Oak Ridge Today

County officials to ask for one-year extension on expiring courthouse lease

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Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller

First elected in August, Judge Roger Miller, left, is pictured in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge before a bond hearing this summer. (2015 file photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today) 

 

CLINTON—Anderson County officials could ask for a one-year extension of the lease on the General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. The current lease expires at the end of the year, on December 31.

The county has an option to renew the lease for five years from January 1, 2016, through the end of 2021, but it’s not clear if officials want to do that. There are questions about whether they want to keep a courthouse in Oak Ridge, particularly if the City of Oak Ridge is not providing financial support. But if Division II court does stay in Oak Ridge, there is a question about whether it should remain at the current location at the former Oak Ridge Utility District building on Bus Terminal Road.

Officials have limited time, about 80 days, to weigh the alternatives before the lease expires, and there are holidays in the meantime, said Anderson County Commissioner Mark Alderson, who made a motion to seek a one-year lease extension during an Operations Committee meeting on Monday. The committee unanimously approved that proposal on a voice vote. [Read more…]

Lady Wildcats start district tournament against Halls on Tuesday

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Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats Soccer 2015

The 2015 Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer team is pictured above. (Photo courtesy Lady Wildcats Soccer)

 

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats will start the District 3-AAA soccer tournament at home against Halls on Tuesday, October 13. The game starts at 7 p.m. at Oak Ridge High School.

The Lady Wildcats are 12-3 overall and 4-1 in District 3-AAA.

The Lady Red Devils are 10-5-1 overall and 6-2 in District 3-AAA.

Oak Ridge beat Halls earlier this season, 7-0, on August 20.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AC wins district volleyball championship, OR is runner-up; both advance to region

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Anderson County Lady Mavericks District 3-AAA Volleyball Champions 2015

The Anderson County Lady Mavericks, pictured above, won the 2015 District 3-AAA volleyball championship, beating Oak Ridge 3-1 at Halls on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. Both teams advance to the Region 2 tournament that starts Tuesday at ACHS. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:35 p.m.

HALLS—The Anderson County Lady Mavericks won the District 3-AAA volleyball championship on Wednesday, beating Oak Ridge 3-1. Both teams advance to the Region 2-AAA tournament that starts Tuesday at Anderson County High School.

The Lady Wildcats, who finished as District 3-AAA runner-up, won their semifinal games 3-1 over Halls earlier Wednesday, while the Lady Mavericks swept Gibbs 3-0.

Anderson County’s one loss to Oak Ridge in the final round on Wednesday was the first district loss for the Lady Mavericks this season. They won the first two games 25-18 and 25-8, but then lost the third one 26-28.

The girls fell into a lull in the third game, but erased that from their minds and started over in the fourth match, Lady Mavericks Coach Jayme Smith said. They won the fourth game 25-11. Winning teams had to win three of the five potential games. [Read more…]

Football stats: Oak Ridge and McMinn County

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Wildcats Tee Higgins and McMinn County Zane Byas on Oct. 8, 2015

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) stretches to catch a deep ball from quarterback Jordan Dunbar, but the pass fell incomplete just off his fingertips. Higgins is covered here by junior Zane Byas of McMinn County (7). (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Senior running back T.J. Allison scored two more touchdowns for Oak Ridge, and the Wildcats had their second shutout of the season in a 24-0 win over McMinn County at home on Thursday. Here are preliminary stats by Mark Haste.

Oak Ridge junior receiver Tee Higgins, who did not score a touchdown last week for the first time this season, added another to his total on Thursday. With Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis watching from the sidelines, Higgins also had a long punt return that set up a touchdown and an interception on a long throw by McMinn County sophomore quarterback Bradley Hayes.

Senior running back D.J. Kimpson generated almost all of the offense for the Cherokees. He ran for 159 yards on 38 carries. That was more than three-quarters of the Cherokees’ total offense of 203 yards. Kimpson gained 109 yards in the first half alone. Hayes only threw the ball six times, and he had two completions and two interceptions.

See a story on the game here.

See Julio Culiat photos of the game here.

TEAM STATISTICS

Oak Ridge

McMinn County

FIRST DOWNS

18

 Total 11

13

 By rushing 8

5

 By passing 2

0

 By penalty 0
RUSHING

38

 Attempts 46

208

 Yards gained 189

3

 Yards lost 28

205

 Net yards 161
PASSING

9

 Completions 2

15

 Attempts 6

60.00%

 Percentage 33.33%

1

 Intercepted 2

122

 Net yards 42
TOTAL OFFENSE

327

 Net yards 203
PUNTS

1

 Attempts 5

39

 Average 27.4
RETURN YARDS

50

 Punt returns 0

15

 Kickoff returns 0

0

 Interception returns 7
FUMBLES

1

 Total 0

1

 Fumbles lost 0
PENALTIES

1

 Total 5

10

 Yards lost 40

[Read more…]

Wildcats pick up second shutout in 24-0 win over McMinn Co.

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McMinn County D.J. Kimpson and Wildcats Alex Alcorn, Adarius Simpson, and Adam Manookian on Oct. 8, 2015

Wildcat defenders Adarius Simpson (24), Alex Alcorn (66), and Adam Manookian (35) stop McMinn County running back D.J. Kimpson (23) during a 24-0 shutout for Oak Ridge on Blankenship Field on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. Manookian had five tackles and six assists, and Alcorn had one tackle, three assists, and two sacks. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:40 p.m.

Senior running back T.J. Allison scored two more touchdowns for Oak Ridge, and the Wildcats had their second shutout of the season in a 24-0 win over McMinn County at home on Thursday.

Oak Ridge junior receiver Tee Higgins, who did not score a touchdown last week for the first time this season, added another to his total on Thursday. With Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis watching from the sidelines, Higgins also had a long punt return that set up a touchdown and an interception on a long throw by McMinn County sophomore quarterback Bradley Hayes.

Senior running back D.J. Kimpson generated almost all of the offense for the Cherokees. He ran for 159 yards on 38 carries. That was more than three-quarters of the Cherokees’ total offense of 203 yards. Kimpson gained 109 yards in the first half alone. Hayes only threw the ball six times, and he had two completions and two interceptions.

Higgins (6 catches, 98 yards) and Allison (20 carries, 96 yards) are now tied as the leading scorers for the Wildcats, with 11 touchdowns each.

Allison picked up four of his touchdowns in a 56-14 win at Karns last week, when Oak Ridge (7-1, 3-1 Region 3-5A) rushed for 514 yards. He added one on the ground and one through the air this week. [Read more…]

Lady Wildcats back on ‘winning track,’ beat Catholic 2-0

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Lady Wildcats Leah Scudder and Catholic Oct. 5, 2015

Oak Ridge junior Leah Scudder (22) looks for a pass during a 2-0 win for the Lady Wildcats at home on Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

After a short slump, the Oak Ridge girls soccer team got “back on the winning track” in a 2-0 win over Knoxville Catholic at home on Monday.

The Lady Wildcats (11-3, 4-1 District 3-Class AAA) scored one goal in each half. The first was by sophomore Zoe Van Hook with 3:38 remaining in the first half. She curled left from the center of the goal box and kicked the ball into the right side of the net from the left side of the box, past goalkeeper Katie Whitaker. Oak Ridge junior Olivia Hoyt got the assist on that goal.

Senior Katie Welsh scored the second goal for Oak Ridge after a corner kick by senior Ellie Brown. The ball bounced around a bit in front of the net before Welsh kicked it into the left side of the net past Catholic goalkeeper Miriam Janoyan at 12:55 in the second half.

“I think it was a good effort, back on the winning track,” Oak Ridge Coach Jeff Trombly said. [Read more…]

Football photos: Oak Ridge and Karns

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Wildcats Ka'Yon Waters and Adam Manookian and Karns Greg Tye on Oct. 2, 2015

Junior Ka’Yon Waters (31) and senior Adam Manookian (35) pressure Karns quarterback Greg Tye (12) during a 56-14 win for Oak Ridge on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats rushed for more than 500 yards, and senior running back T.J. Allison scored four touchdowns in a 56-14 win at Karns on Friday. Here are photos by Julio Culiat.

See a story on the game here.

See stats here.

Wildcats T.J. Allison and Karns Travis Blair on Oct. 2, 2015

Oak Ridge senior running back T.J. Allison (6) ran for 171 yards and four touchdowns during a 56-14 win at Karns on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

[Read more…]

Two Lady Hawks combine for 10 shots, three goals in 4-1 win over Oak Ridge

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Hardin Valley Paige Hewitt and Lady Wildcats Katie Welsh Sept. 23, 2015

Paige Hewitt (14) of Hardin Valley had five shots and two goals against Oak Ridge on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. Above, Katie Welsh (5) of the Lady Wildcats defends against Hewitt, left, in a 4-1 win for Hardin Valley in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Two Hardin Valley girls combined for 10 shots and three goals in a 4-1 win over the Lady Wildcats in Oak Ridge on Wednesday.

Paige Hewitt had five shots and two goals for Hardin Valley, and Gabby Powers had five shots and one goal.

Reagan Ely also scored for the Lady Hawks.

Macy Barclay had the lone goal for Oak Ridge (11-3, 4-1 District 3-Class AAA). [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge and Sevier County football

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Wildcats T.J. Allison at Sevier County Sept. 24, 2015

T.J. Allison (6) had his second two-touchdown game this year in a 44-34 win over Sevier County on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Allison scored on one-yard and 10-yard runs. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was updated with more photos at 4:23 p.m.

SEVIERVILLE—Oak Ridge scored three touchdowns and a field goal on four turnovers by Sevier County in a 44-34 win in Sevierville on Thursday.

The Wildcats added three more touchdowns without the help of turnovers to maintain their game-long lead over the Smoky Bears in a televised game on Hardin-Robertson Field.

Here are photos from the Thursday night game by Julio Culiat.

Wildcats Caleb Jackson at Sevier County on Sept. 24, 2015

Oak Ridge junior Caleb Jackson (25) had a touchdown for the Wildcats on a 57-yard catch from quarterback Logan Fadnek in a 44-34 win over Sevier County on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

[Read more…]

Council to get update on airport this evening

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Oak Ridge Airport Development Plan

The Heritage Center airport development plan is pictured above. (Cropped image from DOE Draft Environmental Assessment)

 

The City Council will get an update on the proposed general aviation airport in west Oak Ridge during a work session this evening.

The update will be given by Billy Stair, public affairs consultant for the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority.

The airport could cost $30-$40 million, and construction could start in 2018, according to a current timeline and construction estimate. The airport would include a 5,000-foot runway and be built at the front side of Heritage Center, the former K-25 site.

The Oak Ridge airport would the third for the MKAA, which would own the site. The other two are McGhee Tyson in Blount County and Downtown Island in Knoxville. The Oak Ridge airport would be a reliever airport and help relieve congestion at the other two airports. [Read more…]

Property tax bills sent out, payments due Oct. 31

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Oak Ridge property tax bills were sent out, and payments are due without penalty by October 31.

The tax statements should have been received by September 1, the City of Oak Ridge said.

The city received the certified tax rate—or tax-neutral rate—from Tennessee this summer and adopted the $2.52 rate without changing it. That’s in contrast to other surrounding city and county governments, including Anderson and Roane counties.

Problems in Roane County’s re-assessments delayed the city from setting the tax rate and sending out tax bills when expected. But those problems were resolved as of August 3.

The new tax-neutral rate went up in Oak Ridge because total property assessments went down in Anderson and Roane counties. The tax-neutral rate is meant to bring in the same amount of revenue after a five-year reappraisal as before. [Read more…]

New Roane tax rate could mean another $95 for OR homeowner

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David Morgan

David Morgan (File photo/2012)

The new certified property tax rate and tax rate increase in Roane County could cost the owner of a $100,000 home in Oak Ridge another $95 per year, according to data provided by the Roane County property assessor.

That’s a 19.29 percent increase, according to the information from Property Assessor David Morgan. Here’s the breakdown of the increase: 4.37 percent was due to the increase in the state-certified rate—Tennessee officials call it a tax-neutral rate—and 19.29 percent was due to the 29-cent increase approved by the Roane County Commission on Monday and anticipated in a budget passed in July.

The tax-neutral rate in Roane County went up because the total overall property assessment went down 3.47 percent. The tax-neutral rate is the rate meant to bring in the same amount of revenues after a reappraisal as before. If the overall property assessment goes down, the tax-neutral rate goes up, and vice versa.

The additional $95 per year assumes the property assessment stayed the same, at $100,000, in the five-year reappraisals completed this year. [Read more…]