Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County receives $18,000 clean energy grant

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Bill Haslam during Presidential Visit at Pellissippi State

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is pictured above in January 2016. (File photo by Rob Welton)

Anderson County has received an $18,000 state clean energy grant.

The project will consist of an LED lighting upgrade at the county’s Fleet Service Facility, Highway Facility, and Dickens Building, according to information from the state. The existing lights currently consume 160,200 kilowatts annually, and the new lights are estimated to reduce that energy usage by 35 percent—or 56,064 kilowatts on an annual basis.

The project will use the latest technology in LED lighting, and it is estimated that it will reduce 38 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents from the atmosphere per year, the information said. Over the lifetime of the project, the county is estimated to save nearly $144,000.

This project has been a high priority for the county for the last three years. [Read more…]

Demolition work on K-27, last of big 5 uranium-enrichment buildings, to be complete this month

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Demolition work should be complete this month on K-27, the last of the big five buildings once used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge, officials said in July 2016. (DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

Demolition work should be complete this month on K-27, the last of the big five buildings once used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge, officials said last week.

Demolition work started on K-27 in February.

Like the other four buildings that have already been demolished, the four-story, 383,000-square-foot K-27 building once used a process known as gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium.

The demolition is part of Vision 2016. That’s the plan by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management, or EM, to remove all five gaseous diffusion buildings from the site by the end of the year.

Federal officials said it’s the first time in the world that a uranium enrichment complex has been cleaned and removed. [Read more…]

Eighth lane could be added to Oak Ridge rowing course by March

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Officials and referees used Oak Ridge Rowing Association boats to monitor the races on the seven-lane course at the 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. The city plans to add an eighth lane by March 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

An eighth lane could be added to the Oak Ridge rowing course by March, officials said Tuesday.

The work is made possible with help from a $40,000 state Tourism Enhancement Grant announced Tuesday by Randy Boyd, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Officials celebrated with a brief ceremony at Calhoun’s Event Center on Melton Lake Peninsula.

The eighth rowing lane has been on the city’s wish list for at least a decade, possibly longer.

Oak Ridge has received a $250,000 state grant for the proposed eighth lane. The city has planned to contribute $150,000, and Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson has solicited more money from other agencies that would benefit from the rowing course improvements, including in Anderson and Knox counties. That meant there was enough money available to fund a project of about $560,000, which is close to a targeted estimate that Watson gave Oak Ridge City Council members in March. [Read more…]

Hobby Lobby projected to open in early October

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Hobby Lobby Renovations at Kroger June 15 2016 4

Construction and renovation work has started on the new Hobby Lobby store at the former Kroger on South Illinois Avenue, and workers are pictured above at the site of the new store on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:25 a.m.

Hobby Lobby plans to open its Oak Ridge store in early October, the company said Wednesday.

The new store is opening in the 63,000-square-foot former Kroger building at the intersection of South Illinois and Rutgers avenues. Construction and renovations have already started.

The national craft and home decor retailer said the store will create about 35-50 jobs paying $15.35 per hour for full-time workers and $10.23 per hour for part-time employees. [Read more…]

Countryside Tire and Auto opening on Rutgers; Secret City Pies closed

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A sign announces that Countryside Tire and Auto will be opening soon at the site of the former Keeping Room on Rutgers Avenue in central Oak Ridge. The sign above is pictured on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Countryside Tire and Auto Service plans to open soon at the site of the former Keeping Room on Rutgers Avenue.

Countryside Tire and Auto hopes to open the new shop in late October.

“We will know better as it gets closer,” the company said Monday.

Countryside Tire and Auto will be moving to Rutgers Avenue from its current location at 220 Brisbane Road in east Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Sears Hometown Store expected to be open for Christmas shopping

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Sears Hometown Store Under Construction July 2016

Leslie Agron, an Oak Ridge resident and owner of Sears Hometown Store, is pictured above at the site of the new store, which is expected to open this fall on Fairbanks Road. (Photo credit: Fred Riffle of SHOS)

 

The new Sears Hometown Store on Fairbanks Road is expected to be open in plenty of time for Christmas shopping, according to the owner, Oak Ridge resident Leslie Agron.

The new Sears Hometown Store is being built even as the former Sears department store is being demolished at the former Oak Ridge Mall.

Visible construction activity on the roof at the new Sears Hometown Store, which is at 142 Fairbanks Road, was scheduled to start last week.

The store was announced in May, and it will be a free store pick-up site for many items on Sears.com, Agron said. [Read more…]

Linda Brown Realty merging with Crye-Leike Realtors on Monday

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Linda Brown Realty

Crye-Leike Realtors has purchased the Linda Brown Realty building, and the real estate companies will merged, effective Monday, Linda Brown said this weekend.

“This will allow the companies to grow in our market,” Brown said in a Facebook post.

She said the name will be Crye-Leike Realtors effective Monday, August 1.

“Very little is changing except the name and signage,” Brown said. “I will continue as the managing broker just as I have been; my agents will remain. We are excited about all of the technology upgrades we will have and continuing training to stay up to date with the rapidly changing business world.” [Read more…]

Photos: Wildcats scrimmage against Heritage

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Oak Ridge rising sophomore quarterback Kevin Reedy (15) throws a pass during a scrimmage against the Heritage Mountaineers at Blankenship Field on Friday, July 29, 2016. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats had a scrimmage against the Heritage Mountaineers of Blount County at Blankenship Field on Friday. Here are photos by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today and contributor Luther Simmons.

See a story on the scrimmage here.

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Oak Ridge rising sophomore quarterback Herbert Booker (13) runs during a scrimmage against the Heritage Mountaineers at Blankenship Field on Friday, July 29, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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Oak Ridge rising sophomore quarterback Herbert Booker (13) takes a snap during a scrimmage against the Heritage Mountaineers at Blankenship Field on Friday, July 29, 2016. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

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Wildcats scrimmage against Heritage; need to improve tackling, blocking, coach says

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats had a scrimmage against the Heritage Mountaineers at Blankenship Field on Friday, July 29, 2016. Pictured above is rising sophomore running back Jordan Graham (22). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats had a scrimmage against the Heritage Mountaineers of Blount County at Blankenship Field on Friday.

Oak Ridge could have blocked better and tackled better, Wildcats Coach Joe Gaddis said.

“They don’t score if we tackle,” he said.

The Oak Ridge first team tied the Heritage team 13-13. The Moutaineers outscored the Wildcats once the second teams came in, and the final score was 33-13.

But the focus wasn’t on the final score. Instead, Gaddis wanted to try different possibilities. Among other things, the Wildcats wanted to run the option quite a bit, he said.

“Scrimmages are all about learning about your team,” Gaddis said. [Read more…]

Georgia man, woman indicted in Check Into Cash robbery

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Check Into Cash

The Oak Ridge Police Department reported that a robbery was reported at Check Into Cash at 361 South Illinois Avenue at about 3:15 p.m. Friday, June 26, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—A Georgia man and woman have been indicted in a robbery at Check Into Cash in Oak Ridge in June 2015.

Arvenzio Clyde Miles, 24, and Kianna Denise Hill, 22, were indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on July 6, 2016. They had arraignments in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday.

Miles and Hill are both charged with three counts of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony; especially aggravated kidnapping with a gun, a Class A felony; and aggravated assault while displaying a firearm, a Class C felony.

Hill and Miles are accused in an armed robbery at Check Into Cash at 361 South Illinois Avenue at about 3:15 p.m. Friday, June 26, 2015. They were arrested less than two weeks later in East Point, Georgia, southwest of Atlanta, on Wednesday, July 8, 2015.

The indictments allege that Hill and Miles confined Calvin Murray, a store manager, and employees Morgan Gist and Joy Jennings, and took their cell phones while displaying a firearm. All three were forced into a restroom at gunpoint against their will, and they were held captive there until the robbery was complete, according to arrest warrants filed in July 2015. The warrants alleged that the cell phones were taken to prevent the victims from calling the police. [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge Mall demolition

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Oak Ridge Mall Sears Demolition July 26 2016 10

Demolition of the enclosed unused spaces at the former Oak Ridge Mall started at the former Sears store on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, as developer Realty Link of Greenville, South Carolina, starts construction on Main Street Oak Ridge, a 58-acre open-air mixed-use development that will include eight new stores in addition to Belk and JCPenney. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Demolition of the enclosed unused spaces at the former Oak Ridge Mall started at the former Sears store on Tuesday. Here are photos of the work.

The demolition is expected to include the enclosed space between Belk and JCPenney, the two remaining anchors at the former mall.

Demolition could last three months, and the construction of two new stores, T.J. Maxx and Dick’s Sporting Goods, could start where the former Sears building is in October, said Neil Wilson, principal of RealtyLink, the Greenville, South Carolina, company that is redeveloping the property.

Plans call for replacing the former mall with Main Street Oak Ridge, an open-air, 58-acre, $75 million mixed-use development that could include retailers, restaurants, residential units, and a hotel. Belk and JCPenney are part of Main Street Oak Ridge, and they remain open during demolition of the mall’s enclosed spaces and construction of new stores. [Read more…]

DA’s office also recused from July 4 fatal crash case because of liens filed by defendant

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Anderson County Criminal Court Lee Cromwell Jim Scott July 25 2016

Lee Cromwell, right, who has been charged with vehicular homicide and 16 other charges after a fatal parking lot crash at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015, huddles with his family and defense attorney James Scott, left, after an arraignment in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday, July 25, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 11:47 a.m. July 27.

CLINTON—First the judge recused himself and now the district attorney general’s office has been recused in a homicide case filed against an Oak Ridge man after a fatal crash in the crowded parking lot of Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015.

Both recusals were because of liens filed by the defendant, Lee Harold Cromwell, 66. The recusals mean another judge has already been appointed, and another DA will have to be appointed. A lien is a claim that one person owes something to another person.

Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Donald R. Elledge recused himself during a June 3 arraignment because of an $8 million lien filed against him by Cromwell.

“It was upsetting that he filed a frivolous lien against me,” Elledge said Monday. “I’m going to do everything I can legally, morally, and ethically to prosecute him criminally and civilly to the full extent of the law.”

Then, during a rescheduled arraignment on Monday, defense attorney James K. Scott asked for Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark and the DA’s office to also be recused. That was because of liens that Cromwell filed against the DA and another member of his office in “misplaced mindset” in a “misguided effort, out of desperation, to advocate for his innocence without the knowledge or advice of counsel,” Scott said in a motion to recuse. [Read more…]