Oak Ridge Today

Opinion: Commissioner proposes small payment for some county employees

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Myron Iwanski

Myron Iwanski

Note: This is a copy of a Tuesday email from Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski to the Budget Committee and commissioners.

Budget Committee and Commissioners:

I think we were all pleased that for the fourth year in a row our year-end fund balance increased over the previous year. We owe a big thank you to our county employees for helping making this happen.

Four years ago, our fund balance was heading down to less than $500,000, and our credit rating was being effected. Beginning four years ago, by being more cautious with how we spend fund balance money and with the help of all our elected officials and employees, we increased the fund balance to the current $4,290,000.

One of the many things we did to turn this around was not giving our employees a salary increase for several years—except to cover the annual increases in health insurance cost. County-wide office holders, meanwhile, were given state-mandated increases in salaries.

I propose using a small portion of this fund balance to provide a small lump sum payment to those county general fund employees that did not get a state-mandated salary increase. [Read more…]

Lincoln’s Sports Grille requests court hearing after beer permit revoked

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Lincoln's Sports Grille

Lincoln’s Sports Grille on South Illinois Avenue is pictured above. (File photo)

A few days after its beer permit was revoked late last month, Lincoln’s Sports Grille requested a hearing in Anderson County Chancery Court and asked that the revocation be put on hold while the legal case is pending.

Lincoln’s, which had its beer permit revoked by a city board on August 28, said it has been hit with a “more substantial penalty than similar establishments have faced with similar conduct.”

The beer permit of the popular restaurant and bar, which opened about 4.5 years ago, was revoked for one year after its fifth show cause hearing before the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board, and the second called after Lincoln’s sold beer to a minor.

In a petition filed September 2, Lincoln’s asked the Anderson County Chancery Court for a hearing to determine whether the business “violated any rules of conduct pertaining to the sale of beer and the appropriate punishment.”

The litigation could be protracted, the petition said. Lincoln’s is represented by Oak Ridge attorney Kevin C. Angel.

“Failure of this court to issue a stay of the Beer Board’s decision will result in irreparable loss to the petitioner (Lincoln’s) because it severely impacts petitioner’s ability to do business while the matter is pending,” Lincoln’s said. “On the other hand, if this court grants a stay and ultimately upholds the decision of the Beer Board, the petitioner can still be suspended for a year after this court’s decision. Thus, a stay of the Beer Board’s decision is in the interest of justice.” [Read more…]

Honors: DA Clark named a governor of Tennessee Bar Association

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

District Attorney General Dave Clark has been named a governor of the Tennessee Bar Association. The 23-member board controls the activities and business of the Tennessee Bar Association in all its activities across the state.

The TBA represents more than 10,000 lawyers in Tennessee in trying to “foster legal education, maintain the honor and dignity of the profession of law, cultivate professional ethics, and promote improvements in the law and administration of justice,” a press release said.

“It is an honor to be selected to serve in a leadership role among my peers and to help continue the service of the Tennessee Bar Association,” Clark said in the release.

Clark, who represents the Seventh Judicial District (Anderson County), was elected to a second eight-year term as DA in the August 7 county election.

Oak Ridge celebrates 200th anniversary of national anthem on Sunday

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Star-Spangled Banner Day Oak Ridge

The City of Oak Ridge will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the national anthem on Sunday afternoon at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. (Submitted image)

Oak Ridge will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the national anthem on Sunday afternoon at the Oak Ridge Civic Center Amphitheater.

The Star-Spangled Banner Day celebration starts at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Oak Ridge Civic Center complex is located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

A short program honoring the national anthem will begin at 4:30 p.m., and the national anthem will be sung at 5:00 p.m., a press release said.

“We’d like to invite families across Tennessee to join America’s Secret City in honoring this important national anniversary,” said Jane Miller, Oak Ridge mayor pro tem. “This will be a wonderful event as we celebrate the birthday of our national anthem and pay honor to the great United States of America.”

The event is jointly sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge, Anderson County, Roane County, the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Knoxville/Oak Ridge Staybridge Suites Hotel, and the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. Everyone is invited to this community event, the press release said. Families are welcome to bring their own chairs and blankets to sit on. [Read more…]

Anderson County Tea Party re-forms, Council member to speak Tuesday

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Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

The Anderson County Tea Party is being re-formed and will hold its first meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 9, at the Oak Ridge Red Cross building. The featured speaker will be Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn, a press release said.

Other agenda items will include a brief history of the ACTP, establishment of a charter, and setting a vision for the future. The book, “The Way Forward: Renewing the American Idea,” by Paul Ryan, will also be raffled off, the press release said.

The Red Cross building is located at 908 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge. The Tuesday night meeting is open to the public and will last until approximately 8:15 p.m., the release said.

Anderson County Commission approves deer hunting at former landfill site

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CLINTON—Members of the Anderson County Commission, during their regular meeting on Aug. 18, approved a resolution that will allow citizens to hunt deer on the county-owned former Blockhouse Valley Landfill site.

Deer hunting will be limited to the former landfill site and restricted to permitted individuals, a press release said.

Citizens interested in obtaining permits for the hunt must submit their applications and requests by calling (865) 457-6201 by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

A lottery drawing will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18, in Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank’s office, located in Suite 208 at the Anderson County Courthouse at 100 North Main Street in Clinton.

Anderson County Commission appoints new chair, vice chair

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Robert McKamey

Robert McKamey

The Anderson County Commission on Tuesday appointed a new chair and vice chair.

The new chair is Anderson County Commissioner Robert McKamey, who represents District 5, which includes the Clinton High, Dutch Valley, Marlow, and Norwood precincts.

The new vice chair is Steve Emert, who represents District 3, which includes Andersonville, Fairview, Glen Alpine, and Norris.

There were no other nominations for chair and vice chair during the five-minute special meeting at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton on Tuesday morning.

McKamey will replace Commissioner Chuck Fritts of District 1 (Claxton and Bull Run). Fritts did not seek to be re-appointed as chair after three terms. [Read more…]

Anderson needs members for Beer Board, Civil Service, Zoning Appeals

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Submitted

The Anderson County Board of Commissioners and the Nominating Committee are looking for citizens who would like to serve on the following volunteer committees:

Anderson County Beer Board

Five members, three-year terms, ending September 2017

The Beer Board was established for the purpose of licensing, regulating and controlling the transportation, storage, sale, distribution, possession, receipt and/or manufacture of beer. [Read more…]

Swearing-in for county’s elected officials to be broadcast on ACTV

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Robin Biloski

Robin Biloski

Officials elected or re-elected in Anderson County on August 7 will be sworn in on September 2, and ACTV, the county’s television station, will broadcast it for residents.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. September 2 in the Criminal Courtroom on the third floor of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

ACTV is “pleased to play a part in this special event and provide our citizens a first-hand look at this official act by their government officials,” Anderson County Commissioner Robin Biloski said in a press release.

“Our ACTV Committee wanted to provide our residents an opportunity to see actually how important the oath of office is for those who were elected in the August 2014 election,” said Biloski, chairwoman of the Anderson County TV Committee. “ACTV is always looking at new ways to educate and inform our citizens of what actually happens in government, and we thought this was an exciting way to begin our new terms of office.” [Read more…]

Nineteen candidates for Oak Ridge City Council, School Board

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Vote Logo

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

Ten candidates have qualified to run for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 4 municipal election, and there are nine candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education—a total of 19 candidates.

It’s the largest field of candidates in recent memory, and it’s not immediately clear when, or if, there has been a field as large.

The deadline to qualify as a candidate in this fall’s municipal elections in Anderson County was noon Thursday.

There is a mix of incumbents and newcomers in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Rocky Top (Lake City), Norris, and Oliver Springs.

Oak Ridge

In Oak Ridge, two incumbents, including Mayor Tom Beehan and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller, are not seeking re-election. Meanwhile, the other two incumbents whose terms expire this November, Anne Garcia Garland and David Mosby, are running for another four-year term.

In addition to Garcia Garland and Mosby, the other Oak Ridge City Council candidates are:

  • Kelly Callison,
  • R.G. “Rick” Chinn,
  • Warren L. Gooch,
  • Gary L. Love,
  • Pedro J. Otaduy,
  • Aditya “Doc” Savara,
  • Ellen D. Smith, and
  • Eric Tobler.

[Read more…]

Anderson County Commission to consider pay raise proposal tonight

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Chuck Fritts

Chuck Fritts

They haven’t had a raise in more than two decades, and on Monday night, Anderson County commissioners will consider whether to approve a salary increase for the new commission that starts in September.

Commissioners now receive $537.59 per month, or $6,451 each year. That’s what they’ve earned since Fiscal Year 1995-96.

Commissioners last received a salary increase in FY 1992-93, when their pay was raised 1.5 percent to $599 per month, or $7,199 each year.

But their monthly salary was then cut to the current level of $537.59 a few years later, in FY 95-96. There has been no change since.

A resolution to be considered by commissioners tonight (Monday, August 18) would give the new commission that starts in September the same pay raises awarded to all other elected officials, Commission Chair Chuck Fritts said. It would put commissioners on the same “playing field” as other elected officials, said Fritts, who made the proposal. He said commissioners ought to be included when those elected officials receive a raise. [Read more…]

President declares disaster for Tennessee, including Anderson, Roane

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Passtime Garage Storm Damage

Passtime Garage on South Main Street in Clinton was damaged by a fast-moving storm and severe winds in early June. (Photo courtesy WYSH Radio/WGAP Radio)

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Wednesday that federal disaster aid has been made available to the state of Tennessee to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding from June 5-10.

The action by President Barack Obama makes federal funding available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding in Anderson, Bledsoe, Carroll, Decatur, Henry, Hickman, Houston, Lawrence, Lewis, Madison, Marion, Maury, McNairy, Moore, Perry, Roane, Sequatchie, and Tipton counties, officials said.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide, FEMA said in a press release.

W. Michael Moore has been named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Moore said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments. [Read more…]