News Archives - Page 192 of 989

Clinton Fire Department gets new ladder truck on Friday

Posted at 8:05 pm July 18, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Clinton Fire Department Tower Truck (Picture via WYSH Radio)

Information from WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today

The Clinton Fire Department will possess the largest fire truck in Anderson County on Friday.

Officials recently agreed to purchase a new truck with a ladder capable of reaching heights of 110 feet and will take possession of it on Friday, according to Clinton Fire Chief Archie Brummitt and Assistant Chief Jeff Little.

The new apparatus is thought to be the largest single purchase in the history of the city at $991,000. The funding came from the city’s capital project fund, as well as a $200,000 donation from Clinton manufacturing company SL Tennessee.

The ladder truck has an expected lifespan of 25-30 years, according to Brummitt, who said the tower truck has been on the department’s wish list for some time. [Read more…]

Investigation: Clinton man accused of threatening three judges

Posted at 5:52 pm July 18, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Ronald Jennings Taylor

CLINTON—A Clinton man accused of threatening to harm three Anderson County judges has a trial scheduled this week in Anderson County Criminal Court.

Details about the alleged threat aren’t available in an indictment filed by the Anderson County Grand Jury in October.

The 53-year-old man has had a dispute with Anderson County officials about searches of people at the security checkpoint near the elevators on the third floor of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. He has told deputies that they do not have the right to search him, objected to the metal detectors there, claimed that civil rights are being violated, and asserted the right to defend himself with deadly force against an unlawful act by a police officer, according to court records.

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Scarboro Community Alumni have reunion, festivities this month

Posted at 8:46 pm July 16, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Picture of African Dancers in the 2016 parade in Scarboro. (Submitted photo)

The Scarboro Community Alumni Association will have a weekend of festivities this month as part of Oak Ridge’s 75th anniversary celebration.

It’s a reunion scheduled from July 27-July 30.

The 2018 theme, “Connecting the Dots,” commemorates the generations that made lifestyle choices that affect the growth and development of a vibrant Scarboro and Oak Ridge community, a press release said.

“Some additional 200 persons will return back to Oak Ridge to rekindle old memories of growing up in the Scarboro community,” the release said.

Festivities will begin with the Meet and Greet held Friday, July 27, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Scarboro Community Center at 148 Carver Avenue. There, people may receive their registration information, talk with old friends, and enjoy music and appetizers, the press release said. [Read more…]

S&R Insurance Services celebrates 25 years with open house

Posted at 4:32 pm July 16, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

S&R Insurance Services is celebrating its 25th anniversary with an open house on Tuesday.

The open house is scheduled from 1-6 p.m. Tuesday, July 17. There will be a ribbon-cutting at 1:30 p.m.

The Medic Regional Blood Center blood mobile will be at S&R Insurance from 1-4 p.m., a press release said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department and ASAP of Anderson County will be holding a pill take-back event from 1-3 p.m. [Read more…]

Courts: Trial scheduled in fatal car-motorcycle crash

Posted at 1:08 pm July 14, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Noelle Leigh Patty

CLINTON—A trial has been scheduled this month for an Oak Ridge woman charged with homicide after a fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue in January 2016.

Noelle Leigh Patty

CLINTON—A trial has been scheduled this month for an Oak Ridge woman charged with homicide after a fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue in January 2016.

The felony jury trial for Noelle Leigh Patty, 41, is scheduled for July 24 in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. Patty has been charged with homicide in the death of motorcyclist Rufus E. Shephard III, 44, of Oak Ridge.

On Friday, Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge rejected a motion to dismiss two of the five charges filed against Patty: criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon is involved. The Anderson County Grand Jury has found probable cause on the five charges, Elledge said, and no facts or evidence had been presented to the court yet. He called the motion to dismiss “totally premature.”

Patty was indicted on the five charges by the Anderson County Grand Jury on August 1, 2017. Besides homicide and reckless endangerment, the charges included failure to yield the right-of-way resulting in death, failure to obey a traffic control device, and failure to provide proof of insurance.

The crash occurred between a Cadillac STS car and Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle on Sunday evening, January 31, 2016, at the western exit of the Westcott Center, the Kroger shopping center. Authorities said Patty, who was driving the Cadillac, made an improper left turn from a right-turn-only lane at that exit, and she failed to yield to Shephard, who was riding the motorcycle north on North Illinois Avenue. Shephard died after he collided with the car, which was turning south in “the pathway of northbound traffic,” Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Chris Luethge said in arrest warrants filed after the crash.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. The rest of the story includes information about the “undisputed facts,” results of alcohol and drug tests, and arguments for and against dismissing two of the five charges.

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BioBlitz at Worthington Ecological Study Area in Oak Ridge on Saturday

Posted at 9:18 pm July 13, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Submitted image

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning will partner with the Tennessee Valley Authority in a Discover Life in America “BioBlitz” at Worthington Cemetery in Oak Ridge on Saturday.

A BioBlitz is an event in which the public is invited to help with plant and animal identification, an event notice said.

The event’s organizer, Melinda Watson of TVA Natural Resources, said Worthington was selected because of its unique and varied habitats, including a cedar barren, native warm season grass meadow, hardwoods, marsh/swamp, hemlocks, among other habitats, the event notice said.

Each participant needs to have access to a smartphone, tablet, or a camera with GPS capability, the TCWP said. [Read more…]

Rezoning requested for about 200 homes on South Illinois

Posted at 8:34 pm July 13, 2018
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge Community Development Department

A rezoning to be considered by Oak Ridge officials next week proposes about 200 homes on 32 acres near South Illinois Avenue and Centrifuge Way in south Oak Ridge.

The property is currently zoned industrial. The request, if approved, would rezone it as low-density residential. The request will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday.

The property, which is currently vacant, is owned by Commercial Bank. It’s in an area north of South Illinois Avenue and the Summit, south of Mitchell Road and Crossroads at Wolf Creek, east of Lafayette Drive and Midway Lane, and west of Centrus (formerly known as USEC in a building once used by Boeing) and the University of Tennessee Arboretum.

The potential developer is not named in a review of the rezoning request by the Oak Ridge municipal staff.

“The applicant states that the prospective developer for the property plans to develop the site with approximately 200 single-family detached units,” the review said. [Read more…]

Scott seeks re-election to County Commission

Posted at 8:37 am July 13, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Theresa Scott

Anderson County Commissioner Theresa Scott is seeking a second term on the County Commission.

“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the residents of District 7, and I am dedicated to continue to make a positive difference,” Scott said in a press release. “I humbly ask to continue to serve within our county government.”

First elected just four years ago, Scott continues to volunteer within the community through the Neighborhood Watch Program, Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board, the Secret City Civitan Club, and the Lavender and Secret City festivals, as well as other various projects within the city, the press release said.

Since its inception in 2013, Scott remains an active member of Anderson County’s Underage Drinking Task Force and Prescription Medicine Task Force, which are led by Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson (ASAP), the press release said. It said ASAP is proactive in educating the public of the harm of misusing alcohol and prescription pain medications. In 2016, Scott received the first runner-up of the Ally of the Year Award. Their prestigious Prevention Power Partner Award is given to a community member who staunchly supports prevention, and Scott said, “I am truly honored to have been named the recipient for 2017-2018.” [Read more…]

Mead seeks re-election to County Commission

Posted at 8:00 am July 13, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Steve Mead

Steve Mead is seeking re-election to Anderson County Commission in District 6.

The Sixth District includes the Oak Ridge City Hall, Robertsville, and West Hills precincts. Those include the Anderson County portion of Oak Ridge, including the areas around the Children’s Museum, the new Kroger, and Main Street Oak Ridge, and west to the Roane County line.

Mead and his family settled in Oak Ridge in 1987 after he served 21.5 years in the U.S. Submarine Force. Mead had worked his way up from seaman recruit to petty officer first class (E-6), and he was then selected for an active duty college program in which he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, a press release said. He returned as an officer to the submarine force, serving both at sea and overseas.

During his last tour as executive officer of a joint staff near London, England, he earned his master’s degree in business administration from Boston University. [Read more…]

Painting with a Twist fundraiser Thursday to benefit Emory Valley Center

Posted at 9:35 am July 12, 2018
By Janet Wood Leave a Comment

Paint this painting while helping Emory Valley Center! (Submitted photo)

Painting with a Twist in Knoxville is holding a “Painting with a Purpose” fundraiser for Emory Valley Center at its Farragut location, 11000 Kingston Pike, on Thursday, July 12, from 6-8 p.m. A portion of each $35 registration fee will be donated to Emory Valley Center’s Early Learning Center renovation project. Pre-registration is required and there are some seats still available. Please reserve your seat with this link today:

https://www.paintingwithatwist.com/studio/knoxville/event/1603240/

“Painting with a Twist is a fun way to create your own piece of art with friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors while also meeting new friends!” a press release said. “For your registration fee, you will receive all instruction and supplies to create a beautiful painting you can take home at the end of the evening. You may also bring snacks to share and soft drinks for the event, wine will be provided by a donor (for people 21 and older)!” [Read more…]

New Y-12 center provides small orders of nuclear samples

Posted at 4:49 pm July 11, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Workers prepare a shipment in the new NBL Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The center provides special nuclear certified reference materials internationally. (Photo courtesy National Nuclear Security Administration/Y-12)

A new center at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge will provide small orders of nuclear samples around the globe, including to organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“We envision this new facility operating sort of like an Amazon fulfillment center, but for very unique and very small orders of nuclear samples—things you definitely can’t get on Amazon,” said Morgan Smith, president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, which operates Y-12 for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The new center, the NBL Center, officially opened with a June 11 ceremony. The center’s work was previously done at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago.

The new facility is operating and made its first shipment, to the IAEA, in April. The IAEA uses the materials to support its international safeguards mission, said Steven Wyatt, spokesperson for the NNSA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. [Read more…]

Exclusive: Two plead guilty in robbery that ends with shooting

Posted at 2:38 pm July 11, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a shooting on East Holston Lane at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man and woman pleaded guilty on Monday to their roles in a robbery that started as a drug deal set up through social media and ended with a shooting that injured one person.

The plea agreements for the two defendants, Nicole Marie Brewer, 21, and Nicholas Rashad Strickland, 27, were entered in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday. The robbery and shooting were reported on East Holston Lane in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, November 15, 2016.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

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Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

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