Oak Ridge Today

Norris Bulletin provides detour ideas over I-75

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Information from WYSH Radio

With traffic over Interstate 75 on Highway 61 down to one lane in either direction for bridge repair work, drivers can expect delays now through October 31, but our friends at the Norris Bulletin have a couple of alternate routes you may want to consider.

In the Wednesday edition, the Bulletin said westbound drivers can get to the other side of the interstate pretty quickly by taking the back route via Alley Road off the Norris Freeway and then following Hillvale Road all the way to back to Highway 61, adjacent to Harrison’s, Waffle House, and WalMart. The Bulletin said that detour will work for westbound traffic trying to get to I-75 South or to Clinton, but eastbound traffic probably will not get much benefit from that route due to expected backups.

For eastbound drivers, the Bulletin suggested turning left onto Miller Road just before Ray Varner Ford and following that route until reaching Hillvale, where you would then turn left, and proceed to Alley Road back into Norris.

Another option, especially for those living in Andersonville or south on Norris Freeway is to take Mountain Road east across the interstate. To reach Mountain Road from Clinton, take Sinking Springs Road (you can either turn right after crossing the Clinch River Bridge just past the soccer fields and Hammer’s, or continue on to Bland Road) until reaching Irwin Mill Road. Turn right there and proceed to Mountain Road. Turning left on either Bethel Road, Cross Pike, or Norris Freeway will return you to Highway 61.

Free Medical Clinic fundraiser on Aug. 8 to feature rock band, dancers

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The Hit Men

The Hit Men, a rock and pop dance band, will perform at the FMC Bash on Aug. 8, a fundraiser for the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Hit Men, a Knoxville rock and pop dance band, will provide music for dancing during the FMC Bash on Saturday, August 8. It’s the annual fundraiser for the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge.

The fundraiser will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. August 8 in the Parish Life Center of St. Mary’s Church at 327 Vermont Avenue. It will include a catered dinner, Celebrity Dance Contest, and live auction conducted by the entertaining Bear Stephenson.

Band members are Alan Keck, lead vocals and guitar; Bob Andres, vocals, lead guitar, and flute; Pat Andres, vocals and keyboard; Uwe Lueth, drums, and Mark Akers, bass. You can learn more about them by visiting their website.

Couples who have entered in the Celebrity Dance Contest are Sharon and Brian Annis, Naomi Asher and Jim Dodson, Tom Beehan and Kay Brookshire, David and Sandy Bradshaw, Gene Caldwell and Dottie Thompson, Keys Fillauer and Scott Hinton, Judy Gooch and Michael Shrader, Austin Keathley and a secret partner, and Nancy Stanley and Gary Riser. [Read more…]

Large tree falls on power line, causes outage for about 7,150

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A large tree fell on a power line in west Oak Ridge early Saturday morning, causing an outage that affected about 7,150 customers, officials said.

The tree fell on a subtransmission line that runs over the top of a ridge south of Oak Ridge Turnpike on the west side of town at about 12:15 a.m. Saturday, July 11.

The tree shorted out the feeds to two substations, which caused a power outage roughly from Tulane Avenue westward, the Oak ridge Electric Department said. [Read more…]

Norris Lake boating crash leaves operator in serious condition

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Norris Lake Boat Crash

TWRA Investigator Matt Majors stands at the engine’s lower unit, which was torn from the boat during an accident at Heatherly’s point on Norris Lake late Thursday night. The vessel traveled about 69 feet after striking the point. (Photo by TWRA)

 

LAFOLLETTE—A LaFollette boater remains in serious condition following a boating accident that happened on Norris Lake late Thursday night, authorities said.

Just before midnight, Jimmy Arnold, a 52-year-old white male from LaFollette, was operating an open bow 24-foot Chaparral boat on Norris Lake when the accident occurred just downstream of Shanghai Marina, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said.

According to witnesses on a nearby houseboat, Arnold, who was the vessel’s sole occupant, was headed to their location at Heatherly’s point when the vessel ran aground, sending it about 69 feet onto the point. Witnesses onboard the houseboat dialed 911. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge upgrades courtroom media equipment for City Council meetings

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

With help from a contractor, the City of Oak Ridge has upgraded the media equipment in the Municipal Building Courtroom to provide a better viewing experience during televised City Council meetings.

The city contracted with M&M Productions USA of Oak Ridge in June to help with the broadcast upgrades, a press release said. Part of the upgrade included permanently mounting pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ) high-definition, robotic cameras that would “provide for better viewing angles of City Council, city staff, and audience members during televised City Council meetings,” the release said.

This recent broadcasting upgrade further complements the audio and City Council voting equipment improvements that were completed in 2014 as a result of deteriorating equipment and Courtroom needs, the release said.

“The PTZ cameras provide for better area coverage and greater detail of City Council meetings,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. “Additionally, there have been several broadcast efficiencies experienced with all of the media upgrades, not to mention that the upgraded equipment has added to the professional composition of the City Council meetings and the Courtroom.” [Read more…]

Clinton man dies in Saturday night crash

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Clinton Police Department Badge

Note: This story was updated at 11:51 a.m.

A Clinton man died in a single-vehicle crash on Clinch Avenue on Saturday night, authorities said.

Witnesses told police that Johnny Sparks, 66, was driving his pickup truck southbound on Clinch Avenue, near Lee Road, at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday when he swerved into the northbound lane, barely missing an oncoming vehicle.

An accident reconstruction team from the Clinton Police Department said the truck then ran into a concrete culvert, and Sparks was ejected from the truck.

There were no other passengers in Sparks’ vehicle, the CPD said. [Read more…]

Golden Dragon Acrobat Show to benefit ORHS Masquers

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Color Wheels

Color Wheels (Photo courtesy Masskus Productions)

 

The Golden Dragon Acrobats will perform on Saturday, July 25, in a show that will benefit the Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program. It’s the group’s first visit to East Tennessee in more than a decade.

“The Golden Dragons are recognized throughout the United States and abroad as the premiere Chinese acrobatic touring company of today,” a press release said.

It said the Golden Dragon Acrobats represent the very best of a time-honored circus tradition that began more than 25 centuries ago. The group has more than two dozen highly trained acrobats and technicians.

The family entertainment event starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 25, at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center. All seats are reserved. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under, and they are available through www.KnoxvilleTickets.com. [Read more…]

Harrison named CASA executive director

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Edward “Eddie” Harrison

Edward “Eddie” Harrison

Edward “Eddie” Harrison has been named executive director of CASA of the Tennessee Heartland, a nonprofit organization that recruits, trains, and empowers volunteers to advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children in Anderson, Scott, and Blount counties.

Harrison has dedicated his life to the empowerment and mentorship of young men and women living in disadvantaged communities and homes, and has been an advocate for East Tennessee youth for 12 years, a press release said.

“Eddie brings deep experience working as an advocate for disadvantaged kids and nonprofit management to CASA,” Board President John Willis said.

Prior to his work with CASA, Harrison served as the house manager for Columbus Home and earlier as the executive director of Montgomery Village Ministry. [Read more…]

ORNL: Neutrons find ‘missing’ magnetism of plutonium

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Doug Abernathy and Marc Janoschek

Doug Abernathy, left, ARCS instrument scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Marc Janoschek, Los Alamos National Laboratory, prepare their sample for experiments at the Spallation Neutron Source. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Groundbreaking work at two U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories has confirmed plutonium’s magnetism, which scientists have long theorized but have never been able to experimentally observe. The advances that enabled the discovery hold great promise for materials, energy, and computing applications.

Plutonium was first produced in 1940, and its unstable nucleus allows it to undergo fission, making it useful for nuclear fuels as well as for nuclear weapons. Much less known, however, is that the electronic cloud surrounding the plutonium nucleus is equally unstable and makes plutonium the most electronically complex element in the periodic table, with intriguingly intricate properties for a simple elemental metal.

While conventional theories have successfully explained plutonium’s complex structural properties, they also predict that plutonium should order magnetically. This is in stark contrast with experiments, which had found no evidence for magnetic order in plutonium. [Read more…]

Golf tournament to benefit Free Medical Clinic

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Free Medical Clinic

A golf tournament in August will benefit the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge.

It’s the 16th Annual Summer Golf Challenge for the Free Medical Clinic, and it will be held on Saturday, August 15, at the Oak Ridge Country Club. The tournament has a 1:30 p.m. shotgun start, and it is hosted by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Hoofers Golf Club, and the Oak Ridge Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

The Free Medical Clinic is a nonprofit medical group that provides medical care at no cost to residents of Anderson, Roane, and Morgan Counties who do not have insurance or cannot afford care because of low income. The clinic is staffed primarily by volunteers and relies on donations from individuals, churches, and local organizations for financial support. Although the number of patients seeking care has increased significantly in recent months and donations have not kept pace, the clinic continues to serve as many as possible with the resources at hand. [Read more…]

Ridgeview rep to discuss youth substance abuse on July 18

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Michael Yates

Michael Yates

Michael Yates, development director for Ridgeview Behavioral Services, will discuss youth substance abuse on Saturday, July 18, at Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge.

The presentation is titled “Youth Substance Abuse—the Complex and Courageous Conversation.” It’s free and scheduled for Saturday, July 18, at Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge. It starts at 10:30 a.m. in the fellowship hall, and it is hosted by the church’s Mental Health Ministry. Child care will be available, a press release said.

Yates will discuss risk factors that drive the misuse and use of substances, and offer information on how parents and communities might best respond to strengthen protective factors for youth and families, the press release said.

“Youth and adolescents turn to substance abuse for a number of reasons,” he said. “Some want to experiment with boundaries, some do so because of peer pressure, and others are trying to cope with unmanageable pain, suffering, or anxiety.” [Read more…]

Police: Remains of suspected meth lab found during search of home

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Arthur Wilson Jr.

Arthur Wilson Jr.

Julia Wilson

Julia Wilson

The remains of a suspected methamphetamine laboratory were found during a search of a home on West Wadsworth Circle on Wednesday, authorities said.

Items found in a trash can in the basement of the home included coffee filters, a Coleman brand camp fuel can, lithium batteries that had been cut open, and lithium strips that appeared to have been chemically reacted, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Thomas said in arrest warrants. He said other items included a sports drink bottle with a two-part liquid, a soda bottle with a white powdery substance and holes that appeared to have been burned through the bottle from a chemical reaction inside, and two empty boxes of Claritin-D medicine that originally each contained 2.4 grams of pseudoephedrine.

The two defendants, Arthur Wilson Jr., 50, and Julia Wilson, 49, are on probation for convictions for manufacturing methamphetamine in Morgan County, the warrants said. The two are under the supervision of the Tennessee Department of Correction, and one of the conditions of probation is that the home can be searched, Thomas said. [Read more…]