Oak Ridge Today

B&W awards college scholarship to local student

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Rob Jones

Rob Jones

The Babcock and Wilcox Company has awarded Knoxville student Rob Jones a college scholarship worth $1,500 per year for up to four years, a press release said.

The scholarship is one of 12 awarded each year to students whose parents work in B&W’s offices, including sites in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Ontario, Canada, the release said.

Jones is the son of Kelley and Steve Jones. Steve is a geologist in the Environmental Compliance organization at the Y-12 National Security Complex. B&W is one of the parent companies of B&W Y-12, the company that operates Y-12.

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Seminar series on advanced government contracting starts Tuesday

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The first of three advanced government contracting seminars provided through a Roane State Community College project will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Knoxville.

The workshop, which costs $50, is titled “Proposal preparation and government contract negotiations.”

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Market House restaurant emphasizes ‘farm-to-table’ concept

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Market House Ribbon Cutting

Local officials and business leaders celebrate the recent opening of The Market House restaurant in Jackson Square with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning.

A new restaurant in Jackson Square emphasizes a “farm-to-table” concept, and the owners use, as often as possible, food and beverage products purchased from local farmers, bakers, and brewers.

“There’s not a meal that we have that doesn’t have a local product in it,” said one of the owners, Bo Shipley.

“We keep it as local as possible, keep it as fresh as we can,” said the other owner, Dan Tremaine.

Shipley and Tremaine opened The Market House restaurant on East Tennessee Avenue in Jackson Square on May 8. Local officials and business leaders celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday.

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Oak Ridge seeks up to $50,000 for trees allegedly cut on city greenbelt

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CLINTON—Oak Ridge is seeking up to $50,000 in damages from two residents accused of cutting down about 30 trees on a city greenbelt near Westlook Circle in September 2009.

The city filed the lawsuit against Oak Ridge residents Chris Dollman and Jeff Crawford in Anderson County Circuit Court on Friday, Aug. 17.

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Planning Commission recommends Weigel’s rezoning

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There are more hurdles to clear before a Weigel’s can be built on South Illinois Avenue, but a city board has recommended that a 1.5-acre parcel south of TNBank be rezoned for the proposed gas station and convenience store.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission recommended the rezoning in a 7-3 vote Thursday.

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Clinton motorcyclist in stable condition after Wednesday wreck

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UT Lifestar Helicopter

A University of Tennessee Lifestar helicopter flies Clinton motorcyclist Kevin Eric Gross to UT Medical Center in Knoxville after a Wednesday morning accident on Highway 61.

A Clinton man flown to a Knoxville hospital by a medical helicopter after a Wednesday morning motorcycle accident was listed in stable condition Thursday afternoon, a spokeswoman said.

Kevin Eric Gross, 18, was riding east on a Yamaha XV5 motorcycle on Highway 61 between Oak Ridge and Clinton when he struck a Chrysler PT Cruiser pulling out of the Rocky Top gas station at Mariner Point at about 10:50 a.m., an accident report said.

The car was driven by Carl David O’Neal, 56, of Oak Ridge. He said he was turning left onto Highway 61 to head west as an eastbound vehicle pulling a trailer was turning into the Rocky Top parking lot, according to the report. O’Neal told Clinton police his vision was blocked, and he pulled into traffic to start traveling west when Gross hit his driver’s side door.

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Former Oak Ridge police sergeant files $600,000 lawsuit, alleges retaliation

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CLINTON—A former Oak Ridge Police Department sergeant alleged in a lawsuit filed this week that other employees retaliated against him and he was forced to resign last year after he complained that a lieutenant had sent him live ammunition for use in a training session.

Mark Coffey, who resigned in October 2011, filed the lawsuit in Anderson County Circuit Court on Monday. He is seeking a total of $600,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.

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Weigel’s, Bojangle’s, Popeyes proposed on South Illinois Avenue

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Weigels Rezoning

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will consider a rezoning for a Weigel’s on South Illinois Avenue during a Thursday evening meeting.

A Weigel’s gas station and convenience store could be built next to TNBank on South Illinois Avenue if city officials approve a project rezoning.

Meanwhile, two restaurants that serve chicken and other food have been proposed on South Illinois Avenue. Popeyes is replacing Wishbones on Illinois Avenue just south of Oak Ridge Turnpike, and a site plan has been approved for a Bojangle’s on property just south of the former Dean Stallings Ford, Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said Wednesday.

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Finalists for Roane State president in Oak Ridge, Harriman next week

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The three finalists for Roane State Community College president are scheduled to take part in interviews, forums, and receptions next week in Oak Ridge and Harriman.

The three finalists are Elizabeth Lewis, vice president of academic affairs at Northeast Lakeview College in Universal City, Texas; W. Michael Stoy, president of Middle Georgia College in Cochran, Ga.; and Christopher Whaley, vice president of Student Learning and chief academic officer at Roane State Community College in Harriman.

The interviews, forums, and receptions are scheduled on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

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Medical helicopter picks up motorcyclist after Clinton accident

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Clinton Motorcycle Accident

An unidentified motorcyclist was picked up by a University of Tennessee medical helicopter after an accident in front of a gas station near Mariner Point on Highway 61 in Clinton.

CLINTON—A medical helicopter picked up a motorcyclist Wednesday morning after an accident in front of a gas station on Highway 61 in Clinton.

Authorities did not immediately release the name of the motorcyclist, who was flown away in a University of Tennessee Lifestar helicopter at about 11:30 a.m.

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Oak Ridge boy recognized as hero after saving sister from drowning

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A seven-year-old Oak Ridge boy was recognized as a “true American hero” on Monday for saving the life of his nine-year-old sister in June.

WYSH Radio in Clinton reported that Damien Longmire of Oak Ridge saw his sister Kailyn floating facedown in a swimming pool at their grandmother’s house on June 24. He immediately jumped into the water, swam to Kailyn, and turned her over, WYSH said. When he realized she was not breathing, he called out for help and held her head out of the water.

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Pickup pulled from park, one of half-dozen vehicles found in Clinch River

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Melton Lake Park Pickup Truck

Authorities pull a Ford Ranger pickup truck from the Clinch River at Melton Lake Park on Tuesday morning, one of a half-dozen or so vehicles recently found in the water.

Authorities pulled a submerged pickup truck out of a cove used by rowers at Melton Lake Park on Tuesday morning, one of a half-dozen or so vehicles recently found in the Clinch River.

The pickup truck appeared to be a dark-colored mid-1980s Ford Ranger. It was coated in what appeared to be brown slime.

It wasn’t immediately clear what, if anything, was found inside.

Authorities have said little about the vehicles or the search for them, including how long the automobiles have been in the water, how they got there, or why officers are searching the Clinch River.

“We’ve got a pending investigation taking place, and we’re just not making any comment,” Oak Ridge Police Capt. Mike Uher said.

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