Oak Ridge Today

More than 100 jobs terminated as B&W work on USEC centrifuge project ends

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photos courtesy USEC)

But hundreds of jobs maintained in Ohio and Tennessee, USEC says

Babcock and Wilcox has terminated the employment of more than 100 workers who had been involved in the American Centrifuge project with USEC, and Monday was the last day of work for most of them, a spokesperson said.

“B&W’s involvement in the American Centrifuge Manufacturing LLC has transitioned fully to USEC, which will result in the termination of all 122 employees B&W had engaged in the effort,” said Aimee Mills, B&W media relations lead.

Mills said roughly 25 employees will be released during the next two months as the “final steps of demobilization take place” on the advanced uranium enrichment project, which has included centrifuge manufacturing in Oak Ridge and the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio.

“Some of those affected have been reassigned within B&W,” Mills said. “We have also provided assistance by way of job fairs and workshops to update resumes.”

Meanwhile, USEC has notified a small group of its Oak Ridge employees who worked on manufacturing activities that they would be laid off, Communications Manager Jeremy Derryberry said Tuesday. Several were transferred to other parts of the centrifuge program. [Read more…]

Anderson Chamber hosts ‘Tribute to Business’ awards ceremony in June

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Anderson County Chamber of Commerce Dinner on the Lawn

The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce will pay tribute to local businesses at the 3rd Annual “Dinner on the Lawn” at the Museum of Appalachia in June.

It’s Friday, June 6, and everyone is welcome to attend, a press release said.

Guests will be treated to valet parking when they arrive at 6:30 p.m., as well as a social hour on the porch, live music on the lawn, and a fun live auction, a press release said. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. followed by the “Tribute to Business” award ceremony, honoring a diverse category of businesses.

Tickets are $70, or $500 for a table of eight, and they can be purchased at the Chamber Office or online at the Chamber website at www.andersoncountychamber.org. [Read more…]

Formall Job Fair joins Career Coach at Oak Ridge Library on Wednesday

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Oak Ridge Public Library Career Coach

The Career Coach will be coming to the Oak Ridge Public Library parking lot from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday to help with online job applications, sprucing up resumes, and more, a press release said.

In addition, Formall, a locally based family-owned and operated production company, will be hosting a job fair during the Career Coach event. Formall is seeking more than 40 machine operators and other positions for the facility at 1709 Lake City Highway in Clinton. Interested candidates are encouraged to bring a resume and apply online at www.jobs4tn.gov (search for job #51927). The starting pay is $9.50 per hour, with an additional $0.50 per hour for second and third shifts. [Read more…]

Lincoln’s to have beer permit suspended at least one week

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Lincoln's Sports Grille

Lincoln’s Sports Grille will have a one- or two-week beer permit suspension depending upon improvements made before a June 9 meeting. (File photo)

The Oak Ridge Beer Board voted on Monday to suspend the beer permit of Lincoln’s Sport Grille for one or two weeks, depending upon improvements made before the board’s June meeting.

Lincoln’s has met with the board four times within the past two years. Monday’s meeting was in response to an April altercation between two male patrons.

The motion to allow Lincoln’s the opportunity for a reduced suspension was passed in a 4-3 vote, with opposition from Theresa Scott, Barton Bailey, and Randy Tedford.

The vote requires that Lincoln’s provide proof that they have made efforts to improve their business before the beer board’s next meeting on June 9. If they can not meet the board’s requirements for improvement, they will face a two-week suspension.

Tedford, who is Beer Board chair, said Lincoln’s must provide “a more comprehensive plan” to fix problems involving over-service and the patio gate at the popular restaurant, and add eight surveillance cameras around the premises and at least two more staff members to make sure the patio is adequately monitored. [Read more…]

UCOR awards 33 mini-grants for local school projects

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Leo Sain at K-25

Leo Sain, president and project manager for cleanup contractor UCOR, pictured in front of part of the former K-25 Building, which is now demolished, in January 2013.

The federal government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge last week announced 33 winners of the UCOR Education Mini-Grant Program in East Tennessee.

One of UCOR’s primary objectives is to support and encourage education initiatives, a press release said. The Mini-Grant Program was designed to recognize and support excellence in teaching by providing funds to assist classroom teachers for specific projects or curricula, focusing primarily on science, technology, engineering, and math, the release said..

UCOR is a partnership between URS and CH2M Oak Ridge LLC.

“Our Mini-Grant Program provides a unique way for teachers to enhance their students’ educational experiences,” said Leo Sain, UCOR president and project manager. “The hands-on projects funded by our program give students a greater insight into today’s science and technology in fun and exciting ways.”

The successful teachers, schools, and proposed projects are: [Read more…]

Farmers Market now open on Wednesdays in Oak Ridge

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Farmers Market

 

The East Tennessee Farmers Association for Retail Marketing, or FARM, opened the Wednesday FARM Market at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Oak Ridge market operates in the parking lot adjacent to historic Jackson Square. It is also the site of the popular Saturday FARM Market that operates from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturdays.

The market is open in Oak Ridge from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday each week.

FARM operates two market locations in Knoxville on Tuesdays and Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m. The Tuesday market is held at Ebenezer United Methodist Church at 1001 Ebenezer Road near Westland Drive. On Friday, farmers sell products at the Laurel Church of Christ, 3457 Kingston Pike across from Cherokee Boulevard.

Established in 1976, FARM markets run from mid-April through late November. For more information visit online at www.easttnfarmmarkets.org.

Anderson Chamber offers business counseling Wednesday

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Anderson County Chamber of Commerce Logo

The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce will host free and confidential business counseling sessions from 9–11 a.m. Wednesday.

Jutta Bangs, senior business specialist with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, will advise and assist future entrepreneurs and existing business owners, a press release said.

To make an appointment for May or future scheduled sessions, call (865) 457-2559 or email accc@andersoncountychamber.org. To learn more about the TSBDC, visit www.tsbdc.org.

Former home of Oak Ridger, shops near Magic Wok could be demolished

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Wender Building

Most of a commercial building that once housed The Oak Ridger on Tyrone Road near Jackson Square could be demolished in six months under a plan proposed to a city board on Thursday. The Magic Wok restaurant, which is separate from the building, would remain, as would a small portion of the building.

 

Magic Wok

The detached Magic Wok diner would remain and so would the western portion of the building near the restaurant.

Note: This story was updated at 2:35 p.m. May 10.

Most of a commercial building that was once home to The Oak Ridger newspaper and other businesses on Tyler and East Tyrone roads could be demolished later this year, an engineer and surveyor told a city board on Thursday.

The western part of the building near the Magic Wok restaurant would remain, and so would the diner itself.

Roughly 26,000 square feet of the building, which has housed a wide variety of businesses since the 1940s, would be demolished down to the slab. The demolition of the property, which is also known as the Wender Building after a former owner, would include the space occupied for decades by Classic Cleaners.

Noel M. Peterson, owner of Coal Creek Surveying and Engineering of Lake City, briefly outlined the plans of the owners—Jia-Chao and Ming-Wha Wang—during a Thursday meeting of the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals.

Many of the details still have to be worked out with the Oak Ridge municipal staff, and the board gave the owners another 30 days. But it’s considered a last-chance extension. [Read more…]

Free Document Shred Day at ORNL FCU on Saturday

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ORNL Federal Credit Union

The ORNL Federal Credit Union on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above in February. (File photo)

There is a free Document Shred Day from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Millertown Pike and Oak Ridge branches of ORNL Federal Credit Union.

It’s a partnership between ORNL FCU and Cintas Document Management Co., and it’s open to ORNL FCU members as well as the public.

People can bring unwanted documents, especially ones containing personal information, to one of the Document Shred Day locations and have it safely and securely destroyed at no charge, a press release said. A maximum of four boxes/bags per person will be accepted. [Read more…]

Roane Chamber has human resources legal seminar on May 13

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Submitted

The Roane Chamber of Commerce is providing a special half-day seminar, “Stay out of court: Human Resource Legal Matters Update,” on Tuesday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Roane State Community College.

This is the third year the chamber has teamed with the attorneys at the Wimberly-Lawson law firm to provide this critical human resource learning opportunity for Roane County area businesses.

The seminar will include lunch and provide 4.0 Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) credits to qualified attendees towards PHR, SPHR, and GPHR recertification. The seminar will also earn Continuing Education Units (CEU) from Roane State Community College. CEUs are important to many individuals to keep their membership or certification current within their profession. Additionally, for someone wanting to earn a degree or certificate, a review of their CEU’s can be evaluated by Roane State Community College to determine if the CEU’s meet the criteria for Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). [Read more…]

DOE explores options for enriched uranium technology for national security

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photos courtesy USEC)

USEC, UT-Battelle to preserve centrifuge enrichment capabilities on interim basis

USEC and UT-Battelle have signed a $33.7 million, five-month contract to continue operating centrifuges and conducting research and development activities on a uranium enrichment project deemed important for national security and possible commercial use.

The agreement with UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was signed May 1. The five-month term ends Sept. 30. The new agreement includes options for two six-month extensions valued at about $41.7 million each. The total price of the contract with the options is roughly $117 million.

USEC, which is now an ORNL subcontractor, previously performed research, development, and demonstration work on the project, the American Centrifuge Project, under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy that had been in place since June 12, 2012. That cost-sharing agreement expired April 30. [Read more…]

Lake City’s name change to Rocky Top on hold for now

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Tim Isbel at Hearing on Lake City Name Change to Rocky Top

Tim Isbel, president of the Rocky Top Marketing and Manufacturing Co., at a federal court hearing on Monday on Lake City’s proposed name change to Rocky Top.

Note: this story was updated at 2:52 a.m.

KNOXVILLE—Lake City’s proposed name change to Rocky Top is on hold for now as a federal judge considers a request to stop the move.

The name change has been proposed as part of an expensive plan to convert the former coal mining town in northern Anderson County into a tourist destination. But it has been challenged by the publisher of “Rocky Top,” a well-known bluegrass song and unofficial University of Tennessee anthem.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a bill that allows the name change, but the proposal has not yet gone back to the Lake City Council for final approval. Under the state law, Lake City could become Rocky Top on July 3, said Tim Isbel, an Anderson County Commissioner and president of Rocky Top Tennessee Marketing and Manufacturing Co.

That company has proposed a development that could be worth up to $450 million over six years and include an indoor and outdoor water park, coal miners theater, children’s museum, train rides, restaurant, and candy company on some 300 acres near two exits off Interstate 75. During a hearing in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Monday, officials said it could bring 200 new jobs to Lake City and generate another $6 million in sales tax per year. But the project hinges on the name change. [Read more…]