Oak Ridge Today

Sequestration could lead to $23 million in budget cuts at TVA

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The automatic federal spending cuts set to start taking effect Friday could result in $23 million in budget cuts at the Tennessee Valley Authority, a spokesman said Wednesday.

But the federal spending cuts—also referred to as sequestration—would probably not lead to temporary layoffs at the public utility, TVA spokesman Duncan Mansfield said. The federal cuts would trim $85 billion from defense and domestic spending for the rest of the fiscal year.

“We anticipate that we would not have to do furloughs, and we would be able to manage that through head count attrition,” Mansfield said. “At this point, we are not seeing an immediate impact.”

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Oak Ridge celebrates Arbor Day on Friday with tree planting

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The Environmental Quality Advisory Board and the City of Oak Ridge are sponsoring a 28th Annual Arbor Day Observance on Friday.

The ceremony, which starts at 10 a.m. at Willow Brook Elementary School, will also mark the 25th year that Oak Ridge has been recognized as a Tree City USA.

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TDOT to spend $1.2 million to make Highway 116 safer

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Tennessee Department of Transportation will spend more than $1.2 million to make safety improvements on Highway 116, also known as New River Highway, in Anderson County’s Briceville community.

After a string of accidents, including some fatalities, on the rural road, local officials began trying to find ways to prevent them in the future and those efforts paid off last August when a team of TDOT officials joined Anderson County commissioners Tim Isbel and Zach Bates, members of the Briceville Volunteer Fire Department, and deputies from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department on a tour of the 11-mile stretch of road from Frost Bottom to the Campbell County line.

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Sen. Alexander votes against Hagel confirmation for defense secretary

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander voted against the confirmation of Chuck Hagel as defense secretary on Tuesday.

Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, was confirmed in a 58-41 vote, ending a nearly two-month battle that included an unprecedented filibuster against the nominee.

“I consider Chuck Hagel a patriot,” said Alexander, a Tennessee Republican. “But he is not the right person to lead the world’s largest military organization in these dangerous times.”

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Mayor’s speech had ‘false,’ ‘misleading’ information, commissioner says

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Myron Iwanski

Myron Iwanski

Note: This story was updated at 1:40 p.m. Feb. 27.

Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski said the speech given by Mayor Terry Frank on Monday contained some “false and misleading” information.

Frank held a press conference at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton on Monday, saying she had to respond to accusations that she was taking advantage of taxpayers by using a county car and accepting travel payment.

In her speech during the press conference, Frank said the $400 per month that Anderson County Commission Chairman Chuck Fritts has accused her of receiving is not travel money. Instead, it is a salary supplement that was added to the mayor’s salary back in 1988 when David Bolling was county mayor, Frank said.

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Professor to give keynote address at Oak Ridge BIG Scholarship Luncheon

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Cheryl "Shelly" T. George

Cheryl “Shelly” T. George

In celebration of Black History Month, the Oak Ridge Chapter of Blacks in Government is sponsoring the Annual BIG Scholarship Luncheon on Thursday, a press release said.

It’s scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The keynote speaker will be professor and author Cheryl “Shelly” T. George. She will discuss the 2013 Black History Month theme “Honoring Freedom: 150 Years after the Emancipation Proclamation and 50 Years after the March on Washington.”

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Corker: Senate condemns North Korea nuclear test, calls for new sanctions

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U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker on Monday said a recent nuclear test by North Korea violated international agreements and posed a threat to regional and global security.

Corker, who is a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Senate unanimously passed a resolution condemning the nuclear test.

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Council approves $18 million in borrowing for sewer system repairs

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Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

After more than an hour of discussion, the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday approved the borrowing of $18 million in low-interest state loans to help pay for a $23 million project to fix the municipal sewer system.

Council voted 6-1 to borrow the money at a 1.23 percent interest rate through the State Revolving Fund program, which is administered by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

The work is being done to comply with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order that requires Oak Ridge to repair all sewer system overflows by Sept. 28, 2015.

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Commission chair: Mayor needs to choose between travel supplement, vehicle

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Chuck Fritts

Chuck Fritts

Anderson County Commission Chairman Chuck Fritts continued to insist Monday that Mayor Terry Frank should either accept a $400-per-month travel supplement or use a county car—but not do both, as he alleges she has.

The $4,800-per-year salary supplement is offered in place of the mayor using a county car, a 1998 Ford Crown Victoria, Fritts said in an e-mail after Frank’s Monday morning press conference.

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Travel accusations forced press conference, county mayor says

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Terry Frank Press Conference

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank says the county commission chairman has made accusations against her related to county travel and vehicle policy, but she has violated no laws.

CLINTON—Her honesty has been questioned, and she has been the subject of a politically motivated smear campaign, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said.

Anderson County Commission Chairman Chuck Fritts has accused her of taking advantage of taxpayers by using a county car and accepting travel payments, Frank during a Monday morning press conference at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

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City asked to strike balance between businesses, community over electronic signs

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Misty Robbins at Electronic Signs Public Hearing

Misty Robbins, right, of Snappy Tomato Pizza, said the restaurant could buy an electronic sign but wants to see what new regulations might be issued to govern them.

Business owners call them effective, a great way to get out their messages.

But a few residents call them distracting and offensive, at least in some cases.

Caught in the middle are Oak Ridge officials. They are trying to write new regulations for the electronic signs, considering how to govern brightness, display times, and transitions between messages.

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‘Breakfast with the Legislators’ on Monday

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This month’s “Breakfast with the Legislators” will be Monday morning at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The hour-long breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m. in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Social Room. A free, light continental breakfast will be served.

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