Oak Ridge Today

Community Matters leaders report back at ORHS on Sunday

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Pictured above at a Community Matters forum at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church on Nov. 1, 2015, are the Reverend Derrick Hammond of Oak Valley Baptist Church, center, the Rev. Jake Morrill of Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, left, and Father Brent Shelton of St. Mary’s Parish. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The leaders of the Community Matters series of forums held last fall will report back on what they’ve learned at Oak Ridge High School on Sunday.

The informational session is scheduled from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, April 24. All Oak Ridge residents are invited to attend.

This event will feature community leaders including Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, Police Chief Jim Akagi, ORHS Principal Martin McDonald, and leading pastors in town, all to continue the conversation begun last fall, a press release said.

“In the last couple of years, communities around the country have engaged the conversation sparked by Black Lives Matter,” the press release said. “In some communities, this has looked like protest. In others, it has looked like study and reflection.” [Read more…]

ORPD to host Junior Police Academy this summer

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Oak Ridge Junior Police Academy

Oak Ridge Junior Police Academy students at the National Forensics Academy in 2012. (File photo/submitted)

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department will host the Junior Police Academy again this summer.

The Fifth Annual Junior Police Academy will be offered to 5th-12th grade students, including private school and home-schooled students. Students interested in learning more about the Oak Ridge Police Department and the criminal justice system are encouraged to apply. The academy is free to all eligible applicants.

The Junior Police Academy will be offered in three phases this year:

  • Phase I: Basic Law Enforcement Awareness—will be held June 20-24 and is for first-year cadets only.
  • Phase II: Intro to Forensic Investigations—will be held June 27-July 1 and is for second-year cadets only.
  • Phase III: Emergency Response and Readiness—will be held July 18-22 and is for third-year cadets only.

[Read more…]

Redflex proposes new handheld laser device that could be used to catch speeders, traffic violators

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Redflex-LIDAR-April-19-2016

A representative of Redflex Traffic Systems gives a brief presentation on a new laser-technology traffic detection system that includes video and can measure the speed of vehicles and the distance between vehicles. Charlie Buckels, southeast U.S. sales manager for Redflex, gave the presentation during an Oak Ridge City Council work session on Tuesday evening, April 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Redflex Traffic Systems, the company that once had unmanned, pole-mounted red-light and speed enforcement cameras in Oak Ridge, has a new handheld system that it says could be used to help make roads safer as the city tries to slow down speeding drivers. But the use of the devices hasn’t been approved yet, and one Oak Ridge City Council member expressed her strong opposition on Tuesday.

The new handheld LIDAR devices include a camera, and they can capture traffic violations on video. They use a laser technology to measure vehicle speeds and distances between vehicles, said Charlie Buckels, southeast U.S. sales manager for Redflex. LIDAR stands for light detection and ranging.

Buckels said the handheld devices could be used for both civil and criminal violations. In some cases, such as for speeding, police officers could use the devices and the evidence they collect to issue civil citations that could be mailed to the registered owners of violating vehicles. In those cases, officers wouldn’t have to stop the violators, Buckels said.

But in other cases—when a car is driving excessively fast or swerving, for example—police officers could pull vehicles over, Buckels said.

City officials said they have been discussing drivers traveling too fast on roadways in the city, including those coming into town on South Illinois Avenue in the morning and trying to get to work on time. Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said three City Council members have asked him to take action to combat speeding, and he’s had concerns himself about traffic on Illinois Avenue. Other roads cited by city officials Tuesday included Oak Ridge Turnpike, Robertsville Road, Melton Lake Drive, and Tennessee Avenue. [Read more…]

Animal Shelter cat, rat to appear on ‘Unlikely Animal Friends,’ a National Geographic show

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Batman and Pumpkin

Batman, a Dumbo rat, left, and Pumpkin, a FIV-positive cat, two mascots at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, will be featured on National Geographic (Nat Geo) WILD’s “Unlikely Animal Friends” airing 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

A cat and a rat, both mascots at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, will be featured on National Geographic (Nat Geo) WILD’s “Unlikely Animal Friends” airing 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21.

In September 2015, the Nat Geo WILD team spent a full day at the shelter filming, a press release said. Their focus was to show the unlikely friendship between Pumpkin, a FIV-positive cat, and Batman, a Dumbo rat. Aside from showing the friendship between the two animals, the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter hopes to educate the public on FIV-positive cats and promote adopting from local animal shelters.

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter is located on the east end of town at 395 Belgrade Road, and it currently holds a no-kill status, the press release said.

For more information about the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, visit http://animalshelter.oakridgetn.gov/ or call (865) 425-3423.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Man charged with attempted murder after Tuesday shooting on Pacific Road

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Note: This story was last updated 2:40 p.m.

A Knoxville man has been charged with attempted murder after a Tuesday shooting in Oak Ridge that left a woman with a gunshot wound to her ear, authorities said.

The alleged shooting was reported at about 12:04 p.m. Tuesday at 107 Pacific Road.

Besides attempted murder, Eric Wilson, 42, of Knoxville, has also been charged with aggravated assault, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a press release.

The shooting allegedly occurred during a dispute. Wilson fled the home in a vehicle, and authorities soon learned he might be on his way to a home in Morgan County. So, the ORPD altered authorities there. [Read more…]

ORPD investigating ‘skimmer’ found at credit union ATM

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ORPD Pic of ATM Skimmer

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a case where a “skimmer” was found attached to an ATM at the ORNL Federal Credit Union on South Illinois Avenue. (Photo by ORPD)

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a case where a “skimmer” was found attached to an ATM at the ORNL Federal Credit Union on South Illinois Avenue on Sunday, authorities said.

A “skimmer” is an unauthorized device that is attached to the credit/debit card slot on an ATM, or automated teller machine, to fraudulently capture customers’ account information, the ORPD said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department recommends that consumers exercise caution when using ATMs. If you notice anything unusual about the ATM, contact the bank or credit union that operates the ATM, the ORPD said. [Read more…]

Crashed van plunges down hill, into river after tow cable snaps

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A Ford van that had crashed alongside Melton Lake Drive plunged down a steep hillside and into the Clinch River after a tow cable snapped Wednesday night, April 13, 2016. Melton Lake Drive was closed for about an hour between Rivers Run and Rolling Links boulevards after the Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Police Department responded. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A Ford van that had crashed alongside Melton Lake Drive plunged down a steep hillside and into the Clinch River after a tow cable snapped Wednesday night, authorities said.

The white van had crashed into rocks and trees at the crest of a hill on a curved section of Melton Lake Drive between Rivers Run and Rolling Links boulevards in east Oak Ridge. The van was in trees about 25 feet off the road when the tow truck arrived, authorities said.

The van was hung up on rocks and trees, and when the tow truck tried to pull it out, the wrecker’s cable snapped. The van rolled down the hill and into the river, where it sank. Authorities estimated it’s about 100 feet down the embankment. The slope is steep enough that you can’t see the bottom from the top.

The crash was reported at about 9:50 p.m. Wednesday. Melton Lake Drive was closed for about an hour as the Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department investigated. [Read more…]

Driver flown to hospital by Lifestar after crashing into tree on Melton Lake Drive

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Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Matthew Johnston, right, and Sergeant Ron Boucher, center, investigate a single-vehicle crash on Melton Lake Drive on Monday, April 11, 2016. The Oak Ridge Fire Department also responded, and so did Anderson County EMS. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A male driver was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after going down an embankment and crashing into a tree alongside Melton Lake Drive on Monday, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash was reported at about 12:16 p.m. Monday across from the entrance to Melton Lake Park. Rescuers reported that the driver was conscious.

The man was taken by ambulance to a peninsula near the UT-Battelle finish-line tower near the south end of Melton Lake Park, where a University of Tennessee Lifestar helicopter picked him up. The Lifestar helicopter landed at about 12:54 p.m. and left about 15 minutes later.

The car, a blue Toyota Camry LE, went down a small embankment off the west side of the road, the southbound lane, where it stopped in brush, facing north, after reportedly hitting the tree. Rescuers reported that they had to remove the roof, and it was peeled away from the top of the car, which was about 30-40 feet off the road. [Read more…]

Neighborhood Watch has fundraiser at Gondolier on Wednesday

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The Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program has a fundraiser at Gondolier Restaurant on Wednesday, April 13.

Ten percent of dine-in or carry-out receipts will be donated to the Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program, organizers said.

The fundraiser is from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday.

Gondolier Restaurant is at 792 Briarcliff Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Warrants: Woman had access to weapons, threatened to shoot boyfriend with police present

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Sara J. Flynt

Sara J. Flynt

The Oak Ridge woman who allegedly barricaded herself in a home in March and threw a pistol out a window while negotiating with police officers has been charged with aggravated assault for allegedly threatening to shoot her boyfriend while police were present and while she had access to multiple deadly weapons, authorities said.

Sara J. Flynt, 27, was charged with four counts of aggravated assault and arrested April 1. She remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Friday evening, and her bond has been set at $105,000.

Police had responded to a report that Flynt was creating a disturbance at her home at 426 East Tennessee Avenue at about 2:04 a.m. Saturday, March 19. When officers tried to contact her, they found that she was barricaded in a bedroom, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Kyle Scott said in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

“Flynt refused to exit the bedroom, and the affiant (Scott) heard the distinct metallic sound of rounds being chambered in a firearm,” the warrants said.

Flynt’s boyfriend had told police he owned a handgun and 12-15 long guns that were inside the bedroom, Scott said. Officers later determined there had been one handgun—a .45 caliber—and 17 various long guns—rifles, shotguns, and airsoft—according to the warrants. [Read more…]

Dog rescued from kitchen fire on Faunce Lane

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Faunce Lane Fire April 7, 2016

Oak Ridge firefighters contain a kitchen fire at 306 Faunce Lane on Thursday, April 7, 2016. (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge firefighters rescued a dog from a house after a kitchen fire produced intense smoke and flames inside the home on Thursday evening, authorities said.

A 911 caller reported the fire at 306 Faunce Lane at about 6:56 p.m. Thursday, April 7, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

Fire and smoke was coming from the windows and attic of the home when the Oak Ridge Fire Department arrived, the press release said. Faunce Lane is off Florida Avenue in central Oak Ridge.

The homeowner, Bruce Mccullough, said he had placed cooking oil on the stove to begin cooking, the release said. He went into the living room and within moments heard popping and saw fire in the kitchen. [Read more…]

Crews fight fire inside former Magnet Mills; Clinton City Schools closed Friday

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Magnet Mills Fire Clinton April 7 2016

The former Magnet Mills in Clinton caught fire on Thursday evening, April 7, 2016. (Photo courtesy Philip Warfield)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m. April 8.

CLINTON—Crews battled a fire inside the former Magnet Mills in Clinton on Thursday evening, and Clinton City Schools will be closed Friday, April 8.

Charles G. Seivers Boulevard was closed downtown Thursday night as crews fought the fire and prepared to remove items that were still smoldering inside.

Clinton City Schools said schools would be closed because of the fire and the roads that would be closed in the morning.

“This decision was made in an abundance of caution for the safety of our students and staff members,” school officials said.

The fire was reported at about 7:15 p.m. Thursday in one building at the former hosiery mill. The property includes two big, brick warehouse buildings next to CVS Pharmacy between Charles G. Seivers Boulevard and the Clinch River in downtown Clinton. [Read more…]