Oak Ridge Today

Free backyard mushroom workshop Saturday at Winter Farmers Market

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Geordie Schmidt
Geordie Schmidt of Oak Ridge holds a giant wine cap mushroom, grown in a mulch bed in his family’s backyard. Geordie’s father, Jason Schmidt, will be hosting a free workshop at the Winter Farmers’ Market on Growing Backyard Mushrooms, Sat., Feb. 15, 2020, at 11 a.m. The market is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the gym at St. Mary’s School, 323 Vermont Ave., Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

The Winter Farmers’ Market will offer a free workshop about “Growing Backyard Mushrooms” on Saturday, February 15, at 11 a.m. at the Winter Farmers’ Market, which is in the gym at St. Mary’s School at 323 Vermont Avenue in Oak Ridge. The market is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, and the workshop is in the back room of the market.

“Oak Ridge is a great place to grow mushrooms,” said Jason Schmidt, who will be presenting the workshop. “They don’t need a lot of room, and they love shady, wooded areas, which we have in abundance.”

Participants will be able to sign up for a “Mushroom Inoculation Station” offered March 7, in which they can make their own shiitake mushroom log at the market.

The Winter Farmers’ Market features 30 local farmers, bakers, and artisans, and it is open every Saturday through March 28. 

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Council interested in proposed test, motorsports track

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Horizon-Center-Motorsports-Track-Site-1-Feb-11-2020
Part of the site where a test track and research facility or motorsports park could be built on the back side of Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council is interested in a proposed test track and research facility or motorsports park at Horizon Center.

The seven City Council members unanimously expressed interest in the proposed project, which could cost more than $50 million and cover more than 300 acres, during a Monday night meeting. The proposal is still in the early conceptual stage, and Council doesn’t have a specific plan to consider or endorse yet.

There are significant questions about the unusual project, which would be in west Oak Ridge, a few miles northeast of the former K-25 site. They include the questions of whether some potential uses such as a hotel would be allowed by the deed restrictions at the site, whether motorsports would be allowed under the industrial zoning, and whether a recreational vehicle park and outdoor music would be appropriate there.

Oak Ridge City Council member Ellen Smith said there are legal constraints on the property. Certain kinds of uses are allowed, and some, such as homes and hotels, are not, Smith said. She said the U.S. Department of Energy was hoping to foster industrial development on the former federal property.

It’s not clear what position DOE might take on the proposed use, and it’s not clear whether the site would be a test track and research facility for non-spectators, a motorsports park for spectators, or a combination of the two.

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Utilities Business Office returning to Municipal Building

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Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office Exterior
Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office will return to the Municipal Building following the completion of renovations. The Utilities Business Office, or UBO, will reopen in its updated space on Monday, February 10, the Oak Ridge Electric Department said.

UBO operations were moved to the nearby Oak Ridge Civic Center for about four months while renovations were under way. The changes were needed to increase efficiency and safety, the Electric Department said.

Customers routinely handle utility and property tax concerns at the UBO, including signing up for new accounts, terminating services, and making payments, the press release said. Utility and tax bills are also generated in this office.

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Dine and Donate to help ADFAC on Monday, Feb. 10

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The Soup Kitchen features eight soups each day. Monday’s selections include chili, hearty vegetable, and gratin Savoyard. (Submitted photo)

Submitted

Punxsutawney Phil might think early spring is on the way, but there is still plenty of time to enjoy your favorite winter weather comfort foods and help local families!

On Monday, February 10, leave the cooking to ADFAC’s Dine & Donate partners. On that day, participating restaurants will donate a portion of sales to support Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC).

February’s featured Dine & Donate supporter is the Soup Kitchen, located in Jackson Square. Although spectacular any time of year, there’s nothing quite like a hot bowl of homemade soup to disrupt winter’s chill. In addition to soup, the Soup Kitchen also offers a variety of in-house baked bread, sandwiches, salads, and desserts. [Read more…]

Free urban gardening workshop on Saturday

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Jason Schmidt presented “Making Simple Worm Bins,” a free workshop at the Winter Farmers’ Market recently. The market is offering another free workshop Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020, on urban gardening, by Jacob Resor of Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum. (Submitted photo)

The Winter Farmers’ Market will offer a free workshop on urban gardening in Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The workshop will start at 11 a.m. Saturday, February 8. It will be presented by Jacob Resor, manager of the Center for Urban Agriculture at the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum. Resor will talk about how KBG maintains a series of community gardens that help people grow food for themselves and others.

The workshop is located at the Winter Farmers’ Market, which is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. through March 28. The market is in the gym at St. Mary’s School at 323 Vermont Avenue in Oak Ridge. Previous free workshops at the market have included “Making Simple Worm Bins” and “Healthy Eating on a Budget,” a press release said.

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Motorsports park proposed at Horizon Center

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The Horizon Center off Highway 58 in west Oak Ridge is pictured above in this image published by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board.

A motorsports park that could cost more than $50 million and cover more than 300 acres has been proposed at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge.

The Oak Ridge City Council is expected to consider a resolution expressing support for and interest in the project on Monday evening. The development of the test track and research facility could be on three lots at Horizon Center: parcels 5, 6, and 7. The project could include about 327 acres total.

If the resolution is approved Monday, it would be sent to the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board. The project could then be reviewed by the IDB, which could consider whether to sell the property. The IDB has contacted Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson’s office to determine City Council’s interest in the project, according to the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

H.E. Bittle III of Hardin Valley Land Partners told Oak Ridge officials in a February 2 letter that the planned motorsports park would have a road course “suitable for FIA (Federation Internationale de L’Automobile) sanctioned events, such as Formula E, Indy Car, IMSA, NASA, and other sanctioning bodies.”

Besides the race course, the motorsports park would have an amphitheater with a mix of permanent and lawn seating for more than 7,000 people, similar to the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, Bittle said.

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Big Ed’s Pizza celebrates 50 years today

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Big Ed's Pizza
The front of Big Ed’s Pizza is pictured above in October 2013. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Big Ed’s Pizza, Oak Ridge’s most well-known restaurant, is celebrating 50 years on Monday, February 3.

Special merchandise will be available for sale, including 50th anniversary limited editions of Big Ed’s Pizza beer mugs and shirts, a press release said, and there will be free cake from Oak Ridge bakery Sassy Pants Sweets and Treats.

The Big Ed’s staff will be wearing a special “1970” shirt in observance, the press release said.

The festivities start at 11 a.m. Monday.

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DQ Grill & Chill has grand opening Tuesday

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DQ Grill and Chill has opened a restaurant in Oak Ridge. The restaurant opened Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. It is at the intersection of South Rutgers Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new DQ Grill & Chill in Oak Ridge will have a grand opening on Tuesday, and the celebration will include promotions, raffle prizes, and family fun, a press release said.

Here is the grand opening celebration schedule:

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Free food tastings, classes offered Saturday at Winter Farmers’ Market

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Children 12 and under who taste two bites of a vegetable get $2 to spend on fruits and vegetables at the Winter Farmers’ Market in the free Power of Produce Club. (Submitted photo)

The Winter Farmers’ Market, located in the gym at St. Mary’s School, 323 Vermont Avenue in Oak Ridge, is offering a series of free market workshops on healthy eating and gardening this winter.

On Saturday, January 25, at 11 a.m., Dr. Elaine Bunick will present “Healthy Eating on a Budget,” with a variety of healthy foods to sample and recipes to share. Bunick is a retired endocrinologist who has helped hundreds of patients manage diabetes and other lifestyle-related diseases, a press release said. Bunick says she wants “kids and adults to see how good healthy eating can be.”

The UT Extension Service will also be at the market, offering healthy recipes and food tastings as well. The market is open Saturdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., through March. 

For children, the Anderson County Health Department’s public health educator Sabrina Greene will present an “All About Veggies” activity. Plus, the market’s popular Power of Produce Club will offer free vegetable tastings for children 12 and under. Those who take two bites get $2 to spend on fruits and vegetables in the market.

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Volkswagen, UT, ORNL announce collaboration, innovation hub

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Volkswagen Group America Innovation North University Tennessee Research Park
Volkswagen Group of America will lease space in the Innovation North building on the UT Research Park campus. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

Volkswagen Group of America, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee on Friday announced a collaboration to create Volkswagen’s first innovation hub in North America at the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm.

“Working with the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a great opportunity to continue growing Volkswagen’s engineering footprint in the North American region,” said Wolfgang Demmelbauer-Ebner, executive vice president and chief engineering officer for Volkswagen’s North American region. “This hub, along with other research institutions here, is an integral part of Volkswagen’s global research and development efforts and can also directly contribute to vehicles in North America.”

The collaboration involves research opportunities for doctoral students and space in the Innovation North building at the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm in Knoxville, a press release said. Initial work will focus on developing lighter vehicle components made from composite materials and the electrification of vehicles.

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Downtown Hardware closing in March

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Roger Clary and Ann Clary Bratton, co-owners of Downtown Hardware Company, pose with photos from the store’s 64-year history and hold a photo of Clary family members who have worked at the store over the years. Downtown Hardware is closing in March so the Clarys can retire. A store liquidation sale is going on beginning Jan. 10, 2020. (Submitted photo)

Downtown Hardware is closing in March, after more than 64 years of being in business in Oak Ridge.

Downtown Hardware was one of the first businesses to set up in the “Downtown Shopping Center” built in 1955 in what is now Main Street Oak Ridge.

“We were located on Wilson Street in the bottom floor of the building that now houses the American Museum of Science and Energy,” a press release said.

Today, Downtown Hardware is located at 298 South Illinois Avenue, facing Tuskegee Avenue in Oak Ridge.

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Proposed power lines at Horizon Center to be discussed Tuesday

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Virginia Dale
Virginia Dale

The power lines proposed at Horizon Center will be discussed during a Tuesday lunch in Oak Ridge.

The project, advocated by Oak Ridge officials for industrial development, has raised concerns among environmentalists and people who use the city’s greenways.

The guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, January 7, will be Virginia Dale. Dale is a corporate fellow emeritus with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where she worked in the Environmental Sciences Division. She is currently a researcher in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of Tennessee, a press release said. Dale has been the author of 11 books and more than 250 published articles.

Her presentation on Tuesday will focus on the city’s recent action to seek authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy to build an electric transmission line along the DOE patrol road on the boundary between the Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement and the Horizon Center industrial park, or by cutting through other “natural areas,” the press release said. These “natural areas” are identified in mitigation conditions required for a federal finding of no significant impact, which allowed the subsequent development of the Horizon Center, the press release said.

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