Oak Ridge Today

Candidate forum for Anderson County Commission District 8 to be held July 14

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce building is pictured above.

 

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Advocacy Committee will host a series of candidate forums during the election season this year, and the first forum, for three Anderson County Commission candidates, will be in July.

That first forum will be for candidates running in the special election for Anderson County Commission District 8. The forum will be held from 7:30-9 a.m. Thursday, July 14, in the Joyce Conference Room at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, which is at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

All three candidates for the office—Myra Mansfield, Angeleque McNutt, and Phil Yager—have indicated that they will be present for the forum, a press release said. All candidate forums are free and open to the public. [Read more…]

DOE remains interested in transferring Clark Center Park to city

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Clark Center Park Water View

A view of Melton Hill Lake near a boat ramp and between two picnic areas at Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge in July 2014. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy remains interested in transferring Clark Center Park to Oak Ridge, and the city continues to discuss that possibility with the federal government even though it could be a strain on municipal finances, officials said Tuesday.

The property could be transferred at no cost to the city. But one of the questions raised two years ago about the potential property transfer was whether Oak Ridge could afford to take over the 80-acre park.

That appears to remain a concern. It costs DOE about $300,000 per year to operate the park, which is in south Oak Ridge on Melton Hill Lake.

“Monetarily, it’s difficult for us right now,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said Tuesday.

In 2014, there were Oak Ridge City Council meetings and public meetings about the future of the park and the potential transfer to the city. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge: Tennessee Paracycling Open is final event for Rio Paralympic hopefuls

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Tennessee Para Cycling Open in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Saturday, May 16, 2015

The Tennessee Para Cycling Open in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Saturday, May 16, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Tennessee Paracycling Open being held in Oak Ridge this weekend is a three-race event for disabled cyclists. It’s June 25-26, and there is a learn-to-race class on June 24 for new riders.

This year’s registration list includes many national champions and U.S. National Team members, who are using the event to prepare for the July 2 Rio Paralympic Trials, a press release said.

The athletes, many of whom are disabled veterans, compete in several classes, on handcycles (for those with amputations or paralysis), tandem bicycles (with visually impaired stokers on the back, and sighted pilots on the front, and both powering the bike), and upright bicycles, for those with amputations of one or more limbs, neurological deficits, or other disabilities.

TPO is one of six events in the USA Paralympic Cycling series. It is the final event in the series before the Paralympic Trial selection race in Charlotte on July 2, so it’s final preparation for many Rio Paralympics hopefuls, the press release said.

The events are: [Read more…]

Photos: Lavender Festival in Jackson Square

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Lavender Festival in Jackson Square June 18 2016 1

The Lavender Festival in Jackson Square on Saturday, June 18, 2016. The festival included artisan vendors in the square and on Broadway. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The 18th annual Lavender Festival on Saturday celebrated herbs, crafts, food, and music. Here are photos by Julio Culiat.

The festival celebrated the Herb of the Year, Capsicum, or hot peppers. New this year, “A Taste of Tennessee Wines” brought wine tasting to the festival. The tasting was hosted by Great Valley Wine Trail, which is made up of five independent wineries in East Tennessee.

The Lavender Festival also featured more than 100 artisan vendors, several informative presentations, children’s activities, and live musicians. Vendors lined the covered walkways of Jackson Square, the parking lot, and both sides of Broadway Avenue, which was closed to traffic.

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market was open as usual across from the square from 8 a.m.-noon Saturday.

Lavender Festival in Jackson Square June 18 2016 3

The Lavender Festival in Jackson Square on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Above, children stay cool playing in the interactive fountain in the center of Jackson Square. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

[Read more…]

Plans could change, but for now, Calhoun’s plans to open Wednesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Calhoun's-Restaurant-April-17-2016-Slider

The new Calhoun’s Restaurant in Oak Ridge could open on Wednesday, June 22, 2016, although plans are subject to change. Above, the restaurant was under construction in mid-April at the former site of Riverside Grille on Melton Lake Peninsula in east Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Plans could change, but for now, the new Calhoun’s Restaurant in Oak Ridge plans to open Wednesday, the company said Thursday.

The restaurant will be on Melton Lake Peninsula in east Oak Ridge, where Riverside Grille and Flatwater Grill used to be.

Oak Ridge Today first reported on the new restaurant in March, after Calhoun’s applied for a beer permit from the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board.

The restaurant is owned by the Copper Cellar Corporation, which purchased the property from businessmen and developers Rick and Ryan Chinn in February. [Read more…]

Work under way at new Hobby Lobby store

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Hobby Lobby Renovations at Kroger June 15 2016 1

Construction work was scheduled to start this month on the new Hobby Lobby store at the former Kroger on South Illinois Avenue, and workers are pictured above at the site of the new Hobby Lobby store on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Construction work was scheduled to start at the beginning of this month at the new Hobby Lobby store in Oak Ridge, and workers have been seen at the site in the past few weeks. Construction fencing was up around the new store, which will be at the former Kroger on South Illinois Avenue, as early as May 28.

On Friday, Bob Miller, Hobby Lobby communications coordinator, said plans show a store of 62,800 square feet. Miller said he does not have a projected opening date at this time.

The new store was announced in April.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Hobby Lobby Renovations at Kroger June 15 2016 2

Construction work was scheduled to start this month on the new Hobby Lobby store at the former Kroger on South Illinois Avenue, and workers are pictured above at the site of the new Hobby Lobby store on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

[Read more…]

Lavender Festival: Hot peppers, thyroid health, city chicks, TN wine!

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Lavender Festival 1

Photography by Shawn Millsaps

 

Hot peppers, thyroid health, city chickens, and cooking with Tennessee wine are the topics of special presentations at the 18th annual Lavender Festival on Saturday, June 18, in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. Lavender Festival is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, with more than 100 artisan vendors. Festival admission and special presentations are free, except where noted, a press release said.

Indoor Presentations

Location: In the white building in the southeast corner of the square near the stairs [Read more…]

Council agrees to negotiate on AMSE property for Main Street; DOE wants to dispose of museum

Posted at
By 7 Comments

The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge. The wide road running vertically at center-right through the aerial photo is South Tulane Avenue. The proposed Main Street Oak Ridge would be on the right side of South Tulane Avenue at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The road running horizontally at bottom is South Illinois Avenue. AMSE is the brown-roofed building at top-center.

The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge. The wide road running vertically at center-right through the aerial photo is South Tulane Avenue. The proposed Main Street Oak Ridge would be on the right side of South Tulane Avenue at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The road running horizontally at bottom is South Illinois Avenue. AMSE is the brown-roofed building at top-center.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m. June 16.

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed Monday to allow the city manager to negotiate with federal officials and the company redeveloping the former Oak Ridge Mall for the transfer of the American Museum of Science and Energy property—if the federal government wants to get rid of it.

And it appears that the federal government does want to dispose of the museum. The U.S. Department of Energy has asked the federal General Services Administration, which disposes of federal property, for help with that process, said Claire Sinclair of Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office Public Affairs. GSA took on that role last week.

But the transfer of federal property such as AMSE usually takes a few years, Sinclair said, and if a new use were proposed for the museum property, adequate public notice would be given. ORNL manages AMSE for DOE.

In the meantime, AMSE is expected to continue operating, officials said.

Under the resolution approved by Council on Monday, the 17.12 acres of federal property at the AMSE site could be transferred to the city. Or RealtyLink, the company redeveloping the mall, could negotiate directly with federal officials. The U.S. Department of Energy owns the museum, and it would work on any proposed transfer through the General Services Administration. [Read more…]

Main Street: Ready to close by end of June, AMSE property the one remaining hurdle

Posted at
By 25 Comments

The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge.

The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge. The wide road running vertically at center-right through the aerial photo is South Tulane Avenue. The proposed Main Street Oak Ridge would be on the right side of South Tulane Avenue at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The road running horizontally at bottom is South Illinois Avenue. AMSE is the brown-roofed building at top-center.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8 p.m. June 13.

RealtyLink, the developer that has proposed redeveloping the former Oak Ridge Mall, says it is ready to close on the roughly 60-acre site by the end of June and start construction immediately, but there is one last hurdle: The company is concerned about any redevelopment of the property across the street at the American Museum of Science and Energy that could compete with its proposed project, known as Main Street Oak Ridge.

So, RealtyLink has asked that, if the federal government wants to dispose of the AMSE property at some point in the future, the city would negotiate with the U.S. Department of Energy through the General Services Administration to either have the property transferred to the city, or allow RealtyLink to negotiate directly with DOE and GSA for a property transfer.

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider a resolution allowing the city manager to start the negotiations, should they become necessary, during a meeting on Monday, June 13.

So far, DOE and GSA have not publicly announced plans to dispose of the 17.12 acres in and around AMSE. But there have been public discussions about what to do with the property during the past 15 years or so. DOE has said it is not in the museum business. [Read more…]

State housing grant of $500,000 will be used to renovate more than 60 homes

Posted at
By 1 Comment

THDA Check Presentation to Oak Ridge June 8 2016 Slider

The Tennessee Housing Development Agency awarded the City of Oak Ridge a $500,000 grant on Wednesday, June 9, 2016, that will be used to renovate more than 60 single-family homes. Pictured above are THDA Executive Director Ralph M. Perrey, third from left, with other state and Oak Ridge officials. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The $500,000 state housing grant that Oak Ridge received Wednesday will be used to renovate more than 60 homes, officials said.

The HOME Program grant is from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, or THDA. It’s funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered in part by the THDA in Tennessee.

“The HOME dollars will be of good use in making these homes safe, sound, and affordable,” said Ralph M. Perrey, THDA executive director.

The city plans to use the money to renovate 63 owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Manhattan District Overlay zone. Oak Ridge created the zone, which includes so-called “legacy homes,” mostly in the center of the city, to improve the development that is carried out in its oldest neighborhoods, a press release said.

The HOME grant money will allow Oak Ridge to replace electrical wiring systems and wall insulation, and install double-paned windows for the targeted homes, which date back to the World War II era, when the city was involved in the Manhattan Project. The city’s work under the HOME grant will be carried out in conjunction with Make Oak Ridge Energy Efficient, or MORE2, a project that is performing energy retrofits for 229 homes in the designated neighborhoods, the press release said. [Read more…]

Secret City Festival offers weekend of fun, entertainment

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

2015 Secret City Festival photo by Rob Welton

2015 Secret City Festival photo by Rob Welton

 

By Explore Oak Ridge

The 14th annual Secret City Festival is Friday and Saturday, and the excitement is building! Kick off your festival fun by bringing your chairs and your family, and stake out a spot in front of the Pavilion Stage. You don’t want to miss the great artists that will be performing all day on Friday and Saturday.

Arrive early to take in the opening ceremonies, then get your Friday festival started with entertainment from ACRODUNK. Showcasing their highflying, gravity defying acrobatics with “slam,” ACRODUNK performs three times on Friday and Saturday.

Jubal hits the Pavilion Stage twice Friday afternoon with their alternative folk music. Combining two voices and a guitar, Jubal creates an intricate and emotional sound.

Get your fill of Scottish bagpipes and drums from the Knoxville Pipes and Drums, who open Saturday morning’s pavilion entertainment.

The Secret City Winds and the Oak Ridge Community Band will be showcasing their talents with an array of musical selections twice on Saturday. [Read more…]

Jackson Square photo: Noon at the Fountain

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jackson Square Noon at the Fountain June 7 2016

Summer vacation has started, and a dozen children and at least as many adults enjoy the interactive fountain in Jackson Square at noon Tuesday, June 7, 2016. (Photo by Ray Evans)