Oak Ridge Today

Clinch River Fall Antique Festival starts Friday

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Clinch River Antique Festival
File photo

The Clinch River Fall Antique Festival starts in downtown Clinton on Friday, October 1.

It’s the 20th annual festival.

“The Clinch River Fall Antique Festival is an autumn tradition that keeps growing as the years
go on,” a press release said. “What was created to commemorate the Clinch River mussel pearls and their
economic contributions to East Tennessee in the early 1900s is now the largest fall event
in Anderson County. Each year, the festival that’s held just a few miles away from I-75 in
Historic Downtown Clinton, Tennessee, brings in upwards of 15,000 people to the
community over two days.”

The 20th Annual Clinch River Fall Antique Festival is hosted by the Anderson County
Chamber of Commerce. It is scheduled from noon-10 p.m. on Market Street on downtown Clinton.

Day one of this two-day event will begin with many vendors set up on Market Street beginning at noon, the press release said.

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Unclear how City of Oak Ridge affected by president’s vaccination mandate

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The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The City of Oak Ridge does not currently require its employees or residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a state law passed this year, a municipal attorney said Tuesday.

That state law, Senate Bill 187 and House Bill 13 (Public Chapter 513), bars the city from COVID-19 vaccination requirements, said Alexander J. Cramer, staff attorney in the City of Oak Ridge Legal Department.

UCOR requiring COVID vaccinations

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UCOR is requiring its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The requirement applies to all of its nearly 2,000 employees, and it is a condition of employment, the company said Tuesday.

The vaccination requirement was announced by UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter on August 26.

The company, an Amentum-led partnership with Jacobs, is the U.S. Department of Energy’s lead environmental cleanup contractor on the Oak Ridge Reservation, and it has an award-winning safety record, the company said. Rueter said that the decision to require the vaccine was in line with the company’s commitment to safety and its culture of caring.

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Man facing seven charges after three-vehicle crash on bridge

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A 61-year-old Claxton man is facing seven charges, including vehicular assault and driving under the influence, after a crash involving three vehicles on the Edgemoor Road bridge in July, according to court records.

The crash was reported July 10, according to affidavits filed by Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ray Faircloth in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

Bluegrass band plays in Oak Ridge Saturday

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Songs From the Road Band

A bluegrass group, Songs From the Road Band, will headline a concert in Oak Ridge on Saturday.

It’s the third Summer Sessions concert this year sponsored by ORNL Federal Credit Union.

The opening group at the concert on Saturday will be Grassroots Gringos, a bluegrass band based in Knoxville, a press release said.


Songs From the Road Band is from Asheville, North Carolina. They are known for their lively and exciting shows, which are often compared to the thrill and spontaneity of a NASCAR race, the press release said. The group features Mark Schmick (mandolin), Charles Humphrey III (bass), Sam Wharton (guitar), James Schlender (fiddle), and Gabe Epstein (banjo). With six albums under their belt, their most recent single “Amarillo Blue” topped the Bluegrass Today Grassicana chart earlier this summer, the press release said.

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Farm Fest in Jackson Square on Saturday

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Farm Fest in the Square is in Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The festival will be in Jackson Square from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, September 18.

“The event will be a celebration of life down on the farm,” organizers said. “We have a pie bake off, square dancers, animals from Little Ponderosa Zoo, music from Liza Jane and Curly Fiddler, an open bluegrass jam, and vendors! The Oak Ridge Farmers Market will be right across the street, so come get some great eats and learn a bit about the history of farm life.”

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Teen allegedly killed mother after she took away phone

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Shawn Willis

An Anderson County teenager allegedly shot and killed his mother while she was sleeping after she punished him by taking away his cell phone, according to court records.

Shawn Tyler Willis, 18, of Rocky Top, has been charged with first-degree murder. He allegedly shot his mother, Sandy K. Willis, 38, in the left side of her head as she lay in bed asleep on Andy’s Ridge Road between Briceville and Rocky Top on Monday morning April 20, 2020.

Berge selected as Public Works director

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Patrick Berge

The City of Oak Ridge has named Patrick Berge as its new public works director.

Berge, who previously served as Oak Ridge Public Works utility manager, has served as interim public works director since former Director Shira McWaters died in June.

Berge has overseen all water and wastewater operations since 2018, a press release said. He will now assume all public works operations including streets, stormwater, and engineering.

“As the next public works director, I’m looking forward to continuing Shira’s hard work,” Berge said in the press release. “Public Works has many major projects in progress, our biggest one being the new water plant.”

Among Berge’s many certifications, he is a professional engineer of environmental engineering in both Tennessee and Nebraska, the press release said.

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Updated: Secret City Festival cancels daytime activities

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Note: This story was updated at 9:10 a.m. Sept. 12.

Daytime activities have been canceled at the Secret City Festival this month as the state and county experience a COVID-19 surge driven by the delta variant. However, the evening concerts, food trucks, and fireworks have not been canceled.

“Due to the ongoing resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Festival Board has been in discussions with the City of Oak Ridge, where concerns were raised about our ability to hold a viable, safe, and successful event,” Naomi Asher, marketing chair for the festival, said in response to questions Saturday. “Sadly, we must cancel all daytime festival activities, so that what we will be left with are the two evening concerts, food trucks, and fireworks.”

Asher said the Festival Board and City of Oak Ridge made the decision.

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ORNL will require COVID-19 vaccinations

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The main entrance at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will require all staff members to have a current COVID-19 vaccination by October 15, and new employees will be required to provide proof that they have been vaccinated.

UT-Battelle LLC, which manages the laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, decided to require vaccinations after the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, August 23.

Obituary: Laura Ann Jernigan

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Laura Ann Jernigan, age 73, passed away peacefully August 2, 2021. She was originally from Pennsylvania but has called East Tennessee home for more than 35 years. Her late husband Richard Jernigan III introduced her to the area; it was love at first sight.

Laura spent more than a decade working at the Emory Valley Center in Oak Ridge. She started working directly one-on-one with clients, and by the time she left, she was responsible for managing 10 houses. She played an integral part in forming, building, and participating in the Direct Support Professionals Association of East Tennessee, D-SPAT for short.

She also spent a decade with the Salvation Army helping to support and build on their mission. During the times she wasn’t employed, she was caring for others.

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COVID cases increasing much faster in schools this year

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This graph compares COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools at the beginning of the school years 2020 and 2021. (Chart by Oak Ridge Today with Oak Ridge School data and Flourish visualization)

So far, the number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools has increased about 15 times faster this year than last year.

At about this time last year, there were 12 cases of COVID-19 reported in Oak Ridge Schools.

This year, in the same time period, there have been 181 cases reported.

Graphing the two together makes last year’s increase in cases seem relatively flat compared to the large increase in cases this year.

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