Oak Ridge Today

Anderson task force allegedly finds crack, marijuana, revolver during search

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An Anderson County task force serving a search warrant on Waltham Lane on Feb. 1 allegedly found 46.2 grams of purported cocaine base, or crack cocaine, in a kitchen drawer, authorities said.

The task force also allegedly found 8.3 grams of purported marijuana in the kitchen drawer, court records said, and a fully loaded chrome Trooper MK III 357 caliber Colt revolver was found in a master bedroom closet. A small digital scale that had allegedly had marijuana and white residue was found on the kitchen counter, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

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Teen accused of beating girlfriend’s dad, who was found unconscious

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An Oak Ridge teenager is accused of repeatedly hitting his girlfriend’s father in the face early Saturday morning, and the man was lying unconscious in a Robertsville Road yard when officers arrived, authorities said.

The man had severe injuries to his face, and his facial bones were probably fractured, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Thomas said in affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

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Oliver Springs man accused of ramming car with wife, child

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An Oliver Springs man has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault after he allegedly used his truck to ram a car containing his wife and her four-year-old daughter, authorities said.

Goman Harness, 47, and his wife had reportedly been arguing in Oliver Springs on Saturday before the wife drove away with her young daughter. While on her way home, the wife said, Harness allegedly rammed her car with his truck, causing her car to spin, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

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No one injured, home destroyed in suspicious Sunday morning fire

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Hillside Road House Fire

No one was injured in a suspicious Sunday morning fire that destroyed a home on Hillside Road, authorities said. (Photos by Tom Scott)

No one was injured, but a home was destroyed in a suspicious Sunday morning fire on Hillside Road, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said.

“It’s under investigation, but it appears to be suspicious in nature,” Kerley said.

The renters at the home were moving to Knoxville, and most of their belongings had been removed, Kerley said. The home had no power or utilities, and no one was home at the time of the fire.

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TDOT employee resigns after crash, DUI arrest in Oak Ridge

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A Tennessee Department of Transportation employee who worked in Oak Ridge resigned Thursday after he was charged with driving under the influence following a police investigation of a crash at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Louisiana Avenue on Friday, Feb. 1, officials said.

Police said William Hays Halbert, 56, of Knoxville, had been driving a state-owned 2010 Ford F150 pickup truck, but he had slurred speech and bloodshot, watery eyes, according to an affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. Halbert smelled like alcohol and appeared to be confused, and he had a hard time following directions, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Garrett L. Robbins wrote in the affidavit.

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Few months after fire, Magic Wok passes city inspections, needs one from county

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Oak Ridge Fire Department at Magic Wok

Damaged by smoke in November, the Magic Wok restaurant, which has been closed for several months, has passed all city inspections but still needs one from the county.

Several months after it was damaged by smoke, the Magic Wok restaurant has passed all city inspections, and the diner now needs an inspection from the Anderson County Health Department, Oak Ridge Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said Thursday.

The landmark Oak Ridge diner on Tyler Road passed a fire inspection Thursday morning, Waldo said.

The Magic Wok has been closed since  it was damaged by smoke in November after food was left cooking on a stove unattended. Firefighters didn’t see any flames that night, but they found smoke and high temperatures.

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No injuries, exposures in Oliver Springs sulfur dioxide leak

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Oliver Springs Sulfur Dioxide Leak

Howie Rose, director of the Roane County Office of Emergency Services, pictured at right front, briefs firefighters responding to a sulfur dioxide leak at the Oliver Springs Waste Water Treatment Plant on Joel Road on Wednesday morning. (Photos by Tom Scott)

No one was injured or exposed to sulfur dioxide in a leak at the Oliver Springs wastewater treatment plant on Wednesday, but a small group of nearby residents were asked to stay in their homes as a precaution, City Manager Tina Treece said.

The small leak from a system connected to a 150-pound cylinder of sulfur dioxide was discovered by workers who heard an alarm when they arrived at the plant on Joel Road at about 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Treece said there was no odor in the air and it turned out that the leak posed no danger, but officials wanted to make sure conditions were safe for residents and workers.

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Firefighters, animal control officers rescue horse stuck in trailer

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Oak Ridge Animal Control Officers Rescue Horse

Oak Ridge firefighters and police and animal control officers rescue a horse stuck in a trailer near Oak Ridge Turnpike and Louisiana Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. Pictured above helping the horse out of the trailer is Oak Ridge Animal Control Officer Randy Proffitt.

Oak Ridge firefighters and animal control officers rescued a horse stuck in a trailer with its hoof above its head near Oak Ridge Turnpike and Louisiana Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.

The horse was being hauled from Anderson County to Second Chance Youth Ranch in Sweetwater when it apparently put at least one hoof up on a hay loft inside the trailer and then broke through the loft, getting stuck, with its hoof stuck in the hole.

Mary Braswell was driving near the trailer at about 2:24 p.m. Wednesday. At first, she and her passenger Megan Baker thought the horse, which was moving around, was a colt because it looked small.

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Police chief tackles one of two men fleeing in vehicle, on foot

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

A police pursuit of a speeding SUV through Scarboro on Monday ended when Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi tackled one of two men who ran from the vehicle, and backup officers apprehended the second, court records said.

In affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Akagi said he was in an unmarked police car turning left onto Tulsa Road from Tusculum Drive at about 5:10 p.m. Monday when he heard screeching tires and saw a Ford Explorer approaching him from behind at high speed.

The chief said he quickly turned left onto Tulsa Road and pulled to the right to avoid being struck. The Explorer did not stop and swerved right onto Tulsa Road, Akagi said in the affidavits.

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Woman not injured, but vehicle submerged after she slides into Clinch River

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Melton Lake Drive Submerged Car

The area where a Clinton woman appears to have slid off snowy, icy Melton Lake Drive into the Clinch River on Saturday morning.

A Clinton woman escaped injury when her car slid off snowy, icy Melton Lake Drive into the Clinch River on Saturday morning, but her 2002 Nissan Pathfinder remains underwater, possibly to be pulled out of the lake later, authorities said.

Debby Hillman, 55, of Clinton was southbound on Melton Lake Drive just after 11 a.m. Saturday when she lost control of her vehicle as she tried to slow down in a curve, shifting down into second gear, an Oak Ridge Police Department crash report said. Her Pathfinder slid across the northbound lane of Melton Lake Drive and into the river north of Emory Valley Road and Melton Lake Park.

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Stufano named Roane State police chief

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Roane State Community College Police Chief

Roane State President Dr. Chris Whaley, right, swears in Tom Stufano as the college’s police chief. (Submitted photo)

Tom Stufano has been named chief of police for Roane State Community College.

Stufano has more than 30 years in law enforcement, emergency management, and crisis management planning. Most recently, he served for more than six years as the chief of staff/deputy federal coordinating officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the Southeast region.

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Three injured in Thursday car crash

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Oak Ridge Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue Accident

Three people were injured when two vehicles crashed Thursday night at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue. (Photo by Tom Scott)

Three people were injured in a two-vehicle accident at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue on Thursday night, authorities said.

The first vehicle, a 2000 Ford Taurus, was driven by Joseph Elliott Scales, an 18-year-old Oak Ridge resident. Scales said he was trying to turn left onto westbound Oak Ridge Turnpike from the northbound lanes of South Rutgers Avenue and had a green arrow during the 7:50 p.m. crash, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said.

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