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ETTP water tower to be demolished in August

Posted at 8:50 pm July 29, 2013
By John Huotari 1 Comment

ETTP Water Tower

The water tower, the tallest structure at the East Tennessee Technology Park, will be demolished in early August. It’s been part of the skyline at the former K-25 site for more than 50 years. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Oak Ridge Office)

The water tower, the tallest structure at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge, will be demolished in early August, officials said.

The checkerboard water tower has been part of the skyline at ETTP, the former K-25 site, for more than 50 years.

The 382-foot-tall structure is officially called the K-1206-F Fire Water Tower, and it has a capacity of 400,000 gallons. It serviced the site’s fire protection system until a few weeks ago. The structure has become deteriorated over the years, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office said in the August issue of “Public Involvement News.”

“The tower will be brought down through a controlled explosive demolition by UCOR and its subcontracting partners—Veterans Contracting Solutions LLC and Controlled Demolition Inc.,” DOE said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, Controlled Demolition Inc., East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, K-1206-F Fire Water Tower, K-25, Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge Office, Public Involvement News, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, URS, Veterans Contracting Solutions LLC, water tower

About 200 bike riders competing in Oak Ridge Velo Classic this weekend

Posted at 1:40 pm July 26, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Velo Classic

Professional and top amateur males race in a previous Oak Ridge Velo Classic. (Photo submitted by Lou Rabinowitz)

About 200 bicycle racers will compete this weekend in the sixth annual Oak Ridge Velo Classic.

The competitions include road races that start at 8 a.m. Saturday at the former K-25 site, now renamed East Tennessee Technology Park, and time trials that start at 4 p.m., also at ETTP.

Starting at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, riders will compete in a criterium, which is like “NASCAR on bikes,” said Lou Rabinowitz, one of the organizers. The criterium races will be on a closed loop at the Horizon Center business park in west Oak Ridge. Competitors can ride very close to each other and could reach top speeds of up to 30 mph or more. Rabinowitz said it’s the best competition for spectators to watch. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Recreation, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: criterium, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Horizon Center, K-25, Lou Rabinowitz, Oak Ridge Velo Classic, road race, time trial

FBI investigating report of possible trespassing at ETTP

Posted at 6:17 pm July 19, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

East Tennessee Technology Park

The East Tennessee Technology Park is pictured above as it looked before most of the U-shaped K-25 building, center left, was demolished. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

The FBI is investigating a report of a man possibly trespassing at the East Tennessee Technology Park on Thursday evening, but so far, they said, it doesn’t appear he posed any danger to the former uranium-enriching site.

“I can tell you right now that there is no indication that this incident involves any kind of threat to the facility or to national security,” said Marshall Stone, supervisory special agent in the Knoxville office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Federal, Government, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, K-25, Manhattan Project, Marshall Stone, trespassing, U.S. Department of Energy

General manager resigns from new DOE security contractor

Posted at 3:13 pm July 5, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Greg McDowell

Greg McDowell

The general manager of the new federal security contractor in Oak Ridge has resigned for personal reasons, the company said in a Friday statement.

Greg McDowell, general manager of National Strategic Protective Services LLC, is a member of the NSPS senior leadership team, and he was instrumental in the successful transition of the U.S. Department of Energy security contract from WSI Oak Ridge to NSPS in March, the statement said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, general manager, Greg McDowell, Joe L. Evins Federal Building, National Strategic Protective Services LLC, NSPS, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Oak Ridge Reservation, Securiguard Inc., security contract, security contractor, Triple Canopy Inc., U.S. Department of Energy, WSI Oak Ridge, Y-12 National Security Complex

RSI named regional small business subcontractor of the year

Posted at 10:04 am June 19, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Tom Beehan and Rick Ferguson at RSI Solar Ceremony

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, left, and RSI Vice President Rick Ferguson at a May 2012 ceremony for an RSI solar farm at Heritage Center. (Photo courtesy Lynn Freeny/U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office)

The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Restoration Services Inc. of Oak Ridge as Subcontractor of the Year in Region IV, which includes eight southeastern states.

RSI was recognized for its hard work, innovative ideas, and dedication to the community, a press release said.

“The SBA is pleased to recognize your achievements and your role in driving our nation’s economic growth,” said John Shoraka of the SBA Office of Government Contracting and Business Development. The SBA announced regional awards as they prepared to celebrate the 50th anniversary of National Small Business Week from June 17-21. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, cleanup, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, environmental management, John Shoraka, National Small Business Week, Region IV, Restoration Services Inc., Rick Ferguson, RSI, SBA, solar farm, Staci Ferguson, subcontractor of the year, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Small Business Administration, UCOR, URS

DOE’s public bus tour begins Monday

Posted at 10:50 pm May 31, 2013
By U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2013 Oak Ridge facilities public bus tour begins June 3 and continues through Aug. 30. The tour offers visitors a first-hand look at the DOE’s Oak Ridge facilities and provides historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 70 years.

The reservation-wide tour is a popular destination for tourists visiting the area. Since its inception in 1996, the DOE public tour program has attracted more than 29,000 visitors from all 50 states. The three-hour tour allows visitors to see the reservation and learn historical facts and updates on the world-class missions under way in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: American Museum of Science and Energy, AMSE, atomic bomb, Cold War, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, gaseous diffusion, Graphite Reactor, K-25, Manhattan Project, New Bethel Baptist Church, New Hope Center, nuclear reactor, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation, plutonium, public bus tour, public tour, Secret City, U.S. Department of Energy, uranium, Y-12 National Security Complex

Transite panels being removed from last part of K-25 Building

Posted at 2:04 pm May 23, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

K-25 Transite Removal

More than 2,800 transite panels will be removed from the remainder of the K-25 Building. (Submitted photo)

A federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge is removing exterior panels known as transite panels from the last part of the K-25 Building that is still standing.

K-25 was built to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II and was once the world’s largest building under one roof. It’s been unused for decades and is being torn down.

Most of the mile-long former gaseous diffusion building, located at East Tennessee Technology Park, has been demolished. About two million square feet of the U-shaped building have been removed, according to a Thursday press release from UCOR, the cleanup contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories Tagged With: CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, cleanup contractor, demolition, East Tennessee Technology Park, east wing, K-25 Building, K-27, K-31, north end, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Steve Dahlgren, technetium-99, transite panels, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, URS, west wing, Y-12 National Security Complex

DOE Environmental Management has public meeting to discuss cleanup funding, strategy

Posted at 9:28 pm April 18, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Mark Whitney

Mark Whitney

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or EM, is holding a public meeting to discuss the program’s fiscal year 2015 budget and cleanup priorities. The workshop, featuring Oak Ridge’s senior EM leadership, is scheduled from 4-6 p.m. April 23 at Pollard Auditorium.

“As taxpayer stewards, I think these public meetings are a responsible practice that increase transparency and explain our decision process,” said Mark Whitney, Oak Ridge’s Environmental Management manager. “These meetings also provide a forum for residents and stakeholders to voice their opinions, suggestions, and concerns about our vision.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: budget, cleanup, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, environmental management, funding, Mark Whitney, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex

NSPS now provides security services at DOE sites in Oak Ridge

Posted at 11:27 am March 25, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

National Strategic Protective Services LLC announced Monday morning that it now provides guard services at U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge.

NSPS won the protective force services work under a five-year, $182 million contract announced in January. The company will guard the East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Joe L. Evins Federal Building, and part of the Oak Ridge Reservation. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: contract, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Greg McDowell, Ignacio Balderas, Joe L. Evins Federal Building, Larry Kelly, National Nuclear Security Administration, National Strategic Protective Services LLC, NSPS, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Oak Ridge Reservation, ORNL, protective force services, Securiguard Inc., security services, Triple Canopy Inc., U.S. Department of Energy, WSI Oak Ridge

After 13 years guarding federal facilities, WSI leaves Oak Ridge

Posted at 10:26 am March 25, 2013
By John Huotari 2 Comments

WSI Oak Ridge

Friday was the last day for many employees at security company WSI Oak Ridge, which lost its contracts to protect federal facilities after the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

After 13 years of protecting federal facilities, WSI Oak Ridge has left the Secret City.

Friday was the last day for many employees at WSI, and the contract ended Sunday, spokeswoman Courtney Henry said.

Formerly known as Wackenhut Services Inc., the company once provided up to 1,000 security police officers and support staff at federal facilities that included East Tennessee Technology Park, the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex.

But WSI lost its contract to guard Y-12, a National Nuclear Security Administration site, after the July 28 security breach, and it did not win a separate contract to protect local U.S. Department of Energy sites, including ETTP, ORNL, the Federal Building, and the rest of the Oak Ridge Reservation. That contract was awarded to National Strategic Protective Services LLC, or NSPS. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Special Sections, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex, Y-12 Security Breach Tagged With: B&W Y-12, Courtney Henry, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, G4S Government Solutions, Joe L. Evins Federal Building, National Nuclear Security Administration, National Strategic Protective Services LLC, NNSA, NSPS, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, protective force contract, security breach, security police officers, Steve Hafner, U.S. Department of Energy, Wackenhut Services Inc., WSI, WSI Oak Ridge, Y-12 National Security Complex

Manhattan Project national park bill also reintroduced in U.S. House

Posted at 5:22 pm March 15, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

K-25 Building Aerial View

Now mostly demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building is pictured above. The site has previously been identified for possible inclusion in a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

A bill to set up a Manhattan Project national park that would include Oak Ridge has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bipartisan legislation was reintroduced on Friday in the U.S. House by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, a Washington Republican;  Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican; and Rep. Ben Luján, a New Mexico Democrat.

The legislation—H.R. 1208—would establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that would include facilities in Oak Ridge; Hanford, Wash.; and Los Alamos, N.M.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Federal, Government, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Alexander Inn, atomic bombs, Atomic Heritage Foundation, B Reactor, Ben Luján, Building 9204-3, Building 9731, Chuck Fleischmann, Cindy Kelly, Doc Hastings, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, Guest House, Hanford, HR 1208, K-25 Building, Lamar Alexander, Los Alamos, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Maria Cantwell, national park, National Park Service, National Park System, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge, S. 507, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, World War II, Y-12 National Security Complex

Controlled burns on Oak Ridge Reservation start Friday

Posted at 11:47 pm March 14, 2013
By U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office is initiating a series of controlled burns of grassland areas on the Oak Ridge Reservation for prescribed burning at the East Tennessee Technology Park and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory during March and April.

On March 15, weather permitting, controlled burns are taking place:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Bethel Valley Road, Blair Road, Chestnut Ridge Drive, controlled burns, DOE-ORO Public Affairs Division, Dyllis Orchard Road, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, First Street, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Oak Ridge Reservation, ORNL, Tennessee Division of Forestry, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, TWRA, U.S. Department of Energy

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

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...]

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

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