Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge
The Oak Ridge Outdoor Swimming Pool will be open to the public over Memorial Day weekend this year, Saturday, May 27, through Monday, May 29, from noon to 6 p.m. each day.
This will be a “soft opening” over the holiday weekend, with the pool being closed for the three days following Memorial Day, from Tuesday, May 30, to Thursday, June 1, a press release said. The outdoor pool will then open for normal summer hours starting Friday, June 2. [Read more…]
D. Ray Smith (Submitted photo)
Ray Smith, historian for the City of Oak Ridge and the Y-12 National Security Complex, has been selected to serve on the Tennessee Historical Commission, a press release said.
It’s the first time an Oak Ridger has been selected to serve on the Tennessee Historical Commission, the press release said.
There are 20 members from across the state, and a balanced mix of members is maintained to best represent the entire state on the commission, the release said.
It said Oak Ridge contributes to the State of Tennessee in a number of significant ways, including economic development and heritage and science tourism. [Read more…]
There will be a free landlord summit for all Anderson County landlords in Oak Ridge on Friday.
The landlord summit is being hosted by Tennessee Valley Continuum of Care. It is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, May 19, at the Scarboro Community Center, which is at 148 Carver Avenue in Oak Ridge. The event will include a free continental breakfast, which will begin at 8:30 a.m., a press release said. Reservations are not required.
The press release said landlords are encouraged to attend because many helpful topics will be offered, including:
The City of Oak Ridge has again been designated as a Green Power Community by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, officials said in May 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
The City of Oak Ridge has again been designated as a Green Power Community by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The city is collectively using more than 32 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet 16 percent of the community’s total electricity use, a press release said.
“This is a huge honor, and we are proud to be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” Oak Ridge Electric Department Business Office Manager Marlene Bannon said. “Using green power helps our community become more sustainable, while also sending a message to others across the country that supporting clean sources of electricity is a sound business decision and an important choice in reducing climate risk.” [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Central Services Complex is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
The Oak Ridge Public Works Department and Public Works Employee Relations Committee is having a Public Works Community Open House and Touch-the-Truck event on Thursday, May 25.
The event will be held in recognition of Public Works Week in the City of Oak Ridge and National Public Works Week (May 21-27). The open house will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Central Services Complex, which is located at 100 Woodbury Lane.
“The purpose is to provide an event at which the community can learn about all the different divisions that make up the Public Works Department,” a press release said. “Public Works is much more than just water and sewer services. They are, in short, the people who maintain and improve the systems and services vital to the city’s health, safety, and comfort. Those systems and public services include, but are not limited to, water distribution, sewer collection, water and wastewater treatment, street, sidewalk, and storm drain repair and maintenance, stormwater management, public building maintenance and management, snow removal, and city fleet maintenance.” [Read more…]
Kathryn Baldwin, Oak Ridge community development director, will retire at the end of July.
Baldwin announced her retirement in an email that was sent to members of the Oak Ridge Land Bank, the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals, and the Oak Ridge Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday.
“I wanted to personally inform you that I’ve decided to retire at the end of July,” Baldwin said. “For 16 years, it has been my pleasure to serve the men and women who sit on boards that represent the City of Oak Ridge. Each of you bring a unique perspective to actions taken by our individual boards and commissions. In addition, you do so with an unsurpassed commitment to ethics, creativity, respect, and the health and wellbeing of the Oak Ridge community. The fact that you have put your faith in me and the Community Development staff has been a personal honor. I look forward to watching the City of Oak Ridge grow and prosper under your leadership.” [Read more…]
Submitted
Oak Ridge resident Peggy Brummett is just one of many happy participants in the MORE2 Program offered in our community and she urges others to apply.
“I would highly recommend this to anyone!” Brummett said in a recent interview. “I don’t understand why there aren’t a whole lot more Oak Ridgers applying. It’s made a huge difference in our home.”
Brummett applied for the MORE2 program, hoping it would help with her utility bills and, more importantly, with her peace of mind.
“I can now sleep better knowing I can rely on our heat or air conditioning and knowing it won’t cost us so much in the future,” Brummett said. “And as a bonus, there is less dust in our house.”
She suspected her old heating, ventilation, and air conditioner (HVAC) wasn’t working effectively, and her utility bills were proof she was correct. Her home was losing a great deal of costly energy due to air leakage, inadequate insulation, and the poorly working HVAC unit.
At no cost, the MORE2 Program provided a new HVAC unit, new insulated ductwork, and performed air sealing throughout the home. Brummett is recently retired from a large retail establishment in Oak Ridge, where she worked in customer service. Having worked in customer service, she knows good service when she sees it and commented on the program. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Schools presented its proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 to the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Tuesday, May 9, 2017.
A “bare-bones” budget proposed by Oak Ridge Schools on Tuesday does not, at this point, ask the City of Oak Ridge for more local funding.
The proposed budget includes step increases that would apply to those who are eligible, but it does not include pay raises. Roughly 59 percent of the staff would receive no increase, school officials said.
There are some new staff positions proposed, including a preschool teacher, a Navy Junior ROTC teacher, and a technology systems administrator. There are also some staff reductions due to enrollment, primarily two full-time equivalent teachers at Oak Ridge High School, reductions done through attrition.
“This is a pretty bare-bones budget,” Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Tuesday. It includes minimal new staff, and no major new initiatives. At this point, there is not enough money for raises, Borchers said.
The grand total of new investments has been proposed at $713,075: $355,201 for step increases and $357,784 for new staffing. [Read more…]
Eight new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could be turned over to retailers by the end of June, a city consultant said Tuesday, May 2, 2017. Under construction above are the new Dick’s Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx stores. These are the entrances closest to South Illinois Avenue. The U.S. Post Office is to the left, and Walmart is to the right. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m.
Eight new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could be turned over to retailers by the end of June, a city consultant said Tuesday, but the opening dates for the eight new stores haven’t been announced yet.
Ray Evans, retail consultant for the City of Oak Ridge, gave an update on the Main Street Oak Ridge project during a Tuesday morning Rise and Shine event sponsored by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce at Countryside Tire and Auto Service.
Two buildings with six retailers are scheduled to be delivered to retailers between mid-May and the end of May, Evans said. One building will include the new Dick’s Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx stores, and another will include Maurice’s, Rack Room Shoes, Rue 21, and Ulta. Workers are preparing to pave the parking lot at Dick’s Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx, Evans said. [Read more…]
An agreement signed Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, by the U.S. Department of Energy and City of Oak Ridge calls for the American Museum of Science and Energy missions to be relocated within about one year to 18,000 square feet of space in a two-story building that once housed a Sears Roebuck store next to JCPenney at Main Street Oak Ridge. It’s not yet clear if the National Park Service, which has shared space with AMSE, will also move into this building. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
It’s not clear yet where the National Park Service will go when the American Museum of Science and Energy building closes at the end of the year, but a federal official said the Park Service will stay in Oak Ridge.
It could relocate to a two-story building that once housed Sears Roebuck at Main Street Oak Ridge, the former Oak Ridge Mall. That’s where the U.S. Department of Energy’s public education and outreach missions, now housed at the American Museum of Science and Energy, are moving.
But the National Park Service hadn’t committed to moving there as of April 17, said Niki Nicholas, site manager of the Oak Ridge unit of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The NPS needs more information, Nicholas said in response to questions after a Monday afternoon presentation to AAUW, or American Association of University Women. (A reader had told Oak Ridge Today of an April 17 letter reportedly sent from the Manhattan Project National Historical Park to federal officials at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which manages AMSE.)
Nicholas said the National Park Service has several options in Oak Ridge, including Main Street Oak Ridge. But she declined to elaborate on the precise number of options, where they might be, or what organizations or businesses might be co-located in those buildings. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Public Works Department was scheduled to start cleaning sewer lines throughout the city on Monday, April 24, and continue the work through mid-June.
The project may cause traffic delays as roads and intersections could be temporarily closed during the cleaning process, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.
Crews will be focusing on the area above Oak Ridge Turnpike and below West Outer Drive, concentrating mainly on Louisiana Avenue, Robertsville Road, and side streets, the press release said. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley
The CodeRed Emergency Notification System used by the City of Oak Ridge can be a life-saving tool during an emergency, officials said, but many residents are not answering their phones or they are disconnecting before a pre-recorded message can begin.
This week, the Oak Ridge Fire Department reminded residents that use of the CodeRed Emergency Notification System is important during severe weather.
But a review of past CodeRed notifications found that many residents either did not answer their phone or they disconnected the call before the pre-recorded message could begin, a City of Oak Ridge press release said.
Here’s how CodeRed works, according to the city: If you have a land-line phone at your home or business through AT&T or Comcast, you will automatically receive a call from CodeRed alerting you of a tornado. If the city has a local emergency, the fire department will send an automated call to affected homes and business in order to provide information about the event. These messages can be a life-saving tool in an emergency, the press release said.
“One of the major issues that has come to light following the Sevier County wildfires is the importance of community notification of a pending emergency,” ORFD Chief Darryl Kerley said. “Oak Ridge is not able to use emergency warning sirens to alert the community of fire or tornadoes. The outside emergency alert sirens in Oak Ridge are for U.S. Department of Energy emergencies only, so the fire department subscribes to the CodeRed Emergency Notification System.” [Read more…]
