The Nine Lakes Wine Festival is being postponed until September. The festival had been scheduled for early June.
The postponement is due to the recent recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fourth Annual Nine Lakes Wine Festival is now scheduled for September 11-12 at Melton Lake Park. All previously purchased tickets, vendor booths, and sponsorship arrangements will be honored, a notice said.
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The Clinton Public Library has canceled programs scheduled between March 13 and March 30, and a new Curbside Delivery service has been announced.
It’s part of a prevention and response plan that the library has developed in response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
Here is what the library is doing:
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge Senior Center will close today (Monday, March 16) due to COVID-19, and the City Court will be closed until Tuesday, March 31. The egg hunt scheduled for Saturday, April 4, will be canceled.
The Oak Ridge Recreation Center and Scarboro Community Center remain open for now, but Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said precautions are being taken to limit the risk of exposure.
“The public health situation is rapidly changing, here are the latest updates affecting city facilities,” Watson said in a message Friday:
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Note: This story was last updated at 7:30 a.m. March 16.
The Kroger and Walmart stores in Oak Ridge are limiting their hours. It’s part of a trend of stores changing their hours across the country as people concerned about COVID-19 flock to stock up on supplies.
The stores said the limited hours will help them clean and stock shelves.
Normally open 24 hours, the Kroger store in Oak Ridge will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. “until further notice.”
The Walmart store, which is also normally open 24 hours, said it will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day starting Sunday, March 15.
As concerns about COVID-19 spread across the country, people have been flocking to grocery stores, loading grocery carts with supplies. Among the items that appear to be in high demand include beef and bread, flour and pasta, rice and beans, sauces and ramen, canned fruits and frozen vegetables, sodas and water, cleaning supplies and wipes, and toilet paper and paper towels.
That’s sometimes left empty shelves for other shoppers. Sometimes those items are restocked, but sometimes the shelves quickly empty again.
[Read more…]Anderson County officials on Friday asked residents to watch government meetings on television or stream them online, rather than attend in person.
The request comes as people across the country grapple with the uncertainty over COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus. The request came after Anderson County Commission Chair Tracy Wandell and Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank discussed the state of emergency declared by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Thursday and the county’s response to it in terms of government meetings.
“We will continue to conduct meetings to fulfill the jobs we are required to perform and to keep services available to citizens,” a press release said. “However, we encourage citizens to take advantage of Anderson County’s technological capabilities for our meetings. You may watch our meetings on Comcast cable Channel 95 or by streaming online at https://www.andersoncounty.tv.”
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Beth Shea, left, Children’s Museum executive director, receives a check from Panhellenic Alumnae Association President Joan Vicary to help restore and maintain the original Oak Ridge flat top house at the Museum. (Submitted photo)
After hearing plans for an exhibit featuring an original Oak Ridge flat top house, the Oak Ridge Panhellenic Alumnae Association decided to support efforts by the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge to restore and maintain the house.
Joan Vicary, Panhellenic Alumnae Association president, recently presented Children’s Museum Executive Director Beth Shea with a check for $1,800 to help complete the exhibit.
“The decision was unanimous that we wanted to support this project,” Vicary said. The association holds fundraisers and selects an Oak Ridge organization to support each year, a press release said. Members of the group visited the flat top on the museum’s grounds, heard plans for the history exhibit, and decided to help with funds raised in 2019, she explained. [Read more…]
Flashback: The five participating Subway restaurants have supported ADFAC for more than a decade, starting with the first “Feed the Need” event in 2007. This photo is from 2013, taken at the Clinton Subway at 1108 N. Charles G. Seivers Boulevard. (Submitted photo)
On Monday, March 9, you can help local families simply by eating out! On that day, participating restaurants will donate a portion of sales to support Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC).
March’s featured Dine & Donate supporters are five Anderson County Subway restaurants: two locations in Clinton, one in Oak Ridge at 1968 Oak Ridge Turnpike, and one each in Oliver Springs and Rocky Top. Known for sandwiches topped with your choice of fresh ingredients, Subway also offers daily soups, pizza, salads, and fresh-baked cookies, a press release said. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association presents its Eighth From Rock to Bach Music Festival and Fundraiser on Saturday, March 7, at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Tunrpike.
Doors open at 9:30 a.m., with the first of 19 varied musical groups taking the stage at 10 a.m., a press release said. A complete list of performers may be found at ORCMA.org.
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Larry Pounds and Jean Bangham at a previous Cedar Barren Weed Wrangle. (Submitted photo)
Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness planning is sponsoring a Weed Wrangle at the Oak Ridge Cedar Barren on Saturday, March 7. The event is part of an invasive plant removal project coordinated by The Garden Club of Nashville and Invasive Plant Control. One of only a few cedar barrens in East Tennessee, the area is subject to invasion by Chinese lespedeza, Japanese privet, autumn olive, mimosa, Nepal grass, multiflora rose, and woody plants that threaten the system’s prairie plants, a press release said.
Volunteers should meet at the Jefferson Middle School parking lot next to the baseball field at 9 a.m. Saturday, with sturdy shoes or boots, loppers, hand saws, weather-appropriate clothing, snacks, and water, the press release said. Other tools and work gloves will be available at the event. [Read more…]
The final Community Unity Celebration event is today in Oak Ridge.
The World Day of Prayer Service is from 7-8:15 p.m. Friday, March 6, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 212 North Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge.
It will have an interdenominational prayer service written by women of Zimbabwe, “Rise! Take Your Mat and Walk.”
Note: This press release was submitted by an advertiser or subscriber to Oak Ridge Today.
Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library has a book sale this weekend.
The Winter 2020 Book Sale is from Thursday evening, March 5, to Sunday, March 8. It is in the Library Auditorium.
Besides books, jigsaw puzzles, music compact discs, and other items will also be available, a press release said. Most titles will still be 50 cents or $1 each, the press release said. Withdrawn library titles will be half price Thursday through Saturday.
There was a members-only sale Thursday evening.
Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” the musical based on the classic animated film, in four performances this weekend.
The performances are Friday, March 6, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, March 7, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday, March 8, at 2 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center. Advanced tickets are $8, and they are available at the ORHS office and The Ferrell Shop. At the door, tickets will be $9 for students and $10 for adults.
Under the direction of Dana Wham—who has directed, choreographed, or acted in numerous adult and children productions throughout the region— this year’s “The Little Mermaid” continues the ORHS Masquers tradition of bringing excellent performances, impressive sets, amazing orchestration, and technical panache to the stage, a press release said.
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