Oak Ridge Today

Man dies after fire at Manhattan Apartments

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A 61-year-old man died after a fire was reported at the Manhattan Apartments on Saturday morning, authorities said.

An alarm sounded in one of the apartments at about 7:50 a.m. Saturday, according to information from the Oak Ridge Fire Department that was provided by City of Oak Ridge spokesperson Sarah Self.

Oak Ridge Police Department officers found heavy smoke inside the apartment when they arrived Saturday morning, and the Oak Ridge Fire Department was dispatched.

Nearby residents were evacuated while firefighters made entry to the apartment and extinguished the fire. A man was found inside, the city said. [Read more…]

Woman charged with homicide in death of motorcyclist

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Noelle Leigh Patty

Noelle Leigh Patty

 

This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.

An Oak Ridge woman has been charged with homicide in the death of a motorcyclist in a fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue in January 2016. It’s one of two new felony charges added in the case against Noelle Leigh Patty, 40.

Patty is accused of criminally negligent conduct that resulted in the death of motorcyclist Rufus E. Shephard III, 44, of Oak Ridge, at the western exit of the Westcott Center, the Kroger shopping center, on January 31, 2016.

Patty was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on August 1, 2017, and she is facing five criminal charges. Two of the charges are felonies, and three are misdemeanors. The two felony charges, which are both new, are criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon is involved. The three misdemeanor charges are failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to provide proof of insurance, and failure to yield the right of way, resulting in death. [Read more…]

City wants to renovate fire station as DOE, contractors work on K-25 History Center

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K-25 History Center and Equipment Building

An image showing the K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned fire station, right, at East Tennessee Technology Park, with the Equipment Building and Viewing Tower at left. (Graphic by David Brown/U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Note: This story was updated at 4:30 p.m.

Oak Ridge wants to renovate the fire station where the federal government and its contractors are building the K-25 History Center, a project that is expected to help preserve the history of the World War II-era Manhattan Project.

The K-25 History Center will be built on the second floor of Oak Ridge’s Fire Station Number 4. The fire station is at East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.

K-25 was one of three major federal sites built in Oak Ridge during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons, before Germany could.

K-25’s signature facility, the K-25 Building, has been demolished. But a 2012 agreement that allowed the complete demolition of that building, once the world’s largest building under one roof, called for the history center at the fire station, among other projects.

Work is proceeding on the K-25 History Center, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said in a July 21 memo to City Manager Mark Watson. The K-25 History Center is a project of the U.S. Department of Energy and UCOR, DOE’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge.

As that project proceeds, several upgrades will be needed to the first floor of the city-owned fire station in order to create the required living space for fire department personnel, Kerley said. [Read more…]

Man indicted in alleged backpage.com robbery in Claxton

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Richard Paul Pressley

Richard Pressley

A Knoxville man was indicted last month on robbery, kidnapping, and conspiracy charges for his role in an alleged robbery at gunpoint in Claxton in 2016 that authorities said started with an advertisement for escort services posted on backpage.com.

Richard Pressley, 31, has been indicted on charges of aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping using a weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping. He was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on July 11.

The alleged robbery and kidnapping occurred in a mobile home on Queen Street in Ben’s Mobile Home Park off Edgemoor Road in Claxton on May 21, 2016, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release after Pressley and his wife, Lindsay Pressley, were arrested last year.

Affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on May 23, 2016, said the alleged victim, Cody Monroe, traveled from Athens to the address provided in the backpage.com ad. Monroe “made small talk” with the female, later identified as Lindsay Pressley, for about five minutes when a man brandishing a handgun, later identified as Richard Pressley, entered the living room and ordered Monroe onto the ground, according to the affidavits. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs officer escapes serious injury when patrol car struck

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Oliver Springs police officer escaped serious injury Thursday night when his parked patrol car was struck while he responded to a traffic crash.

The incident occurred at the Highway 61/62 interchange Thursday evening as Oliver Springs Police Department Sergeant Charles Graham responded to a minor crash. Preliminary indications are that a second driver struck the back of the officer’s patrol car, which in turn caused the cruiser to strike him. [Read more…]

Inmate injured in jump from second floor at Anderson County jail

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Brian Seeber

Brian Seeber

An inmate had life-threatening injuries after jumping from the second-floor tier in a housing unit at the Anderson County jail in an apparent suicide attempt on Thursday morning, authorities said.

Brian Jeffery Seeber, 42, of Oliver Springs, was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by an Anderson County EMS ambulance, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. Seeber’s injuries were life-threatening, Lucas said. His current condition was not immediately available.

Seeber was arrested in June on seven counts of rape and four counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor.

The apparent suicide attempt by Seeber was reported at about 6 a.m. Thursday at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Roane State’s Collins named Paramedic Student of the Year

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Roane State Paramedic Student of the Year Russell Collins (center) is congratulated by Dr. Erik Geibig with TeamHealth Emergency Medicine (left) and Roane State paramedic program director David Blevins. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

Roane State Paramedic Student of the Year Russell Collins (center) is congratulated by Dr. Erik Geibig with TeamHealth Emergency Medicine (left) and Roane State paramedic program director David Blevins. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

 

Russell Collins with American Medical Response—Blount County has been named Roane State Community College’s Paramedic Student of the Year.

Dr. Erik Geibig with TeamHealth Emergency Medicine presented the award to Collins during Roane State’s annual Knoxville paramedic program luncheon. Students completing the paramedic program were recognized at the event, which was sponsored by TeamHealth.

Collins, of Maryville, has served with American Medical Response—Blount County for five years.

“It’s been extremely challenging, but very rewarding,” Collins said of his experience in Roane State’s program. “The schedule and the hours are tough, especially working full-time and having a family. The reward is the knowledge. You learn an immense amount in a short time.” [Read more…]

Three charged in Clinton shooting

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Brent Ashley Hayden

Brent Ashley Hayden

 

Three people have been arrested after a shooting was reported at a home on West Broad Street in Clinton on Wednesday, authorities said.

The three arrested on Friday included a male juvenile and Brent Ashley Hayden, 34, and Michael Steven Smith, 18, both of Clinton, the Clinton Police Department said in a press release Monday. The three were arrested by CPD detectives.

The shooting was reported on West Broad Street at about 4:16 p.m. Wednesday, July 26.

“It’s believed the three fired several shots in the direction of the residence,” the CPD said in the press release. [Read more…]

Driver, passenger arrested after car allegedly flees from THP, strikes two patrol units

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Clarissa Sharee Tindell

Clarissa Sharee Tindell

 

Two Knoxville residents face charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, among other charges, after fleeing from a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper and crashing into state and county patrol cars in Rocky Top on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The initial pursuit by THP Trooper Isaiah Lloyd started on State Route 61 (North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard) at Longmire Road in east Clinton, near the Clinch River, according to a preliminary THP report. It continued onto northbound US 25 W (Lake City Highway), headed toward Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

After passing through Rocky Top, the chase headed north on SR 116 into Campbell County before looping back into Rocky Top, traveling down Cherry Bottom Road and Oak Grove Road before taking US 441 (Norris Freeway) back into the city, according to a narrative in the THP report and an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report.

After the car, a 1992 Honda Accord, passed under Interstate 75, it tried to make a left turn onto Sunshine Drive in Rocky Top, the report said. But it was unable to complete the turn and the car struck a concrete curb, busting its left front tire, the report said. [Read more…]

Teen rescued from cave in Claxton

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A teenager was rescued from a cave in Claxton on Thursday, July 27, 2017, and he was taken to a hospital to be evaluated for back and ankle pain, authorities said. (Photo by Anderson County Volunteer Rescue Squad)

A teenager was rescued from a cave in Claxton on Thursday, July 27, 2017, and he was taken to a hospital to be evaluated for back and ankle pain, authorities said. (Photo by Anderson County Volunteer Rescue Squad)

 

Note: This story was updated at 1:30 p.m. July 29.

A teenager was rescued from a cave in Claxton on Thursday, and he was taken to a hospital to be evaluated for back and ankle pain, authorities said.

The 16-year-old boy had called 911 to say he was in a cave off Mehaffey Road in Claxton, and he was not able to find his way out, according to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report.

The cave was in woods behind Spring Hill Baptist Church.

A family member said the boy had previously asked to go into the cave, the report said. On Thursday, he told his grandmother that he was going to a neighbor’s house to mow the lawn but instead went to the cave alone, the report said. [Read more…]

No injuries reported after shots fired at Clinton home Wednesday

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No one was injured when shots were reportedly fired at a home on West Broad Street in Clinton on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The Clinton Police Department responded to the shooting call at about 4:16 p.m. Wednesday. An anonymous 911 caller told dispatchers that a male subject, in a black or gray-colored vehicle, was shooting a rifle in the direction of a residence, the Clinton Police Department said in a press release.

When they arrived, police found three adults and two minor children in the house, the press release said. None of the residents sustained any injuries. [Read more…]

Clinton mother dies, three children injured in Knoxville crash

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A mother identified as a Clinton resident died and her three children were injured in a single-vehicle crash in Knoxville on Saturday morning, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 6:42 a.m. Saturday at Western Avenue and Mynders Avenue.

When they arrived, Knoxville Police Department officers found a 1998 Ford Explorer that had flipped and was on its side with the driver and three children trapped, the KPD said. Civilians and emergency personnel were able to remove the three children from the vehicle. Their mother died on the scene.

All three children were taken to Children’s Hospital and treated for minor injuries, the KPD said. [Read more…]