Oak Ridge Today

Rescuers recover body of missing Anderson County boater in Norris Lake

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Rescuers recovered the body of a missing Anderson County boater in Norris Lake on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (Photo by TWRA)

 

The body of an Anderson County boater who went missing in a cove near Sugar Camp Lane in Maynardville was recovered under water in Norris Lake on Monday evening, authorities said.

At about 6:40 p.m. Monday, September 5, rescue crews recovered the man’s body in about 46 feet of water, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said. The 71-year-old Anderson County man went missing around noon Monday after jumping into the lake from an anchored pontoon boat.  Witnesses onboard the boat say that the man went under the water and never resurfaced.

Rescue crews from Union County and Knoxville joined TWRA in the search for the man, who was located with help from a remote operated vehicle, or ROV. TWRA officers located the man’s body, and divers from the Knoxville Rescue Squad made the recovery. [Read more…]

ORPD: Shots fired across from marina reported to be target practice; no injuries, damage

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Oak Ridge Police at Oak Ridge Marina Sept 2 2016 Marrison 4

The Oak Ridge Police Department evacuated residents from the Oak Ridge Marina pavilion after gunshots were reported from across the lake on Friday evening, but officers said no injuries or damages were reported or found. (Photo by Michael Marrison)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 5 p.m. Sept. 5.

The Oak Ridge Police Department evacuated residents from the Oak Ridge Marina pavilion after gunshots were reported from across the lake on Friday evening, but officers said no injuries or damages were reported or found.

The ORPD received a report from people at the Melton Lake Pavilion at about 7:03 p.m. Friday, September 2, that shots were being fired in their direction from across the lake, a press release said.

“Complainants reported that bullets could be heard passing over the pavilion area,” the ORPD press release said.

ORPD officers responded to the pavilion immediately and safely evacuated the residents using a hand-carried ballistic shield, the press release said. [Read more…]

Miraculous: Woman survives when trailer, small loader crash into car

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Rescuers said it was a miracle that a woman survived when a trailer carrying a small loader crashed into her Toyota Camry on Emory Valley Road on Friday evening, Sept. 2, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

Rescuers said it was a miracle that a woman survived when a trailer carrying a small loader crashed into her Toyota Camry on Emory Valley Road on Friday evening.

It took the Oak Ridge Fire Department about 55 minutes to remove the woman, who was pinned inside the car. She was flown by a Lifestar medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

The woman, who was not identified, was talking to rescuers, authorities said. Her condition wasn’t clear, but she was reported to be conscious and alert.

“That’s probably the worst extrication I’ve seen where the person was still alive,” Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said. “There was an angel with her today.” [Read more…]

Charges in alleged robbery at Family Dollar in OS sent to grand jury

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Robbery charges filed against Steven Scruggs, 31, of Oliver Springs, in orange above, were sent to a grand jury during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 5:05 p.m.

The robbery, attempted robbery, and theft charges filed against an Oliver Springs man after an alleged robbery at Family Dollar in July have been sent to a grand jury.

Steven Scruggs, 31, had a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, August 23. His two co-defendants, also Oliver Springs residents, were in court as well. One pleaded guilty to one charge, and another waived one to a grand jury.

Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller found probable cause to send the robbery, attempted robbery, and theft charges filed against Scruggs to the grand jury after hearing testimony from employee Kimberly Armes, who was working at the store the evening of July 20, when the alleged robbery occurred, and from Oliver Springs Police Department Lieutenant David Laxton, who investigated it. All three charges are felony charges.

A false imprisonment charge that had also been filed against Scruggs was dismissed.

The robbery was reported at about 10:04 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, at the Family Dollar store, which is at 51 Edmonds Drive in Oliver Springs. [Read more…]

Defendant in fatal car-motorcycle crash expected to enter plea, waive charges to grand jury, or set preliminary hearing

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Rufus E. Shephard III and Motorcycle

Rufus E. Shephard III is pictured above riding a motorcycle. (Photo courtesy Annette Shephard)

 

An Oak Ridge woman facing three misdemeanor charges in a fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue in January is expected to enter a plea next week, waive the charges to a grand jury, or set a date for a preliminary hearing, court officials said Thursday.

Judge Roger Miller, of Anderson County General Sessions Court Division II in Oak Ridge, said he doesn’t want to reset the case against Noelle Leigh Patty, 29, again. Patty had a status hearing on Thursday, September 1.

She has another status hearing set for 9 a.m. Thursday, September 8, in the Division II court in Oak Ridge. Patty does not have to appear.

The three misdemeanor charges filed against her are failure to yield the right-of-way, resulting in death; a violation of the law to obey traffic control devices; and a failure to provide proof of financial responsibility.

Authorities said Patty, who was driving a Cadillac STS on Sunday evening, January 31, made an improper left turn from a right-turn-only lane at the western exit of the Westcott Center, the Kroger shopping center, and she failed to yield to Rufus E. Shephard III, 44, of Oak Ridge, who was riding a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle north on North Illinois Avenue. Shephard died after colliding with the car, which was turning south in “the pathway of northbound traffic,” Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Chris Luethge said in arrest warrants filed after the crash. [Read more…]

ORFD, ORHS to dedicate flagpole in memory of 9/11 victims

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ORHS flagpole wide

The Oak Ridge Fire Department and the Oak Ridge High School 9/11 WTC Committee will join together on Sunday, September 11, to remember the tragic events that happened 15 years ago, a press release said. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Fire Department and the Oak Ridge High School 9/11 WTC Committee will join together on Sunday, September 11, to remember the tragic events that happened 15 years ago, a press release said.

There will be a group meeting to officially unveil the new flagpole added this past year and to dedicate it in memory of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“Thanks to generous donations from the American Legion Post 2 out of Knoxville and from Woodmen of the World, the site is now home to a 30-foot flagpole that is capable of flying a flag all the time,” the press release said. [Read more…]

ACSD investigating robbery report

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a robbery reported to them early Tuesday morning.

A deputy responded to a call of a suspicious person walking along Clinton Highway shortly after midnight and made contact with a man at the pay phone in front of the Weigel’s on Clinton Highway in Claxton. The man was attempting to call a friend to come pick him up, and the deputy noted that he had dried blood on his chest, a bloody nose, an abrasion on his right cheek, and a small cut on the right side of his jaw.

The man told deputies he had been riding with a friend in the friend’s car when he told the driver he was going too fast and needed to slow down. That started an argument that ended when the driver pulled into the parking lot of Ciderville Music, pulled the victim out of the car and allegedly beat and robbed him. The victim told deputies that it felt like there three or four people hitting him and that he believed it was a planned robbery. [Read more…]

ORPD: Two arrested, suspected in multiple vehicle burglaries in Oak Ridge

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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigated a series of overnight vehicle burglaries from the area of West Outer Drive and Montana Avenue on Thursday, and officers found that Jessie Dunham, 40, of Lenoir City, was found to have items in his possession that were determined to be from one of the burglary victims, authorities said.

A second suspect, Joshua Scott, 38, of Oak Ridge, was identified, and additional stolen items were recovered, a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

Dunham and Scott have been booked in to the Anderson County Jail on multiple felony charges. [Read more…]

Roane crash during police pursuit kills Powell woman; driver, 15, injured

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A 20-year-old Powell woman died in a single-vehicle crash during a police pursuit on Poplar Creek Road in Roane County on Wednesday afternoon, and a 15-year-old male driver was injured, authorities said. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

A 20-year-old Powell woman died in a single-vehicle crash during a police pursuit on Poplar Creek Road in Roane County on Wednesday afternoon, and a 15-year-old male driver was injured, authorities said.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said the juvenile, a Harriman boy who was not identified because of his age, was fleeing from police in a 1998 Dodge pickup at about 3:06 p.m. when he lost control of the truck. It ran off the road and hit a rock wall or cavern opening, the THP said.

Holland Durbrow, 20, was killed in the impact, the THP said. She was not using a seat belt, according to a preliminary report.

WYSH Radio in Clinton reported that Harriman police officers tried to pull over a pickup that had been reported stolen Wednesday afternoon, but the young driver refused to stop. At one point during the pursuit, officers lost sight of the truck on Poplar Creek Road, WSYH said. Moments later, officers came upon the crash scene. [Read more…]

Attempted first-degree murder charge reduced to felony reckless endangerment, sent to grand jury

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Eric Joe Wilson

Eric Joe Wilson

 

The attempted first-degree murder charge filed against an Oak Ridge man after he allegedly shot his sister in the ear in April was reduced to felony reckless endangerment last week and waived to the Anderson County Grand Jury for its consideration.

The state will not pursue a second charge, an aggravated assault charge, against Eric Joe Wilson, 42. That charge was dismissed.

Wilson was to be released on intensified felony pre-trial release, and as part of that release, he is supposed to continue mental health treatment and his family is supposed to monitor his medications.

Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller agreed to remove a no-contact provision that was part of Wilson’s pre-trial release. Wilson’s sister, Suzan Stiles, the victim in the alleged shooting, said she takes care of Wilson, and he’s not done anything like this before. Miller confirmed with Stiles that she had not been threatened or intimidated into making the request. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch has fundraiser at Gondolier on Thursday

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The Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program has a fundraiser at Gondolier Restaurant on Thursday.

The fundraiser is scheduled from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, August 25. Ten percent of receipts will be donated to Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program, an event flyer said.

The Gondolier Restaurant is located at 792 Briarcliff Avenue. You can eat dine-in or carry-out.

Bailey appointed Oliver Springs fire chief

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Justin Bailey

Justin Bailey (Photo via Oliver Springs Fire Department on Facebook)

 

Justin Bailey, who had been assistant fire chief in Oliver Springs, has been appointed chief.

The Town of Oliver Springs Board of Mayor and Council appointed Bailey to the position on Thursday, according to an Oliver Springs Fire Department post on Facebook. Bailey takes over the department after the retirement and recent death of former Fire Chief Terry Phillips.

Bailey has been a member of the Oliver Springs Fire Department since 2001. He has held several ranks with the department including training officer and assistant fire chief.

Bailey was a member of the Oliver Springs Explorer Post two years before he was hired onto the fire department in 2001, the OSFD said. [Read more…]