The Oak Ridge Senior Center has partnered with local businesses to offer free car winterizations for seniors on Saturday.
The first-of-its-kind event is open to seniors 50 and older at the Senior Center on Emory Valley Road. A 12-point vehicle check will be provided free of charge on a first-come, first-serve basis. The event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. [Read more…]
The Babcock and Wilcox Co. has invested more than $360 million in a project that could result in a small nuclear reactor at the former Clinch River Breeder Reactor Site in west Oak Ridge, pictured above. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Authority)
The Babcock and Wilcox Co. has already invested more than $360 million in a project that could result in a small nuclear reactor in west Oak Ridge, and now the North Carolina company is looking for investors and possibly majority owners.
The mPower small modular reactor, or SMR, program is expected to have a nuclear power plant operating at the former Clinch River Breeder Reactor Site by 2022. Initially, it could have two small reactors, a “twin pack,” and produce 360 megawatts.
On Wednesday, Marshall Cohen, B&W vice president for government affairs and communications, said the company is seeking major corporations who are interested in taking a “strong position,” up to and including ownership, including majority ownership.
“We would reduce our ownership to one that really matches the scope of work going forward,” Cohen said. [Read more…]
The new Dollar General store in west Oak Ridge has a grand opening on Saturday.
Dollar General will celebrate the opening of its new store in west Oak Ridge on Saturday.
The grand opening celebration at 2095 Oak Ridge Turnpike starts at 8 a.m. and includes free prizes and special deals, a press release said. The first 50 adult shoppers at the store will receive a $10 Dollar General gift card and the first 200 shoppers will receive a Dollar General tote bag, among other giveaways.
“Dollar General is committed to delivering a pleasant shopping experience that includes a convenient location, a wide assortment of merchandise, and great prices on quality products,” said Dan Nieser, Dollar General’s senior vice president of real estate and store development. “We hope our Oak Ridge customers will enjoy shopping at Dollar General’s new location.” [Read more…]
In June, workers had demolished the ballroom at the Alexander Inn, a historic, dilapidated two-story hotel that has been vacant for years and is now being converted into an assisted living facility. (File photo)
Local, state, and federal officials will join nonprofit and business executives for a formal groundbreaking and press conference on Thursday at the historic Alexander Inn, which is being converted into an assisted living center.
The press conference will start at 10 a.m. at the Guest House at the Alexander Inn Senior Living, which is at 210 E. Madison Road on the northwest side of Jackson Square. Representatives from the City of Oak Ridge, U.S. Department of Energy, Tennessee Historical Commission, East Tennessee Preservation Alliance, and Family Pride Corp. are all expected to take part.
The iconic two-story hotel had been unused for about two decades and fallen into disrepair. Family Pride Corp. has been rehabilitating the Manhattan Project-era building since May. It’s been stabilized, but the building will not be completed until mid-2014, a press release said. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge City Council voted 6-0 on Monday to approve a $13 million proposal to use new property tax revenues to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall. The L-shaped mall is pictured at center above. The white-roofed building at center left is Walmart and the one at center top is the Cinemark Tinseltown theater.
The Oak Ridge City Council voted 6-0 on Monday to approve a $13 million proposal to use new property tax revenues to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall.
There was one abstention. The near-unanimous approval by Council continues a string of successes for the proposed redevelopment.
Known as tax increment financing, or a TIF, the proposal approved by Council on Monday had already been unanimously endorsed by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and the Anderson County operations and budgets committees. It will next be considered by the Anderson County Commission on Monday, Nov. 18. [Read more…]
The proposal to use tax increment financing to help with the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall, pictured above in a concept plan, has easily sailed through the approval process so far, and the project faces a crucial vote at tonight’s Oak Ridge City Council meeting.
The proposal to use tax increment financing to help with the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall has easily sailed through the approval process so far, and the project faces a crucial vote at tonight’s Oak Ridge City Council meeting.
The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and Anderson County operations and budget committees have already unanimously endorsed the tax increment financing, or TIF. The agreement could be worth $13 million and last 20 years, and it would allow new property tax revenues generated at the site to be used to help pay for development costs.
The redevelopment of the mostly empty mall, where ambitious revamping plans have languished for years, has been proposed by Crosland Southeast, a North Carolina company relatively new to this project. Under the tax financing agreement, new property taxes collected in the TIF district could be used to reimburse Crosland Southeast for certain expenses associated with the project. [Read more…]
The Museum of Appalachia is offering free admission to veterans and active-duty military today, Veterans Day, and many restaurants and stores are offering free meals and discounts.
“We appreciate those who risk their lives for our country,” said Elaine Meyer, president of the Museum of Appalachia. “This is one way to recognize these people and show that we appreciate the sacrifices they’ve made.”
The deals offered to veterans and stores and restaurants is included in a list forwarded by Anderson County Commissioner Steve Mead and Mary Murphy, the county commission’s chief deputy. It’s available here: Veterans Day Deals 2013. [Read more…]
The Lake City Council votes 4-0 on Thursday to recommend changing the town’s name to Rocky Top, and Rep. John Ragan, right, said he has drafted legislation to approve the rechristening in the state legislature.
LAKE CITY—Just hours before a historic vote to change this town’s name for the second time in less than a century, Lake City Mayor Tim Sharp received a legal letter warning him that a proposal to build a Rocky Top theme park here could violate trademark rights and should be dropped.
But project supporters packed City Hall on Thursday, and the Lake City Council pressed on, voting 4-0 to recommend changing the name of this former coal mining town to Rocky Top. It’s the first step in a project to build a multi-million dollar theme park that could include an interactive Knotty Pine 3-D theater, water park, hotel, and restaurant.
The last-minute letter from an intellectual property attorney in Nashville could have Lake City officials and the park’s investors scrambling to answer legal questions. The notice was “very unexpected,” Sharp said. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
The Lake City Council will meet at 5 p.m. today (Thursday) to discuss and vote on the proposal to change the city’s name to Rocky Top as the first step toward turning the small town into a tourist destination.
Developers have proposed a $20 million first phase of the project that could include attractions like a theater, a water park, and a large restaurant. The name change is widely expected to be approved during today’s meeting.
If it is, the measure will be sent to the General Assembly in Nashville for its approval when the next legislative session begins in January. If state lawmakers sign off on the change, it will be sent back to the City Council for ratification. [Read more…]
On Tuesday, Morgan County voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of turning the former Brushy Mountain Penitentiary in Petros, pictured above, into a moonshine distillery and tourist attraction. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Department of Correction)
Information from WYSH Radio
On Tuesday, Morgan County voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of turning the former Brushy Mountain Penitentiary into a moonshine distillery and tourist attraction. The measure passed with 2,431 votes to 1,150 votes against.
Chattanooga-based Brushy Mountain Group is leading the effort to build the distillery, which could bring more than 100 new jobs to Morgan County. In addition to producing moonshine at the former prison, the company also intends to open a gift shop, a museum, and horse trails on the property, and would also like to offer tours of the historic prison to the public.
The former Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex is located about 18 northwest of Oak Ridge in Petros. The maximum-security prison first opened in 1896 and closed in June 2009. At 113 years old, it was the oldest operating prison in Tennessee. Its most infamous inmate was James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. [Read more…]
Mark Watson
The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider a 10 percent salary increase for City Manager Mark Watson.
If council approves, Watson would earn a new annual base salary of $150,321.60, effective Aug. 8, 2013. He started in Oak Ridge about three years ago at an annual salary of $131,996.80.
The pay raise has been unanimously recommended by a three-member City Manager Evaluation Committee. It would require that Watson’s employment agreement be amended.
The recommended increase is based on council member’s evaluations of Watson and his performance during the previous year, said Charles J. “Chuck” Hope Jr., chair of the City Manager Evaluation Committee. [Read more…]
The Anderson County Operations Committee on Monday unanimously recommends a tax financing agreement that could help with the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall. Pictured above from left are Anderson County commissioners Robert McKamey, Zach Bates (partially obscured), Tracy Wandell, Whitey Hitchcock, Steve Emert, Rick Meredith, and John Shuey.
CLINTON—An Anderson County committee has unanimously recommended a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall.
In a 7-0 voice vote, the Anderson County Operations Committee recommended the tax increment financing, or TIF, to the full Anderson County Commission during a Monday evening meeting.
The TIF could last 20 years, and it would allow new property tax revenues generated at the site to be used to help pay for development costs. It’s already been unanimously endorsed by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board. [Read more…]
