terrorist attacks Archives - Oak Ridge Today

9/11 photos: ORFD, ORHS dedicate new flagpole in memory of victims of terrorist attacks

Posted at 12:40 pm September 12, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

We will always remember those who gave their lives to save others on September 11, 2001. (Photo and caption courtesy Martin McDonald at Oak Ridge High School memorial ceremony and flagpole dedication on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016)

The Oak Ridge Fire Department and the Oak Ridge High School 9/11 WTC Committee unveiled a new flagpole on Sunday and dedicated it in memory of the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Sunday was the 15th anniversary of the attacks, which killed 2,977 people in New York City; Washington, D.C.; and outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Here are photos by Oak Ridge High School Principal Martin McDonald, shared here with his permission. [Read more…]

ORFD, ORHS to dedicate flagpole in memory of 9/11 victims

Posted at 1:10 am September 2, 2016
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The Oak Ridge Fire Department and the Oak Ridge High School 9/11 WTC Committee will join together on Sunday, September 11, to remember the tragic events that happened 15 years ago, a press release said. (Submitted photo)

There will be a group meeting to officially unveil the new flagpole added this past year and to dedicate it in memory of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“Thanks to generous donations from the American Legion Post 2 out of Knoxville and from Woodmen of the World, the site is now home to a 30-foot flagpole that is capable of flying a flag all the time,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Yager, Ramsey plan state hearing on Syrian refugees in December

Posted at 3:01 pm November 18, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 11 Comments

Ken Yager

NASHVILLE—Two state senators are planning to conduct a joint hearing in early December to look at federal plans to bring Syrian refugees to Tennessee, a move that has become controversial after the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday.

The joint hearing has been proposed by Senate State and Local Government Committee Chairman Ken Yager, a Kingston Republican, and House State Government Committee Chairman Bob Ramsey, a Maryville Republican. They want to look at plans by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement to bring Syrian refugees to Tennessee.

Reports indicate that Tennessee will likely receive some of the 10,000 Syrian refugees for resettlement under President Barack Obama’s admissions plans, a press release said. There has been widespread disagreement, including on the presidential campaign trail, over whether the United States should accept Syrian refugees after reports emerged that one of the men involved in last Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris might have slipped into Europe with other migrants using a fake Syrian passport.

On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam asked federal officials to suspend placements in Tennessee until states can become more of a partner in the vetting process. [Read more…]

Students at two schools send cards of appreciation to ACSD for 9/11

Posted at 1:57 pm September 21, 2015
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Students at Linden Elementary School and St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge sent cards of appreciation to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department for 9/11. (Submitted photo)

Students at two schools in Oak Ridge sent cards of appreciation to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department for September 11, 2015, the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, in New York City, Washington, D.C., and an airplane that crashed in Pennsylvania.

“Our thanks to the students of Linden Elementary and St. Mary’s School for their cards of appreciation for September 11, 2015,” ACSD Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. “We certainly appreciate them!” [Read more…]

Photos: 9/11 memorial ceremony at ORHS on Sept. 11

Posted at 3:23 pm September 13, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School students and staff and police officers and firefighters have a moment of silence at the 9/11 memorial at ORHS on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A September 11 memorial ceremony at Oak Ridge High School paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, and it honored military personnel.

Here are pictures from the Friday morning ceremony.

ORHS 9/11 Memorial Shichen Zhang and Melissa Yuan 2015

Shichen Zhang, Student Council president, left, and Melissa Yuan, Student Council vice president, raise the United States flag to half-staff during a 9/11 ceremony at Oak Ridge High School on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge company wins $15.9 million contract

Posted at 3:00 pm November 23, 2014
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HME Inc. Co-Founder Henry Perry, right, with Tony Spezia, Covenant Health president and CEO, when HME was awarded the Knoxville Chamber Partnership’s Minority Business Excellence Award in May 2011. (Submitted photo)

An Oak Ridge company has won a $15.9 million contract to provide facilities operations and support services to the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama.

The contract was awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency, a press release said.

HME is a Small Business Administration-certified HUB (Historically Underutilized Business) Zone and economically disadvantaged woman-owned business headquartered in Oak Ridge. HME first received the contract to provide facilities operations and support services for the CDP facility in 2009.

The CDP is a national training facility that prepares state and local emergency response personnel to respond to terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction by providing advanced, hands-on training. This national training program was developed for firefighters, law enforcement personnel, emergency medical technicians, E-911 operators, and other emergency response personnel, their trainers, and supervisors.

During Fiscal Year 2013, the CDP trained a total of 49,500 students, including 14,000 resident students, 2,500 non-resident, 8,000 indirect, and 25,000 Academy students, the press release said. [Read more…]

Remembering Howard H. Baker Jr., former U.S. senator, Reagan chief of staff

Posted at 2:06 pm June 30, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Howard Baker

KNOXVILLE—Howard H. Baker Jr., former U.S. senator and founder of UT’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, died on Thursday, June 26. He was 88.

Baker earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, in 1949. UT’s Baker Center was founded in 2003 as a nonpartisan institute devoted to education and research concerning public policy and civic engagement. Baker received the university’s first honorary doctorate in spring 2005.

“Our country has lost a great statesman and a great Tennessean,” UT Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek said. “Senator Baker will live on in our hearts forever as a man who believed that government was to serve the people.”

Baker’s body will lie in state at the Baker Center at 1640 Cumberland Avenue in Knoxville, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, June 30. His funeral will be on Tuesday, July 1, at First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Tennessee, where he was born. Huntsville is in Scott County, north of Oak Ridge and Anderson County.

Matt Murray, director of the Baker Center, said the senator’s work will continue to influence students and inspire aspiring public servants for generations to come. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge fire chief to pay tribute to 9/11, discuss firefighters

Posted at 5:43 pm September 6, 2013
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Darryl Kerley

Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley will reflect on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks 12 years ago during a Wednesday presentation.

Kerley’s talk is titled “What 9/11 Means to Me: Reflections of a First Responder,” a press release said.

“It is a day that has taken on personal meaning to me and my family for multiple reasons,” Kerley said. “I am deeply honored to talk about 9/11 and about the tremendous team of firefighters we have assembled here in Oak Ridge.” [Read more…]