Oak Ridge Today

City has chlorine to continue operating pool, receives bid to buy more

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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge has enough chlorine to continue operating the outdoor pool until a new shipment arrives in mid-July, and the Oak Ridge City Council is expected to approve a single bid for chlorine briquettes during its July 12 meeting.

In June, City Council did not approve a sole-source contract to buy more chlorine briquettes after Oak Ridge City Council member Rick Chinn, who is mayor pro tem, objected to spending money on the pool. The sole-source contract required unanimous approval, so the one “no” vote meant the purchase was not approved.

Before the vote, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick had told the seven-member Council that the city might have enough chlorine to last through the end of June and possibly into July. Running out of chemicals to treat the pool would result in having to shut it down, Hetrick said. However, in response to questions about a potential “break in service,” Hetrick said at that meeting that he didn’t have an accurate count of the amount of chlorine in stock at the pool.

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New garbage bins dropped off at homes

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New garbage bins are being dropped off at Oak Ridge homes. The deliveries began Monday, June 21. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

New garbage bins are being dropped off at Oak Ridge homes. The deliveries began Monday, June 21.

The blue bins should be used for your household garbage and brought to the curb on your scheduled pickup date starting in July, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

The new, 95-gallon trash bins will eliminate the need for residents to purchase multiple 32-gallon bins to accommodate household waste, the press release said.

Many residents already participate in the recycle program and have previously been provided a brown cart that is taken to the curb. This service has not changed, but if you do not already own a brown recycle cart, one will be provided to you upon request, the press release said.

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For members: Chinn opposes pool spending, affecting chlorine purchase

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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn, who proposed closing the city’s outdoor pool two years ago, objected to spending any money on the pool on Monday. That meant the city could not, at least for now, buy more chlorine for the large, unique pool on Providence Road, near Oak Ridge High School.

Before the vote, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick had told the seven-member Council that the city might have enough chlorine to last through the end of June and possibly into July. “Then we would run out of chemicals to treat the pool, and we would have to shut the pool down,” Hetrick said.

A purchase considered by the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday would have allowed the city to buy up to $60,000 worth of chlorine briquettes from Duffield Aquatics of Anderson, South Carolina. The purchase would have included about $25,000 for a shipment in early July and a cushion because of a shortage in the chlorine supply.

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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

Note: This story was updated at 8 p.m.

Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn, who proposed closing the city’s outdoor pool two years ago, objected to spending any money on the pool on Monday. That meant the city could not, at least for now, buy more chlorine for the large, unique pool on Providence Road, near Oak Ridge High School.

The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn, who proposed closing the city’s outdoor pool two years ago, objected to spending any money on the pool on Monday. That meant the city could not, at least for now, buy more chlorine for the large, unique pool on Providence Road, near Oak Ridge High School.

Before the vote, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick had told the seven-member Council that the city might have enough chlorine to last through the end of June and possibly into July. “Then we would run out of chemicals to treat the pool, and we would have to shut the pool down,” Hetrick said.

A purchase considered by the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday would have allowed the city to buy up to $60,000 worth of chlorine briquettes from Duffield Aquatics of Anderson, South Carolina. The purchase would have included about $25,000 for a shipment in early July and a cushion because of a shortage in the chlorine supply.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:

Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Secret City Sprint Triathlon is Saturday

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The Secret City Sprint Triathlon is in Oak Ridge on Saturday from 7:30 to 10 a.m.

Participants will begin with a 500-meter swim in the outdoor pool before transitioning to bikes for the 15-mile ride to Imperium Drive in west Oak Ridge and back.

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Olympians finish first in time trial races in Oak Ridge

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Three Olympic athletes won first, second, and third place in the USA Cycling Pro Road Individual Time Trial Elite Women’s National Championships in Oak Ridge on Thursday, June 17, 2021. In first place was Chloé Dygert, center, of Brownsburg, Indiana. Finishing second, left, was Amber Neben of Irvine, California. In third place was Leah Thomas of Santa Clara, California. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Olympic athletes finished first in both the men and women’s divisions of USA Cycling time trial races in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

Olympians also won second and third place in the women’s division.

The 2021 USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships are in Oak Ridge and Knoxville this week with the Individual Time Trial races in Oak Ridge on Thursday. It featured the Elite Women’s and Elite Men’s divisions racing against the clock on a 11.6-kilometer course (about 7.2 miles) on Melton Lake Drive. Racing continues in Knoxville on Friday, with a criterium occurring downtown Friday evening. There is a road race on Sunday.

Chloé Dygert of Brownsburg, Indiana, won first place in the Elite Women’s Division in the USA Cycling Pro Road Individual Time Trial National Championships races in Oak Ridge on Thursday, June 17, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Chloé Dygert of Brownsburg, Indiana, won first place in the Elite Women’s Division in the Individual Time Trial races in Oak Ridge on Thursday. She finished two laps of the course in 30:11.22. Dygert was the 2019 Time Trial World Champion.

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Oak Ridge will have Independence Day fireworks

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Fireworks at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2017. (File photo by D. Ray Smith)

Oak Ridge will have its fireworks show to celebrate Independence Day this year.

The annual display was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fireworks show will be in Alvin K. Bissell Park on Sunday, July 4, and it is scheduled to begin at dark, around 9:45 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Community Band, now in its 77th year, will perform prior to the fireworks. the press release said. The concert is free, but donations are accepted by the band to help cover the cost of equipment and other expenses. The music is expected to begin at 7:30 p.m.

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Olympians competing in USA Cycling races

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The USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships opened Thursday, June 27, 2019, on Melton Lake Drive with the Individual Time Trial events. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

Olympic athletes will be among the competitors in USA Cycling races in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

The Olympians expected to race Thursday include Lawson Craddock, Chloé Dygert, Amber Neben, and Lily Williams, according to Explore Oak Ridge, the city’s tourism organization.

Williams is scheduled to start at 10:07 a.m. Thursday. Dygert is scheduled to start at 10:35, and Neben is scheduled to start at 10:39.

The races are the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships Time Trials. The riders will be racing against the clock to see who can complete the course along Melton Lake the fastest.

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Manhattan Project Park has tennis court dance on June 25

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Oak Ridge Tennis Court Dance NPS
This undated photo shows a tennis court dance in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will commemorate the tennis court dances that occurred in Jackson Square more than 75 years ago with a dance on Friday, June 25.

The dance is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. June 25 in the Jackson Square tennis courts. It has been organized by the National Park Service and Explore Oak Ridge.

“All ages are welcome to attend, and everyone is encouraged to participate,” a press release said. “This free event will feature swing dancing music from the 1940s World War II era as well as hits from every decade since then, including current music, so that all age groups will find something to tap their toes to. Music was chosen with the help of local Oak Ridge High School students and will make you want to get on the dance floor.”

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Lifeguard shortage affects Oak Ridge pool hours

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The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

A nationwide lifeguard shortage is affecting the hours that Oak Ridge’s municipal pools will be open this summer, the city said in a press release Monday.

“Due to the lower number of lifeguards this year, there are not enough people to staff both pools for the same hours they were open in previous seasons,” Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Aquatics Manager Vonda Wooten said in the press release.

The indoor pool at the Civic Center will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Swim lessons are from 9 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., the press release said. Open lap is from 12:15 p.m. to 4 p.m.

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USA Cycling Championships in Oak Ridge, Knoxville next week

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Two years ago, the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships opened Thursday, June 27, 2019, on Melton Lake Drive with the Individual Time Trial events. (File photo by Julio Culiat)

The USA Cycling National Pro Road, Criterium, and Time Trial Championships will be in Oak Ridge and Knoxville next week, June 17-20.

Oak Ridge will host the ITT (Individual Time Trial) National Championships for the third time in partnership with Visit Knoxville, a press release said.

The National Championships are scheduled just before the 2021 Olympics in Japan, where several Olympic athletes are expected to compete.

“This is an exciting time for Oak Ridge as we continue to show our natural assets and city to competitors from all over the world”, Hannah Fatheree, event manager for Explore Oak Ridge said in the press release. “We are grateful to the residents and visitors of Oak Ridge for their patience with traffic impacts and hope everyone comes out to watch the time trials.”

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Learn about Wheat, a community before the war, during Saturday walk

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Wheat Community Before the Manhattan Project
The Wheat community before the Manhattan Project during World War II in the area that is now west Oak Ridge. (Photo submitted by National Park Service)

You can learn about Wheat, a community before World War II, during a walk in west Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The walk will be led by a National Park Service ranger starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 5. The program will begin at Blair Road and the North Boundary Greenway.

Wheat was a community that existed in what is now west Oak Ridge before the city was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons, before Germany could.

Oak Ridge is one of three sites that are part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The other two are Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

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Manhattan Project Park re-opens

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The National Park Service visitor center is pictured above at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The visitor center for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge re-opened on Tuesday.

The visitor center had been shut down for many months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The visitor center is at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on West Outer Drive. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

Oak Ridge is one of three sites that are part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The other two are Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico. All three were part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs, before Germany could. The park tells the story of the workers and their missions during and after the war.

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