Oak Ridge Today

Our Hero, #14: Brayden a ‘lively boy,’ attended Woodland, organs to be donated

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Brayden Keith Pearson

Brayden Pearson, Our Hero #14 (Submitted photo)

By Sara VanLandingham

On Saturday, June 21, while swimming at Clark Park in Oak Ridge, Brayden Keith Pearson, age 8, began having trouble while snorkeling and was removed from the lake. Family and friends performed CPR, and 911 was called. Oak Ridge Fire and Police Departments responded. The fire department took over life-saving operations and Brayden was flown via UT Life Star to Children’s Hospital. Despite rescue companies’ life-saving efforts, Brayden was pronounced dead at 11:35 a.m. on Monday, June 23, but remained on life support.

Brayden was a lively little boy who attended Woodland Elementary School and played as #14 Boys and Girls Club of America Little League team. The family has decided the best way to continue Brayden’s zest for life is through organ donation to children currently in need. The family asks that anyone wishing to support them please donate to the Brayden Medical Fund at youcaring.com or directly to Children’s Hospital in Brayden’s name.

Due to the enormous outpouring of support, the family will be holding a public memorial service at Click Funeral Home on Middlebrook Pike. Arrangements to be announced or more info can be seen by visiting http://www.clickfuneralhome.com. Anyone planning to participate in the funeral procession is asked to contact Click funeral home directly for time, location, and instructions on lining up. [Read more…]

Police arrest driver who resisted officer, hit steel post at Rocky Top

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Rocky Top Steel Pole Damage

Police have arrested the Knoxville man who resisted an officer at a Rocky Top convenience store early Tuesday morning before hitting this steel pole in the gas station’s parking lot.

 

Knox County and Oak Ridge officers have arrested the Knoxville man who resisted an officer before he accelerated toward a Rocky Top store and hit a steel pole in the gas station’s parking lot early Tuesday morning, authorities said.

Sherrius Smith, 20, was arrested at an apartment on West Vista Ridge Way in Knoxville at about 11:10 a.m. Tuesday by members of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Division and Oak Ridge Police Department Special Projects Unit, the ORPD said in a press release. He was transferred to the ORPD, which is taking him to the Anderson County Detention Center in Clinton, where he will face the following charges, a press release said:

  • two counts of aggravated assault,
  • possession of schedule VI controlled substances for resale, [Read more…]

Man who allegedly fired pistol charged with aggravated assault

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Wakefield Road Police Standoff

A man who allegedly shot one round from a pistol during a disturbance in a parking lot at an apartment complex on Wakefield Road on Monday has been charged with six counts of aggravated assault and one count of reckless endangerment, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. A woman has been charged with tampering with evidence.

 

An Oak Ridge man who allegedly fired one shot from a pistol during a disturbance in a parking lot on Wakefield Road on Monday has been charged with six counts of aggravated assault and one count of reckless endangerment, authorities said.

Police responded to the disturbance call, which involved several people, at an apartment complex at 105 Wakefield Road at about 7:40 p.m. Monday, an Oak Ridge Police Department press release said. During the disturbance, a man allegedly fired one shot from a pistol, the release said.

Before officers arrived, witnesses said, the suspect entered Apartment #E, and he possessed a second firearm, the press release said. ORPD officers arrived and set up a perimeter around the apartment building. [Read more…]

Police: Man flees after driving toward store, hitting steel post in parking lot

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Oak Ridge Police Department Logo

A Knoxville man fled after resisting an officer, driving toward Rocky Top Convenience Store on Oak Ridge Turnpike, and hitting a steel post in the gas station’s parking lot early Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department is still searching for the man, identified as Sherrius Smith, 20, of Viking Road in Knoxville. Officers are also searching for a 17-year-old female who was in the car with Smith.

Two ORPD officers responded to Rocky Top at about 1:40 a.m. Tuesday to investigate a suspicious black sedan in the parking lot, occupied by Smith and the juvenile, a press release said. Smith and the juvenile were reportedly intoxicated and had been involved in a verbal disturbance earlier after exiting the store, the ORPD said in the release. [Read more…]

Woodland student pulled from water Saturday dies Monday, school official says

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The fourth-grade student pulled from the water at Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon died on Monday, a school official said.

Brayden Pearson was a student at Woodland Elementary School, said Keys Fillauer, Oak Ridge Board of Education chair. The school board observed a moment of silence for Pearson during a Monday evening meeting.

Pearson was found underwater while swimming with his family at a picnic area at the park around 4 p.m. Saturday, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. He was not conscious, Kerley said.

CPR was started, and Pearson was flown by a Lifestar medical helicopter to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville, where he had a pulse on Saturday afternoon and was moved into Intensive Care, Kerley said.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Man shows handgun, fires one shot before surrendering as SWAT team arrives

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Wakefield Road Police Standoff

A man who had allegedly brandished a firearm inside an apartment and shot one round outside before barricading himself inside a Wakefield Road apartment surrendered as an Oak Ridge Police Department SWAT team arrived Monday evening, authorities said.

 

A man who allegedly brandished a firearm inside an apartment and fired one round outside before barricading himself inside a Wakefield Road home surrendered to Oak Ridge police officers as a SWAT team arrived Monday evening, authorities said.

The unidentified man allegedly entered the apartment at Wakefield Road Townhomes and Apartments and brandished the firearm with several people inside, Oak Ridge Police Department Lt. Matt Tedford said. A fight ensued, Tedford said.

The man fired one round outside, but it was not aimed at anyone, police said.

After the man barricaded himself inside his apartment, police set up a perimeter and started negotiations. The SWAT team was notified, and the man decided to come out of his apartment as the SWAT team arrived, Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. [Read more…]

Police watch for speeding, texting, impaired drivers in Operation Drive Safe

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Oak Ridge Police Department Logo

The Oak Ridge Police Department is looking for drivers who are speeding, texting, or driving while impaired in a focused traffic enforcement operation that started June 18 and continues through Labor Day weekend, a press release said.

It’s called Operation Drive Safe, and it will be conducted on Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue. Police are also looking for other traffic-related violations and watching for drivers who do not yield to pedestrians within a crosswalk.

“The Oak Ridge Police Department wants everyone to have a safe summer and share the road whether it’s with another vehicle, cyclist, or pedestrian,” a press release said.

Boy flown to Children’s Hospital after near-drowning at Clark Center Park

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After family members and emergency responders started CPR, a boy who had gone missing while swimming at Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon was flown by medical helicopter to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville, authorities said.

On Sunday afternoon, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said he didn’t know the current condition of the boy, who might be about eight years old.

The boy had been moved to Intensive Care at Children’s Hospital, Kerley said.

“That’s all we know at the moment,” he said.

The chief said the family had been swimming about 150 feet away from the beach at a picnic area at Clark Center Park when relatives noticed the boy was gone. They started CPR when they found him and called 911. The Oak Ridge police and fire departments responded and continued CPR. Anderson County Emergency Medical Services transported the boy to the Lifestar medical helicopter, which picked up the child at a softball field at the park. [Read more…]

Clinton to receive Municipal League award for police service

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Clinton Police Department Badge

Clinton will receive a Tennessee Municipal League award for police service during a conference in Chattanooga on Tuesday, a press release said.

The 2014 Tennessee Municipal League Achievement Award for Excellence in Police Service will be presented at 8 a.m. Tuesday during TML’s 75th Annual Conference at the Chattanooga Convention Center in Chattanooga.

The award is being presented in recognition of the city’s efforts to provide a model police department to the community, the release said.

“A culture of planning, caring and excellence; it’s what takes a municipal Police Department from ordinary to outstanding,” the release said. “And the Clinton Police Department is all that. A model of efficiency and outreach, officers—several with advanced specialty degrees—strive to provide the utmost in community service and training to area schools and other agencies, while being good stewards of the community resources. An extraordinary focus on communication among the department’s command staff is reflected in the city’s reduction in crime rate.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge: Pets, hot cars are a killer combination

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Oak Ridge Police Department Logo

Every year, the Oak Ridge Police Department receives numerous calls about pets left in parked cars during hot weather.

People may believe that a quick stop will not harm their pet. However, in those few minutes, the temperature in the car can reach 115 degrees on an 85 degree day, even with the windows cracked.

Dogs and cats cool themselves by panting and by releasing heat through their paws. On summer days, the air and upholstery in a vehicle can heat up to high temperatures that make it impossible for pets to cool themselves. [Read more…]

Guest column: D.A.R.E. graduates 395 students

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DARE Logo

By Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Mark Whaley

The 2013/2014 Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program finished its instruction at the end of the school year. A total of 395 students successfully completed the curriculum. Each student earned a certificate of completion and was awarded a special D.A.R.E. T-shirt as an award.

For the first time, we were asked to start D.A.R.E. classes at the Clinch River Community School, where we introduced the program to the fifth and sixth grade students. The primary focus of this year’s D.A.R.E. classes was peer pressure and how important it is to make good choices. [Read more…]

Guest column: Anderson communications center very busy during Tuesday storm

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Anderson County Commission and Mark Lucas

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas is pictured above at right during a special County Commission meeting in November. Also pictured are Anderson County Commissioners Rick Meredith, center, and Jerry White.

To All:

(Tuesday) evening was very, very busy. From 3 p.m. until 11 p.m., our communications center received 589 telephone calls, of which 143 were on 911. The overwhelming number of calls were between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., when 365 calls came to our dispatch center. Of these 365 calls, 109 were on 911.

Comparing to last Tuesday from 3 p.m. until 11 p.m., we received 156 total telephone calls, of which 20 were on 911. The two-hour period from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. last week was only 41 total calls, of which five were on 911.

For the entire shift from 3 p.m. until 11 p.m., that was a 288 percent increase. For the two hours from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., the increase was 790 percent.

We had four communications officers working (Tuesday) when the storm hit. A fifth came into work on her own to help out. Many of these 911 and non-emergency calls required dispatching of emergency personnel from law enforcement, fire, or EMS. Others required notifications to the state and county highway departments and the utility companies. It was non-stop for hours. [Read more…]