Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge woman dies in three-car crash in Alcoa

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An Oak Ridge woman died in a three-car crash in Alcoa on Monday morning, authorities said.

Claire B. Milner, 20, was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center after the crash on Alcoa Highway at Willow Road at 9:45 a.m. Monday, but she died of her injuries, the Alcoa Police Department said.

Milner had been driving a 2000 Ford Focus on Willow Road and had apparently stopped at the stop sign, then attempted to cross the southbound lanes of Alcoa Highway to turn left onto northbound Alcoa Highway, the APD said in a news release. Milner’s Focus was struck in the driver’s door by a 2006 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by Zackary A. Presnell, 33, of Knoxville, who was traveling south on Alcoa Highway, in the left lane of travel. [Read more…]

New ORPD hardware, software package to allow officers to issue electronic citations

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Oak Ridge Police Department and Spillman Technologies

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi, left, explains a new hardware and software suite that the City Council agreed to buy for the police department on Monday.

Note: This story was updated at 5:30 p.m.

A new roughly $500,000 hardware and software suite purchased for the Oak Ridge Police Department includes an electronic citation system that will allow officers to scan driver’s licenses with handheld units and quickly issue multiple citations.

The new system will save time because it will, among other things, automatically download information from the electronic tickets, including into the court system, officials said.

“It’s a lot quicker, a lot more effective,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said during a January work session with the City Council.

Officials said the ability to issue tickets quicker could produce more revenue for the city and more effective law enforcement. They said it will also eliminate some problems with the current system, such as messy handwriting on paper tickets and the need to duplicate data entry in the police department and then again in the court system. [Read more…]

No damage to house in Monday afternoon chimney fire

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Louisiana Avenue Chimney Fire

There was no damage to a Louisiana Avenue home that had a Monday afternoon chimney fire. (Photo by Tom Scott)

There was no damage to a Louisiana Avenue home during a chimney fire on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The chimney fire occurred at about 4:55 p.m. Monday at 330 Louisiana Ave., Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. The fire was contained in the chimney with no damage to the house, Kerley said.

Police ID driver who died in Sunday morning crash

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Hillside Road Fatal Crash

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the driver who died in a crash early Sunday morning after hitting a utility pole on Hillside Road near the intersection with Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the driver who died in a crash on Hillside Road early Sunday morning.

The driver was Hobert L. Mitchell, 32, of Oak Ridge, the ORPD said in a press release.

Mitchell was driving a white 2003 Nissan Murano registered to Jordan Jones, also of Oak Ridge, the release said.

Mitchell’s body was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where an autopsy was to be performed, and the investigation of this incident remains ongoing, the ORPD said. [Read more…]

Animal Shelter adoption fee reduced for Valentine’s Special this week

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Valentino at Oak Ridge Animal Shelter

Submitted

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, all dogs and cats at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter will be available for the adoption price of $55. This special Valentine’s fee is in effect Tuesday, Feb. 11, through Saturday, Feb. 15.

Come meet your perfect match and be ready to fall in love! We have many beautiful, loving animals that need a home.

The normal adoption fee is $110. The Valentine’s special price of $55 includes a veterinarian physical wellness check, spay/neuter, vaccinate, rabies shot, microchip, tattoo, flea/tick treatment, and nail trim. [Read more…]

Driver dies after SUV hits utility pole on Hillside Road

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Hillside Road Fatal Crash

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a fatal Sunday morning crash near the intersection of Hillside Road and Pennsylvania Avenue as the Oak Ridge Electric Department replaces a utility pole hit by the driver’s SUV.

Note: This story was updated at 11:17 a.m.

A driver died after an SUV hit a utility pole on Hillside Road at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

The driver is not being identified until family members have been notified, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

Before the crash, an ORPD officer had observed the white SUV traveling at high speed near Highland Avenue and Hillside Road, a press release said. [Read more…]

Armed with bat, Clinton man allegedly threatens to kill Powell man, daughter

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Casey Aaron Massengill

Casey Aaron Massengill

Also arrested on domestic assault charge from October

A Clinton man who was allegedly armed with a baseball bat and threatened to kill a Powell man and his daughter before beating on a car with the bat has been charged with aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, and two counts of vandalism.

Casey Aaron Massengill, 24, of Sinking Springs Road, was also arrested on a charge of domestic assault for allegedly hitting his ex-girlfriend in the face and head and spraying her with pepper spray in October.

The incident involving the alleged aggravated assault and aggravated burglary occurred on Jan. 25 on Bison Lane in Powell in Anderson County. Bison Lane is off Clinton Highway southeast of Edgemoor Road.

The victim reported he was asleep in his bedroom at about 11:16 p.m. Jan. 25 when he heard glass break. He said he found Massengill in his living room with a baseball bat, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

Teen charged with aggravated robbery for alleged November holdup

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Treston Ahkeem Blake Lee

Treston Ahkeem Blake Lee

An Oak Ridge teenager has been charged with aggravated robbery for his alleged role in a November stickup on Jonathan Lane.

Treston Blake Lee, 19, of Wakefield Road, was arrested Jan. 26, and he remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Thursday afternoon. His bond has been set at $100,000.

An arrest warrant filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court said the alleged robbery occurred at about 7 p.m. Nov. 30 and involved another defendant. Lee had met the victim several times and was allowed to enter the home, Oak Ridge Police Department Detective Bill Weaver said in the warrant.

The second defendant, who is not identified in the warrant, also walked into the home that night and displayed a small-caliber silver handgun, Weaver said. [Read more…]

State: Sprinkler system saves lives in Oak Ridge assisted living fire

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Patriot Park Assisted Living Fire

Firefighters remove water from Patriot Park Assisted Living on Gum Hollow Road after putting out a small bed fire Friday evening. The fire was kept in check by a sprinkler system before Oak Ridge firefighters arrived and extinguished the flames.

An Oak Ridge assisted living center is thankful for its sprinkler system after a fire broke out on the premises Friday, state officials said Wednesday. All residents were safely evacuated and property damage contained to one room because of the sprinkler system.

This news comes at the same time as investigators comb through the fire-devastated ruins of an assisted living community in L’isle Verte, Quebec. where 25 residents lost their lives. The major difference between the two fires is that the assisted living building in Oak Ridge was equipped with a working sprinkler system, a press release said.

“The damage to the building was minimal, and no residents were displaced,” Oak Ridge Fire Department Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said of the Friday evening fire at Patriot Park Assisted Living on Gum Hollow Road. “Without the sprinkler system, we believe the outcome would be very different.” [Read more…]

ORHS staff seizes electronic stun device from 15-year-old student

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Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

Note: This story was updated at 8:18 p.m. to correct the age of the student.

Oak Ridge High School staff members seized an electronic stun device from an 15-year-old student in the cafeteria on Tuesday, authorities said.

The ORHS staff notified the Oak Ridge Police Department, which responded, took possession of the device, and interviewed the suspect, a press release said. The student was later released to a guardian.

The student did not threaten anyone with the device, and no injuries were reported, the release said. ORPD is investigating the incident, and charges are pending for the possession of a prohibited weapon on school grounds.

The incident occurred at lunchtime Tuesday.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Firehouse Subs Foundation donates equipment to ORFD, Roane County

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Firehouse Subs and Oak Ridge Fire Department Thermal Imaging Camera

Above, representatives of Firehouse Subs present a $10,000 thermal imaging camera to the Oak Ridge Fire Department in January. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Fire Department)

Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation recently donated a thermal imaging camera worth more than $10,000 to Oak Ridge Fire Department.

The foundation also donated first-aid kits and six automated external defibrillators, worth a total of more than $10,200, to Roane County Sheriff’s Office.

The equipment was presented in ceremonies at Firehouse Subs in Oak Ridge and Lenoir City.

The thermal imaging camera donated to ORFD will detect body heat and hot spots in burning buildings, allowing firefighters to reach victims quickly and put out deadly fires. [Read more…]

Found in Woodland: Black-and-white pot-bellied pig

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Pot-bellied Pig on Nasson Lane

A black-and-white female pot-bellied pig roams loose on Nasson Lane in Woodland on Monday morning.

Note: This story was updated at 1:53 p.m.

A black-and-white pot-bellied pig roaming loose in Woodland was picked up by animal control officers and taken to the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter on Monday morning.

The slow-moving female pig roamed through several yards on Nasson Lane before it was corralled in a a backyard, where it was picked up by an animal control officer.

It wasn’t clear where the pig came from. It did not have a collar or identification tags.

Some people keep pot-bellied pigs as pets and one officer said he has encountered them before, although it’s not clear if they would be allowed in the center of the city. [Read more…]