Oak Ridge Today

AC Commission to consider workhouse designation for jail

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Anderson County Detention Facility Expansion

The 212-bed expansion of the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton is pictured above under construction in December.

When it meets on Monday, the Anderson County Commission will consider a resolution declaring the Anderson County Jail as a county workhouse.

The proposal was unanimously approved on Monday by the county’s Operations Committee. If approved Monday by the full Commission, it will give judges more options when sentencing certain offenders. Additionally, some inmates could get time taken off their sentences in exchange for days spent on county work details.

The resolution declaring the jail a workhouse will allow some offenders to serve their jail sentences at night after being allowed to go to their jobs or in some cases to take care of their families during the day. [Read more…]

State high court declines to hear appeal in Rogers, Clinton suit

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Information from WYSH Radio

Last week, the Tennessee Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against the city of Clinton and a road-paving company, effectively ending a nearly 20-year-old legal battle.

A grassroots organization called Citizens for Safety and Clean Air made up of Norris residents formed to fight plans by the Rogers Group to reopen a rock quarry and build an asphalt plant on land in the Bethel community annexed several years ago by the city of Clinton. The group filed a lawsuit in Anderson County Chancery Court to stop those plans from going forward, alleging that the city’s rezoning of the property for heavy industrial use constituted illegal spot zoning and that the project would cause increases in heavy truck traffic and air and noise pollution.

Chancellor William Lantrip dismissed the suit, saying that zoning is essentially a legislative matter and not the domain of the courts. An appeals court agreed last fall, and last week, the state’s high court declined to hear the case, essentially clearing the way for the project to move forward.

State awards Aisin, Eagle Bend training grants

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Burns Phillips

Burns Phillips

Information from WYSH Radio

Two Clinton manufacturing facilities have been awarded Incumbent Worker Training grants by the state of Tennessee.

On Wednesday, Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips announced that a $25,000 grant has been awarded to Eagle Bend Manufacturing and that Aisin Automotive Casting Tennessee Inc. received the same amount.

The Eagle Bend grant will provide 76 employees with training in repair/welder qualification and re-qualification, advanced product quality planning (APQP), and FANUC (handling tool operation and programming).

The Aisin grant will provide 10 of that company’s employees with training in mechanical class and maintenance. [Read more…]

Parents, staff again choose balanced school calendar

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Christopher J. Marczak

Christopher J. Marczak

A majority of Oak Ridge parents and school staff again favored a move from the traditional school calendar to a new balanced calendar that gives students about nine weeks of classroom instruction at a time, officials said.

The first vote was conducted through the Skylert callout system about one month ago in February, and the second vote was Thursday.

See this guest column by Chris Marczak, Oak Ridge Schools assistant superintendent, for more information on the Thursday night vote. [Read more…]

Guest column: Parents, staff again choose balanced school calendar

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Christopher J. Marczak

Christopher J. Marczak

By Chris Marczak

The second calendar voting for the Oak Ridge 2015-16 results have been counted.

Parents and staff members were called on March 13 and asked if they preferred a balanced calendar or a traditional calendar for all schools including Willow Brook and the PreSchool for the 2015-16 school year. The first vote callout took place Feb. 10.

The traditional calendar is the calendar that most of the Oak Ridge Schools have had for quite a while. Students come to school in the middle of August, have a one-week fall break, two weeks off for winter, a one-week spring break, dismissal at the beginning of June, and an 11- to 12-week summer.

The balanced calendar is a new calendar that Oak Ridge has never had before. It is called a balanced calendar due to the balance that it gives for instructional time in the classroom—about nine weeks at a time. Students typically arrive for school the first week in August, have a two-week fall break, two weeks off for winter, two weeks off for spring break, dismissal at the beginning of June, and a seven- to eight-week summer. The balanced calendar is not like the Willow Brook Elementary or PreSchool calendar where students start school in mid-July and have three-week breaks. [Read more…]

Wildcats will play for state championship after beating Arlington 57-56

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Arlington Tigers

The Oak Ridge Wildcats found a scoring formula that worked well on Friday: get the ball inside to senior Isaac Merian (#33) and let him fake out a defender before shooting in double and triple coverage.

MURFREESBORO—The Oak Ridge boys’ basketball team will play for a state championship for the first time in 51 years after beating the Arlington Tigers 57-56 in a semifinal game in Murfreesboro on Friday. It was a victory decided by a tie-breaking free throw with only a few seconds remaining.

The Wildcats (32-7) will now battle the Blackman Blaze (27-6) in the Class AAA state tournament finals in Murfreesboro on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Isaac Merian overcame double and triple teams on Friday to lead all scorers with 21 points. He often faked a shot, let a defender go by, and then fired.

“I just kept playing my game, and my shots kept falling,” said Merian, a 6-foot-6 power forward who also had three blocks. “It’s probably one of the most memorable games. I’ll tell this one to my kids.” [Read more…]

Clinton businessman seeks Republican nomination for register of deeds

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Bill Gallaher

Bill Gallaher

Clinton businessman Bill Gallaher will seek the Republican nomination for Anderson County Register of Deeds in the May 6 primary election, a press release said.

Gallaher, a local business owner and insurance executive with more than 30 years of professional management, is “excited to bring his executive experience to county government,” a press release said.

Gallaher served as president of Clinton Tire and Oil Co. Inc. from 1980 until 2005. He supervised hundreds of employees and managed more than a half-million-dollar annual payroll for more than two decades, and he was in charge of project development resulting in a $3.2 million annual business, the press release said.

Gallaher is now employed with Madison Insurance Group in its commercial division. [Read more…]

Lunch-4-Literacy on Tuesday features Denise Kiernan, raises grant money

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Denise Kiernan

Denise Kiernan, author of “The Girls of Atomic City,” is the featured speaker at the 2014 Lunch-4-Literacy luncheon.

A Tuesday luncheon will feature Denise Kiernan, author of “The Girls of Atomic City,” and it will raise money for literacy grants.

Lunch–4-Literacy has been organized by Altrusa International of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club. It starts at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Oak Ridge High School.

“The purpose of the joint effort is to provide grants to help improve literacy in Oak Ridge and Anderson and Roane counties,” a press release said. “Each year, the grants are awarded to selected recipients. In 2013, $23,532.99 was awarded.”

Tickets are $40 each, and they are available from Altrusa and Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club members or they can be purchased at The Ferrell Shop at Jackson Square and Mr. K’s used book store next to Big Kmart in Oak Ridge. Tickets will also be available at the door. All tickets include a catered lunch. All proceeds from the event go to support local literacy programs, the press release said. [Read more…]

Altrusa to award scholarships for women

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Altrusa International of Oak Ridge is offering scholarships of up to $1,000 to deserving women to support their pursuit of education and/or training. Two of the scholarships honor former Altrusa presidents and civic leaders, Sarah Ketron and Pat Rush.

Altrusans seek to encourage and support women who are striving to complete their education, search for jobs, and become financially independent. The scholarships also target re-entry students who have returned to college or other training after interrupting studies for work or family, or students who are beginning their education after an interruption between high school and college. “One of the key goals for selection is to award scholarships to those who show significant financial need,” said Janet Swift, chair of the Scholarship Committee. [Read more…]

Reminder: Second Oak Ridge school calendar survey this evening

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Christopher J. Marczak

Christopher J. Marczak

Parents of students in the Oak Ridge school system will be called this evening for a second opinion poll on a proposed change to the system’s calendar for academic year 2015-2016.

At 6 p.m. today (Thursday), parents will receive a call through the automated Skyward system asking if they want to convert to a “balanced” calendar for all schools or keep the traditional calendar currently used by all but two of the schools in the system. Teachers and other school staff members will be called at 7 p.m. asking for their preferences.

Option No. 1 will be the balanced schedule, which has nine weeks of instruction beginning the first week of August, with two-week breaks in the fall, winter, and spring, and seven to eight weeks off during the summer. [Read more…]

Andersonville man, 83, reports armed robbery at his home; sheriff searches for suspect

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An 83-year-old Andersonville man was robbed at gunpoint at his home on Andersonville Highway just after noon Wednesday, authorities said.

The suspect walked up to the victim, who was in his garage, displayed a small handgun, and robbed him of cash and his car, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said. The victim called 911, and several deputies responded.

A description of the victim’s car was broadcast to responding deputies, and about three minutes later, it was spotted a short distance away on Indian Gap Road. The suspect jumped from the car and fled on foot into the woods, the Sheriff’s Department said.

“A search of the area was done, but the suspect was not located,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge advances to state semifinals with 66-45 win over Jefferson County

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Jefferson County Quarterfinals

From left are seniors Isaac Merian and Jaylin Henderson and freshman Tee Higgins, and Wildcats basketball coach Aaron Green.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:02 p.m.

MURFREESBORO—Oak Ridge advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 1999 with a 66-45 win over Jefferson County in Murfreesboro on Wednesday.

The Wildcats (31-7) will play Arlington (29-4) in Murfreesboro at 11:30 a.m. CDT Friday (12:30 p.m. EDT) in a Class AAA state boys’ basketball semifinal game.

The Wildcats said teamwork was key to the Wednesday afternoon quarterfinal win at Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University. They cited steals—Oak Ridge had nine total—double-teaming on defense against the tall Patriots team, and improvements in rebounding compared to their performance during a Nov. 27 win over Jefferson County (30-6).

“We played more as a team,” said senior guard Jaylin Henderson, who scored 11 points and had four steals. “I think we were hot.” [Read more…]