A new federal designation for Anderson County will mean more federal funding for the county’s drug and violent crime task force and a full-time agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Anderson County is now a high-intensity drug trafficking area, or HIDTA. That designation came from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. It occurred in September and will go into effect January 1.
As part of a two-part announcement this month, law enforcement officials said the White House also selected the county’s task force, the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, as an Appalachia HIDTA, or AHIDTA. It’s the only locally led drug task force in Tennessee, according to Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. The county’s Crime Task Force, or CTF, is led by Director Simon Byrne.
“No other drug task force in Tennessee has been awarded an AHIDTA grant,” Clark said. “I am very proud of our leadership team for thinking outside of the box and in looking for smart ways to make our communities safer as well as be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. We are more excited than we can convey, but in short believe that this development has the potential to be transformative as to what we are able to do in Anderson County to protect and serve our communities.”
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Anderson County is participating in the 16th Annual DEA Rx Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 26. Community members can bring their expired or unused medicines to one of the Anderson County Take Back locations anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday.
Collection sites will be located at the police departments listed below. Each department will be set up outside in their respective parking lots to receive the expired or unused medicines.
The National Rx Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue, a press release said. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs, and that number has continued to climb in recent years. Studies show many of the misused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. The Take Back Day provides an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths in the community and communities across the United States.
[Read more…]The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the fatal crash of a small aircraft near Oliver Springs Airport on Saturday.
The crash of the experimental light sport aircraft was reported at about 5:18 p.m. Saturday near Smith Road. That’s just east of the airport and on the other side of a tree line, according to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department report.
The Quicksilver MXII had crashed into a field, and its nose was down into the ground, ACSD Sergeant Kenneth L. Bradley wrote in the report.
The pilot who died has been identified as Patrick Lucas, 45, of Morristown. He appeared to be the only occupant of the aircraft, the report said.
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Roughly an ounce of methamphetamine and other narcotics were found during Friday morning searches on Ridgeview Drive in Oliver Springs, law enforcement officers said.
The searches were led by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, which had three search warrants. The search operation included the CTF, Oliver Springs Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, and Oak Ridge Police Department, a press release said.
ACSO and ORPD SWAT executed two of the three search warrants at the same time, the press release said. The third search warrant was executed shortly after the first two were clear, the release said.
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The Oliver Springs Police Department arrested a 22-year-old man on Tuesday after investigating store burglaries, a home burglary, and a vehicle theft, police said Wednesday.
The OSPD investigated a report of a vehicle theft at 1410 East Tri County Boulevard on Sunday, May 12, and a burglary at Oscars Market at 1304 East Tri County Boulevard on Tuesday, May 14, the department said in a press release sent by Police Chief Kenneth Morgan.
During the investigation, police officers followed up on information that led to a suspect identified as Marcus Lively, 22, of Oliver Springs, the press release said.
“The investigation suggested that Mr. Lively was responsible for both incidents inside the city as well as a burglary of Gingers Market in the Briceville area of Anderson County,” the press release said.
[Read more…]ASAP of Anderson and police departments in Anderson County have formed a partnership to take back expired or unused medicines on Saturday.
It’s part of the 2019 Drug Enforcement Administration Rx Drug Take Back Day.
“Community members can bring their expired or unused medicines to one of the Anderson County Take Back locations anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. this Saturday,” a press release said.
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CSX said it held train traffic out of the area during a brush and grass fire near the railroad tracks in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019. This view is looking north toward Elza Drive. The line at right crosses over Elza Drive. The line at left is now partially dismantled, and it ran through east Oak Ridge, past Jefferson Middle School, and to Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)
CSX said it held train traffic out of the area during a brush and grass fire near the railroad tracks in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.
The large fire was reported at about 3:30 p.m. Friday along the railroad tracks south of Elza Drive, just east of Elza Gate Park. The fire burned grass on the side of a steep embankment supporting the railroad tracks that cross over Elza Drive. It also appeared to spread to nearby brush and grass near an unused rail line that splits off near the Clinch River to enter east Oak Ridge at Melton Lake Drive. The fire sent up a large plume of black and gray smoke that was visible for miles.
“Flames were moving quickly, fueled by strong winds and excess brush in the area,” the Oak Ridge Fire Department said.
CSX and the City of Oak Ridge said the cause of Friday’s fire remains under investigation. The Oak Ridge Fire Department said it believes the fire was unintentional. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Fire Department and other departments helped Oliver Springs fight this fire on West Tri County Boulevard early Wednesday, March 5, 2019. (Photo by Tom Scott)
The Oak Ridge Fire Department responded to help fight a fire in Oliver Springs last week.
The fire was reported at about 1 a.m. Wednesday, March 5, in a building in the 900 block of West Tri County Boulevard, said fire photographer Tom Scott.
The initial response was by the Oliver Springs Fire Department, followed by the Marlow, Blair, and Oak Ridge fire departments on a mutual aid request, Scott said. [Read more…]
Note: This story was updated at 11:15 a.m. Jan. 22.
Information from WYSH Radio
A head-on collision involving a tractor-trailer in Oliver Springs on Sunday night killed one person and shut down Highway 61 leading into Oliver Springs for about 22 hours while crews cleaned up debris.
The Oliver Springs Police Department said that the fatal crash happened when a tractor-trailer dump truck was struck head-on by a car that crossed over the center line. The collision sent the tractor-trailer off the road and down an embankment, where it overturned and spilled diesel fuel and its cargo of sand. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office and several other agencies responded to a New Year’s Eve party where underage teen drinking and drug use were occurring early on New Year’s Day, and deputies said several partygoers needed medical attention.
In a press release, Morgan County Sheriff’s Office Captain Mike Wren said Morgan County dispatchers had received a call transferred from the Anderson County 911 Center at around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday in which someone reported a “large number of teenagers drinking and using drugs at remote property in ‘The Cove,’ a community located near Oliver Springs, just inside the Morgan County line.”
Sheriff Wayne Potter and several deputies responded to the location on Cove Lane, and they saw 15 to 20 people immediately run off into the woods. Another 25 to 30 people were found in what was described as an “open structure” on the property.
Officers immediately noticed that the majority of them were impaired and that there were numerous containers of alcohol also in the structure. Four people were immediately taken by ambulance to a hospital, including an unconscious 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy who was in “physical distress.” [Read more…]
Note: This story was updated at 1:05 p.m.
Airport Road and Midway Drive in Oliver Springs have closed due to flooding, and weather forecasters have issued a flash flood watch for the area.
Airport Road, which is on the east side of Oliver Springs, frequently floods during heavy, prolonged rains, and drivers sometimes get stuck there when they try to drive through the water, which can be high and moving fast.
A flash flood watch is in effect until 1 p.m. Friday in Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Knoxville, and Anderson, Morgan and Roane counties, among other communities, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown. Heavy rain continues today (Friday, December 28), with flooding possible, forecasters said. [Read more…]
