Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County hires Alternatives to Incarceration director

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Anderson County Detention Facility

The Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton is pictured above.

Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County is one step closer to having a full-time director for its Alternatives to Incarceration program.

Last week, the committee in charge of finding someone to head the department unanimously recommended hiring Clinton resident Mary Young to fill the position. She will be responsible for finding ways to reduce the jail population through programs that could include expanded use of electronic monitoring devices, “day reporting” (described as a way to have offenders work on community projects during the day while still sleeping in their own beds at night), and offering more classes like anger management to help offenders deal with some of the underlying issues that led to their arrests and subsequent incarcerations.

Young will operate out of the Anderson County jail and officials say that she has worked in a similar program in California. She is expected to begin work on February 2. [Read more…]

Clinton police investigating man’s death

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Information from WYSH Radio

According to a police report on file at the Clinton Police Department, investigators are looking into the death of a 36-year-old Clinton man.

The incident occurred on December 27 when Clinton Police were called to a home on Lee Lane and found 36-year-old Jason Sharp unconscious on the floor, bleeding from his mouth and not breathing.

Despite the efforts of first responders, Sharp died shortly after arriving at Methodist Medical Center. [Read more…]

Clinton robbery suspects arrested

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Clinton Police Department BadgeTwo Clinton men are in custody following a weekend convenience store robbery in Clinton, authorities said.

Clinton Police Department officers responded to the call on Sunday morning at the Git N Go Market on South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton.

A clerk told police that two men entered the store between 3 and 3:30 a.m. She said one man hit her in the head and held her down while the other removed about $255 from the cash register. Two cartons of cigarettes were also allegedly taken during the robbery, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge fire captain injured in Sunday morning fire in Claxton

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An Oak Ridge Fire Department captain was injured Sunday morning while assisting on a mutual aid assignment in the Claxton community at 134 Allen Lane, a city press release said.

“It appears that a pressure surge in the water supply caused the captain to lose his grip on a hose line that he and his firefighter were operating in the front yard of the residence,” ORFD Deputy Chief Josh Waldo said. “The nozzle on the line came back and struck the captain in the face causing serious injuries.” [Read more…]

ORFD completes firefighter training in blighted home purchased by city

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Waddell Place Firefighter Training Fire

The Oak Ridge Fire Department finished scientific and training burns on Monday, January 5, 2015, on this blighted house purchased by the City of Oak Ridge on Waddell Place. (Photos by Tom Scott)

 

The Oak Ridge Fire Department completed scientific and training burns on Monday, January 5, on a blighted house on Waddell Place.

The home was in the Highland View neighborhood in north-central Oak Ridge.

The blighted house was recently purchased by the city, which then completed asbestos abatement on the property and removed other items such as shingles, plastics, and other non-wood products to meet Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation standards for live fire training, ORFD Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said. [Read more…]

No one injured in Foxwood Circle fire in Oliver Springs on Thursday

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Foxwood Circle Smoke in Oliver Springs

Heavy smoke and fire was visible at the rear of this house on Foxwood Circle in Oliver Springs on Thursday. (Photos by Tom Scott)

 

There were no injuries in a house fire late Thursday morning on Foxwood Circle in Oliver Springs.

The Oliver Springs Fire Department was able to respond quickly—arriving within four minutes—because of a new standby program. That program uses the Fire Department’s volunteers to staff the station with firefighters to improve staffing levels and allow faster response times, said Justin Bailey, Oliver Springs assistant fire chief.

He said Thursday’s porch fire at 120 Foxwood Circle was reported at 11:50 a.m., and it extended into the home’s attic. The fire was brought under control within 30 minutes with help from the Oak Ridge Fire Department and Marlow Volunteer Fire Department through an automatic mutual-aid program. [Read more…]

ORFD responds to large fire at former Miller-Brewer Department Store in Harriman

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Miller-Brewer Department Store Fire at Harriman

Several fire departments, including Oak Ridge, battle a blaze on Thursday, January 9, at a vacant building in Harriman that once housed the Miller-Brewer Department Store. (Photos by Tom Scott)

 

Several local fire departments, including Oak Ridge’s, battled a blaze on Thursday, January 9, at a vacant building in Harriman that once housed the Miller-Brewer Department Store at the corner of North Roane Street and Crescent Street.

The fire was reported at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

The large building has three stories and a basement, and it has been vacant for 15 years or so, according to spectators. [Read more…]

Fire at Clinton Towers injures none, displaces 30

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Information from WYSH Radio

What was described as a “room and content” fire at the Clinton Towers on Seivers Boulevard on Wednesday night caused some damage and displaced about 30 residents.

The fire was reported at around 11 p.m. inside a room on the second floor. No one was injured.

Clinton Fire Chief Archie Brummitt said the sprinkler system inside the room “did its job,” allowing firefighters to completely extinguish the blaze within just a few minutes of their arrival. But he described the room as a “total loss.” [Read more…]

Traffic delays expected in Anderson County during presidential visit Friday

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President Obama and Vice President Biden in Limo July 21, 2010

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden ride in the motorcade from the White House to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 2010, to sign the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza) 

There will be some traffic delays in Anderson County on Friday because the presidential motorcade will be traveling through the county, including the cities of Oak Ridge and Clinton, authorities said.

But the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said it cannot release the times, the motorcade route, or the duration of the traffic delays.

“We also cannot release any other information concerning this event,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

The City of Oak Ridge also announced Thursday that traffic in Oak Ridge could be disrupted during the Friday afternoon visit to west Knox County and Clinton by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Biden’s wife Jill. [Read more…]

Former TBI fugitive charged with kidnapping, murder of missing Campbell County woman

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Lonnie Vann

Lonnie Vann

KNOXVILLE–A former Top 10 fugitive who had been wanted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for armed robbery has now been charged with killing a woman who had been reported missing in Campbell County more than a month ago.

Lonnie Lee Vann, 44, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of kidnapping, the TBI said in a press release Wednesday, the same day a Campbell County grand jury returned the indictments.

At the request of 8th District Attorney General Jared Effler, TBI special agents, helped by investigators from the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in East Tennessee, began investigating the disappearance of Rhonda Daugherty on December 4. The 49-year woman went missing from her home on December 2. [Read more…]

Former IHOP server suspected of taking money by changing credit card receipts

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A former server at IHOP Restaurant in Oak Ridge is suspected of taking an unknown amount of money from customers by changing the tip amounts on several credit card and debit card receipts, authorities said.

The suspected thefts occurred between October 1 and December 28, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said.

It’s not clear how much money might have been taken during a period estimated to be about two months. ORPD Officer Garrett L. Robbins reported that the IHOP regional manager who reported the suspected theft is still calculating how much might have been taken.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

AC, Clinton schools closing early Friday; police prepare for presidential visit

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President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama

Schools in Clinton and Anderson County will close early on Friday so buses can miss the traffic congestion and closed roads that are expected when President Barack Obama visits.

Dozens of intersections along the motorcade’s expected route will have to be covered, Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough told WYSH Radio.

Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Biden’s wife Jill will visit Clinton manufacturer Techmer PM after the president speaks at Pellissippi State Community College in west Knox County. The visit to Clinton will be the first for a president. [Read more…]