William James McMillan
Note: This story was updated at 11:33 a.m.
An Andersonville man has been charged with murder in a shooting that allegedly killed his girlfriend’s mother early Wednesday, authorities said.
William James McMillan, 48, is accused of fatally shooting Karen Zahrobsky, 66, according to authorities. They said McMillan, Zahrobsky, and Zahrobsky’s daughter, Christin Dixon, 45, all lived at 460 Lone Mountain Road in Andersonville, where the shooting allegedly occurred.
The shooting was reported at about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday. Zahrobsky was dead when deputies arrived.
McMillan was charged by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which helped investigate. McMillan was booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, and he is being held on $625,000.00 bond. [Read more…]
Authorities are investigating the death of a 66-year-old woman in Andersonville from an apparent gunshot wound on Wednesday.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department responded to the shooting call at about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, June 10, at 460 Lone Mountain Road in Andersonville. The woman was dead when they arrived.
Sheriff’s investigators were called and have processed the scene and are conducting interviews to determine the circumstances of the shooting, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said in a statement. [Read more…]
Colin Anderson, ORNL Federal Credit Union senior vice president and chief financial officer, discusses the new Oak Ridge branch on South Rutgers Avenue during a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday. Also pictured is board chair Marcy Catron.
Construction could start this month on an ORNL Federal Credit Union branch on South Rutgers Avenue, and the building could be complete by the end of the year, officials said.
The new branch will at the same site as the original main Oak Ridge branch. The branch will move from its current location next door at the ORNL Federal Credit Union headquarters building, which is also on Rutgers Avenue.
The estimated cost of the 5,000-square-foot branch at 215 South Rutgers Avenue is $4.5 million. Some materials from the original office will be used in the new building.
“This branch represents a multi-million-dollar vote of confidence in Oak Ridge,” said acting chief executive officer Colin Anderson, ORNL FCU senior vice president and chief financial officer. [Read more…]
A water main break Tuesday afternoon temporarily created a stream behind St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church near Tulane Avenue. (Photo by Rob Welton)
Oak Ridge crews were repairing a water main break near North Tulane Avenue on Tuesday evening.
The water line break temporarily created a stream that flowed from behind St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church toward North Tulane.
City workers were able to stop the water, and they expected the line to be repaired this evening.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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A fugitive wanted on several counts, including attempted first-degree murder, was apprehended in Oak Ridge on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
Michael Q. Ray was taken into custody without incident at 101 North Walker Circle, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.
The ORPD said Ray had been sought on multiple counts for charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. Those charges stemmed from a June 3 incident at the McKenzie Acres Apartments on Utica Circle in which multiple gunshots were fired, a press release said.
The operation to apprehend Ray involved several ORPD elements that included Criminal Investigations and Patrol Division personnel, as well as Special Weapons Team personnel, the City of Oak Ridge said in the press release.
“The investigation into the shooting at the McKenzie Acres Apartments remains ongoing, and no further information will be released at this time,” the release said.
Jhavon T. Parker
An Oak Ridge man allegedly robbed three people in a hotel parking lot on Monday and was arrested a short time later, authorities said.
The alleged robbery occurred at the Holiday Inn Express at about 11:49 p.m. Monday, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department.
The three victims told officers that a male had robbed them at gunpoint and fled on foot, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. More officers responded, inspected the area, and conducted interviews.
The press release said Jhavon T. Parker, 19, of Oak Ridge, was arrested a short time later and taken to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, where he was charged with three counts of aggravated robbery. [Read more…]
Warren Gooch
Note: This story was updated at 8:51 a.m.
It’s still not clear how property reappraisals in Roane County will affect the Oak Ridge property tax rate, so the City Council on Monday deferred a vote on the budget until Monday, June 15.
Council had been scheduled to consider the budget in the first of two readings on Monday (June 8). Council was expected to consider the budget on second and final reading on June 15.
But the five-year property reappraisals in Roane County are not yet complete, and it’s not clear when they will be. Officials said property assessments there are likely to go down as they have in Anderson County, where they’ve fallen 4 percent.
An overall drop in property values could require an increase in the tax rate because the revenues after the reappraisals have to remain the same as they were before. [Read more…]
Christopher Friend
Oak Ridge Associated Universities has awarded five William G. Pollard Scholarships of $2,500 each toward undergraduate studies for the 2015-2016 academic year. The recipients of this year’s scholarships are Cory Anderson, Rachel Baxter, Christopher Friend, Bailey Kitts, and Caroline Thomas.
Each year, ORAU awards these scholarships to employees’ children who display exceptional achievements in their high school or undergraduate studies. Applicants must submit official transcripts from all high schools and colleges attended, three references (at least two of which must be from teachers), and a 500-word essay describing the student’s professional and personal interests.
Below are additional details on each of this year’s winners: [Read more…]
Martin Keller, left, associate laboratory director for the Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Tae Won Lim, vice president of Hyundai Motor Company, made a memorandum of understanding official on Monday, June 8. (Submitted photo)
Hyundai Motor Company and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have signed an agreement intended to strengthen the automaker’s U.S. research and development, or R&D, portfolio.
Hyundai Motor Company and its affiliate Kia Motors Corporation will be identifying and providing R&D needs of the automotive industry, providing feedback and evaluation technology concepts, consulting with ORNL on R&D topics related to the industry, and developing potential Hyundai-sponsored projects to be carried out under separate, legally binding agreements, a press release said.
As the world’s fifth largest automaker, Hyundai Motor Company employs more than 30,000 workers in the United States, and more than 700,000 Hyundai and Kia vehicles are made in the U.S.
Through this agreement, Hyundai Motor and UT-Battelle, which manages ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy, will also work to identify R&D funding opportunities of mutual interest and coordinate meetings to exchange information, the press release said. Hyundai sees ORNL as providing significant expertise in diverse areas. [Read more…]
Christopher Cody Samuelson
Two men who allegedly possessed illegal drugs and firearms were arrested at an Oak Ridge motel on Friday morning, authorities said.
The Oak Ridge Police Department investigated possible drug activity around Days Inn on South Illinois Avenue at about 10:11 a.m. Friday, June 5, a press release said. Several officers responded, and when they arrived, they detained Christopher Samuelson and Anthony Gallaher, both 30-year-old Oak Ridge residents.
The search of a hotel room resulted in the seizures of suspected methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, a handgun, and currency believed to be derived from the sales of narcotics, the press release said. Another pistol was allegedly recovered from a vehicle linked to both men that was parked near the room. Officers also conducted a parole search of a residence in Oak Ridge and recovered additional narcotics, the release said. [Read more…]
A discarded cigarette that was still lit started a fire in the cargo area of a commercial truck on Interstate 75 on Friday night, authorities said.
The cigarette was discarded by an unknown motorist who threw it out of an unknown vehicle, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Steve Owens said in a report. It landed in the cargo area of a 2013 Ford F3D commercial truck owned by Classic Installs of Knoxville and driven by employee Ryan A. Johnson, the report said.
Johnson was driving south on I-75 near mile marker 121, just south of the Clinton exit, when he saw flames coming from the cargo area of his truck. He quickly pulled over to investigate and called for police and fire help at about 10 p.m. Friday. [Read more…]
