The Oak Ridge Hoofers Golf Group in conjunction with the Burlington Food Pantry and Second Harvest will be sponsoring a Drive-Through Food Giveaway on Saturday, June 19.
The drive-through will be in the parking lot of the Scarboro Community Center, and it will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a press release said.
[Read more…]
Registration is open for the 2021 Summer Reading Program at the Clinton Public Library.
“This year’s theme is ‘Tails and Tales,’ so join us at the library for a summer filled with exciting programs and activities,” a press release said.
The library, partnering with the Anderson County Animal Shelter, will kick off Summer Reading 2021 on Tuesday, June 8, with a special adoption fair on the front library lawn.
[Read more…]
The average number of new COVID-19 cases reported each day in Anderson County has continued to slowly decline in May and early June, and the positivity rate has remained low. However, 10 more hospitalizations and one more death have been reported in the past three weeks.
The average number of new cases in the county during the past two weeks has been 3.6. That’s down from an average of 5.6 new cases per day during the previous two weeks.
It appears to be the lowest number of new cases per day, on average, since one year ago, in June 2020. That was before COVID-19 cases peaked in Anderson County in July and then peaked again in the winter, with many more cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from November 2020-January 2021.
The decline in the average number of new cases per day has been slow, especially starting in about April. Oak Ridge Today reported more than three weeks ago that the new daily case average had dropped to about six, and the positivity rate was about 3 percent.
[Read more…]
An Oak Ridge wastewater overflow tank is pictured above on Emory Valley Road on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 3:20 p.m. June 6.
Millions of gallons in sewer system overflows were reported to the state by the City of Oak Ridge between 2012 and 2017, and most of the largest overflows—500,000 gallons or more—were reported in the summer of 2013, according to a federal lawsuit that could be settled soon.
The lawsuit by Tennessee Riverkeeper, a nonprofit organization based in Alabama, was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville in 2018. It alleged that the city had reported about 40 million gallons of sewer system overflows in a four-year period near local waters and that the city had violated the Clean Water Act. The city denied the claim. The lawsuit had sought to force the city to make repairs to keep pollutants out of creeks and rivers, and to charge the city $37,500 per violation per day. It also asked the city to pay reasonable attorney’s fees and expert fees. Riverkeeper said the discharges have affected how often its members use the Tennessee River and its tributaries for recreation. The discharges continued through at least early 2017, with more overflows reported later, according to the lawsuit and legal documents filed in the case.
Now, the lawsuit could be settled if the court approves and Oak Ridge makes at least $4 million in repairs by 2025 and pays more than $100,000 in attorneys’ fees. The settlement agreement was approved by City Council in May. A notice about the agreement was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Thursday.
The largest overflows, by volume, were reported about two years before the city completed millions of dollars worth of repairs to its aging sewer system and built three large wastewater holding tanks after an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010. The EPA order had required the city to bring itself into compliance with its discharge permit. However, the overflows continued even after the city said it had satisfied the conditions of the EPA order, according to the lawsuit, although the overflows appeared to be at a lower volume than in the summer of 2013.
Legal arguments in the case have included debate over whether Tennessee Riverkeeper has standing—someone who had been injured by the sewer system overflows—and whether the discharges have continued.
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An Oak Ridge wastewater overflow tank is pictured above on Emory Valley Road on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 3:20 p.m. June 6.
Millions of gallons in sewer system overflows were reported to the state by the City of Oak Ridge between 2012 and 2017, and most of the largest overflows—500,000 gallons or more—were reported in the summer of 2013, according to a federal lawsuit that could be settled soon.
The lawsuit by Tennessee Riverkeeper, a nonprofit organization based in Alabama, was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville in 2018. It alleged that the city had reported about 40 million gallons of sewer system overflows in a four-year period near local waters and that the city had violated the Clean Water Act. The city denied the claim. The lawsuit had sought to force the city to make repairs to keep pollutants out of creeks and rivers, and to charge the city $37,500 per violation per day. It also asked the city to pay reasonable attorney’s fees and expert fees. Riverkeeper said the discharges have affected how often its members use the Tennessee River and its tributaries for recreation. The discharges continued through at least early 2017, with more overflows reported later, according to the lawsuit and legal documents filed in the case.
Now, the lawsuit could be settled if the court approves and Oak Ridge makes at least $4 million in repairs by 2025 and pays more than $100,000 in attorneys’ fees. The settlement agreement was approved by City Council in May. A notice about the agreement was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Thursday.
The largest overflows, by volume, were reported about two years before the city completed millions of dollars worth of repairs to its aging sewer system and built three large wastewater holding tanks after an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010. The EPA order had required the city to bring itself into compliance with its discharge permit. However, the overflows continued even after the city said it had satisfied the conditions of the EPA order, according to the lawsuit, although the overflows appeared to be at a lower volume than in the summer of 2013.
Legal arguments in the case have included debate over whether Tennessee Riverkeeper has standing—someone who had been injured by the sewer system overflows—and whether the discharges have continued.
The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
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Two of Roane State Art Professor Bryan Wilkerson’s dual credit students can say they’ve been part of a prestigious national exhibition.
Dual credit students are taught by Roane State Community College educators and receive both college and high school credits for their work.
Susan Dale, who graduated last year from Oak Ridge High School, and current ORHS student Alex Dahl had their creations displayed in the 23rd Annual National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition held in Richmond, Virginia, a press release said.
The exhibition was for ceramic artwork created in the 2019-20 academic year. “The work they were making during that academic school year was exceptional,” Wilkerson said. “Just being included in the exhibition is quite an honor.”
[Read more…]
You can learn about Wheat, a community before World War II, during a walk in west Oak Ridge on Saturday.
The walk will be led by a National Park Service ranger starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 5. The program will begin at Blair Road and the North Boundary Greenway.
Wheat was a community that existed in what is now west Oak Ridge before the city was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons, before Germany could.
Oak Ridge is one of three sites that are part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The other two are Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.
[Read more…]
The visitor center for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge re-opened on Tuesday.
The visitor center had been shut down for many months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The visitor center is at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on West Outer Drive. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
Oak Ridge is one of three sites that are part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The other two are Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico. All three were part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs, before Germany could. The park tells the story of the workers and their missions during and after the war.
[Read more…]The Summer Sessions concert series produced by ORNL Federal Credit Union will return this summer after being canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The free concert series will kick off in July and continue through October, a press release said. It will feature bluegrass and Americana bands from throughout the region.
The first show will be held on Saturday, July 17, and it will feature Sierra Hull and Justin Moses. Hull, a native of Byrdstown, Tennessee, is an accomplished singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist who made her Opry debut at the age of 10, the press release said. Hull is married to and currently tours with Moses, a former member of Ricky Skaggs’ band, Kentucky Thunder. Opening for Hull and Moses will be The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, a bluegrass band formed in the Great Smoky Mountains.
[Read more…]A 34-year-old Oak Ridge man has been accused of robbing the store at the Shell gas station on Emory Valley Road in May.
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A 34-year-old Oak Ridge man has been accused of robbing the store at the Shell gas station on Emory Valley Road in May.
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Part of Tennessee Centennial Golf Course in east Oak Ridge is pictured above on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The City of Oak Ridge made its last debt payment for Tennessee Centennial Golf Course in east Oak Ridge on Tuesday, and monthly revenues increased at the golf course last year and are up significantly so far this year.
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Part of Tennessee Centennial Golf Course in east Oak Ridge is pictured above on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The City of Oak Ridge made its last debt payment for Tennessee Centennial Golf Course in east Oak Ridge on Tuesday, and monthly revenues increased at the golf course last year and are up significantly so far this year.
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Oak Ridge senior Trent Howe finished third in the boys’ discus at the state championship track and field meet in Middle Tennessee on Thursday. Four Wildcats finished fifth in the boys’ 4×800-meter relay. And senior Adam Herron finished seventh in the 800-meter run.
Senior Eli Cox finished 10th in the boys’ 1600-meter run, and junior Jacob Berven finished 14th in the 100-meter dash.
Here are the results for the Oak Ridge Wildcats from the 2021 TSSAA State Track and Field Championships on Thursday. These results are for the boys in the Division I large schools.
[Read more…]
Michael LaPaglia (File photo)
KNOXVILLE—A former emergency room doctor and ambulance medical director in Oak Ridge and Anderson County was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Thursday more than two years after he pleaded guilty in federal court to drug conspiracy and false statement charges.
U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer granted a request from Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne-Marie Svolto to lengthen the sentence for Michael A. LaPaglia to 18 months. The guideline range had been six to 12 months. Svolto said even 18 months might be considered too lenient. When he is released from prison, LaPaglia will be on supervised released for three years. He also has to pay restitution of about $5,000.
LaPaglia, who has been a doctor for almost 20 years, pleaded guilty to the two federal charges in an information in November 2018, meaning before he had been indicted by a grand jury.
His plea agreement said he had obtained pre-signed prescriptions from another doctor, and the other doctor also give LaPaglia blank prescriptions that LaPaglia filled out, forging the other doctor’s signature. Drug patients would pay LaPaglia and the other doctor $300 cash per month in exchange for the controlled-substance prescriptions. The prescriptions included diazepam; buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone; clonazepam, also known as Klonopin; and pregabalin, also known as Lyrica. The doctors distributed and dispensed the Schedule III, IV, and V drugs between March and September 2018, according to the plea agreement.
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Michael LaPaglia (File photo)
KNOXVILLE—A former emergency room doctor and ambulance medical director in Oak Ridge and Anderson County was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Thursday more than two years after he pleaded guilty in federal court to drug conspiracy and false statement charges.
U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer granted a request from Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne-Marie Svolto to lengthen the sentence for Michael A. LaPaglia to 18 months. The guideline range had been six to 12 months. Svolto said even 18 months might be considered too lenient. When he is released from prison, LaPaglia will be on supervised released for three years. He also has to pay restitution of about $5,000.
LaPaglia, who has been a doctor for almost 20 years, pleaded guilty to the two federal charges in an information in November 2018, meaning before he had been indicted by a grand jury.
His plea agreement said he had obtained pre-signed prescriptions from another doctor, and the other doctor also give LaPaglia blank prescriptions that LaPaglia filled out, forging the other doctor’s signature. Drug patients would pay LaPaglia and the other doctor $300 cash per month in exchange for the controlled-substance prescriptions. The prescriptions included diazepam; buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone; clonazepam, also known as Klonopin; and pregabalin, also known as Lyrica. The doctors distributed and dispensed the Schedule III, IV, and V drugs between March and September 2018, according to the plea agreement.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
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