Oak Ridge Today

Cinder, public works director, to retire Sept. 4

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Gary Cinder

Gary Cinder

Gary Cinder, who has been Oak Ridge public works director for 24 years and interim city manager twice, is retiring September 4.

Cinder has been in public service for 33 years. He could go to work in the private sector, possibly as a consultant.

“It’s time to try something new, something different,” Cinder told Oak Ridge City Council members on Tuesday.

Cinder was the lead staff member on locating, designing, and building the Oak Ridge Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane. That building is used by the Oak Ridge Public Works Department, Oak Ridge Electric Department, and the school bus maintenance facility, among others.

Cinder has led a major effort to ensure that Oak Ridge complies with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order that requires the city to repair all sewer system overflows by September 28. That work is mostly complete, and the city is in good shape, Cinder said. [Read more…]

Lavender Festival celebrates herbal products on Saturday

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Lavender Festival Crowd

The Lavender Festival will celebrate “all things herbal” in Jackson Square on Saturday.

The 17th annual festival is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 20. There is no cost to attend.

“Jackson Square has been under renovations since January, but they are expected to be finished in time for the festival, which will go on as planned,” organizers said.

They said free parking is available in surrounding city and business lots, and on side streets.

The Lavender Festival focuses on herbs, health, gardening, and cooking, and it features more than 100 vendors, a dozen herb and health presentations, children’s activities, and many musicians. Vendors will line the covered walkways of Jackson Square, the parking lot, and both sides of Broadway Avenue, which will be closed to traffic. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools 2020 Planning Committee meets Wednesday

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The 2020 Planning Committee for Oak Ridge Schools will meet at 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, in the School Administration Building conference room.

The board is reviewing “where we are in the planning process and developing a strategy for our next actions,” the agenda said.

“The Oak Ridge School District is committed to providing its students many opportunities and experiences through which to become aware of, explore, and plan for college and career,” a meeting notice said. “In order to define our focus over the next five years, we are creating a five-year plan to be delivered to the Board of Education for consideration. Representatives from the business and industry community, parents, students, school staff, and board members have been selected to have an opportunity to provide input and serve on this committee.”

Members include: [Read more…]

Oak Ridge, Clinton teachers appointed to first Governor’s Teacher Cabinet

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Cathy Ginel

Cathy Ginel

Teachers in Oak Ridge and Clinton have been selected to serve on the first Governor’s Teacher Cabinet.

The Oak Ridge teacher, Cathy Ginel, is a seventh-grade science teacher at Robertsville Middle School. The Clinton teacher, Abbey Kidwell, is a fourth-grade teacher at South Clinton Elementary School.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam announced the appointment of the 18 teachers to the cabinet on Tuesday.

The cabinet will meet quarterly with Haslam and Education Commissioner Candice McQueen to share real-time information from the classroom, give advice on policy considerations, and provide a direct line of communication to schools and communities, a press release said. [Read more…]

Cocke County says case closed after widow releases suicide note, but parents dispute note

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Alexander John Heitman

Alexander John Heitman

Officials say it was suicide. But the parents are skeptical.

So questions linger almost four years after Alexander John Heitman, 29, of Knoxville, was found dead in Cocke County after being reported missing by Oak Ridge Schools. Heitman reportedly died on Tranquility Ridge Drive outside Newport on July 25, 2011. Officials said it was suicide, a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

But Heitman’s parents, Don and Annette Heitman of Adams, Wisconsin, find it hard to believe. They aren’t the only ones. Some current and former Oak Ridge residents, including City Council member Trina Baughn, are also skeptical of the official cause of death.

Heitman’s widow, Kristie Heitman, is not. In February, she released a suicide note that she believes Alex, who was the supervisor of business and support services for Oak Ridge Schools, wrote the day before he died.

Neither is Cocke County Sheriff Armando Fontes. In March, he said the case is closed, and there is no reason to continue pursuing it. Investigators found no evidence that anyone else was involved, Fontes said.

But Don and Annette continue to seek answers. They started a website in October 2013 and used it to raise questions about the case. They’ve also asked for the death investigation to be re-opened, hired attorney Hugh Ward to help them, and won the support of Baughn and others. They’ve also asked the FBI to investigate. [Read more…]

Robbery warrant against Bartley recalled, dismissed

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Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Stuart Bartley

The aggravated robbery warrant against Kenneth Stuart Bartley has been recalled and dismissed, authorities said.

Bartley, 23, had been identified as a suspect in a Sunday morning robbery in Anderson County. The alleged robbery occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, June 14, at the Marathon Station on Lake City Highway near Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

But authorities said Bartley was located in Vienna, Virginia, on Sunday night, and his family said he had been in Virginia.

On Sunday evening, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said its investigators would travel to Vienna to interview Bartley and work with Virginia authorities to determine if “Bartley was indeed in Virginia at the time of (the Sunday morning) robbery.” [Read more…]

Clinton police arrest robbery suspect

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Clinton Police Department detectives have arrested a Knoxville man, 37-year-old Wallace Wade Tidwell, in connection with a weekend convenience store robbery, authorities said.

Reports indicate that a clerk at the Clinton BP at 2228 North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard flagged down a patrol car at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday and told the officer she had just been robbed, the CPD said in a release. The clerk said a white male went into the restroom of the store, and when he came out, he walked up to the cash register and demanded all the money, the release said. [Read more…]

ETTP emergency exercise to be held Tuesday, June 16

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An emergency exercise will be conducted at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16.

The emergency exercise is being conducted by URS-CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC, or UCOR.

The exercise, which should conclude no later than 1 p.m., is being conducted in coordination with the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, a press release said. It will involve participants from multiple state agencies; the city of Oak Ridge; and Anderson, Knox, Loudon, and Roane counties. [Read more…]

Crunch time: Crews start paving Jackson Square parking lot

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Jackson Square Paving June 15, 2015

Work crews started paving the new parking lot at Jackson Square on Monday, June 15, preparing it for this weekend’s Lavender Festival.

 

Work crews started paving the new parking lot at Jackson Square on Monday, preparing to put down enough pavement to have the Lavender Festival there this weekend.

Workers won’t stripe the pavement before the annual festival, and they may have to finish paving the parking lot after the festival, said Roger Flynn, Oak Ridge’s acting city engineer.

He said he is optimistic that enough work will be done that organizers can have the festival, and vendors know that the project won’t be complete.

Crews will temporarily remove exterior fencing around the square for the festival. And workers will fill in ditches and other areas to prevent tripping, Flynn said. [Read more…]

Garbage truck overturns in Oliver Springs

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Oliver Springs Waste Connections Truck

Photo by Kenneth Morgan

 

Note: This story was updated at 5 p.m.

A Waste Connections truck overturned on Tri County Boulevard at Windrock Road at about 6:30 a.m. Monday, authorities said.

Oliver Springs Police Chief Kenneth Morgan said the driver, Timothy Goodale, was taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge with minor injuries.

Approximately 35 to 40 gallons of diesel fuel leaked onto the ground from the loaded truck, with some flowing into Indian Creek, Morgan said. Cleanup was provided by Waste Connections and performed by Hepco.

The Oliver Springs Police Department responded to the crash, and the Oak Ridge Fire Department HazMat team was called to help the Oliver Springs Fire Department.

Here are photos by Morgan and fire photographer Tom Scott.

[Read more…]

TWRA identifies man who died while tubing on Norris Lake

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TWRA at Norris Lake Boating Accident

TWRA Boating Accident Investigators Matt Majors and George Birdwell, along with Officer Clint Smith, use a remote operated vehicle to locate the body of Roman Weaver, who died in a boating incident on Norris Lake on Sunday. (Photo by TWRA)

 

State officials have identified the man who died in a boating accident on Norris Lake on Sunday as Roman Martin Weaver, 29, of Jonesville, Virginia.

Investigators from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said that Weaver was killed after falling from an inner tube being towed behind a rented pontoon boat being operated by Blake Oliver, age 28, also of Jonesville.

According to investigators, Weaver fell from the inner tube around 1:30 p.m. Sunday and could not be located by Oliver or bystanders who helped. [Read more…]

Update: Bartley located in Vienna, Va.

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Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Bartley, who has been identified as a suspect in a Sunday morning robbery in Anderson County, was located in Vienna, Virginia, on Sunday night, authorities said.

“We are aware his family is saying he has been in Virginia,” Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. “Therefore, our investigators will be traveling there this evening (Sunday evening) to interview Bartley and work with Virginia authorities to determine if Bartley was indeed in Virginia at the time of this morning’s robbery. We will update everyone tomorrow (Monday, June 15) as to the results of the follow-up investigation.”

Bartley, 23, served time for homicide after a school shooting in Campbell County in 2005.

On Sunday afternoon, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said Bartley was the suspect in an armed robbery near Rocky Top on Sunday morning. The alleged robbery occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, June 14, at the Marathon Station on Lake City Highway near Rocky Top (the former Lake City). [Read more…]