Oak Ridge Today

Guest column: The last insult

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

By Joan Berry and District Attorney General Dave Clark

The law in Tennessee has recently changed in a way that insults the memory of murder victims. Not a single photo of a victim prior to their murder is allowed to be shown during their killer’s trial. This problem needs to be solved, and voters can help.

Sadly, the gruesome photos of a corpse are the only presence homicide victims are granted during a trial. The defendant is allowed to be present and to be “cleaned up” and “dressed up” for the jury; but no picture of the victim can be presented.

For decades, it was a common practice for prosecutors to introduce into evidence a reasonable likeness of the victim prior to their murder in addition to crime scene photos. However, due to recent high-court rulings, trial judges now do not allow the practice for fear of having a verdict overturned. [Read more…]

Fire damages home on Old Harriman Highway

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Old Harriman Highway Fire

A fire early Sunday morning damaged a home on Old Harriman Highway in Roane County. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

A fire caused heavy damage to a large, one-story house on Old Harriman Highway early Sunday morning.

The fire was reported at 883 Old Harriman Highway at 3:40 a.m. Sunday, March 22.

The house was in the Blair Fire Department’s district. The Oliver Springs Fire Department, the Midtown Fire Department, and the Roane County Office of Emergency Services responded with a total of seven engine/tankers and two rescue units. The Anderson County Emergency Services sent a medic unit, and a Harriman Utilities Board crew cut the power to the house, which was heavily damaged, fire photographer Tom Scott said. [Read more…]

Marlow Fire Department has fundraising chili supper, dessert auction on Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Marlow Volunteer Fire Department

The Marlow Volunteer Fire Department will have a Community All-You-Can-Eat Chili Supper and Dessert Auction at Grand Oaks Elementary School on Saturday, March 21.

Chili, drinks, and hot dogs with all the trimmings will be served starting at 6 p.m.

Auctioneer Bear Stephenson will oversee the 7 p.m. auction of homemade desserts provided by Marlow volunteers, along with gift cards donated by local businesses. [Read more…]

Fires destroy vacant Marlow home, Medford storage building

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

A vacant home in the Marlow community was destroyed by a fire Monday afternoon.

The property owner told Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies and firefighters that the house at 143 Talley Lane had been vacant for eight years after a previous fire destroyed much of the structure. She said her son had been cleaning the property the previous day and had started a burn pile about 50 feet from the home to get rid of trash and wood from inside the building. [Read more…]

IRS tax scam reported again in Anderson County

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The IRS scam has been reported again in Anderson County, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.

“Scammers are making calls threatening arrest for not paying taxes or similar ploys to obtain money from unsuspecting citizens,” Lucas said. “The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department warns everyone not to fall victim to these frauds and scams.

“Please be aware the IRS does not make such calls.” [Read more…]

Letter: What is a volunteer firefighter?

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

Question: What is a volunteer firefighter?

Answer: A volunteer firefighter is no different then those who get paid to do this job. In fact, when you think about those who work in the paid fire services, they too are technically a “volunteer” because nobody held a gun to their head and told them they have to do that job.

Every firefighter must remember that the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards do not differentiate between paid firefighters and volunteer firefighters in relation to who has to comply with what standards. Every firefighter is expected to do the job safely, quickly, and efficiently so that lives can be saved, property can be salvaged, and our communities are protected. [Read more…]

THP: Man killed, boy injured in Wednesday crash

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

A Heiskell man was killed and a 12-year-old boy was injured in a single-vehicle crash last week, according to a report released Sunday by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Ronald Henderson, 65, of Heiskell was not wearing a seat belt when his 1994 Ford Mustang ran off the road and struck a utility pole Wednesday morning, according to the THP. The investigating trooper indicated in his report that a seat belt could have saved Henderson’s life. [Read more…]

Centennial Golf Course Clubhouse burglary suspect arrested

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Christopher John Queen

Christopher John Queen

A former employee at Centennial Golf Course has been charged with one count of burglary in an alleged clubhouse burglary, authorities said.

Oak Ridge Police Department officers Grant Gouldie and Ben Higgins responded to the burglary call at the Centennial Golf Course Clubhouse on Centennial Bluff Boulevard at about 12:04 a.m. March 9, a press release said. They found that a glass door had been shattered, and a set of golf clubs was missing.

Golf course employees who arrived to turn off the alarm were also interviewed, and video images of the burglary was reviewed and a suspect identified, the release said. [Read more…]

Violent sex offender arrested after church reports theft, city says

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Gregory Scott Tyree

Gregory Scott Tyree

Oak Ridge police officers arrested a violent sex offender after a church alleged that he stole mail, officials said Friday.

The Oak Ridge Police Department was dispatched to the Heritage Fellowship Church on North Illinois Avenue at 8:50 a.m. Tuesday to respond to a report of mail theft, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

ORPD Sergeant Robert Pitts located the suspect, Gregory Scott Tyree, 48, of Oak Ridge fleeing westbound on Robertsville Road near Willow Brook Elementary School, the press release said. Pitts also recovered evidence along Robertsville Road across from Robertsville Middle School with the help of the pastor who witnessed the theft and followed the suspect, the release said. [Read more…]

Former jailer indicted on charge of assaulting an inmate

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Dustin McCoig

Dustin McCoig

A former corrections corporal with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on an assault charge after allegedly hitting an inmate, authorities said Wednesday.

Joshua Bryant, a prisoner at the jail, alleged that he was struck by the former corporal, Dustin McCoig, on October 22, 2014, while he was an inmate and while McCoig was at work and on duty at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release.

Bryant and his family reported the incident, and an internal affairs investigation was launched, Clark said. The Sheriff’s Department presented the case to Clark, who in turn presented it to the Grand Jury on March 3. [Read more…]

Former nurse indicted on false report charge in prisoner death

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Billy Joe Brockman

Billy Joe Brockman

A former nurse at the Anderson County Detention Facility has been charged with filing a false report in the death of a prisoner in July 2014, authorities said.

An autopsy revealed that the prisoner, Christopher C. Sullivan, died accidentally from a combination of alcohol and morphine, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release.

An indictment against the former nurse, Billy Joe Brockman, 49, of Clinton, “indicates that he unlawfully reported to Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigators that he had measured and recorded the vital signs of Christopher C. Sullivan while knowing that he had, in fact, not measured or recorded the information,” Clark said. [Read more…]

Sheriff: Two arrested on child sexual abuse offenses

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Gerald Wayne Condon

Gerald Wayne Condon

Two East Tennessee men have been arrested in separate, unrelated cases of child sexual abuse after indictments by the Anderson County Grand Jury, authorities said Wednesday.

Gerald Wayne Condon, 44, of Maryville, and Roger Dale Lindsay, 50, of Clinton, were charged after two investigations by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Criminal Investigations Unit.

Condon was indicted on 25 counts of child sexual abuse offenses on one underage victim that occurred during the last four years, Sheriff Paul White said in a press release. Condon was arrested on Tuesday, March 10, and has been released after posting $100,000 bond. [Read more…]