Oak Ridge Today

Proposed schools budget would include raises, ask city for more money

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The budget proposed for Oak Ridge Schools for the fiscal year that starts July 1 includes 3 percent salary increases and a request for an additional $538,048 from the city. As proposed, the budget also includes the reduction of the full-time equivalent of four teachers and an increase in five technology positions.

The budget was presented to the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Tuesday. The board has a work session to discuss the Fiscal Year 2017 budget at 5:30 p.m. today (Thursday, May 12) and a work session to review the budget line by line at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 16.

If implemented as proposed, the budget would ask the city for a 3.6 percent increase in funding. It would also include experience-based pay increases known as step increases for staff.

It would include money to fund a 6.2 percent increase in health insurance rates and another 10 percent for dental insurance. [Read more…]

Sears Hometown Store opening this fall in Oak Ridge

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A new Sears Hometown Store will open in Oak Ridge this fall, a press release said. The store will be located at 142 Fairbanks Road.

“We are delighted to have local business owner and resident Leslie Agron and his team serving customers in Oak Ridge and the surrounding communities,” said Mike Jones, Region Development Manager—Sears Hometown Stores. “We are especially excited to be a part of the Oak Ridge retail community and to be able to bring back the Sears name and products to this area. We also appreciate the partnership with R&R Properties and others in the community who have worked diligently to get this project going.”

Rick Chinn of R&R Properties said he is excited about the project.

“We worked very closely with Leslie and the corporate folks from Sears to find just the right location in this market that would fit the needs of the required store layout,” Chinn said in the press release. [Read more…]

Life without parole, not death, in first-degree murder case

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Norman Lee Follis Jr., 52, received life without parole on Thursday, May 12, 2016, after being convicted of first-degree murder in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court on Tuesday, May 10, for killing his uncle in Claxton more than four years ago. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

CLINTON—An Anderson County man convicted of first-degree murder on Tuesday avoided the death penalty on Thursday, but he did receive a sentence of life without parole.

A jury of eight women and four men unanimously agreed on that decision after more than seven hours of deliberations on Wednesday and Thursday. Besides death and life without parole, they could have also returned a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

The jury said that prosecutors had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the killing of Samuel “Sammie” J. Adams, 79, sometime in mid-December 2011 was especially, heinous, atrocious, or cruel, and that Adams was 70 or older. Those were two of the four aggravating factors the jury could consider during the deliberations over whether to impose the death penalty against Norman Lee Follis Jr., 52.

Follis is Adams’ nephew, and he was convicted of first-degree murder for killing his uncle in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court on Tuesday.

Adams’ decomposing body was found buried under at least 10 blankets in a closet underneath a staircase at his apartment on Patt Lane in Claxton on January 24, 2012. A couch was shoved against the closet door. Adams had been reported missing. He died of strangulation. [Read more…]

Jury deliberating sentence in death penalty case

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Samuel “Sammie” J. Adams, who was killed at 79, is pictured above about five years before his death, which the man convicted of his murder, his nephew Norman Lee Follis Jr., said occurred in December 2011. (Photo courtesy Sandra Follis)

 

CLINTON—An Anderson County jury is deliberating the sentence for Norman Lee Follis Jr., 52, who was convicted on Tuesday of first-degree murder. The death penalty is one option.

The other two options are life without parole and life. No matter what happens, defense attorney Mart Cizek said, Follis will die in prison. Life with the possibility of parole has a 51-year minimum sentence, meaning Follis would be 103 before he would be eligible for release, if he receives the life sentence with the possibility of parole.

The jury convicted Follis on Tuesday of first-degree murder in the death of his uncle, Samuel “Sammie” J. Adams, 79, sometime between December 2011 and January 2012. Adams’ decomposing body was found on January 24, 2012, under a pile of at least 10 blankets in a closet under an apartment staircase on Patt Lane in Claxton after he was reported missing. He had been strangled. [Read more…]

Schools budget presented to BOE this evening

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Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers

 

The budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 will be presented to the Oak Ridge Board of Education at 5:30 p.m. today (Tuesday, May 10).

The school board will have a work session to discuss the Fiscal Year 2017 budget at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 12, and a work session to review the budget line by line at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 16.

Then, the BOE will consider the budget in the first of two readings at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 18. That meeting will include a public hearing. [Read more…]

Council approves ‘backyard chicken’ ordinance in first of two readings

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Pictured above during an Oak Ridge City Council work session on Tuesday, April 19, 2016, are Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, left, and Kayla Wyatt, an advocate for allowing a small number of hens at Oak Ridge homes. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

In the first of two monthly readings, the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday approved an ordinance that would allow residents to keep up to six female chickens, or hens, at homes in the city, possibly starting this year. No roosters would be allowed, and henhouses would not be allowed in front yards.

Council approved an ordinance that was adopted by Knoxville in 2010 and amended for potential use in Oak Ridge.

The Monday vote was 5-2 in favor of the “backyard chicken” ordinance. Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch and City Council member Rick Chinn cast the two “no” votes.

Chinn had concerns about lot size, among other things, and Gooch had concerns about the city’s image and potential disputes during implementation and enforcement.

Supporters of the current citizen-led initiative, first started with the help of Jennifer Alexander several years ago and picked up by Kayla Wyatt more recently, argued in favor of the hens for reasons of sustainability, teaching children about where food comes from, and being able to produce fresh eggs, among other reasons. [Read more…]

Woman charged with vehicular homicide, DUI after fatal crash on Friday

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Vickie Gay Gilmore

Vickie Gay Gilmore

Note: This story was last updated at 10:51 a.m.

An Oak Ridge woman has been charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence after a fatal crash that killed a 37-year-old mother on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Friday, authorities said.

The three-vehicle crash was reported at about 9:47 p.m. Friday, May 6, at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson Avenue.

When they arrived, officers attempted to immediately extricate the driver of one vehicle, Christy Duncan, 37 of Harriman, and her 4-year-old daughter from their vehicle, which was severely damaged, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department.

Both victims were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where Duncan later succumbed to her injuries, the press release said. It said the 4-year-old is being treated for injuries. Another driver, Jason Watson, was uninjured. [Read more…]

Twenty-four indicted in second cocaine conspiracy of 300 grams or more

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Edward Javard Mitchell

Edward Javard Mitchell

Note: This story was last updated at 10:08 p.m.

Twenty-four people, most of them Oak Ridge residents, have been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in a second alleged cocaine conspiracy of 300 grams or more. That makes a total of 33 people who have been indicted in two separate conspiracies to allegedly manufacture, distribute, and sell 300 grams or more of cocaine last year.

There are other charges that apply to some of the suspects as well.

The indictments allege that the two conspiracies, one involving 11 people and the other involving 24, both occurred between May 14 and December 23, 2015. The indictments are being posted by the Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk following a drug suspect roundup that started Thursday and continued into Saturday in Oak Ridge. It’s not clear yet if other communities were involved, or if authorities have alleged additional conspiracies. Also, all the charges against all the defendants don’t appear to be posted yet.

Two of the defendants are named in both conspiracies.

Authorities have said little about the case so far. But they plan to release more information about what they have described as a complex, multi-county criminal investigation during a Monday afternoon press conference in the Clinton office of Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. Authorities have said parts of the investigation were unprecedented. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are expected to report on the investigation during the Monday afternoon press conference. [Read more…]

Eleven indicted in alleged conspiracy to sell 300 grams or more of cocaine

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Jordan Antwan Jones

Jordan Antwan Jones

Note: This story was last updated at 10:25 p.m. May 9.

Eleven Oak Ridge and Knoxville residents were indicted May 3 on charges that they conspired to manufacture, distribute, and sell 300 grams or more of cocaine-based products last year.

The alleged cocaine conspiracy occurred between May 14 and December 23, 2015. The indictments were filed May 3, 2016.

The 11 indicted are:

  • Jordan Antwan Jones, 28, Tracy Lane, in Oak Ridge;
  • Deangelo James Galbreath, 28, Deer Run Drive, Knoxville;
  • Laquan Bernard Barber, 32, Hillside Road, Oak Ridge;
  • Derrick Jemail Anthony, 38, South Fisk Avenue, Oak Ridge;
  • Christopher Shane Black, 28, West Pasadena Lane, Oak Ridge;
  • Nicholas O’Brien Mitchell, 32, Tracy Lane, Oak Ridge;
  • William Ralph Sanders Jr., 38, South Benedict Avenue, Oak Ridge;
  • Alfred Lee Jones, 49, Black Rock Circle, Knoxville;
  • Ellen Michelle Sanders, 31, Nasson Lane, Oak Ridge;
  • Sarah Denise Cupp, 30, Aloha Avenue, Knoxville; and
  • Efia Ann Hull, 38, Deer Run Drive, Knoxville.

They are each facing Class A felony charges of:

  • conspiracy to manufacture 300 grams or more of cocaine,
  • conspiracy to distribute 300 grams or more of cocaine,
  • conspiracy to sell 300 grams or more of cocaine, and
  • conspiracy to possess with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell 300 grams or more of cocaine.

They have also been indicted on Class A felony charges of: [Read more…]

One person dies in three-vehicle crash on Turnpike on Friday

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One person died in a three-vehicle crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Friday night, authorities said.

The roadway was closed between Illinois and Louisiana avenues from just after 10 p.m. Friday until almost 2:30 a.m. Saturday, according to text alerts sent out by the Oak Ridge Police Department.

Additional information about the crash isn’t available yet, but the ORPD could have more information available later this evening.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Updated: Oak Ridge falls in no-hitter by Powell’s Alford, then loses to Gibbs

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Powell Alford Oak Ridge May 6 2016

Powell pitcher Peyton Alford strikes out the side in the top of the first inning during a 3-0 no-hitter win over Oak Ridge in the District 3-AAA tournament opener at Gibbs on Friday, May 6, 2016.

 

Note: This story was updated at 10 p.m. May 21.

GIBBS—Oak Ridge baseball head coach Mark Garrison had to give credit where credit was due.

The Wildcats fell victim to a dominating pitching performance by Powell’s Peyton Alford, who struck out 14 Oak Ridge batters and finished the game with a no-hitter in the Panthers’ 3-0 victory on Friday.

“He’s always good and I think that he was extra good today,” Garrison said. “He had a lot of days of rest, about five or six days. We did everything we could do. (Oak Ridge senior) Spencer Wilson did a great job even though he scattered 10 hits. We played great defense, and he kept us in the game. That’s what Spencer does. We just didn’t have an answer for Alford. He was very, very good.”

It was the District 3-AAA tournament opener, played at Gibbs High School.

Aside from an error, the Wildcats did in fact play solid defense and the pitching of Wilson—who recently tied the school’s record for most wins in a season—prevented Powell from taking a substantial lead. [Read more…]

Jail records: About two dozen arrests on drug-related charges Thursday

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Note: This story was last updated at 8:26 a.m.

There were about two dozen arrests on drug-related charges in Anderson County on Thursday, according to jail records, as authorities from several agencies swept through Oak Ridge and possibly other communities in what they’ve described as a multi-county criminal investigation.

The most common charge, by far, is manufacturing, delivering, selling, or possessing a controlled substance, according to Anderson County jail records. Counts on that charge vary from one to two dozen, according to jail records, with many of those arrested facing in the range of eight to 11 counts.

Other charges listed against a few of those arrested include possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony, unlawfully carrying a weapon, possessing drug paraphernalia, tampering with evidence, property theft, and simple possession.

Most of those arrested are listed as Oak Ridge residents, but there are also residents of Knoxville, Clinton, Kingston, and Madisonville. The defendants range in age from 20-61. [Read more…]