Oak Ridge Today is a news website in Oak Ridge, Tenn. We cover U.S. Department of Energy, government
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Oak Ridge Fire Department firefighters responded to two structure fires early Friday. No one was injured in either fire.
Oak Ridge Fire Department firefighters responded to two structure fires early Friday. No one was injured in either fire. The first fire was reported at 12:42 a.m. Friday at 109 Houston Avenue. When they arrived, Oak Ridge firefighters found a detached garage that was on fire, the City of Oak Ridge s...
A 24-year-old Anderson County man was charged with attempted murder Friday after an alleged shooting following an argument in Clinton on Wednesday sent another man to a hospital with a gunshot wound on the right side of his abdomen, according to court records and Clinton police officers.
A 24-year-old Anderson County man was charged with attempted murder Friday after an alleged shooting following an argument in Clinton on Wednesday sent another man to a hospital with a gunshot wound on the right side of his abdomen, according to court records and Clinton police officers. Besides att...
The Anderson County general election and state and federal primary elections are Thursday.
Competitive races include the Democratic and Republican primaries for U.S. Senate, Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives in District 33 in Anderson County, an Anderson County Commission seat in District 6 in Oak Ridge, and seats on the Anderson County School Board.
The Anderson County general election and state and federal primary elections are Thursday. Competitive races include the Democratic and Republican primaries for U.S. Senate, Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives in District 33 in Anderson County, an Anderson County Commission sea...
Kairos Power has started construction on a test nuclear reactor in west Oak Ridge.
The Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor is the first of its type to be approved for construction by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the first non-light-water reactor to be permitted in the U.S. in more than 50 years, a press release said.
Kairos Power has started construction on a test nuclear reactor in west Oak Ridge. The Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor is the first of its type to be approved for construction by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the first non-light-water reactor to be permitted in the U.S. in more t...
Anderson County Law Director Nicholas “Jay” Yeager, of Clinton, died Friday. He was 65.
Anderson County Law Director Nicholas “Jay” Yeager, of Clinton, died Friday. He was 65. Yeager was assistant attorney in Anderson County from 2001 to 2006, and he has been law director since then. “Mr. Yeager was known for his unwavering commitment to his profession and Anderson County governm...
A Blount County man died Thursday night in a single-vehicle crash in Oak Ridge.
A Blount County man died Thursday night in a single-vehicle crash in Oak Ridge. William F. Alldis, 34, of Louisville, Tennessee, was pronounced dead at the crash site, the City of Oak Ridge said in a news release. Oak Ridge Police Department officers responded to the 200-block area of Lafayette Driv...
Monthly dances by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park recreate the open-air tennis court dances that entertained 75,000 workers and their families in the former Secret City during World War II.
Monthly dances by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park recreate the open-air tennis court dances that entertained 75,000 workers during World War II and their families in the former Secret City. “Put on your dancing shoes, another summer of tennis court dances are kicking off on the Jack...
You can learn more about the history of Oak Ridge during World War II during a free national park walk through Jackson Square on Thursday, July 18.
You can learn more about the history of Oak Ridge during World War II during a free national park walk through Jackson Square on Thursday, July 18. The walk is offered by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge. The program is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. July 18, at...
The Oak Ridge Philharmonia will present two free POPS concerts in August in Oak Ridge and Knoxville.
The Oak Ridge Philharmonia will present two free POPS concerts in August in Oak Ridge and Knoxville. “We hope you can join us for a generous portion of very enjoyable and inspiring music,” a press release said. Musical performances will include: The concerts are scheduled as follows: “As alway...
There are two forums this week in Oak Ridge featuring candidates in the Tennessee primary election and Anderson County and Roane County general elections in August.
There are two forums this week in Oak Ridge featuring candidates in the Tennessee primary election and Anderson County and Roane County general elections in August. The forums have been organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and the public is invited. Early voting begins in both count...
You can walk through Wheat with a National Park Service ranger on Saturday, July 13, and learn more about the history of this community before the Manhattan Project.
You can walk through Wheat with a National Park Service ranger on Saturday, July 13, and learn more about the history of this community before the Manhattan Project. Wheat was in an area that is now west Oak Ridge, and it was one of the communities displaced by the Manhattan Project, a top-secret fe...
The City of Oak Ridge is sponsoring its annual fireworks show to celebrate Independence Day. The display will be held in Alvin K. Bissell Park on July 4, and it is scheduled to begin at dark, around 9:45 p.m.
The City of Oak Ridge is sponsoring its annual fireworks show to celebrate Independence Day. The display will be held in Alvin K. Bissell Park on July 4, and it is scheduled to begin at dark, around 9:45 p.m. The Oak Ridge Community Band will perform prior to the fireworks, a press release said. The...
Bring your human-powered watercraft and explore the history of life on the Clinch River on Saturday.
“On a quiet bend of Melton Hill Lake sits the oldest surviving structure in Oak Ridge, the Freels Bend Cabin dating back to 1810,” the National Park Service said. “On a 1.5-mile roundtrip paddle from Guinn Park, explore the history of the Clinch River Valley leading up to the Manhattan Project.”
Bring your human-powered watercraft and explore the history of life on the Clinch River on Saturday. “On a quiet bend of Melton Hill Lake sits the oldest surviving structure in Oak Ridge, the Freels Bend Cabin dating back to 1810,” the National Park Service said. “On a 1.5-mile roundtrip paddl...
The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department and Explore Oak Ridge are teaming up to host the first-ever Oak Ridge Outdoor Festival on Saturday.
The free event will be a day of fun activities at Oak Ridge parks, including disc golf, pickleball, kayaking, hiking, mountain biking and plein-air art, a press release said.
The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department and Explore Oak Ridge are teaming up to host the first-ever Oak Ridge Outdoor Festival on Saturday. The free event will be a day of fun activities at Oak Ridge parks, including disc golf, pickleball, kayaking, hiking, mountain biking and plein-air art, a...
You can get an introduction to the history of the K-25 plant, once the world’s largest building, with a National Park Service ranger on Saturday.
You can get an introduction to the history of the K-25 plant, once the world’s largest building, with a National Park Service ranger on Saturday. K-25 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 bomb, bef...
The annual Lavender Festival is Saturday in Jackson Square.
It’s the 24th festival and presented by the City of Oak Ridge. It’s scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the city’s historic center.
The annual Lavender Festival is Saturday in Jackson Square. It’s the 24th festival and presented by the City of Oak Ridge. It’s scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the city’s historic center. “Lavender Festival celebrates good health, local creativity, the environment, and of course, all thin...
Waffle House was co-founded by a former courier? Tom Forkner, born in 1918, hauled from Y-12 National Security Complex to Los Alamos National Laboratory - a 53-hour trip. (Luckily, they did get to stop for ! 🧇) https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/tom-forkner/
The Oak Ridge Fire Department will unveil a new Safe Haven Baby Box on Wednesday, June 12. It will be a place where mothers can safely and anonymously drop off their newborn babies during a crisis, a media advisory said.
The baby box has been installed in honor of Baby Wyatt, a newborn whose body was found wrapped in an oversized T-shirt along the banks of Melton Hill Lake on March 26, 2020, the advisory said.
The Oak Ridge Fire Department will unveil a new Safe Haven Baby Box on Wednesday, June 12. It will be a place where mothers can safely and anonymously drop off their newborn babies during a crisis, a media advisory said. The baby box has been installed in honor of Baby Wyatt, a newborn whose body [....
The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival kicks off Friday at the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge with three nationally-known storytellers sharing tales and music that will make you laugh, sing, and learn as you listen.
The storytellers are Charlotte Blake Alston, Josh Goforth, and Bil Lepp.
The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival kicks off Friday at the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge with three nationally-known storytellers sharing tales and music that will make you laugh, sing, and learn as you listen. The storytellers are Charlotte Blake Alston, Josh Goforth, and Bil Lepp. “...
Volunteers from civic, charitable, and business organizations throughout the community are planning to welcome three renowned storytellers to Oak Ridge for the June 7 and 8 Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival at the Historic Grove Theater.
Volunteers from civic, charitable, and business organizations throughout the community are planning to welcome three renowned storytellers to Oak Ridge for the June 7 and 8 Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival at the Historic Grove Theater. Members of the three Oak Ridge Rotary Clubs are taking lea...
Jewish Emigres and the Manhattan Project: Leo Szilard
Hungarian physicist and inventor, Leo Szilard, was born in Budapest to middle-class Jewish parents in 1898. He moved to Berlin in 1919 where he received his PhD in physics in 1922. An avid inventor, Szilard patented numerous technical innovations, including working with Albert Einstein on the Einstein refrigerator, which had no moving parts.
When Adolf Hi**er came to power in 1933, N**i racial laws forced Szilard to resign his university professorship and move to England where he first conceived of the idea of nuclear chain reaction. Always the visionary, Szilard worked tirelessly to help find suitable positions for many fleeing German scientists, working with the Academic Assistance Council, a London-based group headed by Ernest Rutherford.
Szilard moved to the United States in 1938 and began working at Columbia University with Enrico Fermi. In late 1939, he drafted the famous Einstein-Szilard letter to President Roosevelt prompting the US federal government involvement in uranium research for atomic weapons development, which ultimately led to the creation of the Manhattan Project.
In February 1940, he published his breakthrough manuscript on creating a nuclear chain reaction. Szilard was with Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago on December 2, 1942, when the experimental nuclear reactor CP-1 went critical—
creating the first ever controlled nuclear chain reaction.
In 1945, he wrote a petition advocating for a demonstration of the atomic bomb before it was dropped on cities, but his petition was ignored. Szilard passed away in San Diego, California on May 30, 1964.
Learn more about Leo Szilard: Manhattan Project Scientists: Leo Szilard (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
Image caption: Szilard and Einstein review the draft of the1939 letter to President Roosevelt that resulted in the creation of the Manhattan Project.
Credit: public domain
Crews are expected to finish remediating soil, reversing or stopping environmental damage at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge this year, and federal cleanup managers are shifting their focus to groundwater. It’s the final phase of cleanup at the former uranium enrichment site.
Crews are expected to finish remediating soil, reversing or stopping environmental damage at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge this year, and federal cleanup managers are shifting their focus to groundwater. It’s the final phase of cleanup at the former uranium enrichment site. Now also refer...
The aurora may be visible in the sky again Saturday night, depending upon the weather, federal forecasters said.
The aurora may be visible in the sky again Saturday night, depending upon the weather, federal forecasters said. Severe and extreme geomagnetic storms associated with coronal mass ejections, or solar eruptions, are likely Sunday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s S...
It appears that the chances are low in Tennessee, but an aurora may be visible in the sky over the northern half of the country this weekend, and possibly as far south as Alabama.
It appears that the chances are low in Tennessee, but an aurora may be visible in the sky over the northern half of the country this weekend, and possibly as far south as Alabama. The National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a watch for a severe geomagnetic storm, saying i...
Oak Ridge Playhouse is closing out its 81st season of shows with an exciting revamp of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s beloved masterpiece, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” a press release said.
Oak Ridge Playhouse is closing out its 81st season of shows with an exciting revamp of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s beloved masterpiece, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," a press release said.
Two representatives of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will be featured at Lunch with the League in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.
The two representatives are Mary Michelle Gillum and Paula Trujillo. Gillum is the director of the Legal Aid Society’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, also known as the Tennessee Taxpayer Project, and Trujillo is an outreach community paralegal of the Tennessee Taxpayer Project.
Two representatives of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will be featured at Lunch with the League in Oak Ridge on Tuesday. The two representatives are Mary Michelle Gillum and Paula Trujillo. Gillum is the director of the Legal Aid Society’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, als...
Victory and pollinator gardens at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will be open to the public on Saturday, June 1, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park said.
Victory and pollinator gardens at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will be open to the public on Saturday, June 1, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park said. The gardens will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 1 for the Seeds of Victory Program, the park said in a newsletter. “Get y...
The summertime tennis court dances organized by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park start in two weeks.
The summertime tennis court dances organized by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park start in two weeks. The first dance of this summer is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, on the Jackson Square Tennis Courts. They continue monthly on the third Thursday. “The park recreates ...
Oak Ridge Schools will not allow teachers and other staff members to carry guns in buildings, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Wednesday. Borchers made the announcement in a notice sent to school families.
Oak Ridge Schools will not allow teachers and other staff members to carry guns in buildings, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Wednesday. Borchers made the announcement in a notice sent to school families. His announcement came the day after the Tennessee House of Representatives passed legislatio...
More than 40 youth rowing teams from 20 different states are in Oak Ridge to compete in the Dogwood Junior Championship Regatta.
More than 40 youth rowing teams from 20 different states are in Oak Ridge to compete in the Dogwood Junior Championship Regatta. The regatta is Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28. It’s hosted by the Oak Ridge Rowing Association. “These young athletes, ages 14 to 19, represent some of the b...
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