Oak Ridge Today

Emory Valley Road to be closed temporarily as railroad tracks removed

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Emory Valley Road Railroad Crossing

Emory Valley Road will temporarily be closed between Briarcliff Avenue and Fairbanks Road as railroad tracks that are no longer used are removed.

 

Emory Valley Road will temporarily be closed between Briarcliff Avenue and Fairbanks Road as railroad tracks that are no longer used are removed on Thursday.

Rogers Group Inc., a city contractor, is removing the railroad tracks that cross Emory Valley Road and Briarcliff Avenue on Thursday. The project should be completed on Friday, a city press release said.

The road closure is designed to help make the construction project safe for workers and motorists, and it will will require that traffic be detoured. The detour routes will be clearly marked, the press release said. The closures will affect only one direction of traffic at a time. Message boards will be located on Lafayette Drive to remind motorists of the closure so an alternate route can be taken. All residential and business properties will have access during this closure; however, streets will be posted for no through traffic. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools walk zone expanded to 1.5 miles, could affect 1,800

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Charlsey Cofer at Oak Ridge School Board Meeting

Oak Ridge Preschool Interim Principal Charlsey Cofer, left, says that cutting preschool transportation could result in fewer students, which would in turn result in less funding.

Note: This story was last updated at 3:15 a.m. June 25.

Starting this fall, bus service will no longer be offered to students who live within 1.5 miles of Oak Ridge schools. The move is expected to save $500,000. It’s part of a larger effort to reduce a $1.25 million deficit.

The expansion of the “parent responsibility zone” for school transportation was the largest change approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday. The 1.5-mile walk zone could affect 1,800 students, said Karen Gagliano, Oak Ridge Schools director of business and support services.

Other budget changes approved Monday include a delay in the purchase of textbooks, a move expected to save about $330,000, and a $123,000 reduction in the number of planned hires of technicians. The school system now expects more than $200,000 in additional revenue from state Basic Education Program funding and sales and property tax revenues.

A technology initiative known as 1:1 is no longer being considered as originally envisioned, and 2 percent pay raises for school staff members are off the table.

But the school board worked to save preschool transportation, a program that costs roughly $74,000 per year. Interim Preschool Principal Charlsey Cofer warned that cutting transportation for preschoolers could result in a drop in the number of students, which would in turn affect funding. She said about 170 students used the transportation last year out of more than 200 who were enrolled. [Read more…]

Man who allegedly fired pistol charged with aggravated assault

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Wakefield Road Police Standoff

A man who allegedly shot one round from a pistol during a disturbance in a parking lot at an apartment complex on Wakefield Road on Monday has been charged with six counts of aggravated assault and one count of reckless endangerment, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. A woman has been charged with tampering with evidence.

 

An Oak Ridge man who allegedly fired one shot from a pistol during a disturbance in a parking lot on Wakefield Road on Monday has been charged with six counts of aggravated assault and one count of reckless endangerment, authorities said.

Police responded to the disturbance call, which involved several people, at an apartment complex at 105 Wakefield Road at about 7:40 p.m. Monday, an Oak Ridge Police Department press release said. During the disturbance, a man allegedly fired one shot from a pistol, the release said.

Before officers arrived, witnesses said, the suspect entered Apartment #E, and he possessed a second firearm, the press release said. ORPD officers arrived and set up a perimeter around the apartment building. [Read more…]

More development possible on South Illinois Avenue

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South Purdue Land Use Plan

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday will consider amending the Land Use Plan to change the designation on parcels 39 and 40 above from residential to business. The parcels are next to Aldi grocery (Parcel 43 at right) and between South Purdue Avenue (white road center right) and South Illinois Avenue (yellow road at bottom). The Planning Commission could consider rezoning the property in July. The new Weigels gas station and convenience store is off the map to the left on Parcel 41. Potomac Circle is at top left. (Image courtesy State of Tennessee)

 

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday will consider amending the city’s Land Use Plan to change the designation of more than two acres on busy South Illinois Avenue from residential to business, possibly to allow a small multi-tenant building to be constructed.

The two parcels being considered are sandwiched between two other recent developments—Weigels gas station and convenience store on one side and Aldi grocery on the other—and also near the new Aubrey’s restaurant, Panera Bread, Ole Ben Franklin Motors, and Bojangles’ restaurant.

A Nashville development group has a contract on the property, Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said Monday. [Read more…]

Photos: Lavender Festival

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Lavender Festival Overview

The 16th annual Lavender Festival was Saturday in Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. The Oak Ridge FARM Market is in the foreground, and the festival is in the background. (Photos by Ray Smith)

 

The 16th Annual Lavender Festival was on Saturday in Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. The herb fair included more than 100 vendors, exhibits, and demonstrations featuring products and information related to gardening, cooking, health, aromatherapy, and all things herbal. 

Throughout the square, vendors offered live plants, herbs, art, crafts, herbal products, jewelry, baskets, pottery, wooden utensils, and more. Sample foods made with herbs were available, and there was also grilling with herb demonstrations by local chefs.

The Oak Ridge FARM Market was open across the street from the festival, local musicians were featured throughout the day, and children’s activities were available.

Vendors said they were very busy at the well-attended festival on Saturday morning. An afternoon storm dampened the activities, but many festival-goers continued to shop and enjoy the music. [Read more…]

School board to consider revised budget proposal on Monday

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Oak Ridge Board of Education

The Oak Ridge Board of Education and school administrators are pictured above during a meeting earlier this year. (File photo)

The Oak Ridge City Council did not want to raise the property tax rate, so the Oak Ridge Board of Education could consider cuts to next year’s school budget during a Monday evening meeting

The school board passed a budget in May that requested a 37-cent property tax rate increase to start rolling out a technology initiative known as 1:1, hire technology personnel and other staff, comply with the reporting requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act, and give employees a 2 percent pay raise, among other things.

But in two meetings this month, the Oak Ridge City Council rejected any change to the tax rate, and it will remain unchanged for the seventh year in a row. [Read more…]

NNSA dedicates nation’s largest federal wind farm

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Pantex Wind Farm

The National Nuclear Security Administration dedicated the nation’s largest federally owned wind farm on Tuesday at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. The NNSA also oversees work at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Photos courtesy NNSA)

 

Pantex wind farm complete

Retired Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, the new administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration, dedicated the nation’s largest federally owned wind farm Tuesday at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

Klotz, who is also the U.S. Department of Energy’s under secretary for nuclear security, was joined at the ceremony by Kevin Knobloch, DOE’s chief of staff; NNSA Production Office (NPO) Manager Steven Erhart; Siemens Government Technologies President and Chief Executive Officer Judy Marksl and Texas Tech University Associate Vice Chancellor Russell Thomasson.

The mission of the NPO is to ensure the safe, secure, and cost-effective operation of the Pantex Plant and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

The NNSA said Pantex will now be powered largely by the Pantex Renewable Energy Project, or PREP, an 11.5-megawatt, five-turbine wind farm that has been under construction since August on 1,500 acres of DOE-owned land adjacent to the Pantex Plant. [Read more…]

Battling cancer but planning to help build 59th home for Habitat

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Tim and Teresa Myrick Home Build

Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County is building a new home on Valley View Lane in Heiskell in honor of longtime volunteers Tim and Teresa Myrick, pictured at right. A family of five will live in the four-bedroom, 1,200-square-foot home. From left, they are Alexia, Amanda Cook, Edward Brown (back), Eddie (front), and Ethan.

 

HEISKELL—He’s worked on all 58 homes built by Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County during the past two decades. If his health allows, he’ll work on No. 59.

Tim Myrick, 60, is known for his community involvement, charitable contributions, and key role in the renovation of the Oak Ridge High School and modernization work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. But now he’s battling prostate cancer. His doctor said it’s the fastest-growing he’s seen. Myrick said it spread to his bones and elsewhere within three months. In December, he was given a year to live.

“I told them that’s not going to happen,” Myrick said during a Habitat for Humanity groundbreaking ceremony this month. “I told them I have too much work to do.”

Habitat is honoring Myrick and his wife Teresa by building a home in their honor on about 1.5 acres on Valley View Lane near East Wolf Valley Road in Heiskell.

“We can’t think of anyone who has worked harder for us for a longer period of time,” said Pat Fain, HFHAC board president. [Read more…]

In final vote, City Council again rejects tax increase for schools

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Oak Ridge City Council Budget Meeting

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday again said “no” to a property tax rate increase to give more money to Oak Ridge Schools. Council is pictured above during a June 9 budget meeting.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 a.m. June 17.

Two last-minute attempts to pass smaller-than-requested tax increases for the Oak Ridge Schools failed on Monday, and the City Council voted 4-2 to approve a budget that does not raise taxes in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The decision to not raise taxes for the seventh year in a row came after a parade of residents in two meetings this month asked Council to fully fund the schools. Many said they moved here because of the schools, and they said the educational system is Oak Ridge’s primary asset. School teachers, administrators, and school board members also said they support a greater investment in the schools.

“Flatline budgets will eventually produce flatline results,” said Steve Reddick, an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Jefferson Middle School and co-president of the Oak Ridge Education Association.

The schools had requested $17.9 million from the city, but the no-tax-increase budget lowered that amount to $14.6 million. School officials had previously said they will have to “go back to the drawing board” and make cuts if Council did not approve the tax rate increase. It’s not clear yet what cuts might be made. The Oak Ridge Board of Education could discuss changes to the school system’s budget, which was approved in May, during a Monday evening meeting.

[Read more…]

New traffic signal at North Illinois, Ivanhoe Road

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Kroger Marketplace Storefront

The storefront of the Kroger Marketplace, under construction at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue. The new store is expected to open June 29.

A new traffic signal will be activated at the intersection of North Illinois Avenue (State Route 62) and Ivanhoe Road on Friday, June 20.

It’s part of the new Kroger Marketplace shopping center, the Westcott Center, at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

The signal will operate in flashing mode several days before it’s activated, a city press release said. Activation of the signal could be delayed due to bad weather. [Read more…]

Secret City Festival started Friday morning, continues through Saturday evening

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Secret City Festival Opening Ceremony

B&W Y-12, which will no longer manage the Y-12 National Security Complex after June 30, has been a major sponsor of the Secret City Festival for 10 years and has contributed more than $250,000 total in the past decade. The federal contractor was recognized for its community contributions during the opening ceremony at the Secret City Festival on Friday morning. From left to right are Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan; Dave Richardson, B&W Y-12 president and general manager; Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller; and Bill Reis, B&W Y-12 vice president of public and governmental affairs.

 

The annual Secret City Festival, Oak Ridge’s largest festival, kicked off Friday morning and continues through Saturday evening.

Highlights of the two-day festival include concerts—Eddie Money and Kix Brooks are this year’s headliners—children’s activities, Manhattan Project site tours, arts, antiques, crafts, food, and fun. There are also World War II Living History activities and demonstrations, Oak Ridge history exhibits, and regional exhibitors and vendors.

Oak Ridge was a “secret city” during World War II, when it was part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, a federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons. The festival helps honor that heritage and also includes a range of entertainment, community information, and family fun, among other things.

You can check updates on this year’s Secret City Festival on Twitter here.

See the Secret City Festival website for more information, including on how to purchase concert tickets for Eddie Money and Kix Brooks. [Read more…]

More red-light, speeding violations since cameras disabled, Redflex says

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Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. said an eastbound traffic camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue/Lafayette Drive had the third-highest rise in detected speeding violations, a 243 percent increase in the number of drivers traveling at 46 mph or more, after the cameras were disabled April 21. Pictured above is the westbound camera.

 

The Arizona company that operated traffic cameras in Oak Ridge for five years said reckless driving has increased significantly, average speeds have risen, and there has been an increase in red-light running and speeding violations since the systems were disabled April 21.

The two biggest increases in speeding violations were in school zones on eastbound and westbound Robertsville Road near Willow Brook Elementary School, camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. said in a report that could be discussed during a Traffic Safety Advisory Board meeting on Tuesday. The average number of school zone violations jumped from a little more than two per day in the 14 days before the cameras were disabled to 10 or 11 per day afterward.

A school zone violation occurs when a driver is detected traveling at 21 mph or more in a 15 mph school zone.

Meanwhile, detections of red-light violations, which can lead to the most serious accidents, increased from an average of 20 per day at four locations in the three weeks before the cameras were disabled to up to 28 per day in the fourth week afterward, Redflex said. [Read more…]