridge agrees to continue putting into the budget $538,046 worth of funding that was given to the school system last year on a one-time basis to help pay for a digital device initiative that includes convertible laptops for students, among other expenses. In other words, the school board will ask the city to make that $538,046 a recurring source of funding, as opposed to non-recurring (one-time) money.

The school board will then ask for an additional $317,764 on top of the $538,046, or $855,810 total.

Oak Ridge Vice Chair Bob Eby made the proposal to ask for increased funding from the city. [Read more…]

Update: Truck driver was ill, but shipment was routine, posed no threat to public

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Oak Ridge Turnpike re-opened near Big Turtle Park after about 1.5 hours Wednesday afternoon, May 17, 2017, after authorities investigated a possible hazardous materials situation involving a truck pulling a flatbed trailer with two cargo containers marked radioactive. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge Turnpike re-opened near Big Turtle Park after about 1.5 hours Wednesday afternoon, May 17, 2017, after authorities investigated a possible hazardous materials situation involving a truck pulling a flatbed trailer with two cargo containers marked radioactive. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 6:45 p.m.

Authorities investigated a truck shipment labeled radioactive after a driver was reported ill on Wednesday afternoon, and they found the shipment was routine and posed no threat to the public, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department responded to the call of the truck driver who was ill on Oak Ridge Turnpike near Newport Drive at about 11:50 a.m. Wednesday.

When they arrived, firefighters saw the truck and its flatbed trailer were transporting hazardous waste, so as they evaluated the patient, the Fire Department said in a City of Oak Ridge press release.

Firefighters also followed procedure to evaluate the shipment to ensure there was no association with the truck driver’s illness, the press release said.

“Officials closed that section of the Oak Ridge Turnpike as a precautionary measure until the patient could be evaluated and transported to the local hospital,” the press release said. “The truck was relocated off of the state highway to a city parking lot for additional evaluation and the highway was re-opened.” [Read more…]