Oak Ridge Today

Council approves $22K ORPD review, could be complete in October

Posted at
By 35 Comments

Oak Ridge Police Department Cars

Note: This story was last updated at 9:58 a.m. May 22.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Thursday approved a review of turnover and morale in the Oak Ridge Police Department that could cost close to $23,000 and not be complete until October.

The review by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee could include interviews with about 125 people, including roughly 76 current ORPD employees as well as several dozen former workers who have left in the roughly four years since Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi started.

The review, which will also study administrative policies, was initially expected to be free, last 30 days, and use interviews with a random pool of workers. But the City Council expanded the scope of the inquiry during a special meeting in April, and MTAS said it would now have to charge $50 per hour for the work.

Each of the MTAS interviews could take about one hour, city officials said during a special Oak Ridge City Council meeting on Thursday. [Read more…]

Lunch with the League: Amending the U.S. Constitution

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Theodore Brown Jr.

Theodore Brown Jr.

A senior lecturer at the University of Tennessee will discuss the process of amending the U.S. Constitution during a lunchtime meeting in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Theodore Brown Jr., a senior lecturer in UT’s Department of Political Science, will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, May 19. The program starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The Constitution of the United States was ratified on June 21, 1788. In the 227 years since then, there have been thousands of proposals to amend the Constitution, but only 33 obtained the necessary two-thirds vote in Congress and only 27 (including the Bill of Rights) have been ratified, a press release said. Amendments can also be proposed by constitutional conventions called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures.

Brown will discuss and clarify issues surrounding the state-initiated process of amending the Constitution, the release said. His presentation will set the stage for a nationwide study of the amendment process by the League of Women Voters. [Read more…]

The numbers: ORPD turnover 2007-2015

Posted at
By 9 Comments

James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Turnover in the Oak Ridge Police Department is one of several issues at the heart of a contentious debate over the ORPD and its chief, James T. Akagi.

But since the debate started in late January, there hasn’t been much public discussion of how the turnover rate compares, in either numbers or percentages, to the rate before Akagi started on July 1, 2011.

Information requested by Oak Ridge Today and provided by the Oak Ridge Personnel Department and Personnel Director Penny Sissom sheds some light. That data goes back more than eight years, starting in Calendar Year 2007. That’s roughly 4.5 years before Akagi started and more than 3.5 years since.

Oak Ridge Today analyzed the data by calendar year (January-December) and fiscal year (July 1-June 30). The data shows that ORPD turnover ebbs and flows from year to year, with a high of 19 and a low of one.

Oak Ridge Police Department Turnover (2007-2015)

Here are the numbers by calendar year (CY), from January to December, based on city data: [Read more…]

MTAS seeks more info on ORPD review, could charge city $50 per hour

Posted at
By 15 Comments

The University of Tennessee agency asked to review the Oak Ridge Police Department has questions about the expanded scope of the inquiry—it could now include all current employees and some former employees—and the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at UT could charge the city $50 per hour for its work on the project.

MTAS had initially proposed a free limited review of turnover, morale, and administrative policies in the Oak Ridge Police Department. That review, which would have interviewed a random sample or cross-section of ORPD employees, was approved by the Oak Ridge City Council during a March 27 special meeting.

But the City Council asked to start over after the initial list of employees to be interviewed was sent to the police chief, city manager, and all Police Department employees, raising concerns about the confidentiality and impartiality of the review.

During an April 21 special meeting, City Council agreed 5-2 to start over by asking MTAS to interview all employees and try to interview former employees who have left since Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi started on July 1, 2011. But that meant the city’s contract with MTAS, which had already started the initial review, had to be renegotiated. [Read more…]

Hardin Valley Academy’s Feldman receives 2015 UT-Battelle Scholarship

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

UT-Battelle Scholarship 2015

ORNL Director Thom Mason, left, congratulates UT-Battelle scholarship recipient Samuel Feldman. (Photo: Jason Richards)

 

By Chris Samoray

High school senior Samuel Feldman of Hardin Valley Academy in Knoxville has earned the 2015 UT-Battelle Scholarship to attend the University of Tennessee.

The scholarship, given to a graduating senior planning to study a science field at UT, is renewable for four years and is worth a total of $20,000. The scholarship is awarded annually to a student who has a parent who works at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Samuel’s parents are Matthew and Laura Feldman of Knoxville. His father, Matthew, works in ORNL’s Reactor and Nuclear Systems Division. Sam’s grandparents are Mary and Jim Luttrell of Oak Ridge and Nancy and the late Melvin Feldman, who retired from ORNL, also of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Kragenbrink named president, CEO of Tech 2020

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Kevin Kragenbrink

Kevin Kragenbrink

Kevin Kragenbrink, who has been serving as interim executive director of Tech 2020, has been named president and chief executive officer, a press release said.

Kragenbrink is the co-founder and CEO of Estrada Strategies Inc. He stepped away from his day-to-day responsibilities at the coaching and consulting organization in early November to accept the interim role at Tech 2020, the press release said. He assumed the top position following the resignation of John Morris.

Both Kragenbrink and Tech 2020 Board Chair Teri Brahams acknowledged that what was originally viewed as a role for not more than six months has evolved into a longer term relationship. [Read more…]

NC principal, UT grad named ORHS principal

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Martin McDonald

Martin McDonald

Martin McDonald, of High Point, North Carolina, has agreed to become the principal of Oak Ridge High School effective July 1.

McDonald was selected following the screening of applications and interviews of selected candidates by a committee including administrators, Oak Ridge High School staff members, and both a student and parent representative from ORHS, a press release said.

He will replace the current principal, David Bryant, who is retiring. Bryant had been an assistant principal and interim principal before he was named principal in January 2014. Byrant has also been an administrator at the Alternative Program, and he began his career with Oak Ridge Schools as a special education teacher in 1985. [Read more…]

AC committee to discuss review of law director’s office on May 4

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Legal Services Advisory Committee will discuss the review of the law director’s office during a May 4 meeting.

The committee approved the third-party review in February. It was proposed by Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski and modeled after the proposal to review turnover, morale, and administrative policies in the Oak Ridge Police Department.

The review of the Anderson County law director’s office could use County Technical Assistance Service, or CTAS, at the University of Tennessee. The ORPD review could use Municipal Technical Advisory Service, or MTAS. [Read more…]

ORPD review expanded to include all employees, some former workers

Posted at
By 18 Comments

Oak Ridge Police Department Cars

But MTAS will have to agree to changes

The review of the Oak Ridge Police Department has been expanded to include interviews with all employees. The review could also include interviews with former employees who have left the Police Department since Police Chief Jim Akagi started almost four years ago.

Initial plans had called for a limited review of the Oak Ridge Police Department and interviews of a random sample or cross-section of employees.

But the Oak Ridge City Council expanded the review during a special meeting on Tuesday. That special meeting was called after concerns were raised about the initial list of randomly selected interviewees being sent to the police chief, city manager, and all Police Department employees, which raised questions about the impartiality and confidentiality of the review.

By one estimate, the expanded review could include interviews with more than 100 people. And it’s not clear if the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee will agree to the expanded review, or if they might charge the city.

The City Council agreed to expand the review during a three-hour special meeting on Tuesday that included criticism of MTAS, accusations of collusion between Council members, and an attempt by Council member Trina Baughn to have resident Joe Lee, one of her chief critics, stop taking pictures during a public comment session. [Read more…]

Council to consider restart on ORPD review during special meeting Tuesday

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Oak Ridge City Council on Feb. 9, 2015

The Oak Ridge City Council will have a special meeting on Tuesday, April 21, to consider three recommendations related to the 30-day review of the Oak Ridge Police Department that was approved in March. (File photo)

 

A 30-day review of the Oak Ridge Police Department had barely gotten started before it came under fire. But the Oak Ridge City Council will try to fix that on Tuesday.

The concern centers on a report that the list of ORPD employees randomly selected for the first 20 interviews was sent to Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi and all Police Department employees, raising questions about the impartiality and anonymity of the review. The reviewer, Rex Barton of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee, apparently sent the list to the police chief for scheduling purposes, seeking to minimize overtime and minimize stress on the officers’ off-duty life.

But those who have pressed for an investigation, including Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn, quickly objected when they learned that the list of interviewees had been sent to the police chief, who has been the subject of much of their scrutiny.

So, in a special meeting Tuesday evening, the City Council will ask Barton, an MTAS police management consultant, to create a new, random list of officers to interview. Council will also consider determining a point of contact in the Oak Ridge Police Department who can help coordinate the schedules of officers participating in the interviews. [Read more…]

Today: UT MBA students present study on human-powered sports in Oak Ridge

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Students in the University of Tennessee MBA program will present a recent study on human-powered sports in Oak Ridge during a meeting this afternoon (Monday, April 20).

The presentation is hosted by the City of Oak Ridge, City Manager Mark Watson said.

The student team, working under the direction of Austin Lance, has been researching and benchmarking to develop a predictable set of recommendations as to how the Oak Ridge community can develop a unique brand position in human-powered and related sports to enhance its image and monetize its recreational assets, a meeting notice said.

The results will be presented at 3 p.m. Monday, April 20, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Court Room, which is at 200 S. Tulane Avenue.

Two UT juniors, including one from OR, awarded prestigious Goldwater Scholarships

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Adam LaClair

Adam LaClair

Benjamin Brock

Benjamin Brock

Two juniors at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, including one from Oak Ridge, have been named 2015 Goldwater Scholars. The two juniors are Benjamin Brock and Adam LaClair.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program awards scholarships to students studying mathematics, science, and engineering. Each scholarship provides a $7,500 award for undergraduate study and research.

Brock, of Jefferson City, Tennessee, is a Haslam Scholar majoring in computer science. He has done research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Edinburgh, and UT.

LaClair, of Oak Ridge, is majoring in mathematics and computer science. He plans to pursue a doctorate in mathematics and wants to teach mathematics at the university level. [Read more…]