There will be a special public workshop about the Anderson County Senior Center building at 205 Main Street on Tuesday, August 7.
The workshop will start at 4 p.m. August 7 in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.
“The purpose of the workshop is to discuss the Senior Center building at 205 Main Street,” a notice said. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi
Note: This story was updated at 12:35 a.m.
Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi has been placed on administrative leave, and Deputy Chief Robin Smith has taken over daily operations for now, City Manager Mark Watson said Thursday.
Akagi is on leave until Watson can meet with him after returning from a trip to China, the city manager said.
Three anonymous letters were sent in June and July to Watson, Oak Ridge City Council members, other law enforcement officials, and local media outlets. The letters have been reviewed and have been a catalyst for concern, Watson said Thursday.
The letters are not signed, but they said they are from Oak Ridge Police Department employees. One letter said it represented an “overwhelming majority” of ORPD members. Among other things, the letters raised concerns about harassment, a hostile work environment, hostility, retaliation, policy decisions, and turnover. The letters ask for Akagi’s removal or termination, and an investigation by the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission or some other “independent and unbiased agency.” They said conditions have not improved since the 2015 review by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee and have gotten worse instead. [Read more…]
Submitted image
Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning will partner with the Tennessee Valley Authority in a Discover Life in America “BioBlitz” at Worthington Cemetery in Oak Ridge on Saturday.
A BioBlitz is an event in which the public is invited to help with plant and animal identification, an event notice said.
The event’s organizer, Melinda Watson of TVA Natural Resources, said Worthington was selected because of its unique and varied habitats, including a cedar barren, native warm season grass meadow, hardwoods, marsh/swamp, hemlocks, among other habitats, the event notice said.
Each participant needs to have access to a smartphone, tablet, or a camera with GPS capability, the TCWP said. [Read more…]
Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge Community Development Department
A rezoning to be considered by Oak Ridge officials next week proposes about 200 homes on 32 acres near South Illinois Avenue and Centrifuge Way in south Oak Ridge.
The property is currently zoned industrial. The request, if approved, would rezone it as low-density residential. The request will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday.
The property, which is currently vacant, is owned by Commercial Bank. It’s in an area north of South Illinois Avenue and the Summit, south of Mitchell Road and Crossroads at Wolf Creek, east of Lafayette Drive and Midway Lane, and west of Centrus (formerly known as USEC in a building once used by Boeing) and the University of Tennessee Arboretum.
The potential developer is not named in a review of the rezoning request by the Oak Ridge municipal staff.
“The applicant states that the prospective developer for the property plans to develop the site with approximately 200 single-family detached units,” the review said. [Read more…]
Theresa Scott
Anderson County Commissioner Theresa Scott is seeking a second term on the County Commission.
“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the residents of District 7, and I am dedicated to continue to make a positive difference,” Scott said in a press release. “I humbly ask to continue to serve within our county government.”
First elected just four years ago, Scott continues to volunteer within the community through the Neighborhood Watch Program, Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board, the Secret City Civitan Club, and the Lavender and Secret City festivals, as well as other various projects within the city, the press release said.
Since its inception in 2013, Scott remains an active member of Anderson County’s Underage Drinking Task Force and Prescription Medicine Task Force, which are led by Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson (ASAP), the press release said. It said ASAP is proactive in educating the public of the harm of misusing alcohol and prescription pain medications. In 2016, Scott received the first runner-up of the Ally of the Year Award. Their prestigious Prevention Power Partner Award is given to a community member who staunchly supports prevention, and Scott said, “I am truly honored to have been named the recipient for 2017-2018.” [Read more…]
Steve Mead
Steve Mead is seeking re-election to Anderson County Commission in District 6.
The Sixth District includes the Oak Ridge City Hall, Robertsville, and West Hills precincts. Those include the Anderson County portion of Oak Ridge, including the areas around the Children’s Museum, the new Kroger, and Main Street Oak Ridge, and west to the Roane County line.
Mead and his family settled in Oak Ridge in 1987 after he served 21.5 years in the U.S. Submarine Force. Mead had worked his way up from seaman recruit to petty officer first class (E-6), and he was then selected for an active duty college program in which he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, a press release said. He returned as an officer to the submarine force, serving both at sea and overseas.
During his last tour as executive officer of a joint staff near London, England, he earned his master’s degree in business administration from Boston University. [Read more…]
The Roane County Candidate Forum will be Thursday at Oak Ridge High School.
Candidates who have opponents in campaigns for county executive, trustee, county clerk, register of deeds, and Roane County Commission District 4 have been invited to speak and answer questions, a press release said.
Candidates who do not have opposition in campaigns for circuit court clerk, sheriff, county attorney, Roane County School Board District 3/4, and Oak Ridge Board of Education have been invited to be introduced, the press release said. [Read more…]
After a years-long dispute over alleged code violations, the 13 Applewood Apartments buildings on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle have been demolished. The site of one former building at Hillside Road and West Hunter Circle is pictured above on Monday, July 9, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
After a years-long legal dispute over alleged code violations, the 13 Applewood Apartments buildings on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle have been demolished.
Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard was working on removing the last apartment basement on West Hunter Circle on Monday. The basement walls are a foot thick, and Keith Brady of Brady Excavating and Demolition was using a trackhoe with a hammer attached to it to remove the concrete bunker-like walls.
The buildings themselves have already been torn down, and the debris has been hauled away.
Brady, who owns Brady Excavating and Demolition, said the next step will be grading. The site has to be leveled so that it can be mowed, won’t have holes, and will have “positive drainage.” Grading could take two to three days and could be done by next week, Brady said. Big trees on the perimeter and in the middle of the property will remain. [Read more…]
Derrick Hammond
Note: This story was last updated at 8:20 p.m.
The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously agreed to appoint Derrick Hammond to fill the seat left vacant when former City Council member Hans Vogel resigned at the end of June to move for a job at Idaho National Laboratory.
The vote to appoint Hammond was 6-0. Hammond was one of seven candidates to apply for the open seat, and he was elected unanimously on the first ballot.
Hammond will serve through a special election on November 6. The person elected in November will then serve the rest of Vogel’s two-year term. Vogel was elected to a four-year term in November 2016. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Public Library will host a writing workshop on Saturday, July 14, from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. Author Michael C. Miles is the special guest for the workshop, which will focus on how to become a published author, a press release said.
Miles is from Bristol, Tennessee, and he now lives in Knoxville. His first novel, “Dominion,” was published two years ago. His second book, “The Dying Lesson,” was recently published and is being adapted for a short film. The film is expected to be shot in the Tri-Cities/Knoxville area. [Read more…]
The Anderson County Candidate Forum will be held at the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater on Tuesday.
The forum is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 10.
Candidates who have opponents and are running for sheriff, trustee, mayor, Circuit Court clerk, and Anderson County Commission District 6 and 7 have been invited to speak and answer questions, a press release said.
Candidates who have no opposition and are running for county clerk, register of deeds, road superintendent, Anderson County Board of Education District 6 and 7, County Commission District 8, and Oak Ridge Board of Education have been invited to be introduced. [Read more…]
Clinton Public Library
The Clinton Public Library will host Bookaroo, a unique music festival finale with fun for all ages, for its summer reading finale, a press release said.
Bookaroo will be 5-7 p.m. Friday, July 20.
“Join us as we celebrate with a music festival-themed summer reading finale!” the press release said. “We will be doing rockstar makeovers complete with a photo opportunity to show off your new style. There will also be games, water activities, face painting, cotton candy, and more! We have fun for the whole family as we finish our summer reading with a rocking evening.”
Prizes will be given out from the finale through August 3, the press release said. Stop by the library with your completed reading log to claim your prize. [Read more…]
