Oak Ridge Today

Corker welcomes ‘vigorous debate’ on military action in Syria

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U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker on Saturday said he was pleased by President Barack Obama’s decision to ask Congress for approval before launching a military strike on Syria, and the senator said he looks forward to a vigorous debate.

Although he opposes sending American troops to Syria, Corker has said he would support surgical air strikes against the Assad government, given the evidence of the regime’s continued use of chemical weapons. But he has urged the Obama administration to first seek congressional authorization. [Read more…]

Anderson County mayor to give update on first year in office

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank will discuss her first year in office during Lunch with the League on Tuesday.

The lunch starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

Frank was elected in August 2012 to serve a two-year term as Anderson County Mayor, completing the unexpired term of former mayor Rex Lynch, who resigned in January 2011 after being indicted for sales tax fraud. She was sworn into office on Sept. 1, 2012. [Read more…]

ORPD receives about $70,000 seized in drug trafficking investigation

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The Oak Ridge Police Department was one of 19 local and state law enforcement agencies that received part of $4.1 million in cash seized during a 2011 investigation of a Mexican drug trafficking organization.

The ORPD received $69,814, said U.S. Attorney William C. Killian of the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville. Other law enforcement agencies in California, North Carolina, and Tennessee received amounts ranging from about $35,000 to close to $420,000. [Read more…]

New River Fall Festival scheduled for October

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Second Annual New River Fall Festival is scheduled for Oct. 5, and it will feature a variety of food and entertainment to help save a historical landmark. There will be children’s games, a bake sale, indoor flea market, and live music.

“We are raising money to restore the Rosedale School Building because it is part of our history, and we want to preserve this history for our children’s future,” said Karen Sue McKamey, vice president of the New River History and Community Advisory Board. [Read more…]

Feds divvy up drug money

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Information from WYSH Radio

Ten Tennessee state and local law enforcement agencies are among 19 dividing up $4 million seized during an investigation into a Mexican drug trafficking ring.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, information gained through wiretaps helped them identify and stop a semi driven by Armando Guzman Villegas and Javier Cruz-Ramirez as it headed along I-40 through East Tennessee. Searching the tractor-trailer, they found several pallets of shrink-wrapped bottled water. One of the shrink wrapped pallets, though, held more than $4 million in cash in about 200 duct-taped bundles. [Read more…]

Tips lead to arrest of Clinton man after alleged bank robbery

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Information from WYSH Radio

Following up on a story from earlier this week, tips from citizens led to the arrest of a 38-year-old Clinton man on charges that he robbed the Enrichment Federal Credit Union branch on Schubert Road in Knoxville on Tuesday afternoon.

A television viewer recognized Charles Edward Harmon from broadcast footage from the bank security camera and called in a tip, which led to Harmon’s arrest on Wednesday. Harmon spent five months behind bars after he robbed a Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Clinton in 2006.

ORAU names employee relations, diversity director

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Mae Mosley

Mae Mosley

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has named Mae Mosley director of employee relations and diversity.

In her new position, Mosley will manage and direct ORAU’s employee relations and diversity, and oversee the organization’s occupational health functions, services and programs.

Additionally, Mosley will provide advice and consultation to employees, managers, and ORAU executives relating to disciplinary processes, human behavior modification, equal employment, and affirmative action goals. She will also serve as a technical advisor to the ORAU Diversity Council. [Read more…]

What’s happening in Oak Ridge Aug. 29-Sept. 4

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Here is a summary of events happening in Oak Ridge starting this evening, Aug. 29, and continuing through Sept. 4.

This weekly listing of events is compiled by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau: [Read more…]

With holiday approaching, Anderson DA reminds residents not to drink and drive

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

The Labor Day holiday is this weekend, and Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark is reminding people to not drive under the influence.

Citing statistics that indicate that nearly one out of every three traffic deaths in America occur in impaired-driving crashes, Clark in a press release said all of the county’s municipal police departments and Anderson County Sheriff’s Office are taking part in a high-visibility enforcement campaign aimed at reducing impaired driving fatalities and serious injury crashes. If you are driving under the influence, the minimum penalty in Tennessee includes 48 hours behind bars, a one-year suspension of your driver’s license and a $350 fine—plus the other severe financial consequences such as rising insurance rates, attorney fees and court costs, lost time at work, as well as potential job loss and the personal and professional embarrassment, Clark said. [Read more…]

Neighbors respond to alleged knife attack with gun, videotape, but no suspect found

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Kayla Pesterfield

Kayla Pesterfield

An Oak Ridge woman who alleged she was attacked and cut with a knife by an unknown man in her home on Tuesday afternoon was charged with false reporting after police checked the Beverly Circle property and reviewed a neighbor’s videotape, which showed no man had entered or left the residence, authorities said.

Kayla Pesterfield, 21, reported the alleged assault at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. She said the stranger was in her bedroom and attacked her by pushing her up against a wall. The man then cut her right thigh and the front of her shorts with a knife, Pesterfield told police, according to an arrest warrant.  [Read more…]

Council to consider utility rate increases, sewer tanks, new fire trucks

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Emory Valley Road Sewer System Holding Tank

A draft image of what a sewer system holding tank could look like on Emory Valley Road east of the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center. The proposal could change based upon input from Oak Ridge City Council members. (Images courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge officials are considering utility rate increases that could cost many residents another $6.87 per month, and they have also proposed building three large sewer system holding tanks, including two near busy roadways, in response to a federal order requiring the city to stop all sewer system overflows by September 2015.

Council could consider those proposals, as well as a request to buy three new fire trucks, during its Sept. 9 meeting. [Read more…]

Two Knox robberies solved with arrests of Clinton men

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Information from WYSH Radio

Two Clinton men were arrested Wednesday on charges stemming from two, unrelated Knox County bank robberies.

The first robbery occurred Saturday morning at the ORNL Federal Credit Union branch on Kingston Pike in West Knoxville. Authorities say that 32-year-old Jason Ronald Brown walked into the branch Saturday morning, said he had a bomb, and demanded money. He fled with an undisclosed amount of cash but left the purported bomb behind. The Knoxville Police Department’s Bomb Squad determined that it was not a real bomb. [Read more…]