Oak Ridge Today

More details on Wednesday groundbreaking at Main Street Oak Ridge

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Main Street Oak Ridge Demolition Equipment July 18 2016 Slider

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…]

School board rescue: Bell saves life of Martin

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Don Bell

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…]

Main Street: Workers setting up parking lot lighting for Belk, JCPenney during mall demolition

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Main Street Oak Ridge Electrical Work Goody's Close-up July 18 2016

Workers from Danny Davis Electrical Contractors Inc. of Maryville set up parking lot lighting that will be used at Belk and JCPenney during demolition of the enclosed space between the two anchor stores at the former Oak Ridge Mall as part of the 58-acre redevelopment known as Main Street Oak Ridge. A worker is pictured above near the former Goody’s store on Monday, July 18, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

On Monday, workers from Danny Davis Electrical Contractors Inc. of Maryville were setting up parking lot lighting that will be used at Belk and JCPenney during demolition of the enclosed space between those two stores as part of the 58-acre redevelopment known as Main Street Oak Ridge.

Wiring to the existing parking lot lights is expected to be disconnected as part of the redevelopment, which is at the former Oak Ridge Mall.

Danny Davis Electrical has been at the Main Street Oak Ridge site since the beginning of last week. They’ve had to find existing electrical lines and determine how they were controlled, foreman Greg Miller said. [Read more…]

Students use the summer to take a lesson in citizenship

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From left, Katie Starnes, Ryann Whitson, Henry Shen, and Katie Law assemble falls-prevention packets used for patient care. They are just a few of the 45 Junior Volunteers who have taken time from their summer vacations to serve at Methodist Medical Center. (Submitted photo)

From left, Katie Starnes, Ryann Whitson, Henry Shen, and Katie Law assemble falls-prevention packets used for patient care. They are just a few of the 45 Junior Volunteers who have taken time from their summer vacations to serve at Methodist Medical Center. (Submitted photo)

 

When school is out for the summer, many teens look forward to sleeping in, hanging out with friends, and enjoying the freedom of a few unscheduled weeks. But at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, a group of teens used the summer to give back to their community rather than while away the hours in front of the computer or around the pool. These high school students served as Methodist’s Junior Volunteers.

The Junior Volunteers are part of Methodist’s larger volunteer program, and like their adult counterparts, the students assist in many areas throughout the hospital and host special sales and fundraisers to support the patients and services at Methodist Medical Center.

This summer, the Junior Volunteers’ fundraiser included a doughnut sale. They also ran the operation of the fruit wagon and snack cart, which sells goodies around the hospital three days a week. [Read more…]

State park naturalist to lead adventure at Fall Creek Falls State Park on Saturday

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Join Randy Hedgepath, the state naturalist for Tennessee State Parks, on July 23 for an adventure at Fall Creek Falls State Park. Participants will meet at the park Inn and carpool to the Piney Falls area.

“The plan is to hike out the Lower Cane Creek Loop Trail for about a half-mile and learn about the forest of this part of the Cumberland Plateau,” Hedgepath said. “Then, the real adventure begins.

“We will not cross the suspension bridge, but go down under and explore the streambed down to the top of the falls. The forest along the stream is very different from the plateau top. There will be lots of chances to cool off in the stream, lots of scenic bluffs, and a dramatic view into the gorge. The return trip will backtrack to the bridge and out to the vehicles.” [Read more…]

Mountain land gift honors Myrick, a leader, volunteer, Nature Conservancy Board member

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John R. Dickey Birch Branch Sanctuary in Shady Valley is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

John R. Dickey Birch Branch Sanctuary in Shady Valley is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

Eighty acres of beautiful mountain land in Johnson County have been added to a Nature Conservancy preserve in Shady Valley, thanks to the foresight and generosity of a local couple. Sadly, the May 20 land donation is not just a gift, but also a loving tribute to a departed spouse and friend of conservation.

Back in 2007, Teresa Myrick and her late husband Tim wanted to leave a legacy of protected mountain land for future generations. That’s why they donated a conservation easement to The Nature Conservancy, restricting development on a treasured tract of mountain land they bought for their retirement. The property is located adjacent to the Conservancy’s John R. Dickey Birch Branch Sanctuary in Shady Valley. Teresa and Tim, a former Oak Ridge National Laboratory engineer and community leader and volunteer, became solid supporters of The Nature Conservancy, and Tim went on to become a board member for the Tennessee Chapter of the Conservancy. The couple looked forward to spending many years together on the scenic property.

However, Tim passed away far too early, in December 2014, at age 60, of cancer. As Teresa thought about the future of their mountain land, she knew what Tim would have wanted. She realized he would want her to donate it outright to The Nature Conservancy to be protected and cared for. [Read more…]

UT assistant professor to talk about chemical oceanography on July 20

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Andrew Steen

Drew Steen

An assistant professor of environmental geology at the University of Tennessee will talk about chemical oceanography in Oak Ridge on Wednesday.

The title of the presentation by Drew Steen, of the UT Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, is “Heterotrophic Organisms in the Deep Marine Sediments” or “What to Do When You’re Hungry but You’re 100,000 Years Late for Dinner.”

The Wednesday talk starts at 7 p.m. July 20. It’s hosted by the ORION astronomy club. [Read more…]

Special flag raised at Boys & Girls Club

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Raising the Colors

Color Guard Club Members: Isaiah Saxton-Barnes, Corrine Bailey, Jeremiah Holman, Cheyenne Baumann, and Ryker Armes. (Submitted photo)

 

A very special flag was raised at the Boys & Girls Club of Oak Ridge on July 1. Rick Dearholt, vice chair of the organization’s Board of Directors, worked through Congressman Chuck Fleischmann’s office to purchase the flag. It was flown over the United States Capitol on June 6, 2016, in honor of D-Day.

D-Day was June 6, 1944, when more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France.

Dearholt, a retired U.S. Marine, saw the Club’s flag needed to be replaced, and he wanted to do something special.

“I was honored to be able to coordinate this effort and equally proud of the color guard of Club members when they raised this flag over our Club,” Dearholt said. “The patriotism displayed by our members was amazing. It is clear to me that great futures do start at the Club.” [Read more…]

Council to discuss city marketing, eighth rowing lane, housing, Main Street

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SIRA-Regatta-April-17-2016-6

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…]

City to discuss site plans for Panda Express, TownePlace Suites on Thursday

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Ruby-Tuesday-Panda-Express-July-15-2016 1

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…]

ORNL, Titan helping DOE supercomputers fight cancer

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Titan Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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…]

Public invited to Main Street Oak Ridge groundbreaking on July 20

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MAIN STREET OAK RIDGE 2

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…]