Oak Ridge Today

Ole Ben Franklin Motors opens Thursday, sixth new business in south Oak Ridge

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Ole Ben Franklin Motors Building and Sign

Eric Martin of Sign Co. Inc. in Knoxville installs lettering at Ole Ben Franklin Motors on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Ole Ben Franklin Motors, the largest independent used car lot in Tennessee, is expanding into Oak Ridge, and the company’s new location on South Illinois Avenue will open Thursday, the owner said Tuesday.

It will be the sixth business to open in a little more than one year in a one-third mile stretch of the busy roadway at the southern entrance to central Oak Ridge.

“We want to be part of (the growth),” said Mike Mencer, owner of the Knoxville-based company.

Mencer said the Ole Ben Franklin Motors lot at the former Dean Stallings Ford could have more than 100 cars when it opens at 9 a.m. Thursday. He said the company has a great selection of used cars, can offer financing through its own bank, and has been in business for 30 years. [Read more…]

Organizers announce new date for Dragon Boat Festival in May

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Colorado Dragon Boat Race

The first team to pull out the flag at the end of a dragon boat race in Colorado wins the 150-meter competition. (Jeff Towery, provided by Colorado Dragon Boat Festival)

The three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge, which are planning to launch the inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival this spring, have announced a change of date for the community fundraiser. The festival will be held Saturday, May 31, 2014, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

In addition, the clubs have announced a new website for the Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival: http://oakridge.racedragonboats.com/.

“The purpose of the festival is to provide a venue for dragon boat races, offer food and musical entertainment, and raise funds for a special project and nonprofit service organizations in the community,” said Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, president of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge.

The boat-racing event, launched by OARS in the Water, will celebrate Oak Ridge’s waterfront and signature rowing venue. OARS stands for the Oak Ridge Association of Rotarians. The other two clubs are the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary clubs. [Read more…]

Watson one of four finalists for Texas job; decision possible in late January

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson is one of four finalists for a similar job in one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas, and officials there could hire someone near the end of January, an official said Monday.

Jon Branson, one of two assistant city managers in Pearland, Texas, said the City Council is tentatively scheduled to conduct some final interviews on or around Jan. 25, and officials hope to have a decision shortly afterward.

Pearland’s current city manager, Bill Eisen, is retiring at the end of the month after 12 years. Branson will be the interim city manager starting Jan. 1, and he will serve until the Pearland City Council hires a new city manager. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge city manager being considered for job in Texas

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson is being considered for a job in Texas, three council members confirmed Thursday evening.

Watson is a finalist for a city manager position, and a decision could be made in January, Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan said.

The mayor said he hopes Watson, who started here in August 2010, stays in Oak Ridge.

“Mark Watson has been an outstanding city manager,” Beehan said. “He was a great hire.” [Read more…]

AMSE’s operating contract with for-profit could be replaced by nonprofit

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American Museum of Science and Energy

The American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

The contract with the for-profit company that runs the American Museum of Science and Energy will change from quarterly to monthly starting Jan. 1, and a museum expert could be hired on an interim basis to assess the museum, its place in the community, and a logical new operating structure.

The museum is now funded by the U.S. Department of Energy at a cost of about $1.5 to $1.6 million per year, said David Keim, communications director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Revenues from the gift shop, admissions, and programs add up to about $300,000 per year.

But officials have long said that the department should not be operating the museum.

“It’s always been a government-funded operation,” Keim said. But, “DOE is not in the museum business.”

In June, a group of museum directors brought to Oak Ridge from around the country recommended that the museum be run by a community-based nonprofit organization—not DOE and not a for-profit company, Keim said. [Read more…]

City officials clash over Secret City Festival spending costs

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Rick Springfield at Secret City Festival

The Rick Springfield concert at the Secret City Festival in June was the largest ever for the annual festival, an organizer said.

Debate over the costs of the Secret City Festival—and whether the city can afford a $160,000 “party” every year—was briefly renewed again on Monday.

The sometimes-rancorous debate came up as the Oak Ridge City Council considered whether to approve two resolutions laying the financial foundation for the June 2014 festival.

Early in the debate, Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn moved to reallocate the Secret City Festival money and use it instead for a school resource officer in each middle school, or two SROs total.

But Council member Charlie Hensley said Baughn was essentially asking the city to take money it would collect from festival sponsors and use it instead for SROs.

“I think that’s fraudulent,” Hensley said. [Read more…]

Dog park ribbon cutting is Monday

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Oak Ridge Dog Park Entrance

The city will have a ribbon-cutting for the new dog park at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge on Monday. Above, the park is pictured under construction in October.

The city will have a ribbon-cutting for the new dog park at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge on Monday.

The ribbon-cutting is at 11:30 a.m. Monday.

Construction has been under way since this summer at the city’s first dog park, which is being built with help from a $100,000 donation from Radio Systems Corp. through Legacy Parks.

The park is roughly one acre, and it includes one fenced-in field for small dogs and another for all dogs, said Jon Hetrick, Oak Ridge Parks Division supervisor. [Read more…]

Guest column: The New China Palace—historic restaurant in Oak Ridge

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New China Palace Restaurant Interior

The interior of the New China Palace restaurant on Central Avenue is pictured above.

The New China Palace was established in September 1973 by Chuang Nan Chou and served authentic Chinese, Mandarin-Peking Hunan, and Szechuan style food.

Over the years, it became well-known in the Oak Ridge and Knoxville area and to many customers from other countries who came to Oak Ridge to visit the government facilities of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12 National Security Complex, the K-25 plant, and Oak Ridge Associated Universities. A large customer base developed, and the restaurant prospered.

In 2010, the City of Oak Ridge delivered a letter to the New China Palace saying their lease for the city building at the Oak Ridge Marina would not be renewed. Ideas for developing a facility for rowing and a “casual restaurant” were mentioned as the reason for this sudden change of heart by their landlord. This was announced in the newspapers and caused a huge negative reaction by their customers. [Read more…]

New China Palace closes at marina, reopens on Central Avenue

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New China Palace Closed

The longtime New China Palace restaurant has closed at the Oak Ridge Marina and moved to a new location on Central Avenue in the center of town.

A longtime Chinese restaurant that had been on the city’s waterfront for decades has moved out of a city-owned building at the Oak Ridge Marina and reopened on Central Avenue in the center of town.

The New China Palace restaurant reopened on Central Avenue on Nov. 22, owner Cheng Ren said Saturday.

The former waterfront location closed five weeks earlier on Oct. 18 after at least one lease extension.

The city has developed a master plan for the waterfront area that recommends the current New China Palace site off Melton Lake Drive be remodeled as a bathhouse facility. It would be used to support a growing number of rowing and public activities as part of an ambitious plan to revamp the waterfront from Elza Gate Park to Rivers Run Boulevard. [Read more…]

Florida runner finishes first in Secret City Half Marathon

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Secret City Half Marathon Start

Five hundred thirty-six runners start in the Secret City Half Marathon on Briarcliff Avenue on Sunday morning.

A Florida man finished first in the Secret City Half Marathon on Sunday morning, crossing the finish line almost eight minutes ahead of the second-place runner.

Jason McLeod, 21, of Orlando, Fla., finished the 13.1-mile course in 1:11:53. It was his first half marathon.

McLeod has never competed in a full marathon either, but he did run cross country for four years at Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn.

Gina Rouse, 34, of Knoxville finished second with a time of 1:19:50. She was also the top female runner among the 536 athletes who started Sunday. She has competed in marathons, including the Nashville Marathon in 2006 and Atlanta Marathon in 2011. [Read more…]

Rotary clubs plan dragon boat races at Oak Ridge Marina in May

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Dragon Boat Festival

Teams take part in the annual Dragon Boat Festival in Taipei on May 28, 2009. (Photo credit Patrick Lin/AFP/Getty Images)

Three local Rotary clubs are launching the city’s first Dragon Boat Festival on May 17 at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

“The purpose of the festival is to provide a venue for dragon boat races, offer food and musical entertainment, and raise funds for a special project and nonprofit service organizations in the community,” said Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, president of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge.

The boat racing event, launched by OARS in the Water, will celebrate Oak Ridge’s waterfront and signature rowing venue. OARS stands for the Oak Ridge Association of Rotarians. The other two clubs are the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary clubs. [Read more…]

In split vote, Council rejects pedestrian safety projects on Turnpike

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Jackson Square Pedestrian Improvements

A pedestrian safety improvement project at Jackson Square is almost complete, but on Monday, the City Council balked at a second project to improve intersections on the nearby Oak Ridge Turnpike.

They had already authorized the spending, but on Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council balked at awarding a $365,000 construction contract that would use red light camera money for pedestrian safety projects.

The contract would have been awarded to Ronald Franks Construction Co. LLC of Savannah, Tenn. The project would have made traffic safety and pedestrian crosswalk improvements at eight Oak Ridge Turnpike intersections and three residential intersections.

The Oak Ridge Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan had said the intersections needed improvements, and the Council authorized the spending during a special meeting in August. [Read more…]