John Huotari - Author at Oak Ridge Today

Photos: Oak Ridge and Webb

Posted at 3:19 pm October 24, 2015
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Webb Brody Leonard Fumble and Wildcats Oct. 23, 2015

Webb fumbled four times in the second quarter, and Oak Ridge converted all four turnovers into touchdowns during a 62-6 win for the Wildcats on Blankenship Field on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. Junior linebacker Kyndall Clark (54) had at least two of the fumble recoveries. (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 photos by Julio Culiat. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge scores on five turnovers by Webb in 62-6 blowout

Posted at 11:40 pm October 23, 2015
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Oak Ridge Jordan Dunbar and Webb Oct. 23, 2015

Oak Ridge senior quarterback Jordan Dunbar (14) scored the first touchdown for the Wildcats during a 62-6 blowout win over Webb on Blankenship Field on Friday, Oct. 24, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

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

Webb fumbled four times in the second quarter on four consecutive possessions. Oak Ridge converted all four Webb turnovers, which were in Spartans territory, into scores. The Wildcats had a fifth touchdown after a turnover, an interception, in the third quarter.

Six different Wildcats scored touchdowns on Friday. Besides Higgins, they were senior quarterback Jordan Dunbar, senior running back Gavin Warrington, freshman running back Jordan Graham, sophomore running back Adarius Simpson, and sophomore quarterback Johnny Stewart.

Oak Ridge (8-1, 3-1 Region 3-5A) dominated in total yardage, picking up 480 yards to Webb’s 197. The Wildcats had 403 yards rushing, compared to 167 for Webb (4-4, 2-1 Class A, East and Middle).

“It was just a good all-around effort,” Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis said. [Read more…]

Two goals in two minutes for Hardin Valley in regional championship

Posted at 1:08 pm October 23, 2015
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Hardin Valley Paige Hewitt and Maryville Oct. 22, 2015

Paige Hewitt (14) of Hardin Valley controls the ball during a 2-0 Region 2-AAA championship win over Maryville at Hardin Valley on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015. Hewitt scored the second goal for Hardin Valley and led the girls soccer team with four shots. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

HARDIN VALLEY—Hardin Valley scored two goals in less than two minutes to beat Maryville 2-0 at home in the Region 2-AAA championship game on Thursday.

Both teams advance to state Class AAA sectionals on Saturday. Hardin Valley (15-3-2) will play at home against Tennessee of Bristol (14-2-2), the Region 1 runner-up. Maryville (15-6-2), the Region 2 runner-up, will take on Science Hill (13-8-1), the Region 1 champion, in Johnson City.

The Region 2 championship on Thursday was scoreless until the 69th minute. That’s when Kelsey Klett of Hardin Valley lofted a high free kick that went over a wall over Maryville defenders and Lady Rebels goalkeeper Allie Hendrix and into the net with 11:42 left to play.

“She’s phenomenal in that situation,” Hardin Valley Coach Mark Patterson said of the senior defender and her kick from a distance. “She stops the goals, and she scores the goals.” [Read more…]

One legally blind, the other in a wheelchair, racing duo trains for marathon Sunday

Posted at 2:07 am October 23, 2015
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Melissa Peplow and Vicky Wallace at Oak Ridge Marina on Oct. 21, 2015

Melissa Peplow, left, is legally blind, and Vicky Wallace, in wheelchair, has lost use of the left side of her body after four strokes. But together the two compete in running races. Here they train at the Oak Ridge Marina. On Sunday, they’ll compete in the 40th Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

One running partner is legally blind. The other has had four strokes and lost control of the left side of her body.

But together, they’ve formed a racing duo that’s competed in 5ks, 10ks, 15ks, and half-marathons.

This weekend, the duo, Melissa Peplow and Vicky Wallace, will compete in the their longest race yet, a full marathon. It’s the 40th Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday in Washington, D.C.

Peplow is legally blind. She runs behind Wallace’s wheelchair and helps push it.

Wallace’s left side is paralyzed. She helps navigate and uses her right hand to help push her wheelchair, and her right leg to help pull it.

The two competed in back-to-back half-marathons in East Tennessee last November, racing in Farragut on a Saturday and then in Alcoa on a Sunday.

Wallace, who is co-owner of J&M Butcher Shop in Oak Ridge, keeps a sticker-box checklist of the races they’ve completed (5k, 10k, 15k, 13.1 (half-marathon)) on the back of her SUV. One box remains unchecked: 26.2. That’s short for 26.2 miles, the length of a marathon.

[Read more…]

Clinton man charged with trespassing after crashing car at Y-12, fleeing from officers

Posted at 2:14 pm October 22, 2015
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Timothy D. Preston

A 34-year-old Clinton man was charged with aggravated trespassing after allegedly driving through the east gate at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Thursday, crashing near a parking lot area, and then fleeing on foot into a heavily wooded area inside the nuclear weapons plant, authorities said.

The crash occurred at about 5:52 a.m. Thursday after a person, later identified as Timothy D. Preston, 34, of Clinton, drove through the east gate of Y-12 near Scarboro Road.

Y-12 security and Oak Ridge police officers responded immediately and established a containment area inside and outside the perimeter of the facility, a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

Preston was taken into custody at about 7:40 a.m. and transported to the Methodist Medical Center, where he was treated and released for minor injuries, the press release said. He was interviewed at the Oak Ridge Police Department and then transported to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, where he was charged with aggravated trespassing, trespassing by motor vehicle, felony vandalism, and driving on a revoked license (third offense). [Read more…]

Wanted after Oak Ridge shooting, Williams now faces federal gun charge

Posted at 12:48 pm October 22, 2015
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Larry Dewayne Williams

The Oak Ridge man wanted after a shooting and crash in north Oak Ridge in September now faces a federal firearms charge after police found a pistol and ammunition manufactured outside Tennessee in his house and car, authorities said.

Larry Dewayne Williams, 28, was indicted by a federal grand jury this month on one count of being a convicted felon who possessed a gun and ammunition, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on October 6.

Williams, who was arrested near a South Knoxville club early Sunday, allegedly fled from Oak Ridge police in a silver Infiniti after the September 21 shooting on Wakefield Road. After he allegedly ran from the car following a three-vehicle crash at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer James Elkins found an AR-15 type firearm on the passenger floorboard of Williams’ Infiniti and a semi-automatic pistol lying inside.

During the hunt for Williams, an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department K-9 tracked Williams to a nearby home at 612 West Outer Drive, a house that Williams shares with Chelsea Lively, 22. Inside that house, police found hand gun cases and gun magazines in plain view, according to an affidavit that accompanies a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court on October 2.

They also found about two ounces of suspected heroin and roughly 7.72 ounces of suspected marijuana. [Read more…]

Y-12 reopens after man drives through gate, crashes into parking lot

Posted at 11:21 am October 22, 2015
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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above. (File photo)

Officials at the Y-12 National Security Complex have reopened the plant to employees following a temporary closure early Thursday morning after a person drove through the east gate of Y-12 at Scarboro Road and crashed his vehicle near a parking lot area.

The crash occurred at about 5:52 a.m. Thursday.

Y-12 security police officers responded and subsequently apprehended the man, who was then arrested by the Oak Ridge Police Department, a press release said. [Read more…]

Y-12 entrances closed due to ‘security situation’

Posted at 8:55 am October 22, 2015
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Y-12 National Security Complex Scarboro Road Entrance

The Scarboro Road entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (File photo/March 2014)

Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m.

All entrances at the Y-12 National Security Complex have been closed due to a “security situation,” officials said Thursday morning.

Y-12 posted the announcement on social media.

“Entrance to the site will not be possible until further notice,” the announcement said.

A press release from the National Nuclear Security Administration said officials at Y-12 are responding to a law enforcement issue that has affected access to Y-12.

“The facility and its employees are safe and secure, and all entrances to the plant are closed,” the release said. [Read more…]

Updated: Nine students injured when Roane County school bus rolls off road

Posted at 7:50 pm October 21, 2015
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Roane County School Bus Crash Workers Oct. 21, 2015

Nine students were injured after a Roane County school bus went off the right side of the road and rolled on its side down a steep embankment on a curvy, country road southwest of Oliver Springs on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 4 p.m. Oct. 22.

ROANE COUNTY—Nine students were injured after a Roane County school bus dropped off the right side of Mahoney Road and rolled onto its right side down a steep embankment on a curvy, country road southwest of Oliver Springs on Wednesday afternoon.

Two middle school students were taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge by ambulance, and a third student, possibly also a middle school student, was transported by a parent, said Gary Aytes, Roane County Schools superintendent. The injuries were not life-threatening, Aytes said. He said one student might have a broken arm, and the others had cuts and abrasions.

Thursday update: The Tennessee Highway Patrol later reported that nine students were taken to Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge. Two were transported by ambulance, and the other seven were taken in private vehicles.

The crash was reported in the 600 block of Mahoney Road, just west of Johnson Road, at about 3:50 p.m. Wednesday. There were 22 children on the bus from Oliver Springs High School, Oliver Springs Middle School, and Dyllis Springs Elementary School in Roane County. [Read more…]

Hardin Valley eliminates Oak Ridge 2-0 in regional soccer semifinal

Posted at 10:04 pm October 20, 2015
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Hardin Valley Gabby Powers and Oak Ridge Defense Oct. 20, 2015

Gabby Powers (17) of Hardin Valley dribbles past Oak Ridge defenders shortly before scoring the first goal of the game for either team in a 2-0 win over Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. Also pictured are Lady Wildcats Leah Scudder (22), Ellie Brown (8), Macy Barclay (4), and Katie Welsh (5). At left is Macey Lindsey (10) of Hardin Valley. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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

HARDIN VALLEY—Hardin Valley eliminated Oak Ridge from this year’s playoffs in a 2-0 win over the Lady Wildcats in a Region 2 semifinal game at Hardin Valley on Tuesday.

Neither team scored in the first half.

Early in the second half, Gabby Powers of Hardin Valley buried a long, high shot from about 27 yards out to give the Lady Hawks a 1-0 lead with about 33 minutes remaining. That shot from near the right sideline sailed over the outstretched hands of Oak Ridge senior goalkeeper Jasmine Rizk at the right side of the net (Rizk’s left).

Paige Hewitt added a second, final goal for Hardin Valley on a penalty kick from 12 yards out with about six minutes left, booting it into the left side of the net past a diving Rizk. [Read more…]

New preschool could cost $7.5 million; Elm Grove Park a proposed site

Posted at 7:29 pm October 20, 2015
By John Huotari 29 Comments

Shirley Raines Presentation to Oak Ridge City Council on Oct. 20, 2015

Shirley C. Raines, citizen representative and chair of a preschool planning committee, presents a report to Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education members during a joint work session on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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 Tuesday.

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.

The Preschool Planning Committee, which has nine members and three non-voting members, estimated that the new 40,000-square-foot facility could cost $6.3 million to build. There would be an additional $1.2 million in expenses for infrastructure, architects, and other fees, and an in-depth analysis by design and construction firms, pushing the total to $7.5 million, according to a summary presented by citizen representative and committee chair Shirley C. Raines during a joint Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education work session on Tuesday. [Read more…]

FBI investigating bank robbery at Home Federal Bank in Powell

Posted at 4:54 pm October 20, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating a bank robbery reported at Home Federal Bank on East Emory Road in Powell on Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities in Anderson County received an alert after the robbery, which was reported at about 1:40 p.m. Tuesday. The suspect reportedly turned onto Heiskell Road, which runs into Anderson County.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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