Oak Ridge Today

Oliver Springs school administrator arrested for DUI, placed on leave

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Oliver Springs High School administrator was arrested last week outside the roller skating rink on East Tri-County Boulevard after the Oliver Springs Police Department was called and told that a parent had arrived to pick up their child and appeared to be intoxicated.

Donna Renee Moore, 46, of Harriman, was arrested late Friday night, and the responding officer noted that she was unsteady on her feet; had red, glassy eyes; and smelled of alcohol. He also reported finding two, partially empty airplane-sized vodka bottles in her purse. [Read more…]

Anderson not included in latest judicial redistricting, but legislative session not over

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

The most recent proposal to redraw judicial districts in Tennessee did not include Anderson County, but the battle isn’t over yet, an official said Wednesday.

Roane County also would not be affected under the proposal, announced Monday by Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, a Blountville Republican. The proposal could affect 22 of the state’s 95 counties, said Dave Clark, Anderson County district attorney general.

Still, there is a month or more left in the legislative session in the Tennessee General Assembly in Nashville, and the proposals—there are more than a dozen—are subject to amendment, Clark said during a Wednesday morning presentation to the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club.

[Read more…]

Roane State Dean’s List released

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Several area students made the dean’s list at Roane State Community College for the fall 2012 semester.

To be eligible, a student must attain at least a 3.5 grade-point average while attempting 12 or more semester hours of college-level courses.

[Read more…]

Roane State releases president’s list

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Several area students made the president’s list at Roane State Community College for the fall 2012 semester.

To be eligible, a student must attain a 4.0 grade point average while attempting 12 or more semester hours of college-level courses.

[Read more…]

Tornado watch, wind advisory issued for Anderson, Roane

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A tornado watch has been issued for 33 Tennessee counties, including Anderson, Campbell, Loudon, Knox, Morgan, Roane, Scott, and Union counties. The tornado watch remains in effect through 1 p.m. today.

The National Weather Service in Morristown has also issued a wind advisory through 9 p.m. today. The advisory said strong to damaging winds are possible across the southern Appalachians, including in Anderson, Knox, Roane, Scott, and Union counties. Damaging winds of more than 60 mph are possible.

Forecasters said severe thunderstorms are moving into the area ahead of a cold front this morning, with widespread damaging winds and isolated tornadoes possible. Widespread wind damage and tornadoes have been reported across western and middle Tennessee.

[Read more…]

Roane State to offer extended business hours after holidays

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Roane State Community College campuses will offer extended business hours after the holiday break to help students get ready for the start of spring classes.

Roane State has been closed since Dec. 15 and will be closed through Tuesday, Jan. 1, for the holidays. All campuses will reopen on Wednesday, Jan. 2.

[Read more…]

Officials from Oak Ridge area attend DOE intergovernmental meeting

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State and local officials from Oak Ridge and Anderson and Roane counties recently attended the U.S. Department of Energy’s Annual Intergovernmental Conference in New Orleans. Participants met with federal, state, and local leaders from DOE sites across the nation, including top managers overseeing DOE’s Environmental Management, or EM, program.

Two senior DOE officials were keynote speakers at the conference. David Huizenga, senior advisor for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, provided an update on the EM program, which is responsible for environmental restoration, waste management, and long-term stewardship at DOE sites across the complex.

Neile Miller, recently named acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration and acting undersecretary for nuclear security, addressed the relationship between NNSA and EM, and how the programs work together at sites with multiple missions like Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

Strong, damaging winds possible through this afternoon

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A strong low pressure system moving northeast through East Tennessee and southwest North Carolina and Virginia could produce damaging winds through this afternoon along the foothills and eastern mountains, and some snowfall is possible in the region, forecasters said.

The system could produce strong southerly winds between 25 and 40 mph, and gusts over 70 mph are possible, the National Weather Service in Morristown said.

“As a cold front moves through the region today, cold air will rush in behind it, changing the rain to snow late this afternoon, with some snow showers persisting across the area tonight,” an NWS hazardous weather outlook said. “Light snowfall is possible, especially across the higher elevations of southwest Virginia and far East Tennessee mountains Wednesday night into Thursday.”

[Read more…]

Official results: Liquor referendum fails in Oliver Springs

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Voters in Oliver Springs have rejected a liquor referendum that would have allowed retail package stores to sell alcoholic beverages.

The proposal failed 488-520, according to official certified results released after the Nov. 6 election. That’s a 48 percent to 52 percent vote margin.

[Read more…]

Roane State Holiday Concert scheduled for Dec. 7, 9

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The Roane State Community College’s annual holiday concert is scheduled for the second weekend in December.

The holiday concert includes two performances, one at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, and the other at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9, in the O’Brien Theatre on the college’s Roane County campus in Harriman.

[Read more…]

Oliver Springs undercover drug operation leads to 27 indictments

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The Oliver Springs Police Department has wrapped up a four-month undercover operation targeting illegal drug sales, and 27 people have been indicted on 56 charges, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.

Thirteen of the suspects were indicted in Anderson County, and the remaining 14 in Roane County, WYSH said. Police say three of the suspects were indicted on charges related to the sale and delivery of marijuana while the rest centered on the sale and delivery of prescription drugs.

Last weekend, Oliver Springs police began rounding up the suspects and at last check had arrested 19 of them, WYSH said.

Two others were found incarcerated on unrelated charges, and six more are being sought.

This story brought to you through an agreement between Oak Ridge Today and WYSH. See more local news headlines on the WYSH website at http://www.wyshradio.com/local_news.html.

Oliver Springs liquor vote, Norris Council race remain close

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Unofficial results from Tuesday’s election remained close on an Oliver Springs liquor referendum and the race for a fifth seat on the Norris City Council, and it wasn’t clear how provisional ballots could change the final vote tallies.

Oliver Springs voters appeared to have rejected the liquor referendum, with 486 voting yes and 519 voting “no” in Anderson and Roane counties. The referendum would allow package stores to sell alcoholic beverages.

But there are about 50 provisional ballots in Anderson County and an unknown number in Roane County, election officials said Wednesday. It wasn’t clear how many of those were from Oliver Springs, or how the ballots and a post-election audit might affect the final vote when results are certified Nov. 19.

Results in the race for four of the five seats on Norris City Council seemed clear. Chris Mitchell, Bill Grieve Jr., Loretta A. Painter, and Jack Black all received more than 500 votes, according to the unofficial results.

But the write-in race between four candidates competing for a fifth seat was close. York Haverkamp had 166 write-in votes and Eugene F. Oates had 154.

Anderson County Election Commission Administrator Mark Stephens said the write-in ballots will have to be checked vote by vote.

“We have really never had to do this in the past,” he said.

In other races in Anderson County, Steven R. Emert received the most votes in the special election to represent District 3 on Anderson County Commission. That district includes Andersonville, Fairview, Norris, and Glen Alpine. Former commissioner Johnny Alley resigned from the seat after he was elected Anderson County property assessor in the Aug. 2 election.

Also Tuesday, Shain Vowell and Andrew Howard won two seats on Lake City City Council, Vowell with 231 votes and Howard with 191.

Most of the other results mirrored results in larger regions, with the exception of the presidential race. Republican Bob Corker beat Democrat Mark E. Clayton in the U.S. Senate race, Republican Chuck Fleischmann defeated Democrat Mary M. Headrick in the battle to represent Tennessee’s Third District in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Republican Dennis Powers trounced Independent Virgil Kidwell.