Oak Ridge Today

Federal agents investigate DOE subcontractor based in Oliver Springs

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Federal Agents at TOPS in Oliver Springs

On Thursday, federal agents investigate the Oliver Springs offices of TOPS, a U.S. Department of Energy subcontractor.

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 17.

OLIVER SPRINGS—A federal subcontractor that works at U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge is under investigation by several federal agencies, including the FBI, IRS, and DOE Office of Inspector General.

Federal agents were at the Oliver Springs headquarters of the contractor, TOPS, on Thursday, but officials would not comment on the investigation. The office is on Winter Gap Road, next to Highway 62 just north of downtown Oliver Springs.

Dennis Holenstein at the IRS’ Nashville Field Office confirmed that agents from IRS Criminal Investigations were assisting with the investigation, but he referred a reporter to the DOE Office of Inspector General. The IG, in turn, referred calls to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Tennessee. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said its policy is to neither comment on, nor confirm or deny, the existence or status of a pending investigation.

[Read more…]

House spending bill avoids government shutdown, provides fiscal certainty, Fleischmann says

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill funding the federal government for 2014, avoiding government shutdowns for the rest of the fiscal year and providing some fiscal certainty for the weak economic recovery, Congressman Chuck Fleischmann’s office said in a statement Wednesday.

“For too long Congress has jumped from crisis to crisis, and that is neither good for the economy nor the American people,” said Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge. “The bill, which passed the House today with bipartisan support, provides zero new funding for Obamacare, protects all current pro-life policies, and provides real fiscal oversight. This bill was a compromise and is not perfect, but it is a step in the right direction and holds the line on spending priorities.”

The vote for the $1.1 trillion spending bill, which will fund the government through October, was 359-67, with 64 Republicans and three Democrats opposed in the Republican-led House. The legislation now goes to the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, and it is expected to pass it easily this week. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Today adds 2014 Election section

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It’s shaping up to be a big election year, and Oak Ridge Today has added a special 2014 Election section to help you keep up with the candidates and issues. You can access that section by clicking on the 2014 Election button in the navigation bar near the top of the website.

As of Friday, there were already more than three dozen candidates for various state and county offices in Anderson County. [Read more…]

Assistant DA running for juvenile court judge

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Victoria "Vickie" Bannach

Victoria “Vickie” Bannach

Assistant District Attorney General Victoria “Vickie” Bannach is running as a Republican candidate for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge.

“As a parent and prosecuting attorney, she has seen first-hand the importance of stable families, strong values, good education, and discipline in raising healthy, well-adjusted children, and maintaining a safe community,” a press release said.

Bannach is one of five potential candidates for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge. The current juvenile court judge, Brandon Fisher, a Clinton Democrat, is running for Anderson County chancellor.

In the press release, Bannach said she will ensure that the children and families of Anderson County are treated with compassion, and reunification, fairness, and equality will be considered in juvenile court cases. At the same time, the best interests of the children will be protected, she said.

“The residents of Anderson County deserve no less,” Bannach said. [Read more…]

New SRO approved at Oak Ridge Schools, could start Monday

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Oak Ridge City Council

The Oak Ridge City Council voted 5-1 on Monday to approve a move that allows another school resource officer, or SRO, to be added to Oak Ridge Schools.

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 14.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved a move on Monday that will add a second school resource officer in the city’s schools, and the new SRO could start Monday.

The new SRO is Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Michael Swigert. The current SRO is Officer Sherrill Selby.

It’s not as big a step as some officials had proposed during the past few years. There have been various proposals to have a total of three SROs, including one at each of the city’s two middle schools, or even more, perhaps one SRO at each school. The discussions seemed to gain urgency after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012, but funding has been an obstacle. [Read more…]

Corker calls for continued commitment to nuclear modernization

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U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker has called on the Obama administration to maintain its commitment to nuclear modernization in next year’s budget and include the necessary funding in the fiscal year that starts in October.

Corker, a Tennessee Republican, made the request after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel expressed support for resources to modernize the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

Corker is the ranking member of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee.

In a press release, he said President Barack Obama agreed to provide the “full and necessary funding to upgrade and modernize the United States’ aging nuclear arsenal” during the Senate debate in 2010 over the New START Treaty with Russia. [Read more…]

Weston Wamp will oppose Fleischmann again in U.S. House race

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Weston Wamp

Weston Wamp

Weston Wamp announced on Monday that he will oppose U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann again.

Wamp, the son of former Congressman Zach Wamp, is a Chattanooga Republican who ran against Fleischmann in the 2012 election. Fleischmann is now in his second term, and he represents Tennessee’s Third District, which includes Oak Ridge.

Fleischmann replaced Zach Wamp, Weston’s father, in 2010, when Zach Wamp unsuccessfully ran for Tennessee governor.

In a campaign announcement, Weston Wamp took aim at federal legislators in general and Fleischmann in particular. [Read more…]

Sewer rehab work continues, starting this week

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Starting this week, a city contractor will be rehabilitating sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and roadways.

The work will be done by Hurst Excavating. Affected homeowners should have received color-coordinated (orange and purple) letters and door hangers providing general information with contractor contact information, a press release said.

Below is a list of the streets where work will be conducted this week. The weather could cause schedule changes. [Read more…]

So far, five candidates for juvenile judge, four for sheriff, three for chancellor

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Anderson County Courthouse

The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above.

So far, there are five potential candidates for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge, four for sheriff, and three for chancellor.

An independent has picked up a petition to run for county mayor, possibly opposing Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, and Tennessee Rep. John Ragan has an opponent in the Aug. 7 Republican primary.

The five candidates for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge are Victoria “Vickie” Bannach, a Clinton Republican; Lauren Biloski, an Oak Ridge Republican; Victoria Bowling, a Heiskell Democrat; J. Michael Clement, a Clinton Democrat; and Brian J. Hunt, a Clinton Republican. They are candidates in the May 6 county primary.

The current juvenile court judge, Brandon Fisher, a Clinton Democrat, is running for Anderson County chancellor in that election. The other two chancellor candidates are Phil Harber, a Clinton Republican, and Robert Warren Wilkinson, an Oak Ridge Republican. [Read more…]

Rail company offers county two bridge replacement options

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Information from WYSH Radio

CSX Railroad Corp. has given the Anderson County government options on how to address the issues that have kept a railroad-owned bridge on a county road closed since July.

The bridge on Johnson Gap Road—which is the shortest route between Clinton and the Dutch Valley community—has been closed since July 13, when Tennessee Department of Transportation inspectors determined that the wooden bridge supports were no longer safe.

CSX has offered to rebuild the old wooden bridge with a five-ton weight limit at its own expense or allow the county to replace it with a concrete structure. County officials estimate that a concrete bridge would likely cost the county around $450,000. [Read more…]

Anderson committee recommends referendum on federal prisoners at county jail

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Anderson County Legislative Committee on Jail Referendum

The Anderson County Legislative Committee on Thursday recommended a non-binding referendum be put on the August ballot to ask voters whether federal and state prisoners should be housed at the county jail. From left are Whitey Hitchcock, Jerry Creasey, Tim Isbel, Dusty Irwin, and Steve Mead.

CLINTON—An Anderson County committee on Thursday recommended taking steps to ask voters in August whether state and federal prisoners should be housed in the county jail, which is being expanded.

Some county commissioners say that housing pre-trial federal inmates could help cover jail costs, while other county officials, including the mayor, say that they don’t want to get into the federal prison business.

On Thursday, the Anderson County Legislative Committee recommended that the Anderson County Commission consider sending the question to voters in a non-binding referendum in August.

But there are several hurdles. First, 11 of the 16 county commissioners would have to approve the move, possibly during their daytime meeting on Jan. 21, Commission Chairman Chuck Fritts said. Then, a private act would have to be approved in the Tennessee General Assembly in Nashville by early June to put the question on the August ballot. [Read more…]

New interchange opens land for development, reuses industrial building

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Centrifuge Way Dedication

Local and state officials and business leaders celebrate the new interchange at Centrifuge Way and South Illinois Avenue with a Thursday afternoon ribbon-cutting.

The new interchange at Centrifuge Way and South Illinois Avenue opens land for development on top of Pine Ridge and help a uranium enrichment company reuse an industrial building in south Oak Ridge, officials said Thursday.

The $1.6 million state project to improve the interchange at the former Boeing Road was under way in December 2012 and completed in the summer of 2013.

“Because of this interchange, there will be more land available,” Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan said during a Thursday afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony. [Read more…]