Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge couple faces drug charges

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An Oak Ridge couple is facing drug charges after Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies served a search warrant at their home on West Outer Drive on Saturday, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.

According to the arrest report, Leon and Rebecca Massengale were cooperative when investigators showed up at their door, and 67-year-old Leon Massengale told deputies that he knew why they were there, WYSH said. Massengale led deputies directly to the living room, where they allegedly found a half-pound of marijuana.

He told officers that he smoked marijuana and sold it to his friends to supplement his unemployment benefits, WYSH reported.

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Boys Club Alumni prepare for football, ask for repair help Saturday

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The Boys Club Alumni Association will be working Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to update the press box and concession stand for the club’s upcoming football season.

The Alumni is working to revitalize the program and has partnered with Greg Palmer from Tennessee Tool and Engineering to purchase all new helmets and uniforms, according to an e-mail from Alumni President Aaron Wells.

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ORPD could unveil public online crime mapping system this week

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

The Oak Ridge Police Department could unveil a new online crime mapping system this week that will publicly display incident information. That information includes crime types, dates and times, and block addresses.

“It enables the public to go online and search out crime in any area, particularly in their own area,” Oak Ridge Police Department Crime Analyst David Gordon said. “You can log in today and see what was going on.”

Free to the public, the RAIDS Online system will show crimes such as assaults, burglaries, homicides, robberies, and thefts. Sexual assaults and traffic stops will not be reported, Oak Ridge Police Chief James Akagi told City Council members during a work session Monday.

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Up to 52 Oak Ridge security jobs could be cut

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A total of 52 jobs could be cut at two federal sites in Oak Ridge, the Y-12 National Security Complex and the East Tennessee Technology Park, a security contractor said Monday.

The plan, which follows reviews by federal officials, calls for a reduction of up to 34 security police officer and three staff positions at Y-12, according to security contractor WSI Oak Ridge. It also calls for the elimination of up to 14 security police officer positions and one staff member at ETTP.

Company employees at Y-12 and ETTP will be offered a voluntary separation program, or VSP, and applications will be accepted until Friday.

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TVA to give Anderson County $24,000 per year for landfill property

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The Tennessee Valley Authority has agreed to pay Anderson County $24,000 a year to offset the loss of property tax revenues on land recently purchased by the utility for the eventual expansion of its coal ash storage facility around the Bull Run Steam Plant in Claxton, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.

The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes will offset the loss of some 155 acres and 24 homes that TVA purchased earlier this year, WYSH said.

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Repairs under way at Woodland Elementary School

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Woodland Elementary School Renovations

Workers replace bulging, cracking brick walls at Woodland Elementary School with a stucco-like material called EIFS.

Repair work has been under way this summer at Woodland Elementary School in Oak Ridge.

Workers are replacing the building’s bulging and cracking brick exterior with a stucco-like material called EIFS.

They’re also replacing shifting and sunken concrete slabs in three classrooms and putting a pier underneath the library, where walls had shifted and the building had dropped after soil underneath it had settled.

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Elks donate $1,000 to Emory Valley Center campaign

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Emory Valley Center recieves donation

Front row left to right: Kevin Parsons, Pam Young, Shelia Jones, Bobby Wilhoite, Robin Biloski, Carolyn Jacobs, Colten Gaines, Donna Forstrom, and Kathie Shearer. Back row left to right: Chuck Goins, Phillip Boatner, Dottie Thompson, Mike Marsh, Jennifer Enderson, Gene Caldwell, and Robbie Braden.

The Oak Ridge Lodge No. 1684 Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks has donated $1,000 to the Emory Valley Center’s Capital Fund Campaign, a press release said.

The goal of the Capital Fund Campaign is to help replace the Daniel Arther Rehabilitation Center on Emory Valley Road, which is scheduled to be torn down in early 2015. This building holds many of the Emory Valley Center’s programs.

“We are so thankful for the continued support of the community for our Capital Fund Campaign and look forward to continuing our relationship in the future,” said Jennifer Enderson,  Emory Valley Center president.

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Free business seminar in Oak Ridge

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On Thursday, August 30, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center is offering another free seminar for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

The workshop is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

To sign up, call (865) 483-2668 or email Jutta Bangs at jbangs@tsbdc.org.

The Chamber is located at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Ace Your Pace 5K is Saturday in Knoxville

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Runners, get ready for a new and unique race on Saturday in Knoxville.

Runners in the Ace Your Pace 5K must guess their time, and race without wearing a watch, according to a press release from Girls on the Run of Greater Knoxville. All proceeds for this race will benefit this nonprofit organization.

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Hope wants more retail, modernized homes, good relationship with schools

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Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

It’s Chuck Hope’s first campaign for an elected office, but he already has some job experience.

Hope, a 49-year-old businessman, was appointed to serve on Oak Ridge City Council after former Council member Tom Hayes resigned in June 2011. Now, he’s running for a special three-month term on the city’s seven-member legislative body.

In recent forums and interviews, Hope has advocated for more retail development in Oak Ridge, modernizing older “legacy” homes, and reviving the city’s economic development fund.

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Body of woman reported missing found at Melton Hill Lake

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Rescuers Search for Missing Woman

Law enforcement authorities and volunteers search near Melton Lake Drive north of Edgemoor Road on Saturday for a woman reported as missing Friday. Her body was later found on the west bank of Melton Hill Lake.

The body of a woman reported missing on Friday was found Saturday afternoon on the west bank of Melton Hill Lake near the Bull Run Fossil Plant, authorities said.

Tara Ann Kobisk, 37, had been missing for about seven hours when a report was filed with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Friday evening, an Oak Ridge Police Department press release said.

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ORNL steam plant burns wood chips, saves energy

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ORNL Central Biomass Steam Plant

A steam plant that burns wood chips at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is expected to help save energy and reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. At right is a blue wood chip hopper, at left in background is the exhaust stack, and at right in background is the steam plant.

A new steam plant that burns wood chips at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will save energy, reduce fossil fuel consumption, and cut greenhouse gas emissions, officials said Thursday.

The Central Biomass Steam Plant can produce 60,000 pounds of steam per hour. The steam is used to heat buildings during cold winter months and support research applications at ORNL.

The 21-megawatt plant is the flagship project in a $94 million, four-year-old Energy Savings Performance Contract with Johnson Controls Inc. of Milwaukee, Wis.

Officials had a dedication ceremony for the steam plant Thursday.

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