Oak Ridge Today

Eagle Bend Manufacturing expanding in Clinton, investing $55M, adding 127 jobs

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Anderson County Animal Shelter Eagle Bend Donation

Ed Steinebach, right, general manager for Magna International’s Eagle Bend Manufacturing plant  in Clinton, is pictured above at an Anderson County Commission meeting in July. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Eagle Bend Manufacturing, an auto parts manufacturer, is expanding its operations in Clinton, investing $54.9 million, and creating 127 new jobs, officials said Thursday.

It’s the company’s second expansion in just over three years. The expansion was announced Thursday by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd.

“We want to thank Eagle Bend Manufacturing for choosing to reinvest in Tennessee and creating these new jobs in Anderson County,” Haslam said. “Tennessee continues to be a global leader in automotive manufacturing, thanks in large part to the strong network of suppliers located around the state, and today’s announcement supports our goal of becoming the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”

Eagle Bend Manufacturing produces major body structures and assemblies for the automotive industry. Officials said the expansion will allow the company to add a new building to its facility, making room for additional equipment to meet demand. [Read more…]

Chipotle Mexican Grill opening on South Illinois

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Chipotle Oak Ridge Oct. 1, 2015

Chipotle Mexican Grill has applied for a beer permit for a store at 433 South Illinois Avenue, in the same shopping center as Great Clips, Pie Five Pizza, and Aspen Dental. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Chipotle Mexican Grill is opening on South Illinois Avenue. The restaurant will be in the same shopping center as the new Great Clips, Pie Five Pizza, and Aspen Dental.

The company’s website says the restaurant will be opening soon at 433 South Illinois Avenue.

Chipotle has applied for a beer permit, and the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board will consider the application at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, October 7, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Training Room.

The restaurant will be owned by Chipotle Mexican Grill LLC of Colorado.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

No one in corner booth when truck crashes through restaurant wall

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Los Caballeros Truck Crash on Oct. 1, 2015

A silver Dodge pickup truck crashed into a corner of Los Caballeros Mexican Family Restaurant on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, but the cause wasn’t immediately clear. (Photo by Kevin Rice)

 

No one was in the corner booth and the restaurant hadn’t opened yet when a pickup truck crashed through a wall at Los Caballeros on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Thursday morning.

The driver of the silver Dodge pickup was taken to the hospital. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear.

Authorities said the pickup truck also hit a parked Ford Mustang.

The crash was reported at about 10:50 a.m. Thursday.

The restaurant said it could open later today, depending upon what the health department says. [Read more…]

Police: Driver caught after fleeing from two-car crash on Waddell

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Waddell Circle Crash Car Sept. 30, 2015

Police say the driver of this white four-door car fled but was caught quickly after a two-vehicle crash on Waddell Circle late Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 30, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Police said the driver of a car that slammed into a parked pickup truck on Waddell Circle on Wednesday afternoon fled after the two-car crash but was caught quickly.

The crash was reported at about 4:50 p.m. at 161 Waddell Circle.

Chris Townsend, who lives on Waddell Circle, said he was walking upstairs when he heard the sirens. He was on his way to his sister’s house across the street.

He made it as far as his porch when he said he saw a white four-door car driving fast down the street. The car tried to make the righthand curve on the wet, narrow one-way residential street, but it wasn’t able to, Townsend said. [Read more…]

Tech initiative starts with laptop distribution at JMS, RMS in October

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Students in sixth grade at Jefferson Middle School and seventh grade at Robertsville Middle School will receive Lenovo laptops in October. It’s the first phase of the Oak Ridge Schools’ AccessOR digital technology initiative and the initial student device rollout.

Here are some specific plans, according to Oak Ridge Schools:

  • Students will be receiving the Lenovo Yoga 11e as well as a charger, protective sleeve, and insurance for each device. Lenovo calls the Yoga 11e a convertible laptop or durable multimode laptop that can be used as a laptop, tablet, tent, or stand.
  • The laptops will be etched with the Oak Ridge Schools’ logo and address.
  • The initial October rollout will include the sixth grade at Jefferson Middle School and the seventh grade at Robertsville Middle School. The choice of these grade levels came about from principals discussing the opportunity with their staffs, and it benefits Oak Ridge Schools as a whole to have teachers building out and sharing digital curricula in two grade levels.
  • The orientation/device distribution will take place from 5-8 p.m. October 20 at Robertsville Middle School and October 22 at Jefferson Middle School.
  • The kick-off will include:
    • policy/procedures/insurance discussion from school administrators,
    • digital citizenship talk from teachers about creating safe online environments for students,
    • device registration and roll out,
    • device testing with support of school staff, and
    • a question and answer session.
  • Students and parents will receive and sign a procedures and expectations document before receiving a device.
  • After learning from the initial rollout, Oak Ridge Schools plan to distribute devices to the rest of the middle school grade levels after winter break.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Small businesses invited to participate in DOE national lab vouchers pilot

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ORNL Industry Day Officials Sept. 24, 2015

David Danielson, left, DOE assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, is pictured above with officials at Industry Day at ORNL on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015, when a 3D-printed vehicle and building were unveiled. Other officials include ORNL Director Thom Mason; U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann; Johnny Moore, ORNL Site Office manager; and David Milhorn, UT executive vice president. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Small businesses in the clean energy sector are invited to apply for assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratories through the department’s new Small Business Vouchers Pilot.

David Danielson, DOE Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, or EERE, announced the launch of the pilot website during EERE’s Industry Day event on Wednesday, September 23, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“Small businesses that are developing the new clean energy technologies that are needed to cut carbon pollution and create good-paying American jobs often lack the resources necessary to move their innovative ideas from the laboratory bench to the marketplace,” Danielson said. “The EERE Small Business Vouchers pilot is designed specifically to help small businesses bring next-generation clean energy technologies to the market faster by leveraging the world-class capabilities of our national laboratories to solve small businesses’ most pressing challenges.” [Read more…]

ORAU exceeds $100,000 in annual giving campaign for eighth year in a row

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ORAU 2015 Annual Giving Campaign

The 2015 ORAU Annual Giving Campaign Chair Arlene Garrison, pictured right, Co-Chair Don Hanlon, pictured left, and ORAU President and CEO Andy Page reveal ORAU’s combined giving total of $127,404.42. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

 

For the eighth year in a row, ORAU has broken the $100,000 mark in donations as part of the annual giving campaign for the United Way and Community Shares.

During a concluding ceremony on September 29 in the ORAU Pollard Technology Conference Center, ORAU President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Page announced the 2015 ORAU Annual Giving Campaign total donation amount: $127,404.42.

As part of the total donation, ORAU and its employees pledged $97,835.18 to the United Way and $29,569.24 to Community Shares.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Signing ceremony for Manhattan Project park on Nov. 10 in DC

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Hanford B Reactor

The Hanford B Reactor (Photo courtesy Atomic Heritage Foundation)

 

By Atomic Heritage Foundation

The birthday of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, is now set for November 10, 2015.

While the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act became law on December 19, 2014, the Act requires that the Departments of Energy and Interior reach an agreement within a year of enactment on their respective roles in implementing the new park. At that time, the park will be officially established.

We understand that the Departments of Energy and the National Park Service leaders are close to an agreement. Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz and Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell are scheduled to have a signing ceremony on Tuesday, November 10, in Washington, D.C.

The Manhattan Project Park Act passed after the National Park Service’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget was in place, so the funds available in 2016 for NPS’s work on the park are limited to $180,000.

NPS Associate Director Victor Knox talked about 2016 as a transitional year for the new park, as the Park Service assumes management and focuses on how best to interpret the story of the Manhattan Project. The Department of Energy and its laboratories have been funding a variety of activities this year and have developed a five-year budget plan for restoring and providing public access to its historic assets. [Read more…]

ORHS Marching Band brings ‘The Music of Bond’ to winners circle at Karns, Maryville

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ORHS Wildband Brass on Sept. 26, 2015

The Oak Ridge High School WildBand performs at the Karns Marching Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, when they won overall top scoring band. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

By Merny Hughey

Congratulations to the Oak Ridge High School Marching Band for winning back to back as the overall top scoring band at the Maryville and Karns Marching Invitational events this month.

Under the direction of Spence Milligan, Mike Spirko, Josh Bibbs, and Sean Greene, with music arranged by Mike Spirko, the students have brought “The Music of Bond” to the winners circle two Saturdays in a row as well as to the Wildcat football games.

From the tuxedo show shirts to our very own James Bond, the band is not only performing difficult music to the beat of our talented percussion section, but also enhancing the iconic Bond music with dance, color, and story from the Color Guard.

The WildBand won the high music score at these first two competitions as well as top scores for Drum Major, Percussion, and Color Guard against other very talented bands that have more practice time due to scheduling. [Read more…]

Female driver escapes car after it goes down embankment at Clinch River

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Car in Clinch River on Sept. 28, 2015

There were no immediate reports of injuries, and the driver reportedly escaped when this car went off Melton Lake Drive and down an embankment into the Clinch River on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

There were no immediate reports of injuries, and the driver appeared to escape when a small car went off Melton Lake Drive and down an embankment at the Clinch River on Monday night.

The single-vehicle crash was reported at 10:47 p.m. Monday. The female driver was able to reportedly escape from the vehicle, which was said to be partially submerged.

The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately available Monday night. [Read more…]

Gem hunter presents Smithsonian-style gem show at Karen’s Jewelers Oct. 1-3

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Ruby Specimens

Rubies in the “mother rock” in which they were found in Afghanistan will be on exhibit at Karen’s Jewelers. (Submitted photo)

 

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Karen’s Jewelers will welcome an annual visitor bringing gems from Southeast Asia, Afghanistan, and Egypt for a three-day Smithsonian-style show in Oak Ridge.

Gary Bowersox will present rough gems and minerals, precision-cut gemstones and designer jewelry at Karen’s Jewelers in Oak Ridge from Wednesday through Friday, September 30-October 2. Bowersox has made Karen’s Jewelers a destination on his “Magnificent Gemstones of the World” event for nearly 20 years, according to proprietors Jonathan and Martha Hart.

More than 60,000 gems will be on display at the gem show and sale at Karen’s Jewelers, 1120 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The exhibit will be open from noon.-6 p.m. September 30, and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. October 1 and 2.

Among gems in the show will be a rare padparadscha sapphire from Sri Lanka, among many sapphires from the region. The gem is described as a delicate mix of pink and orange. Also from Sri Lanka will be sphene, another rare and brilliant green, orange or brown gemstone, along with moonstone and special zircons. [Read more…]

Photos: Jackson Square fountain operating, benches installed

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Jackson Square Bench and Fountain Sept. 28, 2015

The $1 million renovation of the Jackson Square parking lot includes an interactive fountain, brick-like stone pavers, and new benches, landscaping, and lights. The fountain was operating on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new interactive fountain at Jackson Square was operating on Monday. It’s part of a $1 million renovation of the Jackson Square parking lot. The work was mostly funded with a Tennessee Department of Transportation grant.

Construction started in January and, according to the most recent publicly announced schedule, was expected to be substantially complete by September 15.

The renovation includes a reconfigured parking lot, landscaped pedestrian plaza with parking, the interactive fountain, stone pavers, curbing, asphalt paving, utilities, new lights, benches, sidewalks, and upgrades under the American with Disabilities Act.

It’s the first major renovation at Jackson Square, the city’s original town center, in 70 years. The $741,609 TDOT Enhancement Grant was awarded to the city in June 2012.

There had been some concerns this summer among business owners, city officials, and residents about delays in the project. But the frustrations seemed to ease, at least publicly, after the fountain arrived in August.

The work appeared to be mostly done on Monday, September 28. Here are photos from Jackson Square on Monday.

Jackson Square Fountain Sept. 28, 2015

The $1 million renovation of the Jackson Square parking lot includes an interactive fountain, brick-like stone pavers, and new benches, landscaping, and lights. The fountain was operating on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

[Read more…]