Oak Ridge Today

Jeep pulling ATV knocks down railroad signal in Oliver Springs

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Tri-County Boulevard and ATV Railroad Crossing Crash

A Jeep pulling an ATV on Tri-County Boulevard on Monday evening went off the road and knocked down a railroad signal. (Photos by Tom Scott)

Information from photographer Tom Scott

A Jeep pulling a trailer hauling an ATV eastbound on Tri-County Boulevard on Monday went off the road near Edmonds Drive and knocked down a railroad crossing signal.

The ATV flipped and landed next to the vehicle after the crash, which occurred at about 5:50 p.m. Monday.

No injuries were reported. The Oliver Springs police and fire departments responded as did the Anderson County Emergency Medical Services. [Read more…]

Price Florist demolished

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Price Florist Demolition

Demolition work at Price Florist began Saturday and could be completed Monday.

Workers began demolishing Price Florist on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Saturday and could finish the job on Monday.

The work at the longtime floral business in central Oak Ridge is being done by Perkins Trucking and Excavating of Knoxville.

Tony Cappiello of Capiello Real Estate said one of his family’s companies purchased the 0.43-acre property about a month ago for $216,000. He said the seller agreed to demolish the property at her expense since it had been condemned by the City of Oak Ridge.

Cappiello said the property is about as large as the Subway down the street. [Read more…]

After slow start, Wildcats open up large lead against Powell

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Tee HIggins Dunks During the Oak Ridge Wildcats

Freshman Tee Higgins of the Oak Ridge Wildcats fires up fans with a one-handed dunk during the Friday night win over the Powell Panthers.

Led by the 26 points of senior Jaylin Henderson, the Oak Ridge Wildcats opened up a large lead against Powell in the second half on Friday night, avenging a loss to the Panthers earlier this season with a 79-47 win.

The Panthers (10-6, 6-4 in District 3) jumped out to an early lead as the Wildcats missed some easy shots in the first quarter. But the 6-foot-1 Henderson kept the Wildcats alive, and senior Isaac Merian dropped in a three-pointer near the end of the first quarter that gave Oak Ridge its first lead of the night. The Wildcats (19-5, 9-1) never looked back.

Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said it was likely the best game of the year for Henderson, a senior guard. He defended well, didn’t force shots, and wasn’t selfish with the ball, Green said. Henderson had six rebounds and five assists. [Read more…]

JCPenney in Oak Ridge to stay open as 33 stores close across US

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JCPenney at Oak Ridge Mall

JCPenney at the Oak Ridge Mall will stay open as the company closes 33 stores across the United States.

The JCPenney in Oak Ridge will stay open as the retailer closes 33 underperforming stores across the United States.

The list of closures announced Wednesday includes only one Tennessee store, the JCPenney at Northgate Mall in Chattanooga.

The JCPenney in Oak Ridge is at the city’s mostly empty mall, where a $85 million redevelopment has been proposed. Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina company that has had a purchase contract on the mall since January 2013, has said the renovated 59-acre site could open in  2016 and include a mix of retail and office space, a hotel, and up to 50 multi-family residential units, as well as a few restaurants. Belk and JCPenney are expected to stay. [Read more…]

Federal agents investigate DOE subcontractor based in Oliver Springs

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Federal Agents at TOPS in Oliver Springs

On Thursday, federal agents investigate the Oliver Springs offices of TOPS, a U.S. Department of Energy subcontractor.

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 17.

OLIVER SPRINGS—A federal subcontractor that works at U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge is under investigation by several federal agencies, including the FBI, IRS, and DOE Office of Inspector General.

Federal agents were at the Oliver Springs headquarters of the contractor, TOPS, on Thursday, but officials would not comment on the investigation. The office is on Winter Gap Road, next to Highway 62 just north of downtown Oliver Springs.

Dennis Holenstein at the IRS’ Nashville Field Office confirmed that agents from IRS Criminal Investigations were assisting with the investigation, but he referred a reporter to the DOE Office of Inspector General. The IG, in turn, referred calls to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Tennessee. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said its policy is to neither comment on, nor confirm or deny, the existence or status of a pending investigation.

[Read more…]

K-25 workers also shelter in place during police search

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K-25 Aerial

Now demolished, the former K-25 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

Workers at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, were asked to shelter in place for about 30 minutes early Thursday afternoon as police officers searched for an armed person who had been reported to be traveling from the Clinton area to west Oak Ridge.

It was the same search that led to a brief lockdown at Jefferson Middle School at about 1 p.m. Thursday, said Mike Koentop, U.S. Department of Energy spokesman in the Oak Ridge Office.

“It was not related at all to any DOE activity,” Koentop said. “Steps were taken as a precaution.” [Read more…]

JMS briefly locked down as police search area for person with handgun

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Jefferson Middle School

Jefferson Middle School

Jefferson Middle School was briefly locked down early Thursday afternoon as police searched for a person armed with a handgun at a nearby business.

The Oak Ridge Police Department began searching for the person at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday after receiving information that the individual, who is not identified in a press release, had just left the Clinton area and might be on the way to the west end of Oak Ridge.

“Oak Ridge police personnel from the Patrol, Criminal Investigations, and Administration divisions immediately deployed throughout the city to locate the individual, and at approximately 12:52 p.m., information was received that the individual may have been in a vehicle in the Home Depot parking lot in Oak Ridge,” an ORPD press release said. “Oak Ridge police unmarked units identified a vehicle matching the description of the individual’s vehicle in the parking lot and requested the Jefferson Middle School initiate a lockdown, as it was nearby. [Read more…]

Inadequate shielding exposed workers to excess radiation at MMC imaging center, lawsuits allege

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Methodist Medical Center

Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge

Methodist Medical Center says it will ‘vigorously’ refute allegations

Note: This story was last updated at 3:38 p.m.

Five lawsuits filed in Anderson County on Monday allege that X-ray and radiologic technologists, including two who were pregnant, were exposed to excess radiation for several years at Methodist Medical Center because some walls in and around a radiology imaging center in the new emergency department were built without the required lead shielding, elevating the workers’ risk of health problems, including cancer.

The five lawsuits allege the walls in the emergency department, which opened in February 2006 as part of a hospital remodel, did not have the required protective radiological shielding because of building, design, and inspection errors.

Lead-lined walls are required in radiological areas to limit radiation exposure under local and federal regulations and construction and health standards, the lawsuits say.

But the defendants—Covenant Health of Knoxville, Rentenbach Engineering Co. of Knoxville, and TEG Architects LLC of Jeffersonville, Ind.—failed to have qualified personnel survey or check the installation and construction parameters, or conduct proper barrier determinations for lead barrier thickness, to ensure that the walls in the radiological areas would adequately reduce scatter and leakage radiation, the lawsuits say. The defendants also failed to have qualified personnel certify that the MMC in-department imaging center and nearby areas were built in compliance with all applicable regulations and guidelines so that the plaintiffs “would only be exposed to levels of radiation that were as low as reasonably achievable, all before allowing work to be done at that facility.” [Read more…]

Snow possible Wednesday morning; winter weather advisory in East Tennessee

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Snow is possible Wednesday morning as a cold front moves through East Tennessee.

Light snow accumulations are possible in the valley, with several inches possible in the mountains, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

Forecasters said the winter storm is moving into the area from the plains late tonight, and rain is expected to change to snow within the first few hours. By rush hour Wednesday morning, much of the area will be receiving light to moderate snow, the Weather Service said.

“The system will slowly exit the area to the east, with snows lingering in the mountains into Wednesday night,” the NWS said. [Read more…]

New SRO approved at Oak Ridge Schools, could start Monday

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Oak Ridge City Council

The Oak Ridge City Council voted 5-1 on Monday to approve a move that allows another school resource officer, or SRO, to be added to Oak Ridge Schools.

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 14.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved a move on Monday that will add a second school resource officer in the city’s schools, and the new SRO could start Monday.

The new SRO is Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Michael Swigert. The current SRO is Officer Sherrill Selby.

It’s not as big a step as some officials had proposed during the past few years. There have been various proposals to have a total of three SROs, including one at each of the city’s two middle schools, or even more, perhaps one SRO at each school. The discussions seemed to gain urgency after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012, but funding has been an obstacle. [Read more…]

Wildcats hold lead, hand Karns its first district loss

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Karns Beavers Basketball

Senior Isaac Merian goes up for a shot as the Oak Ridge Wildcats keep their halftime lead on Saturday and give the Karns Beavers their first district loss.

KARNS—Oak Ridge fans grew nervous as Karns chipped away at a 13-point halftime lead on Saturday night, but the Wildcats were able to hang on for a 70-64 win, handing the Beavers their first district loss and giving the fans a satisfying victory.

The Wildcats were up 39-26 at halftime, but Karns knocked the lead down to 65-64 with 41 seconds left in the hard-fought basketball game.

But Oak Ridge (17-5, 7-1 in District 3) held the lead and then widened it in the last half-minute through big plays and clutch free throws.

The Wildcats weren’t able to stop senior Devin Sibley of Karns on Saturday—he scored 29 points—but seniors Isaac Merian and Jaylin Henderson of Oak Ridge combined for 40 points, scoring 20 each. Ted Mitchell added 14, Gevantay Gee knocked down 11, and Kevin Steen contributed 5. [Read more…]

B&W announces leadership changes at Y-12

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Dave Richardson

Dave Richardson

The Babcock and Wilcox Co. on Friday announced top management changes at B&W Y-12, the contractor that operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

Among the changes: B&W Y-12 President and General Manager Charles G. “Chuck” Spencer, who started at Y-12 shortly after the July 28, 2012, security breach, will return to his former position as vice president and chief operating officer of Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Group Inc. Spencer will continue his involvement at Y-12 and the Pantex Plant in Texas as chairman of the Board of Managers for both B&W Y-12 and Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Pantex LLC, a press release said.

Spencer replaced Darrel P. Kohlhorst in August 2012. Kohlhorst abruptly retired after the security breach.

Spencer will be replaced by Dave Richardson, who will become president and general manager of Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Y-12 LLC, or B&W Y-12, on Feb. 1. [Read more…]