Oak Ridge Today

Breaking: ACSD ends standoff on Batley Road

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Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County Sheriff’s deputies were involved in a standoff with a suspect in an assault and shooting on Batley Road on Wednesday morning.

A male suspect identified as 50-year-old Gregory Denton barricaded himself inside a home after allegedly firing shots at a man and a woman in a dispute that began at around 3 a.m. Both people made it out safely.

According to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Denton ignored several attempts at communication and did not surrender until SWAT members used non-lethal rounds to blow out the windows in preparation for deploying tear gas. The tear gas was never used as the exploding windows apparently convinced Denton to surrender. [Read more…]

Windrock Road fire burns unoccupied home on Sunday

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Windrock Road Cabin Fire

A Windrock Road fire on Sunday night burned an unoccupied home. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A Windrock Road fire on Sunday night burned an unoccupied home. The fire was reported at 7:55 p.m. Sunday at 805 Windrock Road.

There were no injuries, and the cause has not been determined, said Stephanie Fox, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department assistant fire chief.

The first firefighters to arrive on Sunday night reported that the house was completely in flames, fire photographer Tom Scott said. Fire engines weren’t able to drive up the home’s long, narrow dirt driveway, so firefighters had to drag a fire hose more than 700 feet by hand through brush and trees to get water on the house. [Read more…]

Myers announces Republican candidacy for Anderson County sheriff

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Randy Myers

Randy Myers

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Randy Myers has announced he will run for Anderson County sheriff in the May 6 Republican primary.

Myers is the second Republican candidate to announce he is running for the seat now held by Sheriff Paul White, a Democrat, in the 2014 election.

In a press release, Myers said he has been a law enforcement officer for 24 years and has worked as a patrol officer, criminal investigator, domestic violence officer, hostage negotiator, Crisis Intervention Team officer, and public relations officer. [Read more…]

Fire destroys Claxton home, two occupants uninjured

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Information from WYSH Radio

Two people escaped without injury early Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in their home in Claxton.

The fire was reported at a house in the 110 block of Tobby Hollow Lane at around 4 a.m., and Claxton firefighters responded to the scene. Two occupants of the house got out safely after their grown son, who lives next door, spotted the fire and alerted them.

Officials say the cold temperatures made it harder to extinguish the flames, adding that the home is a total loss.

Tobby Hollow Lane is off New Henderson Road across the Clinch River from Haw Ridge Park.

Claxton fire burns through roof at home behind Bread Box

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Dogwood Road Fire

Firefighters battle a blaze that spread into the attic and burned through a roof at a home on South Dogwood Road in Claxton. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A Monday evening fire burned through the roof of a home behind the Bread Box convenience store on Edgemoor Road in Claxton.

The fire at 110 S. Dogwood Road was reported at about 6:45 p.m. Monday, photographer Tom Scott said. It was originally reported as a kitchen fire, but the fire extended into the attic and burned through the roof, causing extensive damage.

Before firefighters arrived, a neighbor kicked open a door after hearing what sounded like a cry for help and freed a trapped cat, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton. No injuries were reported.

The initial response was by the Claxton Fire Department. In one of the larger Anderson County mutual aid operations in recent years, the Rural Metro, Andersonville, Marlow, Medford, and Briceville fire departments responded, and so did Anderson County Emergency Medical Services and the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Scott said. The American Red Cross also responded to help the residents. [Read more…]

Shed, motorcycle destroyed in fire

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Information from WYSH Radio

A storage shed was destroyed along with a motorcycle Monday night in the Marlow community. The call came in shortly before 7 p.m., and crews responded to 397 Marlow Road, where they found the building in flames.

The structure and a 1985 Yamaha motorcycle were destroyed in the fire. The cause has not been determined.

Fire destroys home on Hoskins Gap Road

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Jordan Alcorn at Hoskins Gap Road Fire

Oliver Springs Volunteer Fire Department Capt. Jordan Alcorn battles a fire that destroyed a home on Hoskins Gap Road near Winrock Road at about 7 a.m. Friday. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A fire destroyed a home on Hoskins Gap Road at about 7 a.m. Friday, but no injuries were reported.

The home was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, photographer Tom Scott said.

The home is near Windrock Road and in the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department area, but firefighters from Oliver Springs also responded, as did Anderson County Emergency Medical Services and the Sheriff’s Department.

Two people were reported to have escaped the fire, which was apparently started by a wood-burning stove. [Read more…]

Andersonville fire displaces family on Christmas Eve

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Tuesday morning fire badly damaged an Andersonville family’s home.

The fire started around 5:30 a.m. off Hinds Creek Road near Norris Freeway. According to the Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department, no one was hurt in the fire that destroyed about half of the home.

Firefighters say the blaze started near the dryer in the utility room and that it was an electrical fire, but it is unclear exactly what started it. There were space heaters connected to an extension cord near where the fire started. [Read more…]

ACSD investigates home invasion report

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a home invasion robbery reported to them Thursday at a home on Queen Street in Powell.

The incident occurred at around 4 a.m. The suspects were reported to be wearing ski masks, and they allegedly demanded pain medication and money at gunpoint. The victim said that one of the culprits fired a weapon inside her the home before the suspects left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

No one was hurt in the incident.

Parents receiving info on online safety in mail

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Information from WYSH Radio

As part of a joint effort between the Anderson County District Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff’s Department, and the three school systems within the county’s borders, parents of students in fifth through 10th grades are receiving information in the mail on how to keep their children safe online.

Letters have been sent to parents of students in the county school system as well as the city systems in Clinton and Oak Ridge over the past couple of weeks and more are also being sent. Included in the mailing is information for parents on how to talk to their kids about being safe online and avoiding sexual predators. [Read more…]

State trooper, former marshal running for Anderson County sheriff

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Anthony Lay

Anthony Lay

An Anderson County man who is a state highway patrolman and former federal deputy U.S. marshal has announced he is running for sheriff.

Anthony Lay is seeking the Republican nomination for Anderson County sheriff in May 2014.

Lay is an officer with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a press release said. He has served as Scott County sheriff, and when he was 33, was appointed as a federal U.S. marshal in Atlanta.

Lay returned to Anderson County to help his parents after his father suffered a health event, the release said.

“I am announcing my candidacy out of my love for public service and the people who live here,” Lay said in the press release. “Anderson County is a wonderful place to live and work, and the people of Anderson County deserve a safe community and leadership they can trust.” [Read more…]

Mayor, sheriff reach agreement on salary suit, but war of words follows

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Anderson County Detention Facility Expansion

The salary dispute between the Anderson County mayor and sheriff focused on the spending to hire up to 36 new jailers to staff a 212-bed expansion that is still under construction at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton.

CLINTON—The Anderson County mayor and sheriff reached an agreement Friday that could end their five-month-old legal dispute over an annual salary agreement, possibly closing one expensive and contentious chapter in local government even as it opened a new war of words between top officials.

Knox County Circuit Court Judge Dale C. Workman could sign the agreement Monday morning.

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and Sheriff Paul White said the agreement allows the sheriff to hire 15 full-time permanent deputies and additional temporary deputies when the sheriff deems appropriate as he prepares to open a 212-bed jail expansion. But the hiring must stay within the spending limit approved by the Anderson County Commission this year, and the temporary employees cannot work more than six months.

Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Frank and White announced the agreement in a one-page press release distributed Friday. The case had been scheduled to be heard in Knox County Circuit Court on Monday morning. [Read more…]