Oak Ridge Today

Hoping to improve global security, UT launches Radiochemistry Center

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KNOXVILLE—Hypothetical scenario: A nuclear bomb is detonated in one of America’s most populated cities. Just as at a crime scene, the officials need to find the culprit.

Currently, the process of analyzing weapons debris to understand the performance or design of the device is painstakingly slow. But new research to be conducted at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville seeks to improve radiochemistry and nuclear forensics to enhance global security.

The new Radiochemistry Center of Excellence is being established through a $1.2 million grant from the National Nuclear Security Administration for the first year, with the potential for a total of $6 million for five years. The center will focus on research and education to advance UT and NNSA laboratories such as the nearby Y-12 National Security Complex, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The center will begin operating immediately. [Read more…]

Habitat for Humanity seeks USDA grant for critical home repair in rural Anderson County

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Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County, or HFHAC, is seeking U.S. Department of Agriculture Section 533 grant funding through the Housing Preservation Grant Program in order to provide critical home repairs and weatherization services to very low and low income homeowners. As part of their grant application, HFHAC would like to announce a Statement of Activities and encourage the public to express any concerns or make any suggestions to assist in the proposed project. [Read more…]

DOE asks for more information on $2 million CROET grant

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The U.S. Department of Energy has requested additional information as it tries to close out a $2 million grant awarded 16 years ago to a nonprofit organization that owns, develops, and manages former DOE property.

The grant was issued in 1997 as part of a larger grant that the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee requested from DOE, said Lawrence Young, CROET president and chief executive officer. Most of the money was used for a high-risk loan program for small businesses. The purpose was to create jobs and promote economic development in East Tennessee, said Mike Koentop, spokesman for the DOE Oak Ridge Office. [Read more…]

IDB endorses project to add power at Horizon Center, subject to TVA grant

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With a pre-application deadline this Wednesday, the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board agreed last week to commit $750,000 to a project to increase the electrical capacity at Horizon Center Business Park if the city gets a matching grant from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The project, which would add 14 megawatts to the park’s electrical capacity with the potential to add more later, would extend power from a substation on Blair Road in west Oak Ridge to the edge of Lot 5 on the back side of Horizon Center. It would install 13 kilovolt lines on poles that could hold 69 kilovolt lines later. [Read more…]

State awards $200,000 grant for lighting at Oak Ridge Municipal Building, Civic Center

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Gov. Bill Haslam Check Presentation

Gov. Bill Haslam announces that Oak Ridge has received $200,000 in Clean Tennessee Energy Grant funding for lighting at the Municipal Building and Civic Center.

Gov. Bill Haslam on Monday announced that Oak Ridge is receiving $200,000 in Clean Tennessee Energy Grant funding for lighting in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building and Civic Center Complex.

The money will be used to replace and retrofit existing fluorescent lighting fixtures to LED lighting, a press release said.

It’s the first of 19 grant awards that the governor will be making in the next few weeks, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said in the press release. Funding for the projects comes from an April 2011 Clean Air Act settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority. [Read more…]

Norris archives receive $4,000 state grant

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The City of Norris Archives in Anderson County has received a $4,000 grant to help improve the storage conditions of and access to local government records, a press release said.

“I am proud to award this grant to the City of Norris Archives,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “Archives are important because they store and preserve historical records for our county and municipal governments. It is my hope that this grant will help the city with its archival development.” [Read more…]

Clinton Fire Department receives $389,000 grant

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Information from WYSH Radio

Clinton officials announced Friday morning that the Clinton Fire Department has received a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response—or SAFER—grant that will pay the salaries and benefits for four more firefighters for the next two years.

The city was notified Friday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security that the grant award totals $388,944. City leaders thanked the area’s congressional delegation for their assistance in obtaining the funding. There is no local match for the grant.

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

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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…]

Project Linus of East Tennessee receives $5,000 grant

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Project Linus of East Tennessee recently announced it had received a $5,000 Walmart Foundation grant.

Project Linus of East Tennessee provides handmade blankets to more than 2,500 children each year who are in traumatic situations such as in the hospital or shelter, or who have been in an accident or fire, lost a parent who was serving the country, or affected by a mass school or public shooting, among other things.

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Oak Ridge music association receives Tennessee arts grant

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The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association recently received a $20,800 grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission for the 2012-13 season.

The money is being used to help support Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra and Chorus concerts, which can cost $10,000 apiece.

[Read more…]

Anderson County receives $40,000 state traffic safety grant

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has been awarded a state traffic safety grant for the fourth year, Sheriff Paul White announced Monday.

The $40,000 grant from the Governor’s Highway Safety Office will support the county’s traffic safety program. It will provide overtime for officers trying to reduce injuries and fatalities by cracking down on seat belt violators and drivers operating vehicles while impaired or driving under the influence, a press release said.

[Read more…]