Six bids were opened Tuesday for a project to build a new library in Briceville, and the low bid was $374,933, Anderson County Interim Mayor Myron Iwanski said.
The low bid was from Southeast Construction of Franklin, Tenn., Iwanski said. The next lowest bid was $380,000 by Evans and Alley from Anderson County.
The Oak Ridge City Center, pictured at center above, is for sale and the owners say they are working with potential buyers, although no sale date has been set.
Local officials have announced a few different timelines and deadlines for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall since April, but the company that owns the property last week declined to set a specific sale deadline.
“We are working diligently with buyers, and there will be an announcement forthcoming,” said Steve Arnsdorff, chief manager of Oak Ridge City Center LLC, which owns the mall.
Mall owners are focused on one buyer, Arnsdorff said during an interview last week.
CLINTON—Oak Ridge is seeking up to $50,000 in damages from two residents accused of cutting down about 30 trees on a city greenbelt near Westlook Circle in September 2009.
The city filed the lawsuit against Oak Ridge residents Chris Dollman and Jeff Crawford in Anderson County Circuit Court on Friday, Aug. 17.
There are more hurdles to clear before a Weigel’s can be built on South Illinois Avenue, but a city board has recommended that a 1.5-acre parcel south of TNBank be rezoned for the proposed gas station and convenience store.
The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission recommended the rezoning in a 7-3 vote Thursday.
CLINTON—A former Oak Ridge Police Department sergeant alleged in a lawsuit filed this week that other employees retaliated against him and he was forced to resign last year after he complained that a lieutenant had sent him live ammunition for use in a training session.
Mark Coffey, who resigned in October 2011, filed the lawsuit in Anderson County Circuit Court on Monday. He is seeking a total of $600,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.
The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will consider a rezoning for a Weigel’s on South Illinois Avenue during a Thursday evening meeting.
A Weigel’s gas station and convenience store could be built next to TNBank on South Illinois Avenue if city officials approve a project rezoning.
Meanwhile, two restaurants that serve chicken and other food have been proposed on South Illinois Avenue. Popeyes is replacing Wishbones on Illinois Avenue just south of Oak Ridge Turnpike, and a site plan has been approved for a Bojangle’s on property just south of the former Dean Stallings Ford, Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said Wednesday.
A seven-year-old Oak Ridge boy was recognized as a “true American hero” on Monday for saving the life of his nine-year-old sister in June.
WYSH Radio in Clinton reported that Damien Longmire of Oak Ridge saw his sister Kailyn floating facedown in a swimming pool at their grandmother’s house on June 24. He immediately jumped into the water, swam to Kailyn, and turned her over, WYSH said. When he realized she was not breathing, he called out for help and held her head out of the water.
Those who protest the drafting of a five-county regional development plan are concerned about losing their property rights.
There has been disagreement in East Tennessee over whether local governments and officials ought to be working on a five-county regional development plan known as PlanET.
A Saturday forum will allow residents to hear from both sides. Two officials helping to develop the plan are scheduled to take part and so are two speakers who plan to discuss the “pitfalls of central planning for sustainability.”
“What we really want is for people who are undecided about it all to come, and listen to the two groups on the panel presenting their views, then taking questions from the general audience,” said Oak Ridge resident Robert Humphries, who provided information on the five-hour forum.
Resurfacing work begins today on eight streets in Oak Ridge.
The eight streets are Outer and West Outer drives; Administration, Alger, and East Tulsa roads; and Arkansas, Jefferson, and New York avenues.
Note: This story was last updated at 4:17 p.m. Sept. 16.
Five candidates are competing for three seats on Oak Ridge City Council in the Nov. 6 election, while three candidates could battle for two seats on the Oak Ridge Board of Education.
The three Council candidates include the three incumbents, L.C. “Charlie” Hensley, Charles J. “Chuck” Hope Jr., and Ellen D. Smith. Hensley and Smith were elected in June 2007, and Hope was appointed last summer after former Council member Tom Hayes resigned.
It also includes two challengers, Trina Baughn and Kelly Callison.
The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter has temporarily reduced its adoption fee from $110 to $45 so air conditioning units and new insulation can be installed. Puppies are pictured above in the front kennel area of the animal shelter.
The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter has temporarily cut its adoption fee by more than 50 percent—from $110 to $45—so air-conditioning units and new insulation can be installed in a rear kennel area.
“We can’t have the animals in here when we re-apply the insulation,” said Julie Armes, Oak Ridge Animal Shelter supervisor.
The rear kennel area has 40 dog runs, but it has never had air-conditioning. Temperatures there can exceed 90 degrees. Although the shelter hasn’t had any heat fatalities, Armes said the heat is hard on cats and short-nosed dogs, such as pugs.
Johnny Alley
Political candidates can pick up petitions starting Sept. 4 to run in a special November election to serve on Anderson County Commission in District 3, which includes Andersonville, Fairview, Glen Alpine, and Norris.
Whoever wins election to that seat in the Nov. 6 election will serve the remaining two years of the four-year term of Anderson County Commissioner Johnny Alley Jr. He was elected Anderson County property assessor in the Aug. 2 election, and he starts Sept. 1.
