Oak Ridge Today

Friends of Oak Ridge Library have Fall Book Sale this week

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Friends of the Oak Ridge Library, or FOL, will have its Fall 2016 Book Sale October 27 through 30 in the Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium.

The sale will include fiction and nonfiction books, magazines, audiovisual materials, and other publications covering almost every subject, a press release said. Most titles are 50 cents or $1 each.

Titles withdrawn from the Library are half price Thursday through Saturday. Although most sale items are books, there are always a few non-book items.

Thursday evening from 5 to 7:30 p.m. is a preview sale for members, the press release said. Memberships will be available at the door ($5 per person and $10 per family). Scanning devices cannot be used during the preview sale on Thursday. The Silent Auction begins on Thursday evening and ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday. [Read more…]

Charter Commission candidates debate term limits, reducing County Commission, electing law director

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anderson-county-oak-ridge-charter-commission-candidates-collage

Seven candidates for Anderson County Charter Commission sparred over term limits, cutting the Anderson County Commission almost in half, and electing the law director during a public forum in Oak Ridge in October. The candidates, all from three Oak Ridge districts, are pictured above. They are, from top left, top row, Marjorie Mott Lloyd, Steve Mead, Kathy Moore, Theresa Scott, and from bottom left, bottom row, Bob Smallridge, David Stanley, and Hugh Ward. (Photos by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Candidates for Anderson County Charter Commission sparred over term limits, cutting the Anderson County Commission almost in half, and electing the law director during a public forum this month.

There was also a heated exchange over whether two candidates—both county commissioners, including one in her first term and another halfway through his second—are permanent officeholders.

The seven candidates are running for three seats on the eight-member Anderson County Charter Commission in the November 8 election.

The debate over term limits has focused on whether the limits are necessary, whether they would encourage more young people to run for office, and whether Anderson County voters already have the right to impose term limits through elections, among other arguments for and against.

As proposed during the campaign, there could be a two-term limit on county commissioners and the county mayor. However, nothing will be official until the Charter Commission is elected next month, and the Charter Commission is not obligated to consider the proposal. Whether the commission even considers term limits could depend upon which candidates are elected. Any changes proposed by the Charter Commission will be considered by voters in November 2018. If approved, they would go into effect in September 2019. [Read more…]

Charter Commission a ‘big deal’ for Anderson County, attorney says

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Joe Jarret

Joe Jarret (Submitted photo)

 

The Charter Commission being elected on November 8 is a “big deal” for Anderson County, an attorney said this month.

“If you live here, you’re going to be affected by it,” said Joe Jarret. He is an attorney who has served two different charter county governments as law director-chief legal counsel, a University of Tennessee lecturer, and former chief legal counsel to the Knox County Charter Review Commission.

Jarret said there are three types of county government in Tennessee: [Read more…]

Hope responds to PAC endorsements

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Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

Oak Ridge City Council member Chuck Hope, the one incumbent running for re-election in the November 8 election, has responded to the endorsements by the Progress PAC political action committee.

The Progress PAC endorsed Jim Dodson, Joe Lee, and Hans Vogel, who are all making their first runs for seats on the seven-member City Council. The endorsements were announced last week.

Hope was not endorsed. You can see his response here.

The PAC was established two years ago by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors, and it operates autonomously from the Chamber’s Board.

All six of the candidates endorsed by the Progress PAC two years ago were elected, although one candidate who wasn’t endorsed, Rick Chinn, was also elected. [Read more…]

Column: Hope, the incumbent, responds to PAC endorsements

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Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

By Chuck Hope

First of all, I want to say congratulations to Jim Dodson, Joe Lee, and Hans Vogel on being endorsed by the Chamber’s Progress PAC political action committee. I think it is important for the citizens of Oak Ridge to know that those three candidates are not the only candidates who support a vital economic development plan for Oak Ridge.

My community involvement has been extensive, serving on both the Chamber Board and the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the City’s Beer Permit Board before being appointed to Council. I was selected by a council majority in July 2011 to fill a vacated council seat and successfully ran for election in 2012. My vision for economic development is to continue to grow our retail sector while continuing to work harder on industrial growth opportunities. Growth like carbon fiber, whose industry is showing a lot of promise right now.

I want voters to know that I was the top vote-getter in my first election, and I am one of just a few Council members that have been on both the Chamber of Commerce Board (chairman in 2010) and City Council. I have been a businessman in Oak Ridge since 1982, and during the past 15 years, I have supported the City/Chamber contracts and aligned myself with what I thought to be the Chamber’s “mission, vision, and legislative priorities,” and worked closely with the Oak Ridge Board of Education. [Read more…]

Cooper, a Vietnam veteran, longtime industrial recruiter, running for Charter Commission in District 2

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Jim Cooper

Jim Cooper

Jim Cooper, a Vietnam veteran and former president of the Melton Hill Regional Industrial Association, is running for one of eight seats on the Anderson County Charter Commission in the November 8 election.

Cooper is running for the District 2 seat. District 2 includes the Clinton Community Center, South Clinton, and North Clinton voting precincts.

“The City of Clinton has had a charter form of government since 1954, and instituting a charter government in Anderson County presents our county with the opportunity to enact term limits,” Cooper said. “I support term limits (two consecutive four-year terms) for the offices of county commissioners and mayor. I also support electing commissioners for staggered terms—meaning we don’t elect all 16 in just one election year.” [Read more…]

Scott, county commissioner in District 7, running for Charter Commission

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Theresa Scott

Theresa Scott

Anderson County Commissioner Theresa Scott, who represents District 7 in Oak Ridge, is running for Charter Commission in the November 8 election.

In a press release, Scott said she thinks it is extremely important that the representation of Anderson County residents continues to be both non-partisan and knowledgeable of current government processes.

One of the proposals the Anderson County Charter Commission could consider, Scott said, is changing how the county attorney is selected, possibly making it an elected position.

In Tennessee, 91 of 95 counties appoint their county attorney, rather than electing them, Scott said. [Read more…]

BBB-TV posts video from Anderson County Charter Commission candidate forum

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BBB-TV, Channel 12 in Oak Ridge, has posted video from the candidate forum for Anderson County Charter Commission candidates in districts six through eight. Those three districts are primarily in Oak Ridge.

The candidate forum was September 20 at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

See the forum in the video below. [Read more…]

Forum for Anderson County Charter Commission candidates on Thursday

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A Thursday forum will feature candidates for Charter Commission in five districts in Anderson County.

The forum starts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 20, in the “Big Room” at Clinton Community Center, which is at 101 Hicks Street in Clinton, a press release said. The forum is hosted by AndersonCharter.com.

There are 19 people running for eight seats on the Anderson County Charter Commission. Only one person from each County Commission district will be elected to the Charter Commission.

Organizers of the charter effort hope to give residents the ability to have more input and involvement in their local government, the press release said. [Read more…]

Progress PAC endorses Dodson, Lee, Vogel for City Council

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jim-dodson-joe-lee-hans-vogel

Pictured above from left to right are Jim Dodson, Joe Lee, and Hans Vogel.

 

The Progress PAC political action committee has endorsed Jim Dodson, Joe Lee, and Hans Vogel for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 8 election.

The endorsements were announced Wednesday.

“From a crowded field of seven outstanding city council candidates, these three most clearly met the committee’s criteria, which includes support of the mission, vision, and legislative priorities of the Oak Ridge Chamber and a willingness to work closely with the Oak Ridge Board of Education,” Progress PAC Chairman Stephen Whitson said in a press release. [Read more…]

Volunteers needed for annual children’s Halloween Party

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Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

 

Volunteers are still needed to help with the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department’s 2016 Children’s Halloween Party. The deadline to sign up is October 26, the day before the event.

The party is scheduled for Thursday, October 27, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. Volunteers are needed to help run carnival games, work in the “scary room,” help with toddler activities, and assist in the craft room, a press release said.

All volunteers must be 16 and older unless working under the supervision of an adult. Volunteers are given an event T-shirt and a pizza dinner at the conclusion of the event. To volunteer, call the Civic Center information desk at (865) 425-3450. [Read more…]

Mead, a county commissioner, running for Charter Commission

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Steve Mead

Steve Mead

Steve Mead, an Anderson County commissioner representing an Oak Ridge district, is running for one of eight seats on the Anderson County Charter Commission in the November 8 election.

Mead has expressed some concerns about term limits, at least as proposed in Anderson County this campaign season. Term limits have become one of the defining issues of the Charter Commission campaign, although nothing official will be proposed, debated, or approved until after the eight-member commission is elected next month.

In a press release, Mead said eight candidates have made term limits the primary focus of their campaign. He said those eight candidates were recruited by Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and her supporters, although at least two candidates—Jim Cooper and Kathy Moore—have denied that in statements to Oak Ridge Today.

Mead said he supports term limits for career politicians that make a living from their elected offices. That’s similar to the position taken by other nation-wide organizations like U.S. Term Limits Inc., Mead said in the press release. [Read more…]