Tennessee
‘Novel’ deal puts $42M into Tennessee accounts for Manhattan Project cleanup projects
Low Intensity Test Reactor demolished at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The reactor is the second to be torn down at the lab’s central campus by the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and UCOR (Courtesy of UCOR).
Department of Energy
After 15 years of negotiations between the state of Tennessee and the U.S. Department of Energy over the price tag of environmental damages stemming from the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, the two have signed a $42 million agreement to pay for restoration projects.
The money, set to be deposited by the Department of Energy into a Tennessee state account over the next several years, will be given to nonprofits and public entities to fund projects like building public trails and planting native species.
“The city is putting together a list of projects and will be applying for funding,” Oak Ridge City Manager Randy Hemann said. “We have no shortage of projects.”
The projects, which could receive millions of dollars each, must fall into one of five categories: habitat creation, habitat restoration or enhancement, habitat preservation, groundwater or recreation. Eligible projects cover Anderson and Roane counties, as well as parts of Loudon and Knox counties.
The agreement is part of a process to restore Oak Ridge and surrounding waterways to the state there were in before the Department of Energy released contaminants, including radioactive waste, while enriching uranium for the first atomic bomb. The $42 million helps the federal government settle its liabilities.
Energy Department redirects Tennessee funds
The Oak Ridge Reservation, a federally owned tract of 32,260 acres that includes Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex, was designated a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1989.
Trustees to negotiate the damages owed to the state are:
- Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
- Tennessee Valley Authority
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Interior
Representatives of the trustees sit on a council that will select projects.
The council put together a novel plan to settle the disagreement between the state and the DOE shortly after Gov. Bill Lee took office.
What makes the plan unique is the source of the $42 million, said Jay Mullis, manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management.
Half of the money has already been given from the DOE to Tennessee through an agreement dating back to the 1990s. The DOE agreed to give the state $1 million each year in a perpetual care fund for the landfill it uses in Oak Ridge today. Typically, the state would use the fund to care for the landfill after it closes, Mullis said.
But the state will not bear the responsibility to care for the DOE’s landfill, set to be replaced in 2029, so the money has accrued with no clear purpose.
Now, it will be repurposed for restoration projects after the DOE agreed to match the funds.
“I had to put a decent amount of pressure on the DOE feds at headquarters to move this along, because it was so novel,” Mullis told Knox News. “Bureaucracies hate anything that’s novel. But if we’re going to get anything novel done, Oak Ridge is the place to do it.”
How Oak Ridge compares to other Manhattan Project sites
Between the 1940s and 1970s, the DOE buried around 6 million cubic feet of radioactive and other waste in shallow burial sites. It also discharged waste directly into the East Fork Poplar Creek. Since 1986, when remedial activities began, it has removed contaminated soil into landfills and cleaned up waterways.
Cleanup leaders in Oak Ridge, who direct part of the largest environmental cleanup project in the world, often tout their work as the most efficient, innovative and cost-effective of all Manhattan Project sites.
Other sites, particularly the quagmire of radioactive waste in Hanover, Washington, have spent tens of millions of dollars just assessing environmental damages.
The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its cleanup contractor UCOR tore down all buildings at the K-25 site, once home to the world’s largest building, and will finish cleaning its soil of radioactive material this year.
They also have found unique ways to reuse radioactive material, like giving a Cold War-era generator to a company that will reuse it to create power in the deep sea and space.
Mullis and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers held a signing ceremony in Oak Ridge for the new agreement July 11.
“This funding will protect the natural resources in the area as well as go toward outdoor recreational opportunities for Tennesseans, creating a more balanced and healthy environment for all,” Salyers said in a press release.
DOE to host public meetings on the application process
The first phase of the restoration process focused on the Watts Bar Reservoir. To compensate for damage to the waterway, the DOE established the Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement in 2009, a 3,000-acre natural habitat and recreational area managed in partnership with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
The second phase, focused on other Oak Ridge land and the Clinch River, will be restored through community projects funded by the agreement. The projects are separate from the DOE’s risk-based cleanup, such as demolition of Manhattan Project-era nuclear reactors.
Nonprofits and public entities that want to apply for funding can find more information about the grant application process in a draft procedure document.
The state will receive public comments at ORRrestoration@tn.gov until Aug. 12.
The trustee council will post the final document online later this summer and will host public meetings in the community to help organizations understand the application process.
Oak Ridger news editor Donna Smith contributed to this reporting.
Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com.
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Tennessee
Cam Ward injury update: Titans QB out after shoulder injury vs. Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans pre-game analysis, prediction
Florida Times-Union Jacksonville Jaguars beat reporter Demetrius Harvey breaks down what the team needs to do to beat the Tennessee Titans in Week 18.
Tennessee Titans quarterback and former Miami star Cam Ward exited the Week 18 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a shoulder injury, sustained during a first-quarter touchdown run at EverBank Stadium on Jan. 4.
The Titans initially listed Ward as questionable to return, before declaring him out late in the first quarter. Up until the injury, the rookie quarterback had appeared in every offensive snap during the regular season for last-place Tennessee.
While rounding right end and diving for the end zone, Ward absorbed a hard hit from Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun as he also struck the ground just inside the end zone pylon. The rush gave the Titans a short-lived 7-0 lead.
Ward entered the medical tent after the injury, and Tennessee medical staff subsequently escorted him to the locker room.
The rookie from Miami had completed 24 of 38 passes for 141 yards when the Titans played Jacksonville on Nov. 30, a 25-3 Jaguars win. At Miami, Ward was a finalist for the 2024 Heisman Trophy, which ultimately went to Colorado receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, now with the Jaguars but also out due to injury.
Former Jaguars quarterback Brandon Allen entered the game in Ward’s place on the next series. The Jags drafted Allen in the sixth round (No. 201) in 2016, although he never appeared in a regular-season game for Jacksonville.
With a victory, the Jaguars would clinch the AFC South and a first-round home assignment for the playoffs. The Titans were eliminated from postseason contention weeks ago.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
Tennessee
Acuff’s big night pushes Arkansas past Tennessee in SEC opener
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Conference play has a way of revealing what teams really are, and Arkansas fans it’s a positive omen for the rest of the season.
Behind a career-high 29 points from freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr., the Razorbacks opened league play Saturday with an 86-75 victory over Tennessee at Bud Walton Arena.
After starting 0-5 last season, but having to battle their way to a Sweet 16 spot, they showed it’s not the end of the world. Now everybody will see what happens when they start strong.
Arkansas improved to 11-3 overall and 1-0 in the SEC, snapping a short run of slow conference starts while giving the home crowd a reason to settle in for winter.
The Volunteers arrived with a reputation for toughness and efficiency, and they lived up to that billing early, trading baskets and refusing to let the Hogs separate.
Tennessee shot well most of the afternoon and stayed within reach even when Arkansas briefly surged in the first half.
The difference was not dominance but steadiness, especially when the game tightened late.
Arkansas leaned on balance, patience, and the calm of a freshman who played like he had been here before.
Acuff shot 9 of 16 from the field and knocked down the biggest shot of the day, a three-pointer with 2:09 left that pushed the Razorbacks’ lead to 79-68.
The basket came just as Tennessee threatened to turn a close game into a coin flip.
“I was just trying to make the right play,” Acuff said. “Coach tells us to be confident and take our shots with conviction.”
Arkansas finds rhythm late
That confidence spread.
Meleek Thomas added 18 points, Malique Ewin finished with 12, and Karter Knox chipped in 11 as Arkansas placed four players in double figures.
No single run blew the game open, but one stretch midway through the second half tilted the floor.
Arkansas used an 18-5 run over 6 minutes and 37 seconds to flip a five-point deficit into an eight-point lead.
During that stretch, Tennessee missed eight straight shots and managed only two field goals on its next ten attempts.
The Razorbacks did not rush offense or chase highlights.
They waited for good looks, attacked the rim, and trusted the whistle.
Arkansas shot 29 of 33 from the free-throw line, quietly building a cushion that Tennessee never fully erased.
The Volunteers made life difficult with efficient shooting, finishing at 49 percent from the floor.
Amari Evans led Tennessee with 17 points and did not miss a shot, going 7 for 7.
But free throws told a different story. Tennessee went 12 of 23 at the line, leaving points behind that mattered when possessions shrank.
“We stuck to the process,” Arkansas’ coach said. “We just kept competing and playing our game.”
Useful start to conference play
This was not a loud win, but it was a useful one. Arkansas didn’t overwhelm Tennessee with pace or pressure.
Instead, the Hogs won with composure, spacing, and an understanding of when to slow the game down.
That matters in a league where possessions tighten and whistles get louder in February.
The Razorbacks finished at 42 percent shooting overall, with Acuff the only Arkansas player above 50 percent from the floor.
They didn’tneed perfection. They needed reliability and got it.
The crowd of more than 19,000 saw a team comfortable being uncomfortable, a team that didn’t panic when Tennessee crept close.
That calm showed most clearly in Acuff, whose late three settled both the scoreboard and the building.
Arkansas has reached the Sweet 16 in four of the past five seasons, and this game looked like one that fits that blueprint:
- Balanced scoring.
- Free throws made.
- Mistakes absorbed without unraveling.
- The SEC does not reward flash in January.
- It rewards teams that handle moments.
- The Razorbacks handled this one.
Arkansas will travel to Ole Miss next, carrying a conference win that counts the same as any other but feels heavier because of how it was earned.
Tennessee returns home to face Texas, searching for answers that were more subtle than glaring.
Key takeaways
- Darius Acuff Jr.’s career-high 29 points included the decisive three late.
- Four Razorbacks scored in double figures, easing pressure throughout the game.
- Arkansas’ edge at the line separated two evenly matched teams.
Hogs Feed
Tennessee
Tennessee’s ‘Ink of Hope Act’ aims to help tattoo artists spot signs of human trafficking
CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – Plenty of new laws will go into effect for Tennessee on Jan. 1, 2026, ranging from protecting victims of domestic violence to giving tattoo artists a new tool to help people in danger.
The “Ink of Hope Act” aims to teach tattoo artists how to recognize certain symbols or “brands” and intervene on behalf of human trafficking victims without putting themselves at risk.
“I’ve wanted to tattoo since I was 8,” Blake Ohrt, the owner of Scout’s Honor Tattoo in Ashland City, told News 2. “I watched somebody when I was really young get a tattoo, and I’ve been super fascinated by it… I just worked really hard my whole life and ended up here.”
Ohrt’s dream for as long as he could remember was to open his own tattoo shop, and now that business is about to celebrate its first anniversary.
“I really hope that people are taking the time and really figuring out who they want to get tattooed by, and maybe doing a little research, making sure that the style is compatible with what you’re wanting to do,” Ohrt said.
However, not everyone who sits in his chair seems willing. He has seen this firsthand a few times.
“People will attempt to set something up for someone else or come in as a pair, and one does the talking and one does not,” Ohrt explained. “Maybe even getting a name of that person and not, you know, I’m not much hearing from the person who’s going to be tattooed.”
When he learned about the “Ink of Hope Act,” he felt it could make a difference.
“Maybe some things that we can catch, like certain specific symbols or maybe placements or things like that, but really, it’s been super big for us,” Ohrt said.
This legislation will require tattoo artists looking to renew their licenses after Jan. 1, 2026, as well as those receiving their first licenses after that date, to watch a one-hour course offered by an approved nonprofit that focuses on human trafficking. Artists who fail to complete that training by Dec. 31, 2028, will have their licenses invalidated until they comply with the law.
“We have to take extra accountability for that and make sure that we’re also consenting for them, so hopefully everybody takes it seriously,” Ohrt told News 2.
For the employees of this Ashland City tattoo shop, it’s their “scout’s honor” to keep the promise to look out for anyone who sits in their chairs.
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