Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool open Memorial Day weekend

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Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge

 

The Oak Ridge Outdoor Swimming Pool will be open to the public over Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 26, through Monday, May 28, from noon to 6 p.m. each day.

This will be a soft opening over the holiday weekend, with the pool being closed for three days following Memorial Day, from Tuesday, May 29, to Thursday, May 31, a press release said. An open public swim will be held on Friday, June 1, from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. The outdoor pool will then open for normal summer hours starting Saturday, June 2.

Events are planned throughout the summer, including movie nights, evening swims, swim lessons, Water Safety Day, and the end of season Puppy Pool Party, the press release said. A full calendar of events and additional details can be found online at http://orrecparks.oakridgetn.gov/. [Read more…]

Commission asks for citizen input on Anderson County EMS on Thursday

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The Anderson County Commission, which is pictured above on March 20, 2018, unanimously censured Anderson County Circuit Clerk William Jones on Feb. 20, and asked him to resign after sexual harassment allegations were reported. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Anderson County Commission is pictured above on March 20, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Anderson County Commission is asking for citizen input on Anderson County EMS (emergency medical services) on Thursday.

The meeting is scheduled from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, May 17, in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, at 728 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

“The purpose of this meeting is for input from citizens regarding emergency medical services,” a meeting notice said. [Read more…]

DA Clark to discuss Neo-Nazism in East Tennessee on Tuesday

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark will discuss Neo-Nazism and the root causes of its rise in East Tennessee on Tuesday, a press release said.

Clark, the DA in Anderson County, will be the speaker at Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday.

His general topic will center on Neo-Nazism, and the root causes of its rise in East Tennessee, the press release said.

The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Updated: Council approves Rails to Trails engineering contract

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The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m. May 15.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously approved an engineering contract for the Rails to Trails project, which would convert a former CSX railroad into a bicycle and pedestrian pathway.

The consulting contract, worth an estimated $358,317, was awarded to A. Morton Thomas and Associates of Kingsport.

The agreement, approved 7-0, is to provide environmental testing, master planning, design and engineering of the trail, and help with construction bidding, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick told City Manager Mark Watson in a May 4 memo.

There is still much work to be done, including buying the former railroad, and the project might not go out to bid until May 2020, or two years from now, according to a draft timeline presented at the City Council meeting on Monday. And that’s assuming all goes well.

“Design and engineering will provide construction cost estimates and a phasing schedule, along with a basis for negotiating the acquisition of the rail line from CSX Rail,” Hetrick said. “Because the current programmed funding will not cover the entire project cost, the master plan will be used to leverage additional funding for construction from various funding sources, including federal highway and private funds.” [Read more…]

Updated: Council authorizes final design for Preschool, Senior Center

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Oak Ridge Pre-K School (Image by Studio Four Design via City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge Pre-K School at Scarboro Park (Image by Studio Four Design via City of Oak Ridge)

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. May 15.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday authorized the final designs of the Senior Center and the Preschool and Scarboro Park Renovation. The two projects together could total about $13 million. The Senior Center and Preschool have been on the city’s wish list for a decade or two—or even longer.

Resolutions unanimously approved by City Council on Monday in 7-0 votes authorize Studio Four Design Inc. of Knoxville to proceed to the final construction design of the two projects. One project, the Preschool, would be at Scarboro Park, and the other, the Senior Center, would be at Alvin K. Bissell Park.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told City Council members in May 9 memos that Studio Four Design, led by Jacene Phillips, has achieved 50 percent design on the two projects and reviewed the proposed designs with city, school, and Senior Advisory Board officials and “achieved consensus on design requirements.”

The more expensive of the two projects, the Oak Ridge Preschool and Scarboro Park Renovation, has a current estimated cost of $9,792,674, or close to $10 million.

The Senior Center could cost about $3 million. [Read more…]

Updated: Council approves $500,000 renovation to Fire Station 4 at ETTP

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Oak Ridge Fire Station

Oak Ridge Fire Department Station 4 is pictured above at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. (File photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. May 15.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday authorized about $500,000 in renovations at Fire Station 4 at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, a federal site in west Oak Ridge.

The funds for the renovations are currently available in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget for the West End Fire Fund, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said in an April 27 memo to City Manager Mark Watson.

The total estimated cost of the renovations, based on a sealed bid process, is not to exceed $515,000, Kerley said. He said funds have been set aside for the past 11 years.

The project was unanimously approved in a 7-0 vote after a brief discussion at the City Council meeting on Monday.

The funds are part of the overall re-industrialization that will convert the ETTP fire station from a U.S. Department of Energy fire station to a municipal fire station through a DOE memorandum of agreement for the operation and maintenance of the fire station. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project Park: Hike with a Ranger on Saturday

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Submitted photo

Submitted photo

 

Join park rangers for a hike along the Cedar Hill Greenway in Oak Ridge on Saturday, May 12.

The hike, which is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Saturday, will begin at Cedar Hill Park, the former location of Cedar Hill Elementary School.

Along the hike, rangers will discuss the early school system of Oak Ridge, early shopping centers, and housing in the Clinton Engineer Works, a press release said.

This 2.5-mile hike is considered moderately difficult, and some parts of the trail can wash out after a strong storm. Visitors are encouraged to wear appropriate footwear, insect repellent, and sunscreen, and bring drinking water, the press release said. [Read more…]

Friends of Oak Ridge Library has Book Sale this week

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Friends of the Oak Ridge Library will have its Spring 2018 Book Sale this week.

The Book Sale is scheduled from Thursday, May 10, to Sunday, May 13, in the Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium.

The sale will include fiction and nonfiction books, magazines, audiovisual materials, and other publications covering almost every subject, a press release said. Most titles are 50 cents or $1 each. Titles withdrawn from the Library are half price Thursday through Saturday.

There will be a preview sale for members from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening, May 10. Memberships will be available at the door; they are $5 per individual and $10 for a family. (Scanning devices cannot be used during the preview sale on Thursday.) The Silent Auction begins on Thursday evening and ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Friends of the Oak Ridge Library, or FOL, can now accept all major credit cards during its sales.

The sale opens to the general public on Friday, May 11, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. [Read more…]

Community development director to discuss city needs identified for planning on Tuesday

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Wayne Blasius

Wayne Blasius

Oak Ridge Community Development Director Wayne Blasius will discuss city needs that have been identified for planning during a lunchtime meeting of the Kiwanis Club on Tuesday.

The noon meeting of Kiwanis Club of Oak Ridge is Tuesday at the Golden Oak Buffet. It’s titled “Oak Ridge City Needs Identified for Planning,” a press release said.

“City Blueprint subarea plans will be mentioned; advance planning information can be seen in links from a summary list of the subareas,” the press release said.

The City Blueprint planning open houses to obtain public input began with a subarea event on May 15, 2017, and they are scheduled to conclude with the final subarea on May 31, 2018, the press release said. Subarea draft plans, area maps, and comments and responses can be reached from links in the summary list. [Read more…]

Updated: Frank, Barker, Lynch win Republican primaries

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Terry-Frank-Pain-Clinic-Zoning-Resolution

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank (Submitted photo)

Note: This story was last updated at 9 a.m. May 2.

CLINTON—Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank narrowly won the Republican Party primary on Tuesday, beating Anderson County Commissioner Steve Emert by 153 votes, according to unofficial results.

Frank, a former small business operator who was first elected in August 2012, had 4,771 votes, compared to 4,618 for Emert. That was a slim margin of 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent.

Frank has served one special two-year term as mayor and one full four-year term. There was no Democratic Party candidate for mayor in the Tuesday primary, meaning Frank won’t have a challenger on the ballot in the August 2 county general election and is essentially assured of serving again.

Emert is a small business owner who has served as Anderson County Commission chair. Like a previous candidate for mayor, former Tennessee Representative Jim Hackworth, Emert had emphasized what he characterized as dysfunction, including lawsuits, in the Anderson County Courthouse under Frank. Among other pledges, he had promised to restore civility to the county government.

But that and other campaign issues weren’t enough to give Emert the win, even if it might have helped to keep the election close. Emert initially had a narrow 63-vote lead after early and absentee voting results were counted. But the lead flipped when Election Day results started coming in from across Anderson County. [Read more…]

Emert, Barker, Lynch lead in early, absentee voting

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Steve Emert

Steve Emert

Note: This story was last updated at 8:48 p.m.

CLINTON—Anderson County Commissioner Steve Emert had a narrow 63-vote lead over Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank in the race for a four-year term as mayor in early and absentee voting results released after primary election polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Emert had 2,997 votes (50.53 percent) compared to 2,934 (49.47 percent) for Frank, who was first elected in August 2012. Both are candidates in the Anderson County Republican Party primary.

Election day votes have not been tabulated, so results could change. The results that follow are from the Republican Party primary. There are two candidates in the Democratic primary, Mark Lucas for sheriff and Ebony Capshaw for trustee, but they are unopposed in the primary election and are assured a spot in the August 2 county general election.

In the three-person Republican race for Anderson County sheriff, Scott Barker, a Clinton Police Department detective sergeant and director of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, had a significant lead over Lewis Ridenour, an Oak Ridge Police Department officer and former chief deputy. Barker had 2,841 votes (49.88 percent), compared to 1,992 (34.97 percent) for Ridenour, according to the unofficial results. [Read more…]

Races on the ballot today include mayor, sheriff, others

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Note: This story was last updated at 11:50 a.m.

Among the races on the ballot in the primary election in Anderson County today (Tuesday, May 1) are mayor, sheriff, trustee, county clerk, circuit court clerk, and register of deeds.

At least three of the races—mayor, county clerk, and register of deeds—could be decided in the Republican Party primary today because there are no Democrats running for those offices. That’s assuming there are no write-in candidates for those races in the August 2 county general election.

The Republican candidates for mayor are Terry Frank, the incumbent, and Anderson County Commissioner Steve Emert. The GOP candidates for county clerk are Jeff Cole, the incumbent, and his challenger, businesswoman Leesa Arowood. Tim Shelton is running for re-election as register of deeds, and he is being challenged in the Republican primary by Rocky Top City Manager Michael Foster.

There are no Democrats on today’s ballot for circuit court clerk, but there is a write-in candidate who plans to run as a Democrat in the August election. There is also a Republican write-in candidate in the race. It initially appeared this election could be decided today, but it now appears there could be the Republican nominee, either incumbent William Jones or former mayor Rex Lynch, plus two possible write-in candidates. [Read more…]