Oak Ridge Today

Three officers, one supervisor suspended after unbadged driver enters Y-12

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Security Officers at Y-12 East Gate

Security police officers stand guard during an August 2012 peace protest at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex at Bear Creek and Scarboro roads.

Four guards have been suspended at the Y-12 National Security Complex after a woman who did not have permission to be at the nuclear weapons plant drove through the main entrance on Thursday morning and was stopped a short time later, a federal spokesman said Monday.

The woman, who said she was looking for a new, low-cost apartment complex, followed morning commuters through the east gate at Bear Creek and Scarboro roads and drove unhindered through the plant before she was stopped by security officers at the west gate, according to an Oak Ridge Police Department report. Brenda L. Haptonstall, 62, told ORPD Officer Roy J. Heinz that she thought there must have been a crash at Y-12 because there were “nice officers waving her through with illuminated flashlight cones,” the report said. [Read more…]

UT Medical Center can’t comment on condition of child hit by car in Oak Ridge

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The University of Tennessee Medical Center could not provide information on the condition of an eight-year-old boy hit by a car on Wednesday afternoon in Oak Ridge—or even confirm whether the child was at the hospital.

An Oak Ridge Police Department report said the boy was hit by a 1998 Toyota Camry in the parking lot of British Woods Apartments at about 4:35 p.m. Wednesday. The four-door sedan was driven by Zhenfeng Han, 33, who lives at the apartment complex on Briarcliff Avenue. [Read more…]

Y-12 security failed to follow procedure, allowed driver to enter site, NNSA says

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Security Officers at Y-12 East Gate

Security police officers stand guard during an August 2012 peace protest at the east gate and main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex at Bear Creek and Scarboro roads.

Police officers at the Y-12 National Security Complex failed to follow established procedures when they allowed an Oak Ridge woman who did not have permission to be at the nuclear weapons plant to drive through the main entrance at Scarboro Road on Thursday morning, federal officials said.

Brenda L. Haptonstall, 62, told Oak Ridge police she was looking for a new, low-cost apartment complex and followed morning commuters through the east gate at the Y-12 National Security Complex at about 6:10 a.m. Thursday.

An Oak Ridge Police Department report said Haptonstall drove unhindered through the plant before she was stopped by security officers at the west gate. Haptonstall told ORPD Officer Roy J. Heinz that she thought there must have been a crash at Y-12 because there were “nice officers waving her through with illuminated flashlight cones,” the report said. [Read more…]

Boy hit by car at apartment complex, ORFD says

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A 10-year-old boy was reportedly hit by a car and flipped onto the hood before falling onto the ground next to a tire at British Woods Apartments on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The boy was lying face up in the apartment complex driveway when the Oak Ridge Fire Department arrived at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, a report said. He had abrasions on his neck but no other obvious injuries.

The boy could not remember what happened, the ORFD report said. He was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

Report: Teen driver didn’t see stop sign due to tree limbs before hitting bus

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Oak Ridge Preschool Bus Crash

No students were reported to be injured after a Monday afternoon collision between a school bus and a car in Woodland.

The 17-year-old driver who hit a school bus in Woodland on Monday afternoon said he did not see a stop sign at the intersection of Northwestern and West Gettysburg avenues due to tree limbs, and he failed to stop before colliding with the bus, authorities said.

The Clinton teenager estimated he was traveling at about 30 mph in a 1997 Volvo 960 sedan as he drove west on West Gettysburg Avenue just before the 2:16 p.m. crash, according to an Oak Ridge Police Department accident report.

The bus driver, Yvonnda Smith McNair, 60, of Oliver Springs, told ORPD Officer Leslie Miller that she was driving south on Northwestern Avenue when the Volvo failed to stop and hit the bus, owned by contractor First Student Inc. [Read more…]

Woman found floating face down at Civic Center, taken to hospital

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Note: This story was last updated at 4 p.m.

A female believed to be in her 30s was taken to Methodist Medical Center on Monday afternoon after she was found floating face down in the fountain at the Oak Ridge Civic Center, city officials said.

The woman, who was not identified in a Tuesday statement, is currently receiving treatment at the hospital. She is believed to be in her mid-to-late 30s.

She was found in the 14-inch deep fountain at about 2:45 p.m. Monday by residents visiting the Civic Center, the statement said. Two people reported the incident to the staff at the Civic Center front counter, while a third tried to pull the woman out of the water, said Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs, who is acting city manager while Mark Watson attends an out-of-town meeting. [Read more…]

No children reported to be injured in school bus crash

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Oak Ridge Preschool Bus Crash

No students were reported to be injured after a Monday afternoon collision between a school bus and a car in Woodland.

No children appeared to be injured after a Monday afternoon collision between a school bus and car at the intersection of Northwestern and West Gettysburg avenues in the Woodland neighborhood, authorities said.

However, a bus assistant may have hurt her shoulder, and she went to the hospital to be checked out, Oak Ridge Interim Superintendent Bob Smallridge said.

The yellow school bus, Bus #596, which is operated by contractor First Student, was carrying about 18 children from Oak Ridge Preschool at about 2:16 p.m. Monday when it collided with a red Volvo four-door sedan. The students were headed home after school. None were taken away from the crash by ambulance, Oak Ridge Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said. [Read more…]

Police Car Owners display cars, lights during first Oak Ridge convention

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Police Car Owners of America

Hal Johns, right, of Sevierville, cleans his 1962 Plymouth Belvedere, with help from his friend Jack Maness, also of Sevierville, during an exhibit in Oak Ridge by the Police Car Owners of America on Saturday.

The Police Car Owners of America had its first four-day convention in Oak Ridge, and highlights included a light display on Thursday and exhibit and award banquet on Saturday.

The organization, which works to preserve the history of law enforcement vehicles, has members in 35 states and three other countries. Saturday’s exhibit in the parking lot of the former Sears store in Oak Ridge included 25 cars from as far away as California and Wisconsin.

Cars—which can be purchased online and outfitted with light bars, radios, and display guns—are judged on their cleanliness and authenticity, said Jack Pike of Conway, Ark., the organization’s vice president and public information officer. [Read more…]

ORFD: After Y-12 refuses wet nitric acid package, FedEx driver finds leak

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FedEx Nitric Acid Spill

Workers from a commercial cleanup company place a leaking nitric acid package in a secure container along Administration Road on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by Tom Scott)

The cardboard container contained one liter of nitric acid, and the delivery had been refused at the Y-12 National Security Complex because the bottom of the package was wet, the FedEx driver told Oak Ridge firefighters.

The delivery driver checked the 11-pound package at his next stop, and he found fluid leaking out of it and immediately called 911, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said in a Tuesday afternoon statement. [Read more…]

Police officers remembered, sworn in, honored, promoted during Memorial Day ceremony

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Oak Ridge Peace Officer Memorial Day Ceremony

Law enforcement officers from the Oak Ridge Police Department and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies honor Peace Officer Memorial Day on Thursday.

Eight new Oak Ridge police officers were sworn in, two were promoted, and many were honored with new awards during a Peace Officer Memorial Day ceremony on Wednesday.

The annual May 15 ceremony is part of National Police Week, and it pays tribute to local, state, and federal peace officers, including those who died on the job.

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said more than 20,000 officers have died while working since 1792, and on average, one is killed every 57 hours.

Last year, 127 died, and so far this year, 50 have been killed.

“Your unsung work is what binds us all together,” Akagi told several dozen officers gathered outside the Oak Ridge Municipal Building on a warm, sunny Wednesday afternoon. [Read more…]

About 100 people evacuated after pickup ruptures apartment gas line

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Broadway Apartments Gas Leak

The Broadway Apartments on East Madison Road were evacuated Friday morning after a pickup truck rolled down a small hill and ruptured a two-inch gas line. (Photo by Tom Scott)

Emergency workers started evacuating about 100 people at an apartment complex and day care center on Friday morning after a pickup truck ruptured a two-inch natural gas line in central Oak Ridge.

The apparently unoccupied pickup truck, which might have popped out of gear, rolled down a small hill at Broadway Apartments on East Madison Road and into a gas meter, which was attached to the gas line, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said.

“It made a pretty significant leak,” he said. [Read more…]

Crime task force searches Carver Avenue home, allegedly seizes marijuana, cash

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The Anderson County 7th Judicial District Crime Task Force searched a home at 248 Carver Avenue in Oak Ridge on Tuesday and arrested two people and  seized about two pounds of marijuana and more than $13,000 in cash, according to a press release provided by the Oak Ridge Police Department.

The release said an adult male and female were arrested, and a warrant was being sought for a third individual. [Read more…]