Oak Ridge Today

Treat yourself to an early holiday meal with ADFAC’s ‘Dine and Donate’

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With the hustle and bustle of holidays all around, ADFAC says it’s a great time to treat yourself and your loved ones to a special meal.

With their monthly “Dine and Donate” event, there is a way to do that and support the less fortunate in our community.

This month’s event is Monday, and five local restaurants are participating. They have agreed to donate a portion of their sales to support ADFAC (Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties).

The participating restaurants are: [Read more…]

Temporary road closures on Georgia, Delaware avenues for sewer work

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The Oak Ridge gravity wastewater collection system will be under construction during the week of Dec. 9. Georgia Avenue and Delaware Avenue will be closed for the duration of the work. Hurst Excavating will be working under contract with the city to complete rehabilitation work.

Georgia Avenue between Tennessee Avenue and Outer Drive will be closed on Tuesday, Dec. 10, to through traffic to allow the contractor to replace an existing sanitary sewer main line located at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Gorgus Lane. The closure is expected to take two days. Local traffic may access residences in the area. Kentucky Avenue to the east of Georgia Avenue or Florida Avenue located to the east may be used as detours.

Delaware Avenue will be closed on Tuesday, Dec. 10, for approximately eight hours. A gravity sewer line will be repaired located on Delaware Avenue at its intersection with Dixie Lane. Local traffic may access their residences; however, California Avenue is recommended as a detour for through traffic. The schedule is subject to change in case of bad weather. [Read more…]

TDEC provides violation notices, timeline on pet crematory where remains excavated

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Elliott Pet Service Excavation

Dump trucks remove pet remains on Wednesday that had been excavated from Elliott Pet Services in Morgan County. (Photo courtesy WATE-TV)

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation on Wednesday provided copies of the violation notices sent to the Morgan County crematory where animal remains were excavated last week after a state investigation.

TDEC also provided the media with an event timeline for September and October at Elliott Pet Services on Grouse Ridge Road, copies of annual inspection reports, and a state response to complainants Dana and Fegan Kenny.

You can read the documents here: [Read more…]

A note about comments on Oak Ridge Today

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During the past few months, we’ve tried to be fairly consistent about moderating reader comments that do not follow our first posting guideline: Use your real name, including last name.

But we may not have been quite as consistent in moderating some of the other guidelines, including those that ask readers who comment to stick to the issues and not make their comments personal.

And during the past few months, readers have let us know they want us to keep the comment section civil, and not allow personal attacks or off-topic posts.

So, we pledge to work harder to ensure that those who comment follow the other guidelines as well. In general, this will probably mean that we simply remove comments that we don’t think follow the other guidelines (be civil, stick to the issues, etc.). In some cases, we may send a short e-mail explaining why the comment was removed. [Read more…]

Police ID woman who died in Clinton crash

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Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

A Clinton woman died in a three-car crash Friday evening on the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge on Clinch Avenue near downtown Clinton.

The Clinton Police Department has identified the woman who died in a crash on Lewallen Bridge on Friday evening.

Angela Duncan Richardson, 40, of Clinton, died after she was thrown from a pickup truck driven by Kyle H. Anthony, 21, of Knoxville, the CPD said. Richardson was reportedly sitting behind the front seat of Anthony’s Chevy Silverado.

One other passenger in Anthony’s truck, Sean Richardson of Clinton, was taken to the hospital for treatment of possible injuries, and a fourth person in the truck was not injured despite being partially ejected from Anthony’s vehicle, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton. [Read more…]

Knoxville man facing charges in fatal Clinton crash on Friday

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Kyle Houston Anthony

Kyle Houston Anthony

A Knoxville man is facing vehicular homicide and DUI charges after a fatal Friday evening crash in Clinton killed a 40-year-old woman, authorities said.

The woman, whose name has not been released, was a passenger in a truck driven by Kyle H. Anthony, 21, on Lewallen Bridge at about 4:30 p.m. Friday, the Clinton Police Department said. She was thrown from the vehicle during the multiple-vehicle wreck and died from her injuries, the CPD said.

Initial reports indicate that Anthony apparently lost control of his southbound truck on Clinch Avenue near South Charles G. Seviers Boulevard, crossed the center line, and struck two other northbound vehicles, CPD Chief Rick Scarbrough said. [Read more…]

Lake City Christmas Parade rescheduled to Friday, Dec. 13

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Due to the expected rainfall in the area, the Lake City Christmas Parade, which had been scheduled for this evening (Friday evening), has been postponed until next Friday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m.

For more information, call the Lake City Chamber of Commerce at (865) 426-9595 or visit http://www.lakecitychambertn.com/parade/.

Information from WYSH Radio

Impossible to identify animal remains excavated at pet crematory, state says

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Elliott Pet Service Excavation

Dump trucks remove pet remains on Wednesday that had been excavated from Elliott Pet Services in Morgan County. (Photo courtesy WATE-TV)

It will not be possible to identify animals buried at a pet crematory in Morgan County where remains were excavated this week after a state investigation, officials said Wednesday.

News of the investigation and excavations this week has left many pet owners, including in Anderson County, wondering whether animals they paid to have cremated might be among those buried at the rural wooded site near the Roane County line.

The crematory site on Grouse Ridge Road is operated by Elliott Pet Services. It was the subject of a citizen’s complaint in September that alleged animals were being dumped on the site.

In September, the business also received an open dumping violation notice from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. And in October, the company was cited for not maintaining logs.

Business owner Cameo Farr and her attorney, Kevin Angel of Oak Ridge, told several Knoxville television stations that burying animals is part of her business, and she has always cremated animals that were supposed to be cremated. [Read more…]

BB pistol found in student’s backpack at Robertsville

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Robertsville Middle School

A BB pistol was found in a student’s backpack in a locker at Robertsville Middle School on Thursday morning, authorities said.

A BB pistol was found in a student’s backpack in a locker at Robertsville Middle School on Thursday morning, authorities said.

The 13-year-old student was arrested and charged with carrying a weapon on school property and aggravated assault, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a press release.

At least five officers responded to the school after receiving a report about a student armed with a handgun at about 8:53 a.m. Thursday, the press release said. Officers located the student at 9:05 a.m. and detained him. [Read more…]

No injuries, but barn fire causes estimated $100,000 in damage

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Tuskegee Drive Barn Fire

A Thursday evening fire destroyed a barn off Tuskegee Drive and caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, including to supplies and equipment inside. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A fire that destroyed a barn off Tuskegee Drive on Thursday evening caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, authorities said Friday morning.

The blaze was first reported as a fire in the woods at about 5:09 p.m. Thursday. But crews who hiked through the woods found a barn totally engulfed with fire, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

Access to the structure near the intersection of Tuskegee and TeeJay drives was limited, so the Oak Ridge Fire Department requested forestry mini pumpers from Oliver Springs and Marlow volunteer fire departments to help control wooded areas around the barn. [Read more…]

Girls Inc. aviation program features hot air balloon rides

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Girls Inc. Hot Air Ballon Ride

An aviation program at Girls Inc. recently featured hot air balloon rides. (Submitted photos)

Girls Inc. recently received a grant for $10,000 from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, or AOPA.

The grant is allowing the nonprofit organization to have a “Sky Girls” aviation program. In that program, the girls will learn about air traffic controllers and their alphabet, women in aviation, and weather experiments, have field trips to an aviation museum, and hear from women pilots, a press release said.

In November, the girls were able to ride in a tethered hot air balloon from Tennessee Balloon Rides, the release said.

Here are a few pictures courtesy of Girls Inc. [Read more…]

Fire destroys barn off Tuskegee Drive

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A fire that was reported at about 5:09 p.m. Thursday destroyed a barn off Tuskegee Drive, authorities said.

Owned by Wayne Clark, the barn contained tools, supplies, and equipment, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

A small road off Tuskegee Drive that leads to the barn was blocked by tree limbs—preventing even a small rescue truck from using it—but firefighters and police officers were able to get to the scene using a gravel road near Teller Village Apartments. The fire was originally reported as a brush fire. But firefighters who parked a truck on the road and hiked in soon realized it was a barn fire, Kerley said. [Read more…]