Oak Ridge Today

Roane Commission rejects school consolidation plan

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Information from WYSH Radio

Monday night, the Roane County Commission overwhelmingly voted against the long-discussed school consolidation project. Commissioners voted 11-2 with two abstentions to reject the approximately $63 million plan that would have consolidated Harriman, Kingston, and Rockwood high schools into one large central facility that would be built near Roane State Community College’s campus in Harriman.

Since discussions began on the possibility of consolidating the three high schools and making renovations to Midway and Oliver Springs high schools, which would remain open under the proposal, school officials have been fighting an uphill battle. [Read more…]

Creswell leaving Roane Allliance

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pat-postma-and-wade-creswell-young-professional-award-dec-9-2016-scaled

Pat Postma, left, presents the Postma Young Professional Medal to Wade Creswell, chief executive officer of Roane Alliance, during an East Tennessee Economic Council meeting on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. (DOE photo courtesy Lynn Freeny)

Note: This story was updated at 2:25 p.m.

Wade Creswell, president and chief executive officer of Roane Alliance, is leaving his position to begin work with an area business. His last day at the Alliance will be September 21.

The departure was announced Wednesday by Chris Whaley, chair of the Roane Alliance Board of Directors.

Pam May, Roane Alliance vice president, will serve as interim president and CEO until the board decides on the long-term future of the position, a press release said.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation of the great work that Wade has done in his four and a half years leading the Roane Alliance,” Whaley said in a statement sent to the Board of Directors for the Roane Alliance, Chamber of Commerce, and Industrial Development Board. “His passion, vision, and love for Roane County have fueled his tireless work for this county and region, and I sincerely appreciate all he has done.” [Read more…]

Roane: Woody re-elected as county executive; Bowers wins Commission seat

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Ron Woody

Ron Woody

Roane County Executive Ron Woody was re-elected to a third four-year term as county executive on Thursday, and Charlotte Bowers of Oak Ridge won one of two seats on Roane County Commission in District 4, which includes west Oak Ridge.

Woody was first elected to his office in August 2010. On Thursday, he beat challenger David Morgan, a former Roane County property assessor, 8,217 votes to 3,113 (72.52 percent to 27.48 percent). That’s according to unofficial election results reported after all 24 precincts had been counted.

Bowers, the executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County, was one of two Oak Ridge candidates to run for the District 4 seat on Roane County Commission in the August 2 election. The other was Cory Jenkins, general manager at Cumberland Utility District. They were among five candidates who qualified to run in the district.

The other three candidates were from Oliver Springs. They were James W. Brummett, an incumbent, and Thaxton H. “T.H.” Brown Jr. and Jerry W. White.

Brummett, a former chair of the Roane County Commission, was defeated Thursday, finishing third behind Bowers and White, who is also a new commissioner. (There is now a Jerry White on Anderson County Commission, and a Jerry White on the Roane County Commission; they are not the same person.) White has worked at K-25 and Y-12 in Oak Ridge, and he is currently employed providing security for the Roane County Sheriff’s Office at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston. [Read more…]

Roane County Candidate Forum is Thursday in Oak Ridge

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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…]

Meet the Roane County candidates on Friday

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There is a Meet the Candidates Yard Party on Friday in Oak Ridge.

It’s scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. Friday, June 15, at 106 Oklahoma Avenue. It’s hosted by Roane County Commissioner Renee Kelley.

The event is primarily for the residents of the Fourth District of Roane County, but everyone is welcome to come and discuss the issues and have their concerns addressed, a press release said.

The event is not a fundraiser. Instead, it is presented in loving memory of Commissioner Steve Kelley, the press release said.

This press release was submitted by Renee Kelley.

Two Oak Ridge candidates qualify to run for Roane County Commission

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Two Oak Ridge candidates have qualified to run for two seats in District 4 on the Roane County Commission in the August 2 election.

The two Oak Ridge candidates, Charlotte Bowers and Cory Jenkins, are among five candidates who have qualified to run in the election.

The three other candidates are from Oliver Springs. They are James W. Brummett, an incumbent, and Thaxton H. “T.H.” Brown Jr. and Jerry W. White.

Former Roane County Commissioner Steve Kelley, an Oak Ridge resident, had occupied one of the District 4 seats since 2010, and he had been expected to seek re-election in August. But Kelley died in February. [Read more…]

Roane County Commissioner Steve Kelley of Oak Ridge dies at 63

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Steve Kelley

Steve Kelley

 

Roane County Commissioner Steve Kelley, an Oak Ridge resident, died Wednesday evening, February 21. He was 63.

Kelley, who lived on Oklahoma Avenue in Oak Ridge, represented District 4 on the Roane County Commission. That district includes the Oak Hills, Oliver Springs, and Orchard View voting precincts. Oak Hills is in west Oak Ridge.

Kelley was on the Budget Committee appointed by Roane County Executive Ron Woody.

“He was a great Budget Committee member,” Woody said Sunday. “He will be dearly missed as a Budget Committee member and as a Roane County Commissioner.” [Read more…]

Roads icy: Oak Ridge Schools, Roane State closed today

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A tractor-trailer jack-knifed on Interstate 40 West at mile marker 349 in Roane County. That roadway is closed, the Tennessee Department of Transportation said. I-40 East at MM 349 has one lane open. Roads are very icy in this area, TDOT said Monday morning, Jan. 8, 2018. The Oak Ridge/Gallaher Road exit is Exit 356. (Photo courtesy TDOT)

A tractor-trailer jack-knifed on Interstate 40 West at mile marker 349 in Roane County. That roadway is closed, the Tennessee Department of Transportation said. I-40 East at MM 349 has one lane open. Roads are very icy in this area, TDOT said Monday morning, Jan. 8, 2018. The Oak Ridge/Gallaher Road exit is Exit 356. (Photo courtesy TDOT)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m.

Oak Ridge Schools are closed today as a layer of ice coated the ground in Oak Ridge, making roads and sidewalks slippery.

The schools had originally planned to open two hours late.

Other local school systems are also closed today (Monday, January 8) as the forecast had called for freezing rain or a wintry mix of precipitation around school arrival time this morning. Among the other school systems closed are Anderson County, Clinton, and Roane County. Roane State Community College is closed today as well (see here for more information). [Read more…]

State appropriates $15 million that could be used for Oak Ridge Airport

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Image from a Billy Stair presentation on the Oak Ridge Airport project to Roane County officials at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.

Image from a Billy Stair presentation on the Oak Ridge Airport project to Roane County officials at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.

 

KINGSTON—Tennessee officials have appropriated $15 million that could be used for the proposed airport at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.

The appropriation, which is pending approval of the Oak Ridge Airport by the Federal Aviation Administration, would be enough to cover about 33 percent to 38 percent of the current estimated project cost of $40 million to $45 million.

The appropriation was announced by Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John C. Schroer in a November 8 letter to members of the Tennessee General Assembly. Oak Ridge Today received a copy of the letter on Monday.

The $15 million that could be used for the Oak Ridge Airport is one half of a $30 million appropriation approved by the Tennessee General Assembly for the Aeronautics Economic Development Fund earlier this year, said Billy Stair, a former communications director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory who is now a consultant helping with the airport project. That half was to support the construction of new general aviation airports like the project in Oak Ridge, and Oak Ridge received all of the $15 million for general aviation airports, Stair said.

“MKAA (Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority) is the only public entity in the state with planning documents for a new airport currently under review,” Schroer said in his November letter to legislators. The $15 million will be allocated to the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, which would own and operate the Oak Ridge Airport, pending FAA approval. [Read more…]

Roane County Commission to discuss Oak Ridge Airport on Thursday, Dec. 7

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Image via Billy Stair presentation at Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority General Aviation Committee meeting on Wednesday, March 15, 2017.

Image via Billy Stair presentation at Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority General Aviation Committee meeting on Wednesday, March 15, 2017.

 

The Roane County Commission will discuss the Oak Ridge Airport, which would be built at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, during a workshop next week.

The workshop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, December 7, in the Qualls Commission Room at the Roane County Courthouse.

Oak Ridge Today reported in March that there are additional steps and approvals required, but if all goes well, construction on the airport could start in late 2018 or early 2019.

The airport could still cost an estimated $35 million to $40 million, officials said at the time. It would be funded with a mix of federal funding, state aeronautical commission funding, and local funding from the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, or MKAA.

The MKAA General Aviation Committee approved an airport layout plan during a meeting at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa in March. The plan was going to be sent to the Federal Aviation Administration for review and approval after that meeting. The airport layout plan is a detailed document that includes runway lengths, approaches, runway ramps, and taxiways. [Read more…]

Roane County Democrats sponsor East Tennessee Democrats’ Labor Day Picnic

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Submitted photo

Submitted photo

 

The Roane County Democrats are sponsoring the annual East Tennessee Democrats’ Labor Day Picnic on Monday, September 4.

The picnic is scheduled from 12-3 p.m. at the Roane County Park on Highway 70.

Candidates for office will speak, organizers said. The picnic will include free food and a petting zoo for children.

This press release was submitted by Sherry Paris.

General Assembly approves bill that would establish CROET as ETTP manager

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The East Tennessee Technology Park, now known as Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above in this aerial photo from 2015. The large building that extends from left to right at left-center is the former K-27 Building, where demolition work was completed in August 2016. (Photo courtesy CROET)

The East Tennessee Technology Park, now known as Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above in this aerial photo from 2015. The large building that extends from left to right at left-center is the former K-27 Building, where demolition work was completed in August 2016. (Photo courtesy CROET)

 

The Tennessee General Assembly has approved legislation that would establish the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, or CROET, as the manager of the 1,300-acre East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The legislation was sponsored by Tennessee Senator Ken Yager and Representative Kent Calfee, both Kingston Republicans. It has been sent to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam for his signature.

East Tennessee Technology Park, or ETTP, is also known as Heritage Center and the former K-25 site. It once housed the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which was built during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project. That was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons, before Germany could.

The ETTP site, once used to enrich uranium, is slowly being cleaned up. K-25 operations ended in 1985, and the site was permanently shut down in 1987. Now, it is being slowly converted into a large industrial park. Proponents hope it will become one of East Tennessee’s prime locations for new industry, the press release said.

CROET President Lawrence Young said the state legislation “is the latest step in efforts by the Department of Energy and CROET to reindustrialize the former K-25 site and help diversify the region’s economy.” [Read more…]