Oak Ridge Today

Sequester scenarios: $100 million in funding cuts at ORNL, furloughs at Y-12

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Chuck Spencer

Chuck Spencer

Operating costs have already been cut by 7 percent at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and all employees are expected to report to work on Friday, even if automatic federal spending cuts go into effect at midnight.

The federal cuts could reduce lab funding by 5 percent to 8 percent, ORNL Director Thom Mason said. That could translate into $70 million to $100 million in funding cuts, depending upon how the reductions are allocated.

Meanwhile, at the Y-12 National Security Complex, the automatic spending cuts could lead to furloughs, or temporary layoffs. Democrats on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee have said between 700 and 1,000 employees could be furloughed for up to six months.

But in a Feb. 14 message to employees, B&W Y-12 General Manager Chuck Spencer did not say how many employees might be affected.

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County Courthouse, schools closed; DOE Oak Ridge Office opens late

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Originally scheduled to open two hours late, the Anderson County Courthouse is closed today due to the winter storm that dropped a sheet of ice on local homes, driveways, and roads Thursday night.

Schools in Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Anderson and Roane counties are closed. The Y-12 National Security Complex has restricted access to essential employees, and Oak Ridge municipal offices are scheduled to open at noon.

The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office announced that it had delayed its opening until 10 a.m. for employees of the Oak Ridge Office, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office, Oak Ridge Environmental Management Site Office, Oak Ridge Nuclear Energy Site Office, and Office of Scientific and Technical Information.

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DOE awards $182 million security guard contract, WSI ‘disappointed’

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Oak Ridge Federal Building

The Joe L. Evins Federal Building in Oak Ridge, one of the U.S. Department of Energy sites to be guarded under a $182 million protective force services contract announced Thursday.

Federal officials announced Thursday that they have awarded a $182 million contract to protect U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge, including the East Tennessee Technology Park, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, and the rest of the Oak Ridge Reservation, not including the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The five-year contract was awarded to National Strategic Protective Services LLC, or NSPS.

“We are pleased to welcome NSPS as a part of the Department of Energy team in Oak Ridge,” said Larry Kelly, Oak Ridge Office manager. “We evaluated the proposals and it was clear to us that NSPS is the right company for this difficult and important job.”

NSPS will replace WSI Oak Ridge, which has provided protective force services in Oak Ridge since 2000.

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MMC, DOE to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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Hospital staff members and federal workers and contractors will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in two separate events on Wednesday, Jan. 16, and Monday, Jan. 21.

The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office has its annual event Wednesday morning at the American Museum of Science and Energy.

The program is titled “50 Years Later: The Evolution of the Dream.” It’s scheduled from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, and it’s open to the public.

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DOE manager discusses Oak Ridge Reservation at Jan. 10 meeting

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Larry Kelly

Larry Kelly

Larry Kelly, manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office, will be the featured speaker on Thursday, Jan. 10, at a joint meeting of two local nonprofit organizations. His speech is titled “Managing resources on the Oak Ridge Reservation in a changing environment.”

The talk is sponsored by Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation and the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. It starts at 7 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Midtown Community Center Wildcat Den, and it is open to the public.

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DOE receives reimbursable work totaling $442 million

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The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office said last week it had received funding for reimbursable work totaling $442 million during the last fiscal year, which ended in September.

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory performed about $232 million of the work, a press release said. The remaining $210 million of the work was conducted at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

Under its Work for Others program, DOE said, outside entities can use national laboratories to solve problems when the work is related to DOE missions and the entities cannot do the work elsewhere.

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Veterans Day program on Thursday features Vietnam vet

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Freddie J. Owens

A Veterans Day ceremony on Thursday in Oak Ridge will feature Freddie J. Owens, twice wounded in combat in Vietnam and a survivor of the 1962 Ia Drang Valley battle, the first major battle between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnam Army. (Submitted photo)

A Veterans Day program in Oak Ridge on Thursday will pay tribute to those who served and died in Vietnam.

The featured speaker is Freddie J. Owens, who was wounded in combat twice in Vietnam and is a survivor of the 1962 Ia Drang Valley battle, the first major battle between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnam Army, a press release said. Owens will discuss his experiences serving in Vietnam as a squad leader with the 1st Calvary Division (Air Assault).

Thursday’s program, titled “Our Forgotten Heroes,” is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office, and it is open to the public. It will start at 10 a.m. Thursday at the American Museum of Science and Energy at 200 S. Tulane Ave.

Owens’ military decorations include the Combat Infantry Badge, Air-Assault Badge with Star Cluster, Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart with Cluster, Air Medal with Combat Cluster, Presidential Unit Citation, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) Gallantry Cross, and Army Commendation medal.

The press release said Armistice Day was founded more than 90 years ago to recognize the sacrifices made by World War I veterans. Nov. 11 was the day chosen for the celebration and remembrance. It coincided with the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month—Nov. 11, 1918, when the armistice was signed, ending the war.

More than 48 million veterans have served the United States since its birth in 1776, and almost half are still alive today, the press release said. One of every 10 people in the country is a veteran.

For more information concerning ORO’s Veteran’s Support Group program, contact Ballard Jackson at the DOE Oak Ridge Office at (865) 241-6137 or jacksonba@oro.doe.gov.

DOE’s Oak Ridge Office awards $10 million information technology contract

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office has awarded a $10.6 million contract to Global Engineering and Technology-Nuclear Safety Associates LLC, or GET-NSA, for information technology support services. The three-year contract will employ about 30 people in Oak Ridge and at the Pacific Northwest Site Office, a press release said.

“We are pleased with the selection of GET-NSA as the next information technology support contractor for the Oak Ridge Office,” ORO Manager Larry Kelly said. “The services provided under this contract are vital to our success, and we look forward to building a productive, professional relationship with GET-NSA.”

Tasks performed under the contract include a broad array of support activities that include cyber security operations, network operations, information engineering and systems development, and end-user support and help-desk type services.

The press release said GET-NSA is based in Oak Ridge, and it is a joint venture between Global Engineering and Technology Inc., based in Miami, Fla., and Nuclear Safety Associates Inc. of Johnson City. The contract’s period of performance is three years, including all options, the release said.

McMillan named federal project director for ORNL cleanup

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Bill McMillan

Bill McMillan

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has named Bill McMillan as its new federal project director for cleanup at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

As federal project director, McMillan oversees cleanup, decontamination, decommissioning, waste storage, and disposal operations at the site, a press release said.

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NNSA changes security contract competition, including at Y-12

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As the fallout from a July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex continues to roil the plant, federal officials announced Monday they have canceled part of a proposal to combine protective force services at Y-12, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office, and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The current contract competition will be revised to remove the National Nuclear Security Administration’s portion of the protective force services from the solicitation, according to an NNSA announcement. That includes the part of the contract competition that would provide protective force operations at Y-12 and Pantex.

The security services, or protective force operations, are now expected to be included in a consolidated management and operating contract covering both Pantex and Y-12.

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Kelly selected as new manager of DOE Oak Ridge Office

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Larry Kelly

Larry Kelly

Larry Kelly has been named manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office.

Kelly has been serving as acting manager since April. He was the third acting manager at the Oak Ridge Office since former manager Gerald Boyd retired in April 2011.

Kelly had previously served as the acting deputy manager and the assistant manager for Environment, Safety and Health.

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New assistant manager at DOE Oak Ridge Office

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Mark Whitney

Whitney

Federal officials have selected a new assistant manager for environmental management for the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge.

Mark Whitney, who has worked in nuclear nonproliferation for the National Nuclear Security Administration, will become an assistant manager at DOE’s Oak Ridge Office effective August 2012.

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