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Large transmission tower knocked down, causing power outages

Posted at 5:35 pm January 22, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A power transmission tower was knocked down at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue on Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 8:30 p.m.

A large electrical transmission tower was knocked down in a crash at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue on Friday, and widespread power outages were reported.

Power went out in sections of Oak Ridge at about 4:30 p.m. Friday. Stoplights were not operating, and South Illinois Avenue was closed to traffic in a section north and south of the University of Tennessee Arboretum. Traffic was backed up for miles, and drivers were redirected to alternate routes.

A heavily damaged white pickup truck was at the crash site. An overturned Bobcat was behind the pickup truck.

The City of Oak Ridge said the pickup truck hit the transmission tower. The driver of the truck involved in the crash and a passenger had injuries that were not life-threatening, the city said. Both were taken to local hospitals.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Police and Fire, Slider Tagged With: crash, power tower, South Illinois Avenue, transmission tower, Union Valley Road

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Protesters will say nuclear weapons illegal under UN treaty

Posted at 10:44 am January 22, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

OREPA Spring Demonstration at Y-12
Members of Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and supporters gather across from the Y-12 National Security Complex to protest the plant’s Uranium Processing Facility in April 2013. (File photo)

Protesters plan to hang a banner at a nuclear weapons production site in Oak Ridge early Friday afternoon that will declare the weapons illegal under a United Nations treaty.

The banner, which will say “Nuclear Weapons Are Illegal,” will be hung on a fence across from the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Scarboro Road. The banner will be hung after parts of the international agreement—the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons—are read, organizers said.

Protesters said they also plan to hang a poster of the text of the treaty and 122 yellow “X”s on the fence, one for every nation that voted in favor of the treaty at the United Nations.

“January 22, 2021, will be a historic day for nuclear weapons,” according to a press release from Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, which has organized weekly and annual events opposing nuclear weapons for many years. “On that day, at midnight, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force, establishing in international law a categorical ban on nuclear weapons, seventy-five years after their development and first use.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Kevin Collins, Larry Osborne, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, OREPA, Quakers, Ralph Hutchison, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, UN treaty, Y-12 National Security Complex

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VITA Tax Center opens Feb. 9

Posted at 3:13 am January 22, 2021
By Diane Edwards Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) is now in its fourth decade of helping community residents to complete and file tax returns.

The 2021 VITA Tax Center will open on Tuesday, February 9, and it is again located at the United Way of Anderson County at 728 Emory Valley Road. The Center will be open from Tuesday through Saturday. The new operating hours are from 1-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. There will be no evening hours.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Community, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge Tagged With: Oak Ridge Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, tax returns, VITA, VITA Tax Center

Roane State temporarily closes Coffey-McNally Building

Posted at 3:06 am January 22, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Roane-State-Coffey-McNally-Building
The Roane State Community College campus in Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Community College has temporarily closed the Coffey-McNally Building because of a recent increase in self-reported COVID-19 cases on the Oak Ridge Branch Campus.

The closure of the Coffey-McNally Building is a precautionary measure, Roane State said in a press release. The building closure took effect Wednesday evening.

The reported cases appear to be isolated, and all those affected are observing quarantine, Roane State said. The Coffey-McNally Building will be thoroughly cleaned before its planned reopening on Monday, January 25, the college said. The Goff Building will remain open.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: College, COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health Tagged With: Coffey-McNally Building, COVID-19, Roane State Community College

TVA will blast rock to build substation

Posted at 2:19 am January 22, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Valley Authority is building a substation off Old Edgemoor Lane at Haw Ridge Park, near Edgemoor Road in east Oak Ridge. The construction work is pictured above on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority and its work crews will blast rock in the next several weeks to build an electrical substation in east Oak Ridge. The new substation is being built before the Bull Run Fossil Plant, across the Clinch River in Claxton, closes in 2023.

The blasting was scheduled to start Thursday, January 21, but it was delayed due to weather. When it starts, the blasting work could last three weeks, TVA said in a press release. Controlled, low-charge detonations will be used to blast the rock. Blasting will occur periodically between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and traffic and pedestrian controls will be in place, TVA said.

The new Anderson County substation site is off Old Edgemoor Road at Haw Ridge Park, near Edgemoor Road.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Government, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Bull Run Fossil Plant, Edgemoor Road, electrical substation, Oak Ridge, substation, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA

Council to consider accepting airport grants

Posted at 1:10 pm January 19, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

This is an aerial image of a layout plan for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport at the Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority)

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider accepting grants for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport on Tuesday.

The airport would be built along Highway 58 on the south side of the Heritage Center, the former K-25 site.

Council will meet online to consider accepting the airport grants in a special session at 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 19. You can watch the meeting here.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: airport grants, Oak Ridge airport, Oak Ridge City Council

Police chief to speak to League of Women Voters on Tuesday

Posted at 11:49 pm January 17, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Robin Smith

Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith will speak to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The meeting will be virtual, conducted online, because of COVID-19. It is scheduled to start at noon Tuesday, January 19.

Smith has served with the Oak Ridge Police Department since 2012. He served as a lieutenant for two years before being promoted to captain and then deputy chief, a press release said. He was appointed ORPD chief in October 2018.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, Robin Smith

Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will feature ORHS principal

Posted at 7:26 pm January 17, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Garfield Adams

A celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday morning will feature Garfield Adams, Oak Ridge High School principal.

It’s the 33rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Program, and it’s titled “The Community Speaks.” The theme for this year’s program is “A Change Has Come.”

The program is virtual, and it will be on Zoom Webinar. The program will feature a past first-place winner of the NAACP Essay Contest, a press release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, Top Stories Tagged With: Garfield Adams, Martin Luther King Jr.

Controlled burns start this week on DOE land

Posted at 2:03 am January 15, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Energy is starting a series of controlled burns of grassland areas on the Oak Ridge Reservation this week.

The controlled burns could continue through mid-April, depending upon weather. The burns will be on the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Three Bend Area off Pump House and Bull Bluff Roads, and other managed grassland areas off Bethel Valley Road and off Highway 58, a press release said.

The controlled burns will take place at:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Tennessee, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: controlled burns, DOE, Oak Ridge Reservation, U.S. Department of Energy

Current status of city facilities due to COVID

Posted at 3:14 pm January 13, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge officials continue to ask residents to conduct municipal business over the phone and by phone when possible because of COVID-19.

On Wednesday, the City of Oak Ridge released an update about city facilities as the world continues to be affected by the pandemic.

The city said it is supporting the Tennessee Pledge of the state government. You can refer to State of Tennessee websites for updates and advice on precautions to be taken by particular businesses, a press release said.

City facilities will continue to be operated as below as precautions and security matters are considered for the safety of employees, and social distancing for customers, the press release said. Visitors may receive a temperature scan and be asked about their current health, the press release said. You can call the city manager’s office or department offices on the city’s website for more information.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Government, Health, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: City of Oak Ridge, COVID-19, Oak Ridge Municipal Building

Rep. Fleischmann tests positive for COVID

Posted at 3:34 pm January 11, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Chuck Fleischmann

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge, has tested positive for COVID-19.

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Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Chuck Fleischmann, COVID-19

Oak Ridge man charged with second robbery

Posted at 6:17 pm January 8, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Tyrone Partridge

An Oak Ridge man has been charged with a second robbery, this one of a gas station in Claxton.

Partridge, 43, had already been charged by the Oak Ridge Police Department this month with the robbery of J&C Market on East Tennessee Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Now, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office has charged him with aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and theft in the December 29 robbery of the Marathon gas station on Edgemoor Road in Claxton, a press release said. The felony warrants were obtained by Sheriff’s Office detective Josh Cardwell. Partridge reportedly brandished a firearm and demanded the Marathon employee empty the cash register, the press release said. He fled the scene with cash before deputies arrived, the release said. The Marathon employee was able to provide a physical description and a video recording showing the incident, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, Josh Cardwell, Marathon gas station, Oak Ridge Police Department, robbery, Tyrone Partridge

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  • VITA Tax Center opens Feb. 9
  • Roane State temporarily closes Coffey-McNally Building
  • TVA will blast rock to build substation
  • Council to consider accepting airport grants
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