Community Corner

🌱 How Oak Ridge donors are already shaping next year’s school supply drive

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Coffee in hand, Oak Ridge? We've got the latest town updates for you. Keep reading to stay in the loop. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • How Oak Ridge donors are already shaping next year's school supply drive
  • Oak Ridge lab's new 3D-printing push could reshape nuclear parts supply
  • How Oak Ridge scientists aim to outsmart hackers targeting future nuclear reactors

Today's riddle: What did one strawberry say to the other strawberry? 🤔 (Answer below!)

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Weather forecast:

  • Tuesday: Nice with some sun, with a high of 87 and low of 63 degrees. 🌶 Hot!
  • Wednesday: A t-storm around in the p.m., temps: high: 89, low: 69.
  • Thursday: Humid; a p.m. t-storm or two, with a high of 87 and low of 67 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. ADFAC provided much needed school supplies in four counties (themountainpress.com) — An Oak Ridge–based ADFAC program just supplied backpacks and school materials to more than 6,400 students across Anderson, Campbell, Morgan, and Roane counties, including Oak Ridge schools. Funded partly by local groups like Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and CNS Y-12, the year-round effort is already buying for next summer. Residents can donate now, including by mail to ADFAC School Supplies, P.O. Box 5953, Oak Ridge 37831.
   

2. Oak Ridge and Idaho national labs demo wire arc 3D printed pressure vessels (voxelmatters.com) — Oak Ridge National Laboratory is teaming with Idaho National Laboratory to 3D-print nuclear-grade pressure vessels using wire arc additive manufacturing on ORNL's MedUSA platform. The project aims to create "born-qualified" components whose safety is verified during printing, potentially strengthening domestic nuclear supply chains. Their early success includes a small pressure vessel and parts for a microreactor tested in Idaho.
   

3. National labs eye cybersecurity threats to smaller nuclear reactors • Source New Mexico (sourcenm.com) — Oak Ridge National Laboratory experts are helping Idaho National Laboratory develop cybersecurity protections for the next generation of small modular nuclear reactors. Researchers are exploring ways to design reactors so that even successful cyberattacks can't cause physical harm, drawing on ORNL's experience with the power grid and water systems. Their work could influence how future nuclear projects near communities are secured nationwide.
   

4. Hybrid process targets nuclear manufacturing bottlenecks (eurekalert.org) — Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, working with A.J. Tuck Company, have created a hybrid 3D-printing and electroforming process to make leak-free containers for advanced nuclear components. Developed at ORNL's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility in Oak Ridge, the technique could ease supply-chain bottlenecks for reactor parts by enabling complex, precise metal shapes made domestically. Future phases will tackle more intricate nuclear-related components.
   

5. Tennessee helped usher in the nuclear age. It wants to lead the way again. (grist.org) — Major federal and private nuclear investments are zeroing in on Oak Ridge, potentially bringing thousands of jobs while expanding uranium processing and waste-related work tied to Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Supporters see an economic revival, but many East Tennesseans, recalling contamination, illnesses, and past industrial disasters, are wary of trading health and environmental risks for promised growth.
   

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • I finally got my salvia planted so now the hummers have a place to snack.
    I stopped putting out feeders as the bees were relentless and I was constantly having to clean them. Salvia's are a great alternative and they're so… (Nextdoor Highland View)
  • Ametek posted a job opening for Job Material Handler in Oak Ridge. Apply here.
  • Yellowstone Landscape posted a job opening for Landscape Laborer- Wide Area Mowing in Coalfield. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Oak Ridge here.

Ok Oak Ridge! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: If you weren't so sweet, we wouldn't be in this jam! (Thank you Patti F. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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