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TVA: Suspect shoots at security officer at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, officer shoots back

Posted at 9:14 am April 21, 2013
By John Huotari 4 Comments

Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

An unidentified suspect fired on a security officer at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant near Spring City early Sunday morning, and the officer fired back. No one was injured, and the suspect fled. (Photo courtesy of TVA)

An unidentified suspect fired multiple rounds at a security officer on patrol at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant early Sunday morning, and at least one round hit the security officer’s vehicle, an official said.

The Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear security officer fired back, also shooting multiple rounds.

The suspect appeared to have initially been on the ground but may have fled in a boat, TVA spokesman Jim Hopson said.

The shots were fired just after 2 a.m. this morning on the east side of the 1,700-acre plant, near the Tennessee River, toward the plant’s southern boundary, TVA said. The officer was several hundred yards outside the protected area where the reactor and power equipment are located. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: gunshots, Jim Hopson, NRC, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, nuclear security officer, protected area, Rhea County, Spring City, Tennessee River, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, TVA Police, unusual event, Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

Y-12 protesters submit witness list, want extra time for jury questioning

Posted at 12:00 pm April 18, 2013
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Y-12 Plowshares Protesters

Pictured above at U.S. District Court in Knoxville are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

The three protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July want to call a retired bishop, a doctor, a former U.S. attorney general, a civil rights leader, and a retired military officer and diplomat as witnesses in a Tuesday hearing and May 7 trial in Knoxville.

The proposed witnesses include former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, civil rights sit-in participant Robert Booker, doctor Ira Helfand, retired Col. Mary Annette Wright, and retired U.S. Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton.

The three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—also want six hours, and not 1.5, to question prospective jurors for their May 7 trial in U.S. District Court. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Police and Fire, Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex, Y-12 Security Breach Tagged With: Greg Boertje-Obed, hearing, Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, Ira Helfand, jury, Mary Annette Wright, Megan Rice, Michael Walli, national defense, nuclear war, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge Reservation, Ramsey Clark, Robert Booker, security, security breach, thermonuclear warheads, Thomas Gumbleton, trial, U.S. District Court, Y-12 National Security Complex

Man armed with AK-47 reportedly threatens suicide, police evacuate homes

Posted at 5:40 pm April 16, 2013
By John Huotari 2 Comments

A man reported to be armed with an AK-47 assault rifle threatened suicide at a Pratt Lane home on Monday night, prompting police to evacuate nearby homes, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department SWAT Team and a negotiator were called in, and Shayne A. Hensel, 25, surrendered more than four hours later, an ORPD press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: AK-47, Pratt Lane, Shayne A. Hensel, suicide

Boston Marathon: Local runner finishes race, hears explosions, prays for recovery

Posted at 4:56 pm April 16, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Mark Cristy

Oak Ridge resident Mark Cristy was running in the Boston Marathon on Monday when two bombs exploded near the finish line. Cristy was not injured. Above, he runs in a half marathon in New Zealand a few years ago. (Photo courtesy Mark Cristy)

Amy Viars heard the first explosion about 30 minutes after she finished the Boston Marathon on Monday.

It struck her as strange. Then, about 10 seconds later, a second explosion. It seemed out of place. Maybe it was a cannon celebrating Patriots Day or a Red Sox win.

“It just got eerily quiet,” said Viars, a Powell resident who works at Oak Ridge Associated Universities. “Everyone just got eerily silent.”

Amy and her husband James, who was there to cheer her on in her first Boston Marathon, decided to leave. About the time they started walking to their car, a quarter-mile away at the Prudential Center, they began hearing sirens. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Police and Fire, Recreation, Top Stories Tagged With: Amy Viars, blasts, Boston Marathon, explosion, Jack Stockton, Mark Cristy, Roane County Sheriff, Tara Stockton, Tim Phillips

Man charged with kidnapping after allegedly refusing to let divorcing wife leave home

Posted at 11:21 am April 16, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An Oak Ridge man was charged with kidnapping after he allegedly refused to let his divorcing wife leave his home Sunday evening, authorities said.

Jeffrey Dean Wollenslegel, 28, allegedly took his wife’s keys when she was leaving his Wade Lane home, put them in her purse in a closet, and then moved a couch in front of the closet door, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. Wollenslegel then allegedly stood in front of the woman, “not allowing her to leave the residence,” Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins said in the warrants. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County General Sessions Court, Ben Higgins, domestic assault, Jeffrey D. Wollenslegel, kidnapping, Oak Ridge Police Department, Wade Lane

Oak Ridge man admits to rape, authorities say

Posted at 11:03 am April 16, 2013
By John Huotari 5 Comments

An Oak Ridge man has admitted that he forced his girlfriend to have sex several times and that he had sex with her without her consent or knowledge while she was sleeping Friday, authorities said.

Reginald Donat Telcy, 26, was arrested Sunday. He has been charged with one count of rape. He remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Tuesday morning, and his bond has been set at $75,000. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County General Sessions Court, Ben Higgins, Oak Ridge Police Department, rape, Reginald Donat Telcy

Fallen soldier’s body escorted through Oak Ridge

Posted at 2:28 am April 13, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Salute to Christopher Michael Ward

Oak Ridge firefighters salute as Oak Ridge police and other law enforcement officers escort the body of U.S. Army soldier Christopher Michael Ward, 24, to Weatherford Mortuary. Ward died in southern Afghanistan on April 6. (Photo by Tom Scott)

Oak Ridge Police Department motorcycles and police cars helped escort the body of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Michael Ward, 24, from McGhee Tyson airport to Oak Ridge on Friday morning.

Ward, who was killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan on April 6, was taken to Weatherford Mortuary, where a receiving of friends starts at 10 a.m. Saturday before a 12 p.m. celebration of life.

Oak Ridge police had units stationed at intersections as Ward’s body was escorted through the city. Oak Ridge firefighters saluted as the hearse passed by Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue at about 10:30 a.m. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Afghanistan, Christopher Michael Ward, explosion, Joyce Ward, Oak Ridge Police Department, soldier, U.S. Army

Motel 6 fire in Clinton causes estimated $550,000 in damages

Posted at 6:59 pm April 12, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Clinton Motel 6 Fire

A fire at the Motel 6 in Clinton on Thursday afternoon caused an estimated $550,000 in damages, authorities said. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A Thursday afternoon fire at the Motel 6 in Clinton that apparently spread from a mulch bed outside the building to the roof and attic damaged at least 20 rooms and caused an estimated $550,000 damage, authorities said.

The two-story hotel is off state Highway 61 near Interstate 75. The fire was reported at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday. No one was injured.

The flames went up the side of the building and, driven by high winds, made it to the attic, where the fire burned through the roof, WYSH Radio in Clinton reported. Officials said at least 20 rooms were damaged by fire, and a large part of the rest of the building received smoke and water damage. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clinton, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Andersonville, Clinton, Clinton Fire Department, damage, fire, firefighters, Highway 61, hotel, Motel 6, mulch, Oak Ridge

Clinton pair indicted for attempted second-degree murder in New River shooting

Posted at 6:53 pm April 10, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

James Matthew Boyd

James Matthew Boyd

Rene Edith Boyd

Rene Edith Boyd

CLINTON—A Clinton man and woman have been indicted on attempted second-degree murder charges for the alleged April 2012 shooting of a man on a gas pipeline service road off New River Highway in Briceville.

James Matthew Boyd, 31, of Dutch Valley Road, and Rene Edith Boyd, 29, of Center Valley Road, were indicted April 2 and arrested Monday. They are charged in the April 14, 2012, shooting of Christopher Paul Pruett, 34, of Batley Loop Road.

When deputies arrived at the shooting scene last year, they found a white Ford Explorer that had crashed into a ditch and a man lying on his back behind the sports utility vehicle, an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report said. Deputies also spotted another man as well as a woman sitting on the ground on either side of the vehicle. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Sheriff's Department, attempted second-degree murder, Briceville, Christopher Paul Pruett, James Matthew Boyd, New River Highway, Rene Edith Boyd, Robert T. Mansfield, shooting, tampering with evidence

Report: Homeowner shoots, hits tire; burglary suspects flee, found later

Posted at 11:15 pm April 9, 2013
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Christopher Lynn Harness

Christopher Lynn Harness

Nicholas David Hedge

Nicholas David Hedge

After they allegedly drove toward him, a homeowner shot at a Ford Taurus carrying three burglary suspects leaving his Melton Hill Drive property Saturday, authorities said. He hit a tire.

But the trio was able to escape in the black car—at least temporarily, authorities said.

The three were arrested later after a search that included the Clinton Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and a Knox County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, the CPD said in a news release posted on its website. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Clinton, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated burglary, Amanda Marie Webber, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, burglary, Christopher Lynn Harness, Clinton Police Department, CPD, Greg Pearmain, Jason Stokes, John Acker, Knox County Sheriff’s Department, Melton Hill Drive, Nicholas David Hedge, Rick Scarbrough, theft

Kentucky duo arrested after alleged burglary, homeowner confrontation, police chase

Posted at 12:51 pm April 8, 2013
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Timothy Shane Petrey

Timothy Shane Petrey

Elizabeth Jane North

Elizabeth Jane North

A Kentucky man and woman were arrested after an alleged confrontation with a homeowner during a burglary on Andersonville Highway on Saturday morning and a short police chase, authorities said.

The alleged burglary at the Andersonville Highway home was discovered by the owner and a friend at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, according to a press release from Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas.

“The homeowner confronted the male suspect as he was exiting her home after the female suspect, who was sitting in a truck in the driveway, sounded the horn and yelled to the male,” Lucas said. “The male suspect and the homeowner struggled over some items that were being taken, and then he and the female suspect fled in the truck.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated burglary, Anderson County Sheriff's Dep, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Andersonville Highway, burglary, Elizabeth Jane North, felony evading arrest, Kentucky, Mark Lucas, Norris Department of Public Safety, police chase, possession of burglary tools, reckless driving, robbery, theft, Timothy Shane Petrey

Fire destroys mobile home in Marlow

Posted at 7:03 pm April 7, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Marlow Mobile Home Fire

An unoccupied mobile home was destroyed, but no one was injured in a fire early Sunday morning on Cumberland View Road in Marlow. (Photos by Tom Scott)

An unoccupied mobile home was destroyed, but no one was injured in a fire early Sunday morning on Cumberland View Road in Marlow, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 2:45 a.m. near Laurel Road, which is east of Oak Ridge and north of Highway 61.

The home was destroyed, said Stephanie Fox, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department assistant chief. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Cumberland View Road, fire, Marlow, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department, mobile home, Stephanie Fox

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