Oak Ridge Today

Fire destroys home on Hoskins Gap Road

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Jordan Alcorn at Hoskins Gap Road Fire

Oliver Springs Volunteer Fire Department Capt. Jordan Alcorn battles a fire that destroyed a home on Hoskins Gap Road near Winrock Road at about 7 a.m. Friday. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A fire destroyed a home on Hoskins Gap Road at about 7 a.m. Friday, but no injuries were reported.

The home was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, photographer Tom Scott said.

The home is near Windrock Road and in the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department area, but firefighters from Oliver Springs also responded, as did Anderson County Emergency Medical Services and the Sheriff’s Department.

Two people were reported to have escaped the fire, which was apparently started by a wood-burning stove. [Read more…]

Watson one of four finalists for Texas job; decision possible in late January

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson is one of four finalists for a similar job in one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas, and officials there could hire someone near the end of January, an official said Monday.

Jon Branson, one of two assistant city managers in Pearland, Texas, said the City Council is tentatively scheduled to conduct some final interviews on or around Jan. 25, and officials hope to have a decision shortly afterward.

Pearland’s current city manager, Bill Eisen, is retiring at the end of the month after 12 years. Branson will be the interim city manager starting Jan. 1, and he will serve until the Pearland City Council hires a new city manager. [Read more…]

Report: Woman who fell into fountain and died had been ‘huffing,’ witness says

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Oak Ridge Civic Center Fountain

The Oak Ridge woman who fell into this fountain at the Civic Center on June 3 and died in a hospital 13 days later had been spotted “huffing” a can of keyboard cleaner next to a tree in the park, possibly just minutes before she was found floating face down in the water, authorities said.

The 26-year-old woman who fell into a fountain at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on June 3 and died in a hospital 13 days later had been spotted “huffing” a can of keyboard cleaner next to a tree in the park, possibly just minutes before she was found floating face down in the water, authorities said.

After she was pulled from the fountain, rescuers tried CPR on Sarah Christine McAdams, but she was unresponsive and given only a 10 percent chance of surviving the first night at Methodist Medical Center, hospital staff told Oak Ridge Police Department Detective Kevin Craig.

On June 6, ORPD Detective David Stephens reported that McAdams, who had lived on Manhattan Avenue in Woodland, had been placed in an induced coma and had not been able to communicate. She died at the hospital on June 16, according to a copy of the death certificate provided by her mother, Lori Holt, of Murrell’s Inlet, S.C. [Read more…]

Suspects used stolen pickup truck, Bobcat in attempted theft of ATM safe

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Bobcat and ATM Safe from Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Authorities said unknown suspects used this stolen Bobcat in a Christmas morning plot to steal a safe from a standalone ATM in east Oak Ridge. The attempted heist appears to have gone awry after the Bobcat tipped over on its side in a small culvert next to Bogola Road.

Note: This story was last updated at 12:45 p.m.

A stolen pickup truck and Bobcat were used in the unsuccessful Christmas morning plot to steal the safe from a standalone ATM in east Oak Ridge, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said the unknown suspects used the truck, stolen from the nearby Waste Connections convenience center, to try to knock the automated teller machine off the concrete pad. When that didn’t work, they allegedly used the Bobcat, which was also stolen from Waste Connections.

The Bobcat demolished the ATM and hauled the ATM several hundred feet away before flipping over in a small culvert next to Bogola Road, which is the Oak Ridge Turnpike entrance to the convenience center. [Read more…]

Christmas Day heist: Thieves try to steal ATM safe with Bobcat

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Bobcat and ATM Safe from Y-12 Federal Credit Union

A Bobcat that appears to have been involved in a Christmas morning plot to steal money from an ATM in east Oak Ridge is tipped over on its side in a small ditch next to the safe, which had apparently not been opened.

A brazen attempt to steal money from an ATM in east Oak Ridge appears to have gone awry early Christmas morning and ended with a Bobcat tipped over on its side next to a safe that had apparently not been opened.

Many of the details are preliminary, and the Oak Ridge Police Department was investigating Wednesday morning.

The attempted theft caused extensive damage to a Y-12 Federal Credit Union automated teller machine at a small shopping center that includes the KARM Thrift Store and Tractor Supply Co. Crumpled ATM debris was scattered in a grassy field behind the drive-through credit union machine, and brown tracks led a few hundred feet away to the tipped-over Bobcat and the square safe, which appeared to have a chain wrapped around it. [Read more…]

ORNL to lose 189 workers through voluntary separations by Dec. 31

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Central Campus

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s central campus is pictured above. (Courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy)

One hundred eighty-nine employees at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will go off the payroll at the end of this month as part of a workforce reduction announced in September.

ORNL had received permission to reduce its staff by up to 475 employees, but in September, officials said they hoped they wouldn’t have to make that many cuts.

The voluntary separation program, or VSP, was part of the lab’s response to federal budget pressures. ORNL has also implemented other belt-tightening measures during the past few years. [Read more…]

DOE, UT-Battelle could negotiate five-year contract extension at ORNL

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Central Campus

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s central campus is pictured above. (Courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy)

The U.S. Department of Energy and UT-Battelle could negotiate a five-year contract extension at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, officials said Thursday.

The current contract ends in March 2015. If granted, the extension would allow UT-Battelle to manage the lab though 2020. UT-Battelle is a nonprofit partnership between the University of Tennessee and Battelle Memorial Institute.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, announced the potential contract extension during a special holiday meeting of the East Tennessee Economic Council on Thursday. ETEC had asked DOE to not rebid the contract—but extend it instead, Fleischmann said.

The congressman said the negotiations over a possible extension were based on a “job well-done” at the premier lab. [Read more…]

Report: AC money spent on part-time fiscal analyst was unauthorized

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

The money spent on a part-time fiscal analyst hired one year ago by Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank was an unauthorized expenditure, a new state report said.

The Anderson County Commission had twice denied funding for the position, and the budget account for the position contained no money, said the annual financial report, which was prepared by the county’s Accounts and Budget Office and independent state auditors.

The report said the use of county revenues from such sources as taxes, county aid funds, and fines must be approved by county legislative bodies.

“Management failed to hold spending to the limits authorized by the County Commission, which resulted in unauthorized expenditures,” said the report, which is available on the Tennessee Comptroller’s website. [Read more…]

Picture: Christmas lights on Newberry Circle

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Christmas Lights on Newberry Circle

A home on Newberry Circle is decorated with Christmas lights. (Photo courtesy David Nelson)

Oak Ridge Today reader David Nelson sent us a picture of his home at 119 Newberry Circle decorated with Christmas lights. Thank you, David.

If you have pictures of a house that you think we should feature, you may send your photo(s) to news@oakridgetoday.com. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Oak Ridge city manager being considered for job in Texas

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson is being considered for a job in Texas, three council members confirmed Thursday evening.

Watson is a finalist for a city manager position, and a decision could be made in January, Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan said.

The mayor said he hopes Watson, who started here in August 2010, stays in Oak Ridge.

“Mark Watson has been an outstanding city manager,” Beehan said. “He was a great hire.” [Read more…]

DOE, UCOR demolish last piece of K-25, once the world’s largest building

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K-25 Building Demolition Final

The last section of the former K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge was demolished on Thursday.

It was once the world’s largest building under one roof, built by the U.S. government in less than two years as part of a top-secret race to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

Officials say it also helped win the Cold War.

But five years after demolition started, the K-25 Building is gone. Officials, workers, and invited guests watched the last section of the giant building crash to the ground on Thursday.

The mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building enriched uranium through a process called gaseous diffusion. It was the largest facility in the U.S. Department of Energy complex. Debris shipments are expected to be completed in the spring of 2014.

The $1.1 billion project is under budget and ahead of schedule. [Read more…]

Four students found with drugs, hatchet, ski mask, ORPD says

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Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

A 14-year-old male who refused to go to school on Wednesday possessed a tactical load bearing vest, and four students detained Thursday, including one adult student, were found near Oak Ridge High School in a car that contained drugs, a ski mask, and a hatchet, authorities said.

The news comes less than one day after the Oak Ridge Police Department announced it seized a stolen, loaded gun from the car of a student who had allegedly caused a disturbance at Oak Ridge High School and said a knife had been seized from a student during an altercation on a school bus.

In a Thursday morning press release, the ORPD said officers responded to a report of an unruly juvenile at a home on Baypath Drive at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“When officers arrived, they met with the mother and older sibling of a 14 year-old juvenile male who had refused to go to school,” the press release said. “Officers interviewed the juvenile and noted he was in possession of a tactical load bearing vest. Officers ultimately assisted in transporting the juvenile to the Methodist Medical Center emergency room for an evaluation, as well as coordinating with Juvenile Court authorities and referring the incident to DCS for follow-up. No criminal charges were filed. However, the investigation remains ongoing, and no further details will be released at this time.” [Read more…]