Oak Ridge Today

Coaches agree: Oak Ridge peaking at right time, headed into playoffs

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Campbell County Cougars Oct. 30, 2015

The Oak Ridge Wildcats defense stifled the Campbell County Cougars’ running game on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, allowing only 33 yards rushing on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:15 a.m.

The two football coaches agreed: Oak Ridge is peaking at the right time, late in the season and headed into the playoffs.

After a decisive 62-6 win over Webb last week, the Wildcats celebrated a 45-6 rout of Campbell County on Friday on Blankenship Field. That win ensured Oak Ridge (9-1, 4-1 Region 3-5A) will play at home next week against Soddy Daisy, a Region 4 team, in the first round of the playoffs. The game starts at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 6, on Blankenship Field.

The Wildcats, the No. 2 seed, shut out the Cougars (5-5, 3-2) at home in the first half on Friday, October 30. The score at halftime was 45-0. Campbell County, the No. 3 seed, scored after Oak Ridge put in reserves in the second half.

“There is no doubt this is the best team we’ve played,” Campbell County Coach Justin Price said. “They’ve improved tremendously as the season went on.”

Since losing to Farragut 31-14 on September 4, Oak Ridge has outscored its opponents 327-75 in seven games. That’s an average of about 47 points per game for the Wildcats. [Read more…]

Photos: Halloween at Oak Ridge Preschool

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Oak Ridge Preschool Halloween Oct. 30, 2015

Students and staff at Oak Ridge Preschool dressed up in costumes for Halloween, and the children received candy on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Students and staff at Oak Ridge Schools Preschool dressed up for Halloween on Friday, and the children received candy. Here are pictures by John Huotari. These children are pre-K students (3-4 years old) in Linda Dalton’s class.

Oak Ridge Preschool Halloween Oct. 30, 2015

Students and staff at Oak Ridge Preschool dressed up in costumes for Halloween, and the children received candy on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

[Read more…]

Soccer: Clarksville, defending state champ, eliminates Hardin Valley 1-0

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Hardin Valley Hawks Soccer Team at 2015 Sectional Oct. 24, 2015

The 2015 Hardin Valley Academy Hawks girls soccer team is pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 7:07 p.m.

Clarksville, the defending state champion, eliminated Hardin Valley from this year’s girls soccer playoffs in a 1-0 win during a Class AAA quarterfinal game in Murfreesboro on Thursday.

Clarksville (22-4) will move on to play the winner of another quarterfinal game between Collierville and Cookeville on Thursday. That semifinal game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro.

It’s the end of the season for Hardin Valley (16-4-2). It was their second consecutive trip to the state soccer tournament. Last year, they lost to Ravenwood 4-1 in the first round. [Read more…]

Photos: ORHS boys win Region 2 cross country championship

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Gashaw Duhamel

Oak Ridge senior Gashaw Duhamel finished first in the Region 2-AAA championship at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015. (Photo by Adrian Etheridge)

 

For the second year in a row, the Oak Ridge High School boys cross country team has won the Region 2-AAA championship. The boys finished first in Knoxville on Thursday.

Oak Ridge senior Gashaw Duhamel finished first in the 5k race. Senior Tyler Boullie finished third, senior Thomas Colburn was sixth, junior Jacob Etheridge was seventh, and senior Daniel Beckett finished ninth.

The Oak Ridge boys team will compete in the state meet on Saturday, November 7, at Percy Warner Park Steeplechase Course in Nashville.

Here are photos by Adrian Etheridge from the 5k (5,000 meter) race on Thursday at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville. [Read more…]

ORHS boys win Region 2 cross country championship

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ORHS Cross Country Region 2 Champions 2015

The Oak Ridge High School boys cross country team won the Region 2 championship in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015. (Photo courtesy ORHS Cross Country/ORHS Dance Cats)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 7:20 p.m.

For the second year in a row, the Oak Ridge High School boys cross country team has won the Region 2-AAA championship. The boys finished first in Knoxville on Thursday.

Oak Ridge senior Gashaw Duhamel finished first in the 5k race. Senior Tyler Boullie finished third, senior Thomas Colburn was sixth, junior Jacob Etheridge was seventh, and senior Daniel Beckett finished ninth.

Here are their times:

  • Duhamel—16:18.55 (first)
  • Boullie—16:24.13 (third)
  • Colburn—16:43.09 (sixth)
  • Etheridge—16:50.34 (seventh)
  • Beckett—16:54.68 (ninth)

Oak Ridge finished with 26 points, and the other two teams in the top three, Maryville and Hardin Valley, both finished with 72. A lower score is better.

The Oak Ridge boys team will compete in the state meet on Saturday, November 7, at Percy Warner Park Steeplechase Course in Nashville. [Read more…]

Read the Preschool Planning Committee report here

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Elm Grove Park Oct. 21, 2015

Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge has been proposed as a site for a new preschool, and it’s considered the best potential location. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:40 p.m.

A new preschool for Oak Ridge Schools could cost $7.5 million, and Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge is among the sites where the new 20-classroom facility could be built, a planning committee said in a report released this month.

The report is now available online. You can read a copy of it here by clicking under the link at the end of this section: VII.D. Preschool Building Committee Recommendation.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education is scheduled to consider the Preschool Building Committee recommendation during at meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, November 2, in the School Administration Building at 304 New York Avenue. You can see the agenda here.

A new preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years. The Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee said the existing building on New York Avenue needs significant repairs, and renovations could cost about $7.5 million, or about as much as it would cost to construct a new facility. [Read more…]

Knoxville man dies after pickup crash on Bethel Valley Road

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Bethel Valley Road Crash Chevy Oct. 27, 2015

Victor Gujmuit, 25, of Knoxville, was driving westbound in this green Chevy S10 pickup truck on Bethel Valley Road on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 27, 2015, when he lost control and collided with an eastbound Ford Ranger pickup. He was treated at the scene and taken to UT Medical Center, where he later died. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3 p.m. Oct. 29.

A Knoxville man died after he was ejected from his pickup truck in a multi-vehicle crash on Bethel Valley Road on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the driver as Victor Gujmuit, 25, of Knoxville.

The ORPD said Gujmuit was driving west on Bethel Valley Road in a 1997 Chevrolet S10 pickup when he lost control and entered the inside eastbound lane of the four-lane roadway. His truck collided with a 1996 Ford Ranger pickup driven by Kurt Marcotte, 52, of Knoxville. Gujmuit was ejected onto the roadway in the outside eastbound lane and hit by a 2003 Dodge pickup truck driven by Raymond Lenoir, 57, of Powell, authorities said.

Gujmuit and Marcotte were treated at the scene and taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, where Gujmuit later died, the ORPD said. Police have not determined the cause of his death. [Read more…]

Soccer: Hardin Valley, regional champ, plays defending state champion Thursday

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Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today

Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today

 

Note: This story was updated at 2:03 p.m.

HARDIN VALLEY—Hardin Valley will play defending state champion Clarksville on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the state soccer championship in Murfreesboro.

Update: The soccer tournament had originally been scheduled to start on Wednesday, but the start has been delayed by one day after heavy rain “for the safety of the athletes and the preservation of the fields for further use during the tournament,” officials said Wednesday.

It’s the second consecutive trip to the Class AAA state tournament for the Lady Hawks (16-3-2). Last year, they lost to Ravenwood 4-1 in the first round.

Hardin Valley, the Region 2 champion, beat Tennessee High of Kingsport 2-0 in a sectional game on Saturday to advance to the state tournament. Tennessee was the Region 1 runner-up.

Scoring for Hardin Valley after a scoreless first half on Saturday were Macey Lindsey on a crossing pass from Jaclyn Denton and Gwen Breslin on a pass from Reagan Ely. [Read more…]

Two injured, roadway closed after two-pickup crash on Bethel Valley Road

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Bethel Valley Road Crash Chevy Oct. 27, 2015

A green Chevy S10 pickup truck was involved in a two-vehicle crash with injuries on Bethel Valley Road between Scarboro Road and South Illinois Avenue on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 7:10 p.m.

Two people were taken by ambulance to the hospital after two pickup trucks crashed on Bethel Valley Road on Tuesday afternoon.

Preliminary reports said one person was trapped and one was ejected. But the nature of their injuries weren’t immediately clear.

Authorities said the road could be closed several hours between Scarboro Road and South Illinois Avenue as officers investigate and reconstruct the crash Tuesday evening.

The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear. It also wasn’t clear which direction the two pickup trucks were traveling when they collided. One pickup was a green Chevy S10 and the other was a blue Ford Ranger. [Read more…]

Dollar General in Claxton robbed at knifepoint Saturday

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Dollar General Robbery Suspect Oct. 24, 2015

Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff’s Department

 

The Dollar General Store on Edgemoor Road in Claxton was robbed at knifepoint on Saturday, October 24, shortly before 10 p.m., authorities said.

The suspect threatened the clerk with a knife and demanded money, according to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department. The assistant manager opened the register, and the suspect fled on foot across Edgemoor Road with some $375 in cash, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

Sheriff’s K-9s were called to the scene and tracked the suspect through the Greenview Village housing complex into Greenview Apartments on Old Edgemoor Road to a vacant apartment. The window of the empty apartment was found to be open, and it appeared someone had been staying there, Lucas said. However, no one was found at the time of the search. [Read more…]

Region: Farragut falls to Brentwood 3-0 in state volleyball championship

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Farragut Alexis Parker and Brentwood Volleyball Championship Oct. 23, 2015

Junior Alexis Parker (6), who had 14 kills for Farragut, spikes the ball during a 3-0 loss to Brentwood in the Class AAA state volleyball tournament in Murfreesboro on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. (Photo by Kindell Moore)

 

They battled to close finishes in two games, but Farragut fell to Brentwood 3-0 in the state volleyball Class AAA championship in Murfreesboro on Friday. It was the second time in two years that the Lady Admirals made it to the state final only to lose to the Lady Bruins.

Brentwood beat Farragut in three straight sets in Murfreesboro on Friday: 25-23, 25-16, and 27-25.

But the Lady Admirals, who are Class AAA runner-ups, fought until the end, pushing the final third set past 25 points. They occasionally took the lead and often kept the games within a few points. Brentwood won by only two points in two of the sets.

“I was proud of our girls,” Farragut Coach Susan Davidson said. [Read more…]

Football stats: Oak Ridge and Webb

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Wildcats Joe Gaddis Team Huddle and Webb Oct. 23, 2015

Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis talks to the Wildcats after a 62-6 win over Webb on Blankenship Field on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Oak Ridge scored on five turnovers by Webb in a 62-6 blowout win at Blankenship Field on Friday night. Junior wide receiver Tee Higgins scored three of the nine touchdowns for the Wildcats, all in the second quarter.

Here are preliminary stats by Mark Haste.

Read a story on the game here.

See photos by Julio Culiat here. [Read more…]