Oak Ridge Today

Applewood Apartments: Case that once called for $400,000 fine has been dismissed

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The rear of the Applewood Apartments building at 186 Hillside Road is picture above on Saturday, July 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The rear of the Applewood Apartments building at 186 Hillside Road is picture above on Saturday, July 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:25 p.m.

CLINTON—A court has dismissed a case that once called for a $400,000 fine against the owner of three now-vacant Applewood Apartments buildings on Hillside Road in Oak Ridge.

Charges against the original defendant, former Applewood Apartments manager Tammy Sandlin, have been dismissed, and she is the only properly named defendant in the complaint, Anderson County Circuit Court Judge Don R. Elledge said in a dismissal order filed Wednesday, June 21.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals had issued an opinion on October 15, 2015, that vacated, or voided, the $406,520 judgement against Applewood Apartments owner Joseph J. Levitt Jr. because he had not been effectively added as a defendant in the city’s lawsuit, Elledge said.

At that time, the Court of Appeals remanded the case, or sent it back to, Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton for further proceedings, “including the filing and serving of an amended complaint or city warrant against Mr. Levitt,” Elledge said in his order to dismiss.

The Court of Appeals decision essentially said that Levitt has to be given a chance to defend himself, Elledge said during a motion hearing in Circuit Court on Friday, June 9. A jury trial had been scheduled for March 9, 2018. The City of Oak Ridge is the plaintiff.

But no amended complaint has been filed by the city since the Court of Appeals decision almost two years ago, and Levitt has never been served with an amended complaint, Elledge said during the June 9 motion hearing. [Read more…]

Pro2Serve receives five-year contract worth up to $49 million to support Oak Ridge cleanup

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Oak Ridge Environmental Management

Professional Project Services Inc., or Pro2Serve, has received a five-year contract worth up to $49 million to provide technical support services to the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. The contract was awarded June 19, the U.S. Department of Energy said in a press release.

“After conducting an extensive nationwide procurement, we are very pleased to continue our partnership with Pro2Serve,” said OREM Acting Manager Jay Mullis. “They’ve been a great asset to our program in the past, and we look forward to their valuable support as we clean and transform the Oak Ridge Reservation.”

The Oak Ridge-based company provides a wide suite of services to DOE’s Environmental Management program locally, the press release said. They are responsible for reviewing and evaluating the cost, schedule, and technical approach for upcoming and current cleanup projects. They also assist with engineering, project planning, project management, cost estimating, and schedule and cost analysis. [Read more…]

They evaluated Oak Ridge, but Protomet will expand in Loudon County

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Jeff Bohanan, founder and chief executive officer of Protomet in Oak Ridge, announced a $30 million expansion in Loudon County on Tuesday, June 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Jeff Bohanan, founder and chief executive officer of Protomet in Oak Ridge, announced a $30 million expansion in Loudon County on Tuesday, June 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Protomet Corporation evaluated a site in south Oak Ridge for a $30 million, 200-job expansion, but the company will expand in Loudon County instead, officials said Tuesday.

The good news for Oak Ridge: The current operations will remain here. And all Protomet operations will still be in East Tennessee, said Jeff Bohanan, the company’s founder and chief executive officer.

Protomet had announced in early 2017 that it needed more manufacturing space to add new production capabilities and increase the company’s output.

The initial plan was to expand with a 100,000-square-foot building on the west side of the existing facility on Larson Drive in Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge. Protomet acquired a 19.7-acre parcel next to its current facility from the U.S. Department of Energy, with the purchase going through the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board.

Protomet immediately began testing that site, spending about $60,000 on architectural and engineering fees, Bohanan said Tuesday. The idea was to add the new building at the same location as the current one.

But, “at the end of the evaluation, it was clear we could not do the expansion the way it was designed on that land,” Bohanan said. [Read more…]

Neighborhood Watch has fundraiser at Pizza Inn on Thursday

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Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program Fundraiser 2017

The Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program is having a fundraiser at Pizza Inn on Thursday, June 29, from 5-8 p.m.

Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program is a self-funded organization promoting crime prevention and safety in Oak Ridge neighborhoods, a press release said.

The Thursday fundraiser at Pizza Inn is the primary fundraiser for 2017, the press release said. It will help sponsor events and efforts to provide important information to the community. Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program gets a percentage of sales during the Thursday evening event, the press release said.

“We look forward to seeing you on June 29,” the press release said.

Dick’s Sporting Goods now open in Oak Ridge

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Dick's Sporting Goods is now open at Main Street Oak Ridge, and the new store had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, June 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Dick’s Sporting Goods is now open at Main Street Oak Ridge, and the new store had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, June 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Dick’s Sporting Goods is now open at Main Street Oak Ridge, and the new store had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday. A grand opening featuring former University of Tennessee football player Derek Barnett is scheduled for this weekend.

The store, roughly in the area where Sears used to be between Walmart and the U.S. Post Office on South Tulane Avenue, is 35,000 square foot. It sells equipment for team sports, footwear, apparel, hunting and fishing gear, and bicycles and fitness equipment, said Brian Johnson, community marketing manager for Dick’s Sporting Goods.

The store offers top national brands and in-store services such as a glove steamer, a gate analysis for runners and walkers, an archery lane to test bows, and bow stringing, Johnson said.

There are about 62 employees, both full-time and part-time, Johnson said.

He said many Oak Ridge customers shopped at Dick’s Sporting Goods in West Knoxville.

“Now they’ve got it here,” Johnson said. “Oak Ridge is a thriving market. Oak Ridge is an outdoor community.” [Read more…]

Panda Express now open in Oak Ridge

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Panda Express opened on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge in May 2017. (Photo by Mike Mahathy)

Panda Express opened on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on May 18, 2017. (Photo by Mike Mahathy)

 

Panda Express opened in Oak Ridge in May. Here are a few photos of the new restaurant by Mike Mahathy.

The Panda Express restaurant is in the area where Ruby Tuesday used to be on South Illinois Avenue. The area also includes space for a few retail shops.

The former Ruby Tuesday restaurant was demolished in October.

Panda Express, a fast casual Chinese restaurant, is on the one-third of the subdivided Ruby Tuesday property that is closest to the Subway on South Illinois Avenue. The developer is Rudd Seeley Wallis LLC. That’s the Nashville company that developed the shopping center on South Illinois Avenue that includes Chipotle and Aspen Dental. [Read more…]

rue21 now open in Oak Ridge

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The new rue21, a teen fashion retailer, opened at Main Street Oak Ridge on Thursday, June 15, 2017. (Photo by Parker Hardy)

The new rue21 store, a teen fashion retailer, opened at Main Street Oak Ridge on Thursday, June 15, 2017. (Photo by Parker Hardy)

 

The first new store is open at Main Street Oak Ridge.

rue21, a teen speciality apparel retailer, had its grand opening on Thursday. The grand opening of the store was scheduled to include free giveaways to the first 100 customers.

rue21 is near Belk at Main Street Oak Ridge. That’s the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

There are seven other new stores also expected to open soon. maurices has announced it will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its women’s clothing store at Main Street Oak Ridge on Friday, June 23. maurices is next to rue21. [Read more…]

Based in Oak Ridge, PSI announces new ownership

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Sean Williams

Sean Williams

 

Protection Strategies Inc., which is headquartered in Oak Ridge, has announced that former President and Chief Operating Officer Sean P. Williams is now the majority owner and chief executive officer of the company. Bobby Beaty, who acquired ownership of the company in 2012, will remain a minority partner in the firm and acting in an executive advisory role while taking partial retirement, a press release said.

“Not only do Sean and I share the same vision of PSI, Sean will help ensure that we maintain the values, standards, and relationships of the past while taking the company into the future,” Beaty said.

PSI was founded in 1998, and since that time, the company has added new services and expanded its scope of work throughout the country by specializing in integrated security solutions (cyber, physical, personnel, information, and communications), and high-threat asset protection including special nuclear materials (SNR) and specialized support services, the press release said.

Today, PSI has grown into a company with eight prime federal contracts and various subcontracts with clients that include the National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, United States Coast Guard, Department of Defense, Department of State, Health and Human Services, Environmental Protective Agency, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Western Area Power Authority, Bonneville Power Association, state and local governments, and large commercial entities within the United States and abroad. [Read more…]

maurices has ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, June 23

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There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new maurices women clothing store at Main Street Oak Ridge on Friday, June 23, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new maurices women’s clothing store at Main Street Oak Ridge on Friday, June 23, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new maurices women’s clothing store at Main Street Oak Ridge on Friday, June 23.

It’s one of eight new stores expected to open soon at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall. The other seven stores are Dick’s Sporting Goods, Electronic Express, PetSmart, Rack Room Shoes, rue21, T.J. Maxx, and Ulta.

The maurices store is at 333 Main Street, near Belk. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled from 9 to 10 a.m. Friday, June 23. The ribbon-cutting is at 9:15 a.m. It’s being hosted by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. [Read more…]

‘Natural Synergy’: Photography exhibit celebrating impact of naturalized citizens on Manhattan Project opens Thursday

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Maria Geoppert Mayer Born: June 28, 1906, in Kattowitz, German Empire Naturalized: March 13, 1933 Received Nobel Prize: 1963 Died: Feb. 20, 1972, San Diego, CA

Maria Geoppert Mayer
Born: June 28, 1906, in Kattowitz, German Empire
Naturalized: March 13, 1933
Received Nobel Prize: 1963
Died: Feb. 20, 1972, San Diego, CA

 

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will host “Natural Synergy,” a photography exhibition focusing on some of the Manhattan Project’s most prominent scientists who left their homeland to be become naturalized U.S. citizens. The month-long exhibit will open on Thursday, June 15, with a reception starting at 4:30 p.m. The photo exhibit is sponsored by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, and Explore Oak Ridge.

Beginning in the 1930s, there was active persecution of religious minorities and political opponents, a press release said. As a result, many leading scientists, philosophers, and academics fled to the West, the press release said. A number of the refugees later joined the Manhattan Project, and the large number of refugees and immigrants working on the Manhattan Project gave the American nuclear program an international character unusual in such a top-secret program.

The “Natural Synergy” photography exhibit opens the day before a naturalization ceremony for new United States citizens on Friday, June 16, that is hosted by the National Park Service and United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. That ceremony is open to the public and starts at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is located at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike. For more information please call Manhattan Project National Historical Park at (865) 567-6767.

Front Page Follies presents musical news revue on Saturday

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The Front Page Follies cast rehearses for the June 17, 2017, event at Knoxville Convention Center. (Submitted photo)

The Front Page Follies cast rehearses for the June 17, 2017, event at Knoxville Convention Center. (Submitted photo)

 

Social media tweets and WikiLeaks figure prominently in the national news and in the 39th annual Front Page Follies, but the show will focus on finding fun in state and local stories.

The cast of local media folks and friends is ready to present the Front Page Follies on Saturday, June 17, at the Knoxville Convention Center. The musical revue of the year’s news and newsmakers offers an evening of laughs as the Front Page Foundation, host of the show, raises funds for journalism and broadcast scholarships, a press release said.

The evening will begin with a 6 p.m. reception, followed by dinner, live and silent auctions, and the stage show. Tickets to the event are $125 each. They are available on the Front Page Foundation website at www.frontpagefoundation.org, which also features a preview of auction items.

Among song highlights is “Don’t You Forget D-O-E,” on the confirmation hearing of new U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry, to the 1980s tune “Don’t You Forget About Me.” Other Follies parodies include “Suppositions” to the tune of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and a Wiki-Wacky tale of “The Leaks” from the Clinton and Trump campaigns set to Ray Stevens’ “The Streak.” [Read more…]

Barnett, former Tennessee defensive end, to be at grand opening of Dick’s Sporting Goods

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The new Dick's Sporting Goods in Oak Ridge will have a three-day grand opening celebration with a variety of giveaways and special in-store appearances from June 30-July 2, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new Dick’s Sporting Goods in Oak Ridge will have a three-day grand opening celebration with a variety of giveaways and special in-store appearances from June 30-July 2, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m. June 14.

Derek Barnett, former defensive end for the University of Tennessee Volunteers, is scheduled to be part of the grand opening of the Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Oak Ridge.

Barnett was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL draft in April. He is scheduled to appear at the Dick’s Sporting Goods in Oak Ridge from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 1. Wristbands are required. They will be given on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the appearance.

“Customers are encouraged to arrive early as we do not know the exact number of wristbands that are given out,” the company said. “However, once a customer gets a wristband, they can leave the grand opening and return.”

The new Dick’s Sporting Goods store is at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall, at 369 South Illinois Avenue. It’s next to the new T.J. Maxx and roughly in the area of the former Sears store at the mall, between Walmart and the post office on South Tulane Avenue. [Read more…]