Oak Ridge Today

ORFD uses boat, cell phone signals to rescue mountain bikers lost at Haw Ridge

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Oak Ridge Fire Department and Haw Ridge Rescue

The Oak Ridge Fire Department used cell phone signals and a search crew in a boat to rescue three lost mountain bikers at Haw Ridge Park on Sunday night.

 

Note: This story was updated at 3:45 p.m. June 15.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department used cell phone signals and a search crew in a boat to rescue mountain bikers lost at Haw Ridge Park after dark on Sunday.

Dispatchers received a call that the three young men were lost at about 10 p.m. Sunday. Three firefighters launched a large rescue boat stored at East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, by about 10:45 p.m. from a boat ramp at Solway Park, which is near Haw Ridge Park.

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said the three had stayed on the trails past sunset and became disoriented.

“Without flashlights, they were unable to find their way back to the parking lot, so they called 911 for assistance,” Kerley said. [Read more…]

Man dies after falling off inner tube towed by boat on Norris Lake

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Authorities have recovered the body of a 29-year-old man who went missing after falling from an inner tube that was being towed behind a boat on Norris Lake on Sunday afternoon. The incident occurred near Sugar Camp Lane in Sharps Chapel in Union County, a press release said.

The victim, whose identity is being withheld until relatives are notified, was riding on an inner tube that was being towed behind a rented pontoon boat that was operated by a single occupant, the press release said. According to investigators, the victim fell from the inner tube around 1:30 p.m. Sunday. After a failed rescue attempt, the operator got help from nearby citizens who were also unsuccessful at locating the victim,

Rescue crews from Union County and Paulette Rescue Squads were joined by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency investigators who used a remote operated vehicle, or ROV, to find the victim in 60 feet of water at about 8:05 p.m. Sunday. [Read more…]

Bartley wanted in aggravated robbery near Rocky Top, authorities say

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Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Stuart Bartley, who served time for homicide after a school shooting in Campbell County in 2005, is the suspect in an armed robbery near Rocky Top on Sunday morning, authorities said.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said 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).

“The suspect entered the store, brandished a black handgun, and robbed the market of cash,” Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. “He was described as a white male with brown to black facial hair wearing glasses, black toboggan, black jacket, and blue jeans. No vehicle was seen leaving the store.” [Read more…]

Children’s Museum summer camps continue in July

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Imagination Station Summer Camp continues at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge through July, inviting children to experience garden to table fun, create with chocolate and other culinary treats, learn from the artistic masters, fashion designs in clay, and many more adventures.

The summer camps, through July 31, offer activities for children ages 3-5 in preschool classes and for children entering grades 1 through 7. Clay camps with professional clay artist Sherrie Carris will be offered throughout the summer for children ranging in age from 4-13.

The week-long camps are offered Monday through Friday each week. Fees for a single camp are $125 for members and $135 for non-members. For combo camps, morning and afternoon, fees are $210 for members and $220 for non-members. Payment may be made by phone with Visa, MasterCard or Discover, by check, or online through PayPal.

Camps for the week of June 29-July 3 are: [Read more…]

Photos: Record-setting crowd at Three Dog Night concert

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Secret City Festival Crowd at Three Dog Night Concert

Although numbers weren’t immediately available, organizers said a record-setting crowd attended the Three Dog Night concert at the Secret City Festival on Saturday. Here’s a panoramic view from the stage. (Photo by Jon Hetrick)

 

Numbers weren’t immediately available, but organizers and volunteers said a record-setting crowd attended the Three Dog Night concert at the Secret City Festival on Saturday night.

Here are a few photos by Jon Hetrick and John Westcott. [Read more…]

Children’s Museum hosts Wonderful Wednesdays

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The Knoxville Opera will bring entertaining and popular selections from 20th century Broadway musicals and opera classics to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Wonderful Wednesday, from 11 a.m.-noon June 17.

The museum will host special Wonderful Wednesday guests from 11 a.m.-noon Wednesdays during Imagination Station Summer Camp through July 31. Summer campers at the museum each week will participate, and the programs are free to the public with admission.

Other Wonderful Wednesdays are: [Read more…]

Alondra Garcia awarded 2015 Myrick Scholarship

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Teresa Myrick, Alondra Barrera Garcia, and Jessica Steed

Alondra Barrera Garcia, center, receives congratulations for winning the Myrick Scholarship from Teresa Myrick, left, and Jessica Steed. (Submitted photo)

 

Alondra Barrera Garcia’s dedication to the study of environmental science has earned her a $1,000 scholarship awarded by Teresa Myrick and established to honor a hard-working student in a field of study important to Teresa’s husband, Tim Myrick.

Alondra, a May graduate of Oak Ridge High School, plans to attend Berea College in Kentucky this fall, where she will major in environmental science and sustainability. She was a student in Deni Sobek’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science class at the high school.

“The class assured me that this is what I wanted to dedicate my life to,” Alondra said. “I would like to use my interest in the environment to aid it and solve the problems that affect it, and hopefully make the world a more sustainable planet, to ensure that it will be safe and healthy for future generations.”

In 2012, Myrick and his wife Teresa pledged $25,000 to the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation’s “Making the Critical Difference” campaign for grants and scholarships. Their pledge provides an annual scholarship to a top AP Environmental Science student, as well as grant funds to be awarded to ORHS Science Department applicants. Alondra is the seventh recipient of the Myricks’ AP Environmental Science scholarship, with previous scholarships presented through ADFAC, or Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties. [Read more…]

Council to consider budget on Monday, Tuesday

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They postponed a budget vote for one week, and the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday and Tuesday will resume those discussions. So far, the debate has included calls to raise the property tax rate to fund certain programs and other recommendations to keep the rate unchanged—or even lower it.

The budget will be discussed during a non-voting work session at 5 p.m. Monday, June 15, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Training Room. The Council could then vote on it in the first of two readings this month during a 7 p.m. meeting in the Municipal Building Courtroom.

Council will then discuss the budget in a second work session at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, in the Multipurpose Room at the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane. [Read more…]

Reminder: Secret City Festival this weekend

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Secret City Festival Water Slide

Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau 

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:20 p.m.

Reminder: The Secret City Festival is this weekend. The festival kicks off with an opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Friday, and it continues through Saturday evening.

The Secret City Festival celebrates family fun, great entertainment, and arts and crafts, and it commemorates the incredible history that makes this town unique, organizers said.

“Join us as we honor the men and women who built this community and helped end the greatest war mankind has ever known,” they said.

The award-winning, two-day event includes the following and more: [Read more…]

ACSD: Daughter’s boyfriend charged with murder in Andersonville shooting

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William James McMillan

William James McMillan

Note: This story was updated at 11:33 a.m.

An Andersonville man has been charged with murder in a shooting that allegedly killed his girlfriend’s mother early Wednesday, authorities said.

William James McMillan, 48, is accused of fatally shooting Karen Zahrobsky, 66, according to authorities. They said McMillan, Zahrobsky, and Zahrobsky’s daughter, Christin Dixon, 45, all lived at 460 Lone Mountain Road in Andersonville, where the shooting allegedly occurred.

The shooting was reported at about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday. Zahrobsky was dead when deputies arrived.

McMillan was charged by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which helped investigate. McMillan was booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, and he is being held on $625,000.00 bond. [Read more…]

Sheriff’s Department, TBI investigate fatal shooting in Andersonville

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Authorities are investigating the death of a 66-year-old woman in Andersonville from an apparent gunshot wound on Wednesday.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department responded to the shooting call at about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, June 10, at 460 Lone Mountain Road in Andersonville. The woman was dead when they arrived.

Sheriff’s investigators were called and have processed the scene and are conducting interviews to determine the circumstances of the shooting, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said in a statement. [Read more…]

Construction on ORNL FCU branch on Rutgers could start this month

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ORNL FCU Colin Anderson and Marcy Catron

Colin Anderson, ORNL Federal Credit Union senior vice president and chief financial officer, discusses the new Oak Ridge branch on South Rutgers Avenue during a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday. Also pictured is board chair Marcy Catron.

 

Construction could start this month on an ORNL Federal Credit Union branch on South Rutgers Avenue, and the building could be complete by the end of the year, officials said.

The new branch will at the same site as the original main Oak Ridge branch. The branch will move from its current location next door at the ORNL Federal Credit Union headquarters building, which is also on Rutgers Avenue.

The estimated cost of the 5,000-square-foot branch at 215 South Rutgers Avenue is $4.5 million. Some materials from the original office will be used in the new building.

“This branch represents a multi-million-dollar vote of confidence in Oak Ridge,” said acting chief executive officer Colin Anderson, ORNL FCU senior vice president and chief financial officer. [Read more…]