Jade Dush
The Oak Ridge Police Department is asking for the public’s help to find a missing teen. Jade Dush, age 17, of Oak Ridge, was last seen at her home on the evening of July 16, 2018.
She was reported missing the following day by her legal guardian, the ORPD said.
If you’ve seen Jade or have any information on where she might be, contact the Oak Ridge Police Department at (865) 425-4399. [Read more…]
Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge
The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will extend open hours at the outdoor pool on Providence Road into the month of August. The schedule is as follows:
*The 100 meter lap swim and kiddie pool will be closed for a special event on August 1, 2018. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter on Belgrade Road is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
Animal adoption fees will be lower at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter on Saturday, August 18.
The Animal Shelter is participating in the nationwide “Clear the Shelters” pet adoption event that day.
“Reduced adoption fees of $55 will be available all day as staff work to find a forever home for each adoptable animal at the shelter,” a press release said.
Animal shelters all over the U.S. are teaming up as part of the effort to find loving homes for pets in need, the press release said. This is the fourth year for the event. Oak Ridge is one of three animal shelters in East Tennessee to commit to the cause so far this year, the said. [Read more…]
An Oak Ridge Police Department school zone patrol is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
A new school year will start next week, and the Oak Ridge Police Department will help to make sure students and families stay safe with Operation Safe Start beginning Monday, July 30, the first day of school, a press release said.
“The effort steps up police patrols to increase awareness of school zones and ensure drivers are following the law,” the press release said. “Residents will likely notice additional police vehicles and officers in school zones across the city.”
The press release said officers will be on the lookout for drivers who exceed posted speed limits, ignore school bus stop signs, and fail to yield for pedestrians. ORPD will also be enforcing seat belt, child passenger restraint, and distracted driving laws, including the new state law requiring the use of hands free devices in active school zones, the press release said. [Read more…]
Valerie Stenson
Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against an Oak Ridge grandmother charged with first-degree murder in the death of her toddler granddaughter seven years ago.
Announcing the decision, prosecutors cited mental health issues, expense, and the strain put on the local court system in death penalty cases.
The state filed a withdrawal notice, announcing it would not seek the death penalty, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on March 16. The withdrawal notice has not been previously reported. [Read more…]
Thomas Zacharia
Thomas Zacharia, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will give a community lecture on Thursday. It’s the 21st season of the Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series.
Besides being ORNL director, Zacharia is also president and chief executive officer of UT-Battelle LLC, which operates ORNL for the U. S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
On Thursday, Zacharia will talk about the scientific agenda at ORNL in a presentation titled “Science and the State of the Lab,” a press release said. The event is co-sponsored by Friends of ORNL (FORNL) and the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation (ORPSEF). It is free of charge, and it will be held at the Pollard Technology Conference Center at 210 Badger Avenue in Oak Ridge. A reception will be held in the auditorium lobby starting at 5:30 p.m. (snacks will be served), and the lecture starts at 6 p.m. in the auditorium, the press release said.
“The talk will be of interest to students and the general public,” the press release said. [Read more…]
Pictured above at left during the trial for Noelle Patty, 41, center, of Oak Ridge, in Anderson County Criminal Court on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, are defense attorneys Michael Ritter, left, and David Ege. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 4:20 p.m.
CLINTON—An Anderson County jury on Wednesday found an Oak Ridge resident guilty of criminally negligent homicide after a fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue more than two years ago.
The jury of 10 men and two women deliberated about three hours before reaching its unanimous verdict at the end of a two-day trial of Noelle Leigh Patty, 41, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.
Patty was found not guilty of a second count, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, but the jury did find her guilty of what is known as a lesser included offense, a charge of reckless endangerment.
Patty was convicted of the two charges in the death of motorcyclist Rufus E. Shephard III, 44, of Oak Ridge.
“They finally got my brother some justice,” said Linda Shephard, after family members had exchanged hugs and tears with prosecutors and police officers. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge High School freshman orientation is Thursday, July 26. It’s scheduled from 8-11:45 a.m.
Students will pick up their schedules and badges in the food court and then make their way to the Auditorium, a press release said.
There will be a welcome session in the auditorium that will last about 30 minutes. Then students will be following their entire schedule (except lunch). They will stay in each class for 10 minutes, and they will be able to meet their teachers, learn their way around, and see who is in their classes, the press release said.
After orientation is over, students will follow instructions to pick up their laptops and have their school pictures taken, the release said. Parents are welcome to attend. While the students are going through their classes, parents will be attending informational sessions.
This press release was submitted by Holly Cross.
The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, July 19, 2018, recommended a rezoning that could allow about 200 homes on 32 acres near South Illinois Avenue and Centrifuge Way in south Oak Ridge, pictured above on Monday, July 23, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission has recommended a rezoning that could allow about 200 homes on 32 acres near South Illinois Avenue and Centrifuge Way in south Oak Ridge.
The Planning Commission approved the rezoning request 8-0 on Thursday, said Stephen Whitson, Planning Commission chair.
There was no opposition.
The Planning Commission also voted 8-0 to recommend an associated land use plan map amendment.
The rezoning request and land use plan map amendment will now be considered by Oak Ridge City Council.
The property is currently zoned industrial. If approved by Council, the request would rezone the 32 acres as low-density residential. [Read more…]
Pictured above from left to right are Shelley Dawn Hicks Robbins, 44, of Anderson County; Moshin Agha, 30, of India; and Gene McKinley Miller, 43, of Anderson County. (Photo by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)
Thousands of pills were seized from a home in Anderson County during an investigation of prescription pills being shipped into the United States for distribution, possibly from Internet sales from international sources, authorities said Monday.
Three people have been indicted and arrested in the case. One was detained overseas this month, in the international airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, said Dave Clark, Seventh Judicial District attorney general.
The apprehension of Moshin Agha, 30, of India, was reported first by Oak Ridge Today on Monday. In a press release Monday afternoon, Clark said Agha, who had been entered into a national police database, was located at the international airport in Dubai sometime in the late evening of Friday, July 13, or early the next morning.
Agha’s co-defendants, Shelley Dawn Hicks Robbins, 44, and Gene McKinley Miller, 43, both of Anderson County, have already pleaded guilty in the case. [Read more…]
Roane State Community College has been awarded a $250,000 grant that will fund scholarships for high school students to complete Roane State mechatronics courses.
The scholarships will pay for tuition, all fees, all books, all supplies, a specialized mechatronics toolkit, and transportation costs, a press release said. Approximately 30 students will be selected for the scholarships, which will be awarded beginning with the fall 2018 semester for the 2018-19 academic year. The grant was awarded by the Community College System of Tennessee.
Roane State offers a one-year certificate and two-year associate degree in mechatronics, and courses are offered at the college’s Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility in Clinton. Mechatronics students learn how to troubleshoot and repair modern automated production equipment, and elective classes include robotics, the press release said. [Read more…]
Karen Latus, representing Allies of Knoxville’s Immigrant Neighbors (AKIN), will be the guest speaker at the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club meeting on Monday, July 23. The club will meet at 6 p.m. at Swifty’s Atomic Grill, 119 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.
Latus will discuss immigration and how the current political climate affects families, teachers, and school children, a press release said. She is active in AKIN, a network of people in the Knoxville area who work to encourage dialogue about issues related to immigrants and refugees.
“The network works to promote just and reasonable policies toward immigration and asylum and to foster a welcoming atmosphere in which all people are treated with dignity and respect,” the press release said. [Read more…]
