Oak Ridge Today

Outdoor pool operating on holiday schedule on July 4

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Oak Ridge Outdoor Swimming Pool

Hundreds of swimmers enjoy the Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road on Memorial Day 2012. (File photo)

The Oak Ridge Municipal Swimming Pool will operate on its holiday schedule on Friday, July 4. The outdoor pool will open at 10 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

The day is Fun Day at the pool as the lifeguards will conduct different activities starting at 2 p.m. for patrons to participate in fun events, balloon toss, intertube relays, etc.

Admission is $2 for children ages 3 to 12 and people 65 and older, $3 for ages 13-17, and $3.75 for adults. Children under 12 must be accompanied and supervised by an adult during public hours at the outdoor pool.

The city’s indoor pool and Oak Ridge Civic Center will be closed on July 4.

Please visit the website at www.orrecparks.org for information on all of the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department programs.

Railroad tracks removed from South Illinois, Emory Valley

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South Illinois Avenue Railroad Track Removal

A work crew from Rogers Group removes unused railroad tracks from South Illinois Avenue just south of Lafayette Drive and Scarboro Road on Saturday night. After the tracks were removed, the railroad crossing was repaved, and the road reopened on Sunday.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6:30 p.m.

Unused railroad tracks that crossed Briarcliff Avenue, Emory Valley Road, and South Illinois Avenue were removed on Thursday and Saturday night.

Railroad company CSX split the traffic control costs with the city and paid to remove the tracks, Oak Ridge Public Works Director Gary Cinder said. In exchange, the city agreed to repave the roadways as part of street maintenance. The crossing lights were removed as well so that commercial vehicles, including school buses, no longer have to stop at the abandoned crossings and, in the case of school buses and other vehicles that carry children, open and close their doors before proceeding.

The project has been in the works for two years.

“We’re thrilled to finally get to this stage,” Cinder said last week. “It’s been a long time coming.” [Read more…]

AARP driver’s safety classes offered at Oak Ridge Senior Center

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The Oak Ridge Senior Center will be offering the AARP Smart Driver Driver’s Safety Program in July and August. This program can help make drivers safer and more aware and may help lead to a discount on auto insurance premiums, a press release said.

The cost for the class is $15 for AARP members and $20 for non-members. The July class will be held on Saturday, July 19, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This all-day class is open to anyone 50 and over but could be especially helpful to those seniors who are still working Monday to Friday.

The August class will be held on August 6 and 7 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each day. To register for either class, call the Senior Center at (865)-425-3999. Space is limited so reserve your spot soon, the release said.

For more information about this and other programs and activities at the Oak Ridge Senior Center, call (865)425-3999 or visit the website at orrecparks.org.

Sewer rehab work continues week of June 30

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More rehabilitation work of the city’s sewer collection pipes is scheduled to continue next week, starting June 30.

The work is being done by Hurst Excavating and Morgan Contracting under contract with the City of Oak Ridge. It includes rehabilitating sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and in roadways, a press release said.

Residents should already have received color-coded letters and door hangers (orange for Hurst Excavating and purple for Morgan Contracting) providing general information and each contractors’ contact information.

Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists are urged to use extra care and caution when traveling on the streets with sewer work areas, a press release said. Temporary road repairs will be made, and loose gravel should be expected until the patches are permanently paved. [Read more…]

Fireworks, Independence Day celebration at A.K. Bissell Park on July 4

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July 4, 2012 Fireworks

The annual Independence Day celebration in Oak Ridge is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. July 4 and end at 10 p.m. with fireworks at A.K. Bissell Park. (File photo by Charles Samuels)

 

The annual Independence Day celebration and fireworks display will take place in A.K. Bissell Park on Friday, July 4, with festivities starting at 7:30 p.m. and ending with the fireworks display at 10 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Community Band will kick off the evening at 7:30 p.m. with a free concert on the Performing Arts Pavilion stage. The Community Band’s performance traditionally draws a large crowd, so the public is encouraged to come early with lawn chairs or blankets to secure a good seat, a press release said. This year’s Independence Day concert marks the 70th anniversary of the Community Band’s first concert that was held on July 4, 1944.

The firework display will begin at 10 p.m. and will once again be accompanied by music played live onsite by 96.7 Merle FM, the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau said in the press release. Radio host Jack Ryan will be broadcasting from the park beginning at 6 p.m. and will conclude with a patriotic medley customized for the city’s fireworks. The countdown to fireworks will begin at 9:30 p.m., giving listeners plenty of time to settle down, tune in, and enjoy the show, the release said. [Read more…]

South Illinois to be closed Saturday night as railroad tracks removed

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South Illinois Avenue Railroad Crossing

A section of South Illinois Avenue will be closed Saturday night as a city contractor removes the abandoned railroad tracks that cross the busy roadway just south of the intersection with Lafayette Drive and Scarboro Road.

 

A section of South Illinois Avenue will be closed Saturday night as a city contractor removes the abandoned railroad tracks that cross the busy roadway just south of the intersection with Lafayette Drive and Scarboro Road.

The work by Rogers Group Inc. should be complete by Sunday, a city press release said.

Workers will start installing traffic control devices to close the road and divert traffic to the detour at about 6 p.m. Saturday. The road, also known as State Route 62, or SR62, will be closed at roughly 8 p.m., the press release said.

“To minimize the inconvenience to the public, this work will take place overnight,” it said. [Read more…]

Emory Valley Road to be closed temporarily as railroad tracks removed

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Emory Valley Road Railroad Crossing

Emory Valley Road will temporarily be closed between Briarcliff Avenue and Fairbanks Road as railroad tracks that are no longer used are removed.

 

Emory Valley Road will temporarily be closed between Briarcliff Avenue and Fairbanks Road as railroad tracks that are no longer used are removed on Thursday.

Rogers Group Inc., a city contractor, is removing the railroad tracks that cross Emory Valley Road and Briarcliff Avenue on Thursday. The project should be completed on Friday, a city press release said.

The road closure is designed to help make the construction project safe for workers and motorists, and it will will require that traffic be detoured. The detour routes will be clearly marked, the press release said. The closures will affect only one direction of traffic at a time. Message boards will be located on Lafayette Drive to remind motorists of the closure so an alternate route can be taken. All residential and business properties will have access during this closure; however, streets will be posted for no through traffic. [Read more…]

More development possible on South Illinois Avenue

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South Purdue Land Use Plan

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday will consider amending the Land Use Plan to change the designation on parcels 39 and 40 above from residential to business. The parcels are next to Aldi grocery (Parcel 43 at right) and between South Purdue Avenue (white road center right) and South Illinois Avenue (yellow road at bottom). The Planning Commission could consider rezoning the property in July. The new Weigels gas station and convenience store is off the map to the left on Parcel 41. Potomac Circle is at top left. (Image courtesy State of Tennessee)

 

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday will consider amending the city’s Land Use Plan to change the designation of more than two acres on busy South Illinois Avenue from residential to business, possibly to allow a small multi-tenant building to be constructed.

The two parcels being considered are sandwiched between two other recent developments—Weigels gas station and convenience store on one side and Aldi grocery on the other—and also near the new Aubrey’s restaurant, Panera Bread, Ole Ben Franklin Motors, and Bojangles’ restaurant.

A Nashville development group has a contract on the property, Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said Monday. [Read more…]

Sewer rehab work continues week of June 23

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More rehabilitation work of the city’s sewer collection pipes is scheduled to continue next week, starting June 23.

The work is being done by Hurst Excavating and Morgan Contracting under contract with the City of Oak Ridge. It includes rehabilitating sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and in roadways, a press release said.

Residents should already have received color-coded letters and door hangers (orange for Hurst Excavating and purple for Morgan Contracting) providing general information and each contractors’ contact information. [Read more…]

Learn more about first-ever White House Maker Faire

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Tom Beehan

Tom Beehan

Madeline Rogero

Madeline Rogero

UT, Oak Ridge, Knoxville participating

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Mayors from the Manufacturing Alliance of Communities, including MAC Chair Dayne Walling, mayor of Flint, Mich.; founding MAC Chair Virg Bernero, mayor of Lansing, Mich.; and Mayor Kevin Smith of Anderson, Ind., will participate today with President Barack Obama in the first-ever Maker Faire to be held at the White House.

MAC mayors, who have been enthusiastic supporters of the Maker Movement to democratize access to high-tech tools for all innovators and makers in their communities, will join Obama and scores of entrepreneurs and industry leaders to highlight a “nationwide day of making” across the country. This event at the White House is intended to increase awareness of the great potential for boosting innovation and entrepreneurship in manufacturing, in the same way that the Internet and cloud computing lowered the barriers to entry for digital startups, creating the foundation for new products and processes that can help to revitalize American manufacturing.

Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and the University of Tennessee are participating. Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero have both been designated Maker Mayors. [Read more…]

Mayor Beehan represents Oak Ridge at White House Maker Faire

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Tom Beehan

Tom Beehan

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan is representing Oak Ridge at the White House Maker Faire today (Wednesday). It’s part of the Mayors’ Maker Challenge, which the Oak Ridge City Council approved at the June 2 Council meeting.

Here’s an e-mail about it from the White House:

Tune in to the White House Maker Faire!

We’ve got another big first happening at the White House (Wednesday, June 18) and our guests are making a lot of things besides history.

President Obama will celebrate innovators, entrepreneurs, and tinkerers of all ages from across the country at the first-ever White House Maker Faire. [Read more…]

City Council to have mid-year election in July to fill board, commission vacancies

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The Oak Ridge City Council will have a mid-year election on July 14 to fill vacancies on municipal boards and commissions.

The Oak Ridge City Clerk’s Office started accepting applications on June 2. To be considered, applicants must be Oak Ridge residents and complete an application by noon Friday, June 20, 2014. Late applications will not be considered.

The boards and commissions with vacancies include Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Oak Ridge Housing Authority, Recreation and Parks Advisory Board, Senior Advisory Board, and Traffic Safety Advisory Board.

Visit the city’s website for more information.