Oak Ridge Today

Council member Hope explains proposed pay raise for city manager

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Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

A proposed 10 percent pay raise for the Oak Ridge city manager will make his pay more competitive with the average salary for top municipal officials, a council member said last week.

The salary increase for City Manager Mark Watson was recommended by a three-member City Council committee after his pay was compared to other city managers across Tennessee and in other U.S. Department of Energy cities across the country, said Chuck Hope, chair of the City Manager Evaluation Committee. The committee, which includes Vice Mayor Jane Miller and Council member Charlie Hensley, also considered the responses to questionnaires sent out to all seven Council members, asking them to rate Watson’s performance in five categories.

“This is just an adjustment of his base pay to get him more competitive,” Hope said. It takes the average city manager’s salary in Tennessee into account as well as the market conditions that might have to be considered if Oak Ridge had to replace Watson. [Read more…]

Mall TIF sailing through approval process, goes to Oak Ridge City Council tonight

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Oak Ridge Mall Concept Plan Featured

The proposal to use tax increment financing to help with the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall, pictured above in a concept plan, has easily sailed through the approval process so far, and the project faces a crucial vote at tonight’s Oak Ridge City Council meeting.

The proposal to use tax increment financing to help with the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall has easily sailed through the approval process so far, and the project faces a crucial vote at tonight’s Oak Ridge City Council meeting.

The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and Anderson County operations and budget committees have already unanimously endorsed the tax increment financing, or TIF. The agreement could be worth $13 million and last 20 years, and it would allow new property tax revenues generated at the site to be used to help pay for development costs.

The redevelopment of the mostly empty mall, where ambitious revamping plans have languished for years, has been proposed by Crosland Southeast, a North Carolina company relatively new to this project. Under the tax financing agreement, new property taxes collected in the TIF district could be used to reimburse Crosland Southeast for certain expenses associated with the project. [Read more…]

Reminder: Veterans Day parade in Clinton tonight

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2013 Anderson County Veterans Day ParadeThe 7th Annual Anderson County Veterans Day Parade will be held at 6 p.m. today (Monday, Nov. 11) in downtown Clinton.

This year’s theme is “Showing Our County’s Veterans We Care.”

The parade will start on Market Street in Clinton and move toward Main Street, passing in front of the Anderson County Courthouse.

Immediately after the parade, there will be a ceremony celebrating veterans featuring a “mini-concert” by local favorites Russ and Becky Jeffers in the Ritz Theater. [Read more…]

Two AC properties receive East Tennessee Preservation Awards

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The Hemlocks in Anderson County

The Hemlocks in Anderson County is pictured above. (Photos courtesy East Tennessee Preservation Alliance)

Two Anderson County properties were among a dozen that received East Tennessee Preservation Awards on Friday.

The two properties are The Hemlocks and 101 West Norris, the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance said in a press release Monday.

The awards presentation on Friday at the Chilhowee Club in Maryville was part of the fifth annual East Tennessee Preservation Conference, which focused on preservation and economic development.

Accepting an award on behalf of The Hemlocks were Susan and Marianne Fowler, and receiving the award for 101 West Norris were Regina and Jeff Merritt. The Hemlocks is at 1135 Old Lake City Highway in Clinton, and the West Norris home is at 101 West Norris Ave. in Norris. [Read more…]

Picture: Firefighters have controlled burns on Pine Ridge

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Pine Ridge Controlled Burning

The Tennessee Division of Forestry conducts controlled burns on top of Pine Ridge in south Oak Ridge on Saturday.

State and local firefighters had controlled burns on top of Pine Ridge in south Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The burning on the ridge between South Illinois Avenue and Scarboro Road was scheduled to start at about noon Saturday and end before dark. The burns were conducted by the Tennessee Division of Forestry with help from the Oak Ridge Fire Department.

The goal was to help reduce the risk of an uncontrolled fire occurring at the site, also called Summit Ridge, and to help promote the growth of new vegetation in the area, a press release said. [Read more…]

Wildcats fall in first round of playoffs to East Hamilton 25-10

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and East Hamilton Hurricanes

Hunter Parker, left, of East Hamilton knocks down a pass in front of Blake Goins, center, and Ted Mitchell of the Wildcats as the Hurricanes eliminate Oak Ridge from the Class 5A playoffs during a first-round game in Ooltewah on Friday. (Photos by Julio Culiat)

OOLTEWAH—The Oak Ridge Wildcats’ first season under returning Coach Joe Gaddis ended in a 25-10 loss to the East Hamilton Hurricanes on Friday.

The first-round playoff game on a cold night in Ooltewah was relatively close until the end of the third quarter, when the Hurricanes gained a 16-10 lead and started to pull away.

Oak Ridge struggled on offense throughout the game and had “no spark,” Gaddis said. The Wildcats finished the night with 183 total yards on offense, compared to 289 for the Hurricanes. [Read more…]

Thursday night fire destroys vacant mobile home in Marlow

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Pine Ridge Road Mobile Home Fire

A fire destroys a vacant mobile home on Pine Ridge Road in Marlow on Thursday night. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A fire destroyed a vacant mobile home on Pine Ridge Road in Marlow on Thursday night.

The fire was reported at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday at 221 Pine Ridge Road.

About 20 firefighters responded from the Marlow and Oliver Springs fire departments. Anderson County Emergency Medical Services and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department also responded.

Here are three more pictures from photographer Tom Scott: [Read more…]

Firefighters will have controlled burns on Summit Ridge on Saturday

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State and local firefighters will have controlled burns on a prominent ridge top in south Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The burning on Summit Ridge between South Illinois Avenue and Scarboro Road will start at about noon Saturday and end before dark, an Oak Ridge Fire Department press release said. The burns will be conducted by the Tennessee Division of Forestry with help from the ORFD.

The goal is to help reduce the risk of an uncontrolled fire occurring at the site and to help promote the growth of new vegetation in the area, the release said.

Worried about city judge’s reaction, tenant concocted home invasion story after alleged rampage, police say

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An Oak Ridge man who allegedly went on a rampage and broke bedroom windows inside his home concocted a story about a home invasion to try to avoid trouble with his landlord, City Judge Lawrence Tunnell, authorities said.

Derek Scott Fitzpatrick, 26, has been charged with false reporting, a felony. He remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton early Friday morning.

The alleged home invasion on North Hollywood Circle was reported one week ago at about 1 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1. The Oak Ridge Police Department quickly set up a perimeter in the Highland View neighborhood and searched for the two suspects for about 30 minutes before “finding out the story was made up,” Officer Garrett Robbins said in an affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

Lake City recommends Rocky Top name change, but receives copyright warning

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Lake City Council Approves Rocky Top Name Change

The Lake City Council votes 4-0 on Thursday to recommend changing the town’s name to Rocky Top, and Rep. John Ragan, right, said he has drafted legislation to approve the rechristening in the state legislature.

LAKE CITY—Just hours before a historic vote to change this town’s name for the second time in less than a century, Lake City Mayor Tim Sharp received a legal letter warning him that a proposal to build a Rocky Top theme park here could violate trademark rights and should be dropped.

But project supporters packed City Hall on Thursday, and the Lake City Council pressed on, voting 4-0 to recommend changing the name of this former coal mining town to Rocky Top. It’s the first step in a project to build a multi-million dollar theme park that could include an interactive Knotty Pine 3-D theater, water park, hotel, and restaurant.

The last-minute letter from an intellectual property attorney in Nashville could have Lake City officials and the park’s investors scrambling to answer legal questions. The notice was “very unexpected,” Sharp said. [Read more…]

New dog park could have ribbon-cutting soon, city manager says

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Oak Ridge Dog Park Entrance

City Manager Mark Watson says there could soon be a ribbon-cutting for the new dog park at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge. The entrance to the dog park is pictured above in this Oct. 25 photo and so is the fencing that was then under construction.

The city is about to have a “soft opening” for the new dog park at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge, and there could soon be a ribbon-cutting, an official said Tuesday.

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 will include a “gorgeous entrance” and fenced-in fields for large and small dogs, and it will allow dogs to socialize and build community through resident interactions, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said during a “State of the City” presentation at Lunch with the League on Tuesday. [Read more…]

Reminder: Lake City Council to vote on Rocky Top name change today

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Lake City Council will meet at 5 p.m. today (Thursday) to discuss and vote on the proposal to change the city’s name to Rocky Top as the first step toward turning the small town into a tourist destination.

Developers have proposed a $20 million first phase of the project that could include attractions like a theater, a water park, and a large restaurant. The name change is widely expected to be approved during today’s meeting.

If it is, the measure will be sent to the General Assembly in Nashville for its approval when the next legislative session begins in January. If state lawmakers sign off on the change, it will be sent back to the City Council for ratification. [Read more…]