Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith will speak to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday.
The meeting will be virtual, conducted online, because of COVID-19. It is scheduled to start at noon Tuesday, January 19.
Smith has served with the Oak Ridge Police Department since 2012. He served as a lieutenant for two years before being promoted to captain and then deputy chief, a press release said. He was appointed ORPD chief in October 2018.
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A celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday morning will feature Garfield Adams, Oak Ridge High School principal.
It’s the 33rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Program, and it’s titled “The Community Speaks.” The theme for this year’s program is “A Change Has Come.”
The program is virtual, and it will be on Zoom Webinar. The program will feature a past first-place winner of the NAACP Essay Contest, a press release said.
[Read more…]The U.S. Department of Energy is starting a series of controlled burns of grassland areas on the Oak Ridge Reservation this week.
The controlled burns could continue through mid-April, depending upon weather. The burns will be on the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Three Bend Area off Pump House and Bull Bluff Roads, and other managed grassland areas off Bethel Valley Road and off Highway 58, a press release said.
The controlled burns will take place at:
[Read more…]Oak Ridge officials continue to ask residents to conduct municipal business over the phone and by phone when possible because of COVID-19.
On Wednesday, the City of Oak Ridge released an update about city facilities as the world continues to be affected by the pandemic.
The city said it is supporting the Tennessee Pledge of the state government. You can refer to State of Tennessee websites for updates and advice on precautions to be taken by particular businesses, a press release said.
City facilities will continue to be operated as below as precautions and security matters are considered for the safety of employees, and social distancing for customers, the press release said. Visitors may receive a temperature scan and be asked about their current health, the press release said. You can call the city manager’s office or department offices on the city’s website for more information.
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An Oak Ridge man has been charged with a second robbery, this one of a gas station in Claxton.
Partridge, 43, had already been charged by the Oak Ridge Police Department this month with the robbery of J&C Market on East Tennessee Avenue in Oak Ridge.
Now, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office has charged him with aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and theft in the December 29 robbery of the Marathon gas station on Edgemoor Road in Claxton, a press release said. The felony warrants were obtained by Sheriff’s Office detective Josh Cardwell. Partridge reportedly brandished a firearm and demanded the Marathon employee empty the cash register, the press release said. He fled the scene with cash before deputies arrived, the release said. The Marathon employee was able to provide a physical description and a video recording showing the incident, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
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The City of Oak Ridge has appointed Senior Staff Attorney Tammy Dunn as the next city attorney.
Dunn assumes her new position this week, when current City Attorney Kenneth Krushenski retires, a press release said. Dunn, a native Oak Ridger, has been with the city’s Legal Department for more than 20 years, beginning when she was still in law school, the press release said.
“Technically, I worked for the city even earlier than that,” Dunn said in the press release. “I worked at the Oak Ridge Public Library Children’s Room during my break between undergrad and law school.”
She worked as a law clerk in the Legal Department for two years before stepping in as acting staff attorney for six months before officially transitioning to staff attorney, a role she filled for two more years, the press release said.
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David Mason
David Lane Mason, 79, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, passed away on Monday January 4, 2021, from COVID-19 complications at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. David was a nuclear physicist and community advocate for over 50 years.
Dave was born on August 18, 1941, to David Franklin and Mildred Lane Mason in Madison, Tennessee. He grew up in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he met his future wife, Judy, when they both attended Clarksville High School. Dave was the first person in his family to go to college, and he attended Austin Peay State University for a bachelor of arts in physics and mathematics. During this time, he was a summer student at Oak Ridge National Laboratory through the Oak Ridge Institute for Nuclear Studies program. After graduation from APSU and his marriage to Judy in 1962, Dave went on to graduate school at the University of Florida, where he received a doctorate in nuclear physics. He completed his dissertation research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]
A new class in piloting small unmanned aircraft, better known as drones, will take flight this spring at Roane State Community College.
The three credit-hour class – AERO 1030 W01 – will prepare students to take the Federal Aviation Administration’s Part 107 Remote Pilot Aeronautical Knowledge test to obtain FAA certification, a press release said.
Matt Waters, associate professor of mass communications, is the instructor for the 15-week class, which will be offered completely online, the press release said.
[Read more…]Public encouraged to use online options
The Oak Ridge offices of the Anderson County Clerk and Trustee will be temporarily closed to in-person transactions starting Monday for construction to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Anderson County Clerk’s and Trustee’s main offices in Clinton and Andersonville are not affected by this temporary closure to the public, a press release said. The
offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
While the Oak Ridge offices will be closed to in-person service, employees will still be available to serve customers at the drive-through location in Oak Ridge, the press release said. It’s located at 728c Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge. It will be open
for renewals only from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. In addition, residents can drop off title work and park in a space to wait while the paperwork is processed and returned to them, the press release said. The Trustee’s Office staff will continue to collect property tax payments at the Oak Ridge drive-through and accept calls to make appointments for the tax relief and freeze program, the press release said.
The Oak Ridge City Council will meet electronically on Monday, rather than in-person, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Monday.
Council members will be able to participate by video and audio conferencing. It will be streamed online on the city’s website and broadcast on Comcast Channel 12.
The city asked residents to watch the meeting online or on television because of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s executive orders that limit public gatherings to help prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
“Meeting electronically and limiting in-person access to the meeting is necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare in light of COVID-19,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.
[Read more…]An Oak Ridge man was arrested Sunday night after allegedly robbing the J & C Market on East Tennessee Avenue, police said.
Tyrone N. Partridge, 43, reportedly displayed a handgun and demanded the contents of the register at the market at around 9 p.m. Sunday, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. An initial investigation showed that, during the robbery, Partridge pushed the clerk to the ground and fled the store on foot, police said.
Oak Ridge Police Department officers interviewed the clerk and canvassed the neighborhood before receiving a tip from a citizen about a suspicious vehicle nearby, the press release said. A man matching the description of the robbery suspect, later identified as Partridge, was contacted inside and then fled on foot, the press release said.
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Ashley Golden
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education promoted Ashley Golden to director of its health studies program, where she previously served as a group manager and biostatistician.
In her new role, Golden will oversee the health studies program, including organizational strategy and implementation along with the day-to-day operations, a press release said. She also will serve as a subject matter expert for epidemiologic investigations, biostatistical analyses, and interdisciplinary projects in the areas of occupational health, radiation exposure and dosimetry, medical surveillance, public health, and survey analyses.
“We are thrilled for Ashley to take on this new role because of her extensive knowledge and experience in health research, especially in biostatistics,” said Jim Vosburg, director of ORISE. “She has proven herself as a natural leader, and we can’t wait to see how she will continue to energize our health studies program.” [Read more…]
