Anderson County Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County ‘visioning’ workshop is next week

Posted at 4:48 pm September 11, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Gary Human

Submitted

Anderson County has a rich history, from coal mining to pearling, and the rise from agricultural infancy to become a world-leading technological powerhouse.

But what about Anderson County’s future? What is your vision—as a citizen, business leader, or elected official—for Anderson County?

Come share your ideas at a “Visioning Workshop” from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 20, in the Club Room at the Clinton Community Center, 101 Hicks Street. Sandwiches will be provided during the event, which was originally scheduled to be at the Anderson Courthouse, a press release said. [Read more…]

Anderson County EMS, ‘Ambus’ respond to help with hurricane in South Carolina

Posted at 4:03 pm September 11, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Anderson County EMS and Knoxville Fire Department representing State of Tennessee EMS (Emergency Management Services) Region 2 and headed to Charleston, S.C., on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, to help with Hurricane Florence. Pictured above Scott Prosise and Bobbi Jo Henderson of Anderson County EMS, and Brian Buchanan of KFD. (Photo by Anderson County EMS)

Anderson County EMS and Knoxville Fire Department representing State of Tennessee EMS Region 2 and headed to Charleston, S.C., on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, to help with Hurricane Florence. Pictured above are Scott Prosise and Bobbi Jo Henderson of Anderson County EMS, and Brian Buchanan of KFD. (Photo by Anderson County EMS)

Anderson County Emergency Medical Services has responded to a deployment request from the state of South Carolina to aid in evacuations ahead of the anticipated landfall of Hurricane Florence.

Anderson County EMS is part of the Region II EMS Directors Association, which is comprised of 30 ambulance, fire, rescue, aeromedical, and hospital agencies located in 16 counties throughout East Tennessee.

The Anderson County team responded to South Carolina’s call for help with the “Ambus,” a regional asset from Region II EMS Directors Association, that is housed, maintained, and operated by Anderson County EMS, a press release said.

The Ambus is designed to accommodate 20 or more low-acuity patients from one location, the press release said. It is not designed for the most critical patients, although the unit can adapt to any situation that is encountered. The transport kit was provided by the state and installed into a school bus donated by Morgan County Schools. [Read more…]

WYSH: Wandell elected Commission chair, Creasey vice chair

Posted at 9:31 am September 7, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Anderson County Commissioners are pictured above after being sworn in at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. At center front (third from left) is Tracy Wandell, who was elected chair by the other commissioners, and at right front is Jerry Creasey, who was elected vice chair. (Photo courtesy Shannon Wandell)

Information from WYSH Radio

Newly elected and re-elected Anderson County commissioners were sworn in Tuesday morning at the Courthouse in Clinton.

Following the swearing-in ceremony, commissioners held a brief meeting during which they elected Tracy Wandell to serve as the next chair of the Commission, succeeding Tim Isbel.

Longtime Commissioner Jerry Creasey was elected vice chair. [Read more…]

AC Chamber president named TN Chamber executive of year

Posted at 6:59 pm August 29, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives named Rick Meredith, president of the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber Executive of the Year at an annual meeting in Clarksville on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. The award was presented by Suzie Lusk, associate vice president of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce. (Photo by Anderson County Chamber of Commerce)

Anderson County Chamber of Commerce President Rick Meredith was named Tennessee Chamber Executive of the Year this month, a press release said.

Meredith, who also serves on the Anderson County Commission, received the honor from the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives at an annual meeting held in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Thursday, August 23, the press release said. TCCE is a statewide chamber professional association that identifies the most effective chamber professional who has made a significant difference in a local Tennessee chamber, the release said. [Read more…]

Sam Venable to speak at Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club meeting

Posted at 2:18 pm August 27, 2018
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

Sam Venable

Sam Venable, a humor columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel, will be the guest speaker at the August 27 meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club. The club will host a light supper and silent auction at 6 p.m. Monday in a meeting room of the Clinton Community Center, which is at 101 South Hicks Street in Clinton.

Venable, a University of Tennessee graduate, has written for the Knoxville News Sentinel since 1970, first as outdoors editor and later as a columnist specializing in humor. He retired from daily duties at the newspaper in 2014 but continues to write a twice-weekly column.

The winner of more than three dozen state, regional and national writing awards, Venable is a member of the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame (Class of 2009) and the Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame (Class of 2014). His six-part News Sentinel series “Fragments of Hate,” published during Black History Month in 2014, won the Sigma Delta Chi feature reporting award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Investigative Reporting award from the Tennessee Press Association, and was a Pulitzer Prize nominee. [Read more…]

Anderson: Barker elected sheriff; incumbents win in Oak Ridge

Posted at 9:40 pm August 2, 2018
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Russell Barker

Note: This story was last updated at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 3.

Russell Barker, a Republican, won the race for Anderson County sheriff on Thursday, beating Mark Lucas, a Democrat, in a race decided by about 2,000 votes, according to unofficial results.

Meanwhile, four incumbents were re-elected in two Anderson County Commission districts where there was a challenger in Oak Ridge.

Barker is a detective sergeant with the Clinton Police Department who has served as director of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County. Lucas is chief deputy of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

Barker had 7,684 votes (57.79 percent), compared to 5,613 votes (42.21 percent) for Lucas, according to the unofficial results posted after all 27 precincts had been counted Thursday night.

Anderson County Sheriff Paul White is retiring at the end of his third four-year term, and he did not seek re-election.

In another contested race, Regina Copeland, the Republican director of the 911 center, defeated Ebony Capshaw, a Democrat, by a 69.74 percent to 30.26 percent margin (8,981 votes to 3,987). The last elected trustee, Rodney Archer, is now executive director of the County Officials Association of Tennessee, and Myron Iwanski, a former county commissioner and commission chair appointed to the trustee job through this August election, did not seek the job in the election. [Read more…]

Sample ballot for August 2 county election, state & federal primaries

Posted at 11:05 am August 2, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Here is the sample ballot for the August 2 general election in Anderson County. There are also write-in candidates who have been campaigning for some of these offices, although they don’t appear on the ballot.

The county general election includes selections for mayor, sheriff, county commission, trustee, circuit court clerk, county clerk, register of deeds, road superintendent, and school board, among other positions. Some of the candidates have no opposition. [Read more…]

Voter’s guide: Notes from a candidate forum

Posted at 9:30 am August 2, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was last updated at 10:35 a.m.

Today, August 2, is Election Day in Anderson County. The election includes the Anderson County general election and state and federal primary elections.

It’s the second of three elections this year. The first was the county primary election on May 1, and the last is the municipal election and state and federal elections on November 6.

Here are notes about Anderson County candidates in today’s county general election from a forum at Oak Ridge High School in July. The county general election includes selections for mayor, sheriff, county commission, trustee, circuit court clerk, county clerk, register of deeds, road superintendent, and school board, among other positions. Some of the candidates have no opposition.

Anderson County Sheriff [Read more…]

Creasey seeks re-election to Anderson County Commission, District 7

Posted at 10:06 pm August 1, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Jerry Creasey (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge resident Jerry Creasey is seeking re-election to the Seventh District seat on the Anderson County Commission in the county general election on Thursday, August 2.

Creasey grew up in High Point, North Carolina, where he attended High Point College and graduated from Guildford Technical Institute in Electronics Technology following his four years of service with the United States Air Force as a B-47 Radar and Weapons In-flight Trouble Shooter, a press release said. Coming to Oak Ridge in 1968 to work at the Y-12 plant, Creasey retired as radio systems manager after 27 years of service. He has since been involved with his wife’s small telecommunications business.

Creasey has served as chairman of the Anderson County Commission, as well as chairman of the Legislative, ADA Oversight, Computer, Legislative, and the Veterans Committees. He is presently serving on the ADA Oversight, Broadband, and Budget committees. [Read more…]

Bouchard seeks election to Anderson County Commission District 7

Posted at 9:46 pm August 1, 2018
By Jimmy Bouchard Leave a Comment

Submitted photo

Jimmy Bouchard is seeking election to the Anderson County Commission to represent District 7, which covers the Glenwood, Pine Valley, and Highland View precincts, a press release said.

In a press release, Bouchard said he is a local small business owner of In & Out Maintenance, a renovation and construction company.

“I am a longtime member of the community where my wife and I are happy to be raising a family,” Bouchard said. “I am married to my best friend, Kelsie, and have two boys Kolton, age six and a rising first-grader at Glenwood Elementary, and Kaison who will be turning two in August. We are also very excited and happy to be welcoming our third boy later this fall. I am an extremely hard-working father and take pride in all my efforts, and I want to work hard for all the families in District 7.” [Read more…]

Catherine Denenberg receives endorsement from Tom Beehan, Kay Brookshire

Posted at 4:44 pm August 1, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Pictured above from left are Kay Brookshire, Catherine Denenberg, and Tom Beehan. (Submitted photo)

Former Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and his wife, Kay Brookshire, are supporting Anderson County Commissioner Catherine Denenberg in her race to return to her commission seat representing District 6 in Oak Ridge, a press release said. Election day is Thursday, August 2.

“We support Catherine Denenberg because we believe it’s important to have an independent voice representing Oak Ridge on Anderson County Commission,” Beehan said. “She’s a great problem solver, a good listener, and as a County Commissioner, she works well with other commissioners and with those in Oak Ridge city government.”

Denenberg has represented District 6 since Commissioner Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock stepped down from the position early this year. Hitchcock asked her to seek his commission seat, and Denenberg said she was humbled and honored to do so. County Commissioners voted unanimously to appoint her to the seat, the press release said. [Read more…]

Tonight: AKIN representative to speak to Democratic Women’s Club

Posted at 2:15 pm July 23, 2018
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

Karen Latus, representing Allies of Knoxville’s Immigrant Neighbors (AKIN), will be the guest speaker at the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club meeting on Monday, July 23. The club will meet at 6 p.m. at Swifty’s Atomic Grill, 119 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Latus will discuss immigration and how the current political climate affects families, teachers, and school children, a press release said. She is active in AKIN, a network of people in the Knoxville area who work to encourage dialogue about issues related to immigrants and refugees.

“The network works to promote just and reasonable policies toward immigration and asylum and to foster a welcoming atmosphere in which all people are treated with dignity and respect,” the press release said. [Read more…]