Oak Ridge Today

Most significant issue during snow last week was traffic jam on I-75

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Roads in Oak Ridge are becoming slipperier as snow continues to accumulate. Above, an Oak Ridge snow plow is pictured at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Administration Road on Wednesday morning, Jan. 20, 2016. Heavy snow continued to fall more than 1.5 hours later. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The most significant issue during the snow and winter weather last week was the closure of Interstate 75 in Campbell County, which caused a long traffic jam on Wednesday, January 20, authorities said.

Traffic was very light Friday evening when the snow started again as most everyone stayed home, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

“As an update on our weather-related calls, from Wednesday, January 20, through Sunday, January 24, we responded to 18 non-injury traffic crashes, two crashes with injury, 12 disabled or abandoned vehicles, and five calls where there were some traffic hazards,” Lucas said. “There were a number of cars in the ditch or that ran off the road where we did not respond due to weather conditions.” [Read more…]

Red Ribbon Rivalry this month, buy ribbon for substance abuse prevention

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ASAP Logo

The 2016 Red Ribbon Rivalry is this month. It’s sponsored by Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County, or ASAP.

This year, in Anderson County, ASAP is holding the Red Ribbon Rivalry during the month of January, culminating on Sunday, January 31. The main goal is to raise funds to prevent and reduce substance abuse here in Anderson County.

Local businesses are competing against each other by selling red ribbons for a $1 donation and displaying them in their businesses to show support for substance abuse prevention. The winning businesses and employees will receive recognition for their efforts as well as individual prizes for the top sales associates. Anderson County High School, Clinton High School, and Oak Ridge High School are also competing this year to see who will be the recipient of the Red Ribbon Rivalry trophy to be displayed at their school for the year. [Read more…]

New Public Works director hired in Oak Ridge

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Shira McWaters

Shira McWaters (From LinkedIn profile)

Shira McWaters, a civil engineer who is now an associate at a company in Arizona, has been hired as Public Works director in Oak Ridge.

McWaters will replace former Public Works Director Gary Cinder, who retired in September 2015.

The appointment was announced by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson.

McWaters will administer all Public Works activities for the city. The Public Works Department, with approximately 100 full-time employees, is responsible for the maintenance of city streets, all city-owned buildings, stormwater management, water treatment, distribution, and wastewater collections systems, and for the maintenance, service, and repair of all city automotive vehicles, heavy equipment, and stationary equipment.

The Department also prepares and administers the Solid Waste Collection contract and provides staff representation to the Traffic Safety Advisory Board. [Read more…]

Four Morgan Co. correction officers, one inmate indicted in TBI jail assault cases

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Denny Hughett

Denny Hughett

COOKEVILLE—In two separate cases, special agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have obtained indictments for a total of five people in connection to allegations of the mistreatment of inmates in the Morgan County Jail.

In the first case, which began November 24, 2015, at the request of Ninth District Attorney General Russell Johnson, TBI agents investigated an allegation of official misconduct by correction officers in the Morgan County Jail. The allegation, brought by an inmate’s family, accused officers of encouraging the assault of an inmate on November 21, 2015, in the presence of correction officers, who were also accused of not intervening in the incident.

On Monday, the Morgan County Grand Jury returned indictments, charging Correction Officer Denny Hughett, 31, of Wartburg, with two counts of official misconduct and one count of coercion of a witness. The Grand Jury also returned an indictment for an inmate, charging Samuel Jennings, 39, with one count of aggravated assault. [Read more…]

Mayor Frank seeks help setting up monthly breakfast for veterans

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Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, center, and the Ward brothers on their visit to the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives. Clinton resident William Ward, left, is a veteran of World War II and notably the Battle of Midway. (Submitted photo)

 

Work slowly progressing on a museum for veterans memorabilia, artifacts

Submitted

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank is seeking help from people interested in participating in a planning group to organize a free, monthly breakfast for all Anderson County veterans—from the cities to the rural areas. A meeting has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. February 2 in Room 118A at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. All interested citizens are invited to help develop plans. No military service background is required.

In 2014, Frank traveled with local World War II veteran William Ward and Anderson County’s Veteran Service Officer Leon Jaquet to visit the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives in Athens, Alabama. Frank, Ward, and Jaquet were given a tour by William Ward’s son and veteran, Billy Ward. Billy Ward serves on the Board of Directors for the Alabama Veterans Museum. Frank and Jaquet also met with organizers of the Alabama Museum, as well as the museum’s director Sandra Thompson. [Read more…]

Knoxville woman dies, Andersonville women injured in crash on Norris Freeway

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A Knoxville woman died and two Andersonville women were injured in a Tuesday morning crash on Norris Freeway at Pedigo Road in north Knox County, authorities said.

The woman who died has been identified as Nellie Gunter, 70, of Knoxville, according to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.

The KCSO said Gunter was driving north on Norris Freeway in a Nissan Versa when she lost control of her car due to the wet road and hit a Buick LeSabre, which was going south. Gunter died at the scene, authorities said.

The Buick was driven by Alice Overdyk, 67, of Andersonville. She and her passenger, Susan Moses, 58, also of Andersonville, were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by Rural Metro. [Read more…]

Reminder: Jan. 31 is the deadline for enrolling in health insurance for 2016 under ACA

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David Vudragovich

David Vudragovich

The deadline to sign up for a health insurance plan for 2016 under the Affordable Care Act is Sunday, January 31. Enrolling by then will provide a plan that starts on March 1.

If you do not enroll by January 31, the only way to enroll in coverage is if you have a special enrollment situation, such as a marriage, divorce, or birth of a child, or change jobs, etc.

Insurance agent David Vudragovich can help you with your health insurance needs. His office is located at 1970 Oak Ridge Highway (also known as Oak Ridge Turnpike and State Route 61), east of Elza Gate in Oak Ridge, at the first stop light in the county headed toward Clinton.

Vudragovich can help with health, life, and supplemental insurance; Medicare; and long-term care and retirement. [Read more…]

Affordable Care Act enrollment rescheduled for Wednesday

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A rescheduled Affordable Care Act enrollment event will be Wednesday.

The enrollment event has been rescheduled from Saturday, January 23, to Wednesday, January 27, because of the weather last week.

The enrollment event is still at the Oak Ridge Public Library, and it’s from 4-8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Library Auditorium. [Read more…]

Ribbon-cutting for Anderson County Animal Holding Facility on Friday

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The public is invited to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Anderson County Animal Holding Facility at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016. (Photo by Anderson County Animal Holding Facility via Facebook)

 

CLINTON—The public is invited to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Anderson County Animal Holding Facility at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, January 29.

The facility marks a major milestone and advancement in the care and welfare of animals in Anderson County and is part of a larger, long-term plan to build an independent, county-operated state-of-the-art facility, a press release said.

On hand to celebrate will be longtime former Anderson County Commissioner Robin Biloski, who will be travelling from Florida to participate in the special event.

“Our new Animal Holding Facility clearly shows how a government effectively worked to help its residents on a neglected quality-of-life issue,” Biloski said. “Anderson County has proudly demonstrated how numerous people can come together to create a reality that our citizens have wanted and needed for so long. This issue continues to be so important to me that I left sunny Florida to be part of this inaugural event and pledge to continue to work on this initiative. I hope to see many dear friends share in this joyous occasion.” [Read more…]

DA: Anderson County had biggest reduction in state in traffic fatalities in 2015

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Anderson County had the greatest reduction in traffic fatalities of any county in Tennessee in 2015, an official said Friday.

In 2014, there were 18 traffic fatalities in Anderson County, District Attorney General Dave Clark said. In 2015, that number dropped to seven, according to statistics maintained by the Tennessee Department of Safety.

“That difference of 11 fewer deaths in Anderson County was the greatest reduction of any Tennessee county,” Clark said.

“The traffic fatality improvements this past year represent 11 people who did not die on our roadways and 11 groups of friends and families who are not grieving this year,” Clark said. “We see the human cost of the deaths on our highways and the utter despair and shock of a family that has suddenly lost someone as the result of a traffic fatality. Therefore, I am particularly pleased with this accomplishment and what it has meant to our community. [Read more…]

Technology in our everyday lives the topic at Wednesday meeting

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“Technology for our Everyday Lives” will be the topic at an Altrusa meeting on Wednesday, January 27.

Speaker Dan Thompson, chief technical correspondent for WBIR-TV in Knoxville, will look at how technology can enhance our daily lives, but also how some “unwanteds” may have crept in, a press release said.

Thompson will discuss security for our online lives, as well as some ideas on how to communicate this to children. He’ll cover social media profiles, content filtering for our homes, and how to deal with those annoying phone calls from “Microsoft” insisting that something is wrong with your computer.

As a senior analyst for 451 Research, Thompson provides insight into the multi-tenant datacenter market space. He has spent 15 years as a practitioner in the information technology (IT) industry, the last 10 of which were spent at a top managed/cloud service provider, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge small business wins DOD chemical, biological defense contract

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Omega Consultants Incorporated has been awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Army’s Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense, or JPEO-CBD, under the Department of Defense.

There were 17 companies selected for this Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity, or IDIQ, contract consisting of 10 small business awards and seven large business awards. The contract ceiling is $900 million throughout the period of performance.

Omega was the only Tennessee business selected as a prime contractor for this contract award. Omega is also a subcontractor for the Camber Corporation team that received a large business award. The contract award is for three years, with an option for three additional years. JPEO-CBD is the Joint Services single focal point for research, development, acquisition, fielding, and life-cycle support of chemical and biological defense equipment and medical countermeasures. [Read more…]