Oak Ridge Today

Letter: Thank you for helping child abuse victims through Youth Showcase

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Dear Oak Ridge:

The board and staff of the Child Advocacy Center wish to thank many of the community who helped create a wonderful event on Nov. 2: The Youth Showcase and Auction. The event raised approximately $4,500 to further our mission of combating severe physical and sexual abuse and the resulting trauma by coordinating and providing services to young victims in a child friendly, safe, and nurturing environment.

Many donated their time to our cause. The evening’s master of ceremonies, Matt Shafer Powell of NPR, amused the audience between acts. David Fall, of Stephenson’s auction, prompted audience members to keep bidding and raised $2,200 on the live auction alone. Volunteers Glen Zahn on sound, Adam Bell as stage manager, and Zachary Picketton on lights provided flawless technical support. Terry Silver-Alford, music director of the Clarence Brown Theater, provided musical skills as an accompanist for several of the performers. Not least, the kind folks of High Places Community Church allowed us to use their wonderfully preserved Historic Grove Theater for the performance. [Read more…]

Letter: Mall nullification proposal would make TIF loan impossible to finance

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Mall TIF Public Hearing

James Murphy, center, is a Nashville attorney representing Oak Ridge Mall redeveloper Crosland Southeast. Also pictured during a recent public hearing are Ray Evans, right, Oak Ridge economic development consultant; and Tim Sittema, a Crosland Southeast partner.

Note: This Nov. 14 e-mail from an attorney representing mall redeveloper Crosland Southeast was written in response to a nullification proposal submitted by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn to Anderson County officials.

I represent Crosland in connection with the proposed Economic Impact Plan for the Redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall Economic Development Area (the “Economic Impact Plan”). The Economic Impact Plan has been approved by the Industrial Development Board of the City of Oak Ridge (the “IDB”) and the City Council for the City of Oak Ridge, and it is on the agenda for the Nov. 18 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Anderson County. I would like to respond to Ms. Baughn’s suggestion that the tax increment financing (“TIF”) funding for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall be nullified if at least 65 percent of the planned new retail square footage is not completed by December 2018.

As has been explained by Ray Evans in the meetings of the Anderson County Operations Committee and the Budget Committee, the proposed redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall requires a public-private partnership. After carefully reviewing the project’s pro forma, the city officials who have been involved in negotiating the incentives with Crosland were convinced that there was a funding gap of $13 million that could be bridged by the use of the TIF funding. Without that $13 million in TIF funding, the project would not go forward. [Read more…]

Letter: Chamber asks city, county officials to endorse mall TIF

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Note: This is a copy of a Nov. 6 letter sent by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce to the Oak Ridge City Council and Anderson County Commission. The Oak Ridge City Council approved the tax increment financing for the Oak Ridge Mall redevelopment in a 6-0 vote on Monday.

Dear members of Council and Commission:

Today, in a full retreat attended by the board of directors of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce and numerous Chamber Millennium Partners, our board unanimously adopted a position urging Oak Ridge City Council and Anderson County Commission to unanimously approve tax increment financing (TIF) for redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall property.

This is the most critical near-term economic development project in Oak Ridge and Anderson County. It will undoubtedly impact our economy, our ability to attract additional retail/commercial projects, and our community pride.

Some specifics are: [Read more…]

Letter: Enjoyed National Night Out, let’s advertise Oak Ridge events

Posted at
By 2 Comments

To the Editor:

I had the pleasure of attending the National Night Out event at the Oak Ridge Civic Center park earlier this month.

This was a wonderful event for Oak Ridge and surrounding communities. There were many booths with important information regarding home and neighborhood safety, with education regarding drug addiction and meth labs.The Oak Ridge firemen and police officers had such interesting activities for children including a ride in the fire truck bucket! There was free food provided by Pizza Inn, Baskin Robins, Chick-fil-a, Coca Cola, and more! There were many exciting activities for children including bucket rides in the City of Oak Ridge truck, fire trucks to tour, and bounce houses. What a delightful experience for my grandchildren! [Read more…]

Letter: Fritts seeks re-election as Anderson County Commission chairman

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Chuck Fritts

Chuck Fritts

Note: This is a copy of a letter sent by Anderson County Commission Chairman Chuck Fritts to other commissioners this summer, before the August meeting. The Commission is scheduled to elect a chairman and vice chairman on Monday, Sept. 16.

Fellow Commissioners,

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost another full year since I’ve been serving as your chairman. It’s been a very busy year with a lot of tough issues that (have come) before us. I truly believe that we “all” have done an excellent job and have served the citizens of Anderson County extremely well.

It’s been an honor to serve as your chairman this past year. I have worked hard and put in a lot of time to not only improve myself, but also to try to improve the efficiency and flow of our meetings. We have finally made improvements to Room 312, which will improve the quality of our meetings, not only for our citizens who are actually attending our meeting, but for our citizens at home watching on Channel 95. Also, by finally putting a TV in the hallway, citizens who make an effort to attend our meeting can still see what is taking place even if they can’t find a place inside our meeting room. [Read more…]

Letter: McKamey seeks Anderson County Commission chairmanship

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Robert McKamey

Robert McKamey

Note: This is a copy of a letter sent by Anderson County Commissioner Robert McKamey to other commissioners this summer. The Commission is scheduled to elect a chairman and vice chairman on Monday, Sept. 16.

Dear Fellow Commissioners:

It is with much pride and excitement that I announce my candidacy for County Commission chair. I have not made this decision in haste, and I have consulted at length with many of my friends, family, and constituents before I chose to run for this important position.

I feel my experience, unique qualifications, proven leadership skills, and relentless dedication to the citizens we serve will make me an excellent candidate for the chairmanship. [Read more…]

Letter: Why must a ‘In God We Trust’ sign be placed on courthouse?

Posted at
By 1 Comment

To the Editor:

I find life really amusing, you see people running around boasting about doing something about bullying in today’s schools. A good example, how our society runs around trying to push an old motto on its people.

I still have difficulty with the “In God We Trust” motto. I can only trust in one God for I can only speak for myself. [Read more…]

Letter: Let’s have a design contest to paint three sewer system holding tanks

Posted at
By 8 Comments

Emory Valley Road Sewer System Holding Tank

A draft image of what a sewer system holding tank could look like on Emory Valley Road. The proposal could change based on input from Oak Ridge City Council members. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

To the Editor:

Having attended many meetings (City Council, EQAB, budget), I understand the rationale behind building the holding tanks proposed for the city. I have heard about gravity, clay soil, pumps, federal fines, tax increases, rate increases, rate increases, and the following year, rate increases. I have looked long and hard at the giant holding tank in Knox County on the road leading from Middlebrook Pike to Sam’s (it’s on the right) and looked at maps of the city to ascertain alternate locations. I also picked up a copy of the rate study at the Council work session Monday night.

I really hate to say it, but I think the city has gotten it right. It’s one of those “death and taxes” things. However, I would like to propose a solution to the “big, white, ugly blight on the landscape” inevitability. Let’s start out by painting all of them green. In Oak Ridge that is the best camouflage color. [Read more…]

Letter: Cross Country Booster Club thanks Applebee’s

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

As the new president of the Oak Ridge High School Cross Country Booster Club, I wanted to express the club’s appreciation for our local Applebee’s. In particular, Ryan Landry and Marsha Baker were awesome to work with in the kitchen as we served over 700 supporters.

Each year I am amazed at how extremely helpful Applebee’s is, not just to our team, but to all the local groups who count on Applebee’s generous use of their restaurant for financial support.

Thanks again to Ryan and Marsha, and I am glad we could keep them entertained with song during the very hectic morning.

Karen Fitchpatrick

ORXC Booster Club President

Letter: Thanks to those who plan, work, sponsor Anderson County Fair

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

What a great event the Anderson County Fair is! The dedication of countless hours of time and efforts of those who plan and prepare for week of activities for our residents reinforces my appreciation for these good people who love our county. People from far and wide our state visit us for this “Best 6 Days of summer.”

I was a part of the Anderson County Fair this year as an employee of Emory Valley Center where we had our information/awareness booth. Thank you to all who plan and work at our fair! [Read more…]

Letter: Residents, representatives urged to support Tennessee Wilderness Act

Posted at
By 1 Comment

To the Editor:

U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker have again introduced legislation to protect nearly 20,000 acres of the Cherokee National Forest as wilderness. The Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2013 will create one new wilderness area, expand five others, and ensure that Tennesseans have wild places to visit long into the future. Passage of this act, which failed to get to the Senate floor last year, represents the first expansion of Tennessee’s wilderness land in 25 years. This acreage is already part of the Cherokee National Forest, so there is no need for federal funds to purchase land. [Read more…]

Letter: Support museum for Coal Creek miners, who ‘left their mark on history’

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Aug. 7, 2013

To: Anderson County Commissioner Tim lsbel

From: Barry Thacker and Carol Moore

Re: Support of the Coal Miners’ Museum in Coal Creek (aka Lake City)

We would like to express our continuing support of every effort to preserve and honor the rich coal mining history of Anderson County, Tenn. There is nowhere on Earth with more dramatic coal mining history in such a small area with the effects felt worldwide—and it sits right on I-75!

The miners of Coal Creek in Anderson County, Tenn., left their mark on history. [Read more…]