Oak Ridge Today

McNally has pacemaker surgery

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Randy McNally

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally reported on Friday that he had pacemaker surgery and it went smoothly.

McNally had said on his official Facebook page that, before the surgery, he had experienced the symptoms of an irregular heartbeat. He checked into Vanderbilt hospital.

“Tests indicate I will likely need a pacemaker to help regulate my cardiac issues,” McNally said before the surgery. “I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers. I hope to be back at work as soon as possible.”

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Breakfast with Legislators resumes Monday

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Breakfast with the Legislators begins this year on Monday.

The monthly breakfasts are scheduled each year while the Tennessee General Assembly is in session. They are hosted by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and this is the 36th year they have had the breakfasts.

Monday’s breakfast is scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. January 23 in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

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Railroad could jeopardize airport

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If not removed, this section of railroad tracks at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, would be a “deal-killer” for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport because the runway would be built in this area but could not be with the railroad tracks there. This is looking east across the main entrance to Heritage Center on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Railroad tracks at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, have emerged as a potential “deal-killer” for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport.

On Tuesday, Oak Ridge city leaders said a new company in west Oak Ridge might want to use the rail line to ship materials, but the tracks run through and roughly perpendicular to where the airport runway would be. Officials had expected the rail line, which had been “very inactive,” to be transferred.

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Lawsuit seeks 2020 election audit, voting machine restriction

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The Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse is pictured above in Knoxville on Jan. 19, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

An unconventional 483-page lawsuit filed in Anderson County Circuit Court seeks an audit of the 2020 election, asks for the results to be re-counted and possibly decertified, accuses federal legislators of treason, and demands a restraining order against electronic voting machines.

Two of the three plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit are Oak Ridge residents. One of those plaintiffs has also unsuccessfully filed federal lawsuits in Washington, D.C., against the president and vice president, chief justice, a former acting attorney general, and many members of Congress, according to court records.

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TWRA tests birds after dead vultures reported

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A black vulture is pictured above perching on a tree between Edgemoor Road and Haw Ridge across from the Bull Run Fossil Plant on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has tested birds after black vultures were reported dead between Edgemoor Road and Haw Ridge, but the state agency does not have test results yet.

On Thursday, Oak Ridge Today counted at least a dozen dead birds in the brush and submerged near the shoreline along the concrete portion of the trail across from the Bull Run Fossil Plant. There were also at least four dozen live vultures perched nearby in trees close to the high-voltage power lines from Bull Run.

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Packard accused of filing false tax returns

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Russell Barker, who is now Anderson County sheriff, and the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force executes search warrants at McGuire Used Books on Thursday afternoon, May 24, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Already charged with money laundering and retail crime, an Oak Ridge business manager has been accused by the state of filing false tax returns and not paying sales taxes.

John McGuire Packard, 38, was indicted on nine counts by the Anderson County Grand Jury in June. The indictment charged him with one count of evade/defeat use tax for each month from September 2017 to May 2018. Those are Class E felonies.

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Edgemoor Road widening estimated at $175 million

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The widening of Edgemoor Road between Pellissippi Parkway and Clinton Highway, including this bridge over the Clinch River, could cost an estimated $175 million, the Tennessee Department of Transportation said Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The widening of Edgemoor Road between Pellissippi Parkway and Clinton Highway could cost an estimated $175 million, the Tennessee Department of Transportation said Wednesday.

Planning for the six-mile project, which will include replacing the bridge over the Clinch River, was completed in August.

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Forum today about overturning of Roe v Wade

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Four Oak Ridge and Tennessee organizations are having a forum today (Tuesday, November 1) about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion in 1973.

This summer, almost 50 years later, Roe was overturned by the court in a 5-4 vote.

“The over-turn of Roe v. Wade destroyed 50 years of legal precedents—and along with the trigger ban law of the state of Tennessee—placed the health, lives, livelihood, and families of Tennessee women in serious jeopardy,” a press release said. “The physicians and health care providers who have met the needs of these women for decades could now face felony charges. No exceptions are allowed under the law.”

The forum today will feature five female experts, including professors of nursing and medicine, a criminal defense attorney and nonprofit founder, a state senator, and a family nurse practitioner, the press release said.

They will “continue the conversation on the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the trigger ban in Tennessee,” the press release said.

The five women are:

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State, federal candidate forum on Tuesday

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There will be a forum on Tuesday for candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives and Tennessee House and Senate.

The candidate forum is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and it is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, in Roane State Community College City Room A-111 in the Coffey/McNally Building, 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

Candidates running for the U.S. House Third Congressional District, Tennessee Fifth Senatorial District, and Tennessee House of Representatives Districts 32 and 33 have been invited to participate, a press release said. William “Bear” Stephenson has been invited to moderate.

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Almost 5,000 pounds of hazardous waste collected

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Almost 5,000 pounds of hazardous household waste was collected at a drop-off event in Anderson County this month.

The Household Hazard Waste drop-off on October 1 was sponsored by Anderson County Solid Waste Management Department and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. They collected 4,798 pounds of household hazardous waste, a press release said.

The TDEC collection report indicated 1,874 pounds of poisonous material (e.g., pesticides) was dropped off that day by area residents at the collection site in Oak Ridge. Other hazardous materials collected included 664 pounds of oil-based paint, 769 pounds of non-hazardous liquid, 616 pounds of flammable liquid, 460 pounds of corrosive material, 289 pounds of aerosol containers, and 61 pounds of fluorescent tubes.

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Breakfast with Legislators on Feb. 28

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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.

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Norris Dam swimming pool will not re-open

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The pool at Norris Dam State Park is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

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.

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