Oak Ridge Today

Last rummage sale at current Unitarian Universalist Church on Aug. 1, 2

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Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Sanctuary

The sanctuary of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is pictured above. (File photo)

The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will have its last rummage sale at its current location near the new Kroger Marketplace on Robertsville Road on August 1 and 2.

The church is moving from its longtime home there to a new location between Oak Ridge Turnpike and the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, where the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office is housed. The UU church property on Robertsville Road will become part of the Kroger shopping center, known as the Westcott Center.

The semiannual rummage at the Robertsville Road location will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, August 1, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, August 2. Prices are doubled on Friday evening for the sneak preview sale, a press release said.

ORUUC is located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

“This will be the last rummage sale in our current location, but plans are already under way to resume the long tradition of having rummage sales starting next year in the church’s new location at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike,” said Betsy Bauer, who for more than two decades has been the sale organizer. “Being advocates for recycling and repurposing, this sale saves items from loading our landfills, and instead finds a home with someone who can reuse it.” [Read more…]

State, SL Tennessee announce 1,000 new jobs in Clinton

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CLINTON—Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty, along with SL Tennessee LLC officials, announced Friday that the company will build a new 250,000 square foot building to join its two existing facilities in the Clinton/I-75 Industrial Park, a Select Tennessee Certified Site. The South Korean automotive parts manufacturer will invest $80.5 million and create 1,000 new jobs in Anderson County. Located in Clinton since 2001, this will be the company’s fifth expansion.

“I want to congratulate SL Tennessee on its latest expansion and thank the company for the 1,000 new jobs created in Clinton,” Haslam said. “SL Tennessee has been an outstanding corporate citizen in Anderson County for nearly 15 years, and we are grateful to the company for bringing us one step closer to our goal of making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”

“Tennessee has the greatest concentration of automotive industry employment in the South and with the addition of 1,000 new jobs from today’s announcement, we continue to build on this momentum,” Hagerty said. “Upon completion of this project, SL Tennessee will more than double its workforce, making it the largest employer in Clinton and one of the largest in Anderson County. I appreciate SL Tennessee’s continued investment in our state and for providing quality jobs to our citizens.”

This is the second 1,000 plus jobs announcement in the past two weeks in the automotive sector. Last week, Volkswagen announced a $600 million investment in Tennessee and 2,000 new jobs being created in Chattanooga. [Read more…]

New elementary, middle school students register next week

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With the exception of students at Willow Brook and the Preschool, all students who are new to Oak Ridge elementary and middle schools need to register at their schools from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, July 28, to Wednesday, July 30, a press release said.

Parents who pre-registered kindergartners in May also need to complete the registration process on those dates.

Registration for new students in grades 9-12 will be made by appointment only. For more information regarding high school registration, contact the registrar at (865) 425-9524.

The information necessary for new student registration includes the following: [Read more…]

Haslam, SL Tennessee to make economic development announcement Friday

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Gov. Bill Haslam and executives from SL Tennessee will make a significant economic development announcement in Clinton on Friday, a press release said.

The ceremony starts at 10:15 a.m. Friday at SL Tennessee at 311 Frank L. Diggs Drive.

Others expected to attend include U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker; Rep. Chuck Fleischmann; Y.K. Woo, SL America president; Scott Laska, SL Tennessee business development manager; Clinton Mayor Scott Burton; Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank; and other local elected officials.

Forty-two arrests in meth-making conspiracy in Anderson, Campbell

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Forty-two people have been arrested in a conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine using pseudoephedrine in Anderson and Campbell counties, and another 17 have been indicted, authorities said.

The arrests and indictments of the 59 people on July 16 followed an investigation by more than a dozen agencies. The investigation found that those involved were buying pseudoephedrine at local pharmacies and using it to manufacture methamphetamine at various places in the two counties, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said in a Thursday press release.

Those indicted include: [Read more…]

Heiskell woman dies in Wednesday crash

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A Heiskell woman died in a two-car crash on Wednesday afternoon on East Wolf Valley Road in Anderson County.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said the crash happened shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday when Patricia Beckinger, 68, of Heiskell, lost control of her westbound Chevy Cavalier. It crossed into the eastbound lane and hit a 2000 Toyota Camry being driven by Alexandria Bone, 18, of Andersonville.

Beckinger died in the wreck, while Bone suffered what were described as minor injuries. Neither driver was wearing a seatbelt, according to a preliminary report by the THP. [Read more…]

Fatal crash reported on East Wolf Valley Road on Wednesday

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There was a fatal two-car crash on East Wolf Valley Road in Anderson County on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The driver of one car died, and the other driver had minor injuries, Anderson County Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

The road was closed for about three hours while the Tennessee Highway Patrol investigated the crash.

Lucas said the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Tennessee Highway Patrol at the crash site. Oak Ridge Today has requested additional information from the THP and will update this story as new information becomes available.

ORCVB has special meeting Monday to discuss director search

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Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Welcome Center at the Midtown Community Center on Robertsville Road is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau’s board of directors will have a special meeting on Monday, July 28, to discuss their plan to fill the vacant director’s position at the ORCVB.

The meeting will be held at the Doubletree Hotel starting at noon Monday.

The former director, Katy Brown, has accepted a new marketing and promotions job in East Tennessee, and her last day as president of the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau was July 11.

Pet of the Day: Jessie, Juniper

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Jessie and Juniper

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Are we not just as sweet as pumpkin pie? We, being Jessie and Juniper, are Terrier mixes, and we are a great size for those of you who don’t have room for the bigger dogs.

Sweet Jessie is about one year old, and darling Juniper is three years old. We are so, so available on June 23!

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It’s located at 395 Belgrade Road in east Oak Ridge. The phone number is (865) 425-3423.

See the Animal Shelter’s website here. You can also find more information on adoptable animals at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter on this Facebook page.

Pet of the Day: Sam Sam, Beanie

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Sam Sam and Beanie

Sam Sam and Beanie

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Sam Sam and Beanie are stunningly beautiful tuxedos who were surrendered by their owner. They are 15 months old. They are very timid but are absolutely wonderful and lovely.

They just need some real TLC and a loving forever home. They are so very bonded. They deserve to be adopted together.

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It’s located at 395 Belgrade Road in east Oak Ridge. The phone number is (865) 425-3423.

See the Animal Shelter’s website here. You can also find more information on adoptable animals at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter on this Facebook page.

Spotlight: Knoxville mayor tours ORNL’s manufacturing demonstration facility

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Madeline Rogero at Manufacturing Demonstration Facility

Foreground, from left, ORNL’s Ryan Dehoff shows 3-D printed parts to Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, accompanied by ORNL Director Thom Mason and Craig Blue, director of ORNL’s advanced manufacturing program and the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. (Photo by Jason Richards/ORNL)

 

Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero recently visited the U.S. Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Rogero had been invited to participate as a “Maker Mayor” at the June 18 White House Maker Faire. Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan also attended.

When Roger returned, she asked ORNL for more information on additive manufacturing, the lab said.

The tour of the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility gave Rogero an overview of the facility and the research underway there.

Students explore engineering, design during robotics camp

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ORAU Robotics Camp

Marise Wilson, a student at Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy in Louisiana and Anna Keim, a student at Knoxville’s West High School, use a robot they created to place tennis balls into a container during a week-long Oak Ridge Robotics Camp presented by ORAU and held at its Center for Science Education. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

A recent week-long robotics camp at Oak Ridge Associated Universities was designed to help excite students about careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM.

The robotics camp was presented by ORAU and held at its Center for Science Education.

The free day camp allowed teams of middle school students to design, build, program, and test their own robots, a press release said. Students also spent the week competing in various engineering challenges and had the opportunity to speak with robotics engineering research scientists while touring Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s research facilities.

The camp was one of various ORAU-sponsored or administered programs designed to excited students about STEM subjects with the goal of inspiring them to pursue STEM careers, the release said.