Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County school security good, improving

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Information from WYSH Radio

During a joint workshop between the Anderson County Commission and the Anderson County School Board on Thursday, schools’ security director Joe Fogerty outlined security measures already in place across the system and discussed future plans for school security.

Fogerty told a large crowd in the Clinton Middle School auditorium that there are currently eight uniformed, armed school resource officers and a DARE officer patrolling the county’s two high schools, four middle schools and alternative school, and those officers are available to answer calls at the nearby elementary schools. Fogerty also said that there are currently 259 surveillance cameras in nine of the county schools and that similar cameras are being installed on school buses.

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No injuries, exposures in Oliver Springs sulfur dioxide leak

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Oliver Springs Sulfur Dioxide Leak

Howie Rose, director of the Roane County Office of Emergency Services, pictured at right front, briefs firefighters responding to a sulfur dioxide leak at the Oliver Springs Waste Water Treatment Plant on Joel Road on Wednesday morning. (Photos by Tom Scott)

No one was injured or exposed to sulfur dioxide in a leak at the Oliver Springs wastewater treatment plant on Wednesday, but a small group of nearby residents were asked to stay in their homes as a precaution, City Manager Tina Treece said.

The small leak from a system connected to a 150-pound cylinder of sulfur dioxide was discovered by workers who heard an alarm when they arrived at the plant on Joel Road at about 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Treece said there was no odor in the air and it turned out that the leak posed no danger, but officials wanted to make sure conditions were safe for residents and workers.

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Firefighters, animal control officers rescue horse stuck in trailer

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Oak Ridge Animal Control Officers Rescue Horse

Oak Ridge firefighters and police and animal control officers rescue a horse stuck in a trailer near Oak Ridge Turnpike and Louisiana Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. Pictured above helping the horse out of the trailer is Oak Ridge Animal Control Officer Randy Proffitt.

Oak Ridge firefighters and animal control officers rescued a horse stuck in a trailer with its hoof above its head near Oak Ridge Turnpike and Louisiana Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.

The horse was being hauled from Anderson County to Second Chance Youth Ranch in Sweetwater when it apparently put at least one hoof up on a hay loft inside the trailer and then broke through the loft, getting stuck, with its hoof stuck in the hole.

Mary Braswell was driving near the trailer at about 2:24 p.m. Wednesday. At first, she and her passenger Megan Baker thought the horse, which was moving around, was a colt because it looked small.

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More snow falls in Oak Ridge, Anderson County

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Anderson County Snowfall

Light snow continued to fall in East Tennessee on Sunday morning, and there was close to two inches on the ground in Oak Ridge and Anderson County. The picture above was taken on Oliver Springs Highway near Marlow Circle.

Light snow continued to fall in East Tennessee on Sunday morning, and there was close to two inches on the ground in Oak Ridge and Anderson County.

The temperature was above freezing and many roads were wet and slushy, but a few patches of snow remained, including on bridges.

It was the second day of snow in Oak Ridge, and the two days produced the first significant accumulation of snow in the Secret City this winter.

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Tornado watch, wind advisory issued for Anderson, Roane

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A tornado watch has been issued for 33 Tennessee counties, including Anderson, Campbell, Loudon, Knox, Morgan, Roane, Scott, and Union counties. The tornado watch remains in effect through 1 p.m. today.

The National Weather Service in Morristown has also issued a wind advisory through 9 p.m. today. The advisory said strong to damaging winds are possible across the southern Appalachians, including in Anderson, Knox, Roane, Scott, and Union counties. Damaging winds of more than 60 mph are possible.

Forecasters said severe thunderstorms are moving into the area ahead of a cold front this morning, with widespread damaging winds and isolated tornadoes possible. Widespread wind damage and tornadoes have been reported across western and middle Tennessee.

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Free community meal at Grace Covenant, homeless invited

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As part of an effort to count homeless individuals and families for the Jan. 24 “Point In Time Count,” or PITC, a free community meal at Grace Covenant Church at 5 p.m. Thursday is open to community members who are homeless, a press release said.

The dinner is being organized by Trinity Outreach Center of Hope, or TORCH, a new nonprofit working to support the most economically challenged in our area and leading the Jan. 24 homeless count in Anderson County.

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State legislators, county mayor tour ORNL

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Kelly Beierschmitt and Terry Frank at ORNL

Kelly Beierschmitt, Oak Ridge National Laboratory associate lab director for neutron sciences, talks with Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank in the target building at the Spallation Neutron Source. (Photos courtesy of ORNL)

Five Tennessee legislators and Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank recently toured Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Frank toured the Spallation Neutron Source, the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility. She had a briefing from Thom Mason on the modernization of ORNL as well as the lab’s regional economic impact, a lab statement said.

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Rain, flooding through Thursday; Anderson County schools, roads closed

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Irwin Mill Road Flooding

Water rushes over Irwin Mill Road off Sinking Springs Road northeast of downtown Clinton on Wednesday, burying a one-lane bridge on a narrow, winding road under what appears to be several feet of water.

Anderson County schools closed today, and weather forecasters say a stationary storm system could continue dumping light to moderate rain on the region through Thursday, possibly creating more flooding along some waterways and other low-lying areas.

Ten Anderson County roads are closed, impassable, or affected by flooding, authorities said. Among the closed roads are Batley Road at Airport Road and the 300 block of Bush Road in Marlow, Midway Drive and Airport Road in Oliver Springs, Irwin Mill Road in Clinton, and the bridge on Pumpkin Hollow Road at Brooks Gap Road near Interstate 75.

Anderson County dispatchers said Lower Clear Creek Road and Dairy Pond Road in Norris are impassable, and Brooks Gap Road and the 400 block of Old Dutch Valley Road have a lot of water over them.

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Methodist Medical Center conducts assessment of local health needs

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As a member organization of Covenant Health, Methodist Medical Center’s mission is to improve the quality of life for East Tennesseans through better health. One important way to carry out that mission is to collaborate with communities to determine local health needs, and to work with local organizations to develop and implement plans for addressing those needs.

In addition, recent healthcare legislation requires that Methodist and other not-for-profit hospitals and health systems conduct community needs assessments every three years. While the process is not explicitly scripted, hospitals are encouraged to collaborate with key community stakeholders such as health departments, universities, and organizations such as United Way and local Chambers of Commerce.

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Community forum on homelessness on Jan. 11

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A local organization and church have organized a Jan. 11 forum on homelessness, and the public is invited to attend.

The forum will start at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. It’s been organized by the Trinity Out-Reach Center of Hope (TORCH) and the church.

A press release said the forum will bring together experts from social service agencies, faith-based groups, and the wider community for a frank discussion about homelessness that will include the definition, faces of homelessness, an exploration of potential solutions, and ways that people can be involved in the Jan. 24 “Point In Time Count” (PITC).

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Officials from Oak Ridge area attend DOE intergovernmental meeting

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State and local officials from Oak Ridge and Anderson and Roane counties recently attended the U.S. Department of Energy’s Annual Intergovernmental Conference in New Orleans. Participants met with federal, state, and local leaders from DOE sites across the nation, including top managers overseeing DOE’s Environmental Management, or EM, program.

Two senior DOE officials were keynote speakers at the conference. David Huizenga, senior advisor for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, provided an update on the EM program, which is responsible for environmental restoration, waste management, and long-term stewardship at DOE sites across the complex.

Neile Miller, recently named acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration and acting undersecretary for nuclear security, addressed the relationship between NNSA and EM, and how the programs work together at sites with multiple missions like Oak Ridge.

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Strong, damaging winds possible through this afternoon

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A strong low pressure system moving northeast through East Tennessee and southwest North Carolina and Virginia could produce damaging winds through this afternoon along the foothills and eastern mountains, and some snowfall is possible in the region, forecasters said.

The system could produce strong southerly winds between 25 and 40 mph, and gusts over 70 mph are possible, the National Weather Service in Morristown said.

“As a cold front moves through the region today, cold air will rush in behind it, changing the rain to snow late this afternoon, with some snow showers persisting across the area tonight,” an NWS hazardous weather outlook said. “Light snowfall is possible, especially across the higher elevations of southwest Virginia and far East Tennessee mountains Wednesday night into Thursday.”

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