Oak Ridge Today

Car crashes into utility pole, knocks out power to few stores

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Lafayette Drive Utility Pole Crash

A car driven by an Oak Ridge man crashed into a utility pole near Lafayette Drive on Saturday, knocking out power to about 10 customers, including Walmart and Chick-fil-A. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A car crashed into a utility pole along Lafayette Drive on Saturday afternoon, knocking out power to a few large customers, including Walmart and Chick-fil-A.

Jeffrey Wells Wallace, 60, of Oak Ridge, was eastbound in a 2010 Toyota Prius four-door sedan on Lafayette Drive near Midway Lane when his vehicle went off the roadway and struck a utility pole about six feet off the road at about 2:45 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

Wallace was conscious was police arrived, but he said he didn’t remember the collision, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Brandan L. Sharp said in a crash report. [Read more…]

Section of East Drive closed Wednesday, Thursday

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A section of East Drive will be closed Wednesday and Thursday for underground sewer line repairs. The work is expected to last throughout the night, a city press release said.

The road will be closed just south of the intersection of East Drive and Eaton Lane. The work will be done by Hurst Excavating, which will repair three sections of gravity sewer main. The road closure is expected to last throughout the night, but it could be delayed by bad weather. [Read more…]

Council approves Aldi rezoning, waterfront crosswalk signs, kayak rentals

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The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday approved a rezoning that could allow an Aldi grocery store on South Illinois Avenue, solar-powered pedestrian warning signs on Melton Lake Drive, and a program to rent bicycles and kayaks at Melton Lake Park.

The Aldi could open on about 1.4 acres in the Woodland Town Center near Panera Bread and Aubrey’s restaurant this fall.

The pedestrian signs, as well as new pavement markings, could be installed at three crosswalks at Amanda Drive, Emory Valley Road, and Rivers Run on Melton Lake Drive. [Read more…]

Commission sends ‘In God We Trust’ back to committee for design work

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Anderson County Commission and In God We Trust

Anderson County Commissioner Jerry Creasey, standing, says a proposal to put the national motto on the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton is dividing commissioners, and the county and Oak Ridge. Also pictured from left are commissioners Whitey Hitchcock, Zach Bates, Tracy Wandell, and John Shuey.

CLINTON—Questions about designs were unresolved Monday, and the Anderson County Commission sent a proposal to put the national motto “In God We Trust” on the county courthouse in Clinton back to a committee that has already considered it once.

The Anderson County Operations Committee recommended last week in a 5-3 vote to install black metal signs with white lettering and the national motto above the courthouse’s four entrances.

But the full 16-member commission discussed putting the national motto in granite lettering during a Monday night meeting, among other things.

[Read more…]

Telephone service, suicide prevention hotline has Saturday fundraiser

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A telephone service and suicide prevention hotline is having an annual Flea Market fundraiser on Saturday, and the organization is accepting donations through Thursday.

The CONTACT Care Line Flea Market is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church in Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

Alternatives to jail featured at ‘Lunch with the League’

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The director of Anderson County’s alternatives to jail program will be the featured speaker during “Lunch with the League” on Tuesday.

The presentation by Mike Baker will focus on alternatives to incarceration and the benefits to those affected, including their families and the community. The program starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

[Read more…]

County Commission considers ‘In God We Trust’ signs after legal, design review

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Anderson County Operations Committee National Motto

Anderson County Commisisoner Robert McKamey, left, who has made motions to put the national motto “In God We Trust” on the County Courthouse in Clinton, and Commissioner Whitey Hitchcock, who has voted against the proposals.

They’ve already approved a proposal to put “In God We Trust” on the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton, and county commissioners this evening will consider a committee’s recommendation to install the national motto on black metal signs above the courthouse’s four entrances.

The Anderson County Operations Committee endorsed the signs in a 5-3 vote last week. They would have white lettering that says “In God We Trust,” and they are expected to cost $500 or less.

The County Commission agreed to put the motto on the courthouse in a 12-4 vote last month, but members asked the Operations Committee and Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager to review legal, liability, and design issues. The committee has now referred the specific sign proposal back to the full commission.

[Read more…]

Clinton Council again considers appointing school board member

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Clinton City Council will meet this afternoon at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Among the items on the agenda will be a second try at appointing a new school board member to replace R.C. Hutchins. Last month, Council voted to have the city attorney determine if there would be a conflict of interest if Curtis Isabell were to be appointed to the seat vacated by Hutchins’ retirement.

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Kayaks, bikes could be rented at Oak Ridge Marina

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Melton Lake Park Marina Dock

An Oliver Springs company could replace an existing dock at the Oak Ridge Marina with a kayak dock under a five-year lease that could follow a pilot program. (Submitted photo)

An Oliver Springs company could rent kayaks and bicycles to the public at Melton Lake Park under a contract to be considered by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday.

Adventures Outdoors would use temporary space on Houseboat Row at Melton Lake Park as well as the bar area in the former New China Palace restaurant to rent and store the recreational equipment as part of a pilot program that could lead to a lease agreement.

It’s the next step in implementing a waterfront development plan approved by Oak Ridge City Council in December 2009, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Director Josh Collins said in a memo to City Manager Mark S. Watson. That plan included key features such as a new picnic pavilion, walking trails, new playground, permanent restrooms, enhanced lighting and landscaping, outdoor casual dining, and recreational equipment rental.

[Read more…]

Flashing pedestrian signs could be installed at three crosswalks on Melton Lake Drive

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Melton Lake Drive Pedestrian Warning Signs

New solar-powered pedestrian warning signs could be installed at three crosswalks on Melton Lake Drive under a contract to be considered by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday. (Submitted photo)

Solar-powered pedestrian warning signs and new pavement markings could be installed at three crosswalks on Melton Lake Drive.

The crosswalk improvements are proposed at Amanda Drive, Emory Valley Road, and Rivers Run. They will be considered by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday night.

The Oak Ridge city staff has recommended awarding a roughly $38,000 contract to First Place Finish of Oak Ridge for the crosswalk work, which could start in April and be completed in four to six weeks. The bid was the lowest of four received, City Engineer Steven R. Byrd said in a memo to City Manager Mark S. Watson.

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Anderson not included in latest judicial redistricting, but legislative session not over

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

The most recent proposal to redraw judicial districts in Tennessee did not include Anderson County, but the battle isn’t over yet, an official said Wednesday.

Roane County also would not be affected under the proposal, announced Monday by Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, a Blountville Republican. The proposal could affect 22 of the state’s 95 counties, said Dave Clark, Anderson County district attorney general.

Still, there is a month or more left in the legislative session in the Tennessee General Assembly in Nashville, and the proposals—there are more than a dozen—are subject to amendment, Clark said during a Wednesday morning presentation to the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club.

[Read more…]

After large disturbance, ORPD warns restaurant to avoid over-serving alcohol

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One month after a large reported disturbance, the city’s deputy police chief told the owners of a popular restaurant and bar in central Oak Ridge that they need to monitor customers who are drinking and not serve people who have consumed too much alcohol.

The warning to the owners of Lincoln’s Sports Grille came during a Monday meeting of the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board.

That board had called a show cause hearing for Lincoln’s, which is on South Illinois Avenue, after a Feb. 10 fight that reportedly started as an argument between two men over a woman and escalated into a large disturbance that required an entire shift of police officers to respond.

[Read more…]