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Manhattan Project: Paddle with a ranger, visit Freels Bend Cabin

Posted at 12:11 pm July 8, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Paddle with a ranger on the Clinch River in Oak Ridge on Thursday evening, July 8, 2021. (Photo submitted by National Park Service)

You can paddle back in time to visit the historic Freels Bend Cabin and enjoy the beauty of the Clinch River this evening (Thursday, July 8) in Oak Ridge, a press release said.

Participants will learn more about the Manhattan Project as well as its impact on Oak Ridge and the surrounding areas, the press release said. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. Oak Ridge was part of the project. Only a few pre-war structures remain in the city, including Freels Bend Cabin.

“Together, we will visit the cabin, which was built and then remodeled during the 1800s by the Freels family of Anderson County,” said the press release from the National Park Service. “It has maintained its historical significance all these years and now resides on Department of Energy property.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, History, Recreation, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: Clinch River, Freels Bend Cabin, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, National Park Service, paddle with a ranger

Baby boy found dead near river bank in March remains unidentified

Posted at 4:28 pm October 6, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Police Department and Police Chief Robin Smith are offering a $1,500 reward for information about the baby boy found dead near the river bank along Melton Lake Greenway on Thursday, March 26, 2020. The Oak Ridge Police Department has named the baby boy “Wyatt,” which means “little warrior,” the city said. On Thursday, April 2, ORPD officers and the Oak Ridge Fire Department set up a memorial in baby Wyatt’s name near the parking area on Melton Lake at Edgemoor Road. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The baby boy found dead near the river bank along Melton Lake Greenway in March remains unidentified, and the Oak Ridge Police Department is offering a $1,500 reward for information about the boy.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has named the baby boy “Wyatt,” which authorities have said means “little warrior.”

Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith has pledged $500 of the $1,500 reward being offered by the police department for information about the boy.

The ORPD has received $950 in community donations to use for a memorial for baby Wyatt. ORPD officers and the Oak Ridge Fire Department set up a memorial in baby Wyatt’s name near a parking area along the Clinch River at Edgemoor Road in April.

The baby boy’s body was found near the river bank just north of the Edgemoor Road bridge on Thursday, March 26. The boy’s umbilical cord was still attached before he was placed in the water, Smith said in a Facebook video in April. A piece of clothing was with Wyatt, although it’s not being described for investigative reasons.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Police and Fire, Slider Tagged With: baby boy, Baby Wyatt, Clinch River, Melton Lake greenway, Oak Ridge Police Department, Robin Smith

TVA, Fish & Wildlife Service announce trout stocking agreement

Posted at 4:32 pm November 1, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have reached a multi-agency agreement to provide continued funding for three federal fish hatcheries that have stocked waters in Georgia and Tennessee with millions of trout. The agreement was announced Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, at a press conference beside the Clinch River below Norris Dam. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Authority)

The Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have reached a multi-agency agreement to provide continued funding for three federal fish hatcheries that have stocked waters in Georgia and Tennessee with millions of trout. The agreement was announced Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, at a press conference beside the Clinch River below Norris Dam. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Authority)

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have reached a multi-agency agreement to provide continued funding for three federal fish hatcheries that have stocked waters in Georgia and Tennessee with millions of trout.

The partnership, which began in 2013, includes the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Since 2013, TVA has been funding trout production by the Service at three national fish hatcheries: Dale Hollow and Erwin in Tennessee, and Chattahoochee Forest in Georgia. The trout are then provided to the following tailwaters: Apalachia (Hiwassee River), Blue Ridge, Boone, Cherokee, Fort Patrick Henry, Normandy, Norris, South Holston, Tims Ford, and Wilbur. Trout-stocked reservoirs in the plan include Fort Patrick Henry, South Holston, Parksville, Watauga, and Wilbur reservoirs.

The four partner agencies announced the new agreement Tuesday at a press conference beside the Clinch River below Norris Dam. The agreement provides partnership funding through fiscal year 2021, a press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Recreation, Sports, State Tagged With: Clinch River, David Bowling, fish hatcheries, Frank Fiss, Georgia, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Lamar Alexander, Mike Oetker, Norris Dam, Rusty Garrison, Tennessee, Tennessee Valley Authority, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, trout, trout stocking, trout stocking agreement, TVA, TWRA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Photos: Clinch River bridge work in Clinton

Posted at 4:16 pm November 1, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Work is under way on the bridge to replace the Honorable William Everette Lewallen Bridge over the Clinch River on Clinch Avenue between downtown Clinton and South Clinton. The work is pictured above on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Work is under way on the bridge to replace the Honorable William Everette Lewallen Bridge over the Clinch River on Clinch Avenue between downtown Clinton and South Clinton. The work is pictured above on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Construction work has started on the replacement of the Honorable William Everette Lewallen Bridge over the Clinch River in downtown Clinton. Here are photos of the work, which could last three years, on Tuesday.

In August, WYSH Radio in Clinton reported that the contract to replace the bridge on Highway 25W/State Route 9 (Clinton Highway/Clinch Avenue) was awarded on August 17 to Charles Blalock and Sons Incorporated of Sevierville. Their bid for the replacement of the bridge, known to locals as the “green bridge,” came in at $27,735,269.72, WYSH said.

The bridge connects downtown Clinton to south Clinton. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clinton, Front Page News, Government, Government, Slider, State Tagged With: bridge, Charles Blalock and Sons Incorporated, Clinch Avenue, Clinch River, Clinch River bridge, Clinton, Clinton Highway, green bridge, Highway 25W, Honorable William Everette Lewallen Bridge, South Clinton, State Route 9, WYSH Radio

AC Chamber to show animated video of new Clinton bridge, downtown vision

Posted at 2:21 am September 10, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Visual of the location of the new bridge over the Clinch River connecting downtown Clinton to South Clinton. (Image via Clinton Mayor Scott Burton/Facebook)

Visual of the location of the new bridge over the Clinch River connecting downtown Clinton to South Clinton. (Image via Clinton Mayor Scott Burton/Facebook)

 

The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce will show a video this month that will include 3D animations of the new bridge over the Clinch River in downtown Clinton and other images highlighting a new downtown vision.

The video, titled “Clinton: The Downtown Vision,” will be shown from 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, September 25, at Faith Promise’s Anderson County campus, which is at 96 Mariner Point Drive, a press release said.

“The Chamber has partnered with QK4 Inc. to create a video that showcases 3D animations of the new ‘green bridge,’ streetscapes, and more of what the vision holds,” the press release said. “This will be the first time that the video has been shown publicly.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Clinton, Clinton, Front Page News, Government Tagged With: Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, bridge, Clinch River, Clinton, Clinton bridge, Clinton: The Downtown Vision, downtown vision, QK4 Inc.

WYSH: Clinton bridge project to begin Sept. 17

Posted at 12:02 pm September 6, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

The Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge over the Clinch River in downtown Clinton is pictured above in December 2013. (File photo/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

Wednesday afternoon, a pre-construction meeting for the project to replace the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge over the Clinch River in Clinton was held at the Knoxville regional office of the  Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Contractor Blalock and Sons Construction announced during the meeting that traffic warning signs marking the project will be installed next week, with the project officially getting started on Monday, September 17.

Recently-retired Clinton Public Works Director Lynn Murphy is acting as a consultant for the city and will serve as the liasion between Blalock, the state and the city. On Wednesday, Murphy said that he has requested a seven-day notice for the eventual closing of Riverside Drive between Meadowbrook Street and South Seivers Boulevard, which will also include the boat launch under the current span connecting Clinton and South Clinton on Highway 25W. A natural gas line and a sanitary sewer pipe running underneath Riverside will have to be excavated and relocated as part of the project. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clinton, Front Page News, Government, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Blalock and Sons Construction, Clinch River, Clinton, Clinton bridge project, Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge, Lynn Murphy, Tennessee Department of Transportation, WYSH Radio

Researcher to discuss mussels in the Clinch River on Thursday, March 22

Posted at 9:01 am March 14, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Tennessee Citizens for Wildnerness Planning

Longtime mussel researcher Steve Ahlstedt will present a program on mussels in the Clinch River on Thursday, March 22. The program will start at 7 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Social Room.

Ahlstedt, a native New Yorker who came south to work for the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1974, began his career as an aquatic biologist, specializing in aquatic insects. Over several years, he developed an interest in freshwater mussels and soon became the principal malacologist for the agency, a press release said. He conducted surveys on many of the streams in the Tennessee River Watershed and was instrumental in initiating a transplanting program for imperiled mussel species.

Steve worked for many years at TVA before transferring to the United States Geological Survey, where he finished his government career.

He still works in the freshwater mussel field, contracting his services over a large area of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and Ohio, and is active in mussel restoration projects. His passion has always been the Clinch and Powell Rivers. Steve is recognized as one of the foremost mussel experts in the Tennessee Valley Region and beyond, the press release said.

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, Recreation, Sports Tagged With: Clinch River, mussel expert, mussel researcher, mussel restoration, mussels, Oak Ridge Civic Center, Steve Ahlstedt, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, United States Geological Survey

TVA releasing more water from Norris Dam, increasing flow on Clinch River

Posted at 3:37 pm February 14, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Norris Dam is pictured above on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. (Photo by Tennessee Valley Authority)

Norris Dam is pictured above on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. (Photo by Tennessee Valley Authority)

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday said it is releasing more water out of Norris Dam, increasing high river flows on the Clinch River, which flows past Oak Ridge.

“Because of more heavy rain in the forecast, water releases out of Norris Dam will increase today to 135,000 gallons per second,” TVA said Wednesday.

TVA has been posting updates on social media about the recent rains and their impact on reservoirs, rivers, and dams. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Slider, Weather, Weather Tagged With: Clinch River, excess water, heavy rain, Norris Dam, Oak Ridge, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, water

Man escapes from vehicle in flood water on Airport Road

Posted at 5:05 pm February 11, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A man escaped from a vehicle in flood water on Airport Road on the east side of Oliver Springs on Saturday night, Feb. 10, 2018, authorities said. The vehicle, reported to be a Jeep, was submerged under flood water at one time, but its top was visible early Sunday afternoon. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A man escaped from a vehicle in flood water on Airport Road on the east side of Oliver Springs on Saturday night, Feb. 10, 2018, authorities said. The vehicle, reported to be a Jeep, was submerged under flood water at one time, but its top was visible early Sunday afternoon. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

OLIVER SPRINGS—A man escaped from a vehicle in flood water on Airport Road on the east side of Oliver Springs on Saturday night, authorities said.

The vehicle, reported to be a Jeep, was submerged under flood water at one time, but its top was visible early Sunday afternoon.

The man called 911 at the Oliver Springs Police Department at about 9 p.m. Saturday, and the Oliver Springs Police Department responded. Members of the Oliver Springs Fire Department also responded.

But the man was able to escape on his own through flood water reported to be chest-deep, authorities said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oliver Springs, Police and Fire, Slider, Top Stories, Weather, Weather Tagged With: Airport Road, Anderson County, Clinch River, East Tri County Boulevard, flood water, Melton Hill Dam, Midway Drive, National Weather Service, Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs Fire Department, Oliver Springs Police Department, rain, Tennessee Valley Authority

No injuries reported after car crashes above river along Melton Lake Drive

Posted at 9:32 pm February 3, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

No injuries were reported after a car crashed off the side of the road above the Clinch River on Melton Lake Drive near Rivers Run Boulevard on Friday afternoon, Feb. 2, 2018, authorities said. (Photo by Oak Ridge Police Department)

No injuries were reported after a car crashed off the side of the road above the Clinch River on Melton Lake Drive near Rivers Run Boulevard on Friday afternoon, Feb. 2, 2018, authorities said. (Photo by Oak Ridge Police Department)

 

No injuries were reported after a car crashed off the side of the road above the Clinch River on Melton Lake Drive near Rivers Run Boulevard on Friday afternoon, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department reported that the single occupant of the vehicle was able to get out of the car on his own before officers arrived.

Pictures posted by the ORPD showed the car off the road, over the Melton Lake greenway, and a short distance down the embankment leading down to the Clinch River. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Police and Fire, Slider Tagged With: Clinch River, crash, Melton Lake Drive, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD

Atomic Heritage Foundation launches new audio, visual program on Oak Ridge

Posted at 1:57 pm January 26, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Bill Wilcox 90th Birthday Party

Oak Ridge City Historian Bill Wilcox, who died in 2013, was a longtime advocate for preserving the city’s history, including parts of its federal facilities. Wilcox is pictured above at his 90th birthday party in the spring of 2013.

 

Submitted

“There was construction going on everywhere you looked,” Bill Wilcox remembered, describing his first impressions of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. “Trucks and people just crawling all over the place, hammers and banging. Wooden structures going up everywhere. Nothing was paved, and there weren’t any sidewalks.”

Wilcox was one of the thousands of people who moved to the new “Secret City” of Oak Ridge to work on the Manhattan Project, the top-secret World War II effort to develop an atomic bomb.

The Atomic Heritage Foundation has launched a new online interpretive program on Oak Ridge with 16 audio/visual vignettes. This beta program is part of AHF’s “Ranger in Your Pocket” series on the Manhattan Project, which focuses on former Manhattan Project sites and features vignettes with eyewitness accounts and expert commentary. AHF welcomes feedback and will improve and expand upon the program over the next year, a press release said.

In September 1942, Manhattan Project director General Leslie Groves designated “Site X,” approximately 59,000 acres of land on the Clinch River in rural eastern Tennessee, as the site for the project’s uranium production facilities. Approximately 3,000 people living in the area in five small farming communities were forced to leave their homes and land with minimal compensation. Construction of a new city began at breakneck speed. By the end of World War II, some 75,000 people would call Oak Ridge home, making it the fifth-largest city in Tennessee. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, Government, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: atomic bomb, Atomic Heritage Foundation, Bill Wilcox, calutrons, Clinch River, Colleen Black, Denise Kiernan, electromagnetic separation, enriched uranium, gaseous diffusion, Gladys Evans, Hiroshima, IEEE Foundation, K-25, Leslie Groves, liquid thermal diffusion, Manhattan Project, Mary Lowe Michel, nuclear reactor, Oak Ridge, online interpretive program, Philip Abelson, plutonium production, Ranger in Your Pocket, Ray Stein, S-50, Site X, uranium enrichment, uranium isotopes, uranium production, William S. “Deak” Parsons, World War II, X-10, X-10 Graphite Reactor, Y-12

Out of service for decades, barge area at ETTP used again

Posted at 11:47 am October 17, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

UniTech equipment transported from Michigan is unloaded at the barge access area at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge in 2017. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

UniTech equipment transported from Michigan is unloaded at the barge access area at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge in 2017. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

 

This story, which has been lightly edited here, was originally published in the EM Update on October 17 by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.

Reindustrialization efforts at the East Tennessee Technology Park have brought new life to an old barge access area out of service for decades.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management is cleaning and converting the former uranium enrichment complex into a private sector industrial park, and companies are seeing significant signs of progress and potential.

In September, UniTech Services Group, a private business at ETTP, the former K-25 site, needed to transport large industrial equipment from Michigan and noted the site’s neglected barge area. The company worked with DOE and the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee to use this area, and successfully shipped the equipment to ETTP using the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee navigable river systems. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: barge access area, Barnhart Crane, Ben Williams, Clinch River, Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Jay Mullis, Mike Butler, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, OREM, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management, UniTech, UniTech Services Group

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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