Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge boys cross country finishes second in state

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Oak Ridge Boys Cross Country 2015 State Runner-Up

The Oak Ridge High School boys cross country team finished second in Tennessee during the 2015 state Class AAA meet in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015. (Photo by Adrian Etheridge)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8:34 p.m.

NASHVILLE—The Oak Ridge High School boys team finished second in Tennessee during the 2015 state cross country meet in Nashville on Saturday. Brentwood finished first.

Senior Gashaw Duhamel was the top runner for Oak Ridge, the runner-up in the Division I Class AAA boys race. It was a 5,000-meter, or 5k, race. Duhamel finished 10th, with a time of 16:20.01 on the muddy course on a chilly, overcast Saturday morning.

Brentwood had two of the top three runners: sophomore Brodey Hasty, who was first with a time of 15:35.09, and junior Taylor Vroon, who finished third with a time of 15:50.85.

Oak Ridge senior Tyler Boullie was 16th, crossing the finish line at Percy Warner Park Steeplechase Course at 16:36.85.

Also in the top five for the Wildcats, meaning their scores were included in the team total, were senior Thomas Colburn, who finished 20th at 16:40.94; junior Jacob “Jake” Etheridge, who was 22nd with a time of 16:43.07; and sophomore Jose Villegas, who finished 27th at 16:45.09. [Read more…]

Football photos: Oak Ridge and Soddy Daisy

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Oak Ridge Tee Higgins and Soddy Daisy Brandon Davis Nov. 5, 2015

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) makes a catch behind a fallen Brandon Davis (3) of Soddy Daisy during a 45-33 win for the Wildcats in a Class 5A football playoff game on Blankenship Field on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015.
(Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Oak Ridge Tee Higgins and Soddy Daisy Brandon Davis Nov. 5, 2015

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) jumps to catch the football over Brandon Davis (3) of Soddy Daisy during a 45-33 win for the Wildcats in a Class 5A football playoff game on Blankenship Field on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This post was updated at 5:45 p.m.

Oak Ridge beat Soddy Daisy 45-33 on big plays and turnovers in the first round of the 2015 Class 5A football playoffs on Blankenship Field on Thursday. Here are photos by Julio Culiat.

We will continue to add photo captions as we can.
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Oak Ridge beats Soddy Daisy 45-33 on big plays, turnovers

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Oak Ridge Jordan Graham and Soddy Daisy on Nov. 5, 2015

Oak Ridge freshman running back Jordan Graham (30) had two touchdowns, including one on a kickoff return and another on a 50-yard run, during a 45-33 win over Soddy Daisy in the first round of the Class 5A football playoffs on Blankenship Field on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:25 a.m.

Oak Ridge beat Soddy Daisy 45-33 on big plays and turnovers in the first round of the 2015 Class 5A football playoffs on Blankenship Field on Thursday.

The Wildcats (10-1) will travel to Ooltewah (9-2) on Friday, November 13, for a second round game. The Owls, who are ranked eighth, beat the Clinton Dragons (4-7) in another first-round game on Thursday to advance to play Oak Ridge.

The Wildcats, who are ranked third, had another big night on defense and special teams. Oak Ridge senior Davon Middleton intercepted one Trojans pass in the end zone to stop one Soddy Daisy drive deep in Wildcat territory, and he later deflected a third-down pass near the goal line to help end another.

Junior wide receiver Tee Higgins and freshman running back Jordan Graham also had big nights. They each had two touchdowns for Oak Ridge.

One of Graham’s touchdowns came on the opening kickoff of the second half. The small, speedy freshman broke tackles and curled from the left side of the field—after it looked like he had been stopped—to the right before racing 88 yards to score on a run that took 25 seconds to complete. Graham ended the night with the two touchdowns, including one on a 50-yard run, and 154 yards on eight carries. [Read more…]

Y-12, ORNL tours offered Nov. 12 to celebrate new Manhattan Project Park

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DOE Public Bus Tour

A previous public bus tour of the U.S. Department of Energy’s facilities in Oak Ridge. (File photo courtesy DOE/Lynn Freeny)

 

Public bus tours will be offered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex on Thursday, November 12, as part of the celebration of the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The new park, which is still being set up, includes Oak Ridge.

The special-access tours at ORNL and Y-12 are part of other planned activities in Oak Ridge, and they will include a peek inside Y-12’s Building 9731 and 9204-3 (Beta 3) and ORNL’s historic Graphite Reactor.

Y-12 and Clinton Laboratories—the wartime name for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory—were constructed as part of the Manhattan Project in 1943. The Y-12 Plant provided the Uranium-235 needed for Little Boy, the world’s first nuclear weapon used in warfare. The historic Graphite Reactor at X-10 (now ORNL) proved that plutonium could be produced in a uranium reactor on an industrial scale. These facilities will eventually become a part of the Oak Ridge location of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge conducts city-wide disaster training today

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The City of Oak Ridge will be conducting a city-wide exercise of the Emergency Management System and Emergency Operations Center today. The full-participation exercise will begin at 11:15 this morning (Thursday, November 5) at Oak Ridge Fire Department headquarters located in the Municipal Building at 200 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The drill was planned and is administered by 10 instructors from across the United States and former Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency managers and trainers. The lead instructor is Phil McLaughlin, owner of the McLaughlin Training Group, a press release said. Chief McLaughlin is the retired deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Fire Department.

All city departments are represented in today’s drill, along with representatives from Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Anderson County Health Department, American Red Cross, Civil Air Patrol, Oak Ridge Schools, Methodist Medical Center, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the city manager’s office. [Read more…]

Family of Hannah Morris has receiving of friends, celebration of life on Sunday

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Hannah Kopp Morris

Hannah Kopp Morris

The family of Hannah Kopp Morris, a 20-year-old Oak Ridger who died after an accident in Pennsylvania on Thursday, will have a receiving of friends and celebration of Hannah’s life in Oak Ridge on Sunday.

Morris was a junior at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She was fatally injured when she was hit by a sport utility vehicle while crossing North Main street in Meadville at about 10:44 p.m. Thursday, according to the Meadville Tribune newspaper.

Morris, a neuroscience major, was taken to Meadville Medical Center for treatment, but was pronounced dead at 12:40 a.m. Friday, the newspaper reported. Her death was ruled accidental due to multiple blunt force trauma. [Read more…]

Thursday ribbon-cutting for historic hotel converted into assisted living center

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Alexander Guest House Front Entrance Sept. 23, 2015

The front entrance is pictured above at the Alexander Guest House, which converted the beloved but long-vacant Alexander Inn into an assisted living center. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony has been scheduled for Thursday evening at The Alexander Guest House, a historic hotel converted into an assisted living center.

The ceremony is scheduled from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, November 5. The ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 5:45 p.m., according to the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

“Following this ribbon-cutting, please plan to attend an open house,” organizers said. “We hope you’ll join us to celebrate.”

The Alexander Guest House, which has 64 apartments, is located at 210 East Madison Road in Oak Ridge.

Preserving the former Alexander Inn had been a dream for years. In September, Rick Dover of Dover Development of East Tennessee, said the two-year, $8 million construction and renovation project was almost finished. [Read more…]

Football: Wildcats-Soddy Daisy playoff game moved to Thursday

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The first-round playoff game between Oak Ridge and Soddy Daisy has been moved to Thursday because of thunderstorms forecast for Friday night, athletic officials said.

The football game will start at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 5, on Blankenship Field in Oak Ridge. Tickets are $8.

Other games, including the Clinton-Ooltewah game at Ooltewah, have also been moved to Thursday.

See more information about the football playoffs and a link to the Class 5A bracket here.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Police negotiate, but man shoots himself with shotgun after traffic stop

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Note: This story was updated at 9:10 a.m.

A 45-year-old man shot himself with a shotgun after a traffic stop on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Tuesday night and after the Oak Ridge Police Department tried to negotiate with him, authorities said.

The initial call came in at about 10:26 p.m. Tuesday, November 3. ORPD officers were dispatched to the area near the intersection of the Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson Avenue, after Oak Ridge Fire Department personnel reported three cars that appeared to be racing westbound from that location.

One officer stopped a 1999 Toyota pickup truck on the Oak Ridge Turnpike west of Louisiana Avenue for a speed violation, an ORPD press release said. The 45-year-old male driver, and sole occupant of the truck, exited the vehicle brandishing a 20-gauge shotgun, officers said.

The male subject then refused to comply with the officer’s repeated orders to place the weapon on the ground, and he proceeded to walk away from his vehicle while holding the barrel of the shotgun under his chin, the ORPD said. Numerous officers responded to the scene to assist in containing the male subject, who continued to pace back and forth on the sidewalk near his vehicle, the Police Department said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Turnpike closed Tuesday night as police, fire units investigate shooting incident

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Oak Ridge Turnpike Incident Nov. 3, 2015

A stretch of Oak Ridge Turnpike was closed west of Louisiana Avenue late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning as police and fire units investigated a shooting incident. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:13 a.m.

A stretch of Oak Ridge Turnpike was closed west of Louisiana Avenue late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning as police and fire units investigated a shooting incident.

A medical helicopter landed at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge and could be seen taking off at about 11:40 p.m. Emergency workers reported a man with a gunshot wound to the face, although authorities hadn’t released details about the shooting as of early Wednesday morning. Update (9:13 a.m.): Police have since said the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.

All four lanes of the divided highway remained closed until past 2 a.m. Wednesday, and the Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department were both on the scene early Wednesday. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department helped provide traffic control east of the incident near United Grocery Outlet at Louisiana Avenue on Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning. Most traffic was taking a side street route down West Lincoln Road. [Read more…]

Soccer: 2015 All Region 2 Team includes Oak Ridge players

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Lady Wildcats Macy Barclay and Hardin Valley Oct. 20, 2015

Oak Ridge senior forward Macy Barclay (4) was named to the 2015 All Region 2 Team. Barclay is pictured above during a Region 2-AAA soccer semifinal on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, when Hardin Valley eliminated Oak Ridge 2-0. Also pictured is senior midfielder Gabby Powers (17) of Hardin Valley, who made the All Region 2 Team. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Five members of the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer team were named to the 2015 All Region 2 Team.

Four players, all seniors, were named to the First Team: forward Macy Barclay, midfielder Ellie Brown, goalkeeper Jasmine Rizk, and defender Katie Welsh.

One player, a junior, was named to the Second Team: Leah Scudder.

Casey Riemer of Bearden was named most valuable player in Region 2-AAA. First-year coach Mark Patterson of Hardin Valley, which made it to the state quarterfinals before being eliminated, was named coach of the year.

Here are the First Team and Second Team selections:

1st Team 
Bearden Casey Riemer Tayler Frizen Clarity Voy
Ashtyn Glover
Farragut Grace Sommi Miranda Burt Megan MacLean
Jordan Fierley
Hardin Valley Dominique Rowe Paige Hewitt Kelsey Klett
Gabby Powers Maggie Wilson
Lenoir City Devin Healy
Maryville Lizzie Fry Dee Fritz Emery Spears
Carolyn Hobbs
Oak Ridge Katherine Welsh Jasmine Rizk Macy Barclay
Ellie Brown
Powelll Lauren Sexton Lauren Wood
Regional MVP Casey Riemer Bearden
Coach of the Year Mark Patterson Hardin Valley Academy
2nd Team
Bearden Emily Carlevato
Hardin Valley Gweb Breslin Macy Lindsey Lainee Griffin
Farragut Aleyse Evers
Maryville Preston Robinette Abbie Anderson
Oak Ridge Leah Scudder
Powell Raygan Scarbrough Bailey Taylor
West Tionna Thompson AK Anderson

[Read more…]

WYSH: Clinton-Ooltewah football playoff game moved to Thursday

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(From our news partner WYSH Radio in Clinton) The Clinton-Ooltewah playoff game has been moved to 7 p.m. Thursday due to the threat of severe weather in Ooltewah on Friday night.

Oak Ridge will play at home on Blankenship Field at 7 p.m. Friday against Soddy-Daisy. You can read more and find a link to the Class 5A football playoff bracket here.