Oak Ridge Today

Eighth lane could be added to Oak Ridge rowing course by March

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Officials and referees used Oak Ridge Rowing Association boats to monitor the races on the seven-lane course at the 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. The city plans to add an eighth lane by March 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

An eighth lane could be added to the Oak Ridge rowing course by March, officials said Tuesday.

The work is made possible with help from a $40,000 state Tourism Enhancement Grant announced Tuesday by Randy Boyd, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Officials celebrated with a brief ceremony at Calhoun’s Event Center on Melton Lake Peninsula.

The eighth rowing lane has been on the city’s wish list for at least a decade, possibly longer.

Oak Ridge has received a $250,000 state grant for the proposed eighth lane. The city has planned to contribute $150,000, and Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson has solicited more money from other agencies that would benefit from the rowing course improvements, including in Anderson and Knox counties. That meant there was enough money available to fund a project of about $560,000, which is close to a targeted estimate that Watson gave Oak Ridge City Council members in March. [Read more…]

In child abuse case, police allegedly find drugs, knives; dog urine, feces; roaches, dirty dishes

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Jordan Tyler Etheridge and Honey Lee Hook July 2016

Jordan Tyler Etheridge, left, and Honey Lee Hook are pictured above. (Photos by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

 

An Oak Ridge man and woman were charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect after police conducting a welfare check on North Hollywood Circle on Saturday allegedly found drugs, paraphernalia, and several knives lying where a small child could reach them; dog urine and feces in several spots on the floor; roaches and dirty dishes with mold and bugs throughout the home; no running water that an officer could find; and a large bucket of dirty water in the middle of the floor, court records said.

The bathroom toilet was full of human waste, and there was a “foul odor throughout the residence,” according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

There were several small individual wrapped plastic baggies lying in plain sight on the living room floor, and some had a green leafy substance inside that looked and smelled like marijuana and several had a white powdery substance inside them, packaged for resale, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Sherrill Selby said in the warrants. There were two spoons with a white powder substance on them lying on a television stand, Selby said.

The home is within 1,000 feet of the playground of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, making it a drug-free school zone, the warrants said. [Read more…]

After 80 years, Norris Dam added to National Register of Historic Places

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TVA’s Norris Dam was named to the National Register of Historic Places—just in time for the 80th anniversary of the day the dam began operations. TVA celebrated July 28-30, 2016. Norris is the first TVA-built dam to achieve this honor, which was presented to TVA historian Pat Ezzell, left, by U. S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann at a special dinner held at the dam on Thursday, July 28, 2016. (Photo by Tennessee Valley Authority)

 

By Tennessee Valley Authority

One of East Tennessee’s most iconic energy sources, and a popular tourist and recreation destination, is officially now a protected American historic resource.

The National Park Service has added majestic Norris Dam, which extends 1,860 feet across the Clinch River in East Tennessee, to the National Register of Historic Places.

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann presented TVA Historian Pat Ezzell the plaque that will be prominently displayed at Norris Dam. Fleischmann bestowed the plaque at a July 28 dinner that celebrated the 80th anniversary of initial operation of TVA’s first hydro project.

Norris Dam is the first TVA dam to receive recognition on the National Registry. It and the nearby town of Norris both are named for George Norris, the Nebraska senator who authored the TVA Act. He also is known as the father of the Tennessee Valley Authority. [Read more…]

Commissioner Boyd to make tourism grant announcement at Calhoun’s on Tuesday

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Randy Boyd

Randy Boyd

 

Randy Boyd, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, will be in Oak Ridge on Tuesday to make an announcement concerning the state’s Tourism Enhancement Grant program, a tourism official said.

Boyd will be at Calhoun’s Event Center on Melton Lake Peninsula at 4 p.m. Tuesday, said Stephanie Wells, executive director of the Anderson County Tourism Council. [Read more…]

Alleged hit-and-run crash sends two to hospital; suspect charged

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An alleged hit-and-run crash on East Tennessee Avenue injured two women on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 1:30 p.m. Monday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

The women were struck by a vehicle on East Tennessee Avenue near Town Road as several pedestrians were crossing the road from Gallo Loco restaurant, which is on the south side of East Tennessee, to the north side of the road, the ORPD said.

Officers said a black truck had stopped for the pedestrians while they crossed the street. A beige Toyota Corolla, which was traveling behind the black truck, drove onto the sidewalk, passing the black truck, and struck two women, a press release said. The Toyota Corolla then allegedly fled the scene. [Read more…]

Sears Hometown Store expected to be open for Christmas shopping

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Sears Hometown Store Under Construction July 2016

Leslie Agron, an Oak Ridge resident and owner of Sears Hometown Store, is pictured above at the site of the new store, which is expected to open this fall on Fairbanks Road. (Photo credit: Fred Riffle of SHOS)

 

The new Sears Hometown Store on Fairbanks Road is expected to be open in plenty of time for Christmas shopping, according to the owner, Oak Ridge resident Leslie Agron.

The new Sears Hometown Store is being built even as the former Sears department store is being demolished at the former Oak Ridge Mall.

Visible construction activity on the roof at the new Sears Hometown Store, which is at 142 Fairbanks Road, was scheduled to start last week.

The store was announced in May, and it will be a free store pick-up site for many items on Sears.com, Agron said. [Read more…]

TVA decides coal combustion residuals more safely stored in place, including at Bull Run

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Bull Run Fossil Plant Ash Impoundment Closure

The Tennessee Valley Authority will move forward with a plan to permanently and safely store coal ash and other coal combustion residuals on TVA property at 10 locations across the service area, including the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton, officials said Friday.

The decision follows a year-long review of the potential environmental impacts detailed in an environmental impact statement, which addressed comments from 10 public open houses and additional opportunities for public input, a press release said.

See the final environmental impact statements, including for Bull Run Fossil Plant, here.

The EIS looked at two options for the future storage of coal combustion residuals, or CCR: closure-in-place and closure-by-removal. The preferred option for the 10 impoundments is closure-in-place, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORNL-led study analyzes electric grid vulnerabilities in extreme weather areas  

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A new ORNL-developed method pinpoints electrical service areas across the southern United States most vulnerable to climate change and predicted population growth, which could inform decision makers about future substation needs. (Photo by ORNL)

A new ORNL-developed method pinpoints electrical service areas across the southern United States most vulnerable to climate change and predicted population growth, which could inform decision makers about future substation needs. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Climate and energy scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method to pinpoint which electrical service areas will be most vulnerable as populations grow and temperatures rise.

“For the first time, we were able to apply data at a high enough resolution to be relevant,” said ORNL’s Melissa Allen, co-author of “Impacts of Climate Change on Sub-regional Electricity Demand and Distribution in the Southern United States,” published in Nature Energy.

Allen and her team developed new algorithms that combine ORNL’s unique infrastructure and population datasets with high-resolution climate simulations run on the lab’s Titan supercomputer. The integrated approach identifies substations at the neighborhood level and determines their ability to handle additional demand based on predicted changes in climate and population.

The new, high-resolution capability can explore the interconnections in complex systems such as critical infrastructure and weather and determine potential pathways to adapt to future global change, a press release said. [Read more…]

Photos: Wildcats scrimmage against Heritage

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Oak Ridge rising sophomore quarterback Kevin Reedy (15) throws a pass during a scrimmage against the Heritage Mountaineers at Blankenship Field on Friday, July 29, 2016. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats had a scrimmage against the Heritage Mountaineers of Blount County at Blankenship Field on Friday. Here are photos by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today and contributor Luther Simmons.

See a story on the scrimmage here.

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Oak Ridge rising sophomore quarterback Herbert Booker (13) runs during a scrimmage against the Heritage Mountaineers at Blankenship Field on Friday, July 29, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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Oak Ridge rising sophomore quarterback Herbert Booker (13) takes a snap during a scrimmage against the Heritage Mountaineers at Blankenship Field on Friday, July 29, 2016. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

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Georgia man, woman indicted in Check Into Cash robbery

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Check Into Cash

The Oak Ridge Police Department reported that a robbery was reported at Check Into Cash at 361 South Illinois Avenue at about 3:15 p.m. Friday, June 26, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—A Georgia man and woman have been indicted in a robbery at Check Into Cash in Oak Ridge in June 2015.

Arvenzio Clyde Miles, 24, and Kianna Denise Hill, 22, were indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on July 6, 2016. They had arraignments in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday.

Miles and Hill are both charged with three counts of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony; especially aggravated kidnapping with a gun, a Class A felony; and aggravated assault while displaying a firearm, a Class C felony.

Hill and Miles are accused in an armed robbery at Check Into Cash at 361 South Illinois Avenue at about 3:15 p.m. Friday, June 26, 2015. They were arrested less than two weeks later in East Point, Georgia, southwest of Atlanta, on Wednesday, July 8, 2015.

The indictments allege that Hill and Miles confined Calvin Murray, a store manager, and employees Morgan Gist and Joy Jennings, and took their cell phones while displaying a firearm. All three were forced into a restroom at gunpoint against their will, and they were held captive there until the robbery was complete, according to arrest warrants filed in July 2015. The warrants alleged that the cell phones were taken to prevent the victims from calling the police. [Read more…]

Harriman man killed in Roane County crash

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A Harriman man died in a single-vehicle crash on Highway 61 in Roane County on Friday, authorities said.

Martin J. Palenski, 37, was not wearing a seat belt, and he was ejected when the car he was driving rolled after hitting an embankment at about 12:36 p.m. Friday, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

The THP said Palenski was driving a 2002 Ford Taurus west on Highway 61. While going around a righthand curve, the Taurus went off the left side of the road, a crash report said. Palenski overcorrected and hit an embankment on the right side of the road, the THP said. The Taurus then rolled, and Palenski was ejected, the THP said. [Read more…]

Norris Dam celebrates 80 years this weekend with food, fun, music

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The Tennessee Valley Authority is celebrating the 80th anniversary of Norris Dam with food, family-friendly fun, music, and self-guided tours of Norris Dam. (Photo by TVA)

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority is celebrating the 80th anniversary of Norris Dam with a food, family-friendly fun, music, and self-guided tours of Norris Dam.

“It’ll be a birthday party to remember…and TVA is giving away all of the presents!” a press release said.

The party is scheduled from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, July 29 and 30, at the dam.

No reservations or tickets are required, and admission is free.

“Come bring your family and friends for an experience to remember,” the press release said.

Full details are at http://www.tva.com/norris80. [Read more…]