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Council asked to urge COVID precautions; 14 city employees have tested positive

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Fourteen city employees have had COVID-19 and 32 people have had to quarantine due to potential exposure since the pandemic began in March, and the Oak Ridge City Council will consider a resolution this evening that asks people to wear a mask, wash their hands frequently, avoid crowds, and maintain a distance from people outside their household.

All of the infected municipal employees have recovered, the City of Oak Ridge said in a brief statement in response to questions on Monday. The positive test results have been since March. It wasn’t immediately clear if the infections have been spaced out over time or if they have been clustered in any months.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson has recommended the precautions, according to a resolution that City Council will consider during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, November 9.

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City hires new personnel director

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Janice Harris

The City of Oak Ridge has selected Janice Harris as its new personnel director.

Harris, a retired Air Force master sergeant, was among 68 applicants. Five people were selected to advance to a final round before she was ultimately chosen for the role, a press release said.

“She is no stranger to the City of Oak Ridge, and she’s excited to get started,” the press release said. She has lived in the city since 2018.

“I’m excited for everything—just being able to work for the city,” Harris said in the press release. “Even though we’ve been living here for two years, I’ll get to see the city through a different set of eyes now.”

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Suspect identified in fatal hit-and-run

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Christhian Ordonez-Alvarenza

The suspect in the fatal hit-and-run crash on Tuesday morning has been identified as Christhian Ariel Ordonez-Alvarenza, 28, of Oak Ridge, a city spokesperson said Tuesday evening.

He was detained shortly after the crash and later charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving a death, driving while unlicensed, filing a false police report, and tampering with evidence, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

He was jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Tuesday night.

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Only those who meet CDC criteria can be tested Friday

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Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020, in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Only people who meet certain criteria can be tested for COVID-19 at Oak Ridge High School today (Friday, April 17).

The criteria, established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include only people with COVID-19 symptoms, first responders, health care workers, and patients who may have been exposed to the virus, the City of Oak Ridge said Thursday night.

COVID-19 symptoms include fever, cough, or shortness of breath. COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

Appointments for testing must be made online at KrogerHealth.com/COVIDtesting or by phone at (888) 837-8852.

If someone who meets CDC criteria is unable to register online or by phone, they can be registered on site, but they still need to meet the CDC criteria, the city said.

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Updated: Kroger Health testing all, regardless of symptoms

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Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020 in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. Note: Some people’s faces have been blurred in the photo above to protect patient privacy. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Friday update: Only people who meet certain criteria can be tested for COVID-19 at Oak Ridge High School today (Friday, April 17). See newer story here.

Kroger Health is now testing everyone at an Oak Ridge site, regardless of whether they show symptoms of COVID-19, a city spokesperson said Thursday morning.

The testing site opened at Oak Ridge High School on Wednesday morning, and it is open through Friday afternoon.

Initially, those who wanted to be tested had to have symptoms and meet testing criteria. Symptoms of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly, include fever, cough, or shortness of breath.

But the testing criteria changed after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Wednesday announced free testing for all Tennessee residents.

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Drive-through testing starts for COVID-19

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Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020, in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 2:55 p.m.

Drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning in Oak Ridge.

The free testing is being offered by the City of Oak Ridge and Kroger Health. It’s scheduled from Wednesday, April 15, to Friday, April 17, in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot near Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Before testing began Wednesday morning, about 200 appointments had been scheduled over a three-day period, the City of Oak Ridge said.

Up to 250 people can be tested at the drive-through station each day. You do not need to be an Oak Ridge citizen to get tested, the city said.

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City, Kroger Health to offer drive-through COVID-19 testing

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The City of Oak Ridge and Kroger Health will host free drive-through testing for COVID-19 in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, April 15; Thursday, April 16; and Thursday, April 17, 2020, at the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge and Kroger Health will host free drive-through testing for COVID-19 in Oak Ridge next week.

The testing will be offered on Wednesday, April 15; Thursday, April 16; and Friday, April 17.

On those days, people with symptoms of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly, can schedule an appointment through Kroger Health to be screened at the Oak Ridge High School parking lot from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., a press release said.

“It is essential that testing be increased in order to fight this deadly virus,” Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch said in the press release. “This testing will help us determine the degree of spread within the Oak Ridge community and surrounding area. Oak Ridge faces a unique challenge because we host thousands of workers and commuters to travel across our city every day.”

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ORPD asks for public’s help to identify dead newborn found along greenway

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The Oak Ridge Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying a newborn boy found dead along the Melton Lake Greenway on Thursday, March 26, 2020. The Oak Ridge Police Department has named the baby boy “Wyatt,” which means “little warrior,” the city said. On Thursday, April 2, ORPD officers and the Oak Ridge Fire Department set up a memorial in baby Wyatt’s name near the parking area on Melton Lake at Edgemoor Road. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying a newborn boy found dead along the Melton Lake Greenway in March.

The newborn’s body was found Thursday, March 26, Investigators continue to ask for tips and information that could identify him.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has named the baby boy “Wyatt,” which means “little warrior,” according to a press release from the City of Oak Ridge.

On Thursday, April 2, ORPD officers and the Oak Ridge Fire Department gathered to set up a memorial in baby Wyatt’s name near the parking area on Melton Lake at Edgemoor Road, the press release said.

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No city employees have tested positive for COVID-19, half of employees working from home

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No Oak Ridge municipal employees have tested positive for COVID-19, and about half of city staff members are working from home and half are working in the office.

In a response to questions on Wednesday, the City of Oak Ridge said one municipal employee was tested, but it was negative for COVID-19. That employee worked from home until the test results came back, as did anyone who was in contact with that employee, the response said.

The city said the Oak Ridge police and fire departments are temperature-screening employees before they enter the office and go out in the field.

“All other employees have been armed with the facts and symptoms of COVID-19 and have been encouraged to stay home, report any symptoms, and get screened if they are not feeling well,” the city said. “If an employee learns they may have been exposed to the virus, they are sent home to quarantine for 14 days or until the person who may have exposed them has tested negative.”

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For members: Chinns part of apartment project on former AMSE site

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AMSE-Site-Feb-11-2020

The former American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on South Tulane Avenue on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn and his brother Ryan are minority partners in the project to build apartments at the former American Museum of Science and Energy site.

Rick Chinn, a developer, said this month that the project will bring much-needed apartments to the city, allowing more people who work in Oak Ridge to live here. The apartments are being built as RealtyLink, a South Carolina developer, plans to build more new stores across South Tulane Avenue at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

Now called Main Street Lofts, the apartment project has included an agreement to reduce property taxes and the transfer of what had been federal property from the U.S. Department of Energy to the city and then to a developer. It will include the demolition of the former AMSE building. It is expected to include seven three-story buildings with 226 apartment units on 10 acres.

Rick Chinn and his father, Richard Chinn, a member of the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, have been abstaining from votes related to the apartment project for at least a year.

They have not been required to explain their abstentions, but Oak Ridge Today has asked Rick and Richard Chinn why they have been abstaining.

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Census Bureau hiring, job fairs scheduled

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The Oak Ridge Public Library will host several job fairs between January and March as the U.S. Census Bureau looks to fill census taker positions in Anderson and Roane counties.

The job fairs will be held on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on the following dates:

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Oak Ridge receives award for partnership that led to AMSE opening in new space

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The City of Oak Ridge was formally honored with a Community Partnership Award during a Celebration of Service to the Profession as part of ICMA’s Annual Conference on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, center; Government Affairs and Information Services Director Amy Fitzgerald, second from left; and Administrative Services Director Bruce Applegate, left, accepted the award in Nashville. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge has received an award for the intergovernmental partnership that led to the American Museum of Science and Energy opening in a new centrally located space in Main Street Oak Ridge.

The 2019 Community Partnership Award was presented to the city by the International City/County Management Association, or ICMA.

“The award recognizes innovative programs or processes between and/or among a local government and other governmental entities, private sector businesses, individuals, or nonprofit agencies to improve the quality of life for residents or provide more efficient and effective services,” a press release said.

The City of Oak Ridge was formally honored during a Celebration of Service to the Profession as part of ICMA’s Annual Conference on Wednesday, October 23. Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, Government Affairs and Information Services Director Amy Fitzgerald, and Administrative Services Director Bruce Applegate accepted the award in Nashville.

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