Oak Ridge Today

Three-vehicle crash with injuries reported on South Illinois at Centrifuge

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South Illinois Avenue Crash on Aug. 24, 2015

Injuries were reported and one person was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after a three-vehicle crash on South Illinois Avenue on Monday afternoon.

 

A three-vehicle crash with injuries was reported on South Illinois Avenue near Centrifuge Way on Monday afternoon.

One vehicle was upside down, resting on its roof, and one person was reportedly flown by a UT Lifestar medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were involved, how many were injured, or how many others were taken to the hospital.

The crash was just down the hill toward Oak Ridge from the Centrifuge Way overpass. [Read more…]

School board to consider buying $1.36M worth of 1:1 computing devices

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday will consider buying $1.36 million worth of “one to one” computing devices for middle school students and teachers.

The purchase of the 1,636 devices would be through a $1.59 million, four-year CalFirst equipment lease that the school board will also consider on Monday.

The BOE will consider buying 1,520 student devices worth $1,223,600 from Personal Computer Systems, or PCS, in Louisville, Tennessee. The Lenovo 11E Yoga convertible laptops are worth $805 each and would be used by students in grades 5-8.

Teachers in grades 5-8 would get 116 devices worth $135,140 from PCS. Those devices, worth $1,165 each, would be Lenovo Yoga 12s. [Read more…]

Students to test skills, vie for scholarships in UT Pro2Serve Math Contest

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Hundreds of Tennessee high school students will put their mathematics skills to the test and vie for scholarships during this year’s UT Pro2Serve Math Contest, hosted by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Registration opens Tuesday, August 25, for the 17th annual contest. The daylong event pits students—public, private, and home-schooled—from across the state in both individual and team competitions.

The contest, to be held Tuesday, October 27, at the Holiday Inn World’s Fair Park downtown, will award $6,000 annual scholarships to UT to the top 10 students in the individual competition. The scholarships are funded by UT and Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. Other prizes also will be given. [Read more…]

Sewer line inspections using sonar machine continue in Oak Ridge

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The Oak Ridge Public Works Department continues to use state-of-the-art technology to perform inspections of the city’s sewer system, a press release said.

This technology employs a sonar machine that emits a repeating series of tones, similar to a musical scale. In open areas, it can be heard over long distances. While harmless, the tones emitted by the machine are low enough in frequency that residents nearby may be able to feel and, in some instances, hear them.

Testing is ongoing, but it will be concentrated to certain areas depending upon weather constraints and other factors during the week of August 24. This includes the area in and around Claremont Road, Clifton Circle, and Chestnut Hill Road. [Read more…]

Sewer rehab continues in August, with manhole repairs starting Monday

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Sewer rehabilitation continues in August, and starting Monday, August 24, Portland Utilities will be back in town doing manhole repair, primarily in the Central City Sewer Shed. Portland Utilities will notify residents by knocking on their doors on a case-by-case basis. They will be working for about three weeks, deepening upon the weather, a press release said.

The sewer rehab is being done Morgan Contracting, working under contract for the City of Oak Ridge. They are rehabilitating the city’s sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and in roadways, the release said.

Residents should have already received letters on colored paper (green for Morgan Contracting) and door hangers providing general information and the applicable contractor’s contact information. [Read more…]

Roane State receives $27K grant for outreach, support for adult students

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Roane State Community College Harriman Campus

The main Roane State Community College campus in Harriman. The college also has a branch campus in Oak Ridge.

Roane State Community College has received a $27,310 Tennessee Higher Education Commission Ready to Reconnect grant to support adult students.

The grant will fund communication tools (email newsletter, texting services, and mailings) that will help adult students better understand their degree options and how to navigate the enrollment process. The grant will also pay for training that will teach faculty how to assess whether adults’ work experience could count toward college credit.

“Increasing outreach to adult students and improving the process for awarding adults college credit for their work experience are two key areas that can lead to more adults completing degrees,” said Diane Ward, Roane State vice president for student learning. “With the Ready to Reconnect grant, we can take major steps forward in these areas and better serve adult learners in our communities.” [Read more…]

Pie Five Pizza, Aspen Dental under construction on South Illinois

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Pie Five Pizza and Aspen Dental

Pie Five Pizza and Aspen Dental are both under construction at a new shopping center on South Illinois Avenue next to the Aldi grocery store. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Pie Five Pizza Co. and Aspen Dental are both under construction at a new shopping center on South Illinois Avenue next to the Aldi grocery store.

They’re among a series of new businesses that have located in the past few years along a short stretch of South Illinois Avenue between Rutgers Avenue and Scarboro Road/Lafayette Drive. Others have included Aldi, Aubrey’s Restaurant, Bojangles’, Panera Bread, Ole Ben Franklin Motors, and Weigel’s.

A beer permit for Pie Five Pizza will be considered during a special meeting of the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board at 5:15 p.m. Monday, August 24, in the Municipal Building Training Room. [Read more…]

Hanks’ Market has ribbon-cutting on Tuesday, Goodwill moving

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Hank's Market

The new Hank’s Market grocery store in east Oak Ridge has a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new Hank’s Market grocery store in east Oak Ridge has a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, August 25.

Hank’s Market #45 will be in the space formerly used by the Food Lion grocery store at 691 Emory Valley Road.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony is from 10-11 a.m. Tuesday, with the ribbon-cutting at 10:15.

Food Lion confirmed its plans to close its Oak Ridge store in June 2014. The company said it was not renewing its lease on the property.

The spaces where Curves and Briarcliff Realty used to be next to Food Lion have been under renovation also, and in July, Goodwill confirmed that it is moving to Emory Valley Road. [Read more…]

Authorities save man from drowning in west Oak Ridge on Friday

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Blair Road River Rescue

Photo by Roane County Sheriff’s Office via Facebook

 

Authorities helped save a man from drowning in west Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office reported.

The Roane County dispatch center received a report that a man had fallen in the water near Blair Road, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Captain Tim Hawn was less than one mile away when the call was dispatched.

“Captain Hawn immediately put himself at risk in order to save the guy that was in the water,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a post published on Facebook. “Captain Hawn was able to retrieve the guy and pull him to safety.” [Read more…]

Thirteen people, eight vehicles involved in two crashes on Edgemoor Road

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Edgemoor Road Bridge Crash

One driver was possibly injured and cited for a failure to use due care after this three-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road on Friday afternoon left one vehicle partially stuck on the concrete rail of the bridge over the Clinch River. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Thirteen people in eight vehicles were involved in two of the three crashes reported on Edgemoor Road on Thursday and Friday last week.

But only one person had possible injuries in those two crashes, according to Oak Ridge Police Department reports.

The first crash, a five-vehicle wreck, was reported on Edgemoor Road about two-tenths of a mile west of Lakeview Circle at about 5:39 p.m. Thursday, August 13. None of the 10 occupants of the five vehicles was injured, according to reports.

ORPD Officer Shane Tilley reported that a 1991 Chevrolet pickup driven west on Edgemoor Road, also known as State Route 170, by Jeremy P. Bentley, 46, of Knoxville, was unable to stop when traffic stopped in front of him.

Bentley then struck the rear of a 2014 Dodge pickup driven by Charles E. Dishman, 35, of Clinton, which in turn hit the rear of a 2012 Hyundai sedan driven by William M. Cunningham of Maryville. Cunningham’s sedan then hit the rear of a 2008 Nissan Altima driven by Chong Kim, 74, of Knoxville, which hit the rear of a 2009 Nissan Altima driven by Deena A. Chase, 48, of Knoxville. [Read more…]

FBI asks for public’s help catching suspects in kidnappings, extortions at two banks

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Ed Reinhold

Edward Reinhold, special agent in charge for FBI Knoxville, asks for the public’s help catching two suspects involved in two alleged kidnapping and extortion plots at banks in Oak Ridge and Knoxville. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KNOXVILLE—The Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking for the public’s help in catching the suspects involved in the kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge and SmartBank in Knoxville. The FBI is also working with bank employees to ensure they know what to do in the future and to be aware of their surroundings.

On Wednesday, the FBI announced a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the identification and arrests of the suspects. They’ve released descriptions of two white male suspects.

“The only way we can prevent this from happening is to catch these guys,” said Edward Reinhold, special agent in charge at the FBI Knoxville. The FBI had a Thursday afternoon press conference at its Knoxville office on Dowell Springs Road.

Agents are asking members of the public who might know anything to step forward. [Read more…]