Oak Ridge Today

Tennessee reports new daily high in COVID-19 cases

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A chart of daily new COVID-19 cases in Tennessee through Saturday, June 20, 2020. (Chart courtesy Ken Mayes, used with permission)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.

Tennessee reported 1,188 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, a new daily high, and the state passed 500 confirmed deaths on Saturday, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

The new high in daily new cases occurred in the same week that the state reported what are now its third- and sixth-highest totals of new cases in one day: 885 on Sunday, June 14, and 726 on Monday, June 15.

Of the 1,188 new cases reported Friday, the state said 1,181 were new confirmed cases and seven were new probable cases.

The previous daily high was 1,156 on May 1. That was reported after a large number of new cases was diagnosed at Turner Trousdale Correctional Center, according to Nashville investigative reporter Phil Williams.

It’s not clear why there was a new high on Friday. There was a large number of new tests reported, 15,176. But the rate of positive results, 7.8 percent (comparing total new cases to total new tests), was in the range of the rate for the rest of the week, when the positive rate ranged between 4.9 percent and 8.8 percent.

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Photos: Old AMSE building being demolished

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The former American Museum of Science and Energy building on South Tulane Avenue is being demolished, and apartments are planned on the site. (Photo courtesy Mike Mahathy)

The former American Museum of Science and Energy building is being demolished, and apartments are planned on the site.

The apartment project is expected to include seven three-story buildings with 226 apartment units on 10 acres.

Now called Main Street Lofts, the $32 million apartment project has included an agreement to reduce property taxes and the transfer of what had been federal property from the U.S. Department of Energy to the city and then to TN Oak Ridge Illinois, a company affiliated with RealtyLink, the developer of Main Street Oak Ridge.

The apartments are being built as RealtyLink, a South Carolina company, plans to build more new stores across South Tulane Avenue at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

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COVID-19 cases pass 30,000 in Tennessee

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Graph courtesy Ken Mayes (used with permission)

Note: This story was updated at 11:20 a.m.

The number of COVID-19 cases passed 30,000 in Tennessee on Sunday. The number of deaths is approaching 500, and the number of active cases in the state is over 10,000.

There are now 65 total cases (confirmed and probable) and 20 active cases in Anderson County. Those are both significant increases.

Across the state, there were 31,612 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 472 confirmed deaths on Tuesday, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. There were another 218 probable cases and another 21 probable deaths.

The number of cases in Anderson County appears to be generally increasing more rapidly. Through Friday, June 5, the Anderson County cases had been slowly climbing a case or two at time, and some days there were no new cases. But that seems to have changed around June 6. The case count climbed from 42 on Friday, June 5, to 50 on Tuesday, June 9. It rose to 60 on Monday, June 15, and it was 65 on Tuesday, June 16, the Tennessee Department of Health said.

The number of active cases in the county has been increasing as well. It had been in the range of five to eight active cases. It increased to 11 on Tuesday, June 9. On Tuesday, June 16, there were 20 active cases in Anderson County, according to health department data (65 total cases and 45 recovered).

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Protesters want life, liberty, justice

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Civil rights leader Reverend Harold Middlebrook tells Black Lives Matter protesters in Clinton on Thursday, June 11, 2020, that the movement will require more than a march. (Photo by John Huotari/oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—Civil rights pioneer Anna Theresser Caswell asked people to not hate.

Civil rights leader Reverend Harold Middlebrook told local Black Lives Matters protesters that the movement will require more than a march.

Caswell and Middlebrook were two of about a dozen speakers at a Black Lives Matter march and protest that started at the Clinton football field and ended at Clinton Middle School on Thursday. Several hundred people attended.

Clinton Middle School is where the high school used to be. It was desegregated more than 60 years ago. It’s reported to have been the first high school in the South to desegregate under the U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954.

Caswell, 77, was one of the 12 Black teenagers who walked down from Green McAdoo School on Foley Hill and desegregated the old Clinton High School, which had been all-white, on August 27, 1956.

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Clinton 12 invited to march with BLM protesters

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Members of the Clinton 12 have been invited to march with Black Lives Matter protesters in Clinton this evening (Thursday, June 11).

The Clinton 12 were the 12 black teenagers who integrated Clinton High School in the fall of 1956, braving threats of violence, after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Organizer Trevor King, who organized a peaceful protest in Oak Ridge last week, said marchers in Clinton are scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. at the football field at 250 West Broad Street.

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Children’s Museum offers scaled-down summer camps

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A lab station activity at a STEM Carnival fascinates a young child. Oak Ridge Associated Universities hosted the carnival at the Children’s Museum. (Submitted photo)

 

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will offer a scaled-down version of Imagination Station Summer Camp beginning June 29, with new safety precautions in place because of COVID 19.

Art, nature, clay, and Star Wars-themed camps—as well as STEM themes, backyard games, Japanese culture, and Oak Ridge history—will be among the camps.

“Our staff has been busy redesigning our exciting Summer Camp program in light of COVID-19 and the need for social distancing and other precautions, as advised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Beth Shea, Children’s Museum executive director. [Read more…]

Pierce Physical Therapy introduces new physical therapist

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Jocelyn Miller, left, and Ray Pierce of Pierce Physical Therapy are pictured above. (Photo by Kenton Pryor)

Pierce Physical Therapy has introduced a new physical therapist, Jocelyn Miller.

Here is more information about Miller:

Jocelyn Miller, PT, DPT

Born and raised in the rolling hills of southern Indiana, Jocelyn received her bachelor’s degree with honors in anthropology from Indiana University.

She then moved to California, receiving a master’s degree in East Asian studies from Stanford University.

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Black bear seen in east Oak Ridge

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At lunchtime Wednesday, June 10, 2020, the Oak Ridge Police Department received a call from the Rivers Run Boulevard area, reporting that a bear had been spotted in a resident’s yard through a Ring doorbell. The bear was not aggressive, and officers were unable to locate the bear, the ORPD said. (Photo courtesy ORPD)

A black bear was seen in east Oak Ridge early Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department received a call about the bear at 12:35 p.m. Wednesday. The bear had been seen in a resident’s yard through a Ring doorbell.

The bear was not aggressive, the ORPD said. Officers were unable to locate the bear.

Here’s what the ORPD said you should do if you encounter a bear in your neighborhood:

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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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Updated: July 4 Fireworks Celebration canceled this year

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The annual fireworks show was in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge on Thursday, July 4, 2019. (File photo by D. Ray Smith)

Note: This story was updated at 11:30 p.m. June 10.

The July 4 Fireworks Celebration in Oak Ridge has been canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a press release, the City of Oak Ridge said the challenges related to COVID-19 include:

  • The Oak Ridge Community Band has canceled its performance.
  • Surrounding areas have also canceled similar events.
  • Those attending the July 4 Independence Day celebration would not be able to successfully follow the social distancing requirements established by the State of Tennessee and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The city said there is a risk of larger crowds and more traffic because other nearby events have been canceled. Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said residents can instead spend time with family and friends at home.

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Watson to present proposed budget Monday

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Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson is scheduled to present the municipal budget proposed for the next fiscal year during a City Council meeting on Monday.

The meeting will start at 7 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. You can see the agenda here.

The meeting will be in-person, rather than a virtual meeting, but city officials said they will use appropriate social distancing.

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Data center could be built on Summit, tax incentive to be considered

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This building of about 30,000 square feet on Pine Ridge, also known as The Summit, was once used to store documents for the Y-12 National Security Complex. It could now be used for a data center. The Summit is on Pine Ridge along South Illinois Avenue between Scarboro Road/Lafayette Drive and Centrifuge Way. It’s pictured above on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A data center could be built in an existing building on Pine Ridge, also known as The Summit, off South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The project has been proposed by GIGA Data Centers of Atlanta.

The data center would be in the building on The Summit that was once used by the Y-12 National Security Complex to store documents. The building, which is about 30,000 square feet, would be retrofitted.

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