Tennessee officials had little to say on Wednesday about the potential loss of state education funding that Oak Ridge school officials have said could cost the school system $1.87 million per month—and lead to a temporary school shutdown on Oct. 1.
“We are starting to have meetings with various people regarding this situation, but at this point, we don’t have anything to report,” said Kelli Gauthier, communications director for the Tennessee Department of Education. [Read more…]
Madeline Rogero
Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero will discuss the Democratic Party in East Tennessee during a Sept. 23 meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club.
Rogero is guest speaker at the meeting, which starts at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Social Room. A meet-and-greet will take place from 5:30-6 p.m., with dinner at 6 p.m., followed by Rogero’s comments, a press release said. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Mall economic development area is pictured above. The map shows a contiguous area that could be affected economically by the proposed development, which only includes the former 60-acre mall property, according to a city consultant. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
A city board this month will consider a financing arrangement that could be worth up to $10 million and allow a North Carolina company to use new property tax revenues generated at a redeveloped Oak Ridge Mall to be used for site development, possibly including for roads, stoplights, and demolition work.
Many of the details aren’t available yet, including the precise amount of the proposed tax increment financing, or TIF, agreement and the length of time it could be in effect. The details will be discussed at a Sept. 26 meeting of the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, when members will consider an economic impact plan, city consultant Ray Evans said.
The economic development area could include about 90 acres. It would include the 60-acre mall and could include an apartment complex and museum, movie theater and pizza shop, real estate firm and hotel, and several busy stores on Oak Ridge Turnpike—properties that could benefit from the TIF, Evans said.
Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers, left, and City Manager Mark Watson have had a series of meetings concerning the school system’s failure to pass a state maintenance of effort test, and a possible resolution of a $250,000 shortfall to avoid a potential loss in state funding of up to $1.87 million per month.
Schools want city to cover $250,000 shortfall, could require 2.5-cent tax increase
It’s a high-stakes battle between the city and the schools, with a potential loss of up to $1.87 million per month in state funding—and a possible shutdown of the school system on Oct. 1.
School officials said the Oak Ridge system has failed a state maintenance of effort test that requires local funding to remain at least the same from year to year. After some budget adjustments, there is a $250,000 shortfall, school officials said, and they want the city to cover it. It’s the equivalent of a 2.5-cent property tax rate increase.
“Unfortunately, we’re just in the position to ask the city to help us,†Oak Ridge Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Thursday. “They’re going to have to find that $250,000.†[Read more…]
Lamar Alexander
Bob Corker
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann this week said they oppose the use of military force or a limited strike in Syria in retaliation for the government’s suspected use of chemical weapons in the country’s civil war.
Meanwhile, Sen. Bob Corker said he was skeptical about an offer to have Syria turn over its chemical weapons in order to avoid an attack.
President Barack Obama has asked Congress to authorize a limited military strike. [Read more…]
An airport with a 5,000-foot runway could serve small business jets and pressurized turbine aircraft at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, in west Oak Ridge. An image of the proposed runway is in yellow at right. (Photo courtesy Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority)
The airport proposed at Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge could feature a 5,000-foot runway, accommodate all but the largest business jets, and cost between $35 million and $45 million, an official said Monday.
Construction at the site is possible around 2017 to 2018, said Bill Marrison, president of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority.
The airport would be built at the front of Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, and the runway would parallel Highway 58. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday approved water and sewer rate increases that will take effect January 2014 and January 2015. (File photo)
There was much opposition online, and in phone calls to city hall, but few public objections to back-to-back utility rate increases at a Monday night Oak Ridge City Council meeting.
The Council voted in two separate 6-1 votes to raise water and sewer rates in January 2014 and again in January 2015. The increases range from 8 percent to 15 percent.
The new rate hikes, which will be considered on second and final reading in October, would result in water bills that could go up by a minimum of $1.35 per month in January 2014 and then another $1.19 per month in 2015. Sewer bills would increase a minimum of $2.78 per month next year and then rise another $2.13 per month the following year. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Public Library is joining libraries across the country as the starting point for people who will be participating in the Affordable Care Act.
The Marketplace opens Oct. 1, and it can be accessed through the website www.healthcare.gov. President Obama has called upon libraries with public Internet access to help fill the need of the estimated one in five Americans who do not have Internet access. [Read more…]
The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above.
Information from WYSH Radio
This story was updated Sept. 14, 2013.
An Anderson County committee is scheduled to consider a recommendation on Wednesday to close all but one entrance to the county courthouse in Clinton.
That move has been recommended by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputy in charge of courthouse security. ACSD Cpl. John McCulley wrote in a memo to the committee that limiting access to the courthouse to only one entrance and one exit will “better protect the courts and the citizens of Anderson County.†[Read more…]
NASHVILLE—The Tennessee Valley Authority has been named for the eighth consecutive year as one of Site Selection magazine’s top 10 North American utilities for achievement in economic development.
The publication recognizes TVA’s work in fiscal year 2012 with local power companies and regional, state, and community partners in helping to attract or retain more than 48,000 jobs and leveraging $5.9 billion in capital investment for the seven-state TVA service territory. [Read more…]
Jeffery Scott Braden
He was the only one of 42 people indicted earlier this year to go to trial in an unprecedented meth-making conspiracy, and now the Lake City man has been found guilty, authorities said Friday.
After a three-day federal trial, a jury convicted Jeffrey Scott Braden of conspiracy to manufacture 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; the possession of equipment, chemicals, products, and materials that can be used to make it; and being a felon in possession of ammunition, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Braden was tried in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. [Read more…]
Within the next week, residents and businesses located in the east end of Oak Ridge should be receiving an information letter in the mail from the City of Oak Ridge concerning sewer rehabilitation work in the area. The letter is on orange paper and provides general information concerning the sewer work.
Hurst Excavating LLC is currently conducting preconstruction work in the area. This work includes tasks such as locating manholes and walking the terrain of the area, so residents may see workers in their yard or along the greenbelt. [Read more…]
