OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Aug. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory issued the following news release: The American Crystallographic Association (ACA) has recognized two ORNL staff members at its annual meeting. Bryan Chakoumakos, team leader for Single-Crystal Diffraction, Neutron Scattering Division, won the ACA's 2019 Robert Bau Neutron Diffraction Award. The award recognizes "exceptional research achievements in neutron diffraction." He was named an ACA fellow in   more

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tennessee, Aug. 5 -- The U.S. Air Force issued the following news: By Deidre Ortiz As of June 28, Lt. Col. John McShane took on his role as director of AEDC Flight Systems Combined Test Force at Arnold Air Force Base. While new to the job and the area, McShane is full-speed ahead in conducting business as usual. "My goals are, first off, to take care of the people because they're the ones that do the work. I want to find out the things that are causing them issues, or   more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, Aug. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division issued the following news release: After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), S&S Hospitality LLC - operator of the Best Western Hotel & Conference Center in Johnson City, Tennessee - has paid $56,999 in back wages and liquidated damages to 15 employees for violating the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer a  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Aug. 5 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the following news release: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District announces that Ragland Bottom Day Use Beach at Center Hill Lake in Smithville, Tenn., is reopened as water conditions have returned to acceptable levels. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Park Rangers at Center Hill Lake closed the beach abruptly Aug. 2, 2019 due to elevated levels of Escherichia coli (E. Coli.). The two other designated swimming ar  more

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, July 30 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management issued the following news release: Oak Ridge Site crews recently mobilized to begin constructing the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility, vital infrastructure to fulfill EM's regulatory commitments to reduce mercury levels in the East Fork Poplar Creek and begin large-scale cleanup and demolition at the Y-12 National Security Complex. EM awarded APTIM-North Wind Construction a $91.8  more

COOKEVILLE, Tennessee, Aug. 8 -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division issued the following news release: Fiesta Cancun Grill Inc. - a restaurant in Cookeville, Tennessee - has paid $271,240 in back wages and liquidated damages to 25 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer also paid a civil penalty of   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it intends to award a $35,000 cooperative agreement to the Ducks Unlimited Inc. of Memphis, Tennessee, for leadership and coordination to facilitate the integration of the major elements of North American waterfowl management. The agency description of the grant states: "The North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) Committee recognized the need to have continuing support and leader  more

MOBILE, Alabama, Aug. 6 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the following news release: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District at Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Project seeks volunteers to participate in white-tailed deer hunts during the 2019-2020 hunting season. This is in support of mobility-impaired hunters at the Riverside Hunting Area located in Greene County, Alabama. Parties interested should contact wildlife biologists at the Tenn-Tom Waterway Project Management Office  more

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Aug. 8 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory issued the following news release: IDEMIA Identity & Security USA has licensed an advanced optical array developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The portable technology can be used to help identify individuals in challenging outdoor conditions. The system is designed to capture useable images of subjects inside moving vehicles, using an array of camera lenses that are se  more

LONDON, Kentucky, Aug. 9 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Robert M. Duncan Jr., issued the following news release: Timothy Dennis Gowder, 72, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Anwar Mithavayani, 56, of Boca Raton, Florida, were sentenced to lengthy terms in federal prison by United States District Judge Robert E. Wier for conspiring to distribute oxycodone and other drugs, and for money laundering. Gowder received a sentence of 21 years of imprisonment. Mithavayani received  more

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tennessee, Aug. 5 -- The U.S. Air Force issued the following news: By Bradley Hicks Contained within much of the work that goes on at Arnold Air Force Base are inherent risks. "If you think about it, we test rocket motors, jet engines, aircraft, satellite systems, and to do that we have to generate temperatures higher than the surface of the sun and colder than the cold side of the moon," said Walt Bishop, deputy director of mission execution for National Aerospace Solu  more

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Aug. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management issued the following news release: Newly appointed members of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board (ORSSAB) recently toured EM's major cleanup projects at the Oak Ridge Site. The local environmental advisory board provides community insight and recommendations to help inform EM's decisions and priorities. "ORSSAB is a key component of our commitment to community engagement and tr  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following event notification (No. 53999) involving the Sequoyah power reactor in Tennessee: EN Revision Imported Date : 8/7/2019 EN Revision Text: AUTOMATIC REACTOR TRIP DUE TO MAIN FEEDWATER PUMP TRIP "At 0320 EDT, April 14, 2019, Sequoyah Unit 1 experienced an automatic reactor trip. The event was initiated by the trip of the 1A main feedwater pump. During the automatic unit runback, an automatic reactor trip was initiated d  more

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Aug. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management issued the following news release: DOE's Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) coordinated with regulators and partnered with small businesses to complete a soil disposal project for $1.2 million -- nearly $75 million under its original estimated budget. EM crews disposed 4,071 cubic yards of soil that had been in storage since 1989, resulting from the closure of oil reten  more

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Aug. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory issued the following news release: Like many soon-to-be high school seniors, Eva Davidson thought she knew what she wanted to be and how to get there. A chance encounter at a college fair altered that path--a change in plans she has never regretted. Davidson is a nuclear engineer at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A specialist in reactor physics analysis, she is helping DOE's  more

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Aug. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory issued the following news release: The Isotope & Fuel Cycle Technology Division's Glenn Fugate has been recognized as a fellow by the American Chemical Society. The ACS Fellows Program started in December 2008 to recognize members of the ACS for outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession and the society. Fugate's research spans more than 25 years and centers around analyt  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Aug. 7 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, D. Michael Dunavant, issued the following news release: In July 2019, a federal grand jury charged 16 individuals with conspiracy to possess various controlled substances with intent to distribute; possession of several types of controlled substances with intent to distribute; and several criminal violations of federal firearms laws. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced the unsealing of the superseding  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Aug. 5 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, D. Michael Dunavant, issued the following news release: Patrick Hayden, 32, of Charleston, Arkansas, pled guilty to sending threatening letters to U.S. District Court Judges and other federal personnel through the mail, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 876(c). D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney announced the guilty plea today. According to the information presented in court, on March 6, 2018, at appro  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Aug. 6 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee issued the following news release: * * * - (FBI Announces New Program Focusing on the Recovery of Child Victims) * * * The Department of Justice announced today the FBI-led recovery or identification of 103 child victims and the arrest of 67 sex traffickers through Operation Independence Day. This initiative -- a revamping of a previously successful program -- was executed during the month of   more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Aug. 8 -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division issued the following news release: A Nashville, Tennessee-based restaurant enterprise has paid $62,781 in back wages and liquidated damages to 56 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer is also paying a civil penalty of $20,232 for th  more

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tennessee, Aug. 5 -- The U.S. Air Force issued the following news: By Jill Pickett Arnold Air Force Base will be increasing efforts to create and maintain a positive work environment. Lee Smith, previously the Installation Emergency Manager, has been named to the new full-time position of Community Support Coordinator and Violence Prevention Integrator. "Along with the workload increasing, we want to increase our focus on the people who are going to accomplish the miss  more

MILLINGTON, Tennessee, Aug. 6 -- The U.S. Navy issued the following story: Navy Personnel Command (NPC) leaders announced today that they are expanding options and capabilities offered to further improve the Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move experience for Sailors and their families. This comes only a few weeks after the release of MyPCS Mobile and more capabilities are expected in the near future. As part of the Navy's ongoing pay and personnel transformation efforts, NAVADMIN 184/19 ann  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service announced that it intends to award a $30,000 cooperative agreement to the University of South Florida for the documentation and assessment of the condition of historic structures associated with the Old Natchez Trace in Mississippi and Tennessee. The agency description of the grant states: "Information and 3-Dimensional models and animations produced from this project will be transferred to a wide range of audienc  more

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee, Aug. 8 -- The Tennessee Valley Authority issued the following news release: William Kilbride, of Chattanooga, officially assumed his role as a member of the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors on Thursday after taking the oath of office in a ceremony in Chattanooga. His term will expire on May 18, 2023. Kilbride was nominated by President Donald Trump on March 6, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Aug.1. He was sworn into office by Judge Travis R. McDonou  more