Oak Ridge Today

Protesters want life, liberty, justice

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Civil rights leader Reverend Harold Middlebrook tells Black Lives Matter protesters in Clinton on Thursday, June 11, 2020, that the movement will require more than a march. (Photo by John Huotari/oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—Civil rights pioneer Anna Theresser Caswell asked people to not hate.

Civil rights leader Reverend Harold Middlebrook told local Black Lives Matters protesters that the movement will require more than a march.

Caswell and Middlebrook were two of about a dozen speakers at a Black Lives Matter march and protest that started at the Clinton football field and ended at Clinton Middle School on Thursday. Several hundred people attended.

Clinton Middle School is where the high school used to be. It was desegregated more than 60 years ago. It’s reported to have been the first high school in the South to desegregate under the U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954.

Caswell, 77, was one of the 12 Black teenagers who walked down from Green McAdoo School on Foley Hill and desegregated the old Clinton High School, which had been all-white, on August 27, 1956.

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Clinton 12 invited to march with BLM protesters

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Members of the Clinton 12 have been invited to march with Black Lives Matter protesters in Clinton this evening (Thursday, June 11).

The Clinton 12 were the 12 black teenagers who integrated Clinton High School in the fall of 1956, braving threats of violence, after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Organizer Trevor King, who organized a peaceful protest in Oak Ridge last week, said marchers in Clinton are scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. at the football field at 250 West Broad Street.

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Black bear seen in east Oak Ridge

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At lunchtime Wednesday, June 10, 2020, the Oak Ridge Police Department received a call from the Rivers Run Boulevard area, reporting that a bear had been spotted in a resident’s yard through a Ring doorbell. The bear was not aggressive, and officers were unable to locate the bear, the ORPD said. (Photo courtesy ORPD)

A black bear was seen in east Oak Ridge early Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department received a call about the bear at 12:35 p.m. Wednesday. The bear had been seen in a resident’s yard through a Ring doorbell.

The bear was not aggressive, the ORPD said. Officers were unable to locate the bear.

Here’s what the ORPD said you should do if you encounter a bear in your neighborhood:

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More than 1,000 protest for equality, police reforms, end of racism

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Hundreds of people march from Oak Ridge High School to the Civic Center for a Black Lives Matter protest on Tuesday afternoon, June 2, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. June 11.

More than 1,000 people marched and protested in Oak Ridge last week, asking for equal treatment for black people.

They said the nation is obligated to fight systemic racism, racial inequality, and police brutality. They want to live without fear. They advocated for police reforms, accountability, and the use of de-escalation tactics.

Protesters hope to end 400 years of oppression that started with slavery in America in 1619 and continued after the Civil War with attacks on black people, lynchings, the Ku Klux Klan, segregation, discrimination, and racism. That oppression has been felt in Oak Ridge, and some young adults and teenagers said they have experienced or witnessed racism.

Protesters said they were angry, upset, and frustrated. They called the death of George Floyd while he was detained by police in Minneapolis last month a murder. They recalled the deaths of other black men and boys, some killed by police and others by citizens. They acknowledged that there are many good police officers, but they condemned police officers who they said hide behind their badges to do wicked deeds.

“Enough is enough,” protesters said. “We are done dying.”

Hundreds of people meet at Oak Ridge High School before marching to Oak Ridge Civic Center for a Black Lives Matter protest on Tuesday afternoon, June 2, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Protesters met at Oak Ridge High School Tuesday afternoon, June 2, and marched to the Oak Ridge Civic Center. They carried signs and wore T-shirts that said “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe.” They chanted “No justice, no peace” and, led by organizer Trevor King, “Make racism illegal.” Silence is compliance, the protesters said, and silence in the face of evil is itself evil.

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Driver, passenger identified in fatal crash

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The passenger who died in a crash on State Route 95 on Wednesday has been identified as Ricky L. Crabtree, 39, of Oak Ridge.

The driver, who is Crabtree’s brother, has been identified as Rusty A. Crabtree, 37, also of Oak Ridge.

The crash was reported at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday on SR 95 just south of Bethel Valley Road, the western entrance to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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ORPD investigating fatal crash on SR 95 near Bethel Valley

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The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a fatal crash of a vehicle into a tree on Wednesday on State Route 95 just south of Bethel Valley Road.

When they arrived, police officers found a 39-year-old male passenger who was pronounced dead on the scene, a press release said. The driver was taken to Methodist Medical Center with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

Identification of the male passenger is being withheld until relatives have been notified, the press release said.

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Man charged with attempted murder after stabbing

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An Oak Ridge man has been charged with attempted murder after a stabbing was reported early Monday.

Jordan Young, 33, was charged with attempted second-degree murder, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

The warrants said the stabbing was reported on Utica Circle at about 4:24 a.m. Monday.

Police learned that a man had been stabbed multiple times in the abdomen and leg, the warrants said. Friends had taken him to the hospital.

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Man charged with attempted murder after woman shot in face

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An Oak Ridge man has been charged with attempted murder and attempted robbery after a woman was allegedly shot in the face on May 20 while the man allegedly tried to take her vehicle.

Miccarrow D. Trice Jr., 25, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and attempted especially aggravated robbery.

The charges were filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on May 21. Trice’s bond has been set at $175,000.

The shooting was reported at Manhattan Apartments on North Purdue Avenue at about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, May 20.

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Police investigating after female shot in face

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A female was shot in the face at the Manhattan Apartments on Wednesday night, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

The shooting was reported at about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, the ORPD said.

When officers arrived, they found a female victim with a gunshot wound in her face, police said. The female was taken to a local hospital to be treated.

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ACSO asks for help identifying person who died in apparent suicide

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help identifying a person who died in an apparent suicide.

The Sheriff’s Office responded to Bacon Springs Lane in Marlow, just north of Oak Ridge, at 3:52 p.m. Sunday.

A family had been walking in the area when they found a human skull, said Tyler Mayes, ACSO spokesperson and director of administrative services.

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AC EMS responds to suspected COVID-19 cases, call volume drops

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Photo courtesy Anderson County EMS

As of Tuesday, Anderson County Emergency Medical Services had responded to more than 40 suspected COVID-19 calls since mid-March, Director Nathan Sweet said last week.

As of Tuesday, only one patient transported by Anderson County EMS had tested positive for COVID-19, Sweet said.

The suspected COVID-19 calls have come from across Anderson County: Oak Ridge, Norris, Clinton, Rocky Top, Marlow, Medford—”really just about anywhere in the county,” Sweet said.

The suspected COVID-19 calls are being screened by 911 emergency call centers in Anderson County, Clinton, and Oak Ridge to better prepare emergency responders before they arrive at the call site.

“If they meet any of the screening criteria, our crews are responding in appropriate personal protective equipment as a precaution for safety,” Sweet said.

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Jail population down, mostly due to COVID-19

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Anderson County Detention Facility
The Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton is pictured above.

The number of inmates at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton has fallen significantly, mostly due to COVID-19, a law enforcement official said last week.

On Wednesday, there were 297 inmates at the jail, which was more than 100 inmates below the average, said Tyler Mayes, director of administrative services for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

“This is predominantly a result of COVID-19,” Mayes said. COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

No one had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday, Mayes said.

He said local jails across Tennessee are seeing similar reductions in the number of inmates as low risk, non-violent offenders are being placed on pre-trail supervision or being released on a low bond.

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