Oak Ridge Today

City, schools could pick preschool site soon

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Elm Grove Park Preschool Conceptual Site Plan Jan 2017 Large

A conceptual site plan for a new preschool at Elm Grove Park on East Tennessee Avenue in east Oak Ridge. Officials said the plan would keep the park and the walking trail. (Image courtesy Studio Four Design/City of Oak Ridge)

 

Oak Ridge municipal and school officials could start selecting a site for the new preschool as early as this month. There are two options being considered: Elm Grove Park and Scarboro Community Center.

Financing for the project, which would include bonds, could be included in the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

In the meantime, a petition drive has been started to oppose building the preschool at Elm Grove Park.

The park had previously been announced as the preferred site for the new preschool, which has been on the city’s wish list for many years. Elm Grove Park is a city-owned parcel in east Oak Ridge off East Tennessee Avenue. It’s the site of a former school, it’s relatively flat, and it has city-owned utilities. Also, there aren’t many obstacles that would affect construction, and site borings have already been done, city officials said last week. [Read more…]

GIS stormwater data collection to occur in February

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Photo by City of Oak Ridge

Photo by City of Oak Ridge

 

Geographical information system, or GIS, storm drain inlet mapping will take place in Oak Ridge during the month of February in the following areas: Michigan Avenue, Outer Drive, and New York Avenue.

Representatives of the city will be mapping these inlets with GPS units and/or making visual assessments, a press release said. Residential property will only be accessed during reasonable hours to identify stormwater inlets, the press release said.

“This is not a request to enter into any building or structures on the property,” the press release said. “No construction will be taking place.”

The city is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, or TDEC, under the Phase II Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit, to monitor certain streams or tributaries to those streams. The goal of this mandate is to protect and rehabilitate our natural water resources, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge receives Blankenship Field grant, primarily for synthetic turf

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Blankenship Field Overall Plan

An overall view of the proposed renovation of Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium. (File image from April 2015)

 

Oak Ridge has received a state grant of just under $500,000 that will be used primarily for synthetic turf at Blankenship Field. But it is also expected to help pay for track improvements, upgraded restrooms, fencing between the football field and track, and improvements to the Cedar Hill trailhead behind the visitors bleachers at Jack Armstrong Stadium, city officials said Thursday.

The Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant requires a 50 percent match. The match is supposed to be provided by the nonprofit Blankenship Field Revitalization Foundation, and it can be a mix of cash and in-kind contributions, although the precise percentage of each—cash versus in-kind contributions—isn’t clear yet. The foundation has been chaired by Tennessee Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally.

Officials expect to know more after four of them—City Manager Mark Watson, City Council member Rick Chinn, Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick, and Allen Thacker of Oak Ridge Schools—attend mandatory grant training in Nashville in February.

After that, the Oak Ridge City Council could accept the grant, possibly as early as the February 13 meeting. [Read more…]

Photos, videos: Oak Ridge, Halls basketball game

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Oak Ridge Higgins Dunk Halls Jan 23 2017 Web

Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5) had two powerful dunks, including this one in the second half, during a 108-56 win over Halls at Wildcat Arena on Monday, Nov. 23, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

Oak Ridge topped 100 points and senior Tajion Jones scored 32 as the Wildcats beat Halls 108-56 at home on Monday. Here are photos by Luther Simmons and videos by Myles Hebrard. [Read more…]

Wildcats top 100 points, Jones scores 32 in win over Halls

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Oak Ridge Jones Halls Jan 23 2017 Web

Oak Ridge senior Tajion Jones (3) scored 32 points as the Wildcats topped 100 points during a 108-56 win over Halls at Wildcat Arena on Monday, Nov. 23, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

Oak Ridge topped 100 points and senior Tajion Jones scored 32 as the Wildcats beat Halls 108-56 at home on Monday. It was the fifth-highest point total for an Oak Ridge game in program history, according to broadcaster David Clary. The record of 137 was set in 1971.

It was an apparent career high for Jones. Eighteen of his points came from six three-point shots, and he had 24 points in the first half alone.

“He’s shooting well,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.

Senior Tyshawn Young, who has had some high-scoring games in the past month, added 27 points, and senior Anthony Gibson had 17.

The seniors racked up all those points in the first three quarters, before reserves came in for Oak Ridge. Bench players added 21 points in the fourth quarter. That included three three-point shots by sophomore Joe Kesterson. [Read more…]

Adults identified in crash that killed 3-year-old; cause not determined yet

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Oak Ridge Police Department officers started a memorial with stuffed animals on Saturday morning for a child killed in a fatal crash at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive on Friday evening, Jan. 13, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 4 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the adults injured in a fatal two-vehicle crash on Friday evening, although the cause hasn’t been determined yet.

The crash killed a three-year-old boy. It was reported at about 5:20 p.m. Friday at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive in central Oak Ridge. It involved a total of 11 people, including three juveniles.

Besides the three-year-old who died, five other people who were in an SUV that ended up near a stoplight pole on the northeast corner of the intersection were injured and taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. The five injured included four adults and one child. One of the adults was released from the hospital over the weekend, the City of Oak Ridge said.

The names of the juveniles involved in the crash are not being released, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. The occupants of the SUV were: [Read more…]

Wildcats tie record for three-pointers at Campbell County

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Oak Ridge senior Tajion Jones (3) scored 17 points and made three three-point shots during a 94-57 win at Campbell County on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. Jones is defended here by Campbell County senior Jacob Walden. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 1 p.m. Jan. 16.

JACKSBORO—The Oak Ridge Wildcats tied a school record with 15 made three-point shots during a 94-57 win at Campbell County on Tuesday.

“You don’t make 15 threes a lot,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.

Wildcats senior Tee Higgins had a season-high and game-high 21 points. Five of those were three-point shots, with four in the third quarter.

Before Tuesday, Higgins only had four made three-point shots this season, according to Wildcats broadcaster David Clary. Higgins missed some games early in the season because he wasn’t initially going to play basketball in order to focus on football, and he has missed some games midway through the season due to football-related commitments.

“He can shoot the ball really well,” Green said of Higgins. [Read more…]

City manager to discuss economic development at Lunch with League on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will discuss what the city needs to do to stay competitive in today’s economic development market during a Tuesday lunch.

Watson will be at Lunch with the League from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, January 17, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Watson has been Oak Ridge city manager since August 2010. Before coming to Oak Ridge, he served as city manager of six cities in Texas, Montana, and Arizona. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration, a press release said. Watson has served in local government for more than 30 years. [Read more…]

McNally, the new lieutenant governor, to discuss growing up in Oak Ridge, public service

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally (Submitted photo)

 

Tennessee Senator Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican who is now lieutenant governor and speaker of the Senate, will discuss public service and growing up in Oak Ridge during a meeting this evening (Thursday, January 12).

McNally’s talk will be at a 7 p.m. meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association in the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road.

McNally, a legislative leader for nearly 40 years, became lieutenant governor and speaker of the Senate on Tuesday on the first organizational day of the 110th General Assembly. He is only the second Republican Tennessee Senate Speaker in modern history and the first from Anderson County in nearly 150 years. [Read more…]

With win over Cougars, Lady Wildcats now the only undefeated team in district

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Oak Ridge junior Destiny Kassner (30), who scored 13 points, plays defense against Campbell County sophomore Lexy Richardson (24) during a 56-39 win for the Lady Wildcats in Jacksboro on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

JACKSBORO—The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats became the only undefeated team in District 3-AAA with a 56-39 win over Campbell County in Jacksboro on Tuesday.

Both basketball teams were undefeated before the game.

The Lady Cougars (13-5, 6-1 District 3-AAA) led or were tied with the Lady Wildcats for much of the first half, and Oak Ridge trailed 14-10 at the end of the first quarter.

But the Lady Wildcats (15-2, 7-0) led 24-21 at halftime and never trailed again. Oak Ridge outscored Campbell County 21-9 in the fourth quarter.

Oak Ridge Paige Green called it a huge win. Campbell County has shooters and players who can drive to the basket, and the team is well-coached, she said. [Read more…]

Westcott’s 95th birthday will be celebrated Jan. 21

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Ed Westcott

Ed Westcott is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

The family of Ed Westcott, the official government photographer in Oak Ridge during World War II, is inviting the community to celebrate his 95th birthday on Saturday, January 21.

The birthday celebration is at 2 p.m. January 21 in the Wildcat Den at Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Westcott was the only authorized photographer in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal project to build the world’s first atomic bombs—before Germany could. Oak Ridge was a production site for the Manhattan Project, and the city, which was then known as Clinton Engineer Works, enriched uranium for the first atomic bomb used in wartime. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge seeks community input for new ‘city blueprint’

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city-blueprint-kickoff-flyer

With your help, Oak Ridge officials want to develop a long-range development plan, or “city blueprint.”

There will be a kickoff meeting for the project on Thursday, January 26, at High Places Community Church in Grove Center.

“The last year has been an exciting period in Oak Ridge,” a press release said. “New commercial buildings are being constructed in the city center, improvements in our parks and trails are on the horizon, and the National Historic Park is beginning to take shape. The Oak Ridge Planning Commission—with input from other boards, commissions, and city leaders—has decided that it is time to begin crafting an updated long-range development plan, or ‘City Blueprint,’ which would provide guidance in future growth and decisions. During the creation of this guiding document, it will be vital to receive input on its focus and content from the people of Oak Ridge.” [Read more…]