Oak Ridge Today

Sheriff warns against drunk driving this holiday weekend

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4th of July GHSO

By Anderson County Sheriff’s Department

Every year, Americans head out on the nation’s highways to celebrate the Fourth of July at picnics, parties, parades, and more. Unfortunately, for many, the celebrating includes drinking alcohol, which too often leads to drunk driving on one of the most heavily traveled holidays of the year.

To crack down on drunk driving this Independence Day weekend, Anderson County law enforcement will be out in full force, aggressively targeting those who put lives in danger.

Sheriff’s deputies will be out working to make the roadways safe.

“Don’t even think about drinking and driving this Fourth of July, or you will be arrested,” said Sheriff Paul White. “The ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ campaign means zero tolerance for drunk driving…no excuses.” [Read more…]

TWRA looking for watercraft riders in hit-and-run crash that injures four on Melton Hill Lake

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Personal Watercraft Operator Melton Hill Lake Crash June 30 2016

A photo of a personal watercraft and operator that witnesses described as striking a boat containing a family pulling a child on a tube on Melton Hill Lake on Thursday, June 30, 2016. (Photo courtesy TWRA)

 

Tennessee officials are investigating a hit-and-run boating crash on Thursday on Melton Hill Lake in the area of Clark Park and Knox County Park.

The crash was reported at about 7:45 p.m. Thursday. Among the agencies that responded were the Oak Ridge Fire Department, which went to Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge.

According to witnesses, two personal watercrafts, or PWCs, were operating near the bluffs directly across from Knox County Park and going back and forth between the dock at the park and the bluffs where others were swimming, according to a press release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Witnesses describe the operators as being reckless and inconsiderate, and as one of the PWCs left the bluff and headed toward the park, it collided with a boat in the area containing a family pulling a child on a tube. [Read more…]

Updated: Missing child located, safe

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Note: This story was updated at 1:48 p.m.

The child reported missing from West Outer Drive on Wednesday afternoon has been located, and he is safe, authorities said.

The three-year-old was reported missing at about 1 p.m. Wednesday. The Oak Ridge Police Department confirmed that he had been located at about 1:44 p.m.

To contact the ORPD, you may call them at 911 for emergencies and (865) 425-4399 for non-emergencies.

To sign up for text alerts from the ORPD, text your zip code to 888777. You can also see a sign-up form on the Nixle website at http://local.nixle.com/alert/5671353/.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Fires destroy two homes Friday, one in Oliver Springs, other on Dutch Valley Road

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Hen Valley Road Fire June 24 2016

A fire destroyed a home on Hen Valley Road in Oliver Springs late Friday, June 24, 2016. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

OLIVER SPRINGS—Fires destroyed two homes on Friday, one in Oliver Springs and the other on Dutch Valley Road.

The first fire was reported at about 12:55 a.m. Friday at 1351 Dutch Valley Road in Anderson County.

The large, one-story, brick veneer home was completely on fire when the first units arrived from the nearby Marlow Fire Department Station 2 (located at the old Donovan School), fire photographer Tom Scott said. The Marlow Fire department responded with two engines and two tankers.

In response to mutual aid requests, the Oliver Springs Fire Department sent an engine and a rescue truck, and the Blair Fire Department sent an engine.

Anderson County Emergency Medical Services had a medic unit standing by at the scene. The fire units were on the scene until about 5 a.m. Friday, Scott said. The house was totally destroyed. [Read more…]

Motorcyclist injured in truck-motorcycle crash

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Edgemoor-Road-Motorcycle-and-Truck-Crash-June-23-2016

The Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Fire Department, and other authorities and emergency medical services respond to a crash between a motorcycle and a tractor-trailer on Edgemoor Road at Haw Ridge Park on Thursday, June 23, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 1:52 p.m.

A motorcyclist was injured in a crash between a tractor-trailer and a motorcycle on Edgemoor Road on Thursday morning, authorities said.

The crash between an 18-wheeler and a motorcycle was reported at about 8:28 a.m. Thursday at Haw Ridge Park.

The name and condition of the motorcyclist and the type of motorcycle weren’t available Thursday morning. The motorcyclist was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Oak Ridge Police Department Chief Jim Akagi said the motorcyclist was driving east on Edgemoor Road, headed toward Clinton Highway, when the motorcyclist appears to have passed the truck on the right, apparently on the shoulder of the road, as the eastbound tractor-trailer turned right into the parking lot at Haw Ridge. The motorcycle appears to have hit the truck on its passenger side, Akagi said. [Read more…]

ASPCA supports lifesaving transport for animals in 13 counties, including from Oak Ridge

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Go North Animal Transport

Note: This story was updated at 11:17 a.m.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or ASPCA, has awarded a grant of $47,250 to the East Tennessee-based GoNorth Animal Transport Collaborative, an alliance of 13 animal shelters, for transportation to northern shelters with ample space and high adoption demand, a press release said. The grant will be used to reimburse shelters for pre-transport veterinary care that is required by the destination shelters.

“Affordable, easily-accessible spay/neuter programs are the solution to ending pet overpopulation,” said GoNorth project coordinator Carmen Trammell. “However, it will take ‘time on task’ to do enough spaying and neutering to dramatically reduce the birth rate. In the meantime, northern transport saves the lives of shelter animals in oversupply.”

Counties participating in the GoNorth project include Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Hamblen, Hamilton, Jefferson, Loudon, Monroe, Sevier, and Union. The primary destinations are the Michigan, Toledo, and Wisconsin Humane Societies.

Currently, the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter is the only shelter participating in Anderson County. A complete list can be found here.

[Read more…]

Woman, three children evacuate, no injuries in kitchen fire

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Jefferson Avenue Fire June 19 2016

A woman and three children evacuated and no one was injured in a kitchen fire on Jefferson Avenue on Sunday, June 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A woman and three children evacuated and no one was injured during a kitchen fire on Jefferson Avenue on Sunday, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 1:27 p.m. Sunday. It was believed to be the result of unattended cooking, authorities said.

Oak Ridge Fire Department Captain Ray Burney said the fire was contained to the kitchen. It burned cabinets, the stove, and the ceiling area, Burney said. There was also smoke damage in the house. [Read more…]

Robbery allegedly involved armed confrontation between two defendants, juvenile victim

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Xyrius Jaeren Dickerson

Xyrius Jaeren Dickerson

The alleged robbery reported in the Burger King parking lot on Thursday actually occurred at a home on Pennsylvania Avenue, and it allegedly involved an armed confrontation between a 21-year-old man, a juvenile co-defendant, and a juvenile victim, according to an arrest warrant filed Monday.

Xyrius Jaeren Dickerson, 21, of Osage Road in Oak Ridge, has been charged with aggravated robbery in the case. He was arrested Sunday afternoon.

The Oak Ridge Police Department Officer responded to the reported robbery at Burger King on Oak Ridge Turnpike at about 4:43 p.m. Thursday.

The juvenile victim said he had been invited to the home of the juvenile co-defendant to pick up his recovered cell phone, said the warrant, which was filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. He said he was picked up by Dickerson and the co-defendant at Burger King before being taken to the co-defendant’s house on Pennsylvania Avenue, ORPD Officer S. Perry Lewis said in the warrant. [Read more…]

KPD: Body of Oak Ridge man found in Ft. Loudoun Lake

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The body of an Oak Ridge man was found Saturday afternoon in Ft. Loudoun Lake, authorities said.

The man has been identified as Tomas Skyler Ledford, 25, and he has an Oak Ridge address, the Knoxville Police Department said.

The KPD said it responded to a report of a body being discovered in Ft. Loudoun Lake below the River Towne Condos in Knoxville at about 2:27 p.m. Saturday.

According to the preliminary investigation, a couple of male friends had gone to the bluffs overlooking the river, where they consumed alcohol late Friday night, the KPD said. The pair became separated at about 3 a.m. Saturday morning, authorities said. [Read more…]

ORPD investigating truancy cases with DA’s Office, Oak Ridge Schools

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The Oak Ridge Police Department, Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office, and Oak Ridge Schools have started investigating juveniles with unexcused absences from school during the 2015-2016 school year, officials said Friday.

“This process involves seeking petitions for truancy for those students who were absent for significant periods of time,” a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

The petitions will be submitted with the Anderson County Juvenile Court for remediation, the press release said. The 15 petitions were the start of an ongoing investigation, and officials anticipate that additional juvenile petitions will be filed.

“As part of this investigation, ORPD will also be investigating additional allegations of educational neglect, and when warranted, will seek petitions in (Anderson County General) Sessions Court against parents of students with a high number of unexcused absences from school during the 2015-2016 school year,” the release said. [Read more…]

No injuries reported after suspect allegedly rams vehicle, points gun at four people

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No injuries were reported after a suspect allegedly rammed someone else’s vehicle and pointed a handgun at four other people on West Bryn Mawr Circle early Friday, authorities said.

The disturbance was reported at about 12:22 a.m. Friday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $1,000, the ORPD said in a press release. [Read more…]

Armed robbery reported in Burger King parking lot Thursday

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An armed robbery was reported in the parking lot of Burger King on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Thursday, authorities said.

The alleged robbery was reported at about 4:43 p.m. Thursday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. It allegedly involved two suspects who fled in a vehicle, the ORPD said.

Officers searched the area for the vehicle and suspects, a press release said. [Read more…]