Oak Ridge Today

Fire destroys home on Frost Bottom Road early Sunday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Frost Bottom Road Fire

A fire destroyed a home at 352 Frost Bottom Road in Anderson County early Sunday morning. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

A fire destroyed a home on Frost Bottom Road early Sunday morning.

The fire was reported at 2 p.m. Sunday at 352 Frost Bottom Road in Anderson County, photographer Tom Scott said.

According to a neighbor, a passerby first saw the fire and asked the neighbor to call the Anderson County 911 Center, Scott said.

He said the Marlow Fire Department was dispatched and responded with one engine and two tankers. Mutual aid was requested from the Oliver Springs Fire Department, which sent two engines. [Read more…]

State asks for comments on charges for inspecting public records

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Tennessee officials are studying whether to charge for inspecting public records, and the state is seeking public comment.

The Office of Open Records Counsel has been asked by the Tennessee General Assembly to review issues surrounding the inspection of public records. Legislation was introduced in the 2015 Session of the 109th General Assembly that would permit charges for inspecting public records. While a records custodian is permitted to charge for copies of public records, inspection is generally free of charge. The OORC will prepare a report with recommendations on this issue to the General Assembly by January 15, 2016.

The OORC has prepared brief online surveys to help gather input from citizens and government entities. The responses from these surveys will help in the preparation of the final report. [Read more…]

SL Tennessee honored for support of higher education

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

SL Tennessee Award

The East Tennessee College Alliance honored SL Tennessee for its support of higher education. From left are Roane State President Chris Whaley; Yeonsoo Chung, human resources manager at SL Tennessee; Scott Laska, SL Tennessee business development manager; Y.K. Woo, SL America president; Kim Harris, Roane State job placement director; and Maria Gonzales, Roane State director of student enrollment and recruitment. (Photo by Roane State)

 

Automotive parts manufacturer SL Tennessee has received an East Tennessee College Alliance 2015 Corporate Award.

The alliance is a collaborative association of higher education institutions dedicated to providing educational opportunities for working adults.

The Corporate Award recognizes business that support higher education’s crucial role in workforce development and economic growth. [Read more…]

Hitchcock to be celebrity bartender in fundraiser for Free Medical Clinic

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Echo Bistro and Wine Bar

Submitted

For lovers of exotic mushroom fare, Echo Bistro and Wine Bar is the place to be on Thursday, August 20, from 4:30-8 p.m.

Celebrity bartender, Anderson County commissioner, and mushroom aficionado Whitey Hitchcock will bring an assortment of morel, chanterelle, lobster, and other personally foraged mushrooms to Echo to be transformed into a wild mushroom offering by Chef Seth Simmerman. The bar will feature Whitey’s chanterelle-infused libations, complete with Turkish apricot garnish.

Half the mushroom sales and all of the bartender tips go to the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, which serves surrounding counties as well as Anderson County. [Read more…]

Anderson County EMS to get safety, self defense training

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anderson County EMS

It’s a dangerous job that involves driving at high speeds to emergencies and also, at times, encountering violent patients.

To help, Anderson County EMS is bringing in a national training program to train its staff and others.

EMS professionals are not taught to defend themselves, they do not go through training like police officers, and they do not carry the equipment officers do in case a scene becomes violent, a press release said.,

So, Anderson County EMS is teaching its emergency medical technicians and paramedics how to defend themselves and to recognize when a normal scene can or will escalate to a violent encounter. They will also learn how to talk their way out of a violent encounter, the press release said. [Read more…]

Admiral Title has ribbon-cutting

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Admiral Title Ribbon-cutting

Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce member Admiral Title Inc. celebrated a ribbon-cutting on Aug. 13. (Photo submitted by Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce)

 

Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce member Admiral Title Inc. celebrated a ribbon-cutting on August 13. Admiral Title Inc. has expanded their business to Oak Ridge at 133 Lafayette Drive Suite 101.

Corker visiting six Tenn. counties, with stop in Clinton

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Senator Bob Corker is visiting six Tennessee counties, and the trip includes stops in Clinton, Knoxville, and Kingston on Tuesday.

The statewide travel started in Chattanooga on Saturday at the Department of Navy Memorial Service to honor the service members tragically killed in the July attack.

During Tuesday’s stops, Corker, a Tennessee Republican, will visit with business and community leaders.

On Wednesday, Corker will be back in Hamilton County, where he will attend the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. [Read more…]

Edgemoor Road bridge temporarily closed after crash leaves car stuck on rail

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Edgemoor Road Bridge Crash

The right rear tire of a vehicle was stuck on the concrete rail of the Edgemoor Road bridge over the Clinch River after a two-vehicle crash between Oak Ridge and Claxton on Friday afternoon. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The right rear tire of a vehicle was stuck on the concrete rail of the Edgemoor Road bridge over the Clinch River after a two-vehicle crash between Oak Ridge and Claxton on Friday afternoon.

The crash was reported at about 1:55 p.m. Friday. Authorities temporarily shut down Edgemoor Road at the bridge. Emergency workers were able to pull the vehicle off the rail at about 2:50 p.m. The stuck vehicle appeared to a compact SUV.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Concrete Rail at Edgemoor Road Bridge

The concrete rail on the Oak Ridge side of the Edgemoor Road bridge. The Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton is pictured in the background.

 

CASA seeks volunteer advocates in Anderson County

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

By CASA of the Tennessee Heartland

Kids Count Data 2015 has just been released. This data revealed that there were 160 confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect in Anderson County alone. As a result, 277 Anderson County children were in DCS custody last year.

Because of the growing problem of abuse and neglect in our community, CASA of the Tennessee Heartland is seeking volunteer advocates for its Anderson County program. CASA of the Tennessee Heartland recruits, trains, and empowers volunteers to advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children in juvenile court.

Our Court Appointed Special Advocates gather information, recommend services, and advocate for each child to be placed in a safe and permanent home as quickly as possible. A CASA volunteer may be the only consistent, adult presence in a child’s life. Because a CASA focuses on one family at a time, a child with a CASA volunteer is more likely to find a safe, permanent home, more likely to be adopted, and less likely to be bounced from home to home. [Read more…]

City officials meet with NPS, DOE, other communities to discuss Manhattan Project park

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

A delegation from the City of Oak Ridge recently traveled to Los Alamos, New Mexico, to participate in a meeting with officials from the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Energy, and from Los Alamos and the Hanford communities to discuss the newly designated Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The meeting was sponsored by the Energy Communities Alliance, or ECA, which supported attendance at the meeting with travel grants to the participants.

The three-day event, with more than 50 in attendance, began with a tour of the cultural resources and Manhattan Project era sites at Los Alamos National Laboratory. David Klaus, deputy under secretary of management and performance with DOE, was the keynote speaker. He emphasized the importance of preserving the history of the Manhattan Project, and pointed to the important scientific and technological advancements that originated from that era.

Victor Knox, associate director for park planning, facilities, and lands for the National Park Service, then briefed attendees on the status of a memorandum of agreement, or MOA, currently under development by DOE and NPS. The draft MOA, which has been released for public comment, will govern the respective roles of the secretary of interior and secretary of energy in administering the park and its facilities. Completion of the MOA is the first major milestone required by the enacting legislation, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama last December. [Read more…]

City may need to access residential properties to identify stormwater outfalls

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

By City of Oak Ridge

The City of Oak Ridge may need to access residential property during reasonable hours to identify stormwater outfalls along streams. This is not a request to enter into any building or structures on the property; it is specifically for the purpose of identifying outfalls along streams (or their tributary watercourses) throughout the City of Oak Ridge. Representatives of the City of Oak Ridge will be mapping these outfalls with GPS units and/or making visual assessments of the watercourse, a press release said.

The City of Oak Ridge is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) under the Phase II Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit to monitor certain streams (or tributaries to those streams). The goal of this mandate is to protect and rehabilitate our natural water resources. In accordance with this mandate, the City of Oak Ridge has created a geographical information system (GIS) storm sewer map and database program to identify stormwater outfall locations of the U.S. Waters of the State. To facilitate this program, we must enter onto private property to access the watercourse.

The City of Oak Ridge thanks you for your cooperation in complying with this state and federal mandate, and assisting in making our water resources cleaner for everyone. If you have any questions, please call the City of Oak Ridge Stormwater Management Hotline at (865) 425-3497.

Festive Italian music featured in Aug. 29 ORCO concert

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Marcelo Urias

Marcelo Urias

By Dale Gedcke

The mystery maestro can now be revealed. The new conductor and music director for the Oak Ridge Community Orchestra is Marcelo Urias.

Those long familiar with the ORCO will recall that Urias was an enthusiastic conductor of the orchestra from February 2009 through September 2010. In the meantime, he was working diligently on a doctorate in choral conducting, which he received from the Indiana University School of Music in 2014.

Now, he has returned to build an exciting program of music that everyone is going to enjoy. Uriah maintains strong roots in the area, with full-time employment as music director at the Cokesbury United Methodist Church in West Knoxville.

For a free concert on Saturday, August 29, Maestro Marcelo has programmed the energetic “Roman Carnival Overture” by Berlioz and the vibrant “Capriccio Italienne” by Tchaikovsky.

In addition, he has arranged a surprise bonus of famous and fabulous opera arias sung by April Hill, Kathryn Marvel, Taylor Stone, and Ryan Colbert.  Their performances will be the “whipped cream and cherry on top of the banana-split sundae.” This will be a flavorful program to enjoy on a Saturday afternoon. [Read more…]