Oak Ridge Today

Man allegedly starts fight, gets knife, threatens to ‘kill them all’

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Richard Carl Johnson Jr.

Richard Carl Johnson Jr.

An Oliver Springs man allegedly shoved a 13-year-old boy into a vehicle and tried to assault him Monday evening before being forced off the family’s property, but Richard Carl Johnson Jr., 48, later walked up and down a road near the family’s home while carrying a large knife, screaming, and threatening to “kill them all,” authorities said.

The boy’s father and older son had tried to stop the assault at Green Acres Trailer Park, but Johnson allegedly started swinging at them. A brief fight ensued, authorities said. Johnson was hit around his head and face “numerous times” and forced off the property and back across the street, Oliver Springs Police Department Sgt. Charles Graham said in arrest warrants. [Read more…]

Hay bailer destroyed in fire

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Hay Bailer Fire

A hay bailer was destroyed in a fire on Wednesday afternoon on Oliver Springs Highway near Batley Road. (Photo by Adam Daugherty)

A hay bailer was destroyed in a Wednesday afternoon fire on Oliver Springs Highway near Batley Road.

Hay that had been cut in the field did not burn in the 1:20 p.m. fire.

Volunteer fire departments from Marlow and Oliver Springs responded. [Read more…]

OS police allegedly find Xanax, meth, other pills during traffic stop

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The driver was sweating profusely, acting nervous, and had white powder packed into his left nostril, the Oliver Springs police officer said.

The passenger removed several handfuls of pills from her crotch and a ball of tin foil that contained an orange-colored powder that tested positive for methamphetamine, Oliver Springs Police Department Sgt. Charles Graham said. [Read more…]

WYSH: Kingston man jailed by OSPD on drug, weapons charges

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Kingston man was arrested on several drug and weapon charges Tuesday after a traffic stop in Oliver Springs.

An Oliver Springs Police Department officer pulled over a pickup driven by Glen Long Jr. of Kingston for a broken taillight at around 3:30 pm Tuesday at the intersection of Winter Gap and Main Street. The officer reported that Long appeared to be very nervous while speaking with him and that he could smell the odor of freshly-smoked marijuana coming from the cab of the truck. [Read more…]

More than 300 pounds of unused medicine collected

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Information from WYSH Radio

Local law enforcement agencies teamed up to host Operation Medicine Cabinet at four locations across the county on Saturday, and more than 300 pounds of medicine were collected.

That amount far surpassed the weight from any previous event held in the county since law enforcement agencies began collecting and disposing medicine in 2010. In all, 314.6 pounds of medicine were collected at sites in Clinton, Oak Ridge, and Oliver Springs, said Stephanie Strutner, executive director for Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention. The medications were disposed by DEA. [Read more…]

Sheriff’s Department announces enforcement partnerships to reduce traffic fatalities

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and local law enforcement agencies have announced a partnership designed to reduce traffic fatalities in East Tennessee.

In a Friday press conference at the Knoxville office of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Steve Dillard, East Tennessee Law Enforcement Liaison Officer for the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, reported an increase in fatalities last year in four East Tennessee counties: Anderson, Blount, Campbell, and Sevier. During the last five years, Anderson County alone has averaged 11 fatal crashes per year, with 13 fatal crashes in 2012, a press release said.

In response, Dillard and GHSO Director Kendall Poole outlined traffic safety activities for the next six months in the four counties. Authorities will focus on impaired and distracted drivers, and those violating speed limit and seatbelt laws. [Read more…]

Forty-two face federal charges for allegedly conspiring to make 50+ grams of meth

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Federal Meth Prosecution

Flanked by local, state, and federal law enforcement officers, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian, center, announces that 42 people, including many Anderson County residents, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine.

CLINTON—In an unprecedented case, 42 people, including many Anderson County residents, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges they conspired to make 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

U.S. Attorney William C. Killian announced the charges during a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton.

Other charges listed in a 17-count indictment filed March 19 in U.S. District Court in Knoxville include possessing the equipment, chemicals, products, and materials used to make meth; maintaining homes used to manufacture the illegal stimulant, including one residence within 1,000 feet of Claxton Elementary School; and federal firearms violations. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs school administrator arrested for DUI, placed on leave

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Oliver Springs High School administrator was arrested last week outside the roller skating rink on East Tri-County Boulevard after the Oliver Springs Police Department was called and told that a parent had arrived to pick up their child and appeared to be intoxicated.

Donna Renee Moore, 46, of Harriman, was arrested late Friday night, and the responding officer noted that she was unsteady on her feet; had red, glassy eyes; and smelled of alcohol. He also reported finding two, partially empty airplane-sized vodka bottles in her purse. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs man charged with TennCare fraud for allegedly selling morphine

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An Oliver Springs man is charged in Cumberland County with TennCare fraud for selling prescription drugs obtained by using TennCare healthcare insurance benefits.

The Office of Inspector General on Wednesday announced the arrest of James E. Hall, 50, of Oliver Springs, after a joint investigation with the Oliver Springs Police Department. Hall is charged with TennCare fraud in allegations that he filled a prescription for the painkiller morphine, later selling a portion of the pills. TennCare paid for the physician office visit where he obtained the prescription for morphine.

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Trio arrested after alleged beating in barricaded home

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An Oliver Springs man and two Clinton men charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment after an alleged beating in a barricaded home in Oliver Springs have court hearings Thursday.

The three were arrested after the Oliver Springs Police Department responded to a report of a person being held against their will and beaten in a Ridgeview Drive home at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23.

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Clinton woman dies after Friday crash in Oliver Springs

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Oliver Springs Accident

A Clinton woman died after her car veered off East Tri County Boulevard in Oliver Springs on Friday morning, went down an embankment, and flipped. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A Clinton woman died after her car veered off East Tri County Boulevard in Oliver Springs on Friday morning and flipped, authorities said.

Wanda Currier, 67, who lived on Marlow Road in Anderson County, died shortly after the crash at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs Police Department Sgt. Kevin Armes said.

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One taken to hospital after car goes down embankment, overturns

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Oliver Springs Accident

One person was taken to the hospital after a car went down a 15-foot embankment on East Tri County Boulevard in Oliver Springs on Friday morning. (Photo by Tom Scott)

One person was taken to an Oak Ridge hospital after a westbound car went down a 15-foot embankment and landed on its roof in heavy brush next to East Tri County Boulevard in Oliver Springs on Friday morning, authorities said.

Authorities aren’t releasing the name of the female driver or her condition, Oliver Springs Police Department Sgt. Kevin Armes said. She was taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]