Oak Ridge Today

Community Band has free Labor Day concert in A.K. Bissell Park

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Oak Ridge Community Band Concert

The Oak Ridge Community Band performs at a 70th anniversary concert on Independence Day. (File photo)

The Oak Ridge Community Band will perform its annual Labor Day concert on Monday, September 1, at 7 p.m. in A.K. Bissell Park.

This is a free event, and the public is encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for outdoor seating, a press release said. Refreshments will be available for sale.

To help kick off the Community Band’s 2014-2015 subscription season of indoor concerts, the first 200 people attending the Labor Day Concert will be given free tickets to the band’s October 12 concert, which will be held at the Oak Ridge High School auditorium, the press release said. [Read more…]

Celebrity Scoops fundraiser to benefit SARG tonight

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An animal rescue group has a fundraiser at Baskin-Robbins in Oak Ridge this evening.

SARG, the rescue group, will have giveaways, and local celebrities will be appearing, organizers said. A portion of the proceeds at the Celebrity Scoops for Paws and Purrs fundraiser will benefit SARG (Shelter Animals Rescue Group).

The fundraiser is scheduled from 4-8 p.m. today (Saturday, August 23) at Baskin-Robbins, which is at 104 East Tulsa Road in Oak Ridge.

See the SARG page on Facebook for a full list of those will appear.

Organizers said parking will be available in the large shopping center near the ice cream shop or across the street in the parking lot of the former Chinese restaurant.

Oak Ridge receives $237,000 air quality grant for traffic signal timing

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Stoplight

Oak Ridge has received a $237,500 air quality grant that will be used to coordinate the operations of traffic signals at 26 intersections on three main roads: Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge Turnpike, and Lafayette Drive.

The grant will improve the management of current and future traffic flow and reduce congestion and vehicle idling, according to a project summary posted by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

It was one of 31 grants totaling more than $27 million announced in 11 communities across Tennessee on Friday. The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement, or CMAQ, grants were announced by TDOT Commissioner John Schroer.

The grants are meant to reduce congestion and improve air quality. Funded projects include expansions of the TDOT HELP truck program statewide, improvements in traffic signal timing, cleaner transit buses and alternative fuel vehicles purchases, and protected bicycle lanes in Chattanooga. The grants also include a multimodal river port in Clarksville, and expanded transit service in several areas. Another project will include the addition of a bicycle-pedestrian trail on the Harahan Bridge in downtown Memphis. [Read more…]

Swearing-in for county’s elected officials to be broadcast on ACTV

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Robin Biloski

Robin Biloski

Officials elected or re-elected in Anderson County on August 7 will be sworn in on September 2, and ACTV, the county’s television station, will broadcast it for residents.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. September 2 in the Criminal Courtroom on the third floor of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

ACTV is “pleased to play a part in this special event and provide our citizens a first-hand look at this official act by their government officials,” Anderson County Commissioner Robin Biloski said in a press release.

“Our ACTV Committee wanted to provide our residents an opportunity to see actually how important the oath of office is for those who were elected in the August 2014 election,” said Biloski, chairwoman of the Anderson County TV Committee. “ACTV is always looking at new ways to educate and inform our citizens of what actually happens in government, and we thought this was an exciting way to begin our new terms of office.” [Read more…]

Health Night on the Town lecture to look at end of life

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Methodist Medical Center Entrance at Night

The main entrance to Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge is pictured above at night. (Photo courtesy Covenant Health)

Death, you might say, is a fact of life. It’s something we all must face, and while it may not do to dwell on death, it can benefit all of us to understand it, accept it, and plan for it—for both ourselves and our loved ones.

That’s the goal of the Ethics Committee at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge as they present “Preparing for End of Life” at August’s Health Night on the Town lecture. The Ethics Committee is comprised of physicians and other experts from the medical field who will share their professional and personal experiences. The program will discuss the biology of death, the psycho-social aspects of death, and the practical aspects of death, such as advance directives and other legal documents.

Health Night on the Town on will take place Tuesday, August 26, at 7 p.m. in the Ridge Conference Room of Methodist Medical Center located at 990 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The program will be led by members of the Ethics Committee at Methodist Medical Center, which includes members of Methodist’s medical staff: family practice physician and Ethics Committee chair Jose Malagon, MD; orthopedic surgeon Randall Robbins, MD; anesthesiologist Stephanie Smith, MD; and Methodist employees: chaplain Jack Sills, clinical social worker Julie Emig, and risk manager Lisa Chadwick.

Health Night is a free medical lecture series and is open to the public. For more information about Health Night on the Town, call (865) 835-4662.

Mayor, superintendent, others participating in JMS ice bucket challenge

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Thom Mason Ice Bucket Challenge

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge on Wednesday afternoon. He then challenged Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Director Paul Alivisatos, and Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan to do the same. Afterward, Mason said the experience was “bracing.” (Photos by Carlos Jones)

 

ORNL Director Mason took the challenge Wednesday

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers are participating in an ice bucket challenge at Jefferson Middle School on Friday.

Members of the JMS cross country team will administer the ice buckets.

“You are no doubt aware of the social media-fed phenomenon sweeping the nation in the past couple of weeks: the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge,” coach and JMS teacher Steve Reddick said. “As of today, the challenge has raised $41 million. Many of us have received challenges from friends and foes alike, and we’ve decided to stage a Mega-Ice Bucket Challenge at 4:15 p.m. after cross country practice tomorrow (Friday).” [Read more…]

Nineteen candidates for Oak Ridge City Council, School Board

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Vote Logo

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

Ten candidates have qualified to run for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 4 municipal election, and there are nine candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education—a total of 19 candidates.

It’s the largest field of candidates in recent memory, and it’s not immediately clear when, or if, there has been a field as large.

The deadline to qualify as a candidate in this fall’s municipal elections in Anderson County was noon Thursday.

There is a mix of incumbents and newcomers in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Rocky Top (Lake City), Norris, and Oliver Springs.

Oak Ridge

In Oak Ridge, two incumbents, including Mayor Tom Beehan and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller, are not seeking re-election. Meanwhile, the other two incumbents whose terms expire this November, Anne Garcia Garland and David Mosby, are running for another four-year term.

In addition to Garcia Garland and Mosby, the other Oak Ridge City Council candidates are:

  • Kelly Callison,
  • R.G. “Rick” Chinn,
  • Warren L. Gooch,
  • Gary L. Love,
  • Pedro J. Otaduy,
  • Aditya “Doc” Savara,
  • Ellen D. Smith, and
  • Eric Tobler.

[Read more…]

Updated: Man charged, waives extradition in Corwin death

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Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee (Photos courtesy San Bernardino County (California) Sheriff’s Department)

Note: This story was last updated at 9:30 p.m.

Information from WYSH Radio

The man arrested for killing a woman originally from Oak Ridge and dumping her body in a southern California mine shaft has been charged in her murder.

Christopher Brandon Lee, 24, was arrested Sunday night in Alaska in the death of 19-year-old Erin Corwin. The charges were announced Tuesday by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office in California, which also filed what is called a special circumstance allegation of “lying in wait,” increasing the potential penalty to life without parole or death.

The decision on which penalty to seek will be made after prosecutors review all the evidence in the case.

Authorities also said Tuesday that Lee had been looking into how to dispose of a human body. Investigators also say .22-caliber fired casings and rebar were recovered with the body of Corwin and that the head stamp from the casings matched those on casings found in Lee’s vehicle and residence. [Read more…]

TBI: Roane officers justified in using deadly force

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Information from WYSH Radio

An investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has concluded that the shooting of an armed burglary suspect in Harriman on Tuesday was justified. Officers shot and killed 28-year-old Miranda Michelle Guy inside her home on Fairchild Street on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a joint press release from District Attorney General Russell Johnson, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office, and the Harriman Police Department, Guy pointed a handgun at the officers and was advancing on one of them when they opened fire. The preliminary autopsy showed that Guy was hit multiple times in her right arm, which was holding the gun, and her front torso.

Officials said that while a Harriman Police Department officer was speaking to witnesses of a burglary at a storage building in South Harriman, a white pickup truck drove by that the witnesses identified as the vehicle that the suspect in the break-in had been driving. The release said the officer could see items in the bed of the truck that matched the description of some of the stolen items. The officer ordered the truck to stop, but the driver, who was identified as Guy, sped up and drove away.

The officer started a pursuit, which was joined by a HPD investigator and two Roane County Sheriff’s Department deputies. The four officers followed Guy to her house, where they saw her run inside. The officers split up, with two going to the back of the house while the other two followed Guy inside through the front door. [Read more…]

Woman accused of pointing gun at officers charged with aggravated assault

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Anna King

Anna King

The Jonathan Lane woman who allegedly pointed a pistol at Oak Ridge police officers before they fired four shots at her was arrested on Tuesday night on three counts of aggravated assault, authorities said.

Anna Marie King, 46, remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Thursday morning. Her bond has been set at $50,000.

Officers were dispatched to 123 Jonathan Lane just before midnight on August 2 for a welfare check on King. Her boyfriend reported that she was depressed and threatening to shoot herself, Oak Ridge Police Department Detective Kevin Craig said in affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

The boyfriend also said there were weapons in the home, Craig said.

Three ORPD officers—Leslie Miller, Field Training Officer Christopher Carden, and Kenneth Prickett—responded. They said they confronted King in her front yard, and she was holding a handgun to her throat and head, according to the warrants. [Read more…]

Snappy Tomato Pizza closing Friday

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Snappy Tomato Pizza

After almost four years in Oak Ridge, Snappy Tomato Pizza in central Oak Ridge is closing Friday.

 

After almost four years in Oak Ridge, Snappy Tomato Pizza will close Friday, the owners said Thursday.

“We have really tried to hang on; however, things appear to continue to go downhill for us both financially and personally,” franchise owners Frances Gross and her daughters Misty Gross Robbins and Cindi Robbins said in a message to supporters and the Oak Ridge community. “Unfortunately, the sales have not been what we need to keep the business going while the new and upcoming retail centers continue to draw business toward the other end of town.”

The family said they have struggled during the past two years grieving the loss of their son and brother Robert Gross Jr., who was also a co-owner but died in August 2012, and battling with cancer surgery and extensive radiation treatments for husband and father Robert Gross Sr.

Now, they’re facing cancer again, only with a more radical surgery, the family said. In a telephone interview Thursday morning, Frances Gross said the last year has taken a toll on the family, and they’ve struggled to stay busy as new restaurants have opened across town, drawing customers away. [Read more…]

ORPD: Intoxicated man poses as ORHS student

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William Edward Lay

William Edward Lay

A 25-year-old Sunbright man who was intoxicated tried to “pass himself off” as an Oak Ridge High School student in at least two classrooms last week, the first week of school, before being stopped in a second floor hallway during a class change, authorities said.

William Edward Lay had obtained a student’s classroom schedule, but he had no identification and continuously gave School Resource Officer Sherrill Selby the wrong birth date, Social Security number, and other identifying information, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

Selby, an Oak Ridge Police Department officer, said Lay was unsteady on his feet and fell into the wall several times. She had been called to investigate a report of a suspicious male walking around and into classrooms at ORHS.

“Defendant’s eyes were red and glassy looking,” Selby said. [Read more…]