Oak Ridge Today

Follow-up: Comptroller to examine potential conflict

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Information from WYSH Radio

Following up on a story WYSH broke last week, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said she has asked the state Comptroller’s Office to look into whether or not any rules have been broken regarding School Board member Dail Cantrell’s ownership of a recycling company that has done business with the county government on an informal basis in the past.

Cantrell is a 25 percent owner of Scrap Metal Solutions in Clinton, and the company was slated to receive scrap metal generated as part of the school system’s energy efficiency project. After Cantrell divulged his ownership stake in the company, Scrap Metal Solutions was removed from the contract under consideration, and attention shifted to a verbal agreement between the company and the county’s Solid Waste Department under which SMS would collect scrap metal from the county’s convenience centers and take it to a recycling facility. That agreement has been suspended until the direct or indirect nature of Cantrell’s ownership has been examined by the county law director. [Read more…]

Knoxville man arrested after alleged burglary, running into tree

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Knoxville man was arrested Saturday night after he allegedly broke into a house on Channel Way in Clinton and later injured his head by running into a tree.

The arrest report from the Clinton Police Department indicated that the residents of the home called 911 after Darron Christopher Hickman, 46, kicked in the front door, entered the house and “passed out.” At some point, Hickman got up and left the scene before officers arrived, and once they did, they located him a short time later in the nearby woods, where he was found sitting under a tree bleeding from the head. [Read more…]

UT, ORNL, NASA, TVA help robotic ‘football’ kick off this week

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FIRST Robotics' Aerial Assist

This image shows what a game of FIRST Robotics’ Aerial Assist, a football-like game played by robots, might look like. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

KNOXVILLE—Football season is still months away, but those needing a quick fix before fall can get a chance to see a version of the game played by competitors functioning like well-oiled machines.

The FIRST Robotics Competition Smoky Mountain Regional returns to the Knoxville Convention Center March 26-29, and is centered around a game featuring strong elements from football and soccer called Aerial Assist.

The idea behind Aerial Assist is that the 50 teams at the competition—from as far away as St. Louis and as close as the L&N STEM Academy across World’s Fair Park—will each build a robot capable of throwing, kicking, or running with a round ball with the goal of scoring a goal at each end of a field, or one capable of playing defense.

The University of Tennessee’s College of Engineering in Knoxville helps sponsor the event along with various technology and industry organizations such as NASA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools selects Teacher Leaders

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The Oak Ridge School system has announced its selections for Teacher Leaders for the 2014-15 school year.

The Teacher Leader initiative was conceived and launched as a result of the Tennessee Department of Education’s push to create a differentiated pay scale for teachers in all counties. The department encouraged systems to either adopt a structure where teachers receive pay bonuses based on student test scores and eliminate increases in pay for advanced degrees or years of service, or adopt programs that ask teachers to take on greater responsibilities in schools.

“When presented with the opportunity to reward teachers for their dedicated and outstanding service, we decided not to get rid of our steps and lanes that reward teachers for their time and dedication to the classroom and earning advanced degrees, but rather recognize teachers that step up and take on greater leadership roles around STEM, analyzing data, and reinforcing professional learning communities,” said Bruce Borchers, Oak Ridge Schools superintendent. [Read more…]

ETCompetes! Speaker Series: Secrets of successful communities

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Submitted

In the ever-changing world of economic development, it is imperative that communities in East Tennessee recognize the paradigm shift that is happening nationally in regards to enhanced community character, retail, real estate, and economic changes. In an effort to foster change and growth all around our beautiful region, ETCompetes!—in conjunction with their partners East Tennessee Quality Growth, NAI, US Bank, and University of Tennessee School of Landscape Architecture—are sponsoring two workshops featuring nationally recognized speaker, Ed McMahon, Urban Land Institute senior resident fellow.

McMahon spent 14 years as the vice president and director of land use planning for the Conservation Fund in Arlington, Va., where he helped protect more than five million acres of land that has historic or natural significance. McMahon is also the cofounder and former president of Scenic America, a national nonprofit organization devoted to protecting America’s scenic landscapes. [Read more…]

Council does not extend traffic camera contract

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Traffic Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

The Oak Ridge City Council did not extend the traffic camera contract with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz., on Monday, and the current five-year contract expires April 21.

Note: This story was last updated at 8:30 a.m. March 25.

After five years, some vigorous opposition, and a few contentious meetings, the traffic cameras in Oak Ridge will be removed. The Oak Ridge City Council did not extend the five-year contract with the camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems, on Monday.

The vote to extend the contract for two years with a few changes was 3-4.

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller, and Council member Charlie Hensley voted in favor of the extension. Council members Trina Baughn, Anne Garcia Garland, Chuck Hope, and David Mosby voted “no.” The current contract expires April 21.

Among the proposed changes, if an extension had been granted, were mobile units, different camera locations, and a new revenue split between the city and Redflex.

[Read more…]

School board approves Blankenship bleacher replacement

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Blankenship Field Visitors Bleachers

Deemed to be unsafe, the visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been de, and replacing them could cost more than $500,000.

Note: This story was updated at 9:15 a.m. March 25.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday unanimously approved a $455,000 project to replace the visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field. The bleachers had been deemed unsafe, and they have already been demolished.

School officials are hoping to replace them before the first home football game on Aug. 29. In a unanimous voice vote Monday, the school board agreed to use the school system’s fund balance to pay for the replacement bleachers.

Board members plan to ask city officials for additional help to finish part of the project, including a $69,000 handicapped ramp with switchbacks from the city-owned parking lot below the field up to the city-owned field, which is at Jack Armstrong Stadium in central Oak Ridge. The ramp could be built when the city renovates the parking lot. [Read more…]

NSPS finishes first year as DOE’s security contractor in Oak Ridge

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Joe L. Evins Federal Building

National Strategic Protective Services LLC on Monday said it has completed the first year of its protective force services contract with the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge. Among the facilities guarded by NSPS are the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, pictured above.

National Strategic Protective Services LLC on Monday said it has completed the first year of its protective force services contract with the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge.

“Congratulations to everyone at NSPS for a job well done,” NSPS President Ignacio Balderas said in a press release. “A lot of hard work went into winning and transitioning this critical infrastructure contract in early 2013. During the course of the past 12 months, we have built a solid relationship with DOE, established high morale within our employee base, fostered productive labor relations and above all, engaged proactively with the Oak Ridge community.

NSPS is a joint venture of Triple Canopy Inc. and Securiguard Inc. The company provides protective force services to the East Tennessee Technology Park, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Joe L. Evins Federal Building. NSPS replaced former longtime security contractor WSI Oak Ridge in 2013 following an unprecedented security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July 2012. [Read more…]

Frank, AC mayor, elected treasurer of ETDD, ETHRA board

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

CLINTON—Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank has been elected treasurer of the East Tennessee Development District’s board of directors as well as treasurer of the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency’s Board and Policy Council.

The ETHRA Board and Policy Council meetings are held in coordination with the East Tennessee Development District. This combined meeting offers members a wider opportunity to discuss issues concerning the 16 county governments that comprise both the ETHRA and ETDD boards.

ETHRA has several advisory groups that provide an important community partnership link with the executive director. They include groups such as Workforce LWIA4, Council on Aging and Disability, and Correctional Services among others. [Read more…]

AC man indicted on DUI charges…again

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Anderson County grand jury has indicted a man already facing charges of vehicular homicide by intoxication on another charge of DUI.

Danny Bean, 56, is facing charges in a November 2012 wreck on Highway 61 that killed two women—Alberta Farrer and Patricia Smith—and earlier this month, was indicted on a DUI charge stemming from a single-vehicle accident last year.

On April 7, 2013, Bean crashed his car into a ditch and when emergency crews arrived, he told them that he had taken prescription medication earlier in the day to explain his very slow and slurred speech. [Read more…]

Suspect in officer assault nabbed in OR

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Information from WYSH Radio

In February, WYSH Radio reported that a Rockwood police officer’s foot was run over by a suspect trying to elude arrest and that the suspect had not been apprehended. That changed on Thursday night when 26-year-old James Poland of Rockwood was arrested in Oak Ridge on charges stemming from the late-February incident.

Poland faces charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, reckless endangerment, and evading arrest, and at last check was being held in Anderson County for Roane County authorities. He is also facing three probation violation charges and two charges for driving on a revoked license. [Read more…]

OS Beer Board hands down penalties

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Oliver Springs City Council, acting as the city’s Beer Board, handed down penalties on Thursday to two businesses that sold beer to an underage person during a beer sales law compliance check.

Representatives of the Pizza Hut on South Tri-County Boulevard asked the Beer Board to revoke their beer license for six months rather than pay a $1,250 fine, and the Board obliged.

Lee’s Market on Tri-County Boulevard was fined $1,250 and had its beer license placed on probation for six months. It was the first offense for both businesses.