Oak Ridge Today

Wildcats, Lady Wildcats remain undefeated in district

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

Oak Ridge Wildcats Coach Aaron Green is pictured above in the 2015 Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. (File photo by Allen Greene/TriCitiesSports.com)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats and Lady Wildcats both remain undefeated in the district after wins over Halls on Thursday, but both basketball teams have tough games coming up.

The Lady Wildcats (13-3, 7-0 District 3-AAA) beat Halls 37-28 at home on Tuesday in a low-scoring game that had been narrowed to a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

After the girls played, the boys went on to beat the Red Devils by 30 points in a blowout, 84-54.

The Lady Wildcats held the Lady Red Devils scoreless in the first quarter and had an 18-10 halftime lead. Oak Ridge led by four, 25-21, at the end of the third quarter, when Halls outscored the Lady Wildcats 11-7, and Oak Ridge played great defense in the fourth quarter. Junior Courtney Ellison made two free throws to clinch the win for the Lady Wildcats with 20 seconds left in the game, and freshman Jada Guinn and sophomore Mykia Dowdell also added from the free throw line. [Read more…]

AC man allegedly assaulted at jail files $1 million federal lawsuit

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U.S. District Court in Knoxville

The U.S. District Court in Knoxville is pictured above. (Photo by U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee)

An Anderson County man who was allegedly assaulted while an inmate at the county jail in October 2014 has filed a $1 million federal civil rights lawsuit against a former jailer and other parties, and a jury trial has been scheduled for June 20, 2017, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

Before the lawsuit was filed, the former jailer, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Corporal Dustin McCoig, was indicted on a misdemeanor assault charge by the Anderson County Grand Jury. He was indicted in March 2015.

McCoig is named as a defendant in the federal lawsuit, which was filed October 21, 2015, along with three other former Sheriff’s Department employees: Homer Bullman, Jason Wills, and Amber Stocks. Also named as defendants are Anderson County Sheriff Paul White, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and Anderson County.

There is a separate case pending in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court, where a jury trial on the assault charge against McCoig has been scheduled for April 13, 2016. [Read more…]

City manager evals: Mostly meets, exceeds expectations; one Council member asks for resignation

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

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

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson has mostly met or exceeded expectations while performing his job, and a 2 percent pay raise and one-year contract extension could be considered on Monday, according to evaluations by six City Council members and the chair of an evaluation committee.

But one City Council member, Trina Baughn, said Watson needs improvement in all 30 areas that she rated, and she asked the city manager to consider voluntarily resigning.

“I don’t plan to resign,” Watson said in December. “Hopefully, we can continue to improve upon relationships.”

The city manager was rated in surveys submitted by six of the seven City Council members. The results were reviewed by the City Manager Evaluation Committee, which is chaired by Council member Charlie Hensley. [Read more…]

Synthetic material from ORNL used in discovery of new elements 115, 117

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ORNL Berkelium-249

Berkelium-249, contained in the greenish fluid in the tip of the vial, was crucial to the experiment that discovered element 117. It was made in the research reactor at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Twenty-two milligrams of a very pure synthetic material produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were used in the discovery of two new chemical elements that will help fill out the seventh row of the periodic table.

The synthetic element, berkelium-249, was produced in a project that started with a six-month irradiation of a target material at the High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL. The resulting product was separated and processed during a three-month period at the lab’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center.

The berkelium-249 was then shipped to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, or JINR, in Dubna, Russia, where it was intensely bombarded, or irradiated, with calcium-48 ions, creating six atoms of element 117, said Jim Roberto, ORNL associate lab director for science and technology partnerships. Berkelium-249, which does not exist in nature, has a 300-day lifetime, so researchers had a short time to do their experiments.

Element 117 is one of four new elements that have been officially verified by the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry. The IUPAC announced the discoveries on December 30. The other three are elements 113, 115, and 118. Element 115 is produced when element 117 decays. [Read more…]

Phillips resigning as Anderson County budget, accounts director

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Chris Phillips

Chris Phillips

Note: This story was updated at 10:52 p.m. Jan. 6.

Chris Phillips announced Wednesday that he is resigning as director of accounts and budgets for Anderson County. Phillips notified Anderson County commissioners of his resignation in a Wednesday morning email.

The email doesn’t give a reason for the resignation or say whether Phillips has accepted another job, and he wasn’t immediately available for comment early Wednesday afternoon.

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank was also not immediately available for comment. Update: Both Phillips and Frank have responded to a request for comment, and Oak Ridge Today will post an updated story as soon as possible.

“It has been an honor to serve each of you,” Phillips wrote to commissioners. “While I have been blessed with a tremendous opportunity, this decision comes with some heartache as I dearly love and respect the people I work with and for on a daily basis. Everyone in this courthouse has shown me kindness and has respected this position. I want to particularly thank the folks here in the budget office and in the school finance office. They have supported me, through many ups and downs, and have performed impeccable work for the citizens of Anderson County, you as commissioners, and me personally. [Read more…]

Wildcats escape with 72-68 win at Karns

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Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5) scored a game-high 18 points during a 72-68 win at Karns on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KARNS—Karns threatened to tie the game in the final minute and possibly upset the fourth-ranked Wildcats, but Oak Ridge escaped with a 72-68 win over the Beavers on Tuesday.

Oak Ridge led by as many as 16 points with more than six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Karns whittled the lead down to two points, 70-68, with 1:04 remaining. Quincey Sibley of Karns, who finished with 11 points total, scored 10 of them in that 20-6 run, which lasted five minutes.

After a timeout with 45.7 seconds left, Oak Ridge (18-1, 6-0 District 3-AAA) had the ball with the two-point lead. But the Wildcats turned it over with 35.9 remaining.

That gave the Beavers, who were most productive in their 23-point fourth quarter, a chance to tie the game and possibly even take the lead. [Read more…]

Lady Wildcats hold Karns scoreless in third quarter of 60-26 win

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Lady-Wildcats-Dowdell-Dec-30-2015

Oak Ridge sophomore post Mykia Dowdell (34), shown here in a Dec. 30 game against Upperman, scored a game-high 18 points for the Lady Wildcats during a 60-26 win at Karns on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2015. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

KARNS—The Lady Wildcats held Karns scoreless in the third quarter of a 60-26 win over the Lady Beavers on Tuesday.

The game was closer at the end of the first quarter, which ended with Oak Ridge ahead 16-10. But the Lady Wildcats went on a 19-4 run in the second quarter, and the game was a blowout by midway through the third quarter.

Oak Ridge Coach Paige Green said the Lady Wildcats emphasized defense in the second half. They shut out the Lady Beavers in the third quarter and held Karns to 12 points in the fourth.

Sophomore post Mykia Dowdell, who already had 10 points early in the game, led Oak Ridge (12-3, 6-0 District 3-AAA) with 18 points. Freshman point guard Jada Guinn had 12.

Trinity Fisher of Karns scored 10 for the Lady Beavers (3-12, 2-5). [Read more…]

School board extends superintendent’s contract to 2020

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Note: This story was updated at 3:15 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday unanimously extended the contract of Superintendent Bruce Borchers by one year to 2020.

The extended contract, which was approved 5-0, will take effect June 18, 2016, and continue through June 17, 2020.

The board can have a maximum of a four-year contract with Borchers, BOE Chair Keys Fillauer said.

Board member Angi Agle said she would have added more than a year to Borchers’ contract if she could. [Read more…]

Protomet needs land for expansion, could add 100 jobs, invest $15-$20 million

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Protomet Expansion Groundbreaking

Protomet breaks ground on a $6.25 million expansion in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park in June 2013. Pictured above from left are Operations Director Andrew Jenkins and Engineering Director Matt Reid of Protomet; LeRoy Thompson, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development regional director; Protomet President Jeff Bohanan; Sherry Browder, Oak Ridge Economic Partnership chair; former Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan; and David Wilson, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board chair. (File photo from June 2013 by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6:30 p.m.

An Oak Ridge company that is considered a success story and has already expanded once in the past few years is considering expanding again, possibly investing $15-$20 million and adding 100 jobs, officials said Monday.

But Protomet, the company, is landlocked at its eight-acre site at Bethel Valley Industrial Park, so the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board will ask the U.S. Department of Energy to consider transferring or leasing up to 40 acres west of the park that could be used for the expansion.

Protomet broke ground on a $6.25 million expansion of its manufacturing facility in June 2013, allowing the company to more than double its space, consolidate operations with a Blount County facility, and expand production.

The expanded facility was expected to have more than 40,000 square feet and bring more than 30 jobs to Oak Ridge. It was the second multi-million dollar investment at the company’s Oak Ridge site. [Read more…]

School board to consider extending superintendent’s contract to 2020

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider extending Superintendent Bruce Borchers’ contract through 2020 during a Monday evening meeting.

If approved, the contract extension would take effect June 18, 2016, and continue through June 17, 2020.

Borchers was hired in April 2013, and he started two months later, on June 18. He was previously superintendent of the Rockwood School District in Eureka, Missouri. [Read more…]

Traffic light study under way, new plans could be implemented this year

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TDOT Commissioner John Schroer and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller

TDOT Commissioner John Schroer presents a signal optimization grant check to former Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller. (File photo from September 2014 courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

A traffic light timing study is under way, and new plans could be implemented early this year, city officials said in December.

Oak Ridge Today asked about the signal timing project during a December interview with Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs and Jon van Eek, power utilization program supervisor in the Oak Ridge Electric Department. That interview focused on radar-based traffic detectors at six intersections in Oak Ridge.

The City of Oak Ridge announced in September 2014 that it had been awarded a Tennessee Department of Transportation grant for $237,500 for a signal timing optimization project.

Suggs and van Eek said the timing study is under way, and they hope to have new plans implemented after January 1, 2016. The plan is to move the maximum number of cars in all directions and to move the maximum number of vehicles, Suggs said. [Read more…]

Two adults escape, no injuries in Saturday morning fire in Marlow

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Farmers-Hollow-Road-Fire-Jan-2-2015-4

Two people escaped and no one was injured in a fire in a single-wide mobile home on Farmers Hollow Road in Marlow on Saturday morning, Jan. 2, 2016, authorities said. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

Two adults escaped and no one was injured in a Saturday morning fire in a large single-wide mobile home in Marlow, authorities said.

Two adults were in the home when the fire was reported at about 9:40 a.m. Saturday at 238 Farmers Hollow Road, but they escaped before firefighters arrived, said Stephanie Fox, assistant chief of the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department.

A man who lives there said a wall behind a wood-burning stove was on fire when he woke up, and he helped his mother out of the home, Fox said.

But neither was injured, and no one was taken to the hospital, Fox said. [Read more…]