The first Breakfast with the Legislators this year is scheduled for Monday morning, February 28.
The breakfast will be virtual, and it scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. It has been organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.
[Read more…]
Tennessee State Parks announced in December that the swimming pool at Norris Dam State Park will not re-open as major maintenance upgrades are required and the use of the pool has declined.
The swimming pool was closed in 2020 and 2021 due to complications related to COVID-19.
“Reopening the pool is unfeasible due to aging facilities, declining visitation pre-COVID 19, and high expenses,” a press release said.
The pool is 45 years old, and visitation was down 29 percent, the press release said.
[Read more…]
From left, TWRA Executive Director Bobby Wilson, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Acting Manager Laura Wilkerson, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office Manager Johnny Moore sign an agreement that lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land from the U.S. Department of Energy to the state of Tennessee. (Submitted photo)
More than 3,500 acres of federal land could be transferred to the state of Tennessee, including Clark Center Park and Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement.
The land could be transferred under an agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The two organizations signed an Agreement in Principle on Wednesday, December 15, that “lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land to the state,” a press release said.
“Transferring this federally owned land will increase natural resource management and designate areas for greenspace and mixed-use recreational opportunities for the public,” the press release said.
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From left, TWRA Executive Director Bobby Wilson, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Acting Manager Laura Wilkerson, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office Manager Johnny Moore sign an agreement that lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land from the U.S. Department of Energy to the state of Tennessee. (Submitted photo)
More than 3,500 acres of federal land could be transferred to the state of Tennessee, including Clark Center Park and Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement.
The land could be transferred under an agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The two organizations signed an Agreement in Principle on Wednesday, December 15, that “lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land to the state,” a press release said.
“Transferring this federally owned land will increase natural resource management and designate areas for greenspace and mixed-use recreational opportunities for the public,” the press release said.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic
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If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!
During the last half of this year, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee unveiled the state’s new standard license plate, a press release said. The design of the new license plate was chosen by Tennesseans through a statewide vote.
“In our 225th year of statehood, we invited Tennesseans to cast their vote and help select the state’s next license plate,” Lee said. “I’m proud to announce the winning design that will represent our unique grand divisions and take its place in Tennessee history.”
More than 300,000 Tennessee residents cast a vote, with 42% voting for the winning design, the press release said.
Per the Tennessee statute, the license plate is redesigned every eight years if funds are approved in the General Assembly’s annual budget. This statute requires that either “Tennessee,” “Volunteer State,” and “TNvacation.com” be displayed on the plate, along with the county name and the expiration decals. This statute also allows Tennesseans to choose “In God We Trust” as a plate option.
[Read more…]
By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
The new Anderson County Higher Education Center “is an example of what should be happening” to spur workforce development, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee told a large crowd on Friday, December 10.
Gesturing to students in the back who will be attending classes at the center starting in January, Lee thanked them for “pursuing the path you’re pursuing.
“The private sector drives what we’re doing here,” Lee told attendees crowded into the spacious classroom where diesel powered technology will soon be taught.
In the planning and construction stages for years, the center will soon offer several Roane State Community College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology Knoxville classes.
It’s a 48,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility where more than 200 students will be enrolled. It cost $11 million, and SL Tennessee, an auto parts manufacturer next door, donated seven acres for the center, located on Frank L. Diggs Drive in the Clinton/I-75 Industrial Park.
[Read more…]
An Anderson County man was among those pardoned by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Thursday.
Lee announced executive clemency decisions for 17 offenders “who have demonstrated a successful path to rehabilitation and established a new process for individuals seeking clemency for drug-free school zone convictions.” The power of executive clemency includes exonerations, pardons, and commutations, or a reduction in a person’s sentence.
Brandon Benson was the Anderson County man who was pardoned.
A copy of the pardon posted online said Benson was convicted of aggravated assault in Shelby County in January 2005 and sentenced to three years of probation. The conviction and other misdemeanor convictions were the result of behaviors related to substance abuse, the pardon said.
Lee said executive clemency was justified in the case because Benson has “turned his life around since 2012 and is committed to his recovery, his family, and his community.” Benson earned his bachelor’s degree in religion from Liberty University in 2019, and he mentors other people with substance abuse issues as a drug and alcohol counselor at HOPE of East Tennessee.
[Read more…]Tennessee Governor Bill Lee did not renew the COVID-19 state of emergency that expired Friday night, but he reserved the right to use it again if there are future surges of the virus.
“I am not renewing the COVID-19 state of emergency that expires tonight,” Lee said in a brief statement Friday. “For almost 20 months, this tool has provided deregulation and operational flexibility for hospitals and industries most affected by COVID’s challenges. Should our state face any future surges, we will consider temporarily reinstating this tool, but in the meantime, we are evaluating opportunities for permanent deregulation.”
In the third major statewide surge, this one caused by the delta variant, COVID-19 cases peaked in Anderson County in the first half of September, with a high seven-day average of 89.6 cases on September 11 and a peak of 152 cases on September 10. New cases fell after that but plateaued at about 15-17 new cases per day in late October, and they have remained there for about three weeks. That’s still considerably higher than the summer low average of fewer than one new COVID case per day, on average, in late June and early July, before the delta variant surge started in about mid-July.
[Read more…]Bill Lee
The face mask mandate at Oak Ridge Schools has been terminated in response to new state legislation signed into law by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
Oak Ridge Schools notified families of the change last week.
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Bill Lee
The face mask mandate at Oak Ridge Schools has been terminated in response to new state legislation signed into law by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
Oak Ridge Schools notified families of the change last week.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
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The second part of a forum about Medicaid expansion will be online at lunchtime Tuesday, featuring two legislators who have supported Medicaid expansion.
The legislators are Tennessee Senator Richard Briggs, a physician, and Representative Gloria Johnson, a retired educator.
The virtual forum is scheduled to start at noon Tuesday, November 16. You can register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting (learn more here).
Here is the Tuesday agenda:
[Read more…]
Medicaid expansion will be discussed during a virtual forum Tuesday. It’s the first of two community forums about expanding Medicaid in Tennessee.
The first forum is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 2. It will feature professionals discussing the need for expanding Medicaid, a press release said.
The second forum, scheduled for November 16, will feature legislators discussing ways to achieve this goal, the press release said.
“Failure to expand Medicaid in Tennessee is severely impacting the health and welfare of Tennesseans,” the press release said. It said there are more than 300,000 uninsured Tennesseans, and Tennessee is second in the number of hospital closures and leads the nation in terms of hospital closures per capita. Also, many of the uninsured are essential workers whose lack of insurance places them at increased risk just to care for their families, the press release said. And Tennessee is failing to accept $900 million in federal money that would cover the cost of expansion for more than six years, the release said.
[Read more…]
Oak Ridge City Council member Jim Dodson is seeking election in 2022 to serve as a state representative in Anderson County.
Dodson is running to serve in the Tennessee House of Representatives in District 33, which includes most of Anderson County.
He is running as a Democrat. The seat is currently held by John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican who is in his sixth two-year term.
[Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The City of Oak Ridge does not currently require its employees or residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a state law passed this year, a municipal attorney said Tuesday.
But it’s not clear if that state law could be in conflict with a vaccination or testing mandate that President Joe Biden announced this month.
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The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The City of Oak Ridge does not currently require its employees or residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a state law passed this year, a municipal attorney said Tuesday.
But it’s not clear if that state law could be in conflict with a vaccination or testing mandate that President Joe Biden announced this month.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member.
Already a member? Sign in here.
Not a member? Subscribe here:
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If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:
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Oak Ridge, TN 37831
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