Oak Ridge Today

McKamey suspends state House campaign; Collins will be write-in candidate

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Herman Collins

Herman Collins

Michael McKamey of Clinton, who had been a candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives in District 33, announced Tuesday that he has suspended his campaign, a party official said.

The campaign suspension was announced by Anderson County Democratic Party Chair Catherine Denenberg.

McKamey is supporting Herman Collins, who has announced as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary for the same office, Denenberg said. Collins, who also lives in Clinton, now serves as the first vice chair of the Anderson County Democratic Party.

McKamey made his decision to suspend his campaign due to a family illness that is requiring his full attention, Denenberg said. [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge, Duhamel, AC’s Flatford at boys state track meet

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Colburn Dukes Etheridge and Villegas Relay Medals at State Track Meet May 27 2016 Bowden

The Oak Ridge boys 4×800-meter relay team finished 7th in the state track and field meet in Murfreesboro on Friday, May 27, 2016. Pictured above from left are senior Thomas Colburn, junior Reid Dukes, junior Jacob Etheridge, and sophomore Jose Villegas. (Photo by Wallace Bowden)

 

Here are photos by Kindell Moore and Wallace Bowden from the boys state track and field championship in Murfreesboro on Friday.

Oak Ridge senior Tyler Boullie finished seventh in the 800-meter run at the state meet, and the Wildcats’ 4×800-meter relay team also finished seventh. The Oak Ridge boys finished ninth in the state in Class AAA in the 4×100-meter relay.

Anderson County senior Derek Flatford finished second in the 110-meter hurdles, and senior Gashaw Duhamel, who ran cross country for Oak Ridge in the fall, finished second in Class A-AA in the 3,200-meter run, running for Tennessee School for the Deaf.

Oak Ridge Boullie Medal at State Track Meet May 27 2016 Bowden

Oak Ridge senior Tyler Boullie finished 7th in the 800-meter run in the state track and field meet in Murfreesboro on Friday, May 27, 2016. (Photo by Wallace Bowden)

[Read more…]

Hausladen, a freshman, finishes eighth in state in 300-meter hurdles

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Hausladen Hurdles State Track Meet May 26 2016 1 Bowden

Oak Ridge freshman Kate Hausladen finished 8th in the 300-meter hurdles and 11th in the 100-meter hurdles at the state track and field meet at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro on Thursday, May 26, 2016. (Photo by Wallace Bowden)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:50 p.m.

Oak Ridge freshman Kate Hausladen finished eighth in the 300-meter hurdles in the state track and field meet in Murfreesboro on Thursday.

Hausladen, the only Oak Ridge girl to make it to the state meet, also finished 11th in a field of 16 in the Class AAA girls 100-meter hurdles.

The Oak Ridge boys are competing today in the state meet, which is part of the 2016 TSSAA Spring Fling in the Murfreesboro area.

Ravenwood, Memphis Central, and Hunters Lane had the top three finishes in the girls 300-meter hurdles on Thursday, and freshman Caroline Lewis of West, who finished sixth, and sophomore Lizzie Davis of Hardin Valley Academy, who was seventh, completed the race ahead of Hausladen. [Read more…]

Two-county car chase ends in crash that injures four in Knox

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Ralpheal Cameron Coffey

Ralpheal Cameron Coffey in 2014 (Source: Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

A two-county car chase that started in Anderson County before being terminated by deputies Wednesday afternoon ended with a two-vehicle crash in Knox County that injured four people, authorities said.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies were looking for Ralpheal Cameron Coffey, 26, around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Claxton area for several outstanding warrants, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. He said Coffey was spotted in a maroon Chevrolet Impala on Edgemoor Road.

“As deputies started to make a vehicle stop on Coffey, he began fleeing toward Clinton Highway on Edgemoor Road,” Lucas said. “Deputies began a pursuit that crossed Clinton Highway onto Raccoon Valley Road and into Knox County. Deputies lost sight of the vehicle as it went under the railroad trestle on Raccoon Valley Road in Heiskell.”

Witnesses pointed out that the vehicle turned southbound onto Heiskell Road toward Powell, Lucas said. But deputies were unable to locate the vehicle and terminated their pursuit. [Read more…]

City, county could move General Sessions Court to Emory Valley Road

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anderson-County-General-Sessions-Court-Exterior-Nov-19-2015

A few options have been considered, and Anderson County will now study whether to move the General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A few options have been considered, and Anderson County will now study whether to move the General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road.

Related to that proposal are plans to move the Oak Ridge Senior Center, which is now at the Emory Valley Road building, to the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Also up for a possible move is the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department. That department now occupies part of the Civic Center, where the Senior Center could move, but the department’s administrative offices could move to a vacant building on Badger Road that once housed Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.

The idea is that moving the administrative wing of Recreation and Parks to the Badger Road building could free up space for seniors at the Civic Center, which in turn would help create space at the county-owned building for the General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

Five arrested after drug investigation in Anderson County

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Michael Antonio Johnson

Michael Antonio Johnson

Note: This story was updated at 10:32 p.m.

Five people were arrested Friday, May 13, after a search warrant was served at an Old Dutch Valley Road home, authorities said. Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigators and agents with the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force were assisted by the Sheriff’s Aggressive Criminal Enforcement Unit and Special Weapons and Tactics Team in serving the search warrant, which was obtained after an investigation into illegal drug and other criminal activity at the home, a press release said.

The two residents of the home, Michael Antonio Johnson, 44, and Lucy Jane Lowe, 35, were arrested for several felony and misdemeanor drug, weapons, and conspiracy offenses, the press release said.

Two others, Branden Charles Dye, 23, of Clinton, and Roxanne Nicole Luckey, of Briceville, were arrested for misdemeanor drug charges, authorities said. [Read more…]

County veterans invited to community breakfast

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Military veterans from Anderson County will come together this weekend for the first Veterans Breakfast.

The first breakfast, hosted by Anderson County citizens and sponsored by County Mayor Terry Frank, will be held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Saturday, May 14, at the Clinton Community Center, a press release said. There will be a brief program at 9 a.m. All of the Veterans Breakfasts will recognize and honor local veterans and their families for their service to the United States.

Anderson County residents and community volunteers are working together to make the breakfast a free monthly event that will allow veterans to fellowship and share stories together. The City of Clinton is recognized as a special sponsor for hosting the monthly location and setup, the press release said. [Read more…]

Follis found guilty of first-degree murder in death penalty case

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Norman Lee Follis Jr May 10 2016

Norman Lee Follis Jr., 52, is facing the death penalty as a possible sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court on Tuesday, May 10, 2016, for killing his uncle in Claxton more than four years ago. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

CLINTON—An Anderson County man who is facing the death penalty as a possible sentence was found guilty of first-degree murder on Tuesday for killing his uncle in Claxton more than four years ago.

A jury of eight women and four men deliberated for about one hour and 40 minutes before unanimously returning the guilty verdict against Norman Lee Follis Jr., 52,  in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton. Follis was convicted of killing his uncle, Samuel “Sammie” J. Adams, 79, sometime between December 5, 2011, and January 24, 2012.

It was the first death penalty trial in Anderson County since 1991, officials said.

Adams’ body was found hidden underneath an apartment staircase on Patt Lane in Claxton on January 24, 2012, after he was reported missing in December 2011. His decomposing body was buried under at least 10 blankets, and a couch had been shoved up against the door of the closet where Adams was hidden, according to testimony.

Defense attorneys did not dispute that Follis killed his uncle, a Korean War veteran.

“We cannot whitewash that out,” attorney Mart Cizek said. [Read more…]

Jail records: About two dozen arrests on drug-related charges Thursday

Posted at
By 16 Comments

Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Note: This story was last updated at 8:26 a.m.

There were about two dozen arrests on drug-related charges in Anderson County on Thursday, according to jail records, as authorities from several agencies swept through Oak Ridge and possibly other communities in what they’ve described as a multi-county criminal investigation.

The most common charge, by far, is manufacturing, delivering, selling, or possessing a controlled substance, according to Anderson County jail records. Counts on that charge vary from one to two dozen, according to jail records, with many of those arrested facing in the range of eight to 11 counts.

Other charges listed against a few of those arrested include possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony, unlawfully carrying a weapon, possessing drug paraphernalia, tampering with evidence, property theft, and simple possession.

Most of those arrested are listed as Oak Ridge residents, but there are also residents of Knoxville, Clinton, Kingston, and Madisonville. The defendants range in age from 20-61. [Read more…]

Officials to report on multi-county criminal investigation on Monday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Note: This story was updated at 5:48 p.m.

Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies will report on Monday on a multi-county criminal investigation that has lasted several years, authorities said Thursday.

The investigation has been complex and is unprecedented in several ways, according to a brief statement on Thursday afternoon from Dave Clark, district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District (Anderson County).

Media have been invited to attend the Monday afternoon press conference in Clark’s office in Clinton. [Read more…]

Wilson ties season record for pitching wins

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Wildcats-Wilson-Campbell-County-April-27-2016

Oak Ridge senior Spencer Wilson (11) tied the season record for most pitching wins, 8, during a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at home on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge senior Spencer Wilson tied the season record for most wins by a pitcher on Wednesday.

Wilson picked up his eighth win in a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at Bobby Hopkins Park in Oak Ridge.

Wilson has a chance to break the 23-year-old record in the post-season, possibly as early as Friday. The record that he tied dates back to 1993, and it was set by Joe Fellers.

“That record means a lot to me,” Wilson said Saturday.

The Wildcats had a list of records posted during the pre-season, when they were training and weight lifting, and Wilson said he could tell the record for pitching wins was an old one.

“I’m going to target that one,” he decided. [Read more…]

Traffic alert on I-75 due to bridge repairs, construction work

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Traffic Alert

The Tennessee Department of Transportation says bridge repairs and related construction work will require temporary lane closures in Anderson County. The lane changes will be through Thursday, May 5.

Interstate 75 Northbound will be reduced to one lane between Mile Markers 122 and 123 on Thursday, April 28, from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m., and then again on Friday, April 29, from 9 p.m. through Monday, May 2, at 6 a.m.

On Thursday, May 5, I-75 Northbound will be again reduced to one lane between Mile Marker 122 and Mile Marker 123 from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m.

Please expect delays if traveling in this area.

Information from Anderson County Sheriff’s Department