Oak Ridge Today

Emert elected chair of Anderson Commission, Isbel is vice chair

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Steve Emert

Steve Emert

Anderson County Commissioner Steve Emert was elected chair of the Anderson County Commission on Monday, replacing former Chair Robert McKamey, and Commissioner Tim Isbel was elected vice chair of the 16-member legislative body.

McKamey had sought to be reappointed to a second one-year term as chair. But he only picked up two votes Monday, one from him and the other from Commissioner Philip Warfield.

Emert, who has been vice chair for one one-year term, voted “no” for McKamey, and all other commissioners who were present abstained, which was, under the rules, a vote for Emert. Nine votes were required.

Anderson County commissioners Myron Iwanski and Angeleque McNutt were absent.

Isbel was appointed vice chair. No one else sought that post. [Read more…]

Alexander Guest House renovation restores grandeur at historic hotel

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Alexander Guest House Ballroom and Cafeteria Sept. 23, 2015

The ballroom and cafeteria area is pictured above at the Alexander Guest House, which converted the beloved but long-vacant Alexander Inn hotel into an assisted living center. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

It’s been a dream for years, and now the preservation and transformation of the former Alexander Inn is nearly complete.

The two-year, $8 million construction and renovation project is almost finished, and Alexander Guest House could open as an assisted living facility in about two weeks, said Rick Dover of Dover Development of East Tennessee.

Sixty percent of the 64 apartments are already reserved, Executive Director Jody Daugherty said during a media tour Wednesday. Among those who will live there are Jean Stone of Oak Ridge and Dean Ford of Oliver Springs. They participated in the media tour on Wednesday.

“I think they’ve done a remarkable job of restoring it to its grandeur,” said Stone, a longtime Oak Ridge resident who has “many fine memories” of parties, weddings, wedding receptions, and club meetings, among other events, at the historic two-story hotel. “Once I saw what they’re doing here, I wanted to come here. I think it will be a lovely place to live. It’s absolutely tremendous.”

The historic two-story hotel was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II, and top scientists and dignitaries once stayed there. [Read more…]

Council to get update on airport this evening

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Oak Ridge Airport Development Plan

The Heritage Center airport development plan is pictured above. (Cropped image from DOE Draft Environmental Assessment)

 

The City Council will get an update on the proposed general aviation airport in west Oak Ridge during a work session this evening.

The update will be given by Billy Stair, public affairs consultant for the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority.

The airport could cost $30-$40 million, and construction could start in 2018, according to a current timeline and construction estimate. The airport would include a 5,000-foot runway and be built at the front side of Heritage Center, the former K-25 site.

The Oak Ridge airport would the third for the MKAA, which would own the site. The other two are McGhee Tyson in Blount County and Downtown Island in Knoxville. The Oak Ridge airport would be a reliever airport and help relieve congestion at the other two airports. [Read more…]

AC Commission preview

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Anderson County Courthouse

The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above. (File photo)

Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. today (Monday, September 21) in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

Prior to this evening’s meeting, the Commission will issue a proclamation saluting Anderson County Community Action Commission for its 50 years of service to the county.

Once the meeting begins, one of the more interesting items on the agenda will be consideration of an Operations Committee recommendation that a writ of mandamus be sought from a judge to force Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank to sign a motion that has been approved twice by the Commission to open an access road to the East Wolf Valley convenience center in Claxton to alleviate traffic congestion.

Frank will address what she calls the county’s non-compliance with state laws regarding vehicles for elected officials and will revisit the issue of whether the Commission has the authority to directly hire and supervise employees. [Read more…]

Harvest Hike on Melton Lake Greenway on Oct. 3

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City of Oak Ridge Harvest Hike

A Harvest Hike on Melton Lake Greenway on October 3 will feature a 4.2-mile “out and back” walk with optional trail hiking.

The hike is scheduled from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, October 3 at Melton Lake Greenway, Phase 4.

The walk path has varied elevations and can accommodate bicycles and strollers.

The hike will start from the Haw Ridge parking area on Edgemoor Road promptly at 9 a.m., organizers said. The hike is sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee and Oak Ridge Schools Coordinated Health.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Property tax bills sent out, payments due Oct. 31

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Oak Ridge property tax bills were sent out, and payments are due without penalty by October 31.

The tax statements should have been received by September 1, the City of Oak Ridge said.

The city received the certified tax rate—or tax-neutral rate—from Tennessee this summer and adopted the $2.52 rate without changing it. That’s in contrast to other surrounding city and county governments, including Anderson and Roane counties.

Problems in Roane County’s re-assessments delayed the city from setting the tax rate and sending out tax bills when expected. But those problems were resolved as of August 3.

The new tax-neutral rate went up in Oak Ridge because total property assessments went down in Anderson and Roane counties. The tax-neutral rate is meant to bring in the same amount of revenue after a five-year reappraisal as before. [Read more…]

City crews working to restore power after early morning electrical failure

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Frank Callaghan Towers Electric Repairs

Oak Ridge Electric Department crews work to restore electricity to Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road after a power failure was reported early Friday morning. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge Electric Department crews worked to restore electricity to Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road after an early morning power failure on Friday.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department responded to the report of a fire alarm at Callaghan Towers on 115 Fairbanks Road at approximately 3:31 a.m. on Friday, September 18. When they arrived, ORFD firefighters investigated and found the elevator mechanical room was filled with smoke. ORFD entered into the room using a thermal imaging camera and found elevator motor number one to be smoking and elevator motor number two to be overheating, a press release said.

Firefighters disconnected power to the elevators and set up exhaust fans in the outside doorways to clear the building of smoke. Residents from the first floor were evacuated from the building until the building was cleared of smoke. Residents on floors two through six were sheltered in place in their rooms during the event. [Read more…]

Photos: Jackson Square parking lot work continues Thursday

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Jackson Square Fountain and Landscaping

New landscaping is in the foreground and the interactive fountain is in the background at Jackson Square as construction continued on the $1 million parking lot renovation on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The $1 million renovation of the Jackson Square parking lot continued Thursday, with the goal of finishing the project in time for Taste of Anderson County on Saturday.

Construction started in January on what has turned into one of the most closely watched projects in Oak Ridge. Work is funded with help from a $741,609 Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant that was awarded to the city in June 2012. The TDOT grant covers 80 percent of the work, and it requires a 20 percent city match.

The work is reported to be the first major renovation at Jackson Square in 70 years. It includes a landscaped pedestrian plaza with parking, an interactive fountain, stone pavers, curbing, asphalt paving, utilities, benches, sidewalks, and upgrades under the American with Disabilities Act. [Read more…]

Taste of Anderson County on Saturday, work continues at Jackson Square

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Jackson Square Fountain Brick Work

Workers install bricks at the interactive fountain area in Jackson Square on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Work continued at the Jackson Square parking lot this week as merchants, organizers, and the city prepare for Taste of Anderson County on Saturday.

The substantial completion date for the parking lot work was expected to be Tuesday, September 15, and the goal is to have the project done in time for Taste of Anderson County.

The annual outdoor festival features food and music. It’s scheduled from 4-9 p.m. Saturday, September 19, in the Jackson Square parking lot. This year, there will be music, more than 20 different restaurant vendors, and a bar stocked with beer, wine, and moonshine cocktails and wings, organizers said.

Taste of Anderson County will benefit two local causes: United Way of Anderson County and the Free Medical Clinic. [Read more…]

New Roane tax rate could mean another $95 for OR homeowner

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David Morgan

David Morgan (File photo/2012)

The new certified property tax rate and tax rate increase in Roane County could cost the owner of a $100,000 home in Oak Ridge another $95 per year, according to data provided by the Roane County property assessor.

That’s a 19.29 percent increase, according to the information from Property Assessor David Morgan. Here’s the breakdown of the increase: 4.37 percent was due to the increase in the state-certified rate—Tennessee officials call it a tax-neutral rate—and 19.29 percent was due to the 29-cent increase approved by the Roane County Commission on Monday and anticipated in a budget passed in July.

The tax-neutral rate in Roane County went up because the total overall property assessment went down 3.47 percent. The tax-neutral rate is the rate meant to bring in the same amount of revenues after a reappraisal as before. If the overall property assessment goes down, the tax-neutral rate goes up, and vice versa.

The additional $95 per year assumes the property assessment stayed the same, at $100,000, in the five-year reappraisals completed this year. [Read more…]

Five TN veterans, including Kallio of Oak Ridge, to receive French Legion of Honor

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Melvin Kallio Family

Melvin Kallio, center, received a Bronze Star on Monday, April 6, 2015, 70 years after he fought in Colmar Pocket in France during World War II, south of the Battle of the Bulge. Kallio is pictured above with family and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge resident and World War II veteran Melvin E. Kallio is one of five Tennessee veterans who will receive the prestigious Legion of Honor Medal from France in a ceremony in Nashville in October.

“As an expression of France’s eternal gratitude to those who liberated it from oppression from 1944-1945, the Consul General of France to the U.S. Southeast, Denis Barbet, will bestow the Legion of Honor upon five WWII veterans from Tennessee,” said a press release from the Consulate General of France in Atlanta.

The National Order of the Legion of Honor is the highest honor conferred upon a French or foreign national in France. It was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, and it recognizes eminent services to the French Republic.

American veterans who risked their lives during World War II and who fought on French territory qualify to be decorated as Knights of the Legion of Honor. Veterans must have fought in one of the four main campaigns of the Liberation of France: Normandy, Provence, Ardennes, or Northern France. Recipients of this honor are designated by the President of the Republic, François Hollande.

Kallio, who said he was 92 in April, fought in Colmar Pocket. He was a machine gunner in the 12th Armored Division, and he and other soldiers had been ready to fight at the Battle of the Bulge. [Read more…]

WYSH: Roane Commission passes tax increase

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Roane County Courthouse

The Roane County Courthouse in Kingston is pictured above. (File photo)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

The Roane County Commission approved a property tax rate increase at its meeting Monday night by a vote of 8-6.

Property taxes will go up by about 30 cents per $100 of assessed value. The increase was needed to support the fiscal budget.

Commissioners approved the county’s budget back in July. Twenty-two cents of the tax increase will go toward the county schools. County Executive Ron Woody said commission members knew the schools needed the money.

Approval of the property tax comes after months of waiting for the state to finish its assessments after the state comptroller’s office took over for the Roane County Assessor’s Office.

BBB-TV owner Ron Berry was elected commission chairman on Monday, and Harriman’s Randy Ellis was elected to his fifth term as vice chairman.