Oak Ridge Today

AC seniors rally for new senior center

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Tuesday in Clinton, Anderson County seniors took their quest for a new Senior Center to the front steps of the Courthouse.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 5, seniors convened in front of the Courthouse carrying signs indicating their desire for a new senior center and reminding county officials that they and their demands are not going anywhere.

Currently housed in a small facility in downtown Clinton, the Office on Aging—which serves as the de facto Senior Center—and the Council on Aging have been actively searching for a suitable building. A couple of months ago, they thought they had found a suitable location for a Senior Center, but that deal fell through when the rent turned out to be higher than the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency—or ETHRA—was willing to pay. ETHRA provides a significant portion of the Office’s budget. [Read more…]

Total reported crimes down 18 percent in Oak Ridge

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There was an overall 18 percent drop in reported crimes in Oak Ridge in 2014, officials said Thursday.

The annual numbers, which compared 2014 to 2013, were released by the Oak Ridge Police Department and the City of Oak Ridge.

Anderson County released its annual crime statistics on Wednesday, and they showed crime was down in all of the county and its cities by 12 percent in 2014—and down by 42 percent over the last eight years.

The Oak Ridge numbers were generated by Oak Ridge Police Department Crime Analyst David Gordon in coordination with the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office.

“The Police Department achieved reductions in crime from last year in many categories,” a City of Oak Ridge press release said. “However, some are of particular note and should be highlighted.

“Here is a quick summary of the attachment for 2014 crime stats (compared to 2013), with an approximate +/- factor of .5 percent, which includes those reductions which are most significant: [Read more…]

DA: Crime down 12 percent in Anderson County

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Crime dropped 12 percent in Anderson County and its cities in 2014, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said Wednesday.

It’s the eighth year in a row that crime has dropped, according to statistics released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Clark said in a press release. He said crime is down 42 percent in the county and its cities during the past eight years.

During that same period, crime was down in Tennessee by an “impressive” 16 percent, Clark said.

“However, locally, we have more than doubled the crime reduction that has been accomplished across the state,” he said. [Read more…]

Anderson County hosts National Day of Prayer at Courthouse on Thursday

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Anderson County Courthouse

Anderson County will participate in the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 7. It’s scheduled from noon to 12:30 p.m. Thursday on the front steps of the Anderson County Courthouse on North Main Street in Clinton.

The Anderson County Mayor’s Office said the Courthouse will remain open but with limited staff during the ceremony, and officials ask residents to be patient if they have business to conduct. All Anderson County citizens are invited to attend the local ceremony, a press release said. Prayers will be offered for county officials, the nation, education, the U.S. military, community relationships, and churches and families, the release said. Local pastors will lead those assembled in prayer, and local residents and students will provide musical selections.

The press release said the National Day of Prayer provides Americans an opportunity to come together to pray for matters concerning present-day America and the nation’s future.

Investigation continues, suspect info released in Y-12 FCU kidnapping, extortion

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Oak Ridge Police Department officers and detectives responded to the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Tuesday morning, April 28, for what was later reported to be a kidnapping and extortion plot involving a credit union employee’s family and the Oak Ridge branch of the credit union.

 

Authorities continue to investigate a kidnapping and extortion plot involving the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge last week, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has released some information describing the three suspects.

The alleged kidnapping and extortion started at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, April 28, when a credit union employee’s family was kidnapped from the Whittington Creek neighborhood in west Knox County in an effort to extort money from the credit union, the FBI said in a press release on Wednesday.

“The employee’s family was held at gunpoint for a period of time before being released in the Gettysvue Country Club parking lot in Knoxville, around 9:25 a.m.,” the release said. “Upon being released, the victims were able to seek help from a nearby residence. During the law enforcement response, the suspects fled and remain at large. No injuries were reported, and no money was taken from the credit union.” [Read more…]

Top issues identified: Housing, population, Main Street, retail

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Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch

A community survey has identified housing, population, and the development of Main Street Oak Ridge and retail shopping as top issues, Mayor Warren Gooch said Tuesday.

Other top issues include jobs and economic development, and public relations efforts to promote the city.

High priorities on a list of potential capital investments or projects include infrastructure improvements, a new preschool, and funding of an incentive program for people buying or renovating a house.

Ten groups have participated in the survey since January 1, Gooch said. Those groups include the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, the three Rotary clubs, Oak Valley Baptist Church, Anderson County Tea Party, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce coffees, Leadership Oak Ridge, Neighborhood Watch awards banquet, and citizens at large.

Gooch, who gave a speech to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, said residents can still participate in the survey.

Here are survey results as of April 30, 2015:

What is the most important issue facing Oak Ridge?

[Read more…]

Gooch: Main Street No. 1 priority, gives updates on National Park, reappraisals, airport

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Main Street Oak Ridge Site Plan April 16, 2015

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch on Tuesday said his number one priority for the community is the successful development of Main Street Oak Ridge, which would redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall. Pictured above is a cropped picture of the Main Street Oak Ridge site plan as of April 16. A link to a larger PDF version of the plan is included in the story below.

 

Note: Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch gave an update on positive developments and challenges during a talk to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, May 5. Here is a lightly edited version of his remarks, which organized the positive developments and challenges into sections. Gooch was appointed mayor by the seven-member Oak Ridge City Council on November 24. This is his first four-year term on the City Council.

It is a distinct privilege for me to serve as your mayor, but I always preface my remarks by saying that I am not speaking today for Council or for the city manager. I have one vote on Council, but I do consider myself to be the chairman of the board of directors for the city.

In that capacity, as I enter my sixth month of service as mayor, I want to share my thoughts about positive developments in our city, discuss near-term challenges that we face, share the results that I have from the community survey that I have been conducting, and leave time for your questions and comments.

First. My number one priority for our community is the successful development of Main Street Oak Ridge (which would redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall), and it is moving forward. Last week, Crosland Southeast announced that MDC Development Group of Atlanta will be the hotel developer for the project. MDC is also a major developer in the senior housing industry and 15 months ago opened Canterfield Oak Ridge Assisted Living. It has been very successful and well-received in our community.

I was advised yesterday (Monday, May 4) that the retail leasing component of the Main Street project is moving forward, as are the negotiations with a developer for the multi-family housing component of the Main Street project. Groundbreaking and demolition for Main Street is on schedule to begin by June 30. [Read more…]

NNSA, IAEA hosting international nuclear material course at ORNL

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

The National Nuclear Security Administration and the International Atomic Energy Agency are hosting 35 representatives from 30 countries at Oak Ridge National Laboratory from April 26 to May 8 for an international training course on how to account for and control nuclear material.

It’s the 20th International Training Course, or ITC, on State Systems of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material, or SSACs.

NNSA and the IAEA co-sponsor the ITC to educate and train technical experts from around the world on how to properly account for nuclear materials used in their home countries. The first SSAC ITC in the United States was held in Richland, Washington, in 1979.  Since then, approximately 500 participants from 50 countries have completed the training. The ITC supports U.S. obligations under the U.S. Nuclear Nonproliferation Act of 1978. [Read more…]

Man who allegedly stabbed vehicle, chased driver faces assault charges

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Timothy Jim Phillips

Timothy Jim Phillips

An Oak Ridge man who allegedly stabbed the hood of a vehicle and chased the driver at an apartment complex on Monday morning has been charged with aggravated assault and vandalism, authorities said.

The driver fled the vehicle, but he was allegedly chased by Timothy J. Phillips, 55, a press release said.

“The driver of the vehicle eventually punched Mr. Phillips in the head, causing him to fall to the ground,” said the release, from the City of Oak Ridge. “The driver of the vehicle sustained a minor cut on one finger; Mr. Phillips had a laceration on his forehead and was bleeding from the mouth.”

Phillips was arrested and taken to the Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, where he received treatment for his injuries. He was then taken to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton and charged with aggravated assault and vandalism, the press release said. [Read more…]

Groundbreaking, demolition for Main Street Oak Ridge on schedule for June 30, mayor says

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Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch

Groundbreaking and demolition for Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall, is on schedule to begin by June 30, Mayor Warren Gooch said Tuesday.

The $80 million redevelopment of the 60-acre site in the heart of the city is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated project of the past decade.

Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina company that has proposed Main Street Oak Ridge, announced last week that MDC Development Group of Atlanta will be the hotel developer at the site.

“MDC is also a major developer in the senior housing industry and 15 months ago opened Canterfield Oak Ridge Assisted Living,” Gooch said. “It has been very successful and well-received in our community.” [Read more…]

Roane State hosts Tennessee Promise day in its Community Garden

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Promise Garden

Front from left, students Shelley Edwards, Angelo Ferrante, and Jeremiah Johnson work to get Roane State’s Community Garden ready for its next crop. Food grown in the garden is donated to local charities. In back from left, Roane State President Chris Whaley and alumni relations director Tamsin Miller also pitch in. (Submitted photo)

 

Service is becoming an important part of Jeremiah Johnson’s education.

“You do not really think about all the needs in the community until you serve in the community,” said Johnson, a Roane State Community College freshman. “It has opened me up to things. It has helped me as a person.”

Johnson receives the tnAchieves scholarship, which offers two years of community college tuition-free. The statewide Tennessee Promise program was based on tnAchieves. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge church goes green

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ORUUC Solar Panels

Rows of solar panels on the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church roof as seen from Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Submitted photo)

 

By Angie Palau

Just in time for Earth Day, Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is now an active Tennessee Valley Authority Green Power Provider.

The 20-kilowatt installation on the ORUUC sanctuary roof was completed in mid-April by Green Earth Solar, and the solar array has begun to generate clean power for the electrical grid. ORUUC is the first church in Oak Ridge to have solar panels, and indeed is one of the first non-residential buildings in town to have made this investment.

The project was fully funded by private donations from church members and friends and a grant from the ORUUC Endowment Fund. The configuration of the panels allows for expansion of its generating capacity in the future, something that ORUUC anticipates doing. [Read more…]