Oak Ridge Today

Photos by Culiat: Oak Ridge High School graduation, II

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The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, on Blankenship Field. Here are photos by Julio Culiat.

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

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Photos by Culiat: Oak Ridge High School graduation, I

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The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, on Blankenship Field. Here are photos by Julio Culiat.

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

The Oak Ridge High School commencement ceremony was Thursday evening, June 2, 2016, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

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Burglars caught in Butcher Mansion when SWAT team arrives for training, ACSD says

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Gerald Lynn Brummett

Gerald Lynn Brummett

Two burglars were caught inside the former Butcher Mansion when the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team arrived for monthly training on Thursday, May 26, authorities said.

The owner of the property allows deputies to conduct training exercises at the home, which is under renovation, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. The Butcher Mansion is on Whirlwind Point off Old Emory Road in Claxton.

The SWAT team arrived for monthly training at about 7:30 a.m. May 26, Lucas said. They found two people had broken into the home and were preparing to steal several items, including appliances, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Westcott photo exhibit of Oak Ridge during World War II opens Friday

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Ed Westcott and Ray Smith

Ed Westcott, right, was the only official photographer in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project in World War II, a top-secret project to build the world’s first atomic bomb. Westcott is pictured above with D. Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian and newspaper history columnist. (Photo courtesy D. Ray Smith)

 

An exhibit of more than 50 historic photographs by James Edward “Ed” Westcott, the official photographer of the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge during World War II, will open Friday in Knoxville.

The exhibit is titled “Through the Lens of Ed Westcott: A Photographic History of World War II’s Secret City.” It’s scheduled to be on display from June 3 to August 6 at the University of Tennessee Gallery at 106 South Gay Street in Knoxville.

A First Friday Opening Reception is scheduled from 5-9 p.m. Friday, June 3. Westcott will be in attendance from 6:30-8:30 p.m., a press release said.

There will be a gallery talk with Baldwin Lee, UT art professor emeritus, starting at 7 p.m. Friday. Baldwin will discuss the photos in the exhibition, the press release said.

Here is more information from the press release: [Read more…]

See the city manager’s budget presentation here

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Oak Ridge Today has uploaded a copy of the city manager’s budget presentation to Oak Ridge City Council. You can see a PDF version of the budget presentation here: City of Oak Ridge (Fiscal Year 2017 Budget).

Council received the PowerPoint presentation during a special meeting on Tuesday.

Here are a few highlights from the Tuesday meeting: [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge High School Convocation

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Oak Ridge High School Convocation June 1 2016 Panorama 800x319

Oak Ridge High School seniors are pictured at Convocation in the ORHS Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, June 1, 2016. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Convocation for Oak Ridge High School seniors was Wednesday. Graduation is today (Thursday, June 2).

Here are two pictures from the Wednesday night Convocation by Julio Culiat.

The Commencement ceremony starts at 7 p.m. today on Blankenship Field.

Graduation Celebration, a free, all-night party for high school graduates in Oak Ridge, starts at 10 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Civic Center. [Read more…]

ORHS junior running for City Council, wants to represent youth

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Mark Lenoir

Mark LeNoir, right, a junior at Oak Ridge High School, is running for Oak Ridge City Council in November. (Submitted photo)

 

A 17-year-old junior at Oak Ridge High School is running for Oak Ridge City Council, and he said he wants to represent the city’s youth on the seven-member body.

Mark LeNoir, the first candidate to publicly announce a City Council campaign this year, at least to Oak Ridge Today, will turn 18 on October 5, about one month before the November 8 election.

On Wednesday, LeNoir said he kicked off his campaign a few weeks ago at a banquet for Youth Leadership of Oak Ridge at the DoubleTree Hotel.

“My biggest thing is that there is a lot of unrepresented youth in this town,” LeNoir said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “It’s kind of stayed on the same path for the last 20 years. I want to get change happening.”

LeNoir said he wants more cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, including possibly having the city take over the American Museum of Science and Energy, or AMSE, and Clark Center Park. [Read more…]

Lawrence Hahn Golf Classic to benefit Boys, Girls Club on Saturday

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Lawrence Hahn Golf Classic June 4 2016

The Lawrence Hahn Golf Classic on Saturday will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Oak Ridge.

A shotgun start is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday, June 4, at the Oak Ridge Country Club.

The Lawrence Hahn Golf Classic is held annually by the Oak Ridge Boys Club Alumni Association to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Norris Dam added to National Register of Historic Places

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TVA Norris Hydoelectric Project

TVA Norris Hydoelectric Project (Submitted photo)

 

Norris Dam is one of three Tennessee sites added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 20, state officials said Wednesday.

The Tennessee Historical Commission announced the addition of the three sites. Besides Norris Dam, the other two sites are Jefferson Street Historic District in Brownsville in Haywood County and Kenner Manor Historic District in Nashville.

Norris Dam is referred to as the Norris Hydroelectric Project. Built in Anderson and Campbell counties between 1933 and 1936, the Norris Hydroelectric Project was the first project for the newly established Tennessee Valley Authority, a press release said. Named after Nebraska Senator George Norris, who advocated for public power facilities, the dam and associated properties provided electricity to the rural areas of Tennessee and the surrounding states, helped with seasonal flood control, and provided power for wartime industries.

Norris Hydroelectric Project had a dramatic impact on the landscape since people were displaced when Norris Lake was flooded, recreation areas were created, and the community of Norris was built, the press release said. [Read more…]

City’s proposed budget would leave property tax rate unchanged

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Note: This story was last updated at 10:30 a.m.

The proposed city budget presented to Oak Ridge City Council members on Tuesday would leave the property tax rate unchanged, but it could include rate increases for water, sewer, and trash collection.

If approved by Council, the budget would not increase the property tax rate for the ninth year in a row. After five-year reappraisals last year, the rate is now set at $2.52 per $100 of assessed value.

The proposed budget includes a 3 percent pay adjustment that would move employees along their pay scales, helping to separate those who have worked for the city for a while from those who have just started.

The trash fee would increase by $3.50 per month, raising it from $10.50 to $14 per month starting in October. The fee was raised to $10.50 last year. At $14 per month, the city would no longer subsidize part of the trash fee, as it has previously done. The city used to pay half of the $14 fee, meaning residents paid $7 per month and the city paid $7. [Read more…]

Warrants: Man, woman charged after gun, box cutter used in alleged robbery

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Donald Lewis Johnson

Donald Johnson

An Oak Ridge man and Knoxville woman have been charged with aggravated robbery after a handgun and box cutter were allegedly used to rob an Oak Ridge man of $400 on Wade Lane on May 23, authorities said.

The two defendants are Donald Johnson, 37, of Wade Lane, and Tosha Woods, 36, of Henderson Road in Knoxville.

The victim, an ex-boyfriend of Woods, went to retrieve items from Woods’ vehicle on May 23, and he found Woods, her 16-year-old son, and Johnson, her new boyfriend, at 122 Wade Lane, according to arrests warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court by Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Rodolfo Estrada.

“When the victim asked for his belongings, an argument ensued between the son and the victim,” Estrada said, citing evidence and statements from the victim and the suspects, after they had been read their Miranda rights. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge resident proposes craft beer market

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Oak Ridge resident Christopher D. Keever has proposed a craft beer market that could open in July in central Oak Ridge.

The business would be called Crafter’s Brew Market and Social. It would be located at 856 Oak Ridge Turnpike, which was a demonstration site for Waterworks Pool and Spa.

With approval, the site would be remodeled with a building and bathrooms, according to a beer permit application filed with the city.

It would be a craft beer market with on-site and off-site consumption of craft beer and international bottled beer. To enter after 9 p.m., customers would have to be 21 years old or older. [Read more…]