Oak Ridge Today

Two cars crash into homes, one into brick landscaping wall

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No one was injured when a Buick LeSabre crashed into the laundry room of a home at 104 Everest Circle at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 26, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Two vehicles hit two homes in Oak Ridge in the past week, and one car crashed into a brick landscaping wall at the new drive-through at ORNL Federal Credit Union.

In the most recent crash, a four-door Buick LeSabre crashed into the laundry room of a home at 104 Everest Circle at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

No one was in the laundry room at the time, and no one was injured, authorities said. A dog and cat in the house were also reported to be okay, according to a neighbor.

The cause of the single-vehicle crash had not been determined. [Read more…]

WYSH: Clinton crash injures motorcyclist

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Information from WYSH Radio, an Oak Ridge Today news partner

A car-motorcycle crash in south Clinton late Monday morning sent one man to the hospital by Lifestar medical helicopter, authorities said.

The crash occurred just before 11 a.m. Monday on Clinch Avenue in front of the Icon Market.

The Clinton Police Department said that 54-year-old John Aulton of Clinton had been headed north on Clinch Avenue on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle when a southbound Cadillac sedan driven by 75-year-old Billy Ashe of Clinton tried to turn left into the market. But his car ended up in the path of Aulton’s motorcycle, authorities said, and even though Aulton reportedly locked his brakes, he struck the right front side of the Cadillac and was thrown off the bike. [Read more…]

Motorcyclist flown to UT after car-motorcycle crash in Clinton

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A motorcyclist was flown by medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after a car-motorcycle crash on Clinch Avenue in south Clinton on Monday, authorities said.

The Clinton Police Department and Anderson County EMS both responded to the crash.

The CPD said it doesn’t have any other information yet.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Sheriff’s Department warns of scam alert

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Scam Alert

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has once again received reports of someone calling residents in Anderson County threatening arrest for failing to appear in court.

These scam artists are identifying themselves as members of the Sheriff’s Department and telling the people called that they need to obtain a prepaid debit card and give the callers the card number.

This is the same scam as reported in the past, a press release said. Please be aware law enforcement agencies or court clerk’s offices do not make calls such as these!

If you have been the victim of this scam, please contact the Sheriff’s Communications Center at (865) 457-2414, or your local police department.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Community Matters leaders report back at ORHS on Sunday

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Pictured above at a Community Matters forum at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church on Nov. 1, 2015, are the Reverend Derrick Hammond of Oak Valley Baptist Church, center, the Rev. Jake Morrill of Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, left, and Father Brent Shelton of St. Mary’s Parish. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The leaders of the Community Matters series of forums held last fall will report back on what they’ve learned at Oak Ridge High School on Sunday.

The informational session is scheduled from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, April 24. All Oak Ridge residents are invited to attend.

This event will feature community leaders including Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, Police Chief Jim Akagi, ORHS Principal Martin McDonald, and leading pastors in town, all to continue the conversation begun last fall, a press release said.

“In the last couple of years, communities around the country have engaged the conversation sparked by Black Lives Matter,” the press release said. “In some communities, this has looked like protest. In others, it has looked like study and reflection.” [Read more…]

ORPD to host Junior Police Academy this summer

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Oak Ridge Junior Police Academy

Oak Ridge Junior Police Academy students at the National Forensics Academy in 2012. (File photo/submitted)

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department will host the Junior Police Academy again this summer.

The Fifth Annual Junior Police Academy will be offered to 5th-12th grade students, including private school and home-schooled students. Students interested in learning more about the Oak Ridge Police Department and the criminal justice system are encouraged to apply. The academy is free to all eligible applicants.

The Junior Police Academy will be offered in three phases this year:

  • Phase I: Basic Law Enforcement Awareness—will be held June 20-24 and is for first-year cadets only.
  • Phase II: Intro to Forensic Investigations—will be held June 27-July 1 and is for second-year cadets only.
  • Phase III: Emergency Response and Readiness—will be held July 18-22 and is for third-year cadets only.

[Read more…]

Redflex proposes new handheld laser device that could be used to catch speeders, traffic violators

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Redflex-LIDAR-April-19-2016

A representative of Redflex Traffic Systems gives a brief presentation on a new laser-technology traffic detection system that includes video and can measure the speed of vehicles and the distance between vehicles. Charlie Buckels, southeast U.S. sales manager for Redflex, gave the presentation during an Oak Ridge City Council work session on Tuesday evening, April 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Redflex Traffic Systems, the company that once had unmanned, pole-mounted red-light and speed enforcement cameras in Oak Ridge, has a new handheld system that it says could be used to help make roads safer as the city tries to slow down speeding drivers. But the use of the devices hasn’t been approved yet, and one Oak Ridge City Council member expressed her strong opposition on Tuesday.

The new handheld LIDAR devices include a camera, and they can capture traffic violations on video. They use a laser technology to measure vehicle speeds and distances between vehicles, said Charlie Buckels, southeast U.S. sales manager for Redflex. LIDAR stands for light detection and ranging.

Buckels said the handheld devices could be used for both civil and criminal violations. In some cases, such as for speeding, police officers could use the devices and the evidence they collect to issue civil citations that could be mailed to the registered owners of violating vehicles. In those cases, officers wouldn’t have to stop the violators, Buckels said.

But in other cases—when a car is driving excessively fast or swerving, for example—police officers could pull vehicles over, Buckels said.

City officials said they have been discussing drivers traveling too fast on roadways in the city, including those coming into town on South Illinois Avenue in the morning and trying to get to work on time. Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said three City Council members have asked him to take action to combat speeding, and he’s had concerns himself about traffic on Illinois Avenue. Other roads cited by city officials Tuesday included Oak Ridge Turnpike, Robertsville Road, Melton Lake Drive, and Tennessee Avenue. [Read more…]

Updated: Son of former state rep dies in head-on crash on Dutch Valley Road on Thursday

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Note: This story was last updated at 1:10 p.m.

A 42-year-old man, the son of a former state representative, died in a head-on crash on Dutch Valley Road in Anderson County on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

Michael J. Hackworth, 42, was traveling south on Dutch Valley Road in a 2002 Honda Accord when a 2004 Ford Escape driven north by George E. Ross, 70, crossed the center line, hitting Hackworth’s vehicle head-on, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

Hackworth was killed, and Ross was injured, the THP said. Hackworth is the son of former Tennessee Representative Jim Hackworth, a Democrat who is a former Anderson County commissioner and former candidate for Anderson County mayor.

“We’re all pretty devastated by the news,” said Catherine Denenberg, Anderson County Democratic Party chair. “It’s a tragedy…Our deepest sympathies go out to Jim and Brenda (Hackworth) and their family at this sudden loss. Please keep them in your prayers.”

[Read more…]

Animal Shelter cat, rat to appear on ‘Unlikely Animal Friends,’ a National Geographic show

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Batman and Pumpkin

Batman, a Dumbo rat, left, and Pumpkin, a FIV-positive cat, two mascots at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, will be featured on National Geographic (Nat Geo) WILD’s “Unlikely Animal Friends” airing 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

A cat and a rat, both mascots at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, will be featured on National Geographic (Nat Geo) WILD’s “Unlikely Animal Friends” airing 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21.

In September 2015, the Nat Geo WILD team spent a full day at the shelter filming, a press release said. Their focus was to show the unlikely friendship between Pumpkin, a FIV-positive cat, and Batman, a Dumbo rat. Aside from showing the friendship between the two animals, the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter hopes to educate the public on FIV-positive cats and promote adopting from local animal shelters.

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter is located on the east end of town at 395 Belgrade Road, and it currently holds a no-kill status, the press release said.

For more information about the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, visit http://animalshelter.oakridgetn.gov/ or call (865) 425-3423.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Man charged with attempted murder after Tuesday shooting on Pacific Road

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Note: This story was last updated 2:40 p.m.

A Knoxville man has been charged with attempted murder after a Tuesday shooting in Oak Ridge that left a woman with a gunshot wound to her ear, authorities said.

The alleged shooting was reported at about 12:04 p.m. Tuesday at 107 Pacific Road.

Besides attempted murder, Eric Wilson, 42, of Knoxville, has also been charged with aggravated assault, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a press release.

The shooting allegedly occurred during a dispute. Wilson fled the home in a vehicle, and authorities soon learned he might be on his way to a home in Morgan County. So, the ORPD altered authorities there. [Read more…]

One flown to UT after ATV-motorcycle crash on Hillvale Road

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Note: This story was updated at 4:35 p.m.

A 23-year-old man was flown to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries after a motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle crashed on Hillvale Road in Anderson County on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

At the time of the crash, Caleb Tyler Burrell, 23, of Clinton, was traveling south on Hillvale Road on a 2014 Yamaha YFR motorcycle behind a 2013 Ranger side-by-side ATV driven by Wesley Edward Tilley, 38, of Andersonville, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

Tilley was trying to make a left turn off Hillvale Road onto a private drive when Burrell tried to pass the ATV, the THP said.

The motorcycle driven by Burrell hit the ATV driven by Tilley at an angle, a preliminary report said. [Read more…]

ORPD investigating ‘skimmer’ found at credit union ATM

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ORPD Pic of ATM Skimmer

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a case where a “skimmer” was found attached to an ATM at the ORNL Federal Credit Union on South Illinois Avenue. (Photo by ORPD)

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a case where a “skimmer” was found attached to an ATM at the ORNL Federal Credit Union on South Illinois Avenue on Sunday, authorities said.

A “skimmer” is an unauthorized device that is attached to the credit/debit card slot on an ATM, or automated teller machine, to fraudulently capture customers’ account information, the ORPD said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department recommends that consumers exercise caution when using ATMs. If you notice anything unusual about the ATM, contact the bank or credit union that operates the ATM, the ORPD said. [Read more…]