The Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club will gather at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 28, for a meeting and to watch the Democratic National Convention at Swifty’s Atomic Bar and Grill at 119 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.
The Anderson County Democratic Party will join the women’s club to watch the convention after a 6 p.m. ribbon cutting to open the new Democratic Party Headquarters at 136 South Illinois Avenue, across the street from Swifty’s. [Read more…]
Ken Yager
Information from WYSH Radio
Tennessee Senator Ken Yager, a Kingston Republican, recently announced his bid for re-election to the Tennessee Senate. Yager, unopposed in his reelection bid, is seeking his third term to the state Senate.
“It is an honor to serve,” Yager said. “I take my responsibility to serve very seriously and am guided by one—and only one—principle: Constituents come first.”
The 12th Senatorial District is one of the largest in the state geographically.
“I represent seven of the finest counties in East Tennessee and the Upper Cumberland region, and work hard to make sure each receives its fair of state funding and grants,” Yager said. “I have been proud to be able to announce millions of dollars in grants, road projects, and new funding which will improve the lives of all of our citizens.” [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
The Roane County Commission passed its 2016-17 budget on Monday, July 11, with no increase in the property tax rate.
The budget was passed unanimously by the 15 members present.
There were no raises for county employees in this year’s budget, but a committee looking into benefits and insurance could possibly bring a recommendation back to the full commission next month that could potentially save the workers enough on their insurance costs to equal a 1 percent raise. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
The Oliver Springs budget for the fiscal year that began on July 1 has been approved.
The budget includes no property tax rate increase, but officials said that could change next year as the town continues to address needed upgrades to its sewer system and the continuing increase in the cost of employee healthcare. [Read more…]
Reminder: There will be a Roane County Candidate Forum in Oak Ridge tonight. The forum starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 19, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center A/B Room.
Those who have been invited to participate are candidates for property assessor, road superintendent, County Commission District 6, School Board District 5/6, Ninth Judicial District Criminal Court judge, and Part One General Sessions judge.
Residents of Roane County can vote early from July 15 to July 30 at the First Christian Church, 100 Gum Hollow Road in Oak Ridge. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. [Read more…]
RealtyLink, the Greenville, South Carolina, company developing Main Street Oak Ridge at the former Oak Ridge Mall, has said demolition machinery would be at the site the week of July 18. Above, some machinery is pictured at the site on Monday, July 18, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The city has released a few more details on the groundbreaking at Main Street Oak Ridge on Wednesday. The main details are the location and the names of some of the participants.
The groundbreaking is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, inside the fence on the JCPenney, Belk, and Cinemark Tinseltown side of the 300 block of East Main Street.
Those scheduled to participate are Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, members of Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce President Parker Hardy, and others who have played a significant role in project development.
The public is invited. [Read more…]
Don Bell
Don Bell, an Anderson County School Board member, used his Red Cross training and the Heimlich maneuver to save the life of Gail Martin, a former School Board member, during a recent meal at Applebee’s in Oak Ridge.
Bell was honored by the Anderson County Board of Education on Thursday. He has also been recognized at Anderson County Commission meetings.
On Thursday, Bell said Martin choked on a piece of steak during the meal at Applebee’s about a month-and-a-half ago. She grabbed her throat and started turning blue, Bell said.
Bell had taken Red Cross training near the end of his career at Oak Ridge Schools. He is certified in CPR and the Heimlich maneuver, an emergency technique that uses abdominal thrusts to help clear someone’s airway. [Read more…]
Officials and referees monitor races on the seven-lane rowing course at the 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday will discuss city marketing, the potential eighth lane at the rowing course, housing, and Main Street Oak Ridge.
The issues will be discussed during a non-voting work session of the Oak Ridge City Council at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 19, in the Multipurpose Room of the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane, which is behind the Kmart shopping center.
There are other agenda items that could also be discussed: pending U.S. Department of Energy projects and public comment requests, and updates on the Oak Ridge Senior Center and Friendship Bell.
The report on visitation marketing will be presented by Marc DeRose, executive director of Explore Oak Ridge (the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau). [Read more…]
Oak Ridge officials will discuss site plans for two more new businesses on Thursday: a Panda Express restaurant and TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a hotel. The Panda Express would be on part of the property that was once home to a Ruby Tuesday restaurant, pictured above on Friday, July 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 9:20 a.m. July 17.
Oak Ridge officials will discuss site plans for two more new businesses on Thursday. The first is Panda Express, a restaurant, and the second is TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a hotel.
There have now been more than a dozen new businesses announced in Oak Ridge so far this year.
The Panda Express, a fast casual Chinese restaurant, would be at the site of the former Ruby Tuesday restaurant on South Illinois Avenue, in front of Walmart and next to Comfort Inn. The developer wants to take the property and divide it into two parcels, with the Panda Express on one lot and possibly two to three retail stores in one building on the other.
The four-story TownPlace Suites would be on 2.6 acres between East Main Street and Rutgers Avenue on the south side of Wilson Street. That property is on the northeast side of Main Street Oak Ridge, near JCPenney at the former Oak Ridge Mall. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its Titan supercomputer are helping the U.S. Department of Energy fight cancer. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its Titan supercomputer are helping the U.S. Department of Energy fight cancer through a national initiative called Cancer Moonshot.
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz wrote about the use of DOE supercomputers to fight cancer in an article posted on Medium.com on Friday.
“Cancer is a worldwide public health problem, and the second-leading cause of death in the United States,” Moniz said. “Although cancer mortality has declined in recent years, there is no one who hasn’t been touched by cancer personally. So when President Obama announced that Vice President Biden would lead the Cancer Moonshot during his State of the Union address and asked for all hands on deck, I was eager to join the Cancer Moonshot Task Force and lend the support of the Department of Energy and our 17 national laboratories.”
As part of the initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy is launching three pilot projects in partnership with the National Cancer Institute, ORNL spokesperson Morgan McCorkle said. The projects will bring together nearly 100 cancer researchers, care providers, computer scientists, and engineers to apply the nation’s most advanced supercomputing capabilities to analyze data from preclinical models in cancer, cancer surveillance data, and molecular interaction data for RAS genes, McCorkle said. (About one third of all human cancers, including a high percentage of pancreatic, lung, and colorectal cancers, are driven by mutations in RAS genes, according to the National Cancer Institute.) [Read more…]
A construction fence was put up this week around parts of the former Oak Ridge Mall, and an Oak Ridge Public Works Department crew worked to dig up a water line leading to the building ahead of demolition, preparing for construction of Main Street Oak Ridge, a 58-acre mixed-use development expected to include retailers, restaurants, residential units, and a hotel. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
The public has been invited to a July 20 groundbreaking at Main Street Oak Ridge, the project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.
The groundbreaking is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 20.
“City leaders, planners, local business representatives, and members of the community will gather for a ceremonious kickoff to demolition,” a media advisory said.
RealtyLink, the Greenville, South Carolina, developer, bought the 58-acre site on June 30. Since then, construction crews have been preparing the property for demolition so they can begin a multi-million dollar renovation. [Read more…]
The front entrance is pictured above at the Alexander Guest House, which converted the historic but long-vacant Alexander Inn hotel into a beautifully restored assisted living center. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Rick Dover and Dover Development of Knoxville have won a national preservation award for their work to convert the historic Alexander Inn, a dilapidated, vacant two-story hotel in Oak Ridge, into the Alexander Guest House, a beautifully restored assisted living center.
Knox Heritage, which played a key role in the project, announced the award on Friday. Also playing a key role was the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance.
Dover Development won the Chairman’s Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, or ACHP, a press release said. Members of the ACHP are appointed by the president of the United States.
It’s one of the highest awards given for historic preservation, the press release said. [Read more…]
