Oak Ridge Today

Residents discuss Dollar General in Marlow

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Anderson County residents have expressed mixed opinions in government meetings about a reported proposal to build a Dollar General store next to Oliver Springs Highway in Marlow. The area is pictured above at Marlow Circle on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A handful of Anderson County residents have expressed mixed opinions in government meetings about a reported proposal to build a Dollar General store next to Oliver Springs Highway in Marlow, but the Anderson County Commission has voted 13-1 in favor of a rezoning that could allow it.

A few property owners and Anderson County Commissioner Jerry White, who represents Marlow, supported the project, saying, among other things, that it would be convenient for rural residents who need quick access to groceries and other items.

Former AC Commissioner Hitchcock dies

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Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock

Note: This story was updated at 11:30 a.m.

Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock, who represented part of Oak Ridge in three terms on Anderson County Commission, died January 10. A former teacher, he was 76.

Hitchcock served on Anderson County Commission from 2006 to 2018. He represented District 6 in Oak Ridge, including the City Hall, Robertsville, and West Hills voting precincts.

At the request of Commissioner Catherine Denenberg, the Anderson County Commission had a moment of silence in honor of Hitchcock during their monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 17.

Later in the meeting, Anderson County Commissioner Tracy Wandell said he appreciated Hitchcock’s friendship and leadership.

“He did a lot of things in a short amount of time,” Wandell said. “He always did things that made our county better.”

[Read more…]

For members: Witnesses testify in sexual harassment lawsuit filed against county

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The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building United States Courthouse is pictured above on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CHATTANOOGA—Four women who testified during a civil sexual harassment trial in federal court last week said their former boss, a former Anderson County elected official, caressed them around the waist, rubbed them, sent graphic messages about oral sex, and asked them to have sex with him and his wife, among other allegations of inappropriate behavior. The experiences have left them traumatized, the women said, unable to eat or sleep, suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, and in one case, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Two of the women have filed lawsuits in federal court over the alleged harassment by former Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk William Jones, who served one term from 2014 to 2018. A trial was held for one of the lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga last week. That lawsuit was filed in March 2018 by former employee Gail Harness, who started working for Jones as a college intern in 2016. The lawsuit alleged that Harness had endured a hostile work environment in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Tennessee Human Rights Act.

Anderson County has fireworks Saturday night

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Fireworks at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2017. (File photo by D. Ray Smith)

There are fireworks in Anderson County for Independence Day this evening.

The fireworks are funded by Anderson County with help from private donations from businesses and residents.

Anderson County commissioners debated last month whether to have the fireworks because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also debated how much to spend, with potential amounts ranging between $12,000 and $20,000. The goal was to get to a total of about $20,000.

The fireworks show will start at 9:45 p.m. today (Saturday, July 4) at Anderson County High School. The high school campus will be closed to the public.

Anderson County High School is at 130 Maverick Circle in Clinton, close to Exit 122 on Interstate 75. The Anderson County mayor’s office recommended that anyone watching the fireworks from public areas around Exit 122 use social distancing, which generally means staying six feet away from people who don’t live with you.

There are normally fireworks in cities such as Oak Ridge, but those displays have been canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, in what could be a one-time event, the county is hosting and helping to fund the display.

[Read more…]

AC Commission schedules public hearing on TVA request for landfill at Bull Run

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Anderson County Commission has scheduled a public hearing to discuss a request from the Tennessee Valley Authority to build a 60-acre landfill on the Bull Run Fossil Plant site in Claxton.

The hearing is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Tuesday, February 18, in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse at 100 North Main Street in Clinton.

The proposed new landfill is known Site J, and it has been characterized as a three-cell unit capable of holding eight to nine million cubic yards of coal combustion residuals, according to a public hearing notice.

[Read more…]

Commission to discuss county budget, possible 18-cent tax rate increase

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Anderson County Courthouse
The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above. (File photo)

The Anderson County Commission will discuss the budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, and a possible 18.25-cent increase in the property tax rate on Thursday.

The special meeting is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Thursday, June 27, in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

The meeting will focus on the budget proposal, and it will include time for elected and appointed officials, as well as department heads and citizens, to address the Commission with comments and concerns about the proposed budget.

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TDEC to attend county’s Bull Run meeting on June 10

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will attend a June 10 meeting where the planned closure of the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton will be discussed, a county commissioner said.

It will be the June 10 monthly meeting of the Anderson County Commission’s Intergovernmental Committee. The public is encouraged to attend, said Anderson County Commissioner Catherine Denenberg of District 6 in Oak Ridge.

TDEC is the state department that is responsible for monitoring the Tennessee Valley Authority, Denenberg said.

“They will have a Power Point presentation and will be there to answer questions about their involvement with the closing of the Bull Run Fossil plant in Claxton,” Denenberg said.

[Read more…]

For members: With no increase, AC schools budget could have $1.4 million in cuts

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Without a tax rate increase or other new revenues, the Anderson County Schools budget could include more than $1.4 million in cuts, compared to last year, school officials said during an Anderson County Board of Education meeting on Thursday, May 16, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—Without a tax rate increase or other new revenues, the Anderson County Schools budget could include more than $1.4 million in cuts, compared to last year, school officials said Thursday.

There are already $650,000 in cuts included in the budget, according to information presented by Tim Parrott, director of Anderson County Schools, during an Anderson County Board of Education meeting on Thursday. That budget, which the school board approved last month, would have required about $820,000 in new revenue, said Scott Gillenwaters, chair of the school board’s Budget Committee.

County Commission has special budget meeting Monday

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The Anderson County Commission will have a special budget meeting on Monday afternoon. The meeting is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Monday, May 6, in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

During the special meeting, the Anderson County Commission will review the recommendations of the Budget Committee, discuss them, and then send the Commission’s recommendation’s back to the Budget Committee.

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Finance Committee accepts Erb resignation; full Commission to meet Monday

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Natalie Erb
Natalie Erb

Information from WYSH Radio

Meeting in a special-called session on Monday, the Anderson County Finance Committee voted to accept the resignation of Natalie Erb as the county’s finance director, effective May 23.

The Committee also voted to name Robby Holbrook, who is currently deputy finance director in charge of payroll, as the interim finance director upon Erb’s departure.

The third piece of business taken care of on Monday saw the Committee vote to authorize the Human Resources Department to begin the search for a new finance director by modifying the job description to incorporate the duties of the county purchasing agent.

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(For members) Retiring Bull Run, Paradise could save millions, more than $1 billion in ‘lifetime costs’

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The Tennessee Valley Authority's Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

AC Commission meets Tuesday

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Information from WSYH Radio

The Anderson County Commission will meet Tuesday evening at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. Typically held on the third Monday of every month, this month’s meeting was moved back one day because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Among the items on the agenda include possible discussion of the need for a new roof at the county-owned building in Oak Ridge that houses Anderson County General Sessions Court Division II after rain water infiltrated the building and damaged records and equipment.

Other items of discussion will also focus on working with the City of Oak Ridge and Roane County on developing a strategy to move forward with a proposed hazardous material disposal site on the Oak Ridge Reservation. [Read more…]