Oak Ridge Today

Phillip Thomas Cole

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Phillip Thomas Cole

Phillip Thomas Cole

Phillip Thomas Cole, was born Sept. 18, 1964, in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

On Jan. 28, he passed away in a fire at his home in Oak Ridge. He had been a resident of Oak Ridge since 1965.

Phillip was the son of Gordon and Sonya Cole of Oak Ridge.

He attended Oak Ridge schools from kindergarten through graduation in 1983. After graduation, he attended Somerset Technical Vocational School in Somerset, Ky., and earned a degree in aircraft maintenance. He then worked with Eastern Metro Airline in Chattanooga. After Eastern closed, he came back to Oak Ridge and joined his mother (Sonya Cole) and grandparents (Ann and Tom Hart) in operating the family business, HARCO Enterprises, for about 15 years, where he was production manager.

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Radio Systems Corp. donates $100,000 to help build Oak Ridge dog park

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Oak Ridge Dog Park Layout Draft

Oak Ridge Dog Park Layout Draft (Image submitted by city staff)

Radio Systems Corp. has agreed to give Oak Ridge $100,000 through Legacy Parks to help build a dog park, a Friday afternoon press release said.

“At Radio Systems, we are always looking for ways we can give back to our community,” said Randy Boyd, founder and chief executive officer of Radio Systems Corp., maker of the PetSafe Brand. “We’ve seen the incredibly positive impact dog parks have made on communities, and we are excited to continue this effort in East Tennessee. We know Oak Ridgers and their dogs will enjoy a PetSafe dog park.”

The press release said PetSafe will partner with Oak Ridge to build the dog park within Big Turtle Park on the west end of the city.

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Anderson County school security good, improving

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Information from WYSH Radio

During a joint workshop between the Anderson County Commission and the Anderson County School Board on Thursday, schools’ security director Joe Fogerty outlined security measures already in place across the system and discussed future plans for school security.

Fogerty told a large crowd in the Clinton Middle School auditorium that there are currently eight uniformed, armed school resource officers and a DARE officer patrolling the county’s two high schools, four middle schools and alternative school, and those officers are available to answer calls at the nearby elementary schools. Fogerty also said that there are currently 259 surveillance cameras in nine of the county schools and that similar cameras are being installed on school buses.

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TDOT employee resigns after crash, DUI arrest in Oak Ridge

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A Tennessee Department of Transportation employee who worked in Oak Ridge resigned Thursday after he was charged with driving under the influence following a police investigation of a crash at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Louisiana Avenue on Friday, Feb. 1, officials said.

Police said William Hays Halbert, 56, of Knoxville, had been driving a state-owned 2010 Ford F150 pickup truck, but he had slurred speech and bloodshot, watery eyes, according to an affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. Halbert smelled like alcohol and appeared to be confused, and he had a hard time following directions, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Garrett L. Robbins wrote in the affidavit.

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Council considers first phase of $1 million Jackson Square redevelopment

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Jackson Square Revitalization

A concept plan by Benefield Richters of Knoxville for the $1 million revitalization of historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge City Council members on Monday will consider awarding a $150,000 contract to a company that could help in the first phase of a $1 million project to redevelop Jackson Square, the city’s original town center.

The contract for design services could be awarded to Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineering Inc. of Knoxville. V&M could help with services ranging from deed research and field surveys to preliminary plans and construction estimates.

The work is part of a project funded with help from a Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant that was announced by Gov. Bill Haslam in Jackson Square in June 2012.

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Few months after fire, Magic Wok passes city inspections, needs one from county

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Oak Ridge Fire Department at Magic Wok

Damaged by smoke in November, the Magic Wok restaurant, which has been closed for several months, has passed all city inspections but still needs one from the county.

Several months after it was damaged by smoke, the Magic Wok restaurant has passed all city inspections, and the diner now needs an inspection from the Anderson County Health Department, Oak Ridge Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said Thursday.

The landmark Oak Ridge diner on Tyler Road passed a fire inspection Thursday morning, Waldo said.

The Magic Wok has been closed since  it was damaged by smoke in November after food was left cooking on a stove unattended. Firefighters didn’t see any flames that night, but they found smoke and high temperatures.

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No injuries, exposures in Oliver Springs sulfur dioxide leak

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Oliver Springs Sulfur Dioxide Leak

Howie Rose, director of the Roane County Office of Emergency Services, pictured at right front, briefs firefighters responding to a sulfur dioxide leak at the Oliver Springs Waste Water Treatment Plant on Joel Road on Wednesday morning. (Photos by Tom Scott)

No one was injured or exposed to sulfur dioxide in a leak at the Oliver Springs wastewater treatment plant on Wednesday, but a small group of nearby residents were asked to stay in their homes as a precaution, City Manager Tina Treece said.

The small leak from a system connected to a 150-pound cylinder of sulfur dioxide was discovered by workers who heard an alarm when they arrived at the plant on Joel Road at about 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Treece said there was no odor in the air and it turned out that the leak posed no danger, but officials wanted to make sure conditions were safe for residents and workers.

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Firefighters, animal control officers rescue horse stuck in trailer

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Oak Ridge Animal Control Officers Rescue Horse

Oak Ridge firefighters and police and animal control officers rescue a horse stuck in a trailer near Oak Ridge Turnpike and Louisiana Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. Pictured above helping the horse out of the trailer is Oak Ridge Animal Control Officer Randy Proffitt.

Oak Ridge firefighters and animal control officers rescued a horse stuck in a trailer with its hoof above its head near Oak Ridge Turnpike and Louisiana Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.

The horse was being hauled from Anderson County to Second Chance Youth Ranch in Sweetwater when it apparently put at least one hoof up on a hay loft inside the trailer and then broke through the loft, getting stuck, with its hoof stuck in the hole.

Mary Braswell was driving near the trailer at about 2:24 p.m. Wednesday. At first, she and her passenger Megan Baker thought the horse, which was moving around, was a colt because it looked small.

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Police chief tackles one of two men fleeing in vehicle, on foot

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

A police pursuit of a speeding SUV through Scarboro on Monday ended when Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi tackled one of two men who ran from the vehicle, and backup officers apprehended the second, court records said.

In affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Akagi said he was in an unmarked police car turning left onto Tulsa Road from Tusculum Drive at about 5:10 p.m. Monday when he heard screeching tires and saw a Ford Explorer approaching him from behind at high speed.

The chief said he quickly turned left onto Tulsa Road and pulled to the right to avoid being struck. The Explorer did not stop and swerved right onto Tulsa Road, Akagi said in the affidavits.

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UPF project director featured at Anderson County Chamber luncheon

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John Eschenberg

John Eschenberg

John Eschenberg, federal project director for the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, will be the featured speaker at the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce’s annual business luncheon this month.

Eschenberg will provide information on the UPF project and its impact on the East Tennessee economy and the nation’s nuclear security, a press release said. The UPF could cost between $4.2 and $6.5 billion.

The luncheon starts at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 22, at the First Baptist Church Family Life Center in Clinton.

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Small business conference on how to benefit from $6.5 billion UPF

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A conference at the end of February will give small businesses a chance to learn how to benefit from the planned $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The 2013 Construction Opportunities Conference is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 28 at the New Hope Center at Y-12. It’s offered by the Tennessee Small Business Development Center and partners.

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Woman not injured, but vehicle submerged after she slides into Clinch River

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Melton Lake Drive Submerged Car

The area where a Clinton woman appears to have slid off snowy, icy Melton Lake Drive into the Clinch River on Saturday morning.

A Clinton woman escaped injury when her car slid off snowy, icy Melton Lake Drive into the Clinch River on Saturday morning, but her 2002 Nissan Pathfinder remains underwater, possibly to be pulled out of the lake later, authorities said.

Debby Hillman, 55, of Clinton was southbound on Melton Lake Drive just after 11 a.m. Saturday when she lost control of her vehicle as she tried to slow down in a curve, shifting down into second gear, an Oak Ridge Police Department crash report said. Her Pathfinder slid across the northbound lane of Melton Lake Drive and into the river north of Emory Valley Road and Melton Lake Park.

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