Oak Ridge Today

Motorcyclist taken to UT Medical Center after Saturday collision

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South Illinois Avenue Motorcycle Accident

A Heiskell man was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center after a Saturday morning collision with a minivan on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A 68-year-old motorcyclist was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center after a Saturday morning collision with a car at a busy intersection in south Oak Ridge.

An Oak Ridge Police Department accident report said Roy Clifton Hall Jr., 68, of Heiskell, was riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle north on South Illinois Avenue when he hit a a Toyota minivan driven by Betty Jean Sonnenfeldt, 55, of Knoxville. The report said Sonnenfeldt was trying to turn onto Lafayette Avenue, but she did not yield to Hall.

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Report: Man drives aggressively toward police, flees at speeds near 100 mph

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Jerry Dale Allmon

Jerry Dale Allmon

An Oak Ridge man allegedly drove aggressively toward police officers at a BP gas station early Monday morning before fleeing west on Oak Ridge Turnpike in a chase that reached speeds of close to 100 mph, Anderson County court records said.

Jerry Dale Allmon, 59, allegedly ran several red lights as he fled, and he drove in the center of the road and in the middle of two traffic lanes, arrest warrants said. The Kingston Police Department apprehended him at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge, the warrants said.

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Burned pot of food triggers fire alarm, apartment evacuation

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Frank Callaghan Towers Fire

Oak Ridge firefighters evacuate the six floors of Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road on Sunday morning after a burning pot of food on a stove reportedly filled hallways with smoke.

An apparent burned pot of food on a stove on the fifth floor of an Oak Ridge apartment building filled hallways with smoke on Sunday and forced firefighters to try to evacuate tenants from all six floors, Oak Ridge Deputy Fire Chief David Harrington said.

“When they opened up the door, it filled the hallways with smoke,” Harrington said.

Firefighters tried to evacuate tenants at the Callaghan Towers apartments on Fairbanks Road because they didn’t initially know the source of the 9:45 a.m. alarm, but Harrington said he wasn’t sure how many people were evacuated.

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Small trash fire at Dean Stallings Ford extinguished Friday

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Dean Stallings Ford Fire

Firefighters respond to a small trash fire at the former Dean Stallings Ford on Friday. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A small trash fire at the former Dean Stallings Ford on Oak Ridge Turnpike was quickly extinguished Friday evening, fire photographer Tom Scott said.

The fire started at about 6:30 p.m. in a vacant building on the back half of the former dealership.

Fans were used to remove smoke from the large building, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Clinton motorcyclist in stable condition after Wednesday wreck

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UT Lifestar Helicopter

A University of Tennessee Lifestar helicopter flies Clinton motorcyclist Kevin Eric Gross to UT Medical Center in Knoxville after a Wednesday morning accident on Highway 61.

A Clinton man flown to a Knoxville hospital by a medical helicopter after a Wednesday morning motorcycle accident was listed in stable condition Thursday afternoon, a spokeswoman said.

Kevin Eric Gross, 18, was riding east on a Yamaha XV5 motorcycle on Highway 61 between Oak Ridge and Clinton when he struck a Chrysler PT Cruiser pulling out of the Rocky Top gas station at Mariner Point at about 10:50 a.m., an accident report said.

The car was driven by Carl David O’Neal, 56, of Oak Ridge. He said he was turning left onto Highway 61 to head west as an eastbound vehicle pulling a trailer was turning into the Rocky Top parking lot, according to the report. O’Neal told Clinton police his vision was blocked, and he pulled into traffic to start traveling west when Gross hit his driver’s side door.

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Former Oak Ridge police sergeant files $600,000 lawsuit, alleges retaliation

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CLINTON—A former Oak Ridge Police Department sergeant alleged in a lawsuit filed this week that other employees retaliated against him and he was forced to resign last year after he complained that a lieutenant had sent him live ammunition for use in a training session.

Mark Coffey, who resigned in October 2011, filed the lawsuit in Anderson County Circuit Court on Monday. He is seeking a total of $600,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.

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Medical helicopter picks up motorcyclist after Clinton accident

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Clinton Motorcycle Accident

An unidentified motorcyclist was picked up by a University of Tennessee medical helicopter after an accident in front of a gas station near Mariner Point on Highway 61 in Clinton.

CLINTON—A medical helicopter picked up a motorcyclist Wednesday morning after an accident in front of a gas station on Highway 61 in Clinton.

Authorities did not immediately release the name of the motorcyclist, who was flown away in a University of Tennessee Lifestar helicopter at about 11:30 a.m.

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Pickup pulled from park, one of half-dozen vehicles found in Clinch River

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Melton Lake Park Pickup Truck

Authorities pull a Ford Ranger pickup truck from the Clinch River at Melton Lake Park on Tuesday morning, one of a half-dozen or so vehicles recently found in the water.

Authorities pulled a submerged pickup truck out of a cove used by rowers at Melton Lake Park on Tuesday morning, one of a half-dozen or so vehicles recently found in the Clinch River.

The pickup truck appeared to be a dark-colored mid-1980s Ford Ranger. It was coated in what appeared to be brown slime.

It wasn’t immediately clear what, if anything, was found inside.

Authorities have said little about the vehicles or the search for them, including how long the automobiles have been in the water, how they got there, or why officers are searching the Clinch River.

“We’ve got a pending investigation taking place, and we’re just not making any comment,” Oak Ridge Police Capt. Mike Uher said.

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Fire starts in garbage truck in Oliver Springs

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Oliver Springs Garbage Truck Fire

Oliver Springs firefighters put out a fire that started in a garbage truck early Friday morning. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A fire started in a garbage truck in Oliver Springs early Friday morning, fire photographer Tom Scott said.

The driver pulled into the parking lot of the Tri-County Mall in Oliver Springs and dumped the entire load, Scott said. The Oliver Springs Fire Department responded and extinguished the 4:15 a.m. blaze.

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Two women arrested on drug, conspiracy charges after undercover buy

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Christy Charlene Seivers

Christy Charlene Seivers

Two Clinton women were arrested on drug and criminal conspiracy charges after one of them allegedly delivered $200 worth of pills to a confidential informant at a Git’n Go on Clinch Avenue on Wednesday night, authorities said.

Undercover officers had arranged to buy the prescription narcotics from Christy Charlene Seviers, 39, of Clinton, an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department report said. Seviers allegedly needed the money from the sale of the 15 pills to finance a trip to a pain clinic in Manchester, Tenn.

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Oak Ridge Fire Department ranks second in state academy training hours

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The Oak Ridge Fire Department recently learned it ranked second in the state in total training hours through a state fire academy.

The department completed 3,970 hours of training through the Tennessee Fire and Codes Academy during fiscal year 2012, which ended June 30.

Oak Ridge ranked second among 734 fire departments, a city press release said.

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Oak Ridge firefighters help battle Cove Lane blaze

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Cove Lane Fire

Firefighters respond to a Tuesday morning fire at a single-story brick home on Cove Lane north of Oliver Springs. (Photos by Tom Scott)

Oak Ridge firefighters helped battle a Tuesday morning blaze that severely damaged a single-story home on Cove Lane north of Oliver Springs.

No one was injured, but firefighters were not able to resuscitate a dog that was rescued from the brick house, according to information provided by Oak Ridge Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo and fire photographer Tom Scott.

Waldo did not have information on the cause of the attic fire, which started at about 9:50 a.m. Tuesday. Reports said the fire heavily damaged the home.

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