Oak Ridge Today

AC man accidentally shoots own hand

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Anderson County man accidentally shot himself in the hand Sunday night when he tried to force the wrong caliber of ammunition into his pistol.

Carlie Indmon Phillips, 45, sustained the wound Sunday night at a home on Hillbilly Way and was taken to Methodist Medical Center for treatment of an injury to his left index finger, according to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department report.

Phillips had been called to his sister’s nearby home by his sister, who thought she had seen a prowler on the property. He grabbed his .357 Magnum revolver and went to her house but had no ammunition for the gun. His sister gave him .38 caliber ammo, and when he tried to force the round into the weapon by tapping it with his pocketknife, the round went off, striking him in the hand. [Read more…]

Fisher to run for Anderson County chancellor in 2014

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Brandon FIsher

Brandon FIsher

He’s been the juvenile court judge for close to four years, and now Brandon Fisher is running for Anderson County chancellor in the 2014 election.

Fisher was appointed Anderson County juvenile court judge in January 2010, replacing April Meldrum after she resigned, and he was elected in August 2010.

Fisher will seek to fill the seat now held by Chancellor William Lantrip, who has announced he will retire at the end of this eight-year term. [Read more…]

AC Deeds Register Shelton elected president of state organization

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Tim Shelton

Anderson County Register of Deeds Tim Shelton has been elected president of the County Officials Association of Tennessee. (Submitted photo)

Anderson County Register of Deeds Tim Shelton has been elected president of the County Officials Association of Tennessee, or COAT.

Shelton, a lifelong resident of Anderson County, was elected at the organization’s 45th annual conference recently held in Murfreesboro, a press release said.

COAT is a statewide association comprised of all of the county registers of deeds, trustees, county clerks, and state court clerks. The organization was founded in 1968.

Shelton plans to seek re-election in 2014, the press release said. [Read more…]

Supreme Court says Anderson County jail not responsible for inmate attack

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The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that Anderson County is not liable for damages beyond medical costs after an inmate sustained injuries from an attack by cellmates.

Kenneth E. King, a Claxton resident, had spent the night in the Anderson County Detention Facility after being arrested on Oct. 27, 2009, for driving on a suspended license—a charge that ultimately was in error, according to the opinion and a press release posted on the state courts website Thursday. His release was ordered at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 28, but it took more than three hours for the pretrial release officer to process the paperwork.

During that time, King was severely beaten, causing permanent injuries to his eye. King sued the county seeking monetary damages for the attack, stating that Anderson County was negligent in not releasing him in a timely manner and should have known that there was a danger of him being attacked. [Read more…]

Small fire causes minor damage at Anderson County jail expansion

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Anderson County Detention Facility Fire

A small fire Monday morning caused minor damage to a section of the Anderson County jail that is being expanded. (Photo courtesy Larry Davidson/Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

CLINTON—A small fire Monday morning caused minor damage to a section of the Anderson County jail that is being expanded.

A construction worker on the roof of the 212-bed expansion was welding with a torch at about 11:15 a.m. Monday when it set insulation on the outside of the building on fire, Anderson County officials said. The insulation was between vinyl siding and concrete block, said Larry Davidson, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department captain and acting chief jailer.

The fire was contained to the outside of the Anderson County Detention Facility, and no one was injured. There was no water or smoke damage, but the fire burned a small hole in the side of the building, Davidson said. [Read more…]

Anderson Commission unanimously approves Oak Ridge Mall TIF, project goes to state

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Oak Ridge Mall Concept Plan Featured

The Anderson County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used to help the $85 million redevelopment of the mostly empty Oak Ridge Mall.

CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used to help the $85 million redevelopment of the mostly empty Oak Ridge Mall.

The vote was 15-0. Anderson County Commissioner Mark Alderson was absent.

“I am extremely optimistic about this,” said Anderson County Commission Vice Chair Robin Biloski, an Oak Ridge resident.

It’s the fifth unanimous or near-unanimous vote on the project in less than a month. The tax increment financing, or TIF, had also been approved with no opposition, but with one abstention, by the Oak Ridge City Council, and it had also been endorsed with no opposition by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and Anderson County budget and operations committees. [Read more…]

Letter: Mall nullification proposal would make TIF loan impossible to finance

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Oak Ridge Mall TIF Public Hearing

James Murphy, center, is a Nashville attorney representing Oak Ridge Mall redeveloper Crosland Southeast. Also pictured during a recent public hearing are Ray Evans, right, Oak Ridge economic development consultant; and Tim Sittema, a Crosland Southeast partner.

Note: This Nov. 14 e-mail from an attorney representing mall redeveloper Crosland Southeast was written in response to a nullification proposal submitted by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn to Anderson County officials.

I represent Crosland in connection with the proposed Economic Impact Plan for the Redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall Economic Development Area (the “Economic Impact Plan”). The Economic Impact Plan has been approved by the Industrial Development Board of the City of Oak Ridge (the “IDB”) and the City Council for the City of Oak Ridge, and it is on the agenda for the Nov. 18 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Anderson County. I would like to respond to Ms. Baughn’s suggestion that the tax increment financing (“TIF”) funding for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall be nullified if at least 65 percent of the planned new retail square footage is not completed by December 2018.

As has been explained by Ray Evans in the meetings of the Anderson County Operations Committee and the Budget Committee, the proposed redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall requires a public-private partnership. After carefully reviewing the project’s pro forma, the city officials who have been involved in negotiating the incentives with Crosland were convinced that there was a funding gap of $13 million that could be bridged by the use of the TIF funding. Without that $13 million in TIF funding, the project would not go forward. [Read more…]

Public Defender Marshall seeks re-election in 2014

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Tom Marshall

Tom Marshall

Anderson County Public Defender Tom Marshall has announced that he will seek re-election to a fourth eight-year term in 2014.

Marshall has served as Anderson County public defender since 1989, and he is also an adjunct law professor at Roane State Community College.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina School Of Law, Marshall was appointed Anderson County public defender by Gov. Ned McWherter in 1989, a press release said. He was then elected by Anderson County voters in 1990 and re-elected in 1998 and 2006. [Read more…]

State school report cards show growth in Anderson, Clinton, Oak Ridge

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Wednesday, the Tennessee Department of Education released the annual state Report Card and local school systems made significant gains.

In Anderson County, assessment scores in elementary and middle schools scored As in math and social studies and Bs in reading and science. A year ago, the system received Bs in math and social studies, a C in reading, and a B in science. [Read more…]

Nolan announces Republican candidacy for Tennessee House

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Caitlin Nolan

Caitlin Nolan

She lobbied the state legislature for anti-bullying legislation as a high school freshman eight years ago, and now Republican Caitlin Nolan is seeking a seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Nolan would challenge incumbent John Ragan of Oak Ridge in the Republican primary in the state’s 33rd District, presuming Ragan seeks re-election to a third two-year term. The 33rd District includes Oak Ridge, Clinton, and most of Anderson County.

The Republican primary is Aug. 7, 2014. [Read more…]

Guest column: AC Commission needs to stay involved with mall project

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Declining DOE Residency Hurts Anderson County

In 2003, the Anderson County Commission approved a county subsidy for a revitalization project at the Oak Ridge Mall.

Had that project succeeded, it would have generated a substantial increase in county revenue, allowing tax rates to be lowered. A successful mall project would have also helped stabilize the U.S. Department of Energy payroll gap with Knox County. Stabilizing this gap would have generated nearly $100 million more in DOE payroll for the Anderson County economy—in this year alone.

Obviously, the potential economic benefit from a successful mall project is huge.

To give the project the best chance for success, the Commission needs to couple the requested mall subsidy to four key Commission actions: [Read more…]

Lake City recommends Rocky Top name change, but receives copyright warning

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Lake City Council Approves Rocky Top Name Change

The Lake City Council votes 4-0 on Thursday to recommend changing the town’s name to Rocky Top, and Rep. John Ragan, right, said he has drafted legislation to approve the rechristening in the state legislature.

LAKE CITY—Just hours before a historic vote to change this town’s name for the second time in less than a century, Lake City Mayor Tim Sharp received a legal letter warning him that a proposal to build a Rocky Top theme park here could violate trademark rights and should be dropped.

But project supporters packed City Hall on Thursday, and the Lake City Council pressed on, voting 4-0 to recommend changing the name of this former coal mining town to Rocky Top. It’s the first step in a project to build a multi-million dollar theme park that could include an interactive Knotty Pine 3-D theater, water park, hotel, and restaurant.

The last-minute letter from an intellectual property attorney in Nashville could have Lake City officials and the park’s investors scrambling to answer legal questions. The notice was “very unexpected,” Sharp said. [Read more…]