Oak Ridge Today

AC jail: To house federal prisoners or not?

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Anderson County Detention Facility Construction

At right, the main entrance of the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton is being remodeled as part of a roughly $10 million jail expansion project. A new 212-bed jail pod is in the background at left.

Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County Commissioner Dusty Irwin has proposed placing a non-binding referendum on the August ballot asking voters whether or not they want the county to house what have been described as low-risk state and federal prisoners awaiting trial in the soon-to-be-expanded county jail.

The proposal will be considered Thursday by the Anderson County Commission’s Legislative Committee and could be considered by the full Commission later this month. [Read more…]

Meth lab found in Lake City motel room

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Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County Sheriff’s deputies seeking to serve outstanding arrest warrants on a man located a meth lab inside a Lake City motel on Monday.

Deputies received information that Tommy Joe White was at the Blue Haven Motel on North Main Street in Lake City and arrived there at around 10:15 a.m. Deputies knocked on the door of room 109 and were given permission by a woman who answered the door to search the room. White was found hiding underneath the bed and taken into custody.

While he was being patted down, deputies reported finding drugs and drug paraphernalia on White. An active, one-pot meth lab was found hidden in a backpack between the room’s refrigerator and dresser. [Read more…]

Water line breaks in Oak Ridge, Clinton cause traffic detours

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Information from WYSH Radio

Water line breaks caused traffic detours in Oak Ridge and Clinton early Tuesday morning.

A water main break on West Outer Drive caused water to spill onto North Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge and freeze. The water was shut off, and crews worked to put down salt and sand on the roadway. Traffic was detoured around the area while crews worked to repair the line.

The early-morning water main break in Clinton shut down a portion of Main Street. Crews closed down the road between Weaver and Washington while they worked to repair the busted pipe.

Fire destroys Claxton home, two occupants uninjured

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Information from WYSH Radio

Two people escaped without injury early Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in their home in Claxton.

The fire was reported at a house in the 110 block of Tobby Hollow Lane at around 4 a.m., and Claxton firefighters responded to the scene. Two occupants of the house got out safely after their grown son, who lives next door, spotted the fire and alerted them.

Officials say the cold temperatures made it harder to extinguish the flames, adding that the home is a total loss.

Tobby Hollow Lane is off New Henderson Road across the Clinch River from Haw Ridge Park.

TVA power demand hits second-highest winter peak

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TVA Offices in Chattanooga

The Tennessee Valley Authority offices in Chattanooga are pictured above. (Photo courtesy TVA)

Power demand hit a peak of 32,460 megawatts at 9 a.m. Tuesday, the second-highest winter peak in Tennessee Valley Authority history.

The preliminary peak power demand occurred when the average temperature in the Tennessee Valley was a frigid 4 degrees, TVA said.

In a press release, the public utility said electricity use is now coming down. [Read more…]

TVA expects high electricity demand during cold wave

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TVA Offices in Chattanooga

The Tennessee Valley Authority offices in Chattanooga are pictured above. (Photo courtesy TVA)

The Tennessee Valley Authority expects plunging temperatures from an arctic cold wave moving across the region will produce high demand for electricity.

TVA’s bulk electric system remains secure and stable at this time, a press release said.

“TVA has been monitoring and carefully preparing for this blast of potentially record-cold weather since last week,” TVA Chief Operating Officer Chip Pardee said. “We have taken proactive measures so the system remains robust and reliable for our customers and power users across the Valley.” [Read more…]

English classes for speakers of other languages to start Wednesday

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English classes for speakers of other languages will be offered free of charge at Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge beginning Wednesday.

The classes will be held on Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m. A key orientation and assessment session is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7. It’s required and will place students at appropriate class levels, a press release said.

Grace Lutheran is participating in the classes as a member of the newly formed ESOL Community and Clinch Valley Collaborative, the release said. [Read more…]

Tuesday presentation by UT professor to focus on science, ethics, war

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Jeffrey Kovac

Jeffrey Kovac

A University of Tennessee professor will discuss science and war-related research during a Tuesday presentation in Oak Ridge. (Note: This presentation was canceled due to the weather and could be rescheduled later.)

Jeffrey Kovac, a UT chemistry professor and director of undergraduate studies, will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday.

“Science and the military have had a long and often mutually beneficial relationship, a relationship that is seldom questioned,” a press release said. “But because scientists are simultaneously professionals, citizens of a particular country, and human beings, sometimes with strong religious convictions, they are subject to conflicting moral and practical demands. In this presentation, Dr. Kovac will examine the question of whether scientists should engage in war-related research and, if so, under what circumstances.” [Read more…]

Business owner to speak to Altrusa Club on enduring value of antiques

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Angela Galen

Angela Galen

Angela Galen, owner of the Antique Market of Clinton, will be the guest speaker at the Altrusa Club luncheon meeting on Wednesday  at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge, and she will discuss how to keep antiques alive for future generations.

Galen will also play a lively round of “What in the world is it?” using some antiques she will bring along, a press release said. The audience will have the opportunity to speculate as to the intended function of the object.

Instrumental in organizing the Antique Merchants Guild of Clinton, Galen has held the office of president for a total of four years, and for the past three years has been one of the main organizers of the Clinch River Spring Antique Fair, which draws thousands of people to Anderson County each May, the release said. [Read more…]

Painter, archaeologist to discuss growing up in Oak Ridge, 1951-1976

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Nick Fielder

Nick Fielder

A painter and former state archeologist will discuss his experiences growing up in Oak Ridge from 1951 to 1976 during a Thursday evening meeting.

Nick Fielder served as the Tennessee State Archeologist from 1983 to 2008. His Thursday evening presentation to the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association is titled “Growing up radioactive in Oak Ridge: My adventures from 1951 to 1976. A slide-illustrated lecture by Nick Fielder.”

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Thursday at the American Museum of Science and Energy. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools have Monday press conference on Keys to College and Career Readiness

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers and his staff will have a Monday afternoon press conference on a program called the Keys to College and Career Readiness.

The press conference starts at 2 p.m. Monday in the Oak Ridge High School lobby. (Update: This press conference has been rescheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday due to the weather.)

“Improving the college and career readiness of all Oak Ridge students will provide for a better foundation of knowledge and skills, allowing them to be prepared for a more technologically sophisticated and internationally competitive working world,” a press release said.

The Keys to College and Career Readiness program was developed by interviewing and surveying Oak Ridge students, parents, staff, and community during a three-month period the release said. More than 1,400 responses were logged and shaped into the seven “keys.” The keys will be used to drive school and district initiatives for the coming years, the release said.

Hunt running for juvenile court judge

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Brian Hunt

Brian Hunt

Attorney Brian Hunt has announced that he is running for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge.

Hunt now serves as a judge advocate general at the rank of captain in the U.S. Army Reserves and has served as Lake City municipal judge since 2006, a press release said.

Hunt grew up in Clinton, attending Clinton Elementary School and Clinton Middle School, and he graduated from Clinton High School in 1996. He later received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2000 from The University of the South-Sewanee in Tennessee. He graduated from Ohio Northern University Law School in 2003 and began practicing law in 2003. [Read more…]