Oak Ridge Today

Council agenda: Preschool report, Waste Connections contract extension

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Elm Grove Park Oct. 21, 2015

Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge has been proposed as a site for a new preschool, and it’s considered the best potential location. The Oak Ridge City Council will consider accepting a report recommending that site during a 7 p.m. meeting on Monday, Jan. 11, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Other items on the Oak Ridge City Council agenda tonight include possible acceptance of a report that recommends building a new preschool at Elm Grove Park and a five-year contract extension for Waste Connections of Tennessee, the city’s garbage and recyclables contractor.

As previously reported, tonight’s meeting (Monday, January 11) will also include a report on city manager evaluations, with possible discussion of a one-year contract extension and 2 percent pay raise, and a brief update on Main Street Oak Ridge, the $80 million project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The preschool report was presented to Oak Ridge City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education in October. It came from the Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee, which determined whether to remodel the 70-year-old Preschool building on New York Avenue, lease and renovate a building, or build a new one. [Read more…]

OR Schools asks for state help with military program, consistency for teachers

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McDonald-McQueen-Ragan-ORHS-Jan-7-2016

Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen, center, visited Oak Ridge High School on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Also pictured are ORHS Principal Martin McDonald, left, and Tennessee Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge Schools could use help with a military program, one of the so-called “seven keys” to college and career readiness, education officials told a state official on Thursday.

State officials can also help by “keeping teachers on the same path for more than one year,” Oak Ridge Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer told Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen during a Thursday afternoon tour of Oak Ridge High School.

“Let’s give them (teachers) some consistency,” Fillauer said. McQueen’s path is called TNReady, Fillauer said. That’s described as a “new and improved” TCAP (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program), which students have taken since 1988.

McQueen is visiting all districts as part of a statewide tour. On Thursday, it was Oak Ridge’s turn. In addition to Oak Ridge High School, McQueen toured Glenwood Elementary School and Robertsville Middle School. [Read more…]

Evans, city’s retail consultant, to give brief mall update Monday

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Oak Ridge Mall

The Oak Ridge City Center, which could be redeveloped as Main Street Oak Ridge, a multi-use project with retailers, restaurants, residential units, and a hotel, is pictured above. Also known as the former Oak Ridge Mall, the L-shaped building is at center. The white building at center left is Walmart, and it is not part of the proposed redevelopment. Neither is the white building at center top, the Cinemark Tinseltown Theater. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Ray Evans, the city’s retail consultant, will give a brief update on Main Street Oak Ridge, the project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall, during a Monday evening meeting.

Evans will give the update during an Oak Ridge City Council meeting that starts at 7 p.m. Monday, January 11, in the Municipal Building Courtroom.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved a re-subdivision for the $80 million project on Thursday. City officials said the re-subdivision was a required condition for the closing on the property.

RealtyLink, the new developer, has said they still plan to have some stores open at the site by the Christmas 2016 holiday shopping season. [Read more…]

Dine and Donate in 2016 starts Monday, raises money for ADFAC

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Cande Seay

Cande Seay

Dine and Donate, a popular fundraiser for Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC, launches its 2016 season on Monday, January 11, at five local restaurants.

“Dine and Donate is a great way for local residents to try new restaurants or visit their favorites,” said Dine and Donate Chair Cande Seay. “Last year, hundreds of local families and over 20 restaurants came together to raise thousands of dollars to support ADFAC’s mission.”

On Dine and Donate Mondays (the second Monday of each month), local restaurants donate a significant portion of their daily sales to ADFAC. Restaurants participating on Monday, January 11, are Hoskins and Riverview Grill in Clinton, and Mediterranean Delight, Papa Murphy’s, and Razzleberry’s in Oak Ridge.

Several business and media sponsors have also stepped up to support Dine and Donate 2016, including Oak Ridge Today, Leidos, UT-Battelle, Enrichment Federal Credit Union, J&M’s Butcher Shop, and Randy Mcfarland-State Farm Agent, a press release said. [Read more…]

Planning Commission approves re-subdivision for Main Street Oak Ridge, the mall redevelopment

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Planning Commission Main Street Oak Ridge Jan. 7, 2016

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved a re-subdivision for Main Street Oak Ridge, the $80 million project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as a mixed-use development including retailers, restaurants, residential units, and a hotel, on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin is standing at right. City staff members and representatives of RealtyLink, the development company, were also present. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge officials on Thursday approved a re-subdivision that was required for the $80 million project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The re-subdivision includes 10 different lots, including one larger parcel in the center of the 58-acre site and other smaller lots. Officials said the re-subdivision was necessary for financial considerations, and it is a condition for closing on the property.

Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said the city has received notice the remediation is complete on the interior of the mostly empty mall, and construction drawings have been submitted for three buildings expected to receive permits. The new buildings could be erected next to Belk and in the area where Sears is now.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved the re-subdivision in an 8-0 vote during a special meeting Thursday. Planning commissioners present were Chair Stephen Whitson, Vice Chair Austin Lance, Secretary Claudia Lever, and members Charlie Hensley, Sharon Kohler, Jane Shelton, Hans Vogel, and Todd Wilson. [Read more…]

Powell man arrested after Saturday home invasion robbery in Claxton

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Michael John Cathcart

Michael John Cathcart

A Powell man was arrested after the home invasion robbery reported in Claxton on Saturday morning, authorities said.

Michael John Cathcart, 33, of Clinton Highway in Powell, has been charged with three counts of aggravated robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, and one count of theft, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said Sunday afternoon.

The robbery was reported on Duke Street in Ben’s Mobile Home Park off Edgemoor Road on Saturday morning, when a man said he was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint of his prescription narcotics by two other men. [Read more…]

April trial scheduled for man facing federal gun charge after September shooting, crash

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Larry Dewayne Williams

Larry Dewayne Williams

An April trial has been scheduled for a man facing a federal gun charge after a shooting and crash in north Oak Ridge in September.

Larry Dewayne Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury in October on one count of being a convicted felon who possessed a gun and ammunition. Authorities said police found a pistol and ammunition manufactured outside Tennessee in his house and car.

The trial had initially been scheduled to start Tuesday, January 12, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. But after reviewing the case, U.S. District Court Judge Pamela Reeves agreed late last year that Williams needed additional time to prepare his case, and government prosecutors didn’t object, according to court records. The new trial date is April 5.

The plea agreement deadline is March 29.

Williams allegedly fled from Oak Ridge police in a silver Infiniti after a September 21 shooting on Wakefield Road. After he allegedly ran from the car following a three-vehicle crash at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer James Elkins found an AR-15 type firearm on the passenger floorboard of Williams’ Infiniti and a semi-automatic pistol lying inside, authorities said. [Read more…]

Home invasion robbery reported in Claxton on Saturday

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Anderson County Sheriff Patch

A man said he was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint of his prescription narcotics by two males during a home invasion robbery in Claxton on Saturday morning, authorities said.

The alleged robbery was reported on Duke Street in Ben’s Mobile Home Park off Edgemoor Road.

The victim received a minor head injury and was taken to the hospital by Anderson County EMS, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. There were two other people in the home with the victim at the time of the robbery, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Man’s body pulled from vehicle submerged in Melton Hill Lake

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Knox County Sheriff Badge

A man’s body was pulled from a vehicle submerged in Melton Hill Lake in west Knox County on Friday evening, authorities said.

The body was pulled out of the vehicle by Knox County Rescue Squad divers.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Crime Unit is investigating the incident. Witnesses told detectives that they saw a white male back up his SUV from the boat ramp, then put the vehicle in drive and accelerate as it reached the water. This happened shortly after 5 p.m. Friday, the Sheriff’s Office said. [Read more…]

AC man allegedly assaulted at jail files $1 million federal lawsuit

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U.S. District Court in Knoxville

The U.S. District Court in Knoxville is pictured above. (Photo by U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee)

An Anderson County man who was allegedly assaulted while an inmate at the county jail in October 2014 has filed a $1 million federal civil rights lawsuit against a former jailer and other parties, and a jury trial has been scheduled for June 20, 2017, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

Before the lawsuit was filed, the former jailer, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Corporal Dustin McCoig, was indicted on a misdemeanor assault charge by the Anderson County Grand Jury. He was indicted in March 2015.

McCoig is named as a defendant in the federal lawsuit, which was filed October 21, 2015, along with three other former Sheriff’s Department employees: Homer Bullman, Jason Wills, and Amber Stocks. Also named as defendants are Anderson County Sheriff Paul White, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and Anderson County.

There is a separate case pending in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court, where a jury trial on the assault charge against McCoig has been scheduled for April 13, 2016. [Read more…]

City manager evals: Mostly meets, exceeds expectations; one Council member asks for resignation

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Note: This story was last updated at 11:25 a.m.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson has mostly met or exceeded expectations while performing his job, and a 2 percent pay raise and one-year contract extension could be considered on Monday, according to evaluations by six City Council members and the chair of an evaluation committee.

But one City Council member, Trina Baughn, said Watson needs improvement in all 30 areas that she rated, and she asked the city manager to consider voluntarily resigning.

“I don’t plan to resign,” Watson said in December. “Hopefully, we can continue to improve upon relationships.”

The city manager was rated in surveys submitted by six of the seven City Council members. The results were reviewed by the City Manager Evaluation Committee, which is chaired by Council member Charlie Hensley. [Read more…]

Synthetic material from ORNL used in discovery of new elements 115, 117

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ORNL Berkelium-249

Berkelium-249, contained in the greenish fluid in the tip of the vial, was crucial to the experiment that discovered element 117. It was made in the research reactor at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Twenty-two milligrams of a very pure synthetic material produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were used in the discovery of two new chemical elements that will help fill out the seventh row of the periodic table.

The synthetic element, berkelium-249, was produced in a project that started with a six-month irradiation of a target material at the High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL. The resulting product was separated and processed during a three-month period at the lab’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center.

The berkelium-249 was then shipped to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, or JINR, in Dubna, Russia, where it was intensely bombarded, or irradiated, with calcium-48 ions, creating six atoms of element 117, said Jim Roberto, ORNL associate lab director for science and technology partnerships. Berkelium-249, which does not exist in nature, has a 300-day lifetime, so researchers had a short time to do their experiments.

Element 117 is one of four new elements that have been officially verified by the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry. The IUPAC announced the discoveries on December 30. The other three are elements 113, 115, and 118. Element 115 is produced when element 117 decays. [Read more…]