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For members: Layoffs announced at movie theater, car dealer

Posted at 9:59 pm April 18, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Cinemark Tinseltown Theater is temporarily closed. The theater is pictured above on Friday, March 20, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Layoffs have been announced at an Oak Ridge movie theater and car dealership as well as at a fast food restaurant that could start renovations next month. Two Oak Ridge hotels have also announced layoffs.

The layoffs were announced as Tennessee reported that more than 300,000 unemployment claims were filed in the past four weeks. Parts of the economy have been shut down, and residents are required to stay at home unless they are conducting essential activities. Tennessee, along with the rest of the country and the world, is trying to slow the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

Thirty-five workers were affected by layoffs at the movie theater, Cinemark Tinseltown USA, according to a notice posted by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development on Friday. The layoffs were effective March 26.

The theater, which is at Main Street Oak Ridge in the center of the city, has been temporarily closed.

The closure of Cinemark theaters across the United States is temporary and a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, spokesperson Caitlin Piper said Saturday.

“The health and safety of our employees, guests, and communities is a top priority, and we look forward to once again hiring employees and welcoming moviegoers to experience the magic of cinematic storytelling on our big screens when it is safe to do so,” Piper said. “Again, these Cinemark theatre closures across the U.S. are temporary.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Slider, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Caitlin Piper, Chick-fil-A, Cinemark Tinseltown USA, COVID-19, Days Inn, Hampton Inn, layoffs, Oak Ridge, Prestige Maintenance USA, Secret City Chrysler, Tennessee, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, unemployment claims, WARN notice, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act

Secret City Festival postponed

Posted at 12:23 pm April 17, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Secret City Festival (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Secret City Festival has been postponed this year. A new date hasn’t been announced yet.

“Things will be a little different than usual, but we still look forward to bringing you a fantastic event!” organizers said in a Facebook post on Thursday. “More details to come soon!”

It’s one of four big Oak Ridge festivals that had been scheduled in June but have been affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, COVID-19, Festivals, Front Page News, Health Tagged With: COVID-19, Oak Ridge, Secret City Festival

Drive-through testing starts for COVID-19

Posted at 1:38 pm April 15, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020, in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 2:55 p.m.

Drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning in Oak Ridge.

The free testing is being offered by the City of Oak Ridge and Kroger Health. It’s scheduled from Wednesday, April 15, to Friday, April 17, in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot near Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Before testing began Wednesday morning, about 200 appointments had been scheduled over a three-day period, the City of Oak Ridge said.

Up to 250 people can be tested at the drive-through station each day. You do not need to be an Oak Ridge citizen to get tested, the city said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Business, COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Health, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: Anderson County Health Department, City of Oak Ridge, COVID-19, drive-through testing, Kroger Health, Lauren Gray, Oak Ridge

Farmers market opens Saturday under CDC, state agricultural guidelines

Posted at 1:18 pm April 10, 2020
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Farmers Market
The Oak Ridge Farmers Market will open in Jackson Square on Saturday morning, April 11, 2020. (Note: The food available at the farmers market can vary, and the products pictured above may not necessarily be available at the first market). (File photo)

The Historic Oak Ridge FARM Market will open Saturday morning, April 11, in Jackson Square, but it will be a little different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a press release said.

The farmer’s market, which is managed by East Tennessee Farmers Association for Retail Marketing, or FARM, is marking its 43rd year of operation, the press release said. Farmers markets are designated essential services in the Tennessee.

The City of Oak Ridge is helping East Tennessee FARM in its efforts to supply fresh, local food to residents, the press release said.

Following safe shopping guidelines will mean several changes for visitors to the popular Saturday morning market, the release said:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Business, Front Page News, Health, Oak Ridge Tagged With: COVID-19, East Tennessee FARM, FARM Market, farmer's market, Oak Ridge

Oak Ridge adopts state ‘stay at home’ order

Posted at 3:13 pm April 8, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Warren Gooch

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch issued an executive order Thursday afternoon that adopts the state “stay at home” executive order issued a few hours earlier by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. The order, Executive Order 23, requires Tennessee residents to stay home unless they are engaging in an activity that is considered essential.

Mayor Gooch urged Oak Ridgers to stay at home except to carry out essential activities. 

“It is time for all of us to stay home, starve the virus, save lives, and support local businesses for your essential activities,” Gooch said. “Stay positive and remember, we are in this together, and we will win this war against an invisible enemy.” 

The city’s local state of emergency ordinance implemented on March 23 regarding COVID-19 has been updated to adopt the new executive order, a press release said. The local state of emergency was declared in order to prevent the spread of, and to facilitate the containment of, the COVID-19 disease, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Oak Ridge Tagged With: Bill Lee, COVID-19, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge, state of emergency, Stay at Home, Tennessee, Warren Gooch

Built before the war, this home is for sale

Posted at 1:34 pm April 5, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

One of the few pre-World War II structures left in Oak Ridge, the Luther Brannon House on Oak Ridge Turnpike is now for sale. The home is pictured above on Saturday, April 4, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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

A home in east Oak Ridge that was built before World War II is for sale. It’s one of the few structures that was built before the war and remains in the city today.

The Luther Brannon House is at 151 Oak Ridge Turnpike, just west of Melton Lake Drive and next to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it was the first home in Oak Ridge to be privately owned.

The single-story stone bungalow was built by Owen Hackworth in 1941 and soon acquired by the federal government as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. Hackworth was a longtime resident of the Clinch River Valley.

Don Raby provided Oak Ridge Today with early photographs of the home after a fire damaged the house in 2014. It’s not clear how extensive the damage was or if repairs have been made.

Raby has collected photographs of the original structures that were here before the Manhattan Project, when the “secret city” that is now Oak Ridge helped build the world’s first atomic bombs. The 59,000-acre military reservation, which replaced several rural communities, was known first as Kingston Demolition Range and then as Clinton Engineer Works.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, History, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Don Raby, Luther Brannon, Luther Brannon House, Manhattan Project, National Register of Historic Places, Oak Ridge, Owen Hackworth, World War II

No city employees have tested positive for COVID-19, half of employees working from home

Posted at 12:52 pm April 2, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

No Oak Ridge municipal employees have tested positive for COVID-19, and about half of city staff members are working from home and half are working in the office.

In a response to questions on Wednesday, the City of Oak Ridge said one municipal employee was tested, but it was negative for COVID-19. That employee worked from home until the test results came back, as did anyone who was in contact with that employee, the response said.

The city said the Oak Ridge police and fire departments are temperature-screening employees before they enter the office and go out in the field.

“All other employees have been armed with the facts and symptoms of COVID-19 and have been encouraged to stay home, report any symptoms, and get screened if they are not feeling well,” the city said. “If an employee learns they may have been exposed to the virus, they are sent home to quarantine for 14 days or until the person who may have exposed them has tested negative.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Oak Ridge Tagged With: city employee, City of Oak Ridge, COVID-19, Oak Ridge

Oak Ridge playgrounds closed to help prevent spread of COVID-19

Posted at 8:34 pm March 30, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The City of Oak Ridge announced Monday, March 30, 2020, that playgrounds will be closed to help prevent the potential spread of COVID-19. Pictured above is the playground in Alvin K. Bissell Park. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge announced Monday that playgrounds will be closed to help prevent the potential spread of COVID-19.

Trails, greenways, and parks including tennis courts, basketball courts for passive use (active games aren’t allowed), and Blankenship Field and track remain open for now for walking and jogging, the city said.

Other facilities are under review for possible closure, the city said.

“The public health situation is rapidly changing, here are the latest updates affecting city facilities,” the city said in an updated from Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson.

The city said financial transactions can be handled electronically and by mail. If you need to meet someone, you can call the department’s extension directly. Phone numbers are listed under each department below.

For the latest information on Oak Ridge Schools, click here.

MUNICIPAL BUILDING (Updated 3/20/20)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Health, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: COVID-19, Oak Ridge, playgrounds

ORPD investigating after newborn’s body found

Posted at 6:08 pm March 26, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating after a newborn’s body was found near the bank along Melton Lake Greenway just north of the Edgemoor Road bridge on Thursday.

The body was reported by a resident at about 12:46 p.m. Thursday, and officers arrived at 12:53 p.m.

ORPD, Oak Ridge Fire Department, and Anderson County EMS, and the medical examiner’s office all responded.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: body, Melton Lake greenway, Oak Ridge

Waffle House in Oak Ridge not among those closing

Posted at 2:14 pm March 26, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Waffle House restaurant on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Waffle House in Oak Ridge is not among the chain’s restaurants that are closing, but the Oak Ridge location is open for take-out orders only.

Some locations are closing as sales plummet as COVID-19 spreads and government officials sometimes prohibit certain activities such as dining in restaurants. Most of Waffle House’s closures are in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions, CNN reported Wednesday.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Waffle House said that 365 restaurants would close and 1,627 would remain open.

But by Thursday, the number of closures had been revised up to 429, with 1,563 restaurants remaining open. About 22 percent of the chain’s restaurants are closing.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, COVID-19, Front Page News, Health, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: COVID-19, Oak Ridge, Waffle House

Blood drive at Civic Center today

Posted at 11:57 am March 23, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

MEDIC Regional Blood Center will have a blood drive today, Monday, March 23, in front of the Oak Ridge Civic Center. 

The drive is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

“While many are concerned about coronavirus or COVID-19, MEDIC wants the public to know that according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there is no known risk of transmission of COVID-19 through the blood donation process or from blood transfusions,” a press release said.

Blood centers throughout the country are experiencing a significant drop in donations, which is limiting the ability for the nation’s blood supply to be adequately replenished.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Health Tagged With: blood drive, COVID-19, MEDIC Regional Blood Center, Oak Ridge

Winter Farmers’ Market moves outside on Saturday

Posted at 5:38 pm March 20, 2020
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Winter Farmers’ Market will be open on Saturday, but it will be outside because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Winter Farmers’ Market is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 28. It will be outside the gymnasium at St. Mary’s School at 323 Vermont Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Vendors will be placed at least 10 feet apart, a press release said.

Customers who are seniors or immune-compromised may order ahead of time for curbside pickup, the press release said. Information on how to do that is listed on the market’s website at www.GrowOakRidge.org.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Business, Community, COVID-19, Health, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge Tagged With: COVID-19, Grow Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Winter Farmers Market

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

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