Oak Ridge Today

Covenant Health, other hospitals stop non-essential adult procedures

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This tent outside the emergency department at Methodist Medical Center is not being used as of Sunday, March 22, 2020, but it is set up in case the hospital has to expand services for a surge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Covenant Health and other Knoxville-area hospitals will temporarily stop non-essential adult procedures starting Monday, March 23.

Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge is part of Covenant Health.

In Knoxville, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital will limit certain non-essential pediatric procedures.

“Ultimately, hospitals will rely on providers to use clinical judgement and standards of care in determining when to complete a procedure,” area hospitals said in a press release Friday.

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Lee: Dine-in prohibited at restaurants, gyms must close

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An order from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Sunday prohibits eating inside restaurants and requires gyms and fitness centers to temporarily close.

The executive order is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The order, Executive Order 17, said restaurants, bars, and similar businesses that serve food and drinks must sell food only through drive-throughs or take-outs, or by delivery.

Businesses may sell alcohol by take-out or delivery when customers buy food. But the alcohol must be in closed containers and served only to customers who are 21 years old or older.

The measures are meant to help families, businesses, and the food supply chain. Lee’s office said.

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Belk, JCPenney, theater closed

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Three of the four stores pictured above at Main Street Oak Ridge were closed as of Friday evening, March 20, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic: maurices, Rack Room Shoes, and Ulta Beauty. Rue21 was open but had announced temporary store hours. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Belk, JCPenney, and several new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge are closed. So is Cinemark Tinseltown Theater. Dick’s Sporting Goods is open for curbside pickup only.

The new stores that are closed include Burkes Outlet, maurices, Rack Room Shoes, T.J.Maxx, and Ulta Beauty.

Electronic Express, PetSmart, and Rue21 were open at last check this weekend, but they have modified hours. (Note: The response to COVID-19 changes rapidly, meaning store operations could change quickly.)

JCPenney said it plans to reopen on April 2. JCPenney said it temporarily closed for the health and safety of customers and employees. The store said it continues to offer service online at jcp.com and through its mobile application.

Cinemark Tinseltown said it is closed until further notice to comply with a local government ordinance. It’s not clear what ordinance that is. You can reach Cinemark by calling (800) 246-3627.

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Winter Farmers’ Market moves outside on Saturday

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The Winter Farmers’ Market will be open on Saturday, but it will be outside because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Winter Farmers’ Market is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 28. It will be outside the gymnasium at St. Mary’s School at 323 Vermont Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Vendors will be placed at least 10 feet apart, a press release said.

Customers who are seniors or immune-compromised may order ahead of time for curbside pickup, the press release said. Information on how to do that is listed on the market’s website at www.GrowOakRidge.org.

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MMC asks you to call ahead if you have COVID-19 symptoms

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Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge is asking you to call ahead if you have symptoms of COVID-19: fever, coughing, or breathing problems.

That’s consistent with recommendations from the Tennessee Department of Health, which asks you to call your health care provider first if you have COVID-19 symptoms.

MMC said you should call (865) 835-3408 before you go to the hospital’s emergency room, and you will be given an explanation of what you should do before you visit.

When you arrive at MMC’s Emergency Department, you will be met outside for a quick assessment, the hospital said. Once assessed, you may be given a mask and asked to wear it before entering the facility. You will be escorted inside by a team member.

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Restaurants changing hours, types of service

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Panera-Aubreys-March-17-2020
The parking lot at Panera Bread and Aubrey’s late in the lunch hour Tuesday, March 17, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 10:45 a.m. March 20.

Many restaurants in Oak Ridge are changing hours or the types of services they offer to help try to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.

Explore Oak Ridge, which helps promote tourism, is tracking some of the changes at restaurants and businesses.

Many restaurants are offering carry-out or curbside service or delivery service. Some are still offering dine-in service. Some are closing earlier than normal.

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Nine Lakes Wine Festival postponed to September

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2017 Nine Lakes Wine Festival Cellar 53 (Submitted photo)

The Nine Lakes Wine Festival is being postponed until September. The festival had been scheduled for early June.

The postponement is due to the recent recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Fourth Annual Nine Lakes Wine Festival is now scheduled for September 11-12 at Melton Lake Park. All previously purchased tickets, vendor booths, and sponsorship arrangements will be honored, a notice said.

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Big Ed’s Pizza temporarily closing to evaluate curbside, carryout orders

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Big Ed’s Pizza is pictured above on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Big Ed’s Pizza, Oak Ridge’s most well-known restaurant, announced Tuesday that it is temporarily closing.

The temporary closure will allow managers to time they need to evaluate how to safely and effectively fulfill curbside/to-go/carryout orders, said the restaurant, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.

“Once we feel we have the best protocols in place and feel that we can safely operate, we will do so,” Big Ed’s said in a social media post.

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Updated: Kroger, Walmart limit hours

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Some beef products were sold out at the Kroger store in Oak Ridge after midnight early Saturday, March 14, 2020.

Note: This story was last updated at 7:30 a.m. March 16.

The Kroger and Walmart stores in Oak Ridge are limiting their hours. It’s part of a trend of stores changing their hours across the country as people concerned about COVID-19 flock to stock up on supplies.

The stores said the limited hours will help them clean and stock shelves.

Normally open 24 hours, the Kroger store in Oak Ridge will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. “until further notice.”

The Walmart store, which is also normally open 24 hours, said it will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day starting Sunday, March 15.

As concerns about COVID-19 spread across the country, people have been flocking to grocery stores, loading grocery carts with supplies. Among the items that appear to be in high demand include beef and bread, flour and pasta, rice and beans, sauces and ramen, canned fruits and frozen vegetables, sodas and water, cleaning supplies and wipes, and toilet paper and paper towels.

That’s sometimes left empty shelves for other shoppers. Sometimes those items are restocked, but sometimes the shelves quickly empty again.

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Kroger limits purchases of certain products in high demand due to coronavirus

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Kroger has announced on its website that it will limit the purchases of certain products that are in high demand due to the new coronavirus.

The limits apply to some sanitary, cold, flu, and household products. Purchases will be limited to five of each bar code per customer.

The products include bathroom tissue, bottled water, liquid hand soap, liquid hand sanitizer, vitamins, household cleaning supplies such as bleach, and cold and flu products.

The limits apply to in-store purchases, and pickup and delivery orders. Kroger said orders could be modified when picked up or delivered.

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Dine and Donate to help ADFAC on Monday

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Flashback: The five participating Subway restaurants have supported ADFAC for more than a decade, starting with the first “Feed the Need” event in 2007. This photo is from 2013, taken at the Clinton Subway at 1108 N. Charles G. Seivers Boulevard. (Submitted photo)

 

On Monday, March 9, you can help local families simply by eating out! On that day, participating restaurants will donate a portion of sales to support Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC).

March’s featured Dine & Donate supporters are five Anderson County Subway restaurants: two locations in Clinton, one in Oak Ridge at 1968 Oak Ridge Turnpike, and one each in Oliver Springs and Rocky Top. Known for sandwiches topped with your choice of fresh ingredients, Subway also offers daily soups, pizza, salads, and fresh-baked cookies, a press release said. [Read more…]

Shiitake Mushroom Inoculation Station at Winter Farmers’ Market on Saturday

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New shiitake mushrooms sprout on an oak log in the back yard of Jason Schmidt, a local gardener. Schmidt will be leading a “Mushroom Inoculation Station” on Saturday, March 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Winter Farmers’ Market, in which participants will be making their own mushroom logs to take home. Spaces are sold out, but visitors to the market are encouraged to stop and watch the event. It will be held at the main entrance of the market, which is in the gym at St. Mary’s School at 323 Vermont Ave. in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

The Winter Farmers’ Market will be conducting a “Mushroom Inoculation Station,” on Saturday, March 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. While spaces in the station are sold out, shoppers are encouraged to stop and watch the activity at the entrance to the farmers’ market in the gym of St. Mary’s School at 323 Vermont Avenue in Oak Ridge.

“Shiitake mushrooms grow on oak trees, so it’s no surprise that Oak Ridge is an excellent place for growing these and other types of mushrooms,” said Jason Schmidt, coordinator of the project. “We will be drilling holes in four-foot oak logs early in the morning, injecting them with shiitake spawn, and then sealing the holes with locally sourced bees wax. In about six months, the spawn should fruit and produce a harvest of shiitake mushrooms that will continue in a cycle for several years.”

The workshop is sponsored by Davenport Tree Service, which provided a freshly cut oak tree for the event.

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