The Clinton Police Department has launched a service called Holiday House Watch.
It’s an ongoing service meant to help residents traveling away from home during the Christmas season, a press release said. The service was announced by Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough on Thursday.
Clinton city residents have the option of calling the department at (865) 457-3112 or logging onto the CPD website to let officers know the dates and times they will be out of town. [Read more…]
Using high-energy X-rays, researchers discovered uranium is bound by adsorbent fibers in an unanticipated fashion. (Image by ORNL)
An ultra-high-resolution technique used for the first time to study polymer fibers that trap uranium in seawater may cause researchers to rethink the best methods to harvest this potential fuel for nuclear reactors.
The work of a team led by Carter Abney, a Wigner Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, shows that the polymeric adsorbent materials that bind uranium behave nothing like scientists had believed. The results, gained through collaboration with the University of Chicago and detailed in a paper published in Energy and Environmental Science, highlight data made possible with X-ray Absorption Fine Structure spectroscopy performed at the Advanced Photon Source. The APS is a DOE Office of Science User Facility at Argonne National Laboratory.
“Despite the low concentration of uranium and the presence of many other metals extracted from seawater, we were able to investigate the local atomic environment around uranium and better understand how it is bound by the polymer fibers,” Abney said. [Read more…]
Workers from Masstar Signs remove the old Oak Ridge Mall sign on South Illinois Avenue on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015. The mall redeveloper, RealtyLink, could close on the 60-acre property in January. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 10:47 p.m.
In one sign of progress, workers removed the old Oak Ridge Mall sign on South Illinois Avenue on Wednesday as the company that wants to redevelop the property prepares to close in January.
The redeveloped 60-acre site would be a mixed-use development featuring retailers, restaurants, residential units, and possibly a hotel. It would be called Main Street Oak Ridge.
RealtyLink, the company leading the proposed $80 million redevelopment, had hoped to close on Tuesday, December 15, but the expected closing date has been pushed into January. RealtyLink only became involved about three months ago, taking over from the previous developer, Crosland Southeast, in mid-September. [Read more…]
Michael Benanti (Photo courtesy WATE-TV in Knoxville)
Brian Witham (Photo courtesy WATE-TV in Knoxville)
Note: This story was last updated at 10:37 p.m.
Two men were indicted Tuesday for plots that involved kidnapping family members and robbing or attempting to rob three banks and credit unions in Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and Elizabethton, Tennessee.
The two men are Michael Benanti and Brian Witham. One is from Pennsylvania, and the other is from Maine.
The three financial institutions they targeted were Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge, SmartBank on Advantage Place in Knoxville, and Northeast Community Credit Union on Jason Witten Way in Elizabethton.
The indictment of Benanti and Witham by a federal grand jury for the armed bank extortions was filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. You can read the 15-count indictment, which also includes charges of carjacking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, here. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge firefighters check apartments at Rolling Hills Apartments after a carbon monoxide leak was found in one building on Tuesday night, Dec. 15, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 10:05 a.m.
A three-story apartment building was evacuated and a 56-year-old woman was taken to the hospital after firefighters found a carbon monoxide leak in a boiler in the basement of the building on Tuesday night.
The cause of the leak in the boiler on Vanderbilt Drive wasn’t immediately clear. The boiler is used to heat water in that building, and it won’t be used again until it’s repaired and re-inspected, authorities said.
At about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Oak Ridge Fire Department received a call that a woman who lives directly above the boiler at Rolling Hills Apartments was dizzy and throwing up. Her father, who uses oxygen, told ORFD Captain Ray Burney that the family’s dog was “acting funny.” [Read more…]
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office used a helicopter to help the Oak Ridge Police Department and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department search for a suspect in the woods on the north side of Black Oak Ridge on the north side of Oak Ridge on Tuesday afternoon. The suspect was captured just before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, at Cedar Hill Park in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 7:30 p.m.
A 19-year-old man being questioned about a car stolen from Nashville fled from police as they tried to arrest him in Oak Ridge late Tuesday morning, and more than 30 officers and deputies spent more than two hours searching for him by foot, car, and helicopter. The Oak Ridge Preschool was briefly locked down during the search, and the suspect, Elijah McDowell, 19, was tracked for more than four miles on foot before being captured at Cedar Hill Park near Michigan Avenue and Outer Drive in north-central Oak Ridge.
One Oak Ridge Police Department officer sustained non-life threatening injuries while chasing McDowell into the park.
Elijah Malik McDowell
McDowell’s charges include three counts of property theft, with one between $10,000 and $59,999; assault; resisting arrest; evading arrest; and probation violation, according to Anderson County Sheriff’s Department jail records. His address lists him as a resident of Dandridge.
Before McDowell was caught, Oak Ridge Police Department officers and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies swarmed roads on the north side of Oak Ridge and down into Marlow while searching for the suspect. They combed the roads and woods along Outer Drive, Key Springs Road, Bacon Springs Road, and Oliver Springs Highway, among other streets. A Knox County Sheriff’s Office Airwatch helicopter flew low circles over the woods on the north side of Black Oak Ridge, which is on the north side of Oak Ridge.
The pursuit started after Oak Ridge officers were dispatched to a home at 102 Marion Road at 11:47 a.m. Tuesday. They were trying to locate a black 2008 Dodge Charger reported stolen from Nashville, a press release said. The vehicle was being tracked remotely by the Metropolitan Nashville Metropolitan Police Department. [Read more…]
The Tennessee Centennial Golf Course is pictured above in Oak Ridge on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 10:50 a.m. Dec. 15.
Despite some opposition, the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday approved a $325,000 transfer for operations at Tennessee Centennial Golf Course.
About $225,000 of the transfer, a cash infusion, would be for outstanding accounts payable, including for expenses that include clothing in the pro shop, a management fee, fertilizer, and irrigation costs. Another $100,000 is operational funding for the winter, including maintenance of the greens.
It’s the first non-debt related transfer from the city’s General Fund to the Golf Course Fund since the golf course was built, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. Separately, the city still owes about $3 million in debt-related bond payments on the golf course. It’s expected to be paid off in five years.
Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn cast the only vote against the operating transfer. All six of the other City Council members voted “yes.” [Read more…]
The City of Oak Ridge purchased 147 Waddell Circle, which had a fire in July, using Community Development Block Grants. The property, which sustained more than 75 percent fire damage, is slated for immediate demolition. It was purchased from an owner-occupant who did not have the means to remove the structure, officials said. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
The City of Oak Ridge has purchased a home that burned in July on Waddell Circle.
The blighted property at 147 Waddell Circle was purchased through the Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, program. It is slated for immediate demolition, officials said.
The home, which sustained more than 75 percent fire damage, was purchased from an owner occupant who did not have the means to remove the structure, the City of Oak Ridge said. [Read more…]
Former Captain Robin Smith, right, has been promoted to deputy chief of the Oak Ridge Police Department. Smith is pictured above with ORPD Chief Jim Akagi. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
Former Captain Robin Smith has been promoted to deputy chief of the Oak Ridge Police Department.
Smith was promoted on November 8. City officials said he will still oversee the ORPD Patrol Division and SWAT Team.
“He is a valuable member of the ORPD executive and senior leadership teams,” the City of Oak Ridge said of Smith. “Both the ORPD and the Oak Ridge community are very fortunate to have him as a deputy chief, and look forward to his leadership and talent in improving public safety for all of the great Oak Ridge citizens.” [Read more…]
Neil Wilson, left, principal of RealtyLink, gives an update on the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall at an Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Rise and Shine at TNBank on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 15.
The new company leading the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall won’t close on the property on Tuesday, and the closing could be pushed into January, officials said this month.
But it’s nothing to be concerned about, one official said Monday, adding that there are many pre-closing activities to accomplish in a short period of time, some in series.
“There have been no holdups, just a lot to do,” said Ray Evans, retail consultant for the City of Oak Ridge. “As an example, a subdivision plat has to be approved by the Planning Commission prior to closing. In order for the plat to be prepared, the property had to be re-surveyed. The new survey stakes are very apparent around the property. The plat was submitted yesterday (Monday). It will likely go before the Planning Commission at its meeting on January 7.”
Evans said RealtyLink has had geotechnical staff on site doing core borings during the past few weeks.
“In addition, they have been working on completing the environmental work,” he said.
Officials said RealtyLink and its contractor remain committed to having stores open for seven of the new tenants for the 2016 Christmas season. [Read more…]
The driver was okay, but his vehicle was reported to be totaled when it rolled over in a single-vehicle crash on Scarboro Road on Monday afternoon, Dec. 14, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The driver was reported to be okay, but his Honda Civic was reported to be totaled when it rolled over in a single-vehicle crash on Scarboro Road on Monday afternoon.
The crash occurred up the hill from Union Valley Road and the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex. Authorities reported that the roadway was slick.
The Oak Ridge Police Department briefly closed the road while the crash was investigated and the car towed away.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
The driver was reported to be okay, but his Honda Civic was reported to be totaled when it rolled over in a single-vehicle crash on Scarboro Road on Monday afternoon, Dec. 14, 2015. The Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Police Department both responded. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
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One man was allegedly robbed and carjacked on Laurel Road in Anderson County early Monday morning, while another was reportedly shot in the foot as the result of a bad drug deal in Campbell County, authorities said.
Authorities received a report that a 2007 Kia Sportage had been stolen at gunpoint on Laurel Road at about 2 a.m. Monday. The vehicle was reported to be possibly headed to Oak Ridge or Oliver Springs after the alleged carjacking and robbery.
The vehicle was recovered by the Oak Ridge Police Department at Manhattan Apartments on North Purdue Avenue.
Darien Noe of LaFollette told Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Michael A. Poole that two suspects held guns on him and stole his vehicle, shoes, and other items, forcing him to leave the vehicle on Laurel Road, according to an incident report. Noe went to a house on Laurel Road to ask for help, and that resident called 911.
An alert was sent out to other law enforcement agencies to tell them to watch out for the stolen vehicle. [Read more…]
