Oak Ridge Today

Garbage has to be brought to curb starting July 1

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The Waste Connections Convenience Center is pictured on Warehouse Road in east Oak Ridge on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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

With limited exceptions, garbage cans in Oak Ridge will have to be brought to the curb for the weekly pickup starting July 1, and there will be a $1.20 monthly fee increase for the waste disposal service.

The city’s previous 25-year contract is expiring, and the new contract will start July 1.

Unlike many cities, Oak Ridge has had a “backdoor pickup” garbage service for years, but that is ending. With that back door service, garbage would be picked up away from the curb—at a back door, for example.

Under the new contract, people with qualifying disabilities will still be eligible for backdoor garbage and recycling services. (More information is included below.)

As part of the contract change to curbside pickup, new large 95-gallon trash bins will be provided at no cost, a press release said.

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Roane State ends COVID-19 mask requirement for fully vaccinated

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Part of the Oak Ridge branch campus of Roane State Community College is pictured above. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Community College is ending its face mask requirement for people who are fully vaccinated. The college also ended its daily wellness screening requirement on campus on Monday.

The changes are updates to the college’s pandemic response plan as COVID-19 cases decline in the area, state, and nation.

“These changes follow updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued on May 13,” Roane State said in a press release. “Over the next few weeks, Roane State will be working to implement these new protocols within its response plan and communicate changes to the campus community.”

Until further notice, Roane State will maintain some of the preventive measures put in place during the pandemic in order to keep campuses as safe as possible. Protocols that will remain in place include:

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COVID-19 vaccines at ORHS for students 12 and older in June

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Oak Ridge Schools and Anderson County Health Department will have a vaccine clinic for students 12 and older in June.

The vaccine clinic will be in Wildcat Arena at Oak Ridge High School on June 4 and 25. It will feature the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, with the first shot on Friday, June 4, and the second on Friday, June 25. People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose.

The vaccine clinic will begin at 9 a.m. both days.

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Masks to continue in ORS through May 28, optional for summer school

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Mask use will continue in Oak Ridge Schools through the end of the school year, May 28, but will be optional for summer school.

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers recommended the change during a special meeting Monday evening. The Oak Ridge Board of Education approved it unanimously.

Masks have been required in Oak Ridge Schools to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Students can take off their masks outside. Visitors will be allowed starting in school in July.

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For members: Gas station supplies still limited

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The Kroger fuel center was closed Saturday evening, May 15, and Sunday afternoon, May 16, 2021, after the Colonial Pipeline shutdown last week. It’s not clear when the station will get more gas. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 10:20 a.m. May 17.

Gas stations in Oak Ridge still had a limited supply this weekend. Some stations had gas but not all types. For example, they might have had regular gasoline, or regular and diesel, or alternatively, no regular.

Soccer: Wildcats win district championship

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship with a 1-0 victory at Powell on Thursday, May 13, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

POWELL—The Oak Ridge soccer team won the district championship with a 1-0 victory at Powell on Thursday.

It was the first time the Wildcats have won the District 3-AAA soccer championship since 2017.

Marvin Media-Jovel scored the one goal for the Wildcats in the 52nd minute on Thursday, getting the ball around a Powell defender on the left side of the net and kicking it into the right side.

Oak Ridge coach Tom Gorman said the first half was back-and-forth between the Wildcats and Panthers, but he was concerned because Powell had better scoring opportunities. But Oak Ridge weathered the storm, settled down in the second half, and played better, Gorman said.

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Most stations had no gas or limited supplies on Wednesday evening

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Most gas pumps were closed at the Kroger fuel center on Tuesday evening, May 11, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Most gas stations in Oak Ridge had either no gas to sell or had limited supplies on Wednesday evening.

Oak Ridge Today counted seven stations that had no gas to sell between about 7 and 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Four others appeared to be operating with some limits. Eddie Hair gas station had a $25 purchase limit. The Food City gas station said it had no regular and mid-grade fuel, while Weigel’s on South Illinois Avenue said it had only unleaded gas and diesel. The Shell gas station at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson had only regular fuel (87 octane).

The Mobil gas station on Oak Ridge Turnpike, across from Food City, appeared to be operating normally.

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Soccer: Oak Ridge plays Powell for district championship

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Oak Ridge will play Powell for the District 3-AAA soccer championship on Thursday.

Powell is the number one seed in the district tournament, and Oak Ridge is the number two seed.

The Thursday game will start at 7 p.m. at Powell.

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Baseball: Wildcats eliminated by Powell in district semifinal

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Powell trailed Oak Ridge 8-2 after four innings in a District 3-AAA semifinal game on Tuesday, but the Panthers rallied to eliminate the Wildcats 9-8.

Powell scored six runs on five hits in the bottom of the sixth inning, trying the game at eight, and senior Parker Haley hit a two-out home run to end the game.

The Wildcats, the number five seed in the district tournament, had advanced to the semifinal game against the Panthers, the number one seed, by upsetting Karns, the number four seed, 10-3 in a quarterfinal game on Monday. Before that loss, the Beavers (15-20) had defeated the Wildcats (18-15) three times this season, twice during the regular season and once in the opening round of the district tournament.

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New COVID-19 cases drop to 6 per day, positivity rate below 3 percent

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A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in Anderson County has dropped to about six new cases per day, on average, and the positivity rate is now at less than 3 percent. Those are the lowest levels in months, since before the winter holiday peaks.

The last new hospitalization for COVID-19 in Anderson County was reported May 1. The last death due to COVID-19 was reported April 21, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

The average new number of cases per day peaked at more than 100 in December, when the positivity rate was up around 20 percent. The 20 percent positivity rate meant that roughly one of five COVID-19 tests each day returned, on average, a positive result.

After those December peaks, the average number of new cases and the average positivity rate both dropped in January and tapered down overall from February to May. (New hospitalizations also peaked in December, but deaths reached their highest monthly level in January.)

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For members: Residential lots proposed on Oak Ridge Summit

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Residential lots have been proposed for the upper part of Oak Ridge Summit, pictured above on Friday, May 7, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Residential lots have been proposed for the upper part of Oak Ridge Summit, the former Pine Ridge above South Illinois Avenue.

The 45-acre site could have 57 single-family lots, as well as open space, on a new street and cul-de-sac with access off Summit Drive on the former ridge, according to the agenda for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday.

City wants to buy three drones for police, fire

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The City of Oak Ridge wants to buy three drones for the Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department.

The drones could minimize risks to emergency responders, according to a city memo. Drones could help officers and firefighters perform dangerous tasks such as responding to reports of armed people and other imminent threats, and evaluating fires and hazardous material incidents, the city said. Drones could also help with searches for lost people, which are often impeded by dense vegetation or delayed while waiting for all-terrain vehicles or boats.

“A drone can perform these tasks without delay and without placing responders at risk,” the memo said.

The drones could be used for aerial observation and intelligence collection, the memo said.

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