John Huotari - Author at Oak Ridge Today

Rezoning requested for about 200 homes on South Illinois

Posted at 8:34 pm July 13, 2018
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge Community Development Department

A rezoning to be considered by Oak Ridge officials next week proposes about 200 homes on 32 acres near South Illinois Avenue and Centrifuge Way in south Oak Ridge.

The property is currently zoned industrial. The request, if approved, would rezone it as low-density residential. The request will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday.

The property, which is currently vacant, is owned by Commercial Bank. It’s in an area north of South Illinois Avenue and the Summit, south of Mitchell Road and Crossroads at Wolf Creek, east of Lafayette Drive and Midway Lane, and west of Centrus (formerly known as USEC in a building once used by Boeing) and the University of Tennessee Arboretum.

The potential developer is not named in a review of the rezoning request by the Oak Ridge municipal staff.

“The applicant states that the prospective developer for the property plans to develop the site with approximately 200 single-family detached units,” the review said. [Read more…]

Scott seeks re-election to County Commission

Posted at 8:37 am July 13, 2018
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Theresa Scott

Anderson County Commissioner Theresa Scott is seeking a second term on the County Commission.

“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the residents of District 7, and I am dedicated to continue to make a positive difference,” Scott said in a press release. “I humbly ask to continue to serve within our county government.”

First elected just four years ago, Scott continues to volunteer within the community through the Neighborhood Watch Program, Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board, the Secret City Civitan Club, and the Lavender and Secret City festivals, as well as other various projects within the city, the press release said.

Since its inception in 2013, Scott remains an active member of Anderson County’s Underage Drinking Task Force and Prescription Medicine Task Force, which are led by Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson (ASAP), the press release said. It said ASAP is proactive in educating the public of the harm of misusing alcohol and prescription pain medications. In 2016, Scott received the first runner-up of the Ally of the Year Award. Their prestigious Prevention Power Partner Award is given to a community member who staunchly supports prevention, and Scott said, “I am truly honored to have been named the recipient for 2017-2018.” [Read more…]

Blankenship Field renovations to start after football season

Posted at 6:14 pm July 12, 2018
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Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The renovations at Blankenship Field, including the installation of synthetic turf, won’t start until after this year’s football season ends, officials said Thursday.

At one time, there had been hopes that the renovation work would have started this past January and be finished by this June. Then, after an $800,000 contract was approved in June, there had still been the possibility that the work could be complete this summer, on or around the first home football game in August.

But on Thursday, the City of Oak Ridge announced a decision to wait until the Oak Ridge High School football season is complete to begin the renovations.

“The decision was based on the contractor’s estimate that the project could not be completed without impacting the first three home football games,” a city press release said. [Read more…]

New Y-12 center provides small orders of nuclear samples

Posted at 4:49 pm July 11, 2018
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Workers prepare a shipment in the new NBL Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The center provides special nuclear certified reference materials internationally. (Photo courtesy National Nuclear Security Administration/Y-12)

A new center at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge will provide small orders of nuclear samples around the globe, including to organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“We envision this new facility operating sort of like an Amazon fulfillment center, but for very unique and very small orders of nuclear samples—things you definitely can’t get on Amazon,” said Morgan Smith, president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, which operates Y-12 for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The new center, the NBL Center, officially opened with a June 11 ceremony. The center’s work was previously done at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago.

The new facility is operating and made its first shipment, to the IAEA, in April. The IAEA uses the materials to support its international safeguards mission, said Steven Wyatt, spokesperson for the NNSA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. [Read more…]

Exclusive: Two plead guilty in robbery that ends with shooting

Posted at 2:38 pm July 11, 2018
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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a shooting on East Holston Lane at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man and woman pleaded guilty on Monday to their roles in a robbery that started as a drug deal set up through social media and ended with a shooting that injured one person.

The plea agreements for the two defendants, Nicole Marie Brewer, 21, and Nicholas Rashad Strickland, 27, were entered in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday. The robbery and shooting were reported on East Holston Lane in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, November 15, 2016.

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Applewood Apartments buildings demolished

Posted at 1:28 pm July 10, 2018
By John Huotari 4 Comments

After a years-long dispute over alleged code violations, the 13 Applewood Apartments buildings on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle have been demolished. The site of one former building at Hillside Road and West Hunter Circle is pictured above on Monday, July 9, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

After a years-long legal dispute over alleged code violations, the 13 Applewood Apartments buildings on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle have been demolished.

Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard was working on removing the last apartment basement on West Hunter Circle on Monday. The basement walls are a foot thick, and Keith Brady of Brady Excavating and Demolition was using a trackhoe with a hammer attached to it to remove the concrete bunker-like walls.

The buildings themselves have already been torn down, and the debris has been hauled away.

Brady, who owns Brady Excavating and Demolition, said the next step will be grading. The site has to be leveled so that it can be mowed, won’t have holes, and will have “positive drainage.” Grading could take two to three days and could be done by next week, Brady said. Big trees on the perimeter and in the middle of the property will remain. [Read more…]

Council unanimously appoints Hammond to replace Vogel

Posted at 7:45 pm July 9, 2018
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Derrick Hammond

Note: This story was last updated at 8:20 p.m.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously agreed to appoint Derrick Hammond to fill the seat left vacant when former City Council member Hans Vogel resigned at the end of June to move for a job at Idaho National Laboratory.

The vote to appoint Hammond was 6-0. Hammond was one of seven candidates to apply for the open seat, and he was elected unanimously on the first ballot.

Hammond will serve through a special election on November 6. The person elected in November will then serve the rest of Vogel’s two-year term. Vogel was elected to a four-year term in November 2016. [Read more…]

Updated: New Y-12 contract has 2.5 percent wage increases for guards

Posted at 8:37 pm July 6, 2018
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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 1:20 p.m. July 8.

A new contract at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge includes 2.5 percent wage increases for security police officers.

The new contract, a five-year labor agreement, applies to more than 360 security police officers at Y-12.

The International Guards Union of America Local 3 and Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the contractor that operates Y-12, reached the agreement on Tuesday, July 3. Negotiations had started in mid-May.

The agreement includes 2.5 percent wage increases each year, said Shannon Gray, president of IGUA Local 3, which is in Oak Ridge. There are also some other incentive payments for rotating shift workers, who will receive a significant bump in pay, Gray said. [Read more…]

Former Supreme Court chief justice who once worked in Oak Ridge dies at 85

Posted at 3:14 pm July 6, 2018
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Tom Beehan, Cornelia Clark, Gary Wade, Riley Anderson, and Sharon Lee

Pictured above at Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen in Oak Ridge on Thursday, July 31, 2014, are, from left to right, former Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia Clark, former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade, former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Riley Anderson, and Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Edward Riley Anderson, a former Tennessee Supreme Court chief justice who once worked and volunteered in Oak Ridge, died Wednesday, July 4, after a long fight with cancer. He was 85.

Anderson was born in Chattanooga but moved to Knoxville as a child, according to his obituary. He graduated from Central High School and received his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Tennessee.

After law school, in 1958, Anderson became the first associate at the Oak Ridge law firm of Wilson & Joyce, according to the Tennessee State Courts website. Frank Wilson and Gene Joyce would have a major impact on his life, the state said in a news story posted online.

“I couldn’t have had two better mentors to go to,” Anderson said in that article. “I think it’s important to have that when you’re a young lawyer and you’re malleable. You’re going to be influenced by whoever you associate with. I couldn’t have been more fortunate in my choice of mentors.”

When Wilson left the firm after his appointment to the federal bench, Anderson became a managing partner, and the firm was renamed Joyce, Anderson, and Meredith, the state courts news story said. [Read more…]

Seven apply for vacant City Council seat

Posted at 1:05 pm July 6, 2018
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Note: This story was updated at 1:50 p.m.

Seven people have applied for the vacant Oak Ridge City Council seat. Council is expected to fill the seat on Monday, July 9.

The seven who applied by the Thursday deadline are Susan Frederick, Derrick Hammond, Lynda Marcoux, Delores Moyer, Zach Panter, Timothy Stallings, and Darris Upton.

The vacancy was created when Council member Hans Vogel resigned at the end of June to move for a job at Idaho National Laboratory. [Read more…]

In depth: Cromwell gets new trial in fatal July 4 fireworks crash

Posted at 8:28 pm July 5, 2018
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Lee Harold Cromwell (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Lee Harold Cromwell, who was convicted of homicide and aggravated assault after a fatal crash after fireworks three years ago, is eligible for a new trial on the aggravated assault charges, a state appeals court said Tuesday.

After reviewing several issues raised on appeal, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in Knoxville upheld Cromwell’s one conviction of reckless vehicular homicide and his five-year sentence on that charge.

But citing misleading and confusing jury instructions, the court ordered a new trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on the eight convictions of reckless aggravated assault. Those convictions, which were reversed by the appeals court on Tuesday, had helped to add seven years to Cromwell’s sentence.

“After our review, we affirm the evidence was sufficient to support the defendant’s convictions and the trial court properly sentenced the defendant, but (we) conclude the trial court committed reversible error in instructing the jury as to reckless aggravated assault,” the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals said. “Therefore, we vacate the defendant’s eight convictions for reckless aggravated assault and remand this case to the trial court for a new trial.”

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AMSE: Current museum could close this month, with new home open this fall

Posted at 4:55 pm July 4, 2018
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The current location of the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue could close at the end of July, and the museum could re-open at its new home at Main Street Oak Ridge in the early fall, officials said. The new location is pictured above under construction on Thursday, June 21, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

In the meantime, the museum might not be open a month or two as exhibits are moved, said Ken Tarcza, manager of the Oak Ridge Office for the U.S. Department of Energy. But DOE bus tours will continue, Tarcza said at a meeting to give an update about the AMSE project at Oak Ridge High School on June 14. Some specifics of the transition haven’t been worked out yet.

Tarcza said the new 18,000-square-foot museum will feature state-of-the-art interactive exhibits and hands-on activities. It will be in renovated space on the north side of Main Street Oak Ridge near JCPenney. Besides exhibits and activities, the new museum will also have a lecture hall and two classrooms.

There will be four major categories featured in the museum, Tarcza said: energy leadership, “big science,” national security, and environmental restoration. Many of the exhibits at the current AMSE need to be refreshed, and the majority of the exhibits at the new location will have a brand-new design, Tarcza said. [Read more…]

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