Chuck Fritts
Note: This story was updated at 8:12 p.m.
CLINTON—Anderson County Commission Chair Chuck Fritts was easily re-appointed to a third one-year term as chairman by his fellow commissioners on Monday.
There were two other nominees: Robert McKamey and Mark Alderson. Fritts, whose district includes Claxton and Bull Run, won in a 12-1-3 vote. Alderson received three votes, and McKamey collected one.
The Oak Ridge City Council will meet in a special session Tuesday evening to consider a one-time $250,000 transfer to the city schools, which could avert a potential loss of millions of dollars in state funding and avoid an Oct. 1 school shutdown.
The Oak Ridge City Council will meet in a special session Tuesday evening to consider a one-time $250,000 transfer to the city schools, which could avert a potential loss of millions of dollars in state funding and avoid an Oct. 1 school shutdown.
The special meeting starts at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.
Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told Superintendent Bruce Borchers last week that Council had agreed to the special session to resolve the $250,000 shortfall but wanted documentation. Watson asked Borchers to respond by noon Monday. [Read more…]
WYSH Radio in Clinton had a scam warning on Monday for businesses who are also customers of Clinton Utilities Board.
Earlier this month, a CUB official notified the Clinton Police Department that three businesses had contacted the utility reporting that they had received phone calls from two different numbers in which the caller told them that they were with the “CUB Disconnect Office†and that they were behind on their bills. In each case, the caller told the business that their service would be disconnected if payment was not made immediately and then provided instructions on how to wire the money through a money service from Walmart or Kmart. [Read more…]
Information International Associates Inc. announced Monday that it has been awarded a $24 million federal contract to operate the Homeland Defense and Security Information Analysis Center, or HDIAC. IIa will operate the center for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Technical Information Center, or DTIC.
A press release said the work will focus on research and analysis in eight major Homeland Defense disciplines: homeland defense and security; critical infrastructure protection; weapons of mass destruction; chemical, biological, radiologic, and nuclear defense; biometrics; medical; cultural studies; and alternative energy. [Read more…]
Three Oak Ridge businesses have avoided short suspensions of their beer permits, but five more have hearings in the next two months.
The Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board had imposed the suspensions against the three businesses in three separate meetings during the past three months. Two were punished for selling beer to a minor and one over concerns that included questions about whether it was serving its customers too much alcohol.
But all three businesses have complied with the Beer Board’s orders, so they were able to avoid the suspensions, Oak Ridge Senior Staff Attorney Tammy Dunn said last week. [Read more…]
Chuck Fritts
Robert McKamey
The Anderson County Commission is scheduled to elect a chair and vice chair during a Monday evening meeting.
Commissioner Chuck Fritts, one of two commissioners representing Claxton and Bull Run, is the current chair, and he is seeking appointment to a third one-year term.
But Commissioner Robert McKamey—one of two commissioners representing Clinton High, Marlow, Norwood, and Dutch Valley—is also seeking the chairmanship. [Read more…]
The race course for the Neon Vibe 5K on Sept. 21 is pictured above. (Submitted image)
Intersections and roads in central Oak Ridge will be closed for a few hours next weekend for the first Neon Vibe 5K race in Tennessee.
The race starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, near the pavilion inside Alvin K. Bissell Park. The course includes ORAU Way, Robertsville and Providence roads, North and South Tulane avenues, and Badger Avenue.
The Oak Ridge Police Department will start closing major intersections and side roads at 7 p.m., a press release said. The entire race course will be closed to all traffic by 7:30 p.m. [Read more…]
The maintenance of effort spreadsheet pictured above is used to determine whether local revenues for Oak Ridge Schools are the same from year to year. This spreadsheet, which includes some budget adjustments, shows a $250,000 shortfall. (Image courtesy Oak Ridge Schools/Karen Gagliano)
Note: This story was updated at 11:35 a.m.
It might be difficult to understand the concerns about Oak Ridge Schools’ funding and the state maintenance of effort test without seeing the local revenue numbers.
So, Oak Ridge Today has posted a copy of a maintenance of effort spreadsheet provided by Karen Gagliano, Oak Ridge Schools business and support services director. This spreadsheet includes budget adjustments that helped reduce the local revenue shortfall from the original $393,000 to a smaller $250,000.
Oak Ridge education officials have asked the city to cover that smaller shortfall to avoid a loss in state funding of $1.87 million per month and avert a school shutdown on Oct. 1. It’s the equivalent of a 2.5-cent property tax rate increase, although it’s too late for a tax increase this year. [Read more…]
Mark Watson
The Oak Ridge City Council has agreed to meet in a special session next week to try to resolve a $250,000 school funding shortfall that education officials claim could lead to a loss of millions of dollars in state funding and a temporary school shutdown if it’s not resolved by Oct. 1.
But Council members want documentation to accompany the request, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told Superintendent Bruce Borchers in a Sept. 11 letter. It should include an explanation of why the money is needed, information on decisions made by the Oak Ridge Board of Education to close schools on Oct. 1 if the funding is not obtained, and copies of any formal notice from the Tennessee education commissioner that he has agreed to withhold all of the state funding for Oak Ridge Schools starting in October, the city manager said. [Read more…]
A city board on Thursday ordered the owner of Price Florist on Oak Ridge Turnpike to demolish the building within 60 days.
A city board on Thursday ordered the owner of the former Price Florist building on Oak Ridge Turnpike to demolish it within 60 days.
The Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals had considered whether to issue a demolition or repair order for the once-thriving store at three other meetings this year, but members had given property owner Patricia Warren of Crossville several extensions to allow her time to come back with a sales contract, repair plan, or demolition permit. On Thursday, they said she had run out of time.
“I think we’ve bent over backwards to accommodate you and your property,†board member Philip Nipper said before the 6-0 vote in favor of demolition. [Read more…]
Karla McKanders
University of Tennessee College of Law professor Karla McKanders will discuss immigration law on Constitution Day on Tuesday at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge Campus.
The lecture will be held from 1–2:30 p.m. in the City Room. The event is free, and the public is invited.
McKanders’ research focuses on civil rights, immigration and asylum law, and policy. She has explored the constitutionality of recent state and local laws targeting immigrants and the legal connections between past discriminatory laws and current anti-immigrant legislation. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department is now accepting race applications for 2014. Organizations that wish to host 5Ks, triathlons, marathons, walks, or fun runs next year are strongly encouraged to contact the department to inquire about available dates and courses.
The popularity and frequency of races is increasing. For this reason, the City of Oak Ridge has developed guidelines to permit safe racing on the city’s streets and highways. [Read more…]
