Oak Ridge Today

State encourages shopping at local stores, restaurants on Small Business Saturday

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NASHVILLE—While the day after Thanksgiving may be the unofficial kick-off to the holiday shopping season, Small Business Saturday is gaining popularity and momentum in Tennessee and around the United States.

Small Business Saturday began in 2010 as an American Express initiative, and it has grown into a movement that millions of individuals, businesses, and communities have embraced nationwide—and continue to support each and every day. On Saturday, Nov. 30, hundreds of Tennessee businesses will open their doors as customers are encouraged to “Shop Small.” [Read more…]

Sen. Corker in Oak Ridge on Tuesday

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U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., will be in East Tennessee on Tuesday, and he will make stops in Knoxville and Oak Ridge.

Corker is scheduled to be at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday afternoon. His brief visit to the Chamber will be with Millennium Partners only.

“At events in Knox and Anderson counties, Corker will discuss his work to solve the big problems facing our country,” a press release said. “In Knoxville, Corker will address family business owners and entrepreneurs at an event hosted by The Legacy Centre, an organization working to grow companies through educational programs, peer advisory groups and professional resources. Later, Corker will address business and community leaders at an event hosted by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.” [Read more…]

Blasting continues at Kroger Marketplace site on Monday

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Kroger Marketplace Site Plan

Kroger Marketplace Site Plan

Blasting at the Kroger Marketplace construction site is scheduled to continue at 2 p.m. Monday.

Police officers will stop traffic on Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike for the duration of the blast, which will be about three to five minutes, a press release said.

During the blasting, Illinois Avenue traffic will be blocked from Robertsville Road to Oak Ridge Turnpike, and Oak Ridge Turnpike traffic will be blocked from the Illinois-Turnpike intersection east to Robertsville Road. [Read more…]

Ruby Tuesday restructuring to eliminate 50 positions

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Information from WYSH Radio

Ruby Tuesday announced Wednesday that it will eliminate 50 positions at its restaurant support center in Maryville.

The company, which has a restaurant in Oak Ridge, said the job cuts are in response to a cost review program on the heels of millions of dollars in reported losses during the past couple of years. The move is expected to save the company about $6 million a year beginning in 2015. [Read more…]

Roane Alliance President Leslie Henderson retiring in March

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Leslie Henderson

Leslie Henderson

KINGSTON—Roane Alliance President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Henderson has announced she will retire at the end of March.

She has been the president and CEO of The Roane Alliance, the county’s economic development organization, since Feb. 16, 2004. Henderson announced her retirement in a Tuesday letter to Sharon Templeton, Roane Alliance board chair.

“Although I struggled with this decision, I feel now that it is the right time to start on the next phase of my life and start working on some of that bucket list—travel, writing, project work, family time, and maybe even some business ventures of my own,” Henderson said in the letter.

“As for The Alliance, I think the time is also right, as the staff is not only one of the best I’ve ever worked with, but is also well-positioned to do great things for Roane County going forward. Each of them is very competent and capable,” Henderson said. “All I do is keep them focused and provide the tools they need. I could not be more proud of their successes.” [Read more…]

Secret City Pies celebrates new store in west Oak Ridge

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Secret City Pies Ribbon Cutting

Business leaders and workers celebrate the opening of Secret City Pies in west Oak Ridge at a Tuesday ribbon-cutting ceremony.

A new pie store in west Oak Ridge has its roots in food cooked for an international drag racing team.

Terry Hope is a member of Al-Anabi, and the new business, Secret City Pies, grew out of the cooking that he does for the racing team, his wife Leisa said during a Tuesday morning ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Secret City Pies opened in August at 1990 C Oak Ridge Turnpike, next to United Grocery Outlet. It sells savory and sweet pies, some cookies and bread, and lunch boxes, sandwiches, and chili dogs, Leisa Hope said. [Read more…]

Anderson Commission unanimously approves Oak Ridge Mall TIF, project goes to state

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Oak Ridge Mall Concept Plan Featured

The Anderson County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used to help the $85 million redevelopment of the mostly empty Oak Ridge Mall.

CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used to help the $85 million redevelopment of the mostly empty Oak Ridge Mall.

The vote was 15-0. Anderson County Commissioner Mark Alderson was absent.

“I am extremely optimistic about this,” said Anderson County Commission Vice Chair Robin Biloski, an Oak Ridge resident.

It’s the fifth unanimous or near-unanimous vote on the project in less than a month. The tax increment financing, or TIF, had also been approved with no opposition, but with one abstention, by the Oak Ridge City Council, and it had also been endorsed with no opposition by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and Anderson County budget and operations committees. [Read more…]

Secret City Pies has ribbon cutting Tuesday

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Secret City Pies, a new business in west Oak Ridge, has a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday morning.

The ribbon-cutting is from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at 1990 C Oak Ridge Turnpike. It’s been organized by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

Lecture to focus on whether small reactors can rejuvenate nuclear power

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Kent Williams

Kent Williams

A retired distinguished staff member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will discuss Thursday evening whether small modular nuclear reactors, such as the one proposed in west Oak Ridge, can rejuvenate nuclear power.

The presentation by Kent Williams starts at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Fellowship Hall at First Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge.

Many people in the nuclear industry say that small modular reactors, or SMRs, are key to a revitalized nuclear industry in the U.S. and overseas because of their projected market, safety, and economic characteristics, a press release said. One SMR plant has been proposed at the former Clinch River Breeder Reactor site in west Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Officials celebrate conversion of historic hotel to assisted living center

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Alexander Inn Groundbreaking

Local, state, and federal officials join volunteers and nonprofit and business executives for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic Alexander Inn on Thursday.

Top military leaders and scientists once stayed at this historic two-story hotel in the heart of Oak Ridge, and now it’s being converted into an assisted living center.

The $5.5 million renovation of the Alexander Inn at Jackson Square started in July, the culmination of a years-long preservation effort. It could be complete by mid-2014, said Rick Dover, manager of Family Pride Corp., the company converting the hotel.

The Guest House Senior Living at the Alexander Inn will have 62 rooms, including a 17-room memory care wing.

The hotel was built during the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. Guests who once stayed there included Gen. Leslie Groves, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. [Read more…]

More blasting at Kroger Marketplace site on Friday, Monday

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Kroger Marketplace Building Construction

More blasting at the Kroger Marketplace shopping center site is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday and Monday. Police officers will stop traffic on Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike for about three to five minutes during the blasts.

More blasting at the Kroger Marketplace shopping center site is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday and Monday.

Police officers will stop traffic on Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike for about three to five minutes during the blasts.

During the blasting, Illinois Avenue traffic will be blocked from Robertsville Road to Oak Ridge Turnpike, and Oak Ridge Turnpike traffic will be blocked from the Illinois/Turnpike intersection east to Robertsville Road.

There was also blasting at the site in October. [Read more…]

Weigel’s has ribbon-cutting Tuesday

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Weigel's on South Illinois Avenue

The Weigel’s on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge has a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday.

The new Weigel’s store on South Illinois Avenue will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Tuesday.

The new Weigel’s convenience store and gas station is at 417 S. Illinois Ave. in Oak Ridge.

It’s one in a series of relatively new businesses recently completed or under construction in or near the Woodland neighborhood along South Illinois Avenue. Others include an Aldi grocery, Panera Bread and Aubrey’s restaurant, and a Bojangle’s restaurant.