Oak Ridge Today

Authorities pull bus from Clinch River, dive team continues search

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Bus in Melton Hill Lake

A tow truck pulls a bus from the Clinch River Monday afternoon. (Photo courtesy Austin Reed via Brad Jones)

A submerged bus was pulled out of the Clinch River near Pellissippi Parkway on Monday afternoon, but no one was on board, Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi said Tuesday.

Authorities, including an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department dive team, continued to search the water near Solway Park in Oak Ridge on Tuesday evening.

Akagi declined to release more details or comment on why the dive team was still there. He said he wasn’t able to answer some questions, such as how long the bus had been there, how it got there, or how authorities learned it was in the water.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Anderson County Sheriff's Department Dive Team

An Anderson County Sheriff’s Department dive team searches the Clinch River near Solway Park early Tuesday evening after a bus was pulled from the water on Monday afternoon.

Anderson County motorcyclist killed in Roane wreck

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An Andersonville man was killed Sunday night while riding his motorcycle in Roane County, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol reported that Larry Eugene Ballard had been headed north on Highway 27 in Harriman at around 6:30 p.m. Sunday when a westbound Chevy Cavalier driven by 34-year-old Crystal Laymance turned left onto the highway in front of Ballard’s Harley-Davidson, WYSH said.

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Woman accused of ramming car, pointing handgun

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An Oak Ridge woman was arrested Friday for allegedly scratching a car with a knife on West Outer Drive, ramming it with her car, and then pointing a small-caliber handgun at three other people.

Bianca Nicole Taylor, 24, has been charged with one count of vandalism and three counts of aggravated assault. She remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility on Friday evening.

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Knoxville woman arrested for allegedly striking repo man with car

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A Knoxville woman was arrested Thursday on charges she hit a Powell man trying to repossess a car at McDonald’s in Oak Ridge in December 2011.

Ebony Sharee Burton, 30, remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility on Friday evening. She has been charged with aggravated assault.

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Report: Police investigating fire find marijuana, hashish, pills

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Oak Ridge police investigating a suspicious fire in a basement on North Illinois Avenue on Wednesday say they found drugs—including what appeared to be 147 grams of marijuana, 23 grams of hashish, and 73 oxycodone pills—in a bedroom, living room, and basement.

Police arrested Rockford Scott Crabtree II, 23, of Oak Ridge, and charged him with eight counts of either possessing or intending to sell or deliver the drugs. He was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

Crabtree remained in the Anderson County jail on Friday evening in lieu of $50,000 bond.

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Y-12 protesters plead not guilty to new charge, face more jail time

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Megan Rice and Michael R. Walli

Anti-nuclear weapons activists Megan Rice, left, and Michael R. Walli leave U.S. District Court in Knoxville after pleading not guilty Thursday morning to three counts of trespassing, property depredation, and property destruction at the Y-12 National Security Complex. A third protester, Greg Boertje-Obed, remains jailed in Blount County.

Note: This story was last updated at 1:51 a.m. Aug. 10.

KNOXVILLE—A new felony property depredation charge and the possibility of more jail time have been added to two earlier charges filed against three anti-nuclear weapons activists arrested in July near a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—are accused of sneaking into Y-12 before dawn July 28, cutting through three fences, and setting off alarms before spraying paint and splashing blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

The new charge, contained in a three-count grand jury indictment filed Tuesday, carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The three activists pleaded not guilty to all three counts during a Thursday morning arraignment in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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Y-12 activists indicted by federal grand jury for trespassing, property destruction

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Three anti-nuclear weapons activists arrested July 28 in the high-security Protected Area at the Y-12 National Security Complex have been indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of trespassing, property depredation, and property destruction.

The three defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—are expected to be arraigned this morning in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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On the run for a year, Anderson County woman charged with TennCare fraud

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After eluding authorities for the past year, an Anderson County woman has been arrested and charged in Williamson County for alleged TennCare fraud involving “doctor shopping,” a state press release said.

The Tennessee Office of Inspector General announced the arrest of Melissa Ann Adkins, 28, of Oliver Springs, on Wednesday.

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Neighborhood Watch reduces crime, celebrates ‘Night Out’

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Cas Walker Ciderville Show

Bass player Jeff Tolson, from left, guitarist and vocalist Jamey Oran, guitarist Terry “Teep” Phillips, and banjo player David West perform as the Cas Walker Ciderville Show during “National Night Out” in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Hundreds of residents on about 210 streets take part in the city’s crime-fighting Neighborhood Watch program, and that’s helping to cut down on illegal activity, Oak Ridge Police Officer Jeremy Upham said Tuesday.

“I think, personally, it’s making a huge impact,” said Upham, the police department’s liaison to the Neighborhood Watch program. “The neighbors are calling when they see suspicious things that don’t fit in.”

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Special agent says Y-12 intruders entered from north, cut fences, activated alarms

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Transform Now Plowshares

Three activists opposed to nuclear weapons pose with banners before their July 28 arrests at the Y-12 National Security Complex. From left to right, the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

The three anti-nuclear weapons activists arrested in a high-security area at the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28 allegedly entered from the north, crossed Bear Creek Road, cut through fences, and activated numerous alarms and sensors before they reached a uranium storage building, according to criminal complaints available online today.

The three activists—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—first crossed a boundary fence near the North Patrol Road on the north ridge of Y-12, U.S. Department of Energy Inspector General Special Agent Eric Dugger wrote in an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Friday. That fence has “No Trespassing” signs posted, he said.

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Baker retires after 32 years with Sheriff’s Department

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Penny Baker Retirement

Anderson County Sheriff Paul White and Chief Deputy Mark Lucas present Capt. Penny Baker with a plaque celebrating her 32 years of service. (Photo submitted by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

Capt. Penny Baker, a 32-year-veteran of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, has retired.

Baker started her career at the department as a dispatcher in 1980. She served as a patrol deputy from 1982 until 1985, when she was assigned to criminal investigations as a detective, a press release said.

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Y-12 protesters face new felony charges, judge releases two

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Note: This story was last updated at 1:14 p.m. Aug. 4.

KNOXVILLE—New felony property destruction charges were filed Friday against three anti-nuclear weapons activists who allegedly sneaked into the Y-12 National Security Complex on Saturday, and U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley agreed to release two of the defendants.

The new charges carry stiffer penalties than the previously filed misdemeanor trespassing charges, including up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

The new charges were filed against Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli, who have been detained at the Blount County Corrections Facility after being arrested at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday in the high-security Protected Area on the west end of Y-12.

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