Oak Ridge Today

ACSD: Daughter’s boyfriend charged with murder in Andersonville shooting

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William James McMillan

William James McMillan

Note: This story was updated at 11:33 a.m.

An Andersonville man has been charged with murder in a shooting that allegedly killed his girlfriend’s mother early Wednesday, authorities said.

William James McMillan, 48, is accused of fatally shooting Karen Zahrobsky, 66, according to authorities. They said McMillan, Zahrobsky, and Zahrobsky’s daughter, Christin Dixon, 45, all lived at 460 Lone Mountain Road in Andersonville, where the shooting allegedly occurred.

The shooting was reported at about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday. Zahrobsky was dead when deputies arrived.

McMillan was charged by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which helped investigate. McMillan was booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, and he is being held on $625,000.00 bond. [Read more…]

Construction on ORNL FCU branch on Rutgers could start this month

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ORNL FCU Colin Anderson and Marcy Catron

Colin Anderson, ORNL Federal Credit Union senior vice president and chief financial officer, discusses the new Oak Ridge branch on South Rutgers Avenue during a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday. Also pictured is board chair Marcy Catron.

 

Construction could start this month on an ORNL Federal Credit Union branch on South Rutgers Avenue, and the building could be complete by the end of the year, officials said.

The new branch will at the same site as the original main Oak Ridge branch. The branch will move from its current location next door at the ORNL Federal Credit Union headquarters building, which is also on Rutgers Avenue.

The estimated cost of the 5,000-square-foot branch at 215 South Rutgers Avenue is $4.5 million. Some materials from the original office will be used in the new building.

“This branch represents a multi-million-dollar vote of confidence in Oak Ridge,” said acting chief executive officer Colin Anderson, ORNL FCU senior vice president and chief financial officer. [Read more…]

Police: Man riding dirt bike reported as stolen drops it in front of patrol car, flees

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Seth Davis

Seth Davis

An Oak Ridge man riding a dirt bike reported to be stolen from Staples lost control of the motorcycle and dropped it in front of a police patrol car before fleeing Thursday evening, authorities said.

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Sherrill Selby observed two dirt bikes on South Benedict Avenue at about 7:45 p.m. Thursday, and they were “riding wheelies at a high rate of speed,” according to warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

In the warrants, Officer Scott Carroll said the defendant, Seth Montez Davis, 19, rode toward him. When Davis saw him, Carroll said, “he locked up the brakes and slid into my lane of traffic.”

After Davis dropped the bike, he ran behind a home on South Benedict, Carroll said. The officer said he chased Davis through a field and back up to South Benedict, where he was caught. [Read more…]

City workers repair water main break near North Tulane

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North Tulane Avenue Water Main Break

A water main break Tuesday afternoon temporarily created a stream behind St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church near Tulane Avenue. (Photo by Rob Welton)

 

Oak Ridge crews were repairing a water main break near North Tulane Avenue on Tuesday evening.

The water line break temporarily created a stream that flowed from behind St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church toward North Tulane.

City workers were able to stop the water, and they expected the line to be repaired this evening.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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Report: Police arrest felon who possessed AK-47

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Oak Ridge Police Department Logo

Oak Ridge police investigating a disturbance on Tuesday morning arrested a convicted felon who was asleep in a bedroom with an AK-47 rifle within reach, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the Highland View home at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. They had received a report that there was a man in the roadway causing a disturbance and impeding traffic.

When police arrived, the man told officers that he was the victim of an armed robbery that had occurred at the home earlier, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. [Read more…]

Fugitive wanted on attempted murder charges apprehended Tuesday, police say

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Michael Q. Ray

A fugitive wanted on several counts, including attempted first-degree murder, was apprehended in Oak Ridge on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Michael Q. Ray was taken into custody without incident at 101 North Walker Circle, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

The ORPD said Ray had been sought on multiple counts for charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. Those charges stemmed from a June 3 incident at the McKenzie Acres Apartments on Utica Circle in which multiple gunshots were fired, a press release said.

The operation to apprehend Ray involved several ORPD elements that included Criminal Investigations and Patrol Division personnel, as well as Special Weapons Team personnel, the City of Oak Ridge said in the press release.

“The investigation into the shooting at the McKenzie Acres Apartments remains ongoing, and no further information will be released at this time,” the release said.

One dies in single-vehicle crash on I-75

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Note: This story was last updated at 5:15 p.m.

Information from WYSH Radio

One person died in a single-vehicle crash on I-75 South in Anderson County on Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The crash, which was investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, involved a Ford pickup truck, and it occurred at about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.

WBIR-TV in Knoxville has reported that the driver was Scott Davis, 46, of Jacksboro, Tennessee. [Read more…]

AC Senior Center a step closer to reality

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Monday night, the Anderson County Operations Committee unanimously voted to approve a five-year lease with B&B Properties on a building in Clinton that will serve as the home of a new Anderson County Senior Center.

The next step in the process will be consideration by the full Anderson County Commission on Monday of the $1,896-a-month lease for the building at 439 South Charles Seivers Boulevard. If approved by the Commission, the Anderson County Office on Aging hopes to be in the new facility by the end of July.

Supporters of a senior center have long decried the lack of adequate space to conduct activities and programs for seniors in the current home of the Office on Aging on Leinart Street. This is the same property officials thought they had an agreement to lease earlier this year that fell through due to a higher-than-expected monthly rent.

The Office on Aging will be providing WYSH with a list of needed items for the new facility in the next few days, and they will pass that information along when it becomes available.

Emory Valley Center has fundraising pancake breakfast on Saturday

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2014 EVC Pancake Fundraiser and Randy McNally

Tennessee Senator Randy McNally, right, serves members of the Oak Ridge Fire Department at the Emory Valley Center pancake breakfast fundraiser in 2014. (Submitted photo)

 

A fundraising breakfast at Applebee’s restaurant in Oak Ridge on Saturday will support Emory Valley Center’s Capital Campaign.

It’s an “All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast,” and it’s scheduled from 8-10 a.m. Saturday, June 13. Applebee’s will be providing the breakfast food items and staff members to cook the pancakes and sausage, a press release said.

“Please make plans to attend,” the release said.

Tickets are $5 for children and adults, and they may be purchased at Emory Valley Center, 715 Emory Valley Road, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and at the door Saturday morning. [Read more…]

Friends of Library to sponsor local authors at Secret City Festival

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The Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library will sponsor local writers and authors at the Secret City Festival this weekend.

The Secret City Festival is Friday, June 12, and Saturday, June 13.

The authors will be in Room C of the Oak Ridge Civic Center (next door to the Oak Ridge Historical Preservation Association) autographing and selling their books at the following times: [Read more…]

Man arrested for alleged robbery in hotel parking lot

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Jhavon T. Parker

Jhavon T. Parker

An Oak Ridge man allegedly robbed three people in a hotel parking lot on Monday and was arrested a short time later, authorities said.

The alleged robbery occurred at the Holiday Inn Express at about 11:49 p.m. Monday, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department.

The three victims told officers that a male had robbed them at gunpoint and fled on foot, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. More officers responded, inspected the area, and conducted interviews.

The press release said Jhavon T. Parker, 19, of Oak Ridge, was arrested a short time later and taken to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, where he was charged with three counts of aggravated robbery. [Read more…]

Council defers budget vote to Monday, June 15

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Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch

Note: This story was updated at 8:51 a.m.

It’s still not clear how property reappraisals in Roane County will affect the Oak Ridge property tax rate, so the City Council on Monday deferred a vote on the budget until Monday, June 15.

Council had been scheduled to consider the budget in the first of two readings on Monday (June 8). Council was expected to consider the budget on second and final reading on June 15.

But the five-year property reappraisals in Roane County are not yet complete, and it’s not clear when they will be. Officials said property assessments there are likely to go down as they have in Anderson County, where they’ve fallen 4 percent.

An overall drop in property values could require an increase in the tax rate because the revenues after the reappraisals have to remain the same as they were before. [Read more…]