Oak Ridge Today

Lady Wildcats have fourth shutout, Hausladen has eight goals in two games

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Oak Ridge and Karns Soccer Leah Scudder and Ellie Brown

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats beat the Karns Lady Beavers 3-0 on Thursday. Among those pictured in red above are Wildcats Leah Scudder (22) and Ellie Brown (8). (Photo by Terri Blair)

 

The Lady Wildcats have four shutouts in their first four games, and freshman forward Kate Hausladen scored eight goals in two of them.

Oak Ridge beat Karns 3-0 on Thursday. Sophomore midfielder Zoe Van Hook scored two goals, and senior forward Macy Barclay scored one, Lady Wildcats Coach Jeff Trombly said.

He said Oak Ridge had most of the possession on Thursday and controlled most of the game.

“We were…very pleased with the results,” Trombly said.

The girls soccer team is now 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the district. [Read more…]

FBI: Even small tips could help catch extortion, kidnapping suspects

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FBI Press Conference Composite Sketches Extortion, Kidnapping

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville on Wednesday released composite sketches of two subjects and one person of interest in alleged kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July. Pictured above are FBI Knoxville Special Agent in Charge Edward Reinhold, center; Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Michael MacLean, right; and Knoxville Police Department Deputy Chief Nate Allen. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KNOXVILLE—Two men entered two different homes in kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July, and a woman, possibly with an infant or a toddler, might have entered the first, officials said Wednesday.

A blue four-door car was spotted in the area of the second home about a week before the second incident, said Edward Reinhold, special agent in charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville.

It’s possible there could be a fourth person involved, and it’s not clear if the suspects are still in the area.

Reinhold said both men were wearing disguises. The woman was not, but she might have been wearing a wig and sunglasses. [Read more…]

More changes under reorganization at Oak Ridge Schools

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The recent reclassification of positions announced earlier this week has created opportunities for other staff to assume new positions in the Oak Ridge Schools, including at Robertsville Middle School and Secret City Academy, a press release said.

Here are the organizational changes:

  • D.T. Hobby will become the Robertsville Middle School assistant principal, which was open due to Garfield Adams being named the new Robertsville Middle School principal.
  • John Roberts will be the new Secret City Academy (formerly the ORS Alternative School) administrator due to the departure of D.T. Hobby. Roberts is currently an Oak Ridge High School assistant principal.
  • A vacancy will be posted immediately to fill the open Oak Ridge High School assistant principal position.

See a summary of the backgrounds of both Hobby and Roberts below. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools introduces Access Oak Ridge Digital 1:1 Initiative

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Oak Ridge Schools Logo

Oak Ridge Schools formally introduced its digital 1:1 initiative, called Access Oak Ridge, at its Board of Education meeting Monday evening. The Access Oak Ridge initiative will put a digital device in the hands of every ORS middle school student prior to the end of the 2015-2016 school year.

The digital 1:1 rollout will start with a proof of concept phase beginning this October, which will include the 6th grade at Jefferson Middle School and the 7th grade at Robertsville Middle School. This phase will be followed by a full, middle school rollout to include all middle school grades 5-8.

Bruce Borchers, Oak Ridge Schools superintendent, offered crucial context and explained the importance behind the Access Oak Ridge initiative, a press release said. [Read more…]

Commerce secretary to tour UT partner IACMI, ORNL manufacturing facility

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Penny Pritzker

Penny Pritzker

KNOXVILLE—On Thursday, August 27, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Department of Energy Assistant Secretary David Danielson will visit the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation in Knoxville.

The visit is part of a two-day tour of the institutes make up the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. Governor Bill Haslam, U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, and Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett will join Pritzker for portions of the day’s activities.

The group will tour the U.S. Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and National Transportation Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The University of Tennessee in Knoxville is a key strategic partner of IACMI and led the proposal efforts with ORNL.

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announced the new institute in January during a visit to East Tennessee. The White House initiative aims to strengthen the global competitiveness of America’s manufacturing sector and the workforce. The NNMI now has six institutes, and three more are being formed. [Read more…]

Model residential drug recovery court showing success, attorney says

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Brad MacLean and Bob Cantrell

Brad McLean, left, program director of the Morgan County Residential Recovery Court, welcomes the commitment of Rev. Bob Cantrell and Presbyterians to help residents “reconnect with the community.” (Submitted photo)

 

By Carolyn Krause

The United States has a broken criminal justice system and a huge drug addiction epidemic, and the country leads the world in the number of people who are in prisons and jails. More than half of released prisoners re-offend and return to prison within three years.

Brad MacLean, an award-winning Nashville attorney and opponent of the death penalty who lives in Clinton, decided more than two years ago to help combat these major issues. He created and is supervising the nation’s first statewide residential drug recovery court, a pilot program and potential model for other states. On August 1, 2013, the Morgan County Residential Recovery Court opened at the Morgan County Correctional Complex, a state prison for men.

MacLean, who had volunteered in Judge Seth Norman’s residential drug court for Davidson County inmates, is program director at the Morgan County residential recovery court for nonviolent, drug-addicted felons across the state. [Read more…]

Major water main break could be repaired by 6 p.m. Tuesday, city says

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West Outer Drive Water Main Break

The major water main break on West Outer Drive near Johnson Road is almost repaired, officials said late Tuesday afternoon. Here City of Oak Ridge crews work in front of 650 West Outer Drive. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The major water main break on West Outer Drive near Johnson Road is almost repaired, officials said late Tuesday afternoon.

Late Tuesday morning, the City of Oak Ridge said residents at 646-664 West Outer Drive would be without water for about six hours, or possibly longer, while crews worked to repair the line. In the meantime, residents in the surrounding area were advised that they could encounter lower water pressure and possibly be without water for a short time as well.

At 4:40 p.m., the city said the water main break should be repaired by 6 p.m. Tuesday. [Read more…]

Updated: Preschool, SAB locked down after robbery reported at nearby medical office

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Oak Ridge Medical Clinic Robbery

A robbery was reported at Oak Ridge Medical Clinic on West Tennessee Avenue early Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4:50 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Preschool was temporarily locked down on Tuesday afternoon after a robbery was reported at a nearby medical office.

The robbery was reported at about 1:03 p.m. Tuesday at Oak Ridge Medical Clinic at 170 West Tennessee Avenue, on the north side of Methodist Medical Center and about a block away from the preschool. A woman reported that she was robbed of her purse and contents worth an estimated $300.

“The victim had parked her vehicle in the parking lot of the medical center, and as she was walking into the building, the suspect approached, violently grabbed her purse, and knocked her to the ground,” a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

The Oak Ridge police and fire departments and Anderson County EMS responded, and police set up a perimeter around the area. A canine unit was sent to help search for the suspect.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said the suspect fled on foot, running northbound through residential lots toward the Oak Ridge Preschool and School Administration Building at 304 New York Avenue.

[Read more…]

Lay moves to administrative job, Adams named RMS principal

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Bruce Lay

Bruce Lay

Note: This story was updated at 6:05 p.m.

Robertsville Middle School Principal Bruce Lay is taking a new administrative position for Oak Ridge Schools, and RMS Vice Principal Garfield Adams will become principal.

The assistant superintendent job that is now vacant has been reclassified as executive director of school leadership. The position was reclassified and is now vacant after former Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak left to become director of schools in Maury County, south of Nashville. Lay has been selected to fill the new position.

Lay moved to RMS from Jefferson Middle School in 2013.

Adams was named RMS vice principal in June 2014. [Read more…]

Higgins, Wildcats receiver, commits to play football at UT

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Tee Higgins Clinton Dragons

Junior receiver Tee Higgins (5) celebrates his first touchdown catch for the Oak Ridge Wildcats against the Clinton Dragons on Friday, Aug. 21, 2015. Higgins had three catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Higgins announced on Monday that he has committed to play football for the University of Tennessee. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins announced on Twitter on Monday that he has officially committed to play football at the University of Tennessee.

Higgins, who is a 6’4″ and 185 pounds, is the No. 1 Class of 2017 prospect in the state, according to 247Sports.

Higgins chose the Volunteers over scholarship offers from more than a dozen other teams, including Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss. [Read more…]

Three-vehicle crash with injuries reported on South Illinois at Centrifuge

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South Illinois Avenue Crash on Aug. 24, 2015

Injuries were reported and one person was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after a three-vehicle crash on South Illinois Avenue on Monday afternoon.

 

A three-vehicle crash with injuries was reported on South Illinois Avenue near Centrifuge Way on Monday afternoon.

One vehicle was upside down, resting on its roof, and one person was reportedly flown by a UT Lifestar medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were involved, how many were injured, or how many others were taken to the hospital.

The crash was just down the hill toward Oak Ridge from the Centrifuge Way overpass. [Read more…]

School board to consider buying $1.36M worth of 1:1 computing devices

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday will consider buying $1.36 million worth of “one to one” computing devices for middle school students and teachers.

The purchase of the 1,636 devices would be through a $1.59 million, four-year CalFirst equipment lease that the school board will also consider on Monday.

The BOE will consider buying 1,520 student devices worth $1,223,600 from Personal Computer Systems, or PCS, in Louisville, Tennessee. The Lenovo 11E Yoga convertible laptops are worth $805 each and would be used by students in grades 5-8.

Teachers in grades 5-8 would get 116 devices worth $135,140 from PCS. Those devices, worth $1,165 each, would be Lenovo Yoga 12s. [Read more…]