Oak Ridge Today

THP IDs man found on I-40 in Roane County near Hwy 95, seeks help

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Brian William Taylor

Brian William Taylor

Authorities have identified the man found dead early Christmas morning on Interstate 40 in Roane County, and they said he appears to have either jumped or fallen from a moving vehicle before being struck by another vehicle.

The body of Brian William Taylor, 42, of Heath Springs, S.C., was found on the eastbound lanes of I-40 at mile marker 364, which is near Highway 95 and south of Melton Hill Dam, at about 2:30 a.m. Dec. 25, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a press release.

Taylor is a white man, and when he was found, he was wearing blue jeans, a blue and white checked flannel type shirt, and tan work boots, the THP said. [Read more…]

Roane Alliance receives TVA sustainable community award for 
Roane County

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Roane Alliance Sustainability Award

Pictured from left are John Bradley, Tennessee Valley Authority; Danice Turpin, Tennessee Applied College of Technology; Teresa Jackson, The Roane Alliance; Leslie Henderson, The Roane Alliance; and Del Boyette, Boyette Strategic Advisors. (Submitted photo)

The Roane Alliance received a Silver Award on behalf of Roane County at a recent Tennessee Valley Authority sustainable communities luncheon.

The TVA Valley Sustainable Communities Program Recognition Luncheon was Dec. 3 in Nashville. The award ceremony honored 13 communities from across the Tennessee Valley Region.

Roane County’s trophy was presented by Heidi Smith, a general manager in TVA’s economic development program, to Leslie Henderson, president and chief executive officer of The Roane Alliance; Teresa Jackson, Roane’s sustainable officer of The Roane Alliance; and Danice Turpin, director of Tennessee Applied College of Technology, a member of the Roane Green Team. [Read more…]

Impossible to identify animal remains excavated at pet crematory, state says

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Elliott Pet Service Excavation

Dump trucks remove pet remains on Wednesday that had been excavated from Elliott Pet Services in Morgan County. (Photo courtesy WATE-TV)

It will not be possible to identify animals buried at a pet crematory in Morgan County where remains were excavated this week after a state investigation, officials said Wednesday.

News of the investigation and excavations this week has left many pet owners, including in Anderson County, wondering whether animals they paid to have cremated might be among those buried at the rural wooded site near the Roane County line.

The crematory site on Grouse Ridge Road is operated by Elliott Pet Services. It was the subject of a citizen’s complaint in September that alleged animals were being dumped on the site.

In September, the business also received an open dumping violation notice from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. And in October, the company was cited for not maintaining logs.

Business owner Cameo Farr and her attorney, Kevin Angel of Oak Ridge, told several Knoxville television stations that burying animals is part of her business, and she has always cremated animals that were supposed to be cremated. [Read more…]

Man facing charges in high-speed chase

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Powell man has been arrested on charges stemming from a high-speed nighttime pursuit that spanned two counties earlier this month.

Larry Eugene Ward Jr., 33, is facing a slew of charges including reckless endangerment, reckless driving, evading arrest, and a host of traffic violations. An Oliver Springs Police Department officer tried to pull Ward over at night on Nov. 2 for a routine violation, but Ward allegedly sped off in his Chevy Cruze, turned off the vehicle’s headlights, and proceeded to lead officers on a pursuit that reached speeds of more than 100 miles an hour, passing cars on double yellow lines, and taking hills in the wrong lane. [Read more…]

Roane County: Man suffers fatal heart attack behind wheel

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Information from WYSH Radio

A retired police detective died last week on a Roane County roadway when he suffered a heart attack behind the wheel.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said Richard Phillip Hadorn, 67, had been driving his pickup truck on Winton Chapel Road Thursday afternoon when his truck left the roadway and crashed. State troopers said an autopsy determined that he had suffered a heart attack and was likely dead before the truck came to its final rest.

Hadorn, according to our partners at BBB-TV, had only recently moved here from Florida after retiring from the New York Police Department.

Follow-up: Roane shooting victim had been drinking, getting high

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Information from WYSH Radio

Following up on a story reported Monday, a 44-year-old Roane County man who accidentally shot himself in the chest with a .22-caliber rifle on Sunday was treated for his injuries and released from the University of Tennesseee Medical Center that same night.

Steve Brooks was flown to UTMC after the incident on Edwards Lane, just south of Rockwood. The Roane County Sheriff’s Office said that he told emergency personnel that he had been drinking before the incident and admitted to having smoked crack cocaine, an admission verified by his live-in girlfriend and her adult son. [Read more…]

Roane County man accidentally shoots self

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Roane County man was injured Sunday evening when a .22-caliber rifle went off accidentally and shot him in the chest.

The incident occurred at around 5 p.m. at a home on Edwards Lane outside Rockwood. The victim, whose name was not immediately available, was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center by Lifestar for treatment of his injuries.

Deputies said the shooting appears to have happened as the man was handling the rifle and that it was purely accidental in nature.

Five confirmed bullying cases in Oak Ridge last year, state report says

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Oak Ridge Schools School Administration Building

Oak Ridge Schools reported five confirmed cases of bullying in the 2012-2013 school year. The Oak Ridge Schools’ School Administration Building is pictured above.

There were five confirmed cases of bullying in Oak Ridge Schools last year, a number that is much lower than in many other school districts across the state and in some other nearby districts.

The numbers were reported in a new, first-of-its kind report that said there were 7,555 reported cases of bullying in Tennessee schools last year. Nearly 73 percent of them—or 5,478 cases—were confirmed after investigation.

The report said Oak Ridge Schools had 14 bullying cases reported in the 2012-2013 school year, but only five were confirmed after investigation. All five of those were related to sex or gender discrimination, the report said. [Read more…]

Arrests made in aggravated burglary involving 11 guns

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John Edward Farmer

John Edward Farmer

Eric Keith Lane

Eric Keith Lane

Eleven rifles and shotguns were reported missing after an aggravated burglary in Roane County last month, and authorities investigating the case arrested two men on Monday, a press release said.

The alleged burglary occurred Sept. 19 on Collins Road, which is north of Oak Ridge near the intersection of Blair Road and Old Harriman Highway.

The press release said Roane County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Kate Bell and Sgt. Richie Stooksbury were searching for John Farmer in connection with the alleged burglary on Monday when Bell found the vehicle matching the description of the Collins Road incident, Sheriff Jack Stockton said in the release. [Read more…]

Literacy grant applications now available from Altrusa, Breakfast Rotary

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Applications are now available for about $17,000 worth of literacy grants awarded by Altrusa International of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club.

The grants are used to help improve literacy in Oak Ridge and Anderson and Roane counties, and they will be awarded to selected recipients. Applications and award criteria may be found on the Altrusa International website or Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club website. Hard copies are also available at the Oak Ridge Public Library.

Applications must be submitted by Nov. 1.

[Read more…]

Senate passes Alexander, Udall resolution for nuclear workers’ Day of Remembrance

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Senate unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday by U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, and U.S. Senator Mark Udall, a Colorado Democrat, to designate Oct. 30, 2013, as the fifth National Day of Remembrance for nuclear weapons program workers.

“In Tennessee, more than 14,000 workers have made claims for compensation, many of whom worked countless hours with little-understood hazardous materials to build our country’s nuclear deterrent,” Alexander said. “Many Americans labored behind the scenes, and Tennesseans—like those from Anderson and Roane counties, for example—filed more claims than any other state. It’s these workers, and those all around the country, whose sacrifice we seek to honor with this day of remembrance.” [Read more…]

Oliver Springs man killed in wreck

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Oliver Springs man was killed in a single-vehicle accident Sunday night in Roane County.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol reported that at around 8:30 Sunday night, Otto Joseph Flachbart III, 35, had been driving north on Highway 327 near Oliver Springs when he lost control of his Dodge Ram pickup while rounding a curve. The THP said that he overcorrected twice before the truck flipped over and came to rest on its side. [Read more…]