Oak Ridge Today

Roane State hosts launch of ‘Dream It. Do It.’ competition

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Roane State Dream It Do It Oct. 14 2019
Roane State Community College hosts the 5th annual ‘Dream It. Do It.” competition launch at the Clinton Higher Education and Training facility on Oct. 14, 2019. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Roane State hosted the launch of the fifth annual “Dream It. Do It.” competition last week at the community college’s mechatronics campus in Clinton, and it is also providing judges for the months-long events.

Now in its fifth year, the unique student competition highlighting manufacturing careers is sponsored by Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the contractor that operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, and the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce.

The event is held each October as part of the National Manufacturing Day celebration.

Chamber President Rick Meredith during the competition kickoff expressed appreciation for the college’s assistance. Gordon Williams, director of the mechatronics program in the Clinton Higher Education and Training facility, showed the students the various types of equipment used in mechatronics.

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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…]

Community Safety Forum to present plan to respond to disasters

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Bill Haslam, Tom Beehan, and Darryl Kerley

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley, right, is pictured above with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, center, and former Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan in March 2014. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A safety forum on Wednesday will include a discussion of possible local disasters and how fire departments in the Oak Ridge area could respond.

The fire departments that will participate are the Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fire Department, and Y-12 National Security Complex Fire Department. They will present an overview of the State Fire Mutual Aid Plan and discuss how their fire departments participate in that plan, a press release said.

The speakers will be Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley, ORNL Fire Chief Mike Masters, and Y-12 Fire Chief Scott Vowell. They will discuss the resources they provide to the state by participating in the plan and the benefits to the Oak Ridge community, the press release said.

The Community Safety Forum is titled “Secret City Mutual Aid Plan and What it Means to Oak Ridge.” It’s scheduled from 8 to 10 a.m. Wednesday, December 6, at the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue.

“Effects of natural and manmade disasters have become more frequent, far-reaching, and widespread,” Kerley said in the press release. “We have seen in our neighboring communities that, during a disaster or catastrophe, local government resources and capabilities can be overwhelmed. The State Fire Chief’s Association has been working with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and other organizations to develop and build a method for rapid activation and response of aid to a community in the event of a local disaster.” [Read more…]