Cleanup on track at ex-nuclear site
STRICKLER -- A few months of cleanup remain at the Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor site, said Mike Johnson, associate vice chancellor for facilities with the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, which owns the former nuclear site.
"I'm confident that we'll stay well within our contract completion date of May," Johnson said Thursday at a community meeting.
A $10.5 million U.S. Department of Energy grant announced in October 2016 jump-started work at the site located about 20 miles southwest of Fayetteville, with additional federal funding paying for a cleanup estimated by UA to cost about $26 million.
"We have our money in hand," Johnson said when asked about the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Dean Wheeler, project manager with Utah-based Energy Solutions, said Dec. 19 was the official disposal date for the reactor vessel that left the site Nov. 29 on a special truck transport, with burial taking place at a specialized waste area in Nevada.
A citation resulted in a $295 fine for the truck driver hauling the vessel, Wheeler said. The driver was cited by State Highway Police for not following the planned route. At a bridge at Greenland, south of Fayetteville, the driver followed an escort vehicle when the plan was to exit off Interstate 49 to avoid the bridge, Wheeler said. Transport was handled by Barnhart Crane & Rigging, according to permit information.
Man, 32, sentenced in theft of scooters
FAYETTEVILLE -- A 32-year-old Fayetteville man was sentenced to 120 days in jail and six years of probation after pleading guilty to three counts of felony theft of property and a count of theft by receiving in connection to stolen motor scooters on the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus.
Tyler Brady also pleaded guilty in Washington County Circuit Court to possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to appear. Brady was sentenced Nov. 27 and received credit for 70 days already served in jail.
Brady was arrested by UA police in September on a warrant unrelated to theft. Police said surveillance video helped identify him as a suspect in scooter thefts. University police in a September statement said that under questioning "Brady has admitted to stealing twenty to thirty scooters" and that charges were expected for 16 of the thefts.
Prosecuting attorneys "could only prove four of them," said Matt Durrett, Washington County prosecuting attorney, in an email. He said deputy prosecutor Sara Swearengin handled the case.
"I think he made a statement about stealing others, but she couldn't tie him to any more than four. It sounds like there were multiple people involved," Durrett said.
Metro on 01/13/2019