Oak Ridge Today

Downtown Hardware closing in March

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Roger Clary and Ann Clary Bratton, co-owners of Downtown Hardware Company, pose with photos from the store’s 64-year history and hold a photo of Clary family members who have worked at the store over the years. Downtown Hardware is closing in March so the Clarys can retire. A store liquidation sale is going on beginning Jan. 10, 2020. (Submitted photo)

Downtown Hardware is closing in March, after more than 64 years of being in business in Oak Ridge.

Downtown Hardware was one of the first businesses to set up in the “Downtown Shopping Center” built in 1955 in what is now Main Street Oak Ridge.

“We were located on Wilson Street in the bottom floor of the building that now houses the American Museum of Science and Energy,” a press release said.

Today, Downtown Hardware is located at 298 South Illinois Avenue, facing Tuskegee Avenue in Oak Ridge.

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For members: Man sentenced to 20 years for shooting that injured two

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigates a shooting at 3008 Clinton Highway, at the intersection of Clinton Highway and Lonesome Dove Road, on Saturday evening, Jan. 13, 2018. Two people were reported to have non-life threatening injuries. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man received a 20-year prison sentence when he pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of attempted first-degree murder after a shooting that injured two people during an argument in a Clinton Highway home about two years ago.

Jacob Lynn Rutherford, 25, entered the plea agreement in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Tuesday morning.

 
Claxton-Shooting-Jan-13-2018

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigates a shooting at 3008 Clinton Highway, at the intersection of Clinton Highway and Lonesome Dove Road in Claxton, on Saturday evening, Jan. 13, 2018. Two people were reported to have non-life threatening injuries. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man received a 20-year prison sentence when he pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of attempted first-degree murder after a shooting that injured two people during an argument in a Clinton Highway home about two years ago.

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Proposed power lines at Horizon Center to be discussed Tuesday

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Virginia Dale
Virginia Dale

The power lines proposed at Horizon Center will be discussed during a Tuesday lunch in Oak Ridge.

The project, advocated by Oak Ridge officials for industrial development, has raised concerns among environmentalists and people who use the city’s greenways.

The guest speaker at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, January 7, will be Virginia Dale. Dale is a corporate fellow emeritus with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where she worked in the Environmental Sciences Division. She is currently a researcher in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of Tennessee, a press release said. Dale has been the author of 11 books and more than 250 published articles.

Her presentation on Tuesday will focus on the city’s recent action to seek authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy to build an electric transmission line along the DOE patrol road on the boundary between the Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement and the Horizon Center industrial park, or by cutting through other “natural areas,” the press release said. These “natural areas” are identified in mitigation conditions required for a federal finding of no significant impact, which allowed the subsequent development of the Horizon Center, the press release said.

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United Grocery Outlet closing Jan. 18

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United Grocery Outlet on Oak Ridge Turnpike in west Oak Ridge is closing Jan. 18, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

United Grocery Outlet in west Oak Ridge is closing January 18.

“We are unable to provide our customers with the options we have at our other locations, and we are unable to sustain in our current environment,” the store said in a sign posted on its front door.

New hours went into effect today (Monday, January 6): Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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For members: Man sentenced to more than 12 years on federal meth conspiracy charge

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Samuel McCoy Wade

An Oak Ridge man was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal charge of conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Samuel Wade agreed to plead guilty in April, and he was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Knoxville in August.

 

Samuel McCoy Wade

 

An Oak Ridge man was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal charge of conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

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Bob and Carol Smallridge, Colin Anderson, others to be honored by Oak Ridge Chamber

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will honor area business leaders and businesses at its first An ExtraORdinary Evening Installation and Awards Dinner this week.

It is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., Friday, January 10, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. The cocktail hour will begin at 6 p.m.

Bob and Carol Smallridge and Colin Anderson will be presented with the Chamber’s most prestigious awards at the event, a press release said.

Bob and Carol Smallridge will be the recipients of the Eugene L. Joyce Lifetime Achievement Award.

“The award is given to recognize and celebrate individuals who have truly distinguished themselves and embody the essential values of volunteerism, community service, and dedication to the economic vitality of our community,” the press release said. “It is the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s preeminent award given to honor the memory of the late Eugene L. Joyce.” [Read more…]

Meth, conspiracy charges dismissed after warrantless search

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William Michael Renfro
William Michael Renfro

Citing a warrantless search, an Anderson County judge has dismissed drug and conspiracy charges in a case where police allegedly found 45.1 grams of methamphetamine in a backpack in an Oak Ridge motel room in May.

“I hate to dismiss serious charges,” said Roger Miller, judge of the Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. But, he added, “I don’t think the proof would hold up.”

Suggesting that a search warrant should have been obtained, Miller said he is accessible and signs many search warrants.

The two people charged in the case had been William Michael Renfro, 18, of Oak Ridge, and Carlie Alise Wisman, 22, also of Oak Ridge.

Renfro had been charged with manufacturing, selling, delivering, or possessing a schedule II controlled substance (the 45.1 grams of meth), a Class A felony; criminal conspiracy, a Class B felony; manufacturing, selling, delivering, or possessing a schedule IV controlled substance (9.5 grams of marijuana), a Class D felony; and possession of a firearm (a Ruger Security Six .357 revolver with six rounds) during the commission of or attempt to commit a dangerous felony, a Class D felony.

All four of those charges were dismissed after a preliminary hearing for Renfro in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Thursday, December 12. During a preliminary hearing, a judge can hear from witnesses, victims, and police officers, and determine whether there is probable cause to send the charges to the Anderson County Grand Jury.

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Glenwood, JMS, RMS receive STEM grants

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Three Oak Ridge schools—Glenwood Elementary, Jefferson Middle, and Robertsville Middle—recently learned they had been awarded grants for projects involving science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM. The grants were for $5,000 and $10,000.

Glenwood Elementary School received a grant for $5,000 to fund a project titled, “Engineering a Brighter Future.” That’s a hands-on initiative to engage students in STEM-based learning focused on careers of the future.

This competitive grant came from a program sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority that provides teachers an opportunity to apply for funding up to $5,000. Preference was given to grant applications that explored TVA’s primary areas of focus: environment, energy, economic and career development, and community problem solving.

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Updated junked vehicle ordinance takes effect in 2020

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The City of Oak Ridge recently updated junked vehicle ordinances and has scheduled implementation in 2020.

There will be a grace period in January and February to inform residents of the ordinance changes, a press release said. Written warnings will be provided during the grace period—before violation notices are issued—until March 1, 2020. After that, written warnings will no longer be given prior to a violation notice, the press release said.

“The changes to this ordinance now provide greater clarity for property owners and city staff regarding what constitutes an unlawful vehicle,” the press release said. “Additionally, the changes will help reduce blighted conditions, improve quality of life in the neighborhoods, and enhance effective enforcement by city departments.”

Under the updated ordinance, vehicles declared as junked, abandoned, inoperable, or a public nuisance will be removed from public or private property if not addressed by the owner in an allotted amount of time, the press release said. Removal by the city, if necessary, will be at the owner’s expense, the release said.

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New federal designation means more law enforcement funding, full-time ATF agent

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Anderson-County-High-Intensity-Drug-Trafficking-Area-Press-Conference-Dec-17-2019
A new federal designation for Anderson County will mean more federal funding for the county’s drug and violent crime task force and a full-time agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new federal designation for Anderson County will mean more federal funding for the county’s drug and violent crime task force and a full-time agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Anderson County is now a high-intensity drug trafficking area, or HIDTA. That designation came from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. It occurred in September and will go into effect January 1.

As part of a two-part announcement this month, law enforcement officials said the White House also selected the county’s task force, the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, as an Appalachia HIDTA, or AHIDTA. It’s the only locally led drug task force in Tennessee, according to Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. The county’s Crime Task Force, or CTF, is led by Director Simon Byrne.

“No other drug task force in Tennessee has been awarded an AHIDTA grant,” Clark said. “I am very proud of our leadership team for thinking outside of the box and in looking for smart ways to make our communities safer as well as be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. We are more excited than we can convey, but in short believe that this development has the potential to be transformative as to what we are able to do in Anderson County to protect and serve our communities.”

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NRC will issue early site permit for TVA Clinch River site

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TVA Clinch River Site
The Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge is pictured above. The road running from bottom to top on the right (east) side of the Clinch River connects to Bear Creek Road in southwest Oak Ridge. Highway 58 is off to the top left of the photo and the Heritage Center is to the north. (Photo courtesy TVA)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Tuesday that it will issue an early site permit to the Tennessee Valley Authority for the Clinch River site in west Oak Ridge, where small modular nuclear reactors could eventually be built.

The early site permit closes several site-related issues, including many related to environmental impacts, for small modular reactors at the site, the NRC said in a press release Tuesday.

The Commission authorized the agency’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to issue the permit following a hearing on August 14. The Commission found the staff’s review of TVA’s application to be adequate to make the necessary regulatory safety and environmental findings, the press release said.

The early site permit, which will be valid for up to 20 years, is expected to be issued in the next few days.

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ETEC honors winners of Muddy Boot Awards, Postma Young Professional Medal

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Harold Conner Jr.
Harold Conner Jr.

The East Tennessee Economic Council honored four winners of the Muddy Boot Award and one recipient of the Postma Young Professional Medal during its annual awards luncheon this month.

The four Muddy Boot Award recipients have long résumés of service in East Tennessee, ETEC said. They are Harold Conner Jr., Edwena Crowe, Lee Riedinger, and Lamar Alexander.

Conner and Crowe have served in “just about every capacity one can in the community and the Oak Ridge Department of Energy Complex,” ETEC said, while Riedinger is recently retired as director of the University of Tennessee’s Bredesen Center. The three were named 2019 Muddy Boot Award winners.

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