Oak Ridge Today

Lifestar responds to head-on two-car crash on Scarboro Road

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A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter responded to a two-vehicle head-on crash on Scarboro Road near the Y-12 National Security Complex and Commerce Park on Monday evening, Dec. 4, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter responded to a two-vehicle head-on crash on Scarboro Road near the Y-12 National Security Complex and Commerce Park on Monday evening, Dec. 4, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter responded to a head-on two-car crash on Scarboro Road on Monday evening.

The crash was reported at about 6 p.m. Monday, just up the hill from the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex and near Commerce Park.

One driver was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by the UT Lifestar helicopter, which landed at Y-12. The other driver refused treatment, authorities said. [Read more…]

Clinton man accused of stealing $2,000 in coins from car wash

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Joshua Steven Brinyark

Joshua Steven Brinyark

 

A Clinton man is accused of breaking into a car wash, stealing $2,000 worth of coins, and exchanging about half the coins for cash at a coin machine, according to court records.

Joshua Steven Brinyark, 30, was seen on a surveillance video breaking a door window and entering an inner office to steal the coins at Pop’s Car Wash on North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

Brinyark then called a second man, Joshua Allen Bryant, at 7:34 a.m. and asked Bryant to pick him up at a Git’ N Go Market that is also on North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard, according to the affidavits. Brinyark said he would give Bryant money for the ride, the affidavits said.

“Bryant picked up Brinyark and took him off another road in Clinton near some railroad tracks, where he got out of the vehicle and picked up two buckets filled with coins,” the affidavits said. “Brinyark then asked Bryant to take him to Walmart to cash the coins, and he’d give him money.” [Read more…]

Barn fire reported at Little Ponderosa Zoo

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A barn fire has been reported at Little Ponderosa Zoo in Anderson County.

It’s not clear yet whether any animals were harmed in the fire, and if so, how many.

On Monday afternoon, Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy, said the remaining animals are safe and contained.

Little Ponderosa Zoo is off Granite Road northwest of Clinton.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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Updated: Man killed in head-on collision on Andersonville Highway

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Note: This story was updated at 2 a.m. Dec. 4.

A Knoxville man died after a head-on collision on Andersonville Highway on Friday night, authorities said.

James D. Gunter, 56, was driving east on the highway, also known as State Route 61, in a 2006 Chevrolet Corvette at about 9:39 p.m. Friday when he crossed the yellow line to pass another vehicle and hit a 2006 Toyota 4Runner head-on in the westbound lane, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Gunter was killed, the THP said in a fatality report.

Gunter is suspected of drinking and drug use, according to the report. Alcohol and drug tests have been requested, which is routine in fatal crashes. [Read more…]

Updated: Two arrested after car chase

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Two people were arrested after a car chase that started in Claxton and passed through Oak Ridge, Clinton, and parts of Anderson County before ending on Cox Lane on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. (Photo by Anderson County Sheriff's Department)

Two people were arrested after a car chase that started in Claxton and passed through Oak Ridge, Clinton, and parts of Anderson County before ending on Cox Lane on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. (Photo by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:30 p.m.

Two people were arrested after a car chase that started in Claxton and passed through Oak Ridge, Clinton, and parts of Anderson County on Saturday.

The chase started as a suspicious-vehicle call just before noon. Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a homeowner’s report of a suspicious vehicle parked in her driveway on Maple Lane shortly before 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

When deputies arrived, the car fled from Claxton, through Oak Ridge, and then through Clinton back into the Foley Hill area of Anderson County, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.

The driver ran on foot after turning down a dead-end road on Cox Lane north of Clinton, but he was caught after a brief foot chase, Lucas said.

The driver, Jeremy Raulston Dial, 37, of Knoxville, was charged with several offenses, including felony evading arrest. Additional charges against Dial are pending, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Community Safety Forum to present plan to respond to disasters

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Bill Haslam, Tom Beehan, and Darryl Kerley

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley, right, is pictured above with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, center, and former Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan in March 2014. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A safety forum on Wednesday will include a discussion of possible local disasters and how fire departments in the Oak Ridge area could respond.

The fire departments that will participate are the Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fire Department, and Y-12 National Security Complex Fire Department. They will present an overview of the State Fire Mutual Aid Plan and discuss how their fire departments participate in that plan, a press release said.

The speakers will be Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley, ORNL Fire Chief Mike Masters, and Y-12 Fire Chief Scott Vowell. They will discuss the resources they provide to the state by participating in the plan and the benefits to the Oak Ridge community, the press release said.

The Community Safety Forum is titled “Secret City Mutual Aid Plan and What it Means to Oak Ridge.” It’s scheduled from 8 to 10 a.m. Wednesday, December 6, at the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue.

“Effects of natural and manmade disasters have become more frequent, far-reaching, and widespread,” Kerley said in the press release. “We have seen in our neighboring communities that, during a disaster or catastrophe, local government resources and capabilities can be overwhelmed. The State Fire Chief’s Association has been working with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and other organizations to develop and build a method for rapid activation and response of aid to a community in the event of a local disaster.” [Read more…]

Clinton police recover several items possibly taken from area storage sheds, rental units

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Clinton Police Department Property Recovered Nov 29 2017

The Clinton Police Department this week said that it has recently recovered several items believed to have been taken from storage sheds or possibly from rental storage units in the area.

“We are urging residents to check storage buildings for missing items,” the CPD said. “If you find you have been the victim of thieves…contact your local law enforcement agency. They can arrange for you to look through our recovered property and identify items that may have been taken from your building. Keep in mind the recovered items do not include guns, lawn and garden equipment, or tools.”

But the CPD asks you to call your local police or sheriff’s department first.

For more information, call CPD Lieutenant Carl Bailey at (865) 259-1206.

Clinton police ask for help identifying robbery suspect

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Surveillance camera footage from a Git N Go robbery on South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. (Clinton Police Department on Facebook)

Surveillance camera footage from a Git N Go robbery on South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. (Clinton Police Department on Facebook)

 

An armed robbery was reported early Thursday at a Git’ N Go Market in Clinton, authorities said.

The robbery was reported at about 2 a.m. Thursday, November 30, at 501 South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard, according to the Clinton Police Department. The gas station and convenience store are just southwest of downtown Clinton, near Food City.

The CPD said a white man entered the store, held the clerk at gunpoint, and stole a small amount of money from the cash register. [Read more…]

Graves Gap fire burned more than 300 acres

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The mountaintop fire at Graves Gap along Highway 116 in north Anderson County burned more than 300 acres this week, a state official said Thursday afternoon, Nov. 30, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The mountaintop fire at Graves Gap along Highway 116 in north Anderson County burned more than 300 acres this week, a state official said Thursday afternoon, Nov. 30, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

GRAVES GAP—The mountaintop fire at Graves Gap in north Anderson County burned more than 300 acres this week, a state official said Thursday afternoon.

The fire off New River Highway (Highway 116) burned about 377 acres, said Nathan Waters, assistant district forester in the Tennessee Division of Forestry Administration’s East Tennessee District.

It was officially called the Switchback Fire. Graves Gap is near the top of a mountain reached by a series of switchbacks on New River Highway. It is between Frost Bottom Road and Briceville Highway, which connect Oliver Springs and Briceville, and New River and Rosedale.

The cause of the Graves Gap fire is under investigation, Waters said. He wasn’t aware of any structures that were endangered, although there are homes and churches near the mountaintop. [Read more…]

One injured in rollover crash on Georgia Avenue

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One person was injured in a single-vehicle rollover crash on Georgia Avenue late Thursday afternoon, Nov. 30, 2017, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

One person was injured in a single-vehicle rollover crash on Georgia Avenue late Thursday afternoon, Nov. 30, 2017, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One person was injured in a rollover crash on Georgia Avenue late Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash was reported at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday in a curve on Georgia Avenue just up the hill from Big Ed’s Pizza. The red Isuzu Rodeo sport utility vehicle was upside down, resting on its roof in the middle of the road.

The injuries to the driver were described as non-life threatening. The name and age of the driver and the cause of the crash were not immediately available. [Read more…]

Anderson County woman could face federal charges in alleged mail theft

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Tina May Carroll

Tina May Carroll

 

After mail thefts had been reported in the area, an Anderson County deputy found about 150 pieces of U.S. mail from more than 40 different addresses in a pickup that he searched on Beets Valley Road on Wednesday, an incident report said.

The 32-year-old woman who was arrested in the case could now face federal charges, according to the incident report, which was from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputy Adam Warren responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle, a red 1989 Chevrolet Silverado pickup partially parked in the road on Beets Valley Road, at about 8 a.m. Wednesday. Beets Valley Road is west of Lake City Highway (US 25W) between Clinton and Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

As he approached the truck, Warren said he noticed several pieces of mail in the grass close to the driver’s side door. He saw a female, later identified as Tina May Carroll, asleep behind the wheel of the truck with the keys in the ignition, according to the incident report. [Read more…]

Two fires under investigation in Anderson County

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Information from WYSH Radio

Two fires last week in Anderson County are under investigation.

Just before 5 a.m. on Wednesday, November 22, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the scene of a house fire on Lower Briceville Road. Deputy Josh Bunch arrived on the scene and spoke with the man who had called 911, who told them he had been arriving home from work at around 4:45 a.m. when he heard what he called an “explosion” and saw the house at 412 Lower Briceville Road on fire.

A neighbor told Deputy Bunch that he had seen the flames but had not heard any explosion before the fire. That neighbor’s home did suffer damage to its siding from the heato of the blaze.

The Clinton Utilities Board told deputies that the electricity to that home had been disconnected about a week before the fire. [Read more…]