The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above.
The Anderson County Courthouse closed at 3 p.m. Wednesday due to the weather.
Plans for Thursday haven’t been determined yet.
“We will keep everyone updated as we go through this evening,” the Anderson County Mayor’s Office said in a statement.
The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau and Welcome Center will be closed until noon Wednesday because of a water outage scheduled by the city and because the parking lot will be blocked for utility work for the nearby Kroger Marketplace shopping center.
Oak Ridge officials have announced that a short stretch of Robertsville Road between Oak Ridge Turnpike and Raleigh Road will be closed from Wednesday to Friday for the underground utility work. The entrance to ORCVB is in that road section.
The street closure is subject to weather that could cause a delay in the work, a city press release said.
Chris Phillips
CLINTON—Chris Phillips, Anderson County accounts and budget director, has resigned his position effective Feb. 21 to take a job as city recorder in Lake City.
“As many people know, Lake City is my hometown,” Phillips said in a press release. “They have struggled for the last few years in keeping someone qualified in the city recorder’s position.”
Phillips said the state mandates that each municipality must have a certified municipal finance officer on staff, and his designation as a certified government financial manager satisfies this requirement.
“Lake City is embarking on an historical time with the change to become Rocky Top,” Phillips said. “The leaders of Lake City have reached out to me, and I felt compelled to contribute in the areas (in which) I have considerable skill, education, certification, and experience.” [Read more…]
The site plan for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall shows a multi-use, town center development with retail, office, hotel, and residential properties. (Submitted image)
The two state approvals required for the $13 million tax financing agreement for the proposed redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall have now been granted.
Tennessee Comptroller Justin P. Wilson notified mall redevelopment representatives of his approval in a Feb. 5 letter.
Earlier, in January, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development notified project representatives that it had approved the proposed tax increment financing, or TIF, but would not issue a separate letter.
Under Tennessee law, the comptroller and ECD both had to approve the TIF after considering whether its use is in the state’s best interest. The comptroller said it was in the Feb. 5 letter.
ECD approval was granted in a different manner. In a January e-mail, ECD General Counsel Sharon Kolb said the department had received the request for a “best interest” determination for the Oak Ridge Mall on Dec. 19. Since the department did not approve or deny the request within 30 days, it was deemed approved under the Tax Increment Financing Act, Kolb said. [Read more…]
A short stretch of Robertsville Road will be closed from Wednesday to Friday this week for underground utility work for the new Kroger Marketplace shopping center.
The work will be done on Robertsville Road between Oak Ridge Turnpike and Raleigh Road. The street closure is subject to weather that could cause a delay in the work, a city press release said.
“No through traffic will be permitted on this portion of Robertsville Road during the closure,” the release said. “Local traffic will be permitted to access the Unitarian Church, and the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Heritage and Preservation Association from the Robertsville Road/Raleigh Road intersection. Motorists should use caution while traveling near the closure area.”
Questions or comments concerning this closure can be directed to the Oak Ridge City Engineer at (865) 425- 1807. Visit www.oakridgetn.gov for more information.
More rehabilitation work of the city’s sewer collection pipes is scheduled to continue this week.
The work is being done by Hurst Excavating and Morgan Contracting under contract with the city of Oak Ridge. It includes rehabilitating sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and in roadways, a press release said.
Residents should already have received color-coded letters and door hangers (orange for Hurst Excavating and purple for Morgan Contracting) providing general information and each contractors’ contact information.
All construction work is subject to change based on such unknowns as weather, equipment, and access issues, the press release said. The construction work schedule for the week beginning Feb. 10 is as follows: [Read more…]
Randy Myers
Rising Nashville music star Brad Blackwell will sing at a March 1 fundraiser for the Randy Myers for Sheriff Campaign, a press release said.
The fundraiser will be held on March 1 from 1 to 4 p.m., and it is sponsored by Smoky Mountain Biker Gear, the press release said.
Blackwell was named East Tennessee’s Best Local Artist by the Knoxville News Sentinel, the release said. He has opened for artists such as Darius Rucker, Thompson Square, and Edwin McCain and sold out Knoxville’s historic Bijou Theater in only his first time headlining a show there.
The March 1 fundraiser will be on Clinton Highway across from Claxton Elementary School. Food will be provided by Slappy’s BBQ.
Submitted
Are you looking for work? Do you need help with your resume? Online applications? Are you worried you don’t know where to find the most recent job listings?
The Career Coach, sponsored by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Employment Security Division, will be coming to the Oak Ridge Public Library parking lot for one more session, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 4. Come by anytime during those hours and receive job assistance. With access to their state-of-the-art computer workstations and well-trained team, you can successfully navigate online job searching and get on track to find the job you want. [Read more…]
The Tennessee Comptroller has approved the use of a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used for the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall. The L-shaped mall is pictured at center above.
The Tennessee Comptroller has approved a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used for the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall.
The approval was announced in a Wednesday letter from Tennessee Comptroller Justin P. Wilson to Nashville law firm Bradley, Arant, Boult, and Cummings, which is working with Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina company that wants to redevelop the mostly empty mall.
The 20-year tax increment financing, or TIF, agreement, would use new property tax revenues generated at the 59-acre site to help pay for development costs, possibly including tearing down the existing space between the two remaining anchor stores, JCPenney and Belk, as well as for replacing aging infrastructure and building new roads. [Read more…]
Ron Murch
Judge Ron Murch has announced he is running for re-election as General Sessions Court judge for Division II, a press release said. Murch has served in the office since 1993.
After graduating from the University Of Tennessee School Of Law in 1976, he was in the private practice of law and was an attorney with the City of Oak Ridge for 17 years until becoming a judge, the release said.
Murch has been a member of the Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conference and has served on the conference’s Education Committee since going on the bench. That committee is responsible for setting the continuing education agenda for all general sessions court judges during their annual conferences. [Read more…]
A standing-room-only crowd assembles to watch the Lake City Council vote 4-0 in November to recommend the town’s name be changed to Rocky Top.
Legislation that could clear the way for Lake City to be rechristened Rocky Top cleared its first hurdle on Tuesday as it was approved by the Tennessee House of Representatives’ Local Government Committee in Nashville.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Ragan of Oak Ridge, is a private act requested by Lake City officials as the first step toward developing Lake City and its two exits off I-75 into a tourist destination.
Developers say that without the name change, the project—which could include a theater, a restaurant, and other amenities—cannot move forward. [Read more…]
Victoria “Vickie” Bannach
Victoria “Vickie” Bannach, a Republican candidate for Anderson County Juvenile Court Judge in the May 6 primary, will have a meet-and-greet in Norris on Saturday.
The event is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Saturday at the Norris Community Center.
“The ‘meet and greet’ will allow citizens to meet the candidate and discuss important issues and concerns that are occurring with our children and families within the community,” a press release said.
Bannach is now an assistant district attorney general in Anderson County. [Read more…]
