Oak Ridge Today

DOE wants Clark Center Park to remain recreational if transferred to city

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Clark Center Park Water View

A view of Melton Hill Lake near a boat ramp and between two picnic areas at Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge.

 

The U.S. Department of Energy wants to ensure that Clark Center Park remains a “recreational park asset” if it is transferred to the city of Oak Ridge, an official said this week.

That ought to be good news to park supporters. Some of them have expressed concern that the 80-acre park could be turned into a gated community or a waterfront development featuring “McMansions” if DOE turns the property over to the city.

John C. Shewairy, assistant manager for administration in DOE’s Oak Ridge Office, said federal officials are interested in transferring the property to the city as a “public benefit conveyance.”

“Given the park’s benefit to the citizens of Oak Ridge, the option we currently favor would be to transfer ownership to the city at no cost, provided that the property remains a recreational park asset for the public,” Shewairy said. “We are focused on this possible option.” [Read more…]

Council starts discussions on taking over Clark Center Park

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Clark Center Park Water View

A view of Melton Hill Lake near a boat ramp and between two picnic areas at Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge.

 

It’s an 80-acre “crown jewel” park, the site of cherished memories dating back decades. But now the future of Clark Center Park is in doubt.

The U.S. Department of Energy is considering turning the park over to the federal General Services Administration, which could sell it, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told City Council members Monday. He said it’s part of a cost-cutting effort in DOE’s Oak Ridge Office.

Watson suggested DOE was moving quickly and could shut down the park as early as this fall. But before that happens, Watson said, he wanted to give residents and officials a chance to weigh in.

“This is an important community decision,” Watson said during a Monday night work session. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge could consider taking over DOE’s Clark Center Park

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Clark Center Park Swimming Beach

The swimming beach at Clark Center Park. (Photos courtesy Cindy McCullough)

City officials could consider taking over Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge, City Manager Mark Watson said Sunday.

It could be an alternative to letting the U.S. Department of Energy turn over the popular swimming, boating, picnicking, and fishing destination to the federal General Services Administration, which could, in turn, dispose of it, Watson said.

The 80-acre park—which includes a softball field, boat ramp, swimming beach, restrooms, and picnic areas—is a major cost to DOE, Watson said. And running a park is not really part of the department’s mission.

“They’re facing continuing budgetary shortfalls, and they’re going to have to do something with the park,” Watson said.

It’s part of a discussion that dates back to at least 1993, Watson said.

“This time, it looks like it’s moving in a different direction,” he said. “It’s moving toward GSA.” [Read more…]

Family, friends remember Brayden Pearson, seek to honor his ‘zest for life’

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Bubbles for Brayden Pearson

Family and friends blow bubbles for Brayden Pearson during a Friday night vigil at the Boys and Girls Club of Oak Ridge.

 

He wore No. 14 when he played baseball and basketball for the Boys and Girls Club. Only eight years old and going into fourth grade, he hadn’t really decided on a profession yet, but he thought playing major league baseball “would be awesome,” a family friend said.

So it was fitting that family and friends gathered in the outfield of a baseball field at the Boys and Girls Club of Oak Ridge to remember Brayden Pearson on Friday. They described Brayden as a lively boy with thick, curly hair, and a contagious laugh—”the best laugh ever,” said Tracy Stewart, a member of the close-knit sports family at the club. Brayden loved school, family friend Sara VanLandingham said.

Brayden died Monday, two days after he had trouble while snorkeling near a swimming area at Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge. He had to be pulled from the lake that Saturday afternoon. Family and friends performed CPR, and 911 was called. The Oak Ridge police and fire departments responded and continued CPR, and Brayden was flown by a Lifestar medical helicopter to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville.

The family said they wanted to continue Brayden’s zest for life by donating his organs to other children who need them. On Friday, VanLandingham, who has been speaking on behalf of the family, said four organs had been successfully removed for donation. [Read more…]

Our Hero, #14: Brayden a ‘lively boy,’ attended Woodland, organs to be donated

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Brayden Keith Pearson

Brayden Pearson, Our Hero #14 (Submitted photo)

By Sara VanLandingham

On Saturday, June 21, while swimming at Clark Park in Oak Ridge, Brayden Keith Pearson, age 8, began having trouble while snorkeling and was removed from the lake. Family and friends performed CPR, and 911 was called. Oak Ridge Fire and Police Departments responded. The fire department took over life-saving operations and Brayden was flown via UT Life Star to Children’s Hospital. Despite rescue companies’ life-saving efforts, Brayden was pronounced dead at 11:35 a.m. on Monday, June 23, but remained on life support.

Brayden was a lively little boy who attended Woodland Elementary School and played as #14 Boys and Girls Club of America Little League team. The family has decided the best way to continue Brayden’s zest for life is through organ donation to children currently in need. The family asks that anyone wishing to support them please donate to the Brayden Medical Fund at youcaring.com or directly to Children’s Hospital in Brayden’s name.

Due to the enormous outpouring of support, the family will be holding a public memorial service at Click Funeral Home on Middlebrook Pike. Arrangements to be announced or more info can be seen by visiting http://www.clickfuneralhome.com. Anyone planning to participate in the funeral procession is asked to contact Click funeral home directly for time, location, and instructions on lining up. [Read more…]

Woodland student pulled from water Saturday dies Monday, school official says

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The fourth-grade student pulled from the water at Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon died on Monday, a school official said.

Brayden Pearson was a student at Woodland Elementary School, said Keys Fillauer, Oak Ridge Board of Education chair. The school board observed a moment of silence for Pearson during a Monday evening meeting.

Pearson was found underwater while swimming with his family at a picnic area at the park around 4 p.m. Saturday, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. He was not conscious, Kerley said.

CPR was started, and Pearson was flown by a Lifestar medical helicopter to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville, where he had a pulse on Saturday afternoon and was moved into Intensive Care, Kerley said.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Boy flown to Children’s Hospital after near-drowning at Clark Center Park

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After family members and emergency responders started CPR, a boy who had gone missing while swimming at Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon was flown by medical helicopter to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville, authorities said.

On Sunday afternoon, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said he didn’t know the current condition of the boy, who might be about eight years old.

The boy had been moved to Intensive Care at Children’s Hospital, Kerley said.

“That’s all we know at the moment,” he said.

The chief said the family had been swimming about 150 feet away from the beach at a picnic area at Clark Center Park when relatives noticed the boy was gone. They started CPR when they found him and called 911. The Oak Ridge police and fire departments responded and continued CPR. Anderson County Emergency Medical Services transported the boy to the Lifestar medical helicopter, which picked up the child at a softball field at the park. [Read more…]

Clark Center Park closing due to government shutdown

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Note: this story was last updated at 6:35 p.m.

Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge will close at 10 p.m. today (Wednesday) because of a lapse in federal government funding.

The park is located on the south side of town on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation at 2000 Bull Bluff Road. The park will remain closed until further notice, a DOE statement said.

The partial government shutdown started more than two weeks ago on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass a spending bill. Some agencies such as DOE and its contractors continued to operate until there was a lapse in funding and all available money was spent. [Read more…]

Police search finds missing Clinton man at Clark Center Park

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Note: This story was updated at 11:47 p.m.

A police search on Monday evening located a missing 79-year-old Clinton man whose personal items including keys and identification, as well as a small amount of blood, had been found at Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge, authorities said.

The man, whom police have not identified, was found lying off an embankment near the edge of the roadway about 200 yards from where his personal property had been found on Bull Bluff Road, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a Monday evening statement. He was partially clothed and disoriented due to an unknown medical condition.

The man was transported by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville to be treated for a head injury, the ORPD said in the statement from Lt. Robin Smith. [Read more…]

Guest column: Holiday inn — Oak Ridge needs lodging for recreational visitors

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By Leslie Agron and Pat Fain

Not so much the old Holiday Inn on South Illinois Avenue next to the Skyway Drive-In Theater (with movie sound piped into the facing motel rooms!), nor even our newest hostelry on Tulsa Road… We’re reaching back to the 1942 Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire flick called “Holiday Inn” in a blatant attempt to stretch a holiday tie-in. With terrific Irving Berlin music, including “White Christmas,” for which it won an Oscar for Best Original Song, they sing and dance their way through the plot: “At an inn which is only open on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.”

Coincidentally, another 1942 event was the founding of Oak Ridge as a part of the Manhattan Project.

Often in our vision for “Something Else” for the economic revitalization of Oak Ridge we have mentioned that this city could greatly benefit from serious development of the visitor portion of our economy. This is a proposal for additional lodging in Oak Ridge to forward that end. We need to take a long, hard look at the characteristics of what is available now versus what it would take to appeal to people coming here simply to visit.

[Read more…]

Report: Boat trailer runs over boy’s leg at Clark Center Park

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A 13-year-old Knoxville boy was flown by air ambulance Sunday to the University of Tennessee Medical Center after a boat trailer reportedly ran over his right leg at Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge.

The boy had been standing on the right side of a trailer being towed by a pickup truck driven by Brian S. Graham of Knoxville, but the boy jumped off and fell before the boat trailer tires ran over his right leg, an Oak Ridge Police Department accident report said.

[Read more…]