Oak Ridge Today

A first in Anderson County: Oak Ridge home demolished as part of state blight elimination program

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The first home to be torn down in Anderson County as part of the state's HHF Blight Elimination Program was being demolished at 678 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, May 3, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The first home to be torn down in Anderson County as part of the state’s HHF Blight Elimination Program was being demolished at 678 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, May 3, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.

It’s being described as a first: An Oak Ridge home is being demolished Wednesday as part of a state blight elimination program. It’s the first home to be torn down in Anderson County as part of the state’s HHF Blight Elimination Program.

The property being demolished is at 678 West Outer Drive. It’s owned by the Oak Ridge Land Bank. The demolition, being done by First Place Finish, is estimated to cost close to $3,600, and it is expected to be completed today (Wednesday, May 3).

The work is being funded by the U.S. Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund, or HHF. Tennessee’s HHF Blight Elimination Program is administered by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, or THDA. Anderson County is one of six counties in the Volunteer State included in the program.

Under the Blight Elimination Program, qualified nonprofits and land banks can apply for loans of up to $25,000 to cover the cost of acquiring a blighted abandoned home, demolishing it, “greening” the property, and maintaining the vacant lot. The greened lot can then be transformed into new affordable housing or another use that is approved by THDA and is expected to stabilize and improve the neighborhood. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge plays Halls in first round of District 3 baseball tournament Friday

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats baseball team is pictured above huddled with Coach Mark Garrison after playing Gibbs at Bobby Hopkins Park on Wednesday, April 26, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats will play the Halls Red Devils in the first round of the District 3-AAA baseball tournament at Karns on Friday.

Oak Ridge (13-14, 6-6 District 3-AAA) is the number five seed in the district, while Halls (15-11, 9-3) is number four.

The winner of the Oak Ridge-Halls game will advance to play on Saturday against the winner of a game between Karns, the number one seed, and the number eight seed, either Clinton or Campbell County.

The loser of the Oak Ridge-Halls game will play the loser of the Karns-Clinton/Campbell County game. That game is also scheduled for Saturday at Karns. [Read more…]

Soccer: Wildcats finish first in district with win over Campbell County

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This photo is property of Allen Greene. Unauthorized use of this photo is not permitted without consent.

Oak Ridge’s Brent Robinson, who was then a junior midfielder, heads the soccer ball during a 3-1 loss to Dobyns-Bennett in a Class AAA sectional in Kingsport on Saturday, May 21, 2016. Now a senior, Robinson scored two goals in a 5-2 win at Campbell County on Monday, May 1, 2017. (File photo credit: Allen Greene/TriCitiesSports.com)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats boys’ soccer team finished first in District 3-AAA after beating Campbell County 5-2 on Monday. It was the last district game of the regular season.

The Wildcats will play at Maryville, a District 4-AAA team, at 7 p.m. today (Tuesday, May 2).

Because of a bad weather forecast for Thursday, the final regular-season home game against Farragut, also a District 4 team, has been moved to Wednesday. The Oak Ridge-Farragut game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Oak Ridge Soccer Complex at Oak Ridge High School. It will be Senior Night.

Oak Ridge Coach Jeff Trombly said senior Brent Robinson scored two goals against the Cougars on Monday. Seniors Masa Kato and Austin Vinyard had one each, and sophomore Cris Avila also scored. [Read more…]

Power poles replaced, Clinton Highway re-opened early Tuesday

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Clinton Highway Power Lines Down 2 May 1 2017

Clinton Highway (US 25W) south of Clinton between Foust Carney Road and East Wolf Valley Road was temporarily closed starting Monday because of trees and power lines that had fallen, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said Monday afternoon, May 1, 2017. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

 

After four large power poles were replaced, all four lanes of Clinton Highway, both the northbound and southbound lanes, re-opened at about 6 a.m. Tuesday, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

Earlier, both northbound lanes and one southbound lane had re-opened at about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, Lucas said.

A section of Clinton Highway had been closed south of Clinton between Foust Carney Road and East Wolf Valley Road starting Monday because of trees and power lines that fell when strong winds blew through East Tennessee on Monday afternoon. The highway was completely blocked, and both northbound and southbound lanes were closed.

“The Clinton Utilities Board did an outstanding job of replacing four large power poles, repairing a fifth, and re-installing all the lines as quickly as they did considering all the damage,” Lucas said. [Read more…]

Eight new Main Street stores could be turned over to retailers by end of June

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Eight new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could be turned over to retailers by the end of June, a city consultant said Tuesday, May 2, 2017. Under construction above are the new Dick’s Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx stores. These are the entrances closest to South Illinois Avenue. The U.S. Post Office is to the left, and Walmart is to the right. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m.

Eight new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could be turned over to retailers by the end of June, a city consultant said Tuesday, but the opening dates for the eight new stores haven’t been announced yet.

Ray Evans, retail consultant for the City of Oak Ridge, gave an update on the Main Street Oak Ridge project during a Tuesday morning Rise and Shine event sponsored by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce at Countryside Tire and Auto Service.

Two buildings with six retailers are scheduled to be delivered to retailers between mid-May and the end of May, Evans said. One building will include the new Dick’s Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx stores, and another will include Maurice’s, Rack Room Shoes, Rue 21, and Ulta. Workers are preparing to pave the parking lot at Dick’s Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx, Evans said. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs Depot one of eight endangered historic properties; Magnet Mills in Clinton is demolished, ‘lost’

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Oliver Springs Depot

Oliver Springs Depot (Photo courtesy East Tennessee Preservation Alliance)

 

The Oliver Springs Southern Railroad Depot is one of eight historic sites included on the Endangered 8 list announced by East Tennessee Preservation Alliance, or ETPA, on Monday.

The alliance said the Oliver Springs Southern Railroad Depot, which is in Roane County, was built around 1892, and it was one of the busiest of the Coster Division. Its popularity grew along with the nationally known Oliver Springs Resort Hotel and nearby coal production, the ETPA said in a press release.

The depot building is a small-frame style, one story structure. The original interior wood has writing still visible from 123 years ago. It features gabbles and large overhangs, the ETPA said.

The last passenger train pulled through the depot in 1968. In 1983, Southern Railway planned to demolish the structure. The town rallied for saving this historic remnant and eventually struck a deal with Southern Railway, provided it would be removed from the site and relocated elsewhere. In 1986, the citizens of Oliver Springs were able to have the building moved across the street with the help of the Tennessee Valley Authority. [Read more…]

Part of Clinton Highway closed due to fallen trees, power lines

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Clinton Highway Power Lines Down 2 May 1 2017

Clinton Highway (US 25W) south of Clinton between Foust Carney Road and East Wolf Valley Road is closed because of trees and power lines that have fallen, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said Monday afternoon, May 1, 2017. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

 

Clinton Highway (US 25W) south of Clinton between Foust Carney Road and East Wolf Valley Road is closed because of trees and power lines that have fallen, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said Monday afternoon.

“The highway is completely blocked, and both northbound and southbound lanes are closed,” Lucas said. “The road is expected to be shut down for at least eight hours or more.” [Read more…]

Softball: Rescheduled Coach Johnson Appreciation Night set for this evening

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The 2017 Oak Ridge High School softball team is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

The 2017 Oak Ridge High School softball team is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

The rescheduled Coach Marianne Johnson Appreciation Night is scheduled for this evening (Monday, May 1).

At last check around lunchtime today, the game was still on for this evening.

The before-game ceremonies with a Hospitality House representative and Coach Johnson are scheduled to start around 5:30 p.m.

The game against Concord Christian is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. at 15 Wilberforce Road on the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats’ softball field, Field “C.”

It’s the last regular-season game. [Read more…]

Soccer: With win tonight, Wildcats would finish undefeated in district

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats won the championship game 1-0 over Lowndes High School from Valdosta, Georgia, during the Taxslayer Border Classic Soccer Invitational in Augusta, Georgia, on Saturday, March 18, 2017. (Photo submitted by Cathy Lawless)

The Oak Ridge Wildcats are pictured above in this file photo after winning the championship game 1-0 over Lowndes High School from Valdosta, Georgia, during the Taxslayer Border Classic Soccer Invitational in Augusta, Georgia, on Saturday, March 18, 2017. (Photo submitted by Cathy Lawless)

 

If they win tonight at Campbell County, the Oak Ridge Wildcats will finish the regular season undefeated in District 3-AAA.

The game starts at 6 p.m. Monday, May 1, at Campbell County.

A win would also clinch first place in the district and give the Wildcats home-field advantage in the District 3-AAA tournament, Oak Ridge Coach Jeff Trombly said.

The district tournament is scheduled to start Saturday. [Read more…]

Not clear yet where National Park Service will go when AMSE closes

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An agreement signed Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, by the U.S. Department of Energy and City of Oak Ridge calls for the American Museum of Science and Energy missions to be relocated within about one year to 18,000 square feet of space in a two-story building that once housed a Sears Roebuck store next to JCPenney at Main Street Oak Ridge. It’s not yet clear if the National Park Service, which has shared space with AMSE, will also move into this building. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

It’s not clear yet where the National Park Service will go when the American Museum of Science and Energy building closes at the end of the year, but a federal official said the Park Service will stay in Oak Ridge.

It could relocate to a two-story building that once housed Sears Roebuck at Main Street Oak Ridge, the former Oak Ridge Mall. That’s where the U.S. Department of Energy’s public education and outreach missions, now housed at the American Museum of Science and Energy, are moving.

But the National Park Service hadn’t committed to moving there as of April 17, said Niki Nicholas, site manager of the Oak Ridge unit of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The NPS needs more information, Nicholas said in response to questions after a Monday afternoon presentation to AAUW, or American Association of University Women. (A reader had told Oak Ridge Today of an April 17 letter reportedly sent from the Manhattan Project National Historical Park to federal officials at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which manages AMSE.)

Nicholas said the National Park Service has several options in Oak Ridge, including Main Street Oak Ridge. But she declined to elaborate on the precise number of options, where they might be, or what organizations or businesses might be co-located in those buildings. [Read more…]

Weaver to discuss the African-American experience in Oak Ridge on Monday

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Rose Weaver

Rose Weaver, an active member of the Oak Ridge community who has a passion for preserving the history of its African-American presence. (Submitted photo)

 

Rose Weaver, an active member of the Oak Ridge community who has a passion for preserving the history of the African-American presence since the city’s inception, will be the featured speaker at a Monday meeting of Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge, a press release said.

“The public is invited to come and learn how African-Americans also contributed to the development of Oak Ridge during the early years of World War II and how life for African-Americans was different than it is today,” the press release said. “(Weaver’s) presentation will feature many famous Ed Westcott photos along with information about several prominent African-American scientists.”

The meeting is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Monday, May 1, at the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge, the Beth El Center, at 101 West Madison Lane in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Stomp Out Tobacco 5k is May 20 at Grove Center

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The Third Annual Oak Ridge Schools Stomp Out Tobacco 5k is Saturday, May 20, starting at Grove Center.

The race is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. May 20, with registration in front of the Oak Ridge outdoor swimming pool at Robertsville Road/Randolph Road.

The race will benefit Oak Ridge Schools Coordinated School Health Program, and all the program to provide events such as the Turkey Trot free of charge to students. [Read more…]