Oak Ridge Today

Sitel has charity concert for injured vets Saturday, announces 100 new jobs

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Travis Rice Country Concert at Sitel

Sitel is having a fundraising concert to benefit Wounded Warriors and veteran charities this evening (Saturday evening) and offer 100 new full-time jobs in Oak Ridge.

The free event starts at 5 p.m., and it will raise funds and awareness for the needs of injured service members, a press release said. It will also include a variety of family activities.

The festivities start at 5 p.m. Saturday (today) in Sitel’s lot at 1089 Commerce Park Drive at the Tech 5 Building in Oak Ridge. A number of local country bands will provide the music, followed by headliner Travis Rice at 7 p.m., with patriotic songs honoring America’s brave service men and women, the press release said.

Attendees will enjoy barbecue, hamburgers, hot dogs, and other foods, along with face painting and additional fun activities. Sitel will also give away multiple prizes, including: [Read more…]

More than 100 jobs terminated as B&W work on USEC centrifuge project ends

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photos courtesy USEC)

But hundreds of jobs maintained in Ohio and Tennessee, USEC says

Babcock and Wilcox has terminated the employment of more than 100 workers who had been involved in the American Centrifuge project with USEC, and Monday was the last day of work for most of them, a spokesperson said.

“B&W’s involvement in the American Centrifuge Manufacturing LLC has transitioned fully to USEC, which will result in the termination of all 122 employees B&W had engaged in the effort,” said Aimee Mills, B&W media relations lead.

Mills said roughly 25 employees will be released during the next two months as the “final steps of demobilization take place” on the advanced uranium enrichment project, which has included centrifuge manufacturing in Oak Ridge and the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio.

“Some of those affected have been reassigned within B&W,” Mills said. “We have also provided assistance by way of job fairs and workshops to update resumes.”

Meanwhile, USEC has notified a small group of its Oak Ridge employees who worked on manufacturing activities that they would be laid off, Communications Manager Jeremy Derryberry said Tuesday. Several were transferred to other parts of the centrifuge program. [Read more…]

Lincoln’s to have beer permit suspended at least one week

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Lincoln's Sports Grille

Lincoln’s Sports Grille will have a one- or two-week beer permit suspension depending upon improvements made before a June 9 meeting. (File photo)

The Oak Ridge Beer Board voted on Monday to suspend the beer permit of Lincoln’s Sport Grille for one or two weeks, depending upon improvements made before the board’s June meeting.

Lincoln’s has met with the board four times within the past two years. Monday’s meeting was in response to an April altercation between two male patrons.

The motion to allow Lincoln’s the opportunity for a reduced suspension was passed in a 4-3 vote, with opposition from Theresa Scott, Barton Bailey, and Randy Tedford.

The vote requires that Lincoln’s provide proof that they have made efforts to improve their business before the beer board’s next meeting on June 9. If they can not meet the board’s requirements for improvement, they will face a two-week suspension.

Tedford, who is Beer Board chair, said Lincoln’s must provide “a more comprehensive plan” to fix problems involving over-service and the patio gate at the popular restaurant, and add eight surveillance cameras around the premises and at least two more staff members to make sure the patio is adequately monitored. [Read more…]

Farmers Market now open on Wednesdays in Oak Ridge

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Farmers Market

 

The East Tennessee Farmers Association for Retail Marketing, or FARM, opened the Wednesday FARM Market at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Oak Ridge market operates in the parking lot adjacent to historic Jackson Square. It is also the site of the popular Saturday FARM Market that operates from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturdays.

The market is open in Oak Ridge from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday each week.

FARM operates two market locations in Knoxville on Tuesdays and Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m. The Tuesday market is held at Ebenezer United Methodist Church at 1001 Ebenezer Road near Westland Drive. On Friday, farmers sell products at the Laurel Church of Christ, 3457 Kingston Pike across from Cherokee Boulevard.

Established in 1976, FARM markets run from mid-April through late November. For more information visit online at www.easttnfarmmarkets.org.

Former home of Oak Ridger, shops near Magic Wok could be demolished

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Wender Building

Most of a commercial building that once housed The Oak Ridger on Tyrone Road near Jackson Square could be demolished in six months under a plan proposed to a city board on Thursday. The Magic Wok restaurant, which is separate from the building, would remain, as would a small portion of the building.

 

Magic Wok

The detached Magic Wok diner would remain and so would the western portion of the building near the restaurant.

Note: This story was updated at 2:35 p.m. May 10.

Most of a commercial building that was once home to The Oak Ridger newspaper and other businesses on Tyler and East Tyrone roads could be demolished later this year, an engineer and surveyor told a city board on Thursday.

The western part of the building near the Magic Wok restaurant would remain, and so would the diner itself.

Roughly 26,000 square feet of the building, which has housed a wide variety of businesses since the 1940s, would be demolished down to the slab. The demolition of the property, which is also known as the Wender Building after a former owner, would include the space occupied for decades by Classic Cleaners.

Noel M. Peterson, owner of Coal Creek Surveying and Engineering of Lake City, briefly outlined the plans of the owners—Jia-Chao and Ming-Wha Wang—during a Thursday meeting of the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals.

Many of the details still have to be worked out with the Oak Ridge municipal staff, and the board gave the owners another 30 days. But it’s considered a last-chance extension. [Read more…]

Free Document Shred Day at ORNL FCU on Saturday

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ORNL Federal Credit Union

The ORNL Federal Credit Union on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above in February. (File photo)

There is a free Document Shred Day from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Millertown Pike and Oak Ridge branches of ORNL Federal Credit Union.

It’s a partnership between ORNL FCU and Cintas Document Management Co., and it’s open to ORNL FCU members as well as the public.

People can bring unwanted documents, especially ones containing personal information, to one of the Document Shred Day locations and have it safely and securely destroyed at no charge, a press release said. A maximum of four boxes/bags per person will be accepted. [Read more…]

DOE explores options for enriched uranium technology for national security

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photos courtesy USEC)

USEC, UT-Battelle to preserve centrifuge enrichment capabilities on interim basis

USEC and UT-Battelle have signed a $33.7 million, five-month contract to continue operating centrifuges and conducting research and development activities on a uranium enrichment project deemed important for national security and possible commercial use.

The agreement with UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was signed May 1. The five-month term ends Sept. 30. The new agreement includes options for two six-month extensions valued at about $41.7 million each. The total price of the contract with the options is roughly $117 million.

USEC, which is now an ORNL subcontractor, previously performed research, development, and demonstration work on the project, the American Centrifuge Project, under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy that had been in place since June 12, 2012. That cost-sharing agreement expired April 30. [Read more…]

Board could consider repair, demolition order near Magic Wok on Thursday

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Classic Cleaners

Located in a small shopping center on Tyler and Tyrone roads, Classic Cleaners was given 10 days to vacate in February after the city staff said it found very serious code violations and structural issues in the building, which also houses a handful of other businesses.

A city board on Thursday will again hear the two cases against the owners of a commercial building judged to be “in disrepair” near the Magic Wok restaurant in central Oak Ridge.

In February, the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals tabled a demolition or repair order for 60 days to give the owners, Ma Shiu-Yen Wang and Ta-Shun Etal, time to sell the damaged property or develop a repair or demolition plan, the city staff said.

That 60-day postponement expired last Sunday.

The two cases concern the 50,000-square-feet commercial building at 123 and 135 E. Tyrone Road, just north of Oak Ridge Turnpike near Jackson Square. They exclude the manufactured structure that houses the Magic Wok, but they do include the areas in the small shopping center that have housed a dry cleaner, thrift store, wig shop, Mexican grocery, and the Magic Wok’s food preparation and overflow dining areas. [Read more…]

‘Cash mob’ at Cutie Patootie’s on Thursday

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Cutie Patootie's Repeat Boutique

Cutie Patootie’s Repeat Boutique

 

ORNL Federal Credit Union will have its next cash mob at Cutie Patootie’s Repeat Boutique in historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

The cash mob is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday. The first 30 customers will receive a $20 gift card to use within the store, courtesy of ORNL Federal Credit Union, a press release said. There is a limit of one gift card per family or couple.

Cutie Patootie’s Repeat Boutique is at 209 Jackson Square.

“Founded by owner and single mom, Wendy Holloway, Cutie Patootie’s Repeat Boutique in Oak Ridge is the epitome of small business with its local feel, loyal customers, and personalized service,” the press release said. “The resale boutique has been serving the Oak Ridge community for several years by offering new and gently used items for babies, children, teens and women, including toys, handmade hair bows and accessories, jewelry, shoes, clothing, and more. [Read more…]

RSI offering $8,000 in college scholarships

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Restoration Services Inc. and its voluntary Employee Outreach Committee are offering eight $1,000 college scholarships, a press release said. The scholarships are designed to help students “achieve their greatest potential through higher education.”

Six scholarships will be awarded to graduating high school students who will be attending college in the upcoming fall 2014 semester. The other two scholarships will be awarded to children of RSI employees who are upcoming sophomores, juniors, or seniors currently enrolled in an accredited college for the 2014 fall semester.

Scholarship recipients will be selected from submitted applications that include academic accomplishments, community involvement/leadership roles, and an essay on current environmental threats. [Read more…]

Adventures Outdoors rents kayaks, bikes at Oak Ridge Marina

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Kayaks under Melton Lake Drive

Above, kayaks from Adventures Outdoors are taken through a tunnel under Melton Lake Drive. (Photos courtesy Karen Lloyd)

Adventures Outdoors is open again, renting kayaks, bicycles, and stand up paddle boards at the Oak Ridge Marina.

The company has a new, larger, remodeled home inside part of the former New China Palace restaurant on the waterfront and a new five-year lease with the city, said Karen Lloyd, Adventures Outdoors owner.

Adventures Outdoors has 20 kayaks, including boats for one and two people, a new kayak launching dock, and five-person pedal boats. The rentals includes bikes for adults and children, as well as Trikkes, which are three-wheeled “carving vehicles.”

Lloyd said Adventures Outdoors opened for the season on April 1 and will remain open through Oct. 31. [Read more…]

Free franchising workshop for veterans on Wednesday

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Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is pictured above.

The Tennessee Small Business Development Center, in partnership with FranNet, will offer a free workshop on franchising for veterans on Wednesday.

The seminar is titled “Veterans and Franchising: A Perfect Fit!” It’s scheduled from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

This workshop will discuss misconceptions about franchising, as well as programs and incentives available to veterans, a press release said. [Read more…]