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City alarmed by 12.5 percent COVID positivity rate

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A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

In a press release Thursday, the City of Oak Ridge said it is alarmed by the 12.5 percent positivity rate for COVID-19 in the Oak Ridge area, and wastewater testing shows the disease is present across the city.

The positivity rate measures the percentage of tests that return positive results out of the new tests each day. A 12.5 percent positivity rate means that 12.5 tests are positive out of each 100 new tests, on average.

A 12.5 percent positivity rate is high. World Health Organization guidelines call for a positivity rate below 5 percent for 14 days before activities re-open.

In its press release, the city said the 12.5 percent positivity rate in the Oak Ridge area was measured earlier this week and was obtained from zip-code specific data from the Tennessee Department of Health.

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Dirtlab mountain bike park opens in Oak Ridge

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Dirtlab, a mountain bike park and pump track at Haw Ridge Park, opened Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo/Explore Oak Ridge)

The Clinch Valley Trail Alliance opened the new Dirtlab mountain bike park on Friday.

The Friday celebration included a ribbon cutting and an expression of appreciation for volunteers who worked on the project. The mountain bike park and pump track was built over the past year with volunteer effort from the community, a press release said.

Brad Spears, president of the Clinch Valley Trail Alliance, said the community, city of Oak Ridge, and the backing of local businesses helped build the park as they stretched resources as far as possible after construction began in fall 2019.

“Every feature, the kiosk, the bench, the pavilion, the pump track…was built by a volunteer,” Spears said in the press release. The undulating pump track unveiled Friday complements the existing mountain bike park at the 780-acre Haw Ridge Park. The park is off Edgemoor Road along the Clinch River in east Oak Ridge and a short drive from Knoxville.

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Updated: Former DOE research director, CROET founder dies at 91

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Joe Lenhard, right, is pictured with Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch at the dedication of Main Street Oak Ridge in July 2016. (Photo courtesy Warren Gooch)

Note: This story was last updated at 11:10 a.m. July 19.

Joe Lenhard, a former U.S. Department of Energy research director and founder of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, died Friday of COVID-19, a family member said. He was 91.

Lenhard died Friday evening at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, his daughter Andrea Lenhard said in a Facebook post.

My father, Joseph Lenhard, died Friday evening at MMC of Covid. He went quickly. Rest in peace, Daddy. You were always my hero.

Posted by Andie Lenhard on Friday, July 17, 2020

Lenhard was a research director for the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge. He had oversight of DOE research activities and served as the federal contracting officer for major federal facilities in the city, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory, according to his LinkedIn page. He worked for DOE for about 32 years, from 1957 to 1989.

Lenhard served as president of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce in 1992, and he was chair of the East Tennessee Economic Council in 1993 and 1994.

He helped found CROET in 1994, and he was the founding chairman. CROET helps find ways to re-use former federal property, not just real estate but also equipment and other federal assets. A tribute to Lenhard’s service is noted on a plaque in the Horizon Center Industrial Park in west Oak Ridge.

His daughter Andrea said her father loved the natural world, and she became a biologist and veterinarian because of him. Her father used to take them on long rambles in the woods, Andrea said, and he would pick up animals like snakes and frogs and tell the children what he knew about them.

“He loved nature, and that was very infectious,” she said.

Andrea said Oak Ridge was very important to her father.

“He always wanted to promote Oak Ridge and take care of Oak Ridge,” she said. “He was very devoted to the city.”

Lenhard could often be found walking in local grocery stores. He was very conscious of his health, Andrea said, and he would walk every day at stores that included Walmart, Kroger, and Food City. He would sometimes stop to talk to people, including an Oak Ridge Today reporter.

Andrea said her father was a lot of fun, full of life, and he loved everybody.

She recalled the trips her family used to take to Norris Lake on weekends when she was a child—playing in the water, climbing trees, telling jokes—and she said her father spent as much time as he could with his grandchildren as well.

A statement from the family of Lenhard’s daughter Michele said Joe Lenhard was very supportive of higher education.

“He gave substantial sums of money to the University of Tennessee and Roane State Community College,” the statement said. “Roane State dedicated a room to Joseph Lenhard for his outstanding contributions. Joe came from an economically disproportionate background and saw the benefit of higher education. He wanted to provide educational opportunity for the young people of East Tennessee.”

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Oak Ridge not authorized to require masks

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The City of Oak Ridge does not have the authority to require face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, officials said Wednesday.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County, which includes Oak Ridge, has increased significantly this month. The county had 178 total cases on Thursday—a 70 percent increase since July 2—and the number of active cases more than doubled in eight days.

As the number of cases has surged in the region, people have set up social media groups where members have reported on mask use at local businesses and offices and called for mandatory masks, including in Oak Ridge and its schools.

On Wednesday, the city said it is prohibited from enacting or enforcing a mask requirement because of a Tennessee attorney general opinion issued in April and an executive order from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in May. (The attorney general’s opinion is Opinion Number 20-07, and the executive order is Executive Order Number 38.)

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More than 1,000 protest for equality, police reforms, end of racism

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Hundreds of people march from Oak Ridge High School to the Civic Center for a Black Lives Matter protest on Tuesday afternoon, June 2, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. June 11.

More than 1,000 people marched and protested in Oak Ridge last week, asking for equal treatment for black people.

They said the nation is obligated to fight systemic racism, racial inequality, and police brutality. They want to live without fear. They advocated for police reforms, accountability, and the use of de-escalation tactics.

Protesters hope to end 400 years of oppression that started with slavery in America in 1619 and continued after the Civil War with attacks on black people, lynchings, the Ku Klux Klan, segregation, discrimination, and racism. That oppression has been felt in Oak Ridge, and some young adults and teenagers said they have experienced or witnessed racism.

Protesters said they were angry, upset, and frustrated. They called the death of George Floyd while he was detained by police in Minneapolis last month a murder. They recalled the deaths of other black men and boys, some killed by police and others by citizens. They acknowledged that there are many good police officers, but they condemned police officers who they said hide behind their badges to do wicked deeds.

“Enough is enough,” protesters said. “We are done dying.”

Hundreds of people meet at Oak Ridge High School before marching to Oak Ridge Civic Center for a Black Lives Matter protest on Tuesday afternoon, June 2, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Protesters met at Oak Ridge High School Tuesday afternoon, June 2, and marched to the Oak Ridge Civic Center. They carried signs and wore T-shirts that said “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe.” They chanted “No justice, no peace” and, led by organizer Trevor King, “Make racism illegal.” Silence is compliance, the protesters said, and silence in the face of evil is itself evil.

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For members: New stores planned at Main Street, but construction suspended

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A crew works in the area of the second phase of construction of Main Street Oak Ridge on Thursday, March 5, 2020. The construction work has since been suspended. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Four new stores are planned at Main Street Oak Ridge, but construction has been suspended for now.

The four new stores are Five Below, Home Goods, Old Navy, and Ross Dress for Less. The retailers have signed leases, and their stores could be ready to open as soon as the spring of 2021, said Neil Wilson, principal of the development company, TN Oak Ridge Rutgers LLC. The new stores would be between JCPenney and PetSmart. That includes some of the area where the roundabout used to be.

But construction of the building that would contain the new stores has been suspended.

“Retailers are postponing the opening of new stores and re-thinking the size and configuration of store footprints,” Wilson told Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson in an April 20 letter. “As a result, the retail developers are delaying the construction of the building to house those new stores.”

Wilson said TN Oak Ridge Rutgers LLC is trying hard to get the project back into its development timeline in 60 days. The storage facility, which has previously been considered by city officials, is part of the effort to get the project back on track, he said.

Wilson said retailers are suffering because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the estimated growth in global retail for 2020 will be cut in half from the levels that were forecast before COVID-19.

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The types of stores that will be hit the hardest are “short-term, fashion, furniture, and electronics retailers,” Wilson said. Customers will buy fewer of those discretionary items, choosing instead to stock up on food and household supplies.

But in the meantime, construction could proceed quickly on a three-story self-storage facility at Main Street Oak Ridge. It would be along Rutgers Avenue, behind Burkes Outlet, Electronic Express, and PetSmart. The self-storage market is doing well, Wilson said.

Some residents and city officials, including members of the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission, have opposed the proposed self-storage facility or shown little interest in it.

But in a split vote Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council voted 4-3 to approve a zoning change that could allow it. The zoning ordinance amendment, which did not specifically approve the Main Street Oak Ridge project, is expected to be considered for final approval during another City Council meeting in June.

The rest of this story, which includes background information and information about the City Council vote, is available if you are a member: an advertiser, sponsor, or subscriber to Oak Ridge Today.

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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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Oak Ridge adopts state ‘stay at home’ order

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Warren Gooch

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch issued an executive order Thursday afternoon that adopts the state “stay at home” executive order issued a few hours earlier by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. The order, Executive Order 23, requires Tennessee residents to stay home unless they are engaging in an activity that is considered essential.

Mayor Gooch urged Oak Ridgers to stay at home except to carry out essential activities. 

“It is time for all of us to stay home, starve the virus, save lives, and support local businesses for your essential activities,” Gooch said. “Stay positive and remember, we are in this together, and we will win this war against an invisible enemy.” 

The city’s local state of emergency ordinance implemented on March 23 regarding COVID-19 has been updated to adopt the new executive order, a press release said. The local state of emergency was declared in order to prevent the spread of, and to facilitate the containment of, the COVID-19 disease, the press release said.

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Call center relocates to Oak Ridge

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Avant LLC

Avant LLC hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. Avant recently relocated its call center operations to Commerce Park in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Avant LLC recently announced that the company has completed the relocation of its call center operations from nearby Louisville to Commerce Park in Oak Ridge.

This completes a year-long series of planning discussions that started in the fall of 2018, a press release said. The financial services company currently employs 200 people in the region. Site director Steve Massey expects that number to grow to between 350 and 400 in 2020.

“Our move has been very successful so far, and we are looking forward to growing with Oak Ridge into a bright future here,” Massey said.

“It’s exciting to see a company that is growing and already has plans to increase employment levels come into the City of Oak Ridge,” said Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge closes on $20 million loan for new water plant

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An aerial view of the Oak Ridge Water Treatment Plant on Pine Ridge above the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo courtesy Y-12 National Security Complex)

The City of Oak Ridge closed on a $20.7 million federal loan on Thursday for a new water treatment plant in south Oak Ridge.

It’s a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or WIFIA, loan. The funds provided by the federal loan program will be used to design and build the new water plant, which will replace an aging facility on Pine Ridge that has served the community since the 1940s.

The total cost for replacement of the water treatment plant is estimated to be $42.2 million, the city said in a press release on Friday. WIFIA will provide about 49 percent of that cost, with the city using the Tennessee State Revolving Fund Loan Program to cover the balance, the press release said.

“After three years of application and planning, the City of Oak Ridge has reached a significant milestone in the funding needed for a new replacement water plant,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said in the press release. “WIFIA has helped Oak Ridge with a low-interest federal loan, allowing us to avoid potential failures in a system originally designed for a different Oak Ridge. The financial terms will allow Oak Ridge to afford these much-needed improvements to serve not only our residents, but the national security and U.S. Department of Energy facilities located here.”

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Frank Callaghan Towers to be renovated, renamed

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LHP Capital Closing Fairbanks Tower Sept 3 2019
Officials from LHP Capital and the City of Oak Ridge celebrate the closing of a transaction that will enable LHP to acquire and renovate Frank Callaghan Tower, an affordable housing community for seniors on fixed incomes. Pictured above from left to right on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, are Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board Chair David Wilson, LHP Development President Carr Hagan, and LHP Development CEO Alvin Nance. (Submitted photo)

The Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road in Oak Ridge will be renovated and renamed, a housing developer and manager said this week.

Officials with LHP Capital LLC announced Tuesday that they have signed the last document necessary to close on the acquisition and renovation of Oak Ridge’s Frank Callaghan Towers. That’s a 110-unit affordable rental housing community for seniors 62 and older and adults with disabilities, and it is located at 115 Fairbanks Road in east Oak Ridge.

LHP will oversee more than $5.8 million in renovations to the property, which was originally constructed in the late 1970s, a press release said. The sale to LHP will assure preservation of the property’s affordability status under federal guidelines, the press release said. LHP will also manage the apartments.

The renovations to the property will begin immediately and will start with a new name, according to Carr Hagan, president, LHP Development, a division of Knoxville-based LHP Capital, a real estate development firm specializing in affordable housing.

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School board approves change in residency requirement

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday approved, in the first of two votes, a policy change that would require the superintendent and principals to live in Oak Ridge.

Assistant principals, the executive director of school leadership, and the executive director of teaching and learning would be required to live in Oak Ridge if they are relocating to the region after being hired by Oak Ridge Schools. This would not apply to new administrators in those positions who already live in adjacent counties, such as Knox County.

The policy change would reduce the number of administrative positions with a residency requirement. The current policy requires the superintendent, executive director of school leadership, executive director of teaching and learning, director of pupil services, principals, and assistant principals to live in Oak Ridge “to be thoroughly familiar with the community and to be available beyond the regular day.”

But the current policy is suspected of reducing the number of candidates who apply for jobs at Oak Ridge Schools, according to administrators.

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