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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.

[Read more…]

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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…]

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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.

[Read more…]
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Roane State, SL Tennessee starting apprenticeship program

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Tyra Copas, state apprenticeship director, workforce services, talks to local employers and educators about Tennessee’s initiative to boost apprenticeship programs during a question-and-answer session at Roane State Community College’s Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility. (Submitted photo)

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Roane State Community College is joining the state’s growing movement to better train new workers by sponsoring apprenticeship programs with area businesses and industries. The college is currently working with one of Anderson County’s biggest employers.

“We will be working with SL Tennessee and our Middle College students in mechatronics to develop programs of study and identify specific apprenticeship tasks,” said Kim Harris, the college’s director of workforce training and placement.

“We look forward to working closely with Roane State in starting the apprenticeship program,” said SL Tennessee Director Scott Laska. “We believe that this program will help solve our skills gap in our operation and provide meaningful career opportunities for the community.”

SL Tennessee, located in the Clinton Interstate 75 Industrial Park, manufactures automotive parts and is near Roane State’s Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility. The college’s classes in mechatronics—the engineering of electrical and mechanical systems—are offered there.

[Read more…]

For members: Chinns part of apartment project on former AMSE site

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AMSE-Site-Feb-11-2020

The former American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on South Tulane Avenue on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn and his brother Ryan are minority partners in the project to build apartments at the former American Museum of Science and Energy site.

Rick Chinn, a developer, said this month that the project will bring much-needed apartments to the city, allowing more people who work in Oak Ridge to live here. The apartments are being built as RealtyLink, a South Carolina developer, plans to build more new stores across South Tulane Avenue at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

Now called Main Street Lofts, the apartment project has included an agreement to reduce property taxes and the transfer of what had been federal property from the U.S. Department of Energy to the city and then to a developer. It will include the demolition of the former AMSE building. It is expected to include seven three-story buildings with 226 apartment units on 10 acres.

Rick Chinn and his father, Richard Chinn, a member of the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, have been abstaining from votes related to the apartment project for at least a year.

They have not been required to explain their abstentions, but Oak Ridge Today has asked Rick and Richard Chinn why they have been abstaining.

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UCOR accepting applications for education grants

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UCOR, a federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, is accepting applications for education grants between $500 and $1,000.

The grants will support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, projects.

The grant applications are open to public school teachers in eight counties: Anderson (including Oak Ridge and Clinton City schools), Campbell, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, Scott, and Union.

“Teachers in those counties are welcome to apply, but applications should focus on STEM,” a press release said. “For instance, a music teacher might apply for a grant for a math-related project within the field of music.”

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Guidebook highlights Oak Ridge’s natural assets

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Oak Ridge Natural Assets Guidebook
Image by Legacy Parks Foundation

A new guidebook highlights Oak Ridge’s natural assets.

The “Oak Ridge Natural Assets Guidebook” by Legacy Parks Foundation is a collaborative project created at the request of the City of Oak Ridge, Roane County, and Anderson County civic and business leaders, a press release said. It’s in response to recommendations from the Oak Ridge Blueprint Plan that urged the exploration of both recreational opportunities and enhancement of the area’s natural assets.

“The Guidebook is intended to be a living, working document that will serve as a philosophical and practical set of guidelines for how to maximize the area’s natural assets so that they provide a sustainable foundation to engage residents, promote wellness, attract tourism, and increase economic development,” said Carol Evans, executive director of Legacy Parks Foundation.

The Guidebook identifies natural assets and related opportunities on public land in Oak Ridge, including U.S. Department of Energy land, but it does not consider future uses of that land for mission-related or growth purposes, Evans said.

[Read more…]

Winter Farmers’ Market moves to different room this Saturday only

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The Winter Farmers’ Market. (Photo courtesy Grow Oak Ridge)

The Winter Farmers’ Market will be in the Social Hall, rather than the gym, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Saturday, February 22, a press release said. The Social Hall is in the basement of the church chapel.

The market is open Saturdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., through March 28. It has free entry and free parking.

“We have the same great farmers and bakers, just a different room this week,” said market director Rebecca Williams. The move to the different room is only for this week.

[Read more…]

Secret City Weather releases ‘East Tennessee Almanac’

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Secret City Weather has released its “2020 East Tennessee Almanac” available through a free download on Monday, February 17, at SecretCityWeather.com/AlmanacDownload. The 2020 East Tennessee Almanac will feature climatic trends including monthly temperatures, precipitation, snow accumulations, hours of daylight, sunrise and sunset, growing seasons, and more for businesses and residents throughout the eastern counties of the state, a press release said.

“We’re proud to make this free resource available to East Tennessee business owners and agriculture who rely heavily on weather patterns for their daily operations,” said Brandon Bonds, owner of Secret City Weather. “Having a better understanding of natural trends over the past 23 years will increase profitability and add to the bottom line throughout the year.” [Read more…]

Free backyard mushroom workshop Saturday at Winter Farmers Market

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Geordie Schmidt
Geordie Schmidt of Oak Ridge holds a giant wine cap mushroom, grown in a mulch bed in his family’s backyard. Geordie’s father, Jason Schmidt, will be hosting a free workshop at the Winter Farmers’ Market on Growing Backyard Mushrooms, Sat., Feb. 15, 2020, at 11 a.m. The market is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the gym at St. Mary’s School, 323 Vermont Ave., Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

The Winter Farmers’ Market will offer a free workshop about “Growing Backyard Mushrooms” on Saturday, February 15, at 11 a.m. at the Winter Farmers’ Market, which is in the gym at St. Mary’s School at 323 Vermont Avenue in Oak Ridge. The market is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, and the workshop is in the back room of the market.

“Oak Ridge is a great place to grow mushrooms,” said Jason Schmidt, who will be presenting the workshop. “They don’t need a lot of room, and they love shady, wooded areas, which we have in abundance.”

Participants will be able to sign up for a “Mushroom Inoculation Station” offered March 7, in which they can make their own shiitake mushroom log at the market.

The Winter Farmers’ Market features 30 local farmers, bakers, and artisans, and it is open every Saturday through March 28. 

[Read more…]

Council interested in proposed test, motorsports track

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Horizon-Center-Motorsports-Track-Site-1-Feb-11-2020
Part of the site where a test track and research facility or motorsports park could be built on the back side of Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council is interested in a proposed test track and research facility or motorsports park at Horizon Center.

The seven City Council members unanimously expressed interest in the proposed project, which could cost more than $50 million and cover more than 300 acres, during a Monday night meeting. The proposal is still in the early conceptual stage, and Council doesn’t have a specific plan to consider or endorse yet.

There are significant questions about the unusual project, which would be in west Oak Ridge, a few miles northeast of the former K-25 site. They include the questions of whether some potential uses such as a hotel would be allowed by the deed restrictions at the site, whether motorsports would be allowed under the industrial zoning, and whether a recreational vehicle park and outdoor music would be appropriate there.

Oak Ridge City Council member Ellen Smith said there are legal constraints on the property. Certain kinds of uses are allowed, and some, such as homes and hotels, are not, Smith said. She said the U.S. Department of Energy was hoping to foster industrial development on the former federal property.

It’s not clear what position DOE might take on the proposed use, and it’s not clear whether the site would be a test track and research facility for non-spectators, a motorsports park for spectators, or a combination of the two.

[Read more…]

Utilities Business Office returning to Municipal Building

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Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office Exterior
Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office will return to the Municipal Building following the completion of renovations. The Utilities Business Office, or UBO, will reopen in its updated space on Monday, February 10, the Oak Ridge Electric Department said.

UBO operations were moved to the nearby Oak Ridge Civic Center for about four months while renovations were under way. The changes were needed to increase efficiency and safety, the Electric Department said.

Customers routinely handle utility and property tax concerns at the UBO, including signing up for new accounts, terminating services, and making payments, the press release said. Utility and tax bills are also generated in this office.

[Read more…]

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