Oak Ridge Today

Planning Commission to consider new assisted living facility, medical office building

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A preliminary master plan for the planned unit development known as Azalea Place is shown above. See a larger version of this plan by clicking on the link included in the story below.

A preliminary master plan for the planned unit development known as Azalea Place is shown above. See a larger version of this plan by clicking on the link included in the story below.

 

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday will consider a rezoning and abandoning part of West Madison Lane for a proposed assisted living facility, medical office building, and senior living homes.

The development, called Azalea Place, would be on 5.62 acres north of Methodist Medical Center and west of Michigan Avenue. It’s been proposed by Oak Ridge Senior Living LLC of Oak Ridge.

A preliminary master plan for the planned unit development, or PUD, shows a three-story, 60-bed assisted living facility of 40,000 square feet. The medical office building would be one story and 4,000 square feet. The plan also shows eight attached 1,000-square-feet senior living units with two-car garages. There would be open space, a turnaround, and a parcel that could be used for an office building. [Read more…]

Eighth rowing lane complete in time for spring training

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Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

 

The eighth lane on the Oak Ridge Rowing Course has been completed on schedule and under budget, just in time to welcome teams for spring training and the season’s first regatta, the City of Oak Ridge said Friday.

“Previously, the course utilized seven rowing lanes, taking Oak Ridge out of the running for any event requiring eight lanes for competition,” a city press release said. “Part of the waterway was widened, and a retaining wall installed in order to create the additional lane.”

Spring training started in late February, and Oak Ridge has already welcomed dozens of teams to town, the press release said. The first regatta on this season’s schedule, the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational, kicks off Saturday, March 11. Approximately 12 teams will compete in the event before it wraps up on Sunday, March 12.

First Place Finish Inc. was selected to carry out the project back in September. The $548,350 contract was awarded to the company during a meeting of Oak Ridge City Council. A partial closure of Melton Lake Greenway and a temporary speed limit reduction along part of Melton Lake Drive were both lifted this week. [Read more…]

Snow possible Saturday night

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Road crews on Friday prepared roads for possible winter weather, including a potential snow, on Saturday, March 11, 2017. This picture was taken on Wisconsin Avenue on Friday afternoon, March 10. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

Road crews on Friday prepared roads for possible winter weather, including a potential snow, on Saturday, March 11, 2017. This picture was taken on Wisconsin Avenue on Friday afternoon, March 10. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

On Friday, crews prepared roads for possible winter weather this weekend in Oak Ridge and East Tennessee, potentially including snow on Saturday.

The National Weather Service in Morristown said winter will return this weekend with snowfall expected Saturday night across most of the region. Snow accumulations of one to three inches are possible across the Tennessee Valley and Cumberland Plateau, and three to six inches are possible in the Great Smoky Mountains. [Read more…]

Council to consider selecting Scarboro Park for new preschool

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The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new preschool could be located at  Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider selecting the Scarboro Park as the site for a new preschool on Monday.

The Scarboro Park site, off Carver Avenue in central Oak Ridge, has already been unanimously selected by the Oak Ridge Board of Education. The board endorsed that site during a February 27 meeting.

The other option had been Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge.

Elm Grove Park had been identified as the preferred site after a preschool report was published in October 2015. But there has been opposition, including a petition drive, to building the new preschool there.

Meanwhile, the Scarboro community has welcomed the idea of building the new preschool at Scarboro Park, officials said. [Read more…]

Council to consider supporting OS request to have state widen SR 61

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The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider supporting an Oliver Springs request to ask the state to widen nine miles of State Route 61 between Oliver Springs and Harriman, where 114 crashes—some of them fatal—were reported between February 2013 and December 2016.

In a January 24 email, Oliver Springs Mayor Cecil E. Crowe told several city and county mayors that Oliver Springs has asked that State Route 61, which is two lanes, be widened to four.

“This highway project has been discussed for a number of years, but it has lacked the support necessary to get it approved,” Crowe told Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, and Roane County Executive Ron Woody. “We need your support to increase the priority of this highway project to reduce accidents, injuries, and fatalities.”

The improvement could boost both the economies in Oak Ridge and Oliver Springs, as well as in Harriman and Anderson, Morgan, and Roane counties, according to Crowe and the Oliver Springs resolution. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge spent about $22,000 responding to Sevier County fires

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Oak Ridge Fire Department mitchell-rd Sevier County

People being removed from vehicles while Oak Ridge Fire Department crews helped respond to the Sevier County wildfire starting Monday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley)

 

Oak Ridge spent about $22,000 responding to the wildfires in Sevier County in November and December, but the city doesn’t want to seek reimbursement.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department sent fire crews to Pigeon Forge on November 28 and 29, and then to Gatlinburg from November 30 to December 4. The ORFD provided structural and wildfire suppression, and search and rescue services in Sevier County, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said in a February 6 memo to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson.

Besides the emergency services that were provided, four employees of the Oak Ridge Fire Department provided incident management services in the Gatlinburg fire command center, serving as logistics and communications specialist on the state Incident Management Team, Kerley said.

He said it cost about $22,000 in staff, equipment, and fuel to respond to the mutual aid request for the historically large, deadly Sevier County fires, which were started by the Chimney Top 2 fire and fueled by high winds, dry conditions, and downed power lines. The money for the city’s firefighting aid came out of the Oak Ridge Fire Department salary, overtime, and fuel budget. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Egg Hunt is April 8; volunteers needed

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A previous Oak Ridge Egg Hunt is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

A previous Oak Ridge Egg Hunt is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the 2017 Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 8, at 11 a.m. Hundreds of children are expected to participate in this annual spring event, a press release said. More than 15,000 candy and prize-filled eggs will be hidden in Alvin K. Bissell Park with a first-place, second-place, and third-place prize egg in each age group.

This event will be held rain or shine, so participants should dress for the weather, the press release said. If severe weather prevents hiding the eggs outdoors, they will be given away in the Oak Ridge Civic Center gymnasium, and a drawing will be held for the prizes. [Read more…]

City workers respond to fallen trees, downed power lines

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Oak Ridge crews work to clear downed tree and power lines on Westover Drive on Wednesday, March 1, 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge crews work to clear downed trees and power lines on Westover Drive on Wednesday, March 1, 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Oak Ridge crews worked to clear downed tree and power lines on Wednesday. There were reports of trees and power lines down in parts of Anderson County, including Oak Ridge, as severe thunderstorms moved through the area.

There were no reports of damaged homes in Oak Ridge due to the storms.

Here are a few photos courtesy of the City of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

School board picks Scarboro Park for new preschool

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The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new preschool should be built at Scarboro Park, the Oak Ridge Board of Education said in a unanimous vote on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new preschool should be built at Scarboro Park, the Oak Ridge Board of Education said in a unanimous vote on Monday.

The site selection in a 5-0 voice vote came after about 15 minutes of discussion during a school board meeting on Monday.

The other option was Elm Grove Park. That park on East Tennessee Avenue in east Oak Ridge had been identified as the preferred site after a preschool report was published in October 2015.

With one exception, school board members said the two sites are relatively equal as measured by a number of factors outlined by BOE Vice Chair Bob Eby, including learning environment, building and transportation costs, safety and security, expandability and impact on parks, and community and City Council support. The one significant difference: There has been opposition to building the new preschool at Elm Grove Park, while the Scarboro community has welcomed the idea of building the new preschool at Scarboro Park.

“The difference is very stark,” Oak Ridge Board of Education member Angi Agle said. “The community support from Scarboro does make a huge difference.” [Read more…]

Elm Grove Park, Scarboro Park now being considered for new preschool

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The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city’s school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, and the city’s school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, a school official said Friday.

Recent discussion had focused on Elm Grove Park and the Scarboro Community Center, where a day care center closed last fall.

But on Friday, Oak Ridge Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer said expanding the city-owned Scarboro Community Center would require “stair stepping and filling,” essentially work to move dirt and level the site. That’s not cost-effective and not great for the preschool, Fillauer said. Also, the administrative area and gymnasium at Scarboro Community Center would still be used during the day, and the preschool couldn’t be attached to those areas, Fillauer said.

The school board had a non-voting work session Friday morning, and Fillauer said members were shown a very impressive design for a preschool at Scarboro Park, which is across the street from Scarboro Community Center on Carver Avenue. Soil testing has shown that the site is acceptable for building, Fillauer said. [Read more…]

Edgemoor Road maintenance project extended, traffic delays still possible

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The right-of-way maintenance project that began earlier this month on Edgemoor Road has been extended through Friday, March 3, providing there are no issues with weather or other unforeseen circumstances, a press release said.

Oak Ridge Public Works Department crews originally expected the work to be complete by Friday, February 17.

Drivers should plan for possible delays while the project continues.

As stated in an earlier release, the road work will take place between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. [Read more…]

Female candidates, elected officials to discuss campaigns at Monday meeting

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Ellen Smith

Ellen Smith

The Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club will present a panel discussion by a group of women who have been candidates or elected to public office at its meeting on Monday, February 27. The club will host a soup dinner at 6 p.m. Monday at the Clinton Community Center, which is at 101 South Hicks Street in Clinton.

The women will discuss campaigns—what works and what doesn’t—as they also encourage other women to become candidates for office, a press release said.

On the panel will be Ellen Smith, current Oak Ridge City Council member; JoAnn Garrett and Ann McNees, both former Oak Ridge Board of Education members; and Mary Headrick and Melody Shekari, both former Democratic Congressional candidates in the Third Congressional District. [Read more…]