Oak Ridge Today

Smoke from brush fires settles in Oak Ridge; burn ban, air quality alert in effect

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A brown-gray haze thickened over Oak Ridge on Monday, Nov. 7, 2016, and the smell of smoke hung in the air as firefighters battled blazes in East Tennessee and across the state. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 5:25 p.m.

A brown-gray haze thickened over Oak Ridge on Monday and the smell of smoke hung in the air as firefighters battled blazes in East Tennessee and across the state.

The haze was visible at least into west Knox County.

Anderson County and Oak Ridge both issued reminders that a burn ban is in effect. The Oak Ridge Police Department sent out a notice that the smoke in the air is due to numerous brush fires throughout the state, and the department asked residents to not call 911 to inquire about the cause.

The Tennessee Division of Forestry reported 96 active fires on Sunday afternoon, with 8,665 acres burned. (See a list of the fires here and a map here.)

Three active fires were reported in Anderson County, with 1,485 acres burned. [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge boys win third place in state cross country meet

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Oak Ridge senior Jake Etheridge led the Wildcats, finishing 11th in the Class AAA boys’ cross country meet at Percy Warner Park in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Led by senior Jake Etheridge, the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished third in the state boys’ cross country meet on Saturday. Etheridge, a senior, was the 11th-place runner.

Here are pictures from the meet, which was at Percy Warner Park in Nashville. [Read more…]

Led by Etheridge, Wildcats finish third in state cross country meet

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Led by senior Jake Etheridge, third from right, the 11th-place individual runner, the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished third in the state boys’ cross country meet in Nashville on Saturday. Pictured from left are Christian Borden, Reid Dukes, Jose Villegas, Will Jeter, Etheridge, Daeton Byars, and Dalton Morgan. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

NASHVILLE—Led by senior Jake Etheridge, the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished third in the state boys’ cross country meet on Saturday.

Etheridge finished 11th among the 181 top male runners from across Tennessee in the large Class AAA high schools. His time was 16:18.72.

The other top four runners among the seven Wildcats who competed were:

  • sophomore Dalton Morgan at 26th with a time of 16:50.17,
  • junior Jose Villegas at 34th with a time of 17:00.59,
  • junior Reid Dukes at 38th at 17:02.56, and
  • senior Will Jeter at 59th at 17:13.72.

The scores of the top five runners on each team are included in the team score. [Read more…]

Higgins again a Mr. Football semifinalist

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Oak Ridge senior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) catches a 17-yard pass from junior quarterback Johnny Stewart before falling backward into the end zone for a touchdown near the left pylon, putting the Wildcats ahead of the Clinton Dragons 42-7 with 2:57 left in the first half at Clinton on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Higgins is defended here on his second TD catch by Clinton senior J’Quan Thomas (5). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.

He won the Mr. Football award last year, and Oak Ridge High School senior Tee Higgins is a semifinalist again this year.

The semifinalists were announced by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, or TSSAA, on Friday.

Higgins is one of four semifinalists for Division I Class 5A Back of the Year. The other three semifinalists are Caden Harbin of Halls High School in Knoxville, Jordan Mason of Gallatin High School, and Jacob Murprhee of Dickson County High School.

Higgins, a 6-foot-5 wide receiver who has committed to Clemson, had 59 catches for 901 yards and 17 touchdowns during the regular season. A wide receiver who also plays cornerback and punt returner, he’s also returned at least one interception—he had a 90-yard return against Webb—and at least two punts for touchdowns this season.

Higgins had two interceptions that led to Oak Ridge touchdowns in the season-opener against Clinton, and he became the all-time leader in career receiving yards for the Wildcats during that game.

[Read more…]

Man convicted in Corwin’s death in California, LA Times reports

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Erin Corwin with Horse

Erin Corwin, who was from Oak Ridge, was an animal lover who volunteered at a horse rescue near Twentynine Palms, California.

 

A man was convicted Thursday of killing Erin Corwin, 19, a former Oak Ridger, and dumping her body down a 140-foot mine shaft, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The conviction came just days after Christopher Brandon Lee, 27, confessed to the slaying on the witness stand, the newspaper said.

A San Bernardino County jury in California found Lee guilty of murder. Jurors also found true a special sentencing enhancement that Lee was lying in wait for Corwin, his married lover, in June 2014, the Los Angeles Times said, citing the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office.

Lee’s sentencing was set for November 29. He faces life without the possibility of parole.

See the LA Times story here. [Read more…]

Photos: Main Street Oak Ridge construction work under way

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This area near the intersection of Wilson Street and Rutgers Avenue, close to JCPenney, should be ready to turn over to the developer of a four-story, 81-room TownePlaces Suites hotel in the next few weeks, a RealtyLink executive said Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Eight new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could be ready by late spring or summer, a development executive said Tuesday.

Rex Rice, project manager for RealtyLink, the development company, said the Dick’s Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx stores should be ready for those retailers by late spring or summer, and six other stores—Electronic Express, Maurice’s, PetSmart, Rack Room Shoes, Rue 21, and Ulta—should be ready by summer.

Rice gave a brief project update during a Tuesday morning Rise and Shine event sponsored by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce at TNBank.

Here are photos from the Tuesday morning update and from Main Street Oak Ridge on Tuesday. [Read more…]

New stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could be complete by late spring, summer

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Eight new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could be ready by late spring or summer, a development executive said Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016. This photo was taken from near Belk and the former Sears store, looking toward JCPenney. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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Rex Rice, RealtyLink project manager (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Eight new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could be ready by late spring or summer, a development executive said Tuesday.

Rex Rice, project manager for RealtyLink, the development company, said the Dick’s Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx stores should be ready for those retailers by late spring or summer, and six other stores—Electronic Express, Maurice’s, PetSmart, Rack Room Shoes, Rue 21, and Ulta—should be ready by summer.

Rice gave a brief project update during a Tuesday morning Rise and Shine event sponsored by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce at TNBank.

As expected, the demolition of the former Oak Ridge Mall was complete in about three months. Only Belk and JCPenney remain, and both are open.

“We tore down everything between them,” Rice said. That included the former Goody’s Family Clothing and Sears department stores.

Demolition cost about $1 million, Rice said. [Read more…]

Ticket information for Oak Ridge-Walker Valley football game Friday

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The first-round playoff game between Oak Ridge and Walker Valley will start at 7 p.m. Friday, November 4, on Blankenship Field. Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis talks to the Wildcats after a 28-0 region championship win at Campbell County on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The first-round playoff game between Oak Ridge and Walker Valley will start at 7 p.m. Friday, November 4, on Blankenship Field.

The gates open at 5:30 p.m. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

All tickets are $8. No passes will be honored. There is no charge for pre-schoolers.

No pass lists will be honored, according to information from Oak Ridge High School. Everyone must pay.

Tickets are on sale in the Main Office at ORHS until 2 p.m. Friday and at The Ferrell Shop in Jackson Square. [Read more…]

Higgins won’t play basketball this season in order to focus on football

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This photo is property of Allen Greene. Unauthorized use of this photo is not permitted without consent.

Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins won’t play basketball for the Wildcats this season in order to focus on football. Higgins (5), who was then a junior, scored 25 points for the Wildcats in a double-overtime 87-85 quarterfinal loss to David Crockett in the Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. (Photo by Allen Greene/TriCitiesSports.com)

 

Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins, a standout in football and basketball, confirmed on Sunday that he won’t play basketball for the Wildcats this season in order to focus on football.

Higgins is a wide receiver who has committed to Clemson. He had posted on Twitter on Friday that it was his decision to not play basketball this year.

Higgins, who was listed as 6’5″ and 190 pounds earlier this football season, has been one of the most dynamic players for the Wildcats on the basketball court. He has had the ability to fire up crowds with powerful dunks. (One dunk at Gibbs in December got the attention of ESPN.) Higgins played as a freshman on the 2014 runner-up team in the state championship game, and since then, he’s been a key part of the team and a regular starter, with some memorable clutch free throws and three-point shots in big basketball games.

Higgins was regularly one of the top scorers for the Wildcats, and he was one of three Class AAA Mr. Basketball finalists earlier this year. (You can see the list of finalists and winners here.) He had picked up basketball scholarship offers from Tennessee, Louisville, Auburn, and others, according to PrepXtra at the Knoxville News Sentinel. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge man indicted on aggravated robbery, aggravated assault charges

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Duran Maszae Lee

Duran Maszae Lee

An Oak Ridge man has been indicted on charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated assault for an alleged home-invasion robbery on Dewey Road three years ago.

Duran Maszae Lee, 32, has been charged with aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, tampering with evidence, and possession of more than 14.175 grams of marijuana. The indictments were returned by the Anderson County Grand Jury on October 4.

Lee has an arraignment scheduled for Monday in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton.

He remains jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, according to jail records.

Arrest warrants filed after the alleged robbery on Dewey Road on November 22, 2013, said an Oak Ridge man was allegedly hit in the head and face with a pistol and a woman who was nine months pregnant at the time blacked out from fear when a suspect pointed a silver revolver at her during the Friday night home invasion.

The suspects allegedly stole a Sentry safe containing $3,000 from a closet and fled in a vehicle before officers arrived, according to affidavits attached to the arrest warrants and filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge shuts out Campbell County to win region championship, secure home-field advantage

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Oak Ridge sophomore Tre Jackson (6) ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns during a 28-0 region championship win at Campbell County on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

JACKSBORO—Oak Ridge won the regional championship and secured home-field advantage to start the playoffs with a 28-0 win at Campbell County on Thursday.

The Thursday night shutout win followed two disappointing losses this month, one at McMinn County and the other at Webb. Both games were decided by four points or less.

After giving up 393 yards at Webb a week earlier, the Wildcats (8-2, 5-0 Region 3-5A) held the Cougars to 183 yards of total offense in the regular-season finale on Thursday.

The defense played great, Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis said.

“Nobody has really shut them down like we did tonight, and no one has come close to shutting them out,” Gaddis said. “Tonight, we were ready to play.” [Read more…]

Public safety meeting on Nov. 10 to discuss pedestrian safety improvements on Turnpike

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A $433,000 grant awarded to the City of Oak Ridge would be used to make traffic signal and pedestrian improvements at two intersections on Oak Ridge Turnpike, including at South Tulane Avenue. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

There will be a public meeting in November to discuss pedestrian safety improvements on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, November 10, at the Central Services Complex at 100 Woodbury Lane (behind the Hobby Lobby/Kmart shopping center). The meeting will include a project overview and public input session, a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

The pedestrian safety improvements are being designed for Oak Ridge Turnpike (State Route 95) at Tulane Avenue and East Division/Tennyson roads.

“These upgrades are necessary to improve accessibility and provide a safe transportation link for people in the area,” the press release said.

The press release said the intersection improvements will include: [Read more…]