Oak Ridge Today

Appeals court upholds 30-year robbery sentence

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A Tennessee appeals court this summer upheld a 30-year prison sentence against an Oliver Springs man convicted of aggravated robbery in Clinton, finding that the Anderson County trial court did not err in sentencing him as a career offender.

Wallace Wade Tidwell, 44, had been accused of robbing a Shell gas station on Charles Seivers Boulevard in Clinton in June 2015. A clerk testified at trial in April 2019 that Tidwell came out of the store’s bathroom, ordered her to give him the money in the cash register, lifted his shirt, and showed her what she thought was the butt of a gun in his waistband, according to a 14-page opinion filed by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in Knoxville.

DOE has open house about landfill on Thursday

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There will be an open house in Oak Ridge on Thursday to discuss the proposed new federal landfill in Bear Creek Valley, west of the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The open house is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, December 8, in the Scarboro Community Center.

“After much work and coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, we are excited to share that the three parties recently signed the final Record of Decision (ROD) for the Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF) project,” the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management said in a notice posted on its website.

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Early Oak Ridge to be discussed during NPS hike

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A photo by Ed Westcott of Cedar Hill Elementary School in Oak Ridge in 1945. (Photo credit: U.S. Department of Energy/Westcott)

Early Oak Ridge, including its school system, shopping centers, and housing, will be discussed during a hike with National Park Service rangers on Saturday, December 10.

The hike is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. December 10 at Cedar Hill Park, the former location of Cedar Hill Elementary School.

“Along the hike, we’ll discuss the early school system of Oak Ridge, early shopping centers, and housing in the Clinton Engineer Works (a name for Oak Ridge during World War II),” the NPS said.

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Court defers decision on separate trials for Finnegan, Dishman

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A motion hearing is pictured above for Sean Shannon Finnegan and Rebecca Elizabeth Dishman in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

A decision was deferred Thursday about whether to separate the trials of a man and woman charged in a gruesome rape and murder case in Oak Ridge three years ago.

Senior Center has Holiday Reception on Dec. 9

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Oak Ridge Senior Center exterior front 2019
The front of the Oak Ridge Senior Center is pictured above. (File photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Senior Center will host a Holiday Reception for area senior citizens on Friday, December 9. The reception is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day in the Civic Center gymnasium at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The reception is free. Pre-registration is required because of limited space, a press release said.

“Come join us for a light box lunch consisting of chips, cookies, and a choice of either egg salad, chicken salad, or pimento cheese sandwich,” Senior Center Manager Linda McGhee said. “The Senior Center’s own Golden Eagles will be playing live Christmas music beginning at 11 a.m.”

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Library will be renovated during holidays

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Oak Ridge Public Library
The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Public Library will be renovated during the holidays, and the library will be closed several days around Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The restrooms will be completely rebuilt, and the Children’s Room will be “getting an all-new look that will help everyone discover new ways to read, learn, and play,” a press release said.

The library will be closed for the Christmas holidays from December 23 to 26 and for the New Year’s holiday from December 31 to January 2, the press release said.

“Over the few days immediately before Christmas and in between Christmas and New Year’s, the library building will be closed to public traffic,” Oak Ridge Public Library Director Julie Forkner said. “However, patrons will be able to check out materials through our curbside service. Mobile printing will be available, and library staff will be available via phone and email. Patrons needing a wireless connection can place a Hotspot on hold with their library card or use the library’s public Wi-Fi, which extends to the plaza and into the library’s parking lot.”

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SMRs, other nuclear reactors possible at Clinch River site

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Small modular reactors and other types of new nuclear reactors could be considered for power generation at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge.

The Tennessee Valley Authority announced its preferred alternative for the 935-acre site in the Federal Register in October.

Second man arrested after gas station robbery

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James Hunter Oran

A second Oak Ridge man was arrested after a robbery was reported at a gas station on Lake City Highway on Monday.

James Hunter Oran, 21, has been charged with facilitation of a felony and accessory after the fact. He is alleged to have driven the 21-year-old man charged with the robbery, Carlos Hernandez, to and from the Rocky Top 76 gas station and waited for Hernandez while he was in the store, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

Test reactor would help with decarbonization, supporters say

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Kairos Power has proposed a Hermes test reactor at the Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. A model of the test reactor is pictured at a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 11:20 a.m. Dec. 1.

A nuclear test reactor proposed in west Oak Ridge could help as the United States tries to lower carbon dioxide emissions and reduce the effects of climate change, supporters said during a public meeting last week.

Oak Ridge man charged with gas station robbery

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Carlos Hernandez

A 21-year-old Oak Ridge man was arrested and charged with robbery, kidnapping, and theft after allegedly holding two gas station employees at gunpoint and taking money from a cash register at Rocky Top 76 on Lake City Highway on Monday.

Carlos Hernandez was charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, theft of $1,000 to $2,500, and tampering with evidence.

ORNL center will make isotopes for medicine, research, security

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory had an October 24 groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Stable Isotope Production and Research Center. A design image of the new center is pictured above.

Note: This story was updated at 11 a.m. Nov. 22.

For decades, Oak Ridge made stable isotopes. Those are non-radioactive forms of atoms that can be used in medicine and industry, and for research and national security.

Football: Powell eliminates Oak Ridge

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Powell eliminated Oak Ridge from the Class 5A football playoffs in a 43-13 quarterfinal win on Friday.

The Panthers (11-2) advance to a semifinal game against West (13-0) next Friday, November 25. It’s a rematch of a semifinal game last year. Powell won that game 35-7 on the way to a state championship.

The season is over for the Wildcats (7-6). They lost to the Panthers twice this year, once during the regular season in a 30-14 loss on September 30 and then again in the playoffs on Friday.

Powell had almost twice as many yards on offense on Friday as Oak Ridge, 442 to 249, and more than double the number of first downs, 14 to 6. The Panthers had one player run for more than 100 yards and another with more than 100 yards receiving.

Powell senior quarterback Jordyn Potts, who has committed to Tennessee Tech, threw for 250 yards against Oak Ridge with five touchdowns and one interception. He was 16-of-26 passing (about 62 percent completions), according to preliminary game statistics by Oak Ridge’s Mark and Shawna Haste.

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