Oak Ridge Today

KPD: Doctor arrested on drug, weapons charges after officers find pipes, pot, pills

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Michael Lapaglia

Michael LaPaglia

Note: This story was last updated at 12:02 p.m.

An East Tennessee doctor with ties to Oak Ridge and Anderson County was arrested Tuesday morning at his Knoxville home on drug and weapons charges after officers allegedly found about 125 marijuana pipes and bongs, more than two pounds of high-grade marijuana, and pills and vials containing liquids commonly used in hospitals, with the medicines ranging from Valium and amphetamine to oxycodone, propofol, and morphine, authorities said.

The Knoxville Police Department arrested Michael A. LaPaglia, 42, after responding to a report of a domestic dispute at a home on Fox Cove Road about 11:46 p.m. Monday, spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. When police entered the home, they said they noticed a strong marijuana smell throughout the house. They also saw several Mason jars with marijuana residue as well as bongs, or water pipes used to smoke marijuana, according to a KPD statement. [Read more…]

Woman alleges excessive force, brutality at jail; files $17.6 million lawsuit

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A multi-million dollar federal lawsuit filed last month and amended Tuesday alleges an Anderson County woman with multiple sclerosis was sprayed with chemical spray in the face and eyes at least twice while restrained and had her forehead slammed into a cement wall after she was arrested for public intoxication at her home earlier this year.

The lawsuit seeks $17.6 million for Heather Bolling, 30. She accused Anderson County jailers of using excessive force and brutality, and she alleged she was severely and permanently injured after she was arrested on Oak Road near Norris on April 28 and taken to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton. [Read more…]

Drug investigations lead to eight arrests, 17 indictments, sheriff says

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Brandy Danielle Braden

Brandy Danielle Braden

Joshua Travis Crowley

Joshua Travis Crowley

Eight people have been arrested on drug-related charges in Anderson County, including for prescription narcotics offenses and methamphetamine-related charges, after investigations by the Special Operations Unit of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, authorities said.

More arrests are expected because an Anderson County grand jury indicted a total of 17 people on 30 charges after the investigations, Sheriff Paul White said Tuesday. Authorities are also continuing to investigate related drug activity. [Read more…]

Anderson County mayor to give update on first year in office

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank will discuss her first year in office during Lunch with the League on Tuesday.

The lunch starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

Frank was elected in August 2012 to serve a two-year term as Anderson County Mayor, completing the unexpired term of former mayor Rex Lynch, who resigned in January 2011 after being indicted for sales tax fraud. She was sworn into office on Sept. 1, 2012. [Read more…]

Former Powell Clinch utility chief pleads guilty to theft charges

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Information from WYSH Radio

Former Powell Clinch Utility District president and general manager Del Roberts pleaded guilty Wednesday in an Anderson County courtroom to stealing almost $94,000 from the utility.

Roberts pleaded guilty to charging $93,856 on a PCUD credit card and hiding the charges in a special account between January of 2007 and May of 2010. Roberts spent the money on things like vacations, college tuition, dental care, and other personal expenses. [Read more…]

High school football Week Zero in the books

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Information from WYSH Radio

Wrapping up Friday night’s Week Zero high school football action, Anderson County got 310 total yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns from Tyler Hicks and 140 yards and four rushing touchdowns from Matt Fox to beat Clinton 53-13 in each team’s opener.

Maryville debuted new quarterback John Garrett and picked up a 35-15 win over Webb on Friday as Garrett accounted for 260 total yards and three scores. In other area action, William Blount gave new coach Justin Ridge his first win as the Governors pounded Loudon 40-7. Oliver Springs hammered Unaka 40-0 and Campbell County clobbered Cumberland Gap 41-6. For a complete look at last weekend’s action and this week’s schedule, visit the Local Sports Update page on our website.

Report: With four children in car, chase exceeds 100 mph, mother urges driver to go faster

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Billy Ray Fox

Billy Ray Fox

Heather Renee Buchanan

Heather Renee Buchanan

Note: This story was updated at 5 p.m. Aug. 24.

With four unrestrained children in the car, an East Tennessee man and woman fled from officers at speeds exceeding 100 mph on Thursday afternoon, crossing from Anderson County into Union County, and a mother allegedly urged the driver to go faster, authorities said.

The high-speed chase began at about 4:22 p.m. Thursday when Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a report of an aggravated burglary on Foster Road. They located a suspect gray Pontiac Grand Am being driven by Billy Ray Fox, 28, of Corryton, on Hickory Valley Road and Collins Gap Road. [Read more…]

Anderson commissioners approve new jail fees for inmates, new costs covered by Time magazine

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Anderson County Detention Facility

The Anderson County Commission on Monday approved three new sets of fees for inmates, including charges for supplies ranging for pants and shirts to toothpaste and toilet paper. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

CLINTON—Anderson County inmates could soon pay for items such as pants and shirts, bras and underwear, and toothpaste and toilet paper, with costs ranging from three cents for soap to $24.65 for a coat.

The new fees were approved with no opposition by the Anderson County Commission on Monday. The money would be deducted from the inmate’s jail trust account or any other account or fund set up for the prisoner. The fees would not be added to court costs.

The supply fees were one of three new sets of inmate fees approved by commissioners on Monday. [Read more…]

Legal fees add up as officials try to ‘stop the bleeding’ in dispute between mayor, sheriff

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Anderson County Detention Facility

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and Sheriff Paul White are engaged in a legal fight over a two-page salary agreement that includes, among other things, six months’ worth of funding for 36 new employees at a new jail pod at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

CLINTON—The legal fees might already exceed $20,000, and they could continue to mount in a bitter dispute between the mayor and sheriff over a $7.7 million salary agreement for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

Efforts to “stop the bleeding”—and avoid extra expenses for Anderson County residents—were unsuccessful after a lengthy, heated debate on Monday night. During that debate, Anderson County commissioners rejected several proposals to cover some legal fees of Mayor Terry Frank in her response to a salary suit filed in July by Sheriff Paul White. Among the rejected options were proposals to pay Frank’s fees so far but no more, capping them at $40,000, or covering all expenses until the matter is resolved.

Frank has refused to sign the salary agreement, saying it includes about $1 million more for salaries and overtime than was approved by commission in June. But the Sheriff’s Department has said the salary agreement is routine and was drafted according to state law, and actual spending will be closer to the $6.6 million approved by the commission as part of this year’s budget. [Read more…]

Four Anderson County schools among top in state for growth, achievement

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Norris Middle School

Norris Middle School in Anderson County was among the top 5 percent of schools in Tennessee for annual growth and academic achievement in 2012-13, state officials said Monday.

Note: This story was updated at 8:45 a.m. Aug. 21 to add Clinton Elementary School.

Four Anderson County schools were among the top 5 percent of schools in Tennessee for annual growth and academic achievement in 2012-13, state officials said Monday.

They were Clinton Elementary School, Grand Oaks Elementary School, Norris Middle School, and Norwood Elementary School.

The four were among 169 schools in 52 districts recognized as Reward Schools in the past year, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman said in a press release. The list includes 70 schools that serve mostly economically disadvantaged populations. [Read more…]

Letter: Coal Mining Museum board wants to buy former Lake City bank building

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Note: This is a copy of a letter sent to Anderson County Commissioner Robin Biloski, who chairs the Operations Committee. During a Monday, Aug. 12, meeting, the committee will consider a request to buy the former Bank of America building in Lake City for services on the north end of the county and to house a coal mining museum.

The Board of Directors of the Coal Mining Museum in Lake City would like to encourage the Anderson County Commission’s Operation Committee to approve the purchase of the building formerly occupied by the Bank of America in Lake City in order to provide county services to the residents of north Anderson County and a home for the Coal Mining Museum.

The Coal Mining Museum has been looking for a home for several years. It is currently housed in the Lake City Community Center, which does not provide adequate space to display all of the artifacts. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge students return to school, police enforce traffic safety; teachers, alumni welcomed

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Oak Ridge Superintendent Reception

Oak Ridge Schools had a reception last week for new Superintendent Bruce Borchers, center, and Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak. Borchers started in Oak Ridge on June 18. Also pictured above are James Hundertmark, right, who became Robertsville Middle School principal on July 1, and Christopher Scott, vice principal of curriculum and instruction at Oak Ridge High School.

Most Oak Ridge students returned to school on Monday, and police officers started a back-to-school traffic safety campaign. It’s known as “Operation Safe Start” and will focus on drivers who illegally pass school buses, speed in school zones, don’t wear safety belts or fail to ensure that their children do—or commit other unsafe driving actions near the schools.

Students at Willow Brook Elementary School and the Oak Ridge Schools’ Preschool returned to school in July. Oak Ridge will use an alternative schedule during the first week of school. (See the Oak Ridge Schools’ website for more information.)

In Anderson County, students returned to school on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

The resumption of classes in Oak Ridge caps a week in which school officials welcomed back representatives of graduating classes from 1946 to 2013, held a reception for new Superintendent Bruce Borchers and Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak, and together with the Oak Ridge Police Department, announced a new agreement governing school resource officers, or SROs. [Read more…]