Oak Ridge Today

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…]

State officials, local agencies to crack down on seat belt use, impaired driving

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Kendell Poole

Kendell Poole

Traffic fatalities in Anderson County are up significantly this year, and Tennessee officials and local law enforcement agencies will announce a campaign on Monday to crack down on drivers not using seat belts or driving while impaired during the holidays.

The announcement is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, November 10, at the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Among those participating will be Kendell Poole, director of the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office, and members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, as well as representatives of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and Oak Ridge, Clinton, Norris, and Rocky Top police departments.

“There have been 16 traffic fatalities in Anderson County in 2014, which represents a 77 percent increase compared to 2013,” a press release said. “This is the third highest year-to-date difference in fatalities that an individual county has seen in Tennessee. Seventy-five percent of the fatalities were unrestrained. In an effort to prevent additional fatalities and injuries, Anderson County agencies will be increasing enforcement and conducting sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols.” [Read more…]

Letter: Fleischmann’s experience needed in Washington

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To the Editor:

There comes a point when individuals in leadership positions need more than just knowledge about legislation and policy—they need experience.

The Third District needs a representative who has already dealt with the pressures, as well as adeptly handled the influence, that comes along with serving in public office. Congressman Fleischmann has supported and pushed many key pieces of legislation through the House, some of which have contributed to a significant reduction in government spending and an increase in job growth.

Congressman Fleischmann has also served honorably on many committees essential to American prosperity and security, such as the Energy and Water Development, Homeland Security and Labor, Health and Human Services Committees. Chuck already knows what it takes to be productive in office. He is the best candidate for the job because he has head knowledge coupled with experience, enhancing his effectiveness and consequently our own welfare as a state and a nation.

More leaders need what Congressman Fleischmann has: solid values and the experience needed to get things done in Washington. I believe in his ability to lead and to serve the interests of Tennesseans and Americans at large. Please join with me in voting for Chuck Fleischmann.​

David Logan

Cleveland, Tennessee

Letter: Fleischmann a good fit for Third District

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To the Editor:

I have known Chuck Fleischmann for over five years and know him to be a good family man and a person of integrity. Chuck Fleischmann has served nearly three terms in the United States House of Representatives and has never strayed from his conservative values. He has voted in a fashion that fits the values of the majority of the Third District of Tennessee. Chuck, quite simply, is a good fit for the district.

Chuck opposes amnesty, votes to protect the Second Amendment, and supports the free market. He has repeatedly championed our free enterprise system. Chuck is a committed conservative, which can be seen in his voting record.

His commitment to veterans can be seen in the three new Veteran’s Affairs clincs in our district. [Read more…]

Y-12 to hold emergency management exercise Wednesday

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New Hope Center

New Hope Center

New Hope Center to be closed to public until noon

Emergency response personnel from the State of Tennessee and the Y-12 National Security Complex—along with other federal, state and local emergency management personnel—will conduct an emergency management exercise on Wednesday, October 15, at Y-12’s New Hope Center.

Because of the activities associated with the exercise, New Hope Center, located on Scarboro Road, will be closed to the public from 8 a.m. to noon the day of the exercise, and so will East Portal Road from Scarboro Road up to and including Portal 13.

The exercise should be completed by late morning or early afternoon, a press release said. [Read more…]

U.S. SBA honors Street Legal Industries with small business award

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Street Legal Industries Inc. has received the highest recognition by the U. S. Small Business Administration in Tennessee, a press release said. The company was proclaimed “Tennessee Historically Underutilized (HUB) Zone Small Business of the Year.”

Every year since 1963, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight, through National Small Business Week, the impact of outstanding small businesses.

“These award winners represent the many excellent small businesses that we have in the Volunteer State,” said Walter Perry, district director of SBA’s Tennessee District Office.

The award will be presented to Street Legal Industries Inc. at 3 p.m. Thursday, September 25, at their offices at 102A Jefferson Court in Oak Ridge. The presentation will be combined with an open house. Customers and partners of the company are invited to attend. [Read more…]

Corker dampens presidential speculation, calls ISIS ‘demonic’

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Senator Bob Corker at ETEC

U.S. Senator Bob Corker, right, downplayed speculation of a possible presidential run during a visit to Oak Ridge on Friday, but he also didn’t rule out a campaign. At center is Jim Haynes, president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Nuclear Security, the new managing and operating contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

 

He’s been asked the question before, and on Friday, U.S. Senator Bob Corker answered it again: Are you considering running for president in 2016?

Corker didn’t say “no,” but he did dampen the discussion. The Tennessee Republican pointed out that if he were a candidate, he would likely be making trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, key early stops in presidential campaigns, rather than visiting Oak Ridge and East Tennessee.

Still, after a short speech to the East Tennessee Economic Council on Friday, Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said every senator involved in policy decisions and helping to solve the nation’s problems probably thinks about a presidential run “from time to time.”

Corker was the guest speaker at ETEC’s weekly Friday morning meeting. During his talk, he bemoaned the nation’s lack of vision, saying the chief executive needs to have one but President Obama doesn’t lead toward one.

“Without vision, people bicker,” Corker said. The question is: Who is going to create the national vision? the senator said. The nation may need three priorities, he said. [Read more…]

Corker travels across Tennessee, with stop in Oak Ridge on Friday

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U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, is traveling across the Volunteer State this week, and he’ll be in Oak Ridge on Friday morning.

Corker is scheduled to talk to the East Tennessee Economic Council at 7:30 a.m. Friday. The speech is in the Homer Fisher Room at the University of Tennessee Outreach Center at 1201 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Starting Wednesday, Corker, who is in his second term in the U.S. Senate, will also visit Hamilton, Sevier, Sullivan, Greene,and Knox counties. This week’s visits follow a seven-county swing through Middle and West Tennessee last week, a media advisory said.

ThreeStar status awarded to 85 counties, including Anderson, Roane

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Bill Hagerty

Bill Hagerty

Submitted

93 out of 95 counties meet audit committee requirement

NASHVILLE—The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development on Thursday announced that 85 out of 95 counties, including Anderson and Roane, have been awarded ThreeStar status. In addition, since the ThreeStar community development program began requiring eligible communities to create and maintain a County Audit Committee in January 2013, the number of counties with Audit Committees has increased substantially. As of March 2013, there were 32 audit committees around the state; as of July 2014, there are 93.

“The ThreeStar program is a vital component to our state’s overall level of success, providing counties with a proven roadmap for continued economic and community strength, which in turn helps Tennessee win new investment and jobs,” Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty said. “Tennessee has been recognized as the number one state in the nation for economic development, and these audit committees support Governor Haslam’s overarching goal of making Tennessee the most efficiently run state on every level. I congratulate all of our ThreeStar counties and those communities who are taking the initiative to create Audit Committees and work toward achieving fiscal strength and efficient government.”

The Audit Committees are designed to help each county improve their financial management and reporting practices, and help ensure the implementation of good internal controls to prevent or detect fraud, a step towards achieving fiscal strength and efficient government. [Read more…]

‘Davy Crockett’ at ORHPA meeting on Thursday

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Davy Crockett at David Hall Cabin

“Davy Crockett” at David Hall Cabin in Claxton. (Submitted photo)

Walk in the footsteps of Tennessee and American history

Lynn Fox, a living history exhibitor, will be the featured speaker at a Thursday night meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. It’s a living history presentation, and all ages will enjoy it, a press release said. Artifacts of the frontier period will be on display.

ORHPA’s celebration of Davy Crockett comes on the same week as the Crockett Birthday event in downtown Knoxville on Saturday, August. More information on that event can be found on the East Tennessee Historical Society website.

The presentation on Thursday, August 14, starts at 7 p.m. at the Midtown Community Center on Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge. The meeting is open to the public, and it is especially designed to appeal to young children and adults alike.

“For more than 29 years, Lynn Fox has kept the spirit of Tennessee and America’s heroes alive,” the press release said. “He has walked their footsteps on the Overmountain Victory Trail, and re-enacted events in their lives through entertaining and educational living history programs. [Read more…]

In Oak Ridge, Alexander, Haslam promote GOP accomplishments

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Bill Haslam and Lamar Alexander

Governor Bill Haslam, left, and Senator Lamar Alexander touted the accomplishments of Republicans in Congress and Tennessee during a campaign stop at Dean’s Restaurant and Bakery in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, one day before Thursday’s state and federal primary elections.

 

Governor Bill Haslam and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander campaigned in Oak Ridge on Wednesday as the two-term senator fought to prevail in the federal Republican primary in Tennessee on Thursday. The duo also promoted GOP accomplishments, both in Congress and in Tennessee.

Alexander is facing off against seven candidates for one of the state’s two U.S. Senate seats. Most of the attention has been focused on the race between Alexander and state Representative Joe Carr, a Republican Tea Party challenger from Lascassas in Rutherford County.

Alexander, who is also a former Tennessee governor, didn’t mention Carr by name during a stop at Dean’s Restaurant and Bakery in Oak Ridge on Wednesday.

Instead, he focused on accomplishments such as his vote to end “perpetual amnesty,” his “A” rating from the National Rifle Association, and the possibility that Republicans could gain a majority in the U.S. Senate. He also made some promises if Democrats lose control of the Senate.

“We’ll get rid of Harry Reid’s agenda,” said Alexander, referring to the current Senate majority leader, a Democrat. “We’ll get rid of ‘Obamacare.’” [Read more…]

Gov. Haslam has campaign stop in Oak Ridge on Wednesday

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, who is running for re-election this year, will make a campaign stop in Oak Ridge on Wednesday. It’s one of a series of campaign stops across the state this week.

Haslam will be at Dean’s Restaurant in Jackson Square for “Lunch with Bill” at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. He’ll also be making other stops across East Tennessee on Wednesday, including in Chattanooga, Athens, Lenoir City, Sevierville, Dandridge, and Knoxville.

The Tennessean reported on July 11 that three other Republicans and nine other candidates also are running for the state’s highest office, but none are expected to seriously challenge Haslam, a former Knoxville mayor.