Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge church goes green

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ORUUC Solar Panels

Rows of solar panels on the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church roof as seen from Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Submitted photo)

 

By Angie Palau

Just in time for Earth Day, Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is now an active Tennessee Valley Authority Green Power Provider.

The 20-kilowatt installation on the ORUUC sanctuary roof was completed in mid-April by Green Earth Solar, and the solar array has begun to generate clean power for the electrical grid. ORUUC is the first church in Oak Ridge to have solar panels, and indeed is one of the first non-residential buildings in town to have made this investment.

The project was fully funded by private donations from church members and friends and a grant from the ORUUC Endowment Fund. The configuration of the panels allows for expansion of its generating capacity in the future, something that ORUUC anticipates doing. [Read more…]

Vehicles ram each other, shots fired before police arrest OS man

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David Ramsey Dunlap

David Ramsey Dunlap

A car and a truck rammed each other during a police chase on Wednesday night, and the driver of the sedan fired shots at the truck before he was arrested, authorities said.

It started after Oak Ridge Police Department officers responded to a disturbance at a home in the Hendrix Creek subdivision at about 10:53 p.m. Wednesday, April 29. Officers learned that a man, later identified as David Dunlap Jr., 44, of Oliver Springs, was at the home, armed with a handgun and threatening to harm others, an Oak Ridge press release said.

When officers responded, they learned that Dunlap was at a home in the Highland View neighborhood. Officers then redeployed to that residence, where they encountered two vehicles, a sedan and a truck, on Outer Drive near New York Avenue traveling at a high rate of speed, the press release said.

“As the vehicles approached the responding officers, Dunlap, who was driving the sedan, fired shots at the truck,” the release said. [Read more…]

Council to discuss impact of proposed DOE landfill during Friday meeting

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Oak Ridge Reservation with Bear Creek Valley

The proposed Environmental Management Disposal Facility would be built between the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, or EMWMF.

 

Oak Ridge officials will discuss the community impact of a proposed landfill that would hold waste from cleanup work at federal sites during a work session on Friday.

The Oak Ridge City Council work session is scheduled from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 8, in the Municipal Building Training Room.

Council will be briefed on the Draft Community Impact Assessment of the proposed Environmental Management Disposal Facility by Karl Kalbacher, project manager for The Ferguson Group, a company that helps the city with its federal legislative agenda in Washington, D.C.

The Environmental Management Disposal Facility would be built on Bear Creek Road west of the Y-12 National Security Complex near another landfill that is already in use and has been operating since 2002. It could cost $1 billion, including construction and 23 years of operations. [Read more…]

POST asks DAs, feds to investigate whether Akagi violated state, federal law

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Tasha Blakney

Tasha Blakney

Chief’s attorney calls it one more effort to vilify Akagi

The organization that certifies police officers in Tennessee has asked state and federal authorities to investigate whether Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi violated state and federal laws by possessing a firearm after being issued an ex parte order of protection during divorce proceedings in Blount County three years ago.

The April 27 letter from Ray Farris, assistant director of the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, was sent to Mike Flynn, district attorney general in the Fifth Judicial District in Maryville; Dave Clark, district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District in Clinton; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville.

“Documents provided to our office indicate that an order of protection was issued by the Blount County Court against Chief Akagi on April 19, 2012,” Farris said in the letter. “During the effective period of this order of protection, Chief Akagi submitted his firearms qualifications scores to the Commission, which appears to be a violation of the aforementioned order of protection.”

But Tasha Blakney, an attorney for the police chief, has said Akagi was not prohibited from carrying a firearm.

“I am absolutely confident that there has been no violation of state or federal law in this family law matter with regard to the ex parte order of protection that was temporarily entered and subsequently dismissed,” Blakney said Thursday. “They simply don’t carry any implications for an individual’s Second Amendment rights. That’s just a function of understanding the way that Tennessee law works.” [Read more…]

Free Medical Clinic’s FMC Bash: Auctions, dinner, dance contest

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Michael Burns and Sumner Byrne

Michael Burns and Sumner Byrne placed first in the dance contest at the Free Medical Clinic fundraiser last year, bringing in the most money for this crowd-pleasing event. (Submitted photo)

Save the date: Volunteers and staff at the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge will present their annual “fun” fundraiser, the FMC Bash, on Saturday, August 8.

You can wear a neon T-shirt and jeans—dress is casual. An excellent dinner will be provided by Morrison Catering.

You can hear and dance to Second Opinion, the band of a few rockin’ doctors associated with Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge.

You can “vote” on the amazing and amusing Oak Ridge couples as they compete in the Celebrity Dance Contest.

And you can bid on hand-crafted items and services in the silent auction. At the live auction, Bear Stephenson, member of the FMCOR board, will auction dinners, a vacation cabin, and services such as interior decorating advice and computer repairs. [Read more…]

The numbers: ORPD turnover 2007-2015

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Turnover in the Oak Ridge Police Department is one of several issues at the heart of a contentious debate over the ORPD and its chief, James T. Akagi.

But since the debate started in late January, there hasn’t been much public discussion of how the turnover rate compares, in either numbers or percentages, to the rate before Akagi started on July 1, 2011.

Information requested by Oak Ridge Today and provided by the Oak Ridge Personnel Department and Personnel Director Penny Sissom sheds some light. That data goes back more than eight years, starting in Calendar Year 2007. That’s roughly 4.5 years before Akagi started and more than 3.5 years since.

Oak Ridge Today analyzed the data by calendar year (January-December) and fiscal year (July 1-June 30). The data shows that ORPD turnover ebbs and flows from year to year, with a high of 19 and a low of one.

Oak Ridge Police Department Turnover (2007-2015)

Here are the numbers by calendar year (CY), from January to December, based on city data: [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Public Library main area reopens May 4

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Oak Ridge Public Library

The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

The main area at the Oak Ridge Public Library will reopen Monday, May 4, with new lighting fixtures and will resume regular service hours. All services will be available at the main desk and reference desk, a press release said.

The Children’s Room will close on Monday, May 4, for the lighting renovation. Story times for Monday, May 4, and Tuesday, May 5, will be held in the Social Room at the Civic Center at 10:30 a.m. Limited Children’s Room services will be available in the library auditorium. [Read more…]

Youth to demonstrate in Oak Ridge, say ‘no’ to ‘bomb plant’

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OREPA Spring Demonstration at Y-12

Members of Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and supporters gather across from the Y-12 National Security Complex to protest the plant’s proposed Uranium Processing Facility in April 2013. (File photo)

 

Young people from Knoxville and Maryville have planned a peace rally, demonstration, and march in Oak Ridge on Saturday to protest the proposed Uranium Processing Facility, which they call a “bomb plant,” at Y-12 National Security Complex, a press release said.

The peace rally and demonstration is called Action for Peace and Disarmament, and it starts at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at Alvin K. Bissell Park with a bring-your-own-picnic lunch, a press release said. It will be followed by a youth led program at 1 p.m. and a march to the Y-12 at 2 p.m.

“While young people will provide the leadership, the event is open to people of all ages,” organizers said in the press release. [Read more…]

MTAS seeks more info on ORPD review, could charge city $50 per hour

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The University of Tennessee agency asked to review the Oak Ridge Police Department has questions about the expanded scope of the inquiry—it could now include all current employees and some former employees—and the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at UT could charge the city $50 per hour for its work on the project.

MTAS had initially proposed a free limited review of turnover, morale, and administrative policies in the Oak Ridge Police Department. That review, which would have interviewed a random sample or cross-section of ORPD employees, was approved by the Oak Ridge City Council during a March 27 special meeting.

But the City Council asked to start over after the initial list of employees to be interviewed was sent to the police chief, city manager, and all Police Department employees, raising concerns about the confidentiality and impartiality of the review.

During an April 21 special meeting, City Council agreed 5-2 to start over by asking MTAS to interview all employees and try to interview former employees who have left since Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi started on July 1, 2011. But that meant the city’s contract with MTAS, which had already started the initial review, had to be renegotiated. [Read more…]

ORHS teacher suspended without pay during investigation, superintendent says

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Eddie Anderson

Eddie Anderson

Oak Ridge High School science teacher and track coach Eddie Anderson has been suspended from his teaching duties without pay pending an investigation by the Oak Ridge Police Department, an official said Friday.

Information reported to the Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent’s Office on Thursday morning has been referred to the Oak Ridge Police Department for its consideration and investigation, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a Friday afternoon email. The information hasn’t been publicly disclosed.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge teen garners state, regional, and national honors in archery

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Savannah Ward Archery

Samantha Ward takes aim with an Olympic style recurve bow at 60 meters in practice for national outdoor competition. (Submitted photo)

 

Savannah Ward, a freshman at Oak Ridge High School, shoots to win. Wielding an Olympic style recurve bow at 20 meters, she has come away with high honors in state, regional, and national tournaments in only her second indoor season of competitive archery.

Competing as a youth in the women’s age 12-14 category, Ward set a record and became the 2015 state champion at the Tennessee indoor competition held under the auspices of the National Field Archery Association on February 7-8. Her scores at the Smoky Mountain Archers venue in Knoxville bested scores at all three competition sites across the state—eastern, middle, and western Tennessee.

At state indoor championship competitions governed by USA Archery rules, Ward shot as a cadet (women age 15-17) and won gold at two other venues—in Columbus, North Carolina, on February 1, and in Conyers, Georgia, on February 14-15. In Conyers, she also won the gold medal in the Georgia State Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) competition. [Read more…]

Clinch River Spring Antique Fair on Saturday in Clinton

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Clinch River Antique Festival

Clinch River Antique Fair (Submitted photo) 

 

The 11th Annual Clinch River Spring Antique Fair will be held on Saturday, May 2, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in Historic Downtown Clinton.

The Spring Antique Fair will kick off with a party on Friday evening, May 1, from 6 to 9 p.m. in Hoskins/Lane Park on Market Street with live musical entertainment.

Back by popular demand are The Real McCoys. This trio is comprised of brothers Blake and Aaron McCoy, who play banjo and guitar, and bass player Nick Patterson.

These young men grew up in Lake City playing in church, and they have been a favorite at The Museum of Appalachia’s Fall Homecoming for the past five years, a press release said. They released their first album in 2010 and are currently working on their second one, hoping to include several songs they have written. Their true passion for bluegrass music drives them to make bluegrass appeal to everyone. Their spin on the classic “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” has made them a local favorite.

[Read more…]