Oak Ridge Today

Community band performance, veterans ceremony Monday

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Oak Ridge Community Band

The Oak Ridge Community Band will perform at 7 p.m. Monday at the A.K. Bissell Park Pavilion. (Submitted photo)

Two local Memorial Day ceremonies will pay tribute to U.S. military personnel.

The first ceremony will be held at the Veterans Memorial in front of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton at 10 a.m. Monday. Tennessee Sen. Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, will be the guest speaker.

The second ceremony will feature the Oak Ridge Community Band in a free performance at 7 p.m. Monday at A.K. Bissell Park.

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Ace Hardware open on Oak Ridge Turnpike

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Fox Brothers Ace Hardware

Terry Fox, part owner of Fox Brothers Ace Hardware, greets customers with cashier Tiffany Poston near the front door of the new store, which opened May 15. In the background, from center, are sales associate Tommy Lee, part owner Bruce Fox, and customer Warren Gooch.

Fox Brothers Ace Hardware is now open on Oak Ridge Turnpike, and the new store sells a mix of hardware, paint, tools, animal feed, electrical and plumbing supplies, and lawn and garden gear.

The 7,000-square-foot store is located in the east building at the former Paul Benton Buick and GMC.

“We’re excited, and we think it has a lot of potential,” said Bruce Fox, one of the new store’s four owners. The other three owners are his wife, Mary Jane Fox, and two brothers, Terry Fox and Todd Fox.

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ETTP waste processor files for bankruptcy

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IMPACT Services Inc., a company that processes low-level radioactive waste in west Oak Ridge, has filed for bankruptcy, Tennessee officials said Friday morning.

The company has about one million pounds of waste at East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site. State officials said workers are at the site to ensure the materials are safe.

“It should be reiterated that the material at the facility is secure and a radiation safety officer remains onsite,” said Meg Lockhart, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

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Sheriff’s supporters want more money, wheel tax

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Anderson County Budget Hearing

Citing the quick response time to a recent shooting, Anderson County Sheriff's Department Lt. Kenny Sharp objects to a proposal to reduce the number of take-home vehicles during a budget hearing Thursday.

CLINTON—Anderson County Sheriff’s Department employees and their supporters made impassioned pleas Thursday for more money to hire jailers, avoid service cuts, and cover higher operating costs.

They also objected to a proposal to cut the number of take-home vehicles for employees. Several said they would support a wheel tax to raise money for the Sheriff’s Department and other critical county services.

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School budget cuts jobs, restores reading specialists

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School Board Budget Meeting

Oak Ridge Board of Education members approve a budget Thursday. From left are board member Dan DiGregorio, Parliamentarian Jenny Richter, Chair Keys Fillauer, Treasurer Angi Agle, and Vice Chair Bob Eby.

The five-member Oak Ridge Board of Education unanimously approved a balanced budget Thursday that cuts some staff positions but restores reading specialists.

The staff reductions include a technology technician, maintenance staff member, district-wide custodian, the full-time equivalent of 6.5 teaching assistants, and some teaching positions.

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New Roane State building has June 5 groundbreaking

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Roane State Community College Drawing

An artist's rendering shows the new Allied Health Sciences and Technology Building that will be built at Roane State's Oak Ridge campus.

Roane State Community College will have a June 5 groundbreaking ceremony for the new Allied Health Sciences and Technology Building at the Oak Ridge campus.

The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at the campus, which is located at 701 Briarcliff Ave.

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School board considers budget tonight

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider next year’s budget on second and final reading during a special meeting today.

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the School Administration Building on New York Avenue.

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Mother bear and cub last seen west of Y-12

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After almost two days of bear sightings in Oak Ridge, Y-12 National Security Complex workers reported Wednesday night that a mother black bear and cub were last seen before 7 p.m. on the west end of Bear Creek Road.

Earlier in the day, an employee reported that a bear was spotted on the north side of Y-12.

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Officials, bike riders celebrate Melton Lake Greenway extension

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Melton Lake Greenway Ceremony

Oak Ridge residents Christopher Van Hook, right, and Zoe Van Hook, center, ride on the new Melton Lake Greenway IV after a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday. Behind them are their parents Jennifer and Mark Van Hook and Mark's co-worker, Pete Xiques.

Planned for years, a 2.4-mile extension of the Melton Lake Greenway in Oak Ridge is complete, and local and state officials celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday.

The new greenway allows pedestrians, bicyclists, and runners to travel from a new parking lot at Solway Park East to the Edgemoor Road bridge over the Clinch River near the Bull Run Fossil Plant.

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Black bear passes through Oak Ridge

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Black Bear in Oak Ridge

A young black bear, about 15 months old and 150 pounds, gets ready to jump a fence in a yard on North Purdue Avenue.

A young black bear zigzagged through Oak Ridge Tuesday, hopping fences, crossing busy streets, and avoiding dogs and curious humans as it headed south.

Late Tuesday evening, officers from the Oak Ridge Police Department and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency tried to herd the elusive bear away from homes in the Woodland neighborhood, possibly south toward Melton Hill Lake and Y-12 National Security Complex.

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Report: Anderson County arrests have doubled since 2005

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Anderson County Sheriff's Department Report

The Anderson County Sheriff's Department has had modest staffing increases in the last decade or so and significant increases in arrests starting in 2007, particularly burglary and theft arrests. (Chart submitted by Sheriff's Department)

The number of arrests per year in Anderson County has more than doubled since 2005, according to a recent presentation by the Sheriff’s Department.

There have been significant increases in burglary and theft arrests, as well as arrests for drug crimes.

Total arrests have risen from roughly 1,100 or fewer in 2006 and earlier years to more than 2,000 per year from 2008 to 2010.

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TDEC ensures radioactive waste secure at shut-down company

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Tennessee officials have received reports that IMPACT Services Inc. has closed its waste processing operation at Heritage Center, and state workers are at the site this week to ensure the low-level radioactive materials are safe.

The company has about one million pounds of waste at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge, said Tisha Calabrese-Benton, director of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Office of External Affairs.

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