Oak Ridge Today

Railway museum still on track

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Wheat Train Depot

Nonprofit volunteers are scrambling to ensure they can use a state grant to build a railway museum next to the Wheat boarding station, pictured in center background, at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.

Plans for a railway museum in west Oak Ridge are still on track, volunteers said Monday.

It had recently appeared that the decade-old proposal could derail. During its Sept. 10 meeting, the Oak Ridge City Council agreed to give City Manager Mark Watson permission to send a letter to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, asking them to keep the $480,000 grant for the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.

But during a Monday night City Council meeting, Watson said he hasn’t sent the letter yet. And board members of the nonprofit SARM said they are working quickly, hoping to assure the city manager of the project’s long-term sustainability.

The board members said the museum’s size has been reduced to 3,600 square feet and its estimated cost has been lowered to less than $900,000. They’re working on a plan for interior displays at the museum, completed basic environmental permitting, and expect to meet a Nov. 1 state deadline.

“We’ve had a lot of fast peddling to do to get caught up to this point,” said Charlie Poling, SARM museum director.

SARM President Scott Lindsey said funding for the museum would include the $480,000 state grant, $120,000 raised by the museum, and $300,000 from the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, or CROET.

“We’ve made a lot of progress,” Lindsey said.

The museum would be built next to the current Wheat boarding station at K-25, now renamed the Heritage Center. That station is now used for SARM’s Secret City Scenic Excursion Train.

Although no city money would be involved in the museum project, Watson has warned that the municipal government is the grantee, so the financial obligations would ultimately be the city’s responsibility. SARM members said they have presented Watson with financial information on the project.

If the work proceeds, Poling said museum construction could start in the late winter or early spring, and Lindsey said it could take about nine months. Located on a few acres donated by CROET, the museum would include interior and exterior displays, office space, and a platform.

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed to apply for the TDOT grant in 2000.

Watson had earlier said SARM has many hurdles to overcome before Nov. 1, including major design revisions, a National Environmental Policy Act environmental clearance for the new site, identification of the right-of-way, and design review. On Monday, he said there has been a “lot of movement” in the past four weeks.

Geneva Francis (Coulson) Kopp

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Geneva Francis Kopp

Geneva Francis Kopp

Geneva Francis (Coulson) Kopp was born Feb. 14, 1917, and she died Oct. 21 at her home in Oak Ridge at the age of 95.

She is survived by her husband of 69 years, Wendell “Joe” Kopp; Janis Kopp, who resides at home, and Joyce Kopp Rehagen of Knoxville, along with her husband Harry Rehagen; grandchildren, Michael Rehagen, and Meredith Davis and husband Brandon Davis; and great-grandsons Aaron and Austin Rehagen. She is also survived by her brothers, Roger Coulson and wife Bette of Ames, Iowa, and Richard Coulson and wife Sandra of Lakewood, Colo.

Geneva received a bachelor’s degree in home economics at Iowa State University, teaching school at Gilbert and Lamont, Iowa, preceeding her marriage. She was then a full-time housewife and homemaker until her death.

She was an accomplished seamstress, artisan with crafts, and served many years of service with the United Methodist Churches of Lenox, Iowa, and Oak Ridge, along with 18 years of volunteer services for Contact Teleministries.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge for UMCOR .

Plans for a celebration of her life will be announced at a later date.

Edith Ellen Leon

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Edith Ellen Leon, 91, of Oak Ridge, passed away Thursday, Oct. 18, at Golden Living Center-Windwood in Clinton.

She was born June 15, 1921, in Rafter, Tenn., to William and Lou Wilcox Gourley, both now deceased.

She was of the Baptist faith and was a homemaker—an expert seamstress and a wonderful cook. Edith was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Besides her parents, she was also preceded in death by her husband, Fred G. Leon, on Dec. 26, 1991, as well as several brothers and sisters.

Survivors include her sons and their wives, Bill Leon and wife Sharon of Shelbyville, Tenn., Mike Leon and his wife Donna of Dallas, Texas, and Chris Leon and his wife Linda of Clinton.; grandchildren, Karen Leon, Misty Leon, Alison Leon, Camden Leon, Judy Leon Ortiz, Gary Leon, and Ashley Leon; great-grandchildren, Coady Perez, Areli Ortiz, Morai Bell, and Kaley Woods; and several other relatives and friends.

Graveside services were conducted Saturday, Oct. 20, at 1 p.m. at Anderson Memorial Gardens in Clinton with Brother Rick Miller and Mike Thompson officiating.

Council approves stoplight, rezonings for Kroger

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Kroger Marketplace Site

The northeast corner of the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue, where a 25-acre Kroger Marketplace shopping center has been proposed. The Oak Ridge City Council approved rezonings for the $30 million project on Monday.

In three 6-0 votes Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council approved a new stoplight on North Illinois Avenue for a new Kroger shopping center, approved rezonings for the project, and agreed to give up two neighborhood roads—Iris Circle and Robin Lane—to make way for the development.

The stoplight for the $30 million Kroger Marketplace shopping center would be at North Illinois Avenue and Ivanhoe Road. The 25-acre project will also need new entrances on Oak Ridge Turnpike and North Illinois Avenue. Those roads are state routes, so the stoplight and entrances will have to be approved by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The shopping center will replace a neighborhood of about 55 homes, two hotels, a restaurant, day care center, and church northeast of the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

Kroger Marketplace Site Plan

Kroger Marketplace Site Plan

In response to a question from a neighborhood resident, Paul Xhajanka, Kroger real estate manager in Atlanta, Ga., and Parker Hardy, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce president, said the developers had looked at other possible commercial locations in Oak Ridge, but weren’t able to make a deal work for several reasons, including property owners who didn’t want to sell and existing leases that hindered potential developments.

Xhajanka has said home demolition at the shopping center site could begin in February. The center would include 12,000 square feet of shop space and five outparcels, and it could open early in 2014.

Xhajanka has said it will be like Kroger stores in Farragut and at Cedar Bluff Road and Kingston Pike in Knoxville. The Oak Ridge store will include such stores as a bank, Fred Meyer jeweler, and Starbucks.

The new shopping center is expected to add about 250 jobs.

He said Kroger is leasing its current space and is trying to find a tenant to sublease it.

Council first approved project rezonings for the Kroger Marketplace during an Oct. 8 meeting.

Council approves tax break for Alexander Inn assisted living center

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Alexander Inn

The Oak Ridge City Council has approved a 90 percent, 10-year tax break for two development companies who want to convert the historic but rundown Alexander Inn into an assisted living center.

The Oak Ridge City Council has unanimously approved a 90 percent, 10-year tax break for a project to convert the rundown Alexander Inn into an assisted living center.

Officially known as a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, or PILOT, the tax break will be used to build a new road for cars that now drive through the three-acre site, move a storm sewer under the two-story building, and help remove asbestos, among other things.

The PILOT was endorsed in a 6-0 vote by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development board on Oct. 11. The proposal to reuse the historic hotel is also supported by members of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, which has lobbied to save the building for more than a decade.

Also known as The Guest House, the Alexander Inn has been unused for more than two decades. In recent years, it has fallen into disrepair, the victim of animals, vandals, and weather.

City code enforcement efforts against the property date back to 2005, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said during a Monday night City Council meeting.

Even with the temporary tax break, city officials said, Oak Ridge and Anderson County will continue to receive at least as much in property taxes as they do now, or about $3,900 per year each.

The project has been proposed by Family Pride Corp. of Loudon and InSite Development Corp. of Knoxville. Family Pride has said the project is not economically feasible without the tax break.

Construction of the $4.5 million, 60-unit assisted living center, which would include a wing for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia, could take roughly a year.

The Alexander Inn developers have said they are ready to immediately start remediation and rehabilitation work once Council approves the PILOT.

The Alexander Inn once hosted such dignitaries as physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi, and Secretary of War Henry Stimson.

Y-12 protesters release photos of July 28 intrusion

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The Fruit of Justice is Peace Slogan on HEUMF at Y-12

Three anti-nuclear weapons activists who sneaked into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28 splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. The protesters also hammered the building, chipping it, and strung up crime scene tape. (Submitted photo)

The three anti-nuclear weapons activists who allegedly cut through fences at the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28, evaded guards, and vandalized a high-security building where bomb-grade uranium is stored have released photographs showing the blood they splashed and slogans they spray-painted on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility.

The five photos also show holes cut in fences near the HEUMF, including one photo taken after the three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—had been arrested. In addition, they show red crime scene tape that was strung up by the three activists and a building corner that was chipped by the protesters, who hammered on the $549 million building to send a symbolic and literal message, “a rejection of nuclear weapons as a cornerstone of our national policy.”

The pictures were obtained by the protesters as part of the discovery stage in advance of a Feb. 26 trial in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. They were released to the media on Monday.

The trio face federal charges of property destruction, property depredation, and trespassing. They have pleaded not guilty and face potential penalties of up to 16 years in prison.

“These photographs carry with them our message,” said the three activists, who called their unprecedented intrusion Tranform Now Plowshares. “We came to Y-12 in a spirit of hope, not fear. We were authorized—even required—to act by the responsibilities placed on us as citizens. The Nuremberg principles, codified by the United Nations after World War II, require citizens to refuse cooperation with unlawful government acts insofar as it is morally possible. We also felt called, as children of God, to act on behalf of all God’s children, including and especially those who are threatened daily by the machines of war and the power of empire.”

Transform Now Plowshares at Y-12

The three protesters painted slogans and poured blood on a concrete wall at the edge of an area designed to detect intruders near the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

They called the production of nuclear weapons a crime against humanity. They said were protesting the continued production of nuclear weapons at Y-12, as well as plans to build a new Uranium Processing Facility, which they estimate could cost $7.5 billion. (Government officials generally say the building could cost up to $6.5 billion.)

The protesters said that spreading the blood of Plowshares members across the HEUMF was a reminder that the use of nuclear weapons will “result in bloodshed beyond calculation and deaths beyond counting.”

They said the pictures released Monday, which include slogans quoting biblical passages, speak for themselves but don’t tell the whole story. They said their story is more than a stunning tale of making it through an high-security zone at Y-12, a place where deadly force is authorized, although that’s where most of the public attention has been focused since July.

“The whole story includes why we went there and the message we took,” Boertje-Obed, Rice, and Walli said in a statement released Monday. “We carried with us a Bible, hammers, candles, bread, white roses, and blood. We attempted to embody the prophecy God gave to Isaiah, to beat swords into plowshares. We tried to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ, who calls us to find our true security in love and compassion.”

Car collision breaks utility pole, knocks out power

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Car Accident South Jefferson Circle

A driver reportedly suffered minor injuries and power was knocked out in an area of west Oak Ridge after a single-vehicle accident on South Jefferson Circle on Sunday. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A car hit a utility pole cable on South Jefferson Circle on Sunday night, breaking the pole and knocking out power to about 690 customers, a city official said Monday.

The customers who lost power after the 7:45 p.m. accident were located along Louisiana Avenue and its side streets, Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs said. He said temporary repairs were made, and power was fully restored at about 9:15 p.m.

Suggs said the car left the roadway—it wasn’t clear whether it had been on Oak Ridge Turnpike or South Jefferson Circle—and struck a guy wire that holds up a pole near Weatherford Mortuary. The pole broke and split down the middle.

“Emergency responders arrived at the scene and secured it until personnel from the power company could be called in and respond,” Suggs said.

The driver was reportedly taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center with what appeared to be minor injuries.

Car and Power Pole Accident

Oak Ridge firefighter David Gray responds to a single-vehicle accident between a car and a utility pole on South Jefferson Circle on Sunday night.

City workers used a utility truck to hold the pole in place through Sunday night.

Suggs said crews planned to replace the pole today. Suggs said he didn’t expect many outages, if any, while the pole is changed.

“Although the ever present possibility of a power outage becomes even greater when lines are being repaired, we anticipate that we will be able to notify all customers affected individually,” Suggs said.

Caryville man accused of hitting Walmart officer after theft

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A Caryville man is accused of punching a Walmart loss prevention officer in the throat and chest after he ran out the door of a Clinton store with a shopping cart loaded with merchandise, authorities said.

Allen Jason Hall, 30, of Caryville, allegedly loaded an empty shopping cart with $318 worth of battery merchandise at the Clinton Walmart on Wednesday, including a battery, two battery cores, and a battery charger, the store employee told Clinton Police Department Officer Lucian Godwin, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

Hall allegedly attempted to claim the items and return them, but he had no receipt, the affidavits said. He ran out the door with the cart, the loss prevention officer told Godwin.

The Walmart officer said she ran after Hall and grabbed the cart in the parking lot, but Hall struck her in the throat and chest with his fist, knocking her down to the pavement, the affidavits said. The officer was injured and taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Hall has been charged with robbery, theft, and assault. He remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility on Monday. His bond has been set at $100,000.

Oak Ridge Today testing new theme

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We are testing a new theme on Oak Ridge Today. You may notice significant changes to the website as we transition from the previous theme to a new one.

We’ve been reluctant to change. Readers had told us they liked our previous theme because it made good use of white space and was easy to read and navigate.

[Read more…]

East Tennessee ‘ghost seeker’ tells stories, shares evidence Saturday

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An East Tennessee “ghost seeker” will share ghost stories and reveal evidence he has collected from paranormal investigations during a Saturday afternoon talk at the Oak Ridge Public Library.

The speaker, Stephen Brown, is a member of East Tennessee Ghost Seekers, a group founded in 2009, and he has conducted about 300 residential and public investigations since 2001, a press release said.

The press release said East Tennessee Ghost Seekers has been selected to be part of a documentary for The Travel Channel on the Morse Mill Hotel in Morse Mill, Mo., and members have investigated many famous sites.

Saturday’s free talk starts at 4 p.m. in the Public Library Auditorium.

For more information, visit the Library’s main desk, call (865) 425-3455, or send an e-mail to CircLib@cortn.org.

To learn more about East Tennessee Ghost Seekers, visit www.eattnghostseekers.com.

Applications available for $20,000 in Altrusa, Rotary literacy grants

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Two community service clubs announced last week that they are now accepting applications for literacy grants awarded each year to schools in Oak Ridge and Anderson and Roane counties.

The two clubs—Altrusa International of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club—will award about $20,000 in grants, a press release said. The money comes from a March 2012 event that featured author Pamela Schoenewaldt.

Grant applications and award criteria may be found on the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club website or at the Oak Ridge Public Library. The money will be competitively awarded to organizations whose programs, projects, or activities foster literacy in the area, the press release said.

“Lack of literacy skills continues to be a serious problem in the lives of many of our East Tennessee neighbors and for many throughout the world,” the release said. “Non-readers and below-grade readers cannot realize their full potential in life, which in turn adversely affects our local, and national economies and society in general.”

The Altrusa and Rotary clubs co-sponsor an annual luncheon to raise money to help local organizations that work to raise literacy levels. The press release said the funds from this year’s literacy luncheon will be awarded based upon the following guidelines:

  • Successful applications will propose specific projects or activities that will foster literacy in the community.
  • While prior successful applicants are eligible to apply for continued support, all grants will be for one year. Each application will be reviewed on its own merits and subsequent funding is not guaranteed.
  • Funds for general operating support, capital campaigns, or endowments will not normally be funded, nor will grants be made to individuals or religious groups.
  • Grants will be made to community-based groups and organizations that are based in or have a local presence in the service area that includes Oak Ridge, Anderson, or Roane counties; serve people who live and/or work in the service area; and/or have volunteers, members or board members who live and/or work in the service area.
  • Applicant organization or groups must be operated and organized in such a way that they do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, national origin, or disabilities when they hire staff, let bids, or provide services.
  • Organizations that received funds from this grant program the previous year must submit a project summary and report of effectiveness to be eligible for current funds.

Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club Past President Brenda Thornburgh, chair of the literacy grant selection committee this year, said that projects will be funded primarily on the basis of their emphasis on programs that teach children or adults to read or that help them improve basic reading skills.

“Traditionally, the Altrusa/Rotary grant process supports the parts of programs that deal with reading materials, such as books and instruction materials, and not for staff support or the costs of developing a program,” Thornburgh said.

Altrusa Immediate Past President Janet Swift said the community has played a key role in making the Altrusa/Breakfast Rotary literacy grants possible through its support for the annual literacy luncheons.

“We have had a very strong response from area businesses and individuals in sponsorship of and attendance at this event in past years, and I would urge everyone to support the 2013 Literacy Luncheon so that we might continue making a real difference for literacy programs in our community,” Swift said.

Applications must be submitted by Nov. 9. For questions about the application process, contact Thornburgh at brendathornburgh@comcast.net or (865)742-9700.

Free community meal Friday at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

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The next Stone Soup Ministry free community meal is scheduled for Friday at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

The menu includes homemade bean soup, cornbread, and cookies. Dine-in or take-out will be available from 5 to 6 p.m., a press release said.

The Stone Soup Ministry name is derived from the Stone Soup Fable, an old medieval tale in which a hungry stranger came upon a small village.

“Having no food, he put water and a few stones in a large pot to boil,” the press release said. “The villagers, who were suffering from a meager harvest, each contribute a bit of food, a carrot, a potato, etc. In the end, the stranger and the villagers sit down to the meal together. In modern times the story is usually told as a lesson in cooperation.”

The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike (traffic light number 11).

The Stone Soup Ministry meal is held the last Friday of every month at the same time in the Social Hall of the Church. For more information about the Oct. 26 meal, call the ORUUC office at (865) 483-6761.