Oak Ridge Today

More snow closings: Oak Ridge Schools, Roane State, Anderson County govt.

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Oak Ridge Schools are closed today (Wednesday, January 20) due to the snow and winter weather.

So are Anderson County government offices and courts. Roane State Community College campuses are also closed, including the one in Oak Ridge.

In addition to its schools, Anderson County Schools has also announced its Central Office will be closed.

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce office is closed until noon Wednesday.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

City puts down brine to prepare for snow

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Oak Ridge city workers have put down brine to help prepare roads for the snow that is forecast for Wednesday. Above, the brine is visible on Woodbury Lane in front of the Oak Ridge Central Services Complex on Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge city workers have put down brine to help prepare roads for the snow forecast for Wednesday.

The salt and water mix is visible on many city roads.

On Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service in Morristown said there is a 20 percent chance of snow showers after 1 a.m. Wednesday near Oak Ridge, and snow is likely before 3 p.m. Wednesday. A new snow accumulation of one to three inches is possible in Oak Ridge, forecasters said. [Read more…]

Snow: One to three inches possible in Oak Ridge

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Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown

 

There is a 20 percent chance of snow showers after 1 a.m. Wednesday, and snow is likely before 3 p.m. Wednesday, forecasters said.

A new snow accumulation of one to three inches is possible in Oak Ridge, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

The forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of precipitation on Wednesday, with snow likely, followed by a mix of rain and snow.

A winter weather advisory is in effect from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday as a fast-moving storm system is expected to bring one to two inches of snow across the area by Wednesday evening, the NWS said. [Read more…]

Fire destroys home in Norris, no injuries reported

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A fire destroyed a home in Norris early Monday morning, but a resident escaped and there were no injuries, authorities said.

The fire in the home at 88 Hilltop Lane was reported at 3:25 a.m. Monday.

The resident was able to escape, according to a public safety officer on duty in Norris.

The cause of the fire is not known and is under investigation. [Read more…]

Four people injured after SUV rolls in two-vehicle crash

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Four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash that caused an SUV to roll at the intersection of Manhattan and North Purdue avenues in Woodland on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 16, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Four people were injured and one of them was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after a two-vehicle crash caused an SUV to roll at the intersection of Manhattan and North Purdue avenues on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash behind Food City was reported at about 2:45 p.m. Saturday. It took emergency workers about 30 minutes to remove a passenger trapped in the back seat of the GMC Envoy that rolled onto its top. The other vehicle was a Ford F150 pickup truck.

Three ambulances responded to the scene. So did the Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department. A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter picked up one patient at Methodist Medical Center and flew that person to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. [Read more…]

Council to receive briefing on Manhattan Project park from Park Service on Tuesday

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Niki Nicholas

The Oak Ridge City Council will receive a briefing on the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park on Tuesday.

The briefing by Niki Nicholas, superintendent of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, will be during a Tuesday evening work session on January 21. It will follow a special 6 p.m. City Council meeting for boards and commissions elections in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. (See the work session agenda here. See the special meeting agenda here.)

There will also be an orientation session next week for those interested in volunteering for the new park, which includes Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. That orientation session starts at 10 a.m. Thursday, January 21, at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road. [Read more…]

Man shot in ear by resident with handgun during burglary early Friday, police say

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Eddie Joe Kimblin

Eddie Joe Kimblin

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6:20 p.m.

A Harriman man was shot in the ear by a resident with a handgun during a burglary on Jefferson Avenue in Oak Ridge early Friday morning, police said.

Police responded to the home at about 12:27 a.m. Friday, January 15, after receiving a report of shots fired.

They leaned that Eddie Joe Kimblin, 47 of Blair Road in Harriman, had attempted to gain entry into the Jefferson Avenue home, an Oak Ridge Police Department press release said.

The resident had heard someone banging on his basement door and went to investigate, the release said. When he opened the door, Kimblin allegedly lunged toward him. The resident then shot a handgun at the intruder, striking Kimblin in the ear, the release said. [Read more…]

July 4 fireworks crash: Charges against driver, including homicide, sent to grand jury

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The 17 charges against an Oak Ridge man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others in a July 4 fireworks crash at Midtown Community Center have been sent to an Anderson County grand jury. The charges against Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge, who is pictured above, include homicide and aggravated assault. Cromwell had a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:18 p.m. Jan. 16.

The 17 charges against an Oak Ridge man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others in a July 4 fireworks crash at Midtown Community Center have been sent to an Anderson County grand jury.

The charges against Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge include homicide and aggravated assault. Cromwell had a five-hour preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, January 15. It included testimony for the prosecution from victims, witnesses, police officers, and an automotive technician. Prosecutor Vickie Bannach was trying to establish probable cause for the charges to be sent to the grand jury.

The next step is for the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office to present evidence to the grand jury for possible indictments against Cromwell.

Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller said he found that probable cause had been met for the charges to be bound over to the grand jury. There is no timeline for when the grand jury might hear the case. [Read more…]

Police dispute stuck-throttle claim in fatal July 4 fireworks crash, widow testifies also

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Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins testified on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, during a preliminary hearing for Lee Cromwell, an Oak Ridge resident accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others during a parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center on July 4, 2015, after fireworks at A.K. Bissell Park. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8 a.m. Jan. 16.

An Oak Ridge police officer on Friday disputed the claim that the throttle might have been stuck on a pickup truck in a fatal July 4 crash at Midtown Community Center immediately after fireworks in A.K. Bissell Park.

Police say they’ve found no evidence of a malfunction in a Dodge Ram pickup driven backward through the crowded parking lot that night by Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge, and there were no active recalls on the truck that would have affected the throttle. Police also used witness statements to help refute the stuck-throttle theory during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, January 15.

“Several of them (witnesses) said they heard his engine revving up and down,” Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins testified during the hearing. “If the throttle had been stuck, it would have been stuck at a consistent rpm, not up and down.”

Also Friday morning, Julia Robinson testified. She is the widow of the 37-year-old man who died, James Robinson of Knoxville. The couple was at the Midtown Community Center watching fireworks with their two daughters and a relative. [Read more…]

No one injured when car goes off SR 62, van rolls into creek

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No one was injured when this 1997 Dodge van went down a steep embankment and rolled into a creek alongside State Route 62 on the north side of Oliver Springs in Morgan County on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Above, workers prepare to pull the van out of the creek. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

OLIVER SPRINGS—No one was injured when a car went down a steep embankment and a van rolled into a creek alongside State Route 62 on the north side of Oliver Springs on Thursday, authorities said.

The two-vehicle collision was reported Thursday afternoon just inside Morgan County, headed toward Wartburg.

Neither driver had to be taken to the hospital, Oliver Springs Police Chief Kenneth Morgan said. The drivers were identified as Larry Oliver and William Byrge. One was driving a 1997 Dodge van, and the other was driving a 1999 Toyota car.

Morgan said the vehicles appeared to be going in opposite directions when one crossed the center line. [Read more…]

No one injured in electrical fire on Montana Avenue

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No one was injured in a fire on Montana Avenue on Thursday morning, Jan. 14, 2016. The fire appeared to have started on the home’s main electrical panel, which is in the garage, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:11 p.m.

No one was injured in a fire on Montana Avenue on Thursday morning that appeared to have started on the home’s main electrical panel, which is in the garage.

The fire was reported at about 10:44 a.m. Thursday.

“I had just come home from the store, and all of a sudden, I hear this loud roaring sound like wind,” homeowner Shirley McClain said.

But she couldn’t find the source of the noise. [Read more…]

Radionuclide levels dropping at Rarity Ridge Treatment Plant, but sludge shipments continue for now

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Ken-Glass-Rarity-Ridge-Wasterwater-Treatment-Plan-Jan-4-2016

Ken Glass, Oak Ridge Public Works environmental compliance officer, said levels of technetium 99 in the wastewater system in west Oak Ridge are dropping, but it’s not clear how long UCOR might have to ship sludge from the Rarity Ridge Wastewater Treatment Plant to an out-of-state landfill. Above, Glass stands near a chlorine contact tank at the treatment plant on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:55 a.m.

The radioactive nuclide that was first detected in the city’s wastewater lines more than two years ago near the demolition project at the former K-25 Building doesn’t affect drinking water, and it’s not believed to pose any threat to residents or municipal employees, officials said this month.

The levels of the radionuclide, technetium 99, are dropping at several measuring spots in the sewer system in west Oak Ridge, but it’s not clear how long UCOR, the federal government’s cleanup contractor, might have to ship sludge from the Rarity Ridge Wastewater Treatment Plant to an out-of-state landfill.

Officials said UCOR has already hauled away about 80,000 gallons of sludge using a 5,000-gallon tanker truck about once every one or two months since 2014. The sludge, which is about 3 percent to 4 percent solid, comes from a part of the plant known as a digester, and the shipments vary depending upon how much is processed at the plant each month.

Officials don’t know yet when the shipments might end. The sludge is now being taken to the Perma-Fix Northwest treatment facility in Richland, Washington. The last shipment was this month. [Read more…]