Oak Ridge Today

International Friendship Bell repairs begin

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Friendship Bell Repairs

A symbol of the friendship between Oak Ridge and Japan, the 20-year-old Friendship Bell at Alvin K. Bissell Park has been closed since late last year while the city make repairs to the structure. The city plans to start dismantling the bell structure next week.

Beginning next week, the City of Oak Ridge will start dismantling the International Friendship Bell House located in Alvin K. Bissell Park.

Earlier this spring, the city commissioned a structural evaluation of the bell house to determine the extent of suspected water damage to the supporting beams. The evaluation determined the majority of the structure, which was holding the 8,000 pound Friendship Bell, was beyond repair.

The report recommended closing the International Friendship Bell House due to public safety concerns, a press release said. A construction fence was erected around the structure to block access to the bell. [Read more…]

Uranium Processing Facility team signs partnering agreement

Posted at
By 1 Comment

UPF Partnering Agreement

The Uranium Processing Facility Project Office and Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC signed a partnering agreement to move forward on delivering the UPF mission. Shown in the photo are, front row, left to right: Bill Priest, CNS; John Eschenberg, UPO; Brian Reilly, CNS; and Dale Christenson, UPO; and back row, left to right: Joe Brown, CNS; Brant Morowski, CNS; Mike Pratt, CNS; Jim Sowers, CNS; Matt Crookshanks, CNS; John Clayton, UPO; Art Haugh, UPO; Laurie Folden, UPO; and Steve Wellbaum, UPO. (Submitted photo)

 

Officials from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Uranium Processing Facility Project Office and Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC recently signed a partnering agreement to create a cohesive and effective team united in accomplishment of the Uranium Processing Facility mission.

“The UPF partnering agreement is an important step to ensure our team carries out its mission to deliver a new UPF, a key infrastructure investment for our country, with Building 9212 capabilities, for not more than $6.5 billion by 2025,” said UPF Federal Project Director John Eschenberg.

The agreement also emphasizes a collaborative approach to problem-solving and issue resolution focused on early identification and rapid communication. [Read more…]

Reminder: Roane candidates at election forum tonight

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Roane County candidates have been invited to an election forum in Oak Ridge tonight (Tuesday night).

Candidates who have been invited include those in contested races in Roane County for county executive, sheriff, circuit court clerk, circuit court judge, public defender, and Roane County School Board District 3/4, which includes Oak Ridge, have been invited to speak and answer questions.

Unopposed candidates for county attorney, county clerk, trustee, register of deeds, chancellor, criminal court judge, district attorney general, general sessions judges, and County Commission District 4 will be introduced.

The forum is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. It starts at 7 p.m. in the City Room (A-111) at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge. The college is at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. [Read more…]

Sheriff candidates spar over jail food

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Anderson County Jail Sandwich Lunch

A hand-picked crew of nine inmates prepares peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches on white bread for lunch at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Wednesday. Oak Ridge Today was allowed to take pictures of the kitchen, food storage area, and coolers and freezers, but not the inmates.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1 a.m. July 25.

Sheriff: Despite campaign claims, jail menu conservative, with average meal $1.10

Challenger stands by his pie, ice cream claims

CLINTON—The menu at the Anderson County jail at lunchtime Wednesday was simple and spartan: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich and milk.

It doesn’t appear to be an unusual meal at the jail, at least not this week. In fact, the menu this week includes three similar lunches with 1/4 cup of peanut butter and jelly mix, two slices of bread, and 8 oz. of milk or chocolate milk.

Anthony Lay

Anthony Lay

Other meals on the menu—the jail can serve up to 8,000 per week—also call for small portions of meat and bread, fruits and vegetables, and beans and milk.

But Anthony Lay, a Republican candidate for Anderson County sheriff, has raised questions about what inmates are eating. He has suggested they’re eating luxuriously, enjoying pies, cobblers, cookies, and cake. Lay has said the jail appears to be operating a bakery, and taxpayers are footing the bill.

“Fresh baked (double chunk) cookies; cherry, blackberry, and blueberry cobbler; pumpkin and apple pie with Cool Whip—these are all delicious,” Lay said in a June 26 press release. “But at the end of the day, taxpayers foot the bill, and they don’t expect us to offer luxuries to folks who, let’s face it, are in jail for a reason.”

Paul White

Paul White

Sheriff Paul White, a Democrat seeking his third term in the August 7 election, has dismissed Lay’s claims as inaccurate and misleading.

“The jail does not operate a bakery,” White said in a July 1 statement.

He said the jail menus are quite conservative. They include a cold sandwich for lunch. The average meal costs $1.10, White said. [Read more…]

Sheriff candidate suspended by THP in May says he’s a political target

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anthony Lay

Anthony Lay

Note: This story was last updated at 8:15 p.m. July 23.

A candidate for Anderson County sheriff suspended by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in May said he has been the target of political attacks.

THP Trooper Anthony Lay was suspended for five days in May for unsatisfactory job performance, a spokesperson said Monday. The suspension was based on several factors, including insubordination, neglect of duty, failure to perform the duties of his job, non-compliance with an internal database system, and having an unsecured patrol unit in a populated area, said Dalya Qualls, public information officer for the Tennessee Department of Safety.

The administrative review that led to Lay’s suspension was received in April 2014.

Lay said he had been off work for five months because of back surgery, and Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark reported that Lay had not turned in some requested case file documents. Lay said he did not receive the letter requesting the documents, and the request letters were apparently sent to a Knoxville office.

“I have received no documentation requests on it whatsoever,” Lay said. [Read more…]

County officials urged to hire attorneys in ouster suit as legal fees rise

Posted at
By 14 Comments

Jay Yeager and Lynn Byrge

Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager, left, the defendant in an ouster suit filed by a group of residents, is pictured with Lynn Byrge, one of the petitioners, during a Monday morning Anderson County Commission meeting.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:06 a.m. July 22.

CLINTON—The legal fees in a few high-profile disputes between top Anderson County officials could approach a half-million dollars, and Anderson County commissioners should all seek their own legal counsel in an ouster lawsuit filed against the law director, stunned commissioners were told Monday.

Subpoenas have already been issued in the ouster suit, and several officials, including a few County Commissioners, have reportedly received letters asking them to waive their attorney-client privilege.

Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski, who is former interim mayor, said some of the records he’s been asked to provide go back 10 years, and some of them are personnel records. Iwanski said he needs legal representation because he doesn’t want to disclose anything improper, a mistake that could lead to another lawsuit.

“It’s about trying to do what’s right for the county,” Iwanski said.

He said former Anderson County Jail Administrator Avery Johnson has also been served with a subpoena and will need legal representation.

“This is just the start of the legal battle,” Iwanski said. [Read more…]

Children’s Clinic to donate helmets at Velo Classic bike race, wellness fest

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Velo Classic

Professional and top amateur males race in a previous Oak Ridge Velo Classic. (Photo submitted by Lou Rabinowitz)

The Children’s Clinic of Oak Ridge is donating more than 20 children’s bicycle helmets to be distributed at the seventh annual UCOR Oak Ridge Velo Classic Bicycle Racing Event and Wellness event this weekend.

The Wellness event is scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at the Horizon Center. It will feature a “Kids Bike Rodeo” that will emphasize safe bicycle handling and skills games for children age nine and under, a press release said. Helmets donated by the Children’s Clinic will be distributed to children who need one at no charge.

In addition, Roane State Community College is giving away a limited number of T-shirts to Kids Rodeo participants, and all children who participate and stay to watch the Pro/1/2/3 criterium race beginning at 1:30 p.m. will be entered to win one of two $50 gift cards donated by R&R Properties.

The Kids Rodeo is a “drop in” event. Parents can bring children anytime between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.. A short “Kids Race” will take place on part of the criterium race course at Horizon Center immediately following the Kids Rodeo. Parents are encouraged to bring a camera to take pictures of children posing on the podium with Velo Classic competitors including 2014 Tennessee State Road Race Champions and 1996 Olympic Bicyclist Kent Bostic. [Read more…]

City, AMSE Foundation have community meeting on museum Thursday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

AMSE Sign

The American Museum of Science and Energy is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Sara Wise)

The City of Oak Ridge and the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation are sponsoring a community meeting on Thursday that will include discussions of ways to strengthen the museum as a community and regional asset and destination attraction.

The meeting will also include an information session on current museum operations and the role of the AMSE Foundation. New AMSE Director David Moore will be at the meeting.

The meeting is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at the museum, which is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. Registration and light refreshments will be available beginning at 5:30 p.m., a press release said.

In a press release, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said it’s the right time to get the community involved in a dialogue about the museum. [Read more…]

USRowing in Oak Ridge: Vesper Boat Club victorious again

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Vesper Boat Club

The Vesper Boat Club of Philadelphia swept the competition, winning the men’s, women’s, and overall team trophies at the 2014 USRowing Club National Championships for the second consecutive year. The championships were in Oak Ridge from Wednesday through Sunday. (Photos courtesy USRowing)

 

By Ella Odland/USRowing

Vesper Boat Club of Philadelphia swept the competition, winning the men’s, women’s and overall team trophies at the 2014 USRowing Club National Championships for the second consecutive year. Vesper won a total of 14 gold, 12 silver and six bronze medals.

The 2014 championships were in Oak Ridge from Wednesday through Sunday. The 2013 championships were in Camden, New Jersey.

“We decided to shrink the numbers of the program this year and try to go for more quality,” said Sean Clarke, Vesper’s program manager. “It made things very exciting at the end for us, but everyone here really did a fine job of living up to Vesper’s tradition of ‘all together.’”

Vesper Boat Club Men

The Vesper Boat Club Men are pictured above.

The Vesper men narrowly beat out New York Athletic Club, winning the men’s trophy by two points.

“We had a solid outing,” said Vesper men’s coach Colin Regan. “We had some good results in a lot of our races and some results we’ll look to improve on going into Canada.” [Read more…]

Search for Corwin continues, investigation not classified as criminal

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Erin Corwin

Erin Corwin (Photos courtesy San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department)

Three weeks after she disappeared, the search for an Oak Ridge woman living in southern California continues, but it has not been classified as a criminal investigation, authorities said Friday.

No suspects or “persons of interest” have been identified in the search for Erin Corwin, who is 20 and three months pregnant, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said. And no information is being released about possible witnesses, witness statements, or investigative techniques used during the search, the department said.

The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, California, has reported that the Naval Criminal Investigative Services is assisting in the search by helping with the military aspects of the investigation. The newspaper said four search warrants have been served, and they have been used to search two vehicles, including Corwin’s car, and two apartments on the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, where Corwin lives with her husband, Cpl. Jonathan Corwin, who is also from Oak Ridge.

Authorities have said Corwin’s disappearance is suspicious and does not appear to be voluntary. So far, though, they have not announced finding any signs of her. [Read more…]

USRowing: Last day of heats, semis Saturday; more finals Sunday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

USRowing Club Nationals

Racing in the USRowing Club National Championships in Oak Ridge on Saturday consisted of heats and semifinals, setting up the second round of finals on Sunday. (Photos courtesy USRowing)

 

By Luke Reynolds/USRowing

If Saturday’s racing on Melton Lake in Oak Ridge could be summed up in a few words, it would be these: wet, saturated, and exhausted. The athletes—some on their fourth day of racing—rowed through a consistent, steady drizzle, and at times, a heavy downpour.

Such was the case for Sagamore’s junior B quadruple sculls boat coming off the water after its heat.

“This is my second race of the day, so I’m pretty exhausted,” Sagamore junior Patrick Ansalon said. “Today’s race went … not so well. We had a U17 eight, which got fourth, and I was in a composite four that qualified for finals tomorrow.”

Luckily though, the rain let up around 1:45 p.m. during the break and held off for the majority of the afternoon. Around the race course though, conditions remained muddy and saturated from the several hours of continuous rain.

Saturday’s racing consisted of heats and semifinals setting up the second round of finals on Sunday. [Read more…]

Atlanta burglary suspect jailed after high-speed police chase, CPD says

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Victor Allen Webb

Victor Allen Webb

A 26-year-old Georgia man remained in jail on Saturday after a high-speed police chase on Friday that started in Clinton and ended between Oak Ridge and Oliver Springs, authorities said.

The suspect, Victor Allen Webb of Atlanta, is facing charges in connection with at least two local home burglaries, the Clinton Police Department said in a press release.

On Friday morning, a CPD officer on special neighborhood patrol spotted the suspect vehicle near the scene of burglaries this week, the release said.

“I had asked Patrolman Brian Galloway to keep an eye on homes in the western end of Clinton between Charles G. Seivers Boulevard and the river, due to recent burglaries,” Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough said. “When officer Galloway attempted to stop the white Kia, instead of stopping, the suspect continued on.”

Reports indicate that the pursuit continued through parts of Oak Ridge, finally ending on Oliver Springs Highway (Highway 61), the CPD said. [Read more…]