A fallen tree on Wiltshire Drive caused widespread power outages in Oak Ridge on Thursday evening.
The City of Oak Ridge reported the power outages at about 8 p.m. Thursday. The city said the Oak Ridge Electric Department was working to repair power, and at about 9 p.m., the city said power could be restored to most customers within an hour.
A Knoxville man has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and other alleged crimes after a shooting that injured another man at a gas station in south Clinton early Monday morning.
Micheal West, 38, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, reckless endangerment, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to the Clinton Police Department.
The shooting was reported at about 5 a.m. Monday, May 24, in the parking lot of the Git’N Go Market on Clinch Avenue.
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The Oak Ridge Wildcats track and field team is competing in the state meet in Rockvale, Tennessee, on Thursday. Oak Ridge is the third or fourth seed in two of the events.
Five Wildcats are competing in five boys’ events: discus, 100-meter dash, 800-meter run, 1600-meter run, and 4×800-meter relay.
The five Wildcats competing in the five boys’ events are:
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After a long shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, the K-25 History Center re-opened Monday morning.
The K-25 History Center is located on the south side of the site where the K-25 Building used to be at what is now Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge. The K-25 Building was once the world’s largest. The K-25 History Center is on the second floor of the City of Oak Ridge fire station at Heritage Center.
The K-25 site was built during World War II, and it enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. The site was shut down in the 1980s. The site was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, and it was to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.
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CLINTON—An Anderson County man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder for trying to shoot a deputy northeast of Oak Ridge in April 2019 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.
Charles Edward Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to one felony count of attempted first-degree murder and five felony counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. He also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of interfering with a 911 call and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.
One person was injured in an early morning shooting in Clinton on Monday, according to the Clinton Police Department.
The shooting was reported just after 5 a.m. Monday at the Git ‘N Go Market on Clinch Avenue in South Clinton.
The CPD said one adult male was shot during the incident, and he was transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening. Police said the man had at least one gunshot wound to his lower body, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton, which cited CPD Assistant Chief Jim Campbell.
Preliminary information from witnesses indicated that a car pulled into the store parking lot, fired multiple shots at the victim, and fled before officers arrived, WYSH Radio said.
[Read more…]Two people died in crashes in Anderson County this past weekend. One was a student at Hardin Valley Academy, and the other was a 43-year-old Knoxville woman.
The first crash, which killed the HVA senior, was reported in the Claxton area on Friday night. Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said it was a graduation season tragedy involving some young people who had been celebrating in Knox County.
“Whether they were served alcohol at a commercial establishment is being investigated,” Clark said in a social media post on Saturday.
Clark said it appeared that eight people were riding in a pickup truck when it crashed in the Claxton area on New Henderson Road at Henderson Bend Road.
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Murals celebrating nature, diversity, history, and outdoor activities have been painted on or near several Oak Ridge buildings, including at the boathouse and at ORNL Federal Credit Union.
Three murals have been painted near the ORNL Federal Credit Union headquarters on Rutgers Avenue. Another mural has been painted on the Oak Ridge Rowing Association boathouse at Melton Lake Park.
A fifth mural is being painted on an ORNL Federal Credit Union building on West Tennessee Avenue.
The first three murals painted at the credit union headquarters building on Rutgers Avenue were designed by students at Oak Ridge High School, Jefferson Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School, according to JMS art teacher Jim Dodson, who is also an Oak Ridge City Council member. The murals were created by Bryan Wilkerson, art professor at Roane State Community College. For their work, each of the schools received a $500 contribution to their art departments, and the students received a cash award, Dodson said.
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After a long closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Museum of Science and Energy has re-opened.
AMSE re-opened at 9 a.m. Friday, May 21.
AMSE will be open to a limited number of visitors at a time, 50. Museum visitors will be asked to maintain an appropriate physical distance from others (the general guidance has been to maintain a distance of six feet or more, when possible, from people who live outside your home).
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Tuesday approved the purchase of three drones that will help police officers and firefighters battle blazes, find lost people, and respond to calls about people barricaded with weapons.
The seven-member Council had deferred a vote on the drones during its May 10 meeting after members raised questions about privacy, civil liberties, and requests for images or videos inadvertently captured by the drones.
Two Oak Ridge defendants who were previously charged with first-degree murder, aggravated rape, and abuse of a corpse in the death of a 36-year-old woman have now been charged with aggravated child rape and especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
Sean S. Finnegan, 53, and Rebecca E. Dishman, 23, were charged last summer with murder, sex crimes, kidnapping, and abuse of a corpse after Jennifer Gail Paxton, 36, was allegedly tortured, raped, and strangled, and her body was allegedly cut and broken before being stuffed into a freezer in a home on East Fairview Road in Oak Ridge.
The new child rape and sexual exploitation charges followed an investigation by the Oak Ridge Police Department, according to a press release from the office of Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark in Clinton. Finnegan and Dishman have been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury, the press release said.
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The 2021 Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival, featuring three world renowned storytellers, is scheduled for Saturday, June 5.
The festival will offer an evening performance recorded in front of a live audience, three live online interactive workshops, and a live online after-party, a press release said.
The annual event is led by volunteers from the three Rotary Clubs in Oak Ridge. Due to concerns about COVID-19, this year’s event will be online.
The featured storytellers are three acclaimed performers: Andy Offutt Irwin, Bil Lepp, and Kim Weitkamp. They are known to audiences nationwide for their wit, wisdom, and abilities to make audiences laugh, cry, and reminisce, the press release said. The three storytellers have achieved national recognition and appear regularly at festivals, including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee.
On Saturday, June 5, the Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival will present the art and magic of storytelling with a virtual performance at 8 p.m. The three tellers will record a live show that will be performed before a small audience exclusively for Flatwater Tales. This performance will include an unrehearsed improvisation segment, hosted by emcee Paula Gordon Lepp, a new feature in the storytelling world, the press release said.
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