Oak Ridge Today

Walgreens store, pharmacy were temporarily closed but have re-opened

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The Walgreens store and pharmacy on Oak Ridge Turnpike are pictured above on Friday, April 3, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 12:35 p.m.

An employee at the Walgreens store on Oak Ridge Turnpike was being evaluated for COVID-19 last week, and the store and pharmacy were temporarily closed for cleaning but they have since re-opened, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

Several readers have asked about the temporary closing last week. The store appeared to be open Friday evening after readers reported the temporary closure. Some readers reported the closure lasted only a few hours.

On Tuesday, Walgreens said it was notified on Thursday, April 2, that an employee at the Oak Ridge store was being evaluated for COVID-19. The employee has not been in the store since April 1, Walgreens said.

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Armed robbery reported at Walgreens on Friday morning

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Oak Ridge Police Department Cars

An armed robbery was reported at Walgreens Pharmacy on Oak Ridge Turnpike at about 6:32 a.m. Friday, authorities said.

Several Oak Ridge Police Department officers, including a K9 unit, arrived on scene within minutes and immediately started searching for the suspect, who had fled the business on foot with a small amount of cash, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. The suspect was described as a white male in dark clothing and baseball cap who indicated he was armed.

The suspect was not located, and the investigation is still ongoing at this time, the press release said. [Read more…]

Photos: Downtown Shopping Center

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Crowd Outside Walgreen Drugs on December 2, 1955

A crowd outside Walgreen Drugs at the former Downtown Shopping Center on December 2, 1955. (Photos courtesy Don Hunnicutt/Ed Westcott)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8:20 a.m. Dec. 31.

After we learned that Guilford Glazer died last week, we asked Don Hunnicutt if he or Ed Westcott, the government’s official photographer in Oak Ridge during World War II, had any pictures of the former Downtown Shopping Center that we might use on Oak Ridge Today. Don sent five pictures Tuesday morning. (Thank you, Don and Ed!)

Glazer, who was born in Knoxville, died last week in Beverly Hills, California, at 93. His company built the former Downtown Shopping Center in Oak Ridge in the 1950s, and he still owns property in Oak Ridge and Knoxville. [Read more…]

Report: Man evades arrest, drives on sidewalk, backs toward officer

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An Oak Ridge man fleeing from undercover agents at Walgreens on Tuesday allegedly drove on the sidewalk and accelerated backward toward a police investigator, forcing the officer to run between two vehicles to avoid being hit, according to Anderson County court records.

The alleged driver, Frederick R. Black, 28, of West Pasadena Lane, has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault and one count of evading arrest. He remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility on Thursday, and his bond has been set at $500,000.

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