Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge closes on $20 million loan for new water plant

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An aerial view of the Oak Ridge Water Treatment Plant on Pine Ridge above the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo courtesy Y-12 National Security Complex)

The City of Oak Ridge closed on a $20.7 million federal loan on Thursday for a new water treatment plant in south Oak Ridge.

It’s a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or WIFIA, loan. The funds provided by the federal loan program will be used to design and build the new water plant, which will replace an aging facility on Pine Ridge that has served the community since the 1940s.

The total cost for replacement of the water treatment plant is estimated to be $42.2 million, the city said in a press release on Friday. WIFIA will provide about 49 percent of that cost, with the city using the Tennessee State Revolving Fund Loan Program to cover the balance, the press release said.

“After three years of application and planning, the City of Oak Ridge has reached a significant milestone in the funding needed for a new replacement water plant,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said in the press release. “WIFIA has helped Oak Ridge with a low-interest federal loan, allowing us to avoid potential failures in a system originally designed for a different Oak Ridge. The financial terms will allow Oak Ridge to afford these much-needed improvements to serve not only our residents, but the national security and U.S. Department of Energy facilities located here.”

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City to present ideas for mixed-use development on Wilson Street on Wednesday

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Wilson Street is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge and its Community Development Department will present possibilities for the mixed-use redevelopment of the Wilson Street corridor at a public meeting on Wednesday, October 23.

The meeting will be held at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, located at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., a press release said. The community is invited to view the presentation, which uses data compiled over several years of study and public engagement focused on the needs of Oak Ridge residents, business owners, and visitors, the release said.

The City of Oak Ridge secured grant funding for this project under an agreement with the State of Tennessee Department of Transportation and coordinated through the regional Transportation Planning Organization for the purposes of envisioning a new “Downtown Oak Ridge,” the press release said. The goal of the study is to explore what could be along the Wilson Street corridor, including multi-story, mixed-use development adjacent to the ongoing retail redevelopment of Main Street Oak Ridge.

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Soccer: Lady Wildcats to play for district championship

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The Oak Ridge girls soccer team will play for a district championship against Powell tonight (Thursday, October 17).

The game will start at 7 p.m. at the Pro2Serve soccer stadium at Oak Ridge High School.

This will be the fifth year in a row that Oak Ridge and Powell have played for the District 3-AAA championship.

The top two teams in the district, the Lady Wildcats and Lady Panthers met once during the regular season, and Oak Ridge won 2-1 in overtime. It was the girls’ first victory over Powell since 2016. That’s when the Lady Wildcats last won the district championship in a 2-0 victory at Powell.

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New at Street Painting Festival: Take the STEAM challenge

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Artists turned Jackson Square into a work of art last year at the annual Rotary Club of Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, at Jackson Square. (Submitted photo)

The 20th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival at Jackson Square on Saturday will offer a new challenge this year, a press release said.

The October 19 event will be held in historic Jackson Square, and it will offer the first STEAM Challenge. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

The festival will, as always, offer prizes for artists in each category, the press release said. But this year, artists in any category can win an all-ages, all-categories bonus prize as part of the STEAM challenge.

The Street Painting Festival is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. It’s a fundraiser for Roane State Community College scholarships.

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Manhattan Project Park: Ride with a Ranger on Saturday

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You can join a National Park Service park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway on Saturday, May 25, 2019, to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 75 years. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

You can join a National Park Service ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 75 years.

The free program is presented by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge.

The bike ride program will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 19, at the Turnpike Gatehouse and travel down Big Oak Trail and North Boundary Road.

“Along the ride, we will explore the former communities that were here before the Manhattan Project,” a press release said. “Rangers will stop several times along the bike ride to point out the rich history that is found within the Oak Ridge area.”

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UT Arboretum Society has Fall Plant Sale on Saturday

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University of Tennessee Arboretum Society Fall Plant Sale (Submitted photo)

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Fall Plant Sale will be held Saturday at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge.

The sale is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, October 19, at the UT Arboretum, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

“Fall is the ideal time to add plants to your landscape because of milder temperatures and more dependable rainfall,” a press release said. “In addition, the fact that plants are not putting energy into their top growth but devoting all their resources to developing a strong root system will give them a head start in the spring and a much better survival rate.”

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Children’s Halloween Party is Oct. 24; sponsors, volunteers needed

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Halloween Party 2017 Star Wars Family Costume (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the annual Children’s Halloween Party on Thursday, October 24, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This event is now in its 37th year and will be attended by hundreds of local children and their families, a press release said.

Activities will be held inside the Oak Ridge Civic Center, located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike, and a hay ride will be offered outside in A.K. Bissell Park, weather permitting. There is no admission fee for the event, but participation in most activities requires one or more tickets. Tickets can be purchased at the Civic Center. The cost is 25 cents per ticket or $5 for a pack of 20.

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ASAP to celebrate move with Oct. 24 ceremony

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ASAP of Anderson will celebrate its move to a new office building in Clinton with a building dedication ceremony on Thursday, October 24.

ASAP had been in the Robert Jolley Building on Main Street in Clinton for 10 years, a press release said.

The building dedication ceremony is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. October 24 at 131 South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton. Everyone is invited, the press release said.

The ceremony will include coffee and light snacks, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and open house for community members to explore the new space, the press release said.

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ORCMA to celebrate 75 years with concert, reception

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Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra and Oak Ridge Chorus 2019 (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a gala concert and reception on Sunday, October 20.

The concert and reception are scheduled to start at 3 p.m. October 20, at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The concert will be performed by the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and special guests, Sound Company. Radio personality Melony Dodson will serve as the master of ceremonies.

“We are thrilled, as always, to feature Katy Wolfe and the awesome Sound Company,” said Music Director Dan Allcott. “They put the word ‘future’ in our title.”

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Oak Ridge church to host Emmy-nominated vocal ensemble in free holiday concert

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Inversion (Submitted photo)

An Oak Ridge church will host a free holiday concert in December that will feature Inversion, an Emmy Award-nominated vocal ensemble.

The special concert will be presented by Masskus Productions in cooperation with Oak Valley Baptist Church of Oak Ridge. The concert will be at the church at 194 Hampton Road at 5 p.m. Sunday, December 8, a press release said.

“We feel blessed here in Oak Ridge and are delighted to offer this musical celebration to the community free of charge,” said Pastor Derrick Hammond of Oak Valley Baptist Church.  “This is just one way for folks to settle down and relax during this hectic holiday season. We hope everyone will bring friends to enjoy a beautiful Sunday afternoon.”

Under the direction of David Ragland Jr., Inversions was born from a desire to showcase an array of talented friends, the press release said.

“They bring an eclectic vibe to a variety of musical genres,” the press release said.

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Coal ash spill at Kingston Fossil Plant to be discussed Tuesday

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Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Cleanup
Ash that spilled into the brown embayment pictured above had been removed by June 2013, and workers placed a black plastic liner over an ash containment cell in the background, preparing to close it late in 2014. The ash spilled in December 2008 when a storage cell failed at the Kingston Fossil Plant, back left. (File photo)

The 2008 coal ash spill at the Kingston Fossil Plant will be discussed during Lunch with the League in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The lunch will feature Jamie Satterfield, award-wining investigative journalist and podcast producer for the Knoxville News Sentinel and other newspapers, a press release said.

Satterfield won a Scripps Howard award for her investigative work into the effects on hundreds of blue-collar workers who cleaned up the massive spill, the press release said. This year, she was inducted into the East Tennessee Writers’ Hall of Fame.

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Bluegrass mass concert will help Second Harvest Food Bank

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Tim Sharp (Submitted photo)

A unique blend of bluegrass and classical choral music and lively Appalachian storytelling will be presented on October 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Second Presbyterian Church of Knoxville, 2829 Kingston Pike.

The University of Tennessee Chamber Choir and the choirs of First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge and Second Presbyterian Church of Knoxville will perform the choral music. The event is free and open to the public, but an offering will be taken to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank, which serves both Anderson and Knox counties, a press release said.

“Come Away to the Skies: A High Lonesome Mass,” composed by Tim Sharp and Wes Ramsay, will be the main musical feature, the press release said. It combines the classical structure of the mass with bluegrass and mountain music performed by guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and voice.

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