Oak Ridge Today

Letter: Support museum for Coal Creek miners, who ‘left their mark on history’

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Aug. 7, 2013

To: Anderson County Commissioner Tim lsbel

From: Barry Thacker and Carol Moore

Re: Support of the Coal Miners’ Museum in Coal Creek (aka Lake City)

We would like to express our continuing support of every effort to preserve and honor the rich coal mining history of Anderson County, Tenn. There is nowhere on Earth with more dramatic coal mining history in such a small area with the effects felt worldwide—and it sits right on I-75!

The miners of Coal Creek in Anderson County, Tenn., left their mark on history. [Read more…]

Anderson County Commission considers coal mining museum tonight

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Bank of America Lake City

Bank of America has agreed to sell this two-story brick building on Main Street in Lake City for $100,000 for a Coal Miners’ Museum and county storage space and satellite offices.

The Lake City Council on Saturday developed a plan for operating and maintaining a coal mining museum, a proposal that will be presented to the Anderson County Commission this evening, a nonprofit organization said this weekend.

The Commission will consider buying the former Bank of America building in Lake City as a home for the Coal Miners’ Museum during a meeting that starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday. [Read more…]

Lake City picked for PlanET demonstration project

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Information from WYSH Radio

It has already been a banner week for Lake City.

On Monday, the Anderson County Commission’s Operations Committee voted to recommend purchasing the old Bank of America building in Lake City for $100,000 using part of the proceeds of the pending sale of county-owned land to the Hollingsworth Company for $303,000. The remaining $203,000 would be used as seed money for the start-up Anderson County Economic Development Fund. Supporters of the bank building purchase foresee using it as the new home of Coal Miners’ Museum as well as for storage and use as a satellite office for some county government entities.

Now, PlanET, a regional partnership of East Tennessee communities in Anderson, Blount, Knox, Loudon, and Union counties, has selected Lake City as one of its so-called Demonstration Project sites. The program will be funded through the Plan East Tennessee Grant and leverage in-kind services from the East Tennessee Community Design Center, or ETCDC, and the University of Tennessee School of Agriculture. [Read more…]

Anderson committee recommends buying Lake City building

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Monday, the Anderson County Operations Committee voted 5-2 to recommend purchasing the former Bank of America building in Lake City for use as the new home of the Coal Miners Museum and some county government operations. The bank is asking $100,000 for the property, which supporters say will find a new purpose as not only the home of a museum honoring the area’s rich coal mining history, but also as a storehouse for excess county supplies due to its vault and as a satellite office for county departments, which would be able to make use of the existing drive-thru window.

The full County Commission will consider the committee’s recommendation when it meets Monday, Aug. 19.

Oak Ridge asks for county land on Emory Valley Road for sewer system tank

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Emory Valley Equalization Basin

Oak Ridge officials have asked Anderson County to consider donating up to 2.05 acres on Emory Valley Road for a sewer system holding tank.

Oak Ridge officials have asked Anderson County to consider donating up to 2.05 acres on Emory Valley Road for a sewer system holding tank east of the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Oak Ridge to stop all sewer system overflows by 2015, and studies have shown that several holding tanks are required at critical locations “to equalize and detain excess flow during heavy rain events,” Public Works Director Gary Cinder said in a July 26 memo. One equalization tank would be required near the county-owned Daniel Arthur Center, which is used by satellite county offices, the Oak Ridge Senior Center, and the Emory Valley Center.

The Anderson County Operations Committee will consider the request during a Monday evening meeting. [Read more…]