JOHNSON CITY—On Thursday, July 16, the Tennessee Valley Corridor will be celebrating its 25th anniversary and kicking off this summer’s Virtual Summit series.
During the Summit, you can learn more about the Appalachian Highlands’ most important assets and plans within the region to achieve greater economic growth.
Tune in to the Tennessee Valley Corridor Virtual Summit at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, July 16.
Twenty-Five Years of Innovation Transforming the Region
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ORNL Federal Credit Union will temporarily close its lobbies on Monday.
The temporarily closures were announced after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week declared the Knoxville market a “hotspot” for the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the credit union said.
“With the exponential increase in the number of cases, we are changing which services are available in branch lobbies,” ORNL Federal Credit Union said. “Lobby access will not be granted for routine transactions that can be performed at an ITM/ATM, drive-through lanes, or through online and mobile banking.”
Beginning Monday, customers should use digital services, drive-throughs, or ATMs and ITMs (automated teller machines and interactive teller machines) for:
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Starbucks started requiring customers to wear face coverings in its stores on Wednesday.
The policy applies to all company-owned café locations in the United States, Starbucks said. The policy is to protect the health and well-being of employees and customers, the company said.
A representative at the Starbucks on Oak Ridge Turnpike, near Main Street Oak Ridge, said the store is company-owned and requiring face coverings. Oak Ridge Today was not able to reach a representative at the other Starbucks, which is inside the Kroger store at Westcott Center, late Wednesday afternoon.
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All Walmart and Sam’s Club stores will require face coverings starting Monday, July 20.
The new policy was announced Wednesday by Dacona Smith, chief operating officer of Walmart U.S., and Lance de la Rosa, chief operating officer of Sam’s Club.
They said about 65 percent of their more than 5,000 stores and clubs are located in areas where there is some form of government mandate on face coverings. They said the number and types of face mask mandates has spiked across the country along with the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19.
“To help bring consistency across stores and clubs, we will require all shoppers to wear a face covering starting Monday, July 20,” Smith and de la Rosa said in a press release published online. “This will give us time to inform customers and members of the changes, post signage, and train associates on the new protocols.”
[Read more…]ORNL Federal Credit Union is requiring face masks in all branch offices starting today (Friday, July 3).
The credit union announced the policy in response to a decision by the Knox County Board of Health. The health board approved a public health order this week that requires masks in most indoor public places, the credit union said. Financial institutions are not exempt. The public health order, which is effective today, is in response to the increasing number of local and national COVID cases.
ORNL Federal Credit Union said face masks will be required in all of its branch offices, not just Knox County branches. Disposable face masks will be provided to members who do not have one, the credit union said. People who enter a branch without a mask will be asked to use the credit union’s digital or drive-through services.
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The former American Museum of Science and Energy building is being demolished, and apartments are planned on the site.
The apartment project is expected to include seven three-story buildings with 226 apartment units on 10 acres.
Now called Main Street Lofts, the $32 million 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 TN Oak Ridge Illinois, a company affiliated with RealtyLink, the developer of Main Street Oak Ridge.
The apartments are being built as RealtyLink, a South Carolina company, plans to build more new stores across South Tulane Avenue at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.
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Pierce Physical Therapy has introduced a new physical therapist, Jocelyn Miller.
Here is more information about Miller:
Jocelyn Miller, PT, DPT
Born and raised in the rolling hills of southern Indiana, Jocelyn received her bachelor’s degree with honors in anthropology from Indiana University.
She then moved to California, receiving a master’s degree in East Asian studies from Stanford University.
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A data center could be built in an existing building on Pine Ridge, also known as The Summit, off South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.
The project has been proposed by GIGA Data Centers of Atlanta.
The data center would be in the building on The Summit that was once used by the Y-12 National Security Complex to store documents. The building, which is about 30,000 square feet, would be retrofitted.
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The UCOR contract to clean up federal sites in Oak Ridge has been extended one year to July 31, 2021, and the consideration of a new cleanup contract won’t be considered until November 2020 at the earliest.
The UCOR contract could be extended one additional year, to July 31, 2022, using two six-month options, depending upon contractor performance and progress.
Before the extension, UCOR’s contract had been scheduled to expire July 31, 2020.
UCOR works on cleanup projects for the U.S. Department of Energy at the East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex. The work includes the demolition of old, contaminated buildings that are no longer used. The cleanup work is called environmental management, or EM.
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Donna and Tom Sullivan, owners of Hot Bagel Company, were celebrated Friday morning with a Muddy Bagel Award for their community service for more than 25 years.
The Muddy Bagel Award is a spin-off of the Muddy Boot Award. That award from the East Tennessee Economic Council has been given for many years to people who “go above the call of duty to make the community a better place to live and work.”
The Sullivans are retiring. Hot Bagel has been the caterer for ETEC since 1995.
The Muddy Bagel Award was presented during a Zoom meeting of ETEC’s Board of Directors on Friday morning.
[Read more…]The Tennessee Valley Corridor will shift its Annual Summit and 25th anniversary celebration to a series of online events this summer.
The change, which was announced this month, is being made as large summer conferences and gatherings remain in doubt because of social distancing recommendations from public health officials, a press release said.
The Annual Summit had been scheduled for July 15-16 at Milligan College in Johnson City.
But the Tennessee Valley Corridor will instead have people participate in a series of weekly Summit sessions for five consecutive weeks starting Thursday, July 16. Each session will highlight many of the same speakers, topics, and organizations, but the new virtual format aims to maximize participation during the continued COVID-19 crisis, the press release said.
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The JCPenney store in Oak Ridge has re-opened. The store is in Main Street Oak Ridge in the center of the city.
The store is open limited hours: from 12-7 p.m. Monday to Saturday and from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday.
There are dedicated hours for at-risk customers: 11 a.m.-12 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday. At-risk customers include the elderly, pregnant women, and people with underlying health issues.
It hadn’t been clear if the Oak Ridge store, which had been temporarily closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, would re-open after JCPenney filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, May 15.
But it is now open. Customers can enter through the doors on the Cinemark Tinseltown side of the store.
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