Oak Ridge Today

Police: Man riding dirt bike reported as stolen drops it in front of patrol car, flees

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Seth Davis

Seth Davis

An Oak Ridge man riding a dirt bike reported to be stolen from Staples lost control of the motorcycle and dropped it in front of a police patrol car before fleeing Thursday evening, authorities said.

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Sherrill Selby observed two dirt bikes on South Benedict Avenue at about 7:45 p.m. Thursday, and they were “riding wheelies at a high rate of speed,” according to warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

In the warrants, Officer Scott Carroll said the defendant, Seth Montez Davis, 19, rode toward him. When Davis saw him, Carroll said, “he locked up the brakes and slid into my lane of traffic.”

After Davis dropped the bike, he ran behind a home on South Benedict, Carroll said. The officer said he chased Davis through a field and back up to South Benedict, where he was caught. [Read more…]

City workers repair water main break near North Tulane

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

North Tulane Avenue Water Main Break

A water main break Tuesday afternoon temporarily created a stream behind St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church near Tulane Avenue. (Photo by Rob Welton)

 

Oak Ridge crews were repairing a water main break near North Tulane Avenue on Tuesday evening.

The water line break temporarily created a stream that flowed from behind St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church toward North Tulane.

City workers were able to stop the water, and they expected the line to be repaired this evening.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Report: Police arrest felon who possessed AK-47

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Police Department Logo

Oak Ridge police investigating a disturbance on Tuesday morning arrested a convicted felon who was asleep in a bedroom with an AK-47 rifle within reach, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the Highland View home at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. They had received a report that there was a man in the roadway causing a disturbance and impeding traffic.

When police arrived, the man told officers that he was the victim of an armed robbery that had occurred at the home earlier, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. [Read more…]

Fugitive wanted on attempted murder charges apprehended Tuesday, police say

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Michael Q. Ray

A fugitive wanted on several counts, including attempted first-degree murder, was apprehended in Oak Ridge on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Michael Q. Ray was taken into custody without incident at 101 North Walker Circle, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

The ORPD said Ray had been sought on multiple counts for charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. Those charges stemmed from a June 3 incident at the McKenzie Acres Apartments on Utica Circle in which multiple gunshots were fired, a press release said.

The operation to apprehend Ray involved several ORPD elements that included Criminal Investigations and Patrol Division personnel, as well as Special Weapons Team personnel, the City of Oak Ridge said in the press release.

“The investigation into the shooting at the McKenzie Acres Apartments remains ongoing, and no further information will be released at this time,” the release said.

One dies in single-vehicle crash on I-75

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Note: This story was last updated at 5:15 p.m.

Information from WYSH Radio

One person died in a single-vehicle crash on I-75 South in Anderson County on Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The crash, which was investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, involved a Ford pickup truck, and it occurred at about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.

WBIR-TV in Knoxville has reported that the driver was Scott Davis, 46, of Jacksboro, Tennessee. [Read more…]

AC Senior Center a step closer to reality

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

On Monday night, the Anderson County Operations Committee unanimously voted to approve a five-year lease with B&B Properties on a building in Clinton that will serve as the home of a new Anderson County Senior Center.

The next step in the process will be consideration by the full Anderson County Commission on Monday of the $1,896-a-month lease for the building at 439 South Charles Seivers Boulevard. If approved by the Commission, the Anderson County Office on Aging hopes to be in the new facility by the end of July.

Supporters of a senior center have long decried the lack of adequate space to conduct activities and programs for seniors in the current home of the Office on Aging on Leinart Street. This is the same property officials thought they had an agreement to lease earlier this year that fell through due to a higher-than-expected monthly rent.

The Office on Aging will be providing WYSH with a list of needed items for the new facility in the next few days, and they will pass that information along when it becomes available.

Fire destroys AC mobile home

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

A Sunday evening fire destroyed a mobile home on Cedar Grove Lane in Anderson County.

The fire was extinguished by crews from the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department with assistance from both the Clinton and Oak Ridge fire departments, and no injuries were reported.

The resident of the mobile home, Michelle Turnbill, told an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputy that she had grilled hot dogs on a small grill on the front porch. She said she checked it when she was done to make sure that the coals were out, and she told the deputy that it appeared to be cool to the touch. After going back inside, she heard what sounded like the grill turning over, and she looked out to see the indoor/outdoor carpet on the front porch ablaze.

She and her family made it out safely and called 911. She told investigators that there had been three dogs and a cat inside the home at the time of the fire, but the report does not indicate their fate.

Emory Valley Center has fundraising pancake breakfast on Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

2014 EVC Pancake Fundraiser and Randy McNally

Tennessee Senator Randy McNally, right, serves members of the Oak Ridge Fire Department at the Emory Valley Center pancake breakfast fundraiser in 2014. (Submitted photo)

 

A fundraising breakfast at Applebee’s restaurant in Oak Ridge on Saturday will support Emory Valley Center’s Capital Campaign.

It’s an “All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast,” and it’s scheduled from 8-10 a.m. Saturday, June 13. Applebee’s will be providing the breakfast food items and staff members to cook the pancakes and sausage, a press release said.

“Please make plans to attend,” the release said.

Tickets are $5 for children and adults, and they may be purchased at Emory Valley Center, 715 Emory Valley Road, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and at the door Saturday morning. [Read more…]

Friends of Library to sponsor local authors at Secret City Festival

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library will sponsor local writers and authors at the Secret City Festival this weekend.

The Secret City Festival is Friday, June 12, and Saturday, June 13.

The authors will be in Room C of the Oak Ridge Civic Center (next door to the Oak Ridge Historical Preservation Association) autographing and selling their books at the following times: [Read more…]

Man arrested for alleged robbery in hotel parking lot

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jhavon T. Parker

Jhavon T. Parker

An Oak Ridge man allegedly robbed three people in a hotel parking lot on Monday and was arrested a short time later, authorities said.

The alleged robbery occurred at the Holiday Inn Express at about 11:49 p.m. Monday, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department.

The three victims told officers that a male had robbed them at gunpoint and fled on foot, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. More officers responded, inspected the area, and conducted interviews.

The press release said Jhavon T. Parker, 19, of Oak Ridge, was arrested a short time later and taken to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, where he was charged with three counts of aggravated robbery. [Read more…]

Council defers budget vote to Monday, June 15

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch

Note: This story was updated at 8:51 a.m.

It’s still not clear how property reappraisals in Roane County will affect the Oak Ridge property tax rate, so the City Council on Monday deferred a vote on the budget until Monday, June 15.

Council had been scheduled to consider the budget in the first of two readings on Monday (June 8). Council was expected to consider the budget on second and final reading on June 15.

But the five-year property reappraisals in Roane County are not yet complete, and it’s not clear when they will be. Officials said property assessments there are likely to go down as they have in Anderson County, where they’ve fallen 4 percent.

An overall drop in property values could require an increase in the tax rate because the revenues after the reappraisals have to remain the same as they were before. [Read more…]

Friends of ORNL to hear discussion of materials, chemical sciences

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

An official at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will discuss challenging scientific questions in materials and chemical sciences during a lunchtime meeting on Tuesday.

Michelle Buchanan, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s associate laboratory director for physical sciences, will be the featured speaker at the Tuesday, June 9, meeting of Friends of ORNL. Her talk is titled “Grand Challenge Science Questions in Materials and Chemical Sciences.” The meeting is open to the public.

The meeting is at the University of Tennessee Resource Center (the white-colored building at 1201 Oak Ridge Turnpike (State Highway 95) between Taco Bell and Applebee’s at the intersection of the Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue. Use the canopy entrance at the southwest (back) corner of the building. Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m., and the presentation is at 12 p.m.