Oak Ridge Today

Natural gas rates will rise, expected to drop when prices decline

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Natural gas rates will increase for Oak Ridge Utility District customers because of weather-related price increases and higher transportation costs. Rates are expected to decrease when weather-related spikes decline.

The rates will increase because there has been a rise in the price of natural gas related to the recent extreme weather, ORUD Director of Finance/Controller Robert DePriest said Friday.

Also, in January, there was an increase in the transportation costs that ORUD pays for the delivery of natural gas to its distribution system, DePriest said in a statement.

[Read more…]

Close to 100 entries registered for Christmas Parade on Saturday

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade is pictured above on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. (File photo by Eli Welton)

 

Almost 100 organizations and individuals have already registered to be a part of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 14.

This year’s theme is “Christmas Around the World,” and it wil provide spectators with plenty of music, lights, and beautiful floats, a press release said.

The first official entry of the parade is always a crowd favorite: the award-winning Oak Ridge High School Marching Band. Other entries will include skaters, adoptable animals, antique and classic vehicles, dancers, and much more, the press release said.

All of these entries help lead the way for the arrival of Santa Claus. Santa will be helped along his way by the Oak Ridge Fire Department, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORUD asks customers to reduce natural gas use after pipeline rupture

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Image courtesy ORUD

Image courtesy ORUD

 

The Oak Ridge Utility District is asking natural gas customers to reduce their gas use after a pipeline ruptured in Smith County, Tennessee, on Saturday.

The rupture in the natural gas transmission line cut off all supply from the pipeline to many utilities in East Tennessee, ORUD said.

“We have been advised by Enbridge, the company that owns and operates the pipeline, that repairs to the impacted section could last into early- or mid-January,” ORUD said.

“We are working each and every day to ensure we have enough gas to serve our customers through various other sources and ask that our customers consider reducing gas usage as much as possible as we work through this incident,” ORUD said. [Read more…]

Demolished building once helped protect city, enriched uranium at Y-12

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A building that was mostly demolished on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, once helped to protect enriched uranium at Y-12, and it was used by military police and the Oak Ridge Police Department to help protect the city. Part of the building, a former secure federal communications center, was still standing among the demolition debris late Wednesday afternoon. This picture was taken looking southeast from near the intersection of Bus Terminal Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A building that was mostly demolished on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, once helped to protect enriched uranium at Y-12, and it was used by military police and the Oak Ridge Police Department to help protect the city. Part of the building, a former secure federal communications center, was still standing among the demolition debris late Wednesday afternoon. This picture was taken looking southeast from near the intersection of Bus Terminal Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8:30 a.m. June 2.

A building that was mostly demolished on Wednesday once helped to protect enriched uranium at Y-12, and it was used by military police and the Oak Ridge Police Department to help protect the city.

The building at 101 Bus Terminal Road was once connected by radio to a Y-12 building that stored the world’s only supply of enriched uranium-235, according to a 2010 newspaper article published by D. Ray Smith, who cited Bill Sergeant, head of security after World War II.

A small section of the Bus Terminal Road building that still had historic artifacts—two holding cells and a heavy, bulletproof steel door—remained standing, surrounded by demolition debris, on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s not clear why that one section hadn’t been demolished yet, but the 2010 newspaper article by Smith said it had been a secure federal communications center and was built to be safe from attack. That small section of the building, which had no external windows, was reported to have a concrete ceiling that was one foot thick.

The building, which is at the intersection with Oak Ridge Turnpike, is now being completely demolished so a Taco Bell restaurant can be built there. The building had been extensively modified, and it’s not clear how much of it might have been considered historic.

Smith said the Bus Terminal Road building was once connected by radio to Building 9213, which stored uranium-235 for about a year at Y-12. Building 9213 is on the south side of Chestnut Ridge, which is on the south side of Y-12. After it briefly stored uranium, Building 9213 was used for criticality experiments for years, Smith said. It’s also been used to train the National Guard to identify and isolate radioactive sources as part of their training for homeland security. [Read more…]

ORUD raises money for program that helps families with heating bills

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Emily Rios and Nikki Adkisson of the Marketing Department for Oak Ridge Utility District are pictured above with Barry Stephenson at the MCLinc Valentine’s Day Pancake Breakfast. (Submitted photo)

Emily Rios and Nikki Adkisson of the Marketing Department for Oak Ridge Utility District are pictured above with Barry Stephenson at the MCLinc Valentine’s Day Pancake Breakfast. (Submitted photo)

 

In February, Oak Ridge Utility District hosts its annual “Have a Heart, Heat a Home” fundraiser to raise money for ADFAC’s Project SAFE, a program that helps families struggling to pay heating bills and facing the loss of energy service.

This year’s low temperatures in January meant that heating bills would be on the rise and donations would be greatly needed, a press release said.

“In order to help our neighbors pay these bills, ADFAC counts on the generosity of the community to support the program,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Man escapes, home destroyed by fire

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A man escaped with minor injuries, but a home was destroyed in a fire on Friday morning, Jan. 5, 2018, on Lindale Lane in west Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A man escaped with minor injuries, but a home was destroyed in a fire on Friday morning, Jan. 5, 2018, on Lindale Lane in west Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A man escaped with minor injuries, but a home was destroyed in a Friday morning fire on Lindale Lane in west Oak Ridge.

The fire was reported at about 6:30 a.m. Friday at 15 Lindale Lane, which is off West Lincoln Road just north of the Dollar General store.

The fire was reported to have started in the basement, where there is a garage in a corner of the house. The cause was unknown, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said Friday morning.

The fire was fueled by natural gas, Kerley said. A gas line comes into the house in that area, and there is a water heater next to the gas line in the garage, he said.

The fire burned up a wall on that side of the house, went into the attic, and set the attic on fire, Kerley said. [Read more…]

Families in need appreciate ADFAC backpacks, school supplies

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Oak Ridge Utility District employees packed 156 backpacks for Robertsville Middle School students. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge Utility District employees packed 156 backpacks for Robertsville Middle School students. (Submitted photo)

 

Becky Hook’s back-to-school shopping list includes 3,500 backpacks, 5,100 dry erase markers, and 700 clipboards, among thousands of other items. That’s because she is shopping for ADFAC, which is giving away the backpacks filled with supplies to children whose families can’t afford them.

A mother of six students at Sunbright School in Morgan County said the backpacks and school supplies ADFAC recently provided for her children came just at the right time.

“This has been an extremely difficult summer. I lost my job and am going through a divorce, but regardless of what is happening in my life, my children still have needs and lives that go on,” Mary Ann Massey said. “These backpacks have been a godsend.”

ADFAC (Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties) is distributing the 3,500 new backpacks with supplies to children in need at 33 schools in Clinton, Oak Ridge, Anderson County, and Morgan County.

“I wish you could see the joy that students have when they come to pick out their backpack and the relief that their grown-ups feel to know that their children have the supplies they need to start the school year,” said Jo Bruce, director of Oak Ridge Schools Family Resource Center. [Read more…]

Fulmer to be keynote speaker at Industry Appreciation Breakfast in September

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Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Industry Appreciation Breakfast Sept 12 2017

Former University of Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer will be the keynote speaker at an Industry Appreciation Breakfast in Oak Ridge in September.

The invitation-only breakfast is sponsored by the Oak Ridge Utility District and the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. It will be at ORUD on Tuesday morning, September 12.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

ADFAC celebrates 30 years with city, ORUD

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ADFAC Board Member, Cande Seay (left), presenting a 30th Birthday cake to the ORUD employees including (L-R) Polli Wright, Ben Andrews, Emily Rios, Raeshell Maples, Sasha Benjamin, David Bunch and Jeff Patterson.

ADFAC Board Member Cande Seay (left), presents a 30th birthday cake to ORUD employees, including, from left to right, Polli Wright, Ben Andrews, Emily Rios, Raeshell Maples, Sasha Benjamin, David Bunch, and Jeff Patterson. (Submitted photo)

 

ADFAC (Aid To Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties Inc.) is celebrating its 30th birthday all year long, a press release said. Birthday cakes will be delivered throughout the community to partners who have helped in the mission of helping neighbors be as self-sufficient as possible, the press release said.

Jane Palmer, ADFAC’s 30th chairperson, said: “It’s just our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the community for 30 years of supporting us. And who doesn’t love cake? It’s a great way for us to not only say thank you but to spread the word about the great work going on at ADFAC.”

Most recently, ADFAC representatives visited all four utility companies that serve ADFAC’s service area including Oak Ridge Utility District, Oak Ridge Electric Department, Clinton Utilities Board, and Powell-Clinch Utility Board. ADFAC presented cakes to these groups as a way to say thank you for the many years of supporting Project SAFE and Project ASSIST, the press release said. [Read more…]

County Commission approves 18-month lease for General Sessions Court

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Anderson-County-General-Sessions-Court-Exterior-Nov-19-2015

The seven-year lease on the Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, on Bus Terminal Road in Oak Ridge expires Dec. 31, 2015, but the Anderson County Commission on Thursday agreed to an 18-month lease to keep the courthouse where it is now. That will give county officials time to consider options for where to locate the courthouse. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:50 p.m. Dec. 18.

CLINTON—With no other alternative lined up yet, the Anderson County Commission on Thursday agreed to an 18-month lease for the Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. That will keep the courthouse at its current home until mid-2017, giving county officials time to consider where to locate the General Sessions Court, Division II.

The courthouse is used by police officers in Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, and Rocky Top, among other agencies and businesses.

The current seven-year lease expires at the end of the year, and officials have been trying to determine since October whether to keep the courthouse where it is now, find a new location in Oak Ridge, or move the Division II court to Clinton, where Division I is located.

County commissioners approved the 18-month lease at a rate of $5,500 per month during a Thursday evening meeting. The lease, which was approved 12-2, will not include a warehouse building used by the county at the courthouse site on Bus Terminal Road. [Read more…]

Options for county courthouse in Oak Ridge: Extend lease, stay put, move to govt. building

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Anderson-County-General-Sessions-Court-Exterior-Nov-19-2015

The lease on Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, on Bus Terminal Road in Oak Ridge expires Dec. 31, but officials will ask for a one-year lease extension while courthouse options are considered. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—Several alternative locations have been proposed, including a city-owned building at A.K. Bissell Park and a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road, but for now, the Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge could remain at a privately owned building on Bus Terminal Road.

Once housed at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building, the General Sessions, Division II, courthouse has been on Bus Terminal Road since January 2009.

But the lease expires December 31.

On Monday, November 16, the Anderson County Commission voted 15-0 on a voice vote to ask for a one-year lease extension with no penalty and to work with Oak Ridge to share courthouse costs.

“That year buys us time to look at all the options,” said County Commissioner Myron Iwanski, who represents District 8, which includes Emory Valley, Woodland, and Hendrix Creek. [Read more…]

County officials to ask for one-year extension on expiring courthouse lease

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Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller

First elected in August, Judge Roger Miller, left, is pictured in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge before a bond hearing this summer. (2015 file photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today) 

 

CLINTON—Anderson County officials could ask for a one-year extension of the lease on the General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. The current lease expires at the end of the year, on December 31.

The county has an option to renew the lease for five years from January 1, 2016, through the end of 2021, but it’s not clear if officials want to do that. There are questions about whether they want to keep a courthouse in Oak Ridge, particularly if the City of Oak Ridge is not providing financial support. But if Division II court does stay in Oak Ridge, there is a question about whether it should remain at the current location at the former Oak Ridge Utility District building on Bus Terminal Road.

Officials have limited time, about 80 days, to weigh the alternatives before the lease expires, and there are holidays in the meantime, said Anderson County Commissioner Mark Alderson, who made a motion to seek a one-year lease extension during an Operations Committee meeting on Monday. The committee unanimously approved that proposal on a voice vote. [Read more…]