Oak Ridge Today

Woodland student pulled from water Saturday dies Monday, school official says

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The fourth-grade student pulled from the water at Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon died on Monday, a school official said.

Brayden Pearson was a student at Woodland Elementary School, said Keys Fillauer, Oak Ridge Board of Education chair. The school board observed a moment of silence for Pearson during a Monday evening meeting.

Pearson was found underwater while swimming with his family at a picnic area at the park around 4 p.m. Saturday, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. He was not conscious, Kerley said.

CPR was started, and Pearson was flown by a Lifestar medical helicopter to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville, where he had a pulse on Saturday afternoon and was moved into Intensive Care, Kerley said.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Man shows handgun, fires one shot before surrendering as SWAT team arrives

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Wakefield Road Police Standoff

A man who had allegedly brandished a firearm inside an apartment and shot one round outside before barricading himself inside a Wakefield Road apartment surrendered as an Oak Ridge Police Department SWAT team arrived Monday evening, authorities said.

 

A man who allegedly brandished a firearm inside an apartment and fired one round outside before barricading himself inside a Wakefield Road home surrendered to Oak Ridge police officers as a SWAT team arrived Monday evening, authorities said.

The unidentified man allegedly entered the apartment at Wakefield Road Townhomes and Apartments and brandished the firearm with several people inside, Oak Ridge Police Department Lt. Matt Tedford said. A fight ensued, Tedford said.

The man fired one round outside, but it was not aimed at anyone, police said.

After the man barricaded himself inside his apartment, police set up a perimeter and started negotiations. The SWAT team was notified, and the man decided to come out of his apartment as the SWAT team arrived, Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. [Read more…]

Police watch for speeding, texting, impaired drivers in Operation Drive Safe

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Oak Ridge Police Department Logo

The Oak Ridge Police Department is looking for drivers who are speeding, texting, or driving while impaired in a focused traffic enforcement operation that started June 18 and continues through Labor Day weekend, a press release said.

It’s called Operation Drive Safe, and it will be conducted on Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue. Police are also looking for other traffic-related violations and watching for drivers who do not yield to pedestrians within a crosswalk.

“The Oak Ridge Police Department wants everyone to have a safe summer and share the road whether it’s with another vehicle, cyclist, or pedestrian,” a press release said.

Boy flown to Children’s Hospital after near-drowning at Clark Center Park

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After family members and emergency responders started CPR, a boy who had gone missing while swimming at Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon was flown by medical helicopter to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville, authorities said.

On Sunday afternoon, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said he didn’t know the current condition of the boy, who might be about eight years old.

The boy had been moved to Intensive Care at Children’s Hospital, Kerley said.

“That’s all we know at the moment,” he said.

The chief said the family had been swimming about 150 feet away from the beach at a picnic area at Clark Center Park when relatives noticed the boy was gone. They started CPR when they found him and called 911. The Oak Ridge police and fire departments responded and continued CPR. Anderson County Emergency Medical Services transported the boy to the Lifestar medical helicopter, which picked up the child at a softball field at the park. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge: Pets, hot cars are a killer combination

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Oak Ridge Police Department Logo

Every year, the Oak Ridge Police Department receives numerous calls about pets left in parked cars during hot weather.

People may believe that a quick stop will not harm their pet. However, in those few minutes, the temperature in the car can reach 115 degrees on an 85 degree day, even with the windows cracked.

Dogs and cats cool themselves by panting and by releasing heat through their paws. On summer days, the air and upholstery in a vehicle can heat up to high temperatures that make it impossible for pets to cool themselves. [Read more…]

More red-light, speeding violations since cameras disabled, Redflex says

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Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. said an eastbound traffic camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue/Lafayette Drive had the third-highest rise in detected speeding violations, a 243 percent increase in the number of drivers traveling at 46 mph or more, after the cameras were disabled April 21. Pictured above is the westbound camera.

 

The Arizona company that operated traffic cameras in Oak Ridge for five years said reckless driving has increased significantly, average speeds have risen, and there has been an increase in red-light running and speeding violations since the systems were disabled April 21.

The two biggest increases in speeding violations were in school zones on eastbound and westbound Robertsville Road near Willow Brook Elementary School, camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. said in a report that could be discussed during a Traffic Safety Advisory Board meeting on Tuesday. The average number of school zone violations jumped from a little more than two per day in the 14 days before the cameras were disabled to 10 or 11 per day afterward.

A school zone violation occurs when a driver is detected traveling at 21 mph or more in a 15 mph school zone.

Meanwhile, detections of red-light violations, which can lead to the most serious accidents, increased from an average of 20 per day at four locations in the three weeks before the cameras were disabled to up to 28 per day in the fourth week afterward, Redflex said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Fire Department teams with MDA this weekend

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Oak Ridge Bicycle Center

Oak Ridge Fire Department Muscular Dystrophy Chairperson Duane Chase announced Thursday that the Oak Ridge Firefighters Association will conduct its annual MDA Boot Drive this Friday and Saturday, June 13 and 14, at the Secret City Festival at A.K. Bissell Park.

An MDA booth will be located at the fire department youth area and Zipline landing to make your contribution. Each contribution of $5 will enter the contributor in a drawing for a youth bicycle from Oak Ridge Bicycle Center on Jefferson Avenue. [Read more…]

Storm damages buildings, knocks down trees, knocks out power

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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 early Tuesday evening. (Photo courtesy WYSH Radio/WGAP Radio)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:15 a.m. June 11.

There are reports of trees and power lines down throughout Anderson County, and some roads are still blocked after a fast-moving storm ripped through East Tennessee, authorities said early Tuesday evening.

There have been reports of trees that have fallen on homes, but so far no injuries have been reported.

Tractor Trailer Blown Over near Lake City

A tractor-trailer was reported to have been blown over on Lake City Highway. (Photo courtesy WYSH Radio/WGAP Radio)

The short, fierce storm whipped through Oak Ridge and Anderson County with severe winds and driving rain at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. It left a path of debris: scattered branches and limbs, broken trees, fallen power lines, and damaged buildings and homes. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said there was a semi truck and trailer that apparently was blown over by high winds on Lake City Highway at Old Lake City Highway.

“It has now been removed and the roadway is open,” the Sheriff’s Department said early Tuesday night. The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

At about 8:30 p.m., the Clinton Utilities Board reported that 6,173 customers had been affected by the storm, and 4,068 were still without power. [Read more…]

Two taken to hospital after stabbing reported on Monday night

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Two Oak Ridge men were taken by ambulance to a hospital after a stabbing was reported on Monday night, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a reported disturbance in the Scarboro neighborhood at about 11:30 p.m. Monday. Roughly 20 people were reported to be in the street on South Benedict Avenue near the intersection with South Dillard Avenue, and some were allegedly intoxicated, the ORPD said in a press release.

When officers arrived, they found Kevin Steen, 48, of Oak Ridge, lying in the street with multiple contusions to the head and face, the press release said.

A second subject reportedly had been stabbed and left the scene. [Read more…]

Police: Suspect sets TV, computer monitor on fire in Walmart parking lot

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Walmart Parking Lot Fire

An unknown suspect set several items on fire in the Walmart parking lot in Oak Ridge on Saturday evening. The items included a 50-inch flat-screen television and a computer monitor. (Photo by Jennifer Sampson)

 

An unknown suspect set several items on fire in the Walmart parking lot in Oak Ridge on Saturday evening, authorities said.

The arson included an LG 50-inch flat-screen television, a computer monitor and modem, three computer hard drives, and two Walmart DVDs, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Sherrill L. Selby said in an incident report.

The fire was reported at about 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Walmart, which is on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. Black smoke billowed up from the center of the parking lot until the Oak Ridge Fire Department, which has a fire station nearby, arrived to extinguish the flames. The blaze didn’t appear be set near any vehicles, and there were no reports of injuries.

The police report did not include information on why the suspect might have started the fire.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Beer Board suspends Lincoln’s beer permit for two weeks

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Allen Schwartz and Roy McKinnon at Oak Ridge Beer Board Meeting

Allen Schwartz, right, attorney for Lincoln’s Sports Grille, and restaurant consultant Roy McKinnon said Lincoln’s has made substantial changes.

Note: This story was last updated at 6:45 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Beer Board has suspended the beer permit of Lincoln’s Sports Grille for two weeks starting at midnight today (Monday).

The 14-day suspension will end just before midnight June 23. It was approved by Beer Board members in a 4-3 vote on Monday afternoon. Liquor and food sales are not affected.

Beer Board members said they weren’t satisfied with the remediation plan presented by Lincoln’s following a May meeting after an April fight.

“There is a cultural change that is occurring, but it has to occur faster,” Beer Board Chair Randy Tedford said. [Read more…]

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

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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…]