Oak Ridge Today

Convenience Center in Oak Ridge closed on Independence Day

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Waste Connections Inc. will close the Convenience Center located at 400 Warehouse Road on Saturday, July 4, in observation of the Fourth of July holiday. On Sunday, July 5, the Convenience Center will reopen on regular schedule from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

There will be no change to the regular residential weekly refuse and recycling pick-up schedule.

“Thank you for your cooperation with this schedule adjustment,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

Contact Waste Connections Inc. at (865) 482-3656 or visit www.wasteconnectionstn.com for more information.

Oak Ridge recognized as 2015 Playful City USA community

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Oak Ridge Playful City

241 communities exhibiting playability to be recognized

Oak Ridge is being honored with a 2015 Playful City USA designation for the fourth time. In partnership with the Humana Foundation, KaBOOM! is honoring cities, towns, and counties across the country for making their communities more playable. Oak Ridge was selected again this year because of the commitment to excellence in all parks, greenways, and play-spaces, a press release said.

“Several years ago, we embarked on an effort to make our city have more fun,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. “The structured activities have brought our community together and allowed new avenues of play to be by our children and our ‘adult children.'”

Neighborhood play spaces, city-wide play days, and fun special events are all ways in which these communities are appealing to residents, and attracting and retaining residents. [Read more…]

Report: Scammers extorting money after claiming missed jury duty

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Oak Ridge officials say unknown suspects have been contacting residents claiming to be representatives of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and claiming to be contacting people who failed to show up for jury duty. The suspects have allegedly extorted money from victims in return for supposedly excusing them from jury duty, a press release said.

The press release said that anyone who is asked to pay money in return for being excused from jury duty should contact their local law enforcement agency immediately. Oak Ridge citizens are encouraged to report any suspicious activity to (865) 425-4399, or dial 911 if it is an emergency.

NAACP has forum on voting rights restoration on Thursday

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Tom Marshall

Tom Marshall

Have you been convicted of a crime and are now unable to vote, or having trouble getting a job?

On Thursday, the Oak Ridge/Anderson County chapter of the NAACP will present the first in a series of public forums designed to help you. The forum starts at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 25, at Spurgeon Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church at 100 South Benedict Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Tom Marshall, District 7 Public Defender, will provide information on how people having served their sentence can potentially get their voting right restored and their record expunged, a press release said. Additional agencies are providing information. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge, Clinton teachers appointed to first Governor’s Teacher Cabinet

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Cathy Ginel

Cathy Ginel

Teachers in Oak Ridge and Clinton have been selected to serve on the first Governor’s Teacher Cabinet.

The Oak Ridge teacher, Cathy Ginel, is a seventh-grade science teacher at Robertsville Middle School. The Clinton teacher, Abbey Kidwell, is a fourth-grade teacher at South Clinton Elementary School.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam announced the appointment of the 18 teachers to the cabinet on Tuesday.

The cabinet will meet quarterly with Haslam and Education Commissioner Candice McQueen to share real-time information from the classroom, give advice on policy considerations, and provide a direct line of communication to schools and communities, a press release said. [Read more…]

Reminder: Secret City Festival this weekend

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Secret City Festival Water Slide

Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau 

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:20 p.m.

Reminder: The Secret City Festival is this weekend. The festival kicks off with an opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Friday, and it continues through Saturday evening.

The Secret City Festival celebrates family fun, great entertainment, and arts and crafts, and it commemorates the incredible history that makes this town unique, organizers said.

“Join us as we honor the men and women who built this community and helped end the greatest war mankind has ever known,” they said.

The award-winning, two-day event includes the following and more: [Read more…]

City workers repair water main break near North Tulane

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North Tulane Avenue Water Main Break

A water main break Tuesday afternoon temporarily created a stream behind St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church near Tulane Avenue. (Photo by Rob Welton)

 

Oak Ridge crews were repairing a water main break near North Tulane Avenue on Tuesday evening.

The water line break temporarily created a stream that flowed from behind St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church toward North Tulane.

City workers were able to stop the water, and they expected the line to be repaired this evening.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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

Public Notice: Public hearing rescheduled on Annual Action Plan

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City of Oak Ridge

Equal Housing Opportunity Logo

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

 

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Entitlement Program

for the City of Oak Ridge, Tennessee

 

CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING

For

Annual Action Plan of the Consolidated Plan

CDBG Program Year 2015-City of Oak Ridge Fiscal Year 2016

 

The Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development is a requirement of the 1990 National Affordable Housing Act and the Community Development Plan, for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Such a plan is required of entitlement communities, which receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds under HUD’s housing and service programs related to the needs of low- and moderate-income persons. The development of the sixth City of Oak Ridge Consolidated Plan took place during the eight-month period of September 2013 through April 2014 and is to be utilized for the three-year period of July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2017 (CDBG Program Year 2014 through Program Year 2016). [Read more…]

City proposes one-cent tax rate increase; schools’ request would add seven

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Note: This story was last updated at 3:18 a.m. June 2.

The budget proposed by the Oak Ridge city staff on Monday includes a one-cent increase in the property tax rate. It would help maintain city services and allow for a 2 percent pay raise for city employees, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told City Council members.

Meanwhile, the budget proposed by Oak Ridge Schools asks for the equivalent of a seven-cent tax increase. It would help cover a deficit and add money for salaries and staff, including a 3 percent pay raise. That budget has already been approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education.

The two requests total eight cents. They were presented to the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday.

It’s not clear yet if the seven-member City Council will agree to any increases for the city or schools. The Council will consider the budget in the first of two readings on Monday, June 8, and on second and final reading on Monday, June 15. [Read more…]

Letter: Gives thanks, says this year’s Police Week a ‘great success’

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Police Week at Oak Ridge Police Department

This month, the law enforcement community celebrated Police Week 2015. For those who do not know, in 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation that designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week.

Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, D.C., to participate in a number of planned events that honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Here in Oak Ridge, the Police Department celebrated on a smaller scale, honoring officers everywhere with a ceremony at the Police Station on the 15th. The week was also marked by a proclamation given by the City Council declaring an official Police Week in Oak Ridge.

I represent a group of wives of police officers in Oak Ridge. We worked to make this the best police week ever for our husbands and the rest of our blue family. We organized meals, snacks, and treats for the officers, and hung banners of love and support in the station to let them know we “see them.” [Read more…]

NAACP in Oak Ridge, Anderson County meets tonight

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The May meeting of the NAACP in Oak Ridge and Anderson County is at 6 p.m. today (Tuesday, May 26) at the Scarboro Community Center.

Organizers said past events and upcoming projects will be discussed.

“The political action committee has been working on developing a law enforcement summit and will provide an update,” a meeting notice said.

Driver airlifted to hospital after crashing through guardrail, into rock embankment

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Chevrolet Cavalier Crash at Highway 95

The driver of this Chevrolet Cavalier was flown by a medical helicopter to a hospital after apparently crashing through a guardrail and into a rock embankment, right, below a DOE haul road on Highway 95 in west Oak Ridge on Wednesday afternoon.

 

A car driver was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital after crashing through a guardrail and into a rock embankment below a U.S. Department of Energy haul road that crosses over Highway 95 in west Oak Ridge on Wednesday afternoon.

The name and condition of the driver weren’t immediately available after the one-vehicle, one-person crash. The collision occurred in a curvy section of Highway 95 near the western entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Bear Creek Road.

The haul road is used to move debris from the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, to the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility west of Y-12. [Read more…]