Oak Ridge Today

Wildcats fall in first round of playoffs to East Hamilton 25-10

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and East Hamilton Hurricanes

Hunter Parker, left, of East Hamilton knocks down a pass in front of Blake Goins, center, and Ted Mitchell of the Wildcats as the Hurricanes eliminate Oak Ridge from the Class 5A playoffs during a first-round game in Ooltewah on Friday. (Photos by Julio Culiat)

OOLTEWAH—The Oak Ridge Wildcats’ first season under returning Coach Joe Gaddis ended in a 25-10 loss to the East Hamilton Hurricanes on Friday.

The first-round playoff game on a cold night in Ooltewah was relatively close until the end of the third quarter, when the Hurricanes gained a 16-10 lead and started to pull away.

Oak Ridge struggled on offense throughout the game and had “no spark,” Gaddis said. The Wildcats finished the night with 183 total yards on offense, compared to 289 for the Hurricanes. [Read more…]

Firefighters will have controlled burns on Summit Ridge on Saturday

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State and local firefighters will have controlled burns on a prominent ridge top in south Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The burning on Summit Ridge between South Illinois Avenue and Scarboro Road will start at about noon Saturday and end before dark, an Oak Ridge Fire Department press release said. The burns will be conducted by the Tennessee Division of Forestry with help from the ORFD.

The goal is to help reduce the risk of an uncontrolled fire occurring at the site and to help promote the growth of new vegetation in the area, the release said.

Worried about city judge’s reaction, tenant concocted home invasion story after alleged rampage, police say

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An Oak Ridge man who allegedly went on a rampage and broke bedroom windows inside his home concocted a story about a home invasion to try to avoid trouble with his landlord, City Judge Lawrence Tunnell, authorities said.

Derek Scott Fitzpatrick, 26, has been charged with false reporting, a felony. He remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton early Friday morning.

The alleged home invasion on North Hollywood Circle was reported one week ago at about 1 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1. The Oak Ridge Police Department quickly set up a perimeter in the Highland View neighborhood and searched for the two suspects for about 30 minutes before “finding out the story was made up,” Officer Garrett Robbins said in an affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

Lake City recommends Rocky Top name change, but receives copyright warning

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Lake City Council Approves Rocky Top Name Change

The Lake City Council votes 4-0 on Thursday to recommend changing the town’s name to Rocky Top, and Rep. John Ragan, right, said he has drafted legislation to approve the rechristening in the state legislature.

LAKE CITY—Just hours before a historic vote to change this town’s name for the second time in less than a century, Lake City Mayor Tim Sharp received a legal letter warning him that a proposal to build a Rocky Top theme park here could violate trademark rights and should be dropped.

But project supporters packed City Hall on Thursday, and the Lake City Council pressed on, voting 4-0 to recommend changing the name of this former coal mining town to Rocky Top. It’s the first step in a project to build a multi-million dollar theme park that could include an interactive Knotty Pine 3-D theater, water park, hotel, and restaurant.

The last-minute letter from an intellectual property attorney in Nashville could have Lake City officials and the park’s investors scrambling to answer legal questions. The notice was “very unexpected,” Sharp said. [Read more…]

New dog park could have ribbon-cutting soon, city manager says

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Oak Ridge Dog Park Entrance

City Manager Mark Watson says there could soon be a ribbon-cutting for the new dog park at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge. The entrance to the dog park is pictured above in this Oct. 25 photo and so is the fencing that was then under construction.

The city is about to have a “soft opening” for the new dog park at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge, and there could soon be a ribbon-cutting, an official said Tuesday.

Construction has been under way since this summer at the city’s first dog park, which is being built with help from a $100,000 donation from Radio Systems Corp. through Legacy Parks.

The park will include a “gorgeous entrance” and fenced-in fields for large and small dogs, and it will allow dogs to socialize and build community through resident interactions, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said during a “State of the City” presentation at Lunch with the League on Tuesday. [Read more…]

Pedestrian safety project at Jackson Square to be completed soon

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Jackson Square Pedestrian Improvements

Workers repave Broadway at Jackson Square on Oct. 25 as part of a pedestrian safety improvement project paid for with red light camera money.

The city-owned parking lot on the north side of Jackson Square now has two handicapped-accessible areas, and the pedestrian safety improvements under way there could be finished in another week, an official said Tuesday.

The project, which includes road and sidewalk work, is being done under a contract approved by Oak Ridge City Council in August.

It’s part of more than $500,000 worth of projects that use red light camera money. The other projects are designed to make eight Oak Ridge Turnpike intersections safer for pedestrians. Those improvements, which will provide a pedestrian walkway and crosswalk system near Oak Ridge Turnpike businesses, are estimated at $370,000. [Read more…]

After burning 71 acres, Walden Ridge fire contained

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Walden Ridge Fire

Smoke plumes rise above Walden Ridge northeast of Oliver Springs on Tuesday, where a fire first reported Sunday burned about 71 acres before being contained.

OLIVER SPRINGS—The Walden Ridge fire first reported Sunday burned about 71 acres, but it is contained now, a state forester said Wednesday afternoon.

Fire crews have been able to use a bulldozer to clear a line around the blaze and contain it, said Nathan Waters, assistant district forester for the Tennessee Division of Forestry. They also used leaf blowers to move leaves—which can serve as light fuel—away from homes along Dutch Valley Road and to help build fire lines.

Waters said firefighters, who have left Walden Ridge, will check back again this afternoon and also tomorrow. They could continue to check back until the area gets a significant rain. [Read more…]

Walden Ridge fire near Oliver Springs grows to more than 30 acres

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Walden Ridge Fire

Smoke plumes rise above Walden Ridge northeast of Oliver Springs, where a fire first reported Sunday afternoon had grown to more than 30 acres by Tuesday morning.

OLIVER SPRINGS—A fire that was first reported Sunday afternoon on Walden Ridge a few miles northeast of Oliver Springs had grown to more than 30 acres by Tuesday morning, a state forester said.

The fire is on a steep hillside north of Dutch Valley Road between a Marlow Volunteer Fire Department fire station and Fox Lane.

The cause hasn’t been determined, but it was most likely arson, said Nathan Waters, assistant district forester for the Tennessee Division of Forestry.

He said the fire was originally reported as a campfire, but it appears to have started away from any trails or burn pits, and there was no lightning on Halloween, when smoke was first reported in the area. [Read more…]

Council to consider 10 percent pay raise for city manager, mall TIF

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider a 10 percent salary increase for City Manager Mark Watson.

If council approves, Watson would earn a new annual base salary of $150,321.60, effective Aug. 8, 2013. He started in Oak Ridge about three years ago at an annual salary of $131,996.80.

The pay raise has been unanimously recommended by a three-member City Manager Evaluation Committee. It would require that Watson’s employment agreement be amended.

The recommended increase is based on council member’s evaluations of Watson and his performance during the previous year, said Charles J. “Chuck” Hope Jr., chair of the City Manager Evaluation Committee. [Read more…]

Anderson committee recommends tax package for Oak Ridge Mall

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Anderson County Operations Committee

The Anderson County Operations Committee on Monday unanimously recommends a tax financing agreement that could help with the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall. Pictured above from left are Anderson County commissioners Robert McKamey, Zach Bates (partially obscured), Tracy Wandell, Whitey Hitchcock, Steve Emert, Rick Meredith, and John Shuey.

CLINTON—An Anderson County committee has unanimously recommended a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall.

In a 7-0 voice vote, the Anderson County Operations Committee recommended the tax increment financing, or TIF, to the full Anderson County Commission during a Monday evening meeting.

The TIF could last 20 years, and it would allow new property tax revenues generated at the site to be used to help pay for development costs. It’s already been unanimously endorsed by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board. [Read more…]

County committee to consider tax financing for Oak Ridge Mall redevelopment

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Oak Ridge Mall Concept Plan Featured

The Anderson County Operations Committee will consider the tax financing plan for the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall during a Monday evening meeting.

The Anderson County Operations Committee will consider the tax financing plan for the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall during a Monday evening meeting.

The tax financing agreement could be worth $13 million and last 20 years. It would allow new property tax revenues generated at the site to be used to help pay for development costs.

The tax increment financing, or TIF, proposal has already been unanimously endorsed by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board.

It will be considered by the Operations Committee in a meeting that starts at 6 p.m. today in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. It will also be considered at 4 p.m. Thursday by the Anderson County Budget Committee; at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, by the Oak Ridge City Council; and at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, by the Anderson County Commission. [Read more…]

Weigel’s open now, Aldi has grand opening Thursday

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Weigel's on South Illinois Avenue

The Weigel’s on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge is now open.

A Weigel’s gas station and store is now open on South Illinois Avenue, and a nearby Aldi grocery has a grand opening celebration on Thursday.

The Weigel’s is on 1.5 acres south of TNBank, and the 4,000-square-foot store includes 16 gas pumps.

Construction started this spring. It’s now the second Weigel’s store in Oak Ridge and the only gas station on South Illinois Avenue between Tulsa Road in central Oak Ridge and Solway in Knox County.

Weigel’s Farm Stores Inc. is a chain headquartered in Powell that operates 57 local dairy and convenience stores. [Read more…]