Oak Ridge Today

State lawmakers seek photos of fallen Vietnam-era soldiers

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

From WYSH Radio

Three local state legislators are seeking photos of Vietnam War veterans from Anderson County who were killed in action in order to honor the fallen heroes at a new facility that complements the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

The photos are being sought by Tennessee Senator Randy McNally and Representative John Ragan, both Oak Ridge Republicans, and Dennis Powers, a Jacksboro Republican. The photos will be part of a multimedia display at the new facility, which will be built between the existing Wall and the Lincoln Memorial. The effort is part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, or VVMF.

Senator Mark Green, a Clarksville Republican who is heading up the effort statewide, enlisted the help of the local lawmakers in trying to locate missing photos of local veterans for the memorial. [Read more…]

Volkswagen to expand auto plant in Chattanooga, build new SUV

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Volkswagen will expand its automotive plant in Chattanooga, the company’s only U.S. manufacturing facility, and build a new midsize SUV for the American market.

Volkswagen’s total global investment for the expansion will be $900 million, and $600 million of that will be invested in Tennessee. The company expects to create 2,000 jobs in Hamilton County.

The announcement was made by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Volkswagen Group of America officials in a Monday morning press release. [Read more…]

Bullets for blanks negligent, but rounds not put into guns during police training, attorney says

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Oak Ridge Today

KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge police lieutenant who sent deactivated .38-caliber pistol ammunition and live .223-caliber rifle rounds rather than blanks for use in a training session three years ago was negligent, an attorney said Thursday.

But the mistake was detected before the live rounds were put into guns, and there was no imminent danger or harm to anyone, said Benjamin K. Lauderback, who represented the City of Oak Ridge in oral arguments before the Tennessee Court of Appeals in Knoxville on Thursday.

The police officer who detected the error, former Oak Ridge Police Department Sgt. Mark Coffey, filed a formal complaint two days after the August 20, 2011, training session, known as an “active shooter” response. He resigned a few months later in October, and in August 2012, he filed a lawsuit in Anderson County Circuit Court alleging retaliation and wrongful discharge.

In the lawsuit, Coffey said other ORPD employees retaliated against him after he filed the complaint against Lt. Brad Jenkins, who supplied the ammunition. Coffey said he had been forced to resign and was “constructively discharged.” Before he left the job, Coffey said, he had been re-assigned to work under Jenkins, and he resigned because of the alleged retaliation and fears for his personal safety. He sought $600,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.

The city won a summary judgement, which is like a dismissal, in August 2013. Anderson County Circuit Court Judge Don Elledge did not find that Coffey’s working conditions were bad enough that an ordinary person couldn’t tolerate them, Lauderback said. [Read more…]

Four Applewood Apartment buildings still ‘unfit,’ not vacated, attorney says

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Applewood Apartments at 105 Hunter Circle

A city board declared four buildings on Hunter Circle to be unfit for human occupation or use in November 2010 and, after a Tennessee Court of Appeals opinion, reaffirmed the decision in March 2013. The case has been appealed back to the appellate court.

KNOXVILLE—More than three years after they were declared “unfit,” four dilapidated Applewood Apartment buildings have still not been vacated, an attorney said Thursday.

The Anderson County Chancery Court and the Tennessee Court of Appeals have both affirmed a November 2010 decision by an Oak Ridge board declaring the dilapidated buildings on Hunter Circle to be unfit for human occupation and use—and calling for them to be vacated immediately, attorney Dan Pilkington said.

The 2010 decision was reaffirmed by the city board, the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals, in March 2013, Pilkington said.

“We believe that this order is final,” he said in a 15-minute oral argument before a three-judge panel of the Tennessee Court of Appeals in Knoxville on Thursday. “Despite that, the buildings have never been vacated.”

The 2010 Oak Ridge board hearing was held after notices were issued citing multiple deficiencies that were hazardous to tenants, said Pilkington, who works for Knoxville law firm Watson, Roach, Batson, Rowell, and Lauderback. That company represented the City of Oak Ridge in Thursday’s oral argument before a three-judge panel that included John W. McClarty, D. Michael Swiney, and D. Kelly Thomas Jr. [Read more…]

TDEC orders Oliver Springs to fix treatment plant or face fine

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has ordered Oliver Springs to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant or face a hefty fine. The state gave the town until August 31, 2015, to correct the problems outlined in the order, including several violations in the past few years dealing with system overflows and E. coli contamination.

The plant discharged water into Poplar Creek.

If the problems are not corrected by the end of August 2015, the town could face a fine of up to $175,000.

The state also issued a moratorium on adding any new sewer customers. [Read more…]

Today—July 8—is deadline to register to vote in Aug. 7 election

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Today—Tuesday, July 8—is the final day to register to vote in time to be eligible to take part in the Aug. 7 general election.

Early voting for the August election, which features countywide races and County Commission races, will be held from July 18 through August.

To find out more about voter registration, call the Anderson County Election Commission at (865) 457-6238 or visit www.acelect.com.

Knoxville man wins $260 million Powerball, claims record lottery prize

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Roy Cockrum and Rebecca Hargrove

Roy Cockrum of Knoxville accepts the $259.8 million Powerball jackpot winnings from Rebecca Hargrove, president and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery, at a presentation July 3 at the lottery headquarters in Nashville (Submitted photo)

Most will go to foundation to support performing arts around U.S.

A Knoxville man has won a $259.8 million Powerball jackpot, and he claimed his $115 million prize on Thursday. It’s the largest prize ever won in the Tennessee Lottery.

Roy Cockrum, 58, presented the winning Powerball ticket to Tennessee Education Lottery officials on Thursday, matching all six numbers selected on June 11. The winning ticket was verified, and the “cash option” prize was claimed.

After taxes, the take-home prize amount is $115,147,525.50, a press release said.

“It’s a hard thing to process; your brain doesn’t want to believe it,” said Cockrum, a businessman, former actor, and monk. “I was in a rush to take Mom to a medical appointment when I first checked the ticket. I saw the Powerball match and three winning numbers and thought, ‘Wow! $500! You never win that much on Powerball.’ I felt really lucky.

“But then—wait a minute, wait a minute—there’s another number, and finally I realized I hit the jackpot. It literally knocked me to my knees. My prayer was simple—‘Lord have Mercy!’ But life goes on, so I picked myself up, put the winning ticket in my wallet and went to pick up my mother. I walked around University of Tennessee Medical Center all that morning with a $259.8 million winner in my pocket.”

Cockrum was born and raised in Knoxville but left Tennessee after graduating from West High School to earn an acting degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and to pursue a career in the theater. After more than 20 years spent working as an actor and stage manager for theater and television, Cockrum became Brother Roy as he followed a call to religious service with The Society of Saint John the Evangelist, an Episcopal religious community in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [Read more…]

City, state work to reduce infant deaths through safe sleep program

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Submitted

Oak Ridge Police Department partners with Tennessee Department of Health to reduce infant deaths

One of the top priorities of the Tennessee Department of Health is to reduce the state’s infant mortality rate (a measure of how many babies die before reaching their first birthday). TDH has discovered that 20 percent of all infant deaths in Tennessee are due to unsafe sleep practices. As part of this effort to save babies’ lives, Oak Ridge Police Department is partnering with the Tennessee Department of Health in the effort to reduce infant mortality by participating in the Direct On Scene Education, or DOSE, program.

DOSE is an innovative program using first responders to educate families about safe sleep for all infants. First responders at the Oak Ridge Police Department will be educating all households with pregnant women or infants after they respond to the immediate emergency. Our police officers will be equipped with safe sleep kits to provide to families. These kits contain educational materials to teach the caregivers about safe sleep environments for infants. [Read more…]

DOE-NNSA, Tennessee to take part in regional exercise near I-40, Pellissippi

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration’s Radiological Assistance Program, or RAP, and Tennessee’s Offices of Emergency Management and Division of Radiological Health will participate in a Regional CAPSTONE exercise with activities to be conducted by Field Monitoring Teams in the public sector on Thursday, June 5.

During the environmental field monitoring and sampling activities, approximately 20 response personnel using radiation detection instrumentation and taking samples (soil, water, vegetation, etc.), may be visible by the public in the vicinity of neighborhoods and businesses north of Interstate I-40 and the Pellissippi interchange. The exercise scope is designed to focus on conducting contamination monitoring activities with the intent for the state and DOE/NNSA RAP Field Monitoring Teams to work together to improve the nation’s preparedness in responding to incidents involving the release of radiological materials, a press release said.

Two TWRA officers slightly injured but safe after Norris Lake boating accident

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By Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

SPEEDWELL—Because they wore their life jackets, two Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers are slightly injured but safe after a single-vessel boating accident on Norris Lake on Friday.

Officers Jerry Short and Harrison Cornett were on patrol on Norris Lake around 10:30 p.m. last night (Friday night) near Blue Springs Dock when they apparently struck a large piece of floating debris. The impact caused both officers to be ejected from the vessel and into the water. Short was able to swim back to the vessel and use the radio to contact the TWRA dispatcher and other wildlife officers for assistance.

Both officers sustained minor injuries and were transported to Claiborne County Hospital in Tazewell. They have been treated and released. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge receives $3 million state wastewater loan

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City of Oak Ridge Seal

Tennessee awards more than $8.2 million in low-interest water, wastewater construction loans

NASHVILLE—Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau on Tuesday announced that one community and one utility district have been approved to receive more than $8.2 million in low-interest loans for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements.

Oak Ridge received a $3 million state wastewater loan.

“It’s great to see local governments using this important program to help address critical drinking water and wastewater needs,” Haslam said in a press release. “Making these infrastructure improvements will benefit the health of these communities and economic growth.” [Read more…]

Inspired by her son, Neergaard runs for state House

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Misty Neergaard

Misty Neergaard

Inspired by her son’s efforts to shed light on the effects of bullying, Oak Ridge resident Misty Neergaard is running for the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Neergaard is unopposed in the state Democratic primary in District 33, which includes most of Anderson County, on Aug. 7. She will take on the winner of the Republican primary, which pits Rep. John Ragan, the incumbent, against newcomer Caitlin Nolan.

In a press release, Neergaard said her focus is on the need for Anderson County voters to have a voice in the Tennessee House.

“All too often Tennessee and its citizens are portrayed in a negative public light, Neergaard said in the release. “I know the people in Anderson County are kind and hard-working. They deserve a government who cares about them instead of scoring political points. Our family has been through some tough times, and the people of East Tennessee have been wonderfully supportive. It is time I give back.”

The release said Neergaard has been a dedicated mother and housewife for 18 years. Last summer, her son Marcel Neergaard created an online petition to help bring the effects of school bullying to light, the release said. [Read more…]