Oak Ridge Today

TDEC provides violation notices, timeline on pet crematory where remains excavated

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Elliott Pet Service Excavation

Dump trucks remove pet remains on Wednesday that had been excavated from Elliott Pet Services in Morgan County. (Photo courtesy WATE-TV)

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation on Wednesday provided copies of the violation notices sent to the Morgan County crematory where animal remains were excavated last week after a state investigation.

TDEC also provided the media with an event timeline for September and October at Elliott Pet Services on Grouse Ridge Road, copies of annual inspection reports, and a state response to complainants Dana and Fegan Kenny.

You can read the documents here: [Read more…]

Police ID woman who died in Clinton crash

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Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

A Clinton woman died in a three-car crash Friday evening on the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge on Clinch Avenue near downtown Clinton.

The Clinton Police Department has identified the woman who died in a crash on Lewallen Bridge on Friday evening.

Angela Duncan Richardson, 40, of Clinton, died after she was thrown from a pickup truck driven by Kyle H. Anthony, 21, of Knoxville, the CPD said. Richardson was reportedly sitting behind the front seat of Anthony’s Chevy Silverado.

One other passenger in Anthony’s truck, Sean Richardson of Clinton, was taken to the hospital for treatment of possible injuries, and a fourth person in the truck was not injured despite being partially ejected from Anthony’s vehicle, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton. [Read more…]

Knoxville man facing charges in fatal Clinton crash on Friday

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Kyle Houston Anthony

Kyle Houston Anthony

A Knoxville man is facing vehicular homicide and DUI charges after a fatal Friday evening crash in Clinton killed a 40-year-old woman, authorities said.

The woman, whose name has not been released, was a passenger in a truck driven by Kyle H. Anthony, 21, on Lewallen Bridge at about 4:30 p.m. Friday, the Clinton Police Department said. She was thrown from the vehicle during the multiple-vehicle wreck and died from her injuries, the CPD said.

Initial reports indicate that Anthony apparently lost control of his southbound truck on Clinch Avenue near South Charles G. Seviers Boulevard, crossed the center line, and struck two other northbound vehicles, CPD Chief Rick Scarbrough said. [Read more…]

Lake City Christmas Parade rescheduled to Friday, Dec. 13

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Due to the expected rainfall in the area, the Lake City Christmas Parade, which had been scheduled for this evening (Friday evening), has been postponed until next Friday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m.

For more information, call the Lake City Chamber of Commerce at (865) 426-9595 or visit http://www.lakecitychambertn.com/parade/.

Information from WYSH Radio

Impossible to identify animal remains excavated at pet crematory, state says

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Elliott Pet Service Excavation

Dump trucks remove pet remains on Wednesday that had been excavated from Elliott Pet Services in Morgan County. (Photo courtesy WATE-TV)

It will not be possible to identify animals buried at a pet crematory in Morgan County where remains were excavated this week after a state investigation, officials said Wednesday.

News of the investigation and excavations this week has left many pet owners, including in Anderson County, wondering whether animals they paid to have cremated might be among those buried at the rural wooded site near the Roane County line.

The crematory site on Grouse Ridge Road is operated by Elliott Pet Services. It was the subject of a citizen’s complaint in September that alleged animals were being dumped on the site.

In September, the business also received an open dumping violation notice from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. And in October, the company was cited for not maintaining logs.

Business owner Cameo Farr and her attorney, Kevin Angel of Oak Ridge, told several Knoxville television stations that burying animals is part of her business, and she has always cremated animals that were supposed to be cremated. [Read more…]

BB pistol found in student’s backpack at Robertsville

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Robertsville Middle School

A BB pistol was found in a student’s backpack in a locker at Robertsville Middle School on Thursday morning, authorities said.

A BB pistol was found in a student’s backpack in a locker at Robertsville Middle School on Thursday morning, authorities said.

The 13-year-old student was arrested and charged with carrying a weapon on school property and aggravated assault, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a press release.

At least five officers responded to the school after receiving a report about a student armed with a handgun at about 8:53 a.m. Thursday, the press release said. Officers located the student at 9:05 a.m. and detained him. [Read more…]

No injuries, but barn fire causes estimated $100,000 in damage

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Tuskegee Drive Barn Fire

A Thursday evening fire destroyed a barn off Tuskegee Drive and caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, including to supplies and equipment inside. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A fire that destroyed a barn off Tuskegee Drive on Thursday evening caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, authorities said Friday morning.

The blaze was first reported as a fire in the woods at about 5:09 p.m. Thursday. But crews who hiked through the woods found a barn totally engulfed with fire, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

Access to the structure near the intersection of Tuskegee and TeeJay drives was limited, so the Oak Ridge Fire Department requested forestry mini pumpers from Oliver Springs and Marlow volunteer fire departments to help control wooded areas around the barn. [Read more…]

Fire destroys barn off Tuskegee Drive

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A fire that was reported at about 5:09 p.m. Thursday destroyed a barn off Tuskegee Drive, authorities said.

Owned by Wayne Clark, the barn contained tools, supplies, and equipment, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

A small road off Tuskegee Drive that leads to the barn was blocked by tree limbs—preventing even a small rescue truck from using it—but firefighters and police officers were able to get to the scene using a gravel road near Teller Village Apartments. The fire was originally reported as a brush fire. But firefighters who parked a truck on the road and hiked in soon realized it was a barn fire, Kerley said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge officials warn of utility billing scam

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Oak Ridge officials on Wednesday warned of a utility bill scam happening in the area.

In the scam, a customer receives a call from a person claiming to be from the utility calling about missed payments, a press release said. The caller threatens to cut off utilities unless payment is made immediately.

In some cases, the caller will accept a credit card number, bank routing and account number, or other payment information on the phone, while in others an accomplice will appear at the customer’s door to collect the payment. [Read more…]

Dog park ribbon cutting is Monday

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Oak Ridge Dog Park Entrance

The city will have a ribbon-cutting for the new dog park at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge on Monday. Above, the park is pictured under construction in October.

The city will have a ribbon-cutting for the new dog park at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge on Monday.

The ribbon-cutting is at 11:30 a.m. Monday.

Construction has been under way since this summer at the city’s first dog park, which is being built with help from a $100,000 donation from Radio Systems Corp. through Legacy Parks.

The park is roughly one acre, and it includes one fenced-in field for small dogs and another for all dogs, said Jon Hetrick, Oak Ridge Parks Division supervisor. [Read more…]

B&W Y-12 donates $75,000 for new Emory Valley Center building

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Emory Valley Center Early Learning Center

B&W Y-12 donated $75,000 to Emory Valley Center on Wednesday as part of a capital campaign to help build a new facility to replace the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center on Emory Valley Road by 2015.

Fundraisers at 75 percent of goal

B&W Y-12 donated $75,000 on Wednesday to help the Emory Valley Center build a new facility by early 2015, when a county-owned building that houses some of its programs is expected to be torn down.

B&W Y-12 has now donated $175,000 of a $250,000 pledge, and EVC volunteers have raised $2.5 million of their $3.3 million goal, said former state representative and pediatrician Gene Caldwell, who is co-chair of the EVC capital campaign. That’s 75 percent of the fundraising goal.

Emory Valley Center now has two facilities across the street from each other on Emory Valley Road. The new 30,000-square-foot building west of the current administrative and workshop areas on the south side side of Emory Valley Road would consolidate the nonprofit’s operations, which include an Early Learning Center, gym, offices, kitchen, and work training center.

“This is a huge, huge help,” EVC President Jennifer Enderson of the B&W Y-12 donation. “The clock is ticking on when we must vacate an existing facility, and we can’t start construction of the new one until we have raised enough money.” [Read more…]

Police investigate Utica Circle apartment fire as possible arson

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Utica Circle Fire

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a Saturday night fire at an apartment building on Utica Circle as a possible arson. (Photos by Tom Scott)

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating the Saturday night fire at an apartment building on Utica Circle as a possible arson.

A suspect in the case is also being investigated for reckless endangerment, an ORPD report said. The Saturday night fire endangered other residents in the eight-unit building in the McKenzie Acres apartment complex and displaced those tenants, the report said. The Red Cross found temporary housing for them. [Read more…]