Oak Ridge Today

Deadline today to vote in student manufacturing competition

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The videos are in, and it is now time to vote in Anderson County’s “Dream it. Do it.” middle school competition.

The program is in its fourth year, and it includes six schools from Anderson County and Oak Ridge school systems.

“Dream it. Do it.” is sponsored by the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, Anderson County and Oak Ridge schools, and Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC. The competition is designed to bring student awareness of job opportunities in advanced manufacturing, a press release said.

Using GoPro cameras provided by CNS, six teams of eighth-graders were paired with area industries to create videos about the companies, the press release said. These videos are now posted online for public voting.

[Read more…]

Cast your vote in ‘Dream It. Do It.’ middle school competition

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CLINTON—The videos are in, and it is now time to vote in Anderson County’s “Dream It. Do It.” middle school competition. The program is in its second year and has grown from four to six schools, including two from the Oak Ridge school system.

“Dream It. Do It.” is sponsored by the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, Anderson County Schools, Oak Ridge Schools, and Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, the managing contractor at Y-12 National Security Complex. It is designed to bring student awareness of job opportunities in advanced manufacturing, a press release said.

Using GoPro cameras provided by CNS, six teams of eighth-graders were paired with area industries to create videos to tell the companies’ stories. These videos are then posted online for public voting. Each winning team member receives a GoPro camera, also provided by CNS.

This year’s participant teams included: Clinton Middle School and Aisin, Jefferson Middle School and Protomet, Lake City Middle School and Techmer PM, Norris Middle School and Eagle Bend, Norwood Middle School and Clayton Homes, and Robertsville Middle School and SL America. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge High School receives funding from labor education grant

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tennessee-college-of-applied-technology-knoxville

Oak Ridge High School will receive $46,000 from a labor education grant, a press release said.

Oak Ridge Schools is one of six regional school districts that have partnered with the East Tennessee Development District, or ETDD; Tennessee College of Applied Technology, Knoxville, or TCAT-K; and eleven employer partners to be included in the most recent Tennessee Labor Education Alignment Program grant, or LEAP 2.0.

Besides Oak Ridge, the school districts include Knox, Alcoa, Blount, Anderson County, and Maryville. The 11 employers include ALCOA, Cherokee Millwright, DENSO Manufacturing, BHS Corrugated, Gerdau Steel, Interstate Mechanical, Shoffner Kalthoff, SL Tennessee, Aisin, Eagle Bend/Magna, and 3M, a press release.

The $46,000 that ORHS will receive will be used to purchase Amatrol tabletop trainers for electronic, pneumatic, and hydraulic systems. Successful students will demonstrate mastery of skills with these system components through Certified Production Technician certification. Dual enrollment courses with TCAT Knoxville will begin in the fall of 2017, the press release said. [Read more…]

Anderson County secures Tennessee College of Applied Technology facility

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Commission learned Monday night that the county has been chosen by the state to be the next home of a Tennessee College of Applied Technology—or TCAT. TCATs are training facilities aimed at improving the skill levels of members of Tennessee’s workforce and are seen by potential industries as great training grounds for potential employees.

Anderson County Economic Development Association President Tim Thompson told commissioners Monday that his organization and the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce have been working hard on securing the facility for more than a year and that the county had beaten out Blount County.

Thompson credited the owners of the former Hensley’s IGA grocery store in Andersonville and SL Tennessee in the I-75 Industrial park for their roles in making the TCAT a reality. The Hensley owners have agreed to donate the vacant 20,000-square foot store to the state to renovate and use as a temporary training facility for a period of about two years. The temporary facility will be needed while the state builds the new College of Applied Technology on a seven-acre parcel of land donated for the project by SL Tennessee. [Read more…]

Anderson County Chamber announces business awards, celebrates Friday

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The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce has announced the winners of its Tribute to Business Awards, and they’ll celebrate in a Friday evening ceremony.

Here are the award winners:

  • Small Business—Allstate-The Erb Agency,
  • Mid-Sized Business—Tennessee Tool and Engineering Inc.,
  • Large Business—Aisin and SL Tennessee LLC, and
  • Woman-Owned Business—Dream Dance Studio Inc.

“Everyone is invited to join us in honoring these businesses for their contribution to the economic growth of Anderson County,” a press release said.

The celebration will take place at the Museum of Appalachia at 2819 Andersonville Highway in Clinton on Friday, June 5. The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with valet parking, social hour, photos, wine grab, and live music, the release said. Dinner on the Lawn begins at 7:30 p.m. with a brief live auction and awards ceremony. Dress is “resort casual.” [Read more…]

Roane State students awarded NASA scholarships; more available for summer, fall

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Jeffrey Burks

Jeffrey Burks

Roane State Community College student Jeffrey Burks earned his GED six months before he started college. He’s on his way to a mechanical engineering degree.

A typical workday for Blake Stewart lasts 15 hours—job in the morning, classes at night.

Corey Stafford works to pay for school. Any help with costs, he said, is a relief.

Burks, Stewart, and Stafford are all receiving extra financial assistance with their college education. They are the first recipients of $1,250 NASA scholarships awarded to Roane State students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields. More NASA scholarships are available for summer semester and for fall semester. Students in STEM majors are encouraged to apply. [Read more…]

3M will invest $135 million, create 100 jobs at Clinton manufacturing facility

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Food Lion Distribution Center and 3M Company Manufacturing

The 3M Company purchased the former Food Lion Distribution Center on J.D. Yarnell Industrial Parkway in the Eagle Bend Industrial Park in Clinton on Friday. 3M paid roughly $14.4 million for the 772,00-square-foot building on 160 acres, and the company will use it to make products for the oil, gas, and automotive industries. (Photo courtesy Tim Thompson/Anderson County Economic Development Association)

 

Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Note: This story was updated at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 8.

NASHVILLE—The 3M Company has purchased the former Food Lion distribution center in the Eagle Bend Industrial Park in Clinton and will use it to manufacture products for the oil, gas, and automotive industries. The company is expected to invest $135 million and create 100 new jobs in Anderson County.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty joined 3M Company officials in Nashville to announce the company’s investment on Friday afternoon.

3M purchased the 772,000-square-foot building on 160 acres on J.D. Yarnell Parkway in the Eagle Bend Industrial Park for roughly $14.4 million. The sale closed on Friday, said Tim Thompson, president of the Anderson County Economic Development Association. [Read more…]