Oak Ridge Today

ORAU awards $25,000 to A.L. Lotts in Extreme Classroom Makeover

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A.L. Lotts Extreme Classroom Makeover

Oak Ridge Associated Universities gave $25,000 to a classroom at A.L. Lotts Elementary School in Knox County in an Extreme Classroom Makeover contest. (Submitted photo)

A fifth-grade math and science teacher at A.L. Lotts Elementary School in Knox County has won $25,000 in an Extreme Classroom Makeover competition sponsored by Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

It was the third time teacher Karla Fultz has submitted a video for the annual contest, which is now in its fifth year.

A press release said her winning video was a parody of “Gangman Style,” the Korean pop song and video that has been watched more than one billion times online. [Read more…]

Seven superintendent finalists, three to be interviewed Tuesday

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An executive search firm has narrowed down the list of superintendent candidates to seven finalists, and the Oak Ridge school board plans to interview three of them Tuesday.

The three are:

  • Bruce Borchers, superintendent of the Rockwood School District in Eureka, Mo., which has 22,000 students;
  • Dale Lynch, superintendent of the Hamblen County Schools in Morristown, which has 10,300 students; and
  • Keith Rowland, superintendent of Shenandoah County Public Schools in Woodstock, Va., which has 6,250 students.

[Read more…]

Board will consider ‘unfit’ designations for four Applewood buildings

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A Tennessee appellate court has sent an order to demolish four Applewood Apartment buildings back to a municipal board, and that board is scheduled to consider “unfit for human occupation and use” designations—but not demolitions—during a Thursday afternoon meeting.

The Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals had ordered the four buildings on Hunter Circle demolished on Nov. 11, 2010. The order was upheld by the Anderson County Chancery Court, but Applewood Apartments owner Joseph J. Levitt Jr., a Knoxville attorney, appealed. [Read more…]

Clinton schools announce ‘Educators Of The Year’

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Clinton school system has announced its “Educators of the Year” awards.

The Principal of the Year is South Clinton Elementary’s Lori Collins. Clinton Elementary School third-grade teacher Denise Bulecheck was named that school’s Teacher of the Year. The North Clinton Teacher of the Year is Tammy Pack, and the South Clinton Teacher of the Year is Jackie Clarke.

They will all be honored, along with winners from the county school system, during a banquet April 2 at the First Baptist Church Family Life Center.

Tennessee judicial redistricting to be discussed at League forum

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There have been concerns about how plans to redraw Tennessee’s judicial districts might affect Anderson County, and a local organization has scheduled a Thursday night forum to discuss the proposals.

The forum is presented by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and it starts at 7 p.m. Thursday in the City Room at the Roane State Community College campus in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs school administrator arrested for DUI, placed on leave

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Oliver Springs High School administrator was arrested last week outside the roller skating rink on East Tri-County Boulevard after the Oliver Springs Police Department was called and told that a parent had arrived to pick up their child and appeared to be intoxicated.

Donna Renee Moore, 46, of Harriman, was arrested late Friday night, and the responding officer noted that she was unsteady on her feet; had red, glassy eyes; and smelled of alcohol. He also reported finding two, partially empty airplane-sized vodka bottles in her purse. [Read more…]

Clinton Kmart closing

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Sears Holding Corp. has confirmed that the Kmart store in South Clinton will close sometime in mid-June, although a specific closure date has not been announced.

The decision was made after what company officials called an extended period of slow sales. The store will remain open to the public and plans to begin its liquidation sale on April 7.

The store had been in its current location since 1983.

Driver ejected, dies in single-vehicle rollover near Horizon

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Horizon Center Fatal Crash

A driver died Tuesday night after being ejected from this vehicle, which left Oak Ridge Turnpike and rolled several times at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday near Horizon Center. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A Cleveland, Tenn., man died after he was ejected from an eastbound minivan that left Oak Ridge Turnpike and rolled several times at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday near Horizon Center, authorities said.

Benjamin Park Birdwell, 33, was driving the 2004 Toyota Sienna near Imperium Drive, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. [Read more…]

Anderson Veterans Officer presents long-overdue medal

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Monday morning, Anderson County Veterans Service Officer Leon Jaquet and other officials gathered in his office in the Courthouse to present a long-overdue Purple Heart to the widow of a soldier wounded during World War II.

Former U.S. Army rifleman Louis Allison was wounded in Germany in early 1945 but never received his Purple Heart. He passed away in 2003 at the age of 80. [Read more…]

Clinton school board back at full strength

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Monday, the Clinton City Council voted 6-0 with one Council member absent to appoint Curtis Isabell to the seat on the city’s school board representing Ward 2.

The vote had been postponed from last month while officials looked into whether a conflict of interest could arise since his father Dale is the system’s finance officer.

Isabell will serve the remainder of R.C. Hutchins’ term, which expires in December of 2014. Hutchins stepped down from the board late last year.

Car crashes into utility pole, knocks out power to few stores

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Lafayette Drive Utility Pole Crash

A car driven by an Oak Ridge man crashed into a utility pole near Lafayette Drive on Saturday, knocking out power to about 10 customers, including Walmart and Chick-fil-A. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A car crashed into a utility pole along Lafayette Drive on Saturday afternoon, knocking out power to a few large customers, including Walmart and Chick-fil-A.

Jeffrey Wells Wallace, 60, of Oak Ridge, was eastbound in a 2010 Toyota Prius four-door sedan on Lafayette Drive near Midway Lane when his vehicle went off the roadway and struck a utility pole about six feet off the road at about 2:45 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

Wallace was conscious was police arrived, but he said he didn’t remember the collision, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Brandan L. Sharp said in a crash report. [Read more…]

DOE appoints two new members to advisory board

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Robert Craig

Robert Craig

Belinda Price

Belinda Price

The U.S. Department of Energy appointed two new members to its Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board.

Susan Cange, deputy manager for DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, introduced Robert Craig and Belinda Price as the latest appointees at the board’s meeting on March 13. [Read more…]