Free flu shots will be offered at a free community meal on Friday, February 27.
The community meal will be at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church on Oak Ridge Turnpike. Everyone is invited, a press release said.
The Stone Soup Ministry team will be serving a homemade meal of minestrone soup, cornbread, cookies, and fruit. Dine-in or take-out will be available in the ORUUC Social Hall from 5 to 6 p.m. The church is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]
Snow covers grassy areas alongside Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)
Children enjoy the snow by sledding on another snow day in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Amanda Page Underwood)
Note: These pictures were updated at 1:14 a.m. Feb. 27.
Several inches of snow fell across East Tennessee on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. It was the fifth winter storm in two weeks. Here are snow photos by Julio Culiat, Anna Freeman, Amanda Page Underwood, and Ashlan Yost.
Ron McConathy
Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation will hold its annual meeting in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 7 p.m. today (Thursday, February 26). The featured speaker is Ron McConathy, a well-known local photographer.
Organizers rescheduled the meeting from last week because of weather. Virginia Dale of AFORR confirmed today that the meeting will proceed tonight.
Snow across East Tennessee on Wednesday night and Thursday morning postponed many events again on Thursday, and local school systems were closed. But main roads and many side streets in Oak Ridge appeared to be in good condition by early Thursday afternoon.
During tonight’s meeting, McConathy will present a slide presentation of nature at its finest, with emphasis on the flora and fauna found on the Oak Ridge Reservation, a press release said. The event will provide an opportunity to discuss some of the opportunities and challenges facing conservation on the Oak Ridge Reservation, which has more than 20,000 acres.
Snow in Oak Ridge on Feb. 25, 2015. Forecasters said heavy snow was expected across the region from Wednesday night through midday Thursday. (Photo by Mike Mahathy)
Note: This story was last updated at 9:02 a.m. Feb. 26.
Schools in Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Anderson and Roane counties will be closed on Thursday, February 26, because of the weather and road conditions.
The Anderson County Schools Central Office and Roane County Schools Central Office will both be closed.
Roane State Community College campuses will also be closed because of the weather.
ORAU’s Oak Ridge offices will open at noon on Thursday. Employees are urged to drive safely to the office. [Read more…]
Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown
Heavy snowfall is expected across much of the region starting tonight and continuing through midday Thursday, forecasters said.
Snow had already started falling in Oak Ridge sometime around 8 p.m. Wednesday. The new snow follows a few inches of snow that fell on Tuesday morning, and other wintry precipitation last week, including an icy mix on Monday and snow on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service in Morristown said there could be between three to six inches of snow across much of the Tennessee Valley, Cumberland Plateau, and Smoky Mountain foothills between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Higher amounts of five to eight inches are expected across southwest North Carolina and the high elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains, including U.S. Highway 441 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
A winter storm warning has been issued for many counties across East Tennessee, including Anderson, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, and Union.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Sophomore Tee Higgins (5) led all Wildcats with 18 points, including three dunks and two three-pointers. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)
Note: This story was last updated at 9:57 p.m.
After days of delays because of winter weather, the Oak Ridge boys’ basketball team advanced to the regional semifinals on Wednesday, while the girls were eliminated from the playoffs. The Wildcats walloped Lenoir City 81-37, while the Lady Wildcats lost to Farragut 57-17.
Oak Ridge, which was the number one seed from District 3, will move on to play either Heritage or Halls in the Region 2 semifinals, although it’s not clear when because of the weather. The semifinal game could be played as early as Friday or as late as Sunday.
Wednesday’s game at home at Wildcat Arena was the only boys’ game in Region 2. Oak Ridge hasn’t played since Valentine’s Day, or 11 days, mostly because of the weather. [Read more…]
Rodney Archer
Anderson County Trustee Rodney Archer understands citizens’ frustrations and concerns about being able to pay their property taxes on time, a press release said.
“With county offices being closed much of last week, and again yesterday, because of inclement weather and dangerous road conditions, it has made people nervous about being able to pay their property taxes by the February 28 deadline,” Archer said Wednesday morning. “The inclement weather that’s predicted for tonight doesn’t help that.”
The National Weather Service is predicting a 40 percent chance of snow today after 4 p.m., with increasing chances overnight, mainly between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. New snow accumulation of one to three inches is possible. A chance of snow continues through Thursday as well. [Read more…]
The Region 2 basketball tournament games have been rescheduled for this afternoon.
The Oak Ridge girls are scheduled to play at Farragut at 4:30 p.m. (Wednesday, February 25), and the boys are scheduled to play at home at 4:30 p.m. against Lenoir City.
There are reports that some games have been postponed or moved, including the Karns-Maryville boys’ game, Maryville-Powell girls’ game, Halls-William Blount girls’ game, and Anderson County-Bearden girls’ game. We suggest you check in advance for more specific information on your game. PrepXtra, the high school sports section at the Knoxville News Sentinel, is posting updates on Twitter.
The Wildcats were supposed to play Karns in the District 3 championship last week, but that game was canceled because of weather. And the Lady Wildcats were supposed to play Anderson County in the District 3 consolation game, but that match was also called off.
The regional games have already been rescheduled several times because of winter weather.
Information from WYSH Radio
No one was injured in a fire early Wednesday morning at a house on Briceville Highway that is believed to have started near a dryer.
Firefighters and other emergency personnel responded to 1433 Briceville Highway just after midnight and spoke with resident Zeb Trett, who told them that he had been almost asleep on his couch shortly before midnight when he heard a loud popping sound coming from the back of the house. He got up to investigate and saw clothing in a laundry basket on fire, woke up his wife, and got her out of the house.
Briceville firefighters extinguished the blaze and told deputies that it appears to have started near the dryer. There was no indication on the incident report of how much damage was done to the house.
Information from WYSH Radio
The Clinton Police Department is investigating the theft of more than $1,800 worth of digital cameras from the Walmart in Clinton.
Police were called to the store on Saturday afternoon and told by a loss prevention officer that a white male had opened an unlocked display case, removed a Sony camcorder, four Canon digital cameras, and a Samsung digital camera. The items were valued at $1,804 total.
The suspect then allegedly took the cameras to the sporting goods department, removed them from their packages, and concealed them in his clothing before walking out with out paying for them. The suspect was seen getting into a car and driving off, but the tag came back as being registered to a black male from Knoxville.
The investigation is ongoing.
Shamrock Road will play at A Taste of Ireland on Saturday, February 28, in Oak Ridge.
A Taste of Ireland on Saturday will feature Irish food, drink, music, dancing, and a silent auction.
It’s presented by the Ulster Project of East Tennessee, and it’s scheduled from 6-10 p.m. Saturday, February 28, at St. Mary’s Family Life Center in Oak Ridge.
The dinner will feature Irish specialties that include shepherd’s pie, potato and salmon pie, and lentil soup. Dessert will be just as special, with Bailey’s Irish Crème bars and Andes Mint Chocolate brownies, among other options, a press release said.
The silent auction will include a bed and breakfast getaway, a variety of gift baskets including a sandalwood fragrance basket donated by the Ferell Shop in Oak Ridge, and a basket of goodies and gift cards donated by the Casual Pint in Knoxville. [Read more…]
A tractor with sweeping equipment helps remove snow from the Oak Ridge High School parking lot on Tuesday. (Photo by Julio Culiat)
Anderson County Schools will be closed Wednesday, February 25, due to the snow received overnight and this morning. The Central Office is also closed.
Clinton City Schools will be closed on Wednesday due to winter weather conditions.
Oak Ridge Schools will start two hours late on Wednesday, weather permitting and with no roads refreezing, but will dismiss at the regular dismissal time—not the typical Wednesday dismissal time. [Read more…]
