Oak Ridge Today

City sewer line inspections begin Monday

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Sewer Line Inspections Map

The sewer line inspections will take place in the area pictured above.

 

Inspections of the city’s sewer lines will start Monday, March 23.

The Oak Ridge Public Works Department will use a state-of-the-art system that employs a sonar machine that emits a repeating series of tones, similar to a musical scale. In open areas, the sounds can be heard over long distances, a press release said.

“The tones emitted by the machine, while harmless, are low enough in frequency that residents nearby may be able to feel and, in some instances, hear them,” the release said. [Read more…]

OS Council takes interim tag off Campbell

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Oliver Springs City Council voted unanimously Thursday to take the interim tag off of City Manager Becky Campbell’s title and install her in that position on a full-time basis. She will be paid slightly more than the previous city manager, whom she replaced in October of 2014.

Campbell, who has been an Oliver Springs employee for almost 18 years, will not be subject to the standard 90-day probationary period and, according to our partners at BBB-TV, would not have accepted the job had that been part of the deal.

The Council also voted to hire Lisa Relford as Campbell’s assistant. Relford currently serves as a dispatcher for the Oliver Springs Police Department.

3M gets permit to expand Clinton facility

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Food Lion Distribution Center and 3M Company Manufacturing

The 3M Company purchased the former Food Lion Distribution Center on J.D. Yarnell Industrial Parkway in the Eagle Bend Industrial Park in Clinton in December. (Photo courtesy Tim Thompson/Anderson County Economic Development Association)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

Clinton city officials confirmed Friday morning that the 3M Company, which announced late last year that it had purchased the former Food Lion Distribution Center in the Eagle Bend Industrial Park, has obtained a building permit to make roughly $18 million worth of upgrades and improvements to the facility and build a 45,000-square-foot addition.

3M, one of the world’s largest manufacturers, said that product for the oil, gas, and automotive industries will be made at the Clinton facility, but have not said exactly what they will be producing. [Read more…]

Greenway project to connect Knox, Oak Ridge

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Information from WYSH Radio

The region’s paved greenway trail system is set to expand, according to plans unveiled Wednesday.

The Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization, or TPO, announced plans to link West Knoxville and Knox County to Oak Ridge. An additional 13.2 miles will be added to the more than 100 miles of paved greenway trails that already exist throughout the area. The project is estimated to cost $8.8 million.

The project will link three existing greenways: the Ten Mile Creek Greenway in West Knoxville and West Knox County, the Pellissippi Greenway in West Knox County, and the Melton Lake Greenway in Oak Ridge.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Chancellor rules no conflict on school propane deal

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Information from WYSH Radio

A specially appointed chancellor has ruled on a seemingly routine propane gas contract awarded last year that became controversial when some county officials learned of a possible conflict of interest.

Last spring, the county awarded a propane gas contract to Blossman Gas Incorporated to supply propane to the county school system after it had gone through the Purchasing Committee. Scott Daugherty, the manager of Blossman’s Knoxville location, is an Anderson County resident and serves on the Purchasing Committee. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Egg Hunt on March 28

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the 2015 Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 28, at 11 a.m. Hundreds of children are expected to participate in this annual spring event, a press release said. More than 15,000 candy- and prize-filled eggs will be hidden in Alvin K. Bissell Park with a first-, second-, and third-place prize egg in each age group.

This event will be held rain or shine so participants should dress for the weather. If severe weather prevents hiding the eggs outdoors, they will be given away in the gym and a drawing will be held for the prizes. [Read more…]

Second Breakfast with Legislators on Monday

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

Ken Yager

Ken Yager

Submitted

The Tennessee General Assembly has now been in session for more than two months. According to LegiScan, an impartial and non-partisan legislative tracking and reporting service, 195 of the 3,192 introduced bills were completed by mid-March, a press release said. Legislative committees are dealing with hundreds of bills ranging from education, environment, and healthcare to firearms, digital currency, and controlled substances.

Senators Ken Yager and Randy McNally and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to speak about the legislative activities of this session of the Tennessee General Assembly and to respond to questions from the audience at the this year’s second Breakfast with the Legislators. It starts at 7:30 a.m. Monday, March 23, in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, located at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Planning for Manhattan Project Park, National Park Service, DOE to visit Oak Ridge on March 26

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Warren L. Gooch

Warren L. Gooch

It took years to win approval of a Manhattan Project National Historical Park, and now that the park bill has been signed into law, planning is starting.

As part of that process, officials from the National Park Service and U.S. Department of Energy will visit Oak Ridge next week. The visit will include a Thursday morning open house hosted by the City of Oak Ridge. The open house is scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday, March 26, in the A/B Room at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. It’s open to the public, and reservations are not required.

The team of NPS and DOE officials are visiting Oak Ridge to begin planning for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The planning team is expected to include senior National Park Service representatives from Washington, D.C., the Southeastern Regional Office in Atlanta, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Big South Fork. [Read more…]

Bobby Osborne, Rocky Top X-press to headline Rocky Top Bluegrass Festival

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Bobby Osborne

Bobby Osborne (Submitted photo)

 

Bobby Osborne and Rocky Top X-Press will headline the inaugural Rocky Top Bluegrass Festival.

The festival is scheduled for 5:30 to 11 p.m. Friday, April 24, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at the George Templin Memorial Athletic Field located at 214 North Main Street in Rocky Top (formerly Lake City).

“Mr. Osborne contacted us because the Osborne Brothers were the first to perform and record ‘Rocky Top,’ and he wanted to be the first to perform the song in our newly named town of Rocky Top, Tennessee”, said Mike Lovely, Rocky Top mayor. “As a result of his interest, we decided to have a festival featuring some of the top groups in bluegrass.” [Read more…]

AC Commission meeting wrap-up

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Commission met for the first time since January on Monday night and voted unanimously to release the $20,000 in funding that had been held back from the Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department and place them back in the rotation (beginning next year) for county purchase of a new fire truck after the department abandoned its controversial and wildly unpopular subscription program and returned to all-volunteer status.

Commissioner Phil Warfield said that the department “went above and beyond what Commission asked of them” as far as making things right with county leaders and more importantly the citizens they serve.

Commissioners were also introduced to the new fire chief, Del Kennedy. [Read more…]

Repair work done, Johnson Gap Road bridge open again

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Johnson Gap Road Bridge

The repair work is down, and the Johnson Gap Road bridge re-opened last week. (Photo by Robert McKamey)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

The bridge on Johnson Gap Road in Anderson County’s Dutch Valley community re-opened last week, a year and a half after it was shut down due to safety concerns.

State inspectors ordered the 100-year-old wooden bridge closed in July 2013 after finding that the wooden support structures were compromised and posed a safety hazard.

The bridge is owned by CSX Railroad, and it is the primary shortcut that Dutch Valley residents use to get to and from Clinton and Oak Ridge, and the shutdown frustrated many.

Work to repair the bridge finally got under way last month.

Main Street Oak Ridge developers aim to close on property in June

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Main Street Oak Ridge James Downs

James Downs, Crosland Southeast partner, gave an update on the Main Street Oak Ridge project, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall, during a Monday evening work session.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:20 p.m.

The North Carolina company that wants to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as Main Street Oak Ridge could close on the property in June, an executive said Monday.

The mixed-use project could include retailers, restaurants, and residential units, as well as a hotel. Belk and JCPenney, the two remaining anchor stores at the mostly empty mall, would remain, said James Downs, partner in Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina company that has proposed the long-awaited redevelopment of the roughly 60-acre site.

Downs said Main Street Oak Ridge will include a total of about 325,000 square feet of retail space, or about 200,000 square feet of retail space more than what Belk and JCPenney have now. There would then be a total of about 600,000 square feet in the area. [Read more…]