Oak Ridge Today

Film shown Friday features families struggling after economic crisis

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A new nonprofit organization that helps homeless families in Anderson County will show a documentary on Friday that features families struggling after the Great Recession, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The 7 p.m. screening of “American Winter,” an HBO documentary, has been organized by TORCH (Trinity Out-Reach Center of Hope). The film was produced during one winter in one American city, and it presents an “intimate snapshot of the state of the nation’s economy as it is playing out in millions of American families, and highlights the human consequences of the decline of the middle class and the fracturing of the American Dream,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Higher ticket prices for Oak Ridge Transit System on Nov. 1

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ETHRA Van

One-way tickets on the Oak Ridge Transit System will increase from $1.50 to $2 on Nov. 1, and additional stops during a trip will cost an extra $1. (Submitted photo)

One-way tickets on the Oak Ridge Transit System will increase from $1.50 to $2 on Nov. 1, officials said.

Additional stops during a trip will cost an extra $1, and extra stops must be scheduled when reservations are made, a city press release said.

The Oak Ridge Transit System is a fixed-route transportation service for the city, and it is operated by East Tennessee Human Resource Agency, or ETHRA. [Read more…]

‘Clinton 12’ statues vandalized

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Information from WYSH Radio

This past weekend, someone threw eggs at the statues of the 12 students who desegregated Clinton High School in 1956 that stand in front of the Green McAdoo Museum.

On Saturday afternoon, the Clinton Police Department was called at about 5 p.m. to the museum that pays tribute to those students—and tells the story of the South’s first desegregated public high school. Officers made contact with a woman who said she had come to visit the museum, not realizing it closed at 4 p.m., and had noticed the vandalism to the statues. [Read more…]

Anderson County agrees to buy Lake City bank building for coal mining museum

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Bank of America Lake City

The Anderson County Commission has agreed to buy this former Bank of America building in Lake City for a Coal Mining Museum, storage space, and satellite county offices.

CLINTON— The Anderson County Commission agreed in a 13-1 vote on Monday to buy the former Bank of America building in Lake City for a Coal Mining Museum.

The two-story brick building will be purchased using $100,000 from the sale of property in the David Jones Industrial Park. Lake City will own the former bank, and it could also be used to store excess county supplies and as a satellite office for county departments. Organizers hope to open the museum eight months after Lake City receives the building.

Most of the initial revenue for museum operations would come from Lake City’s lodging tax. The Lake City Council has agreed to use one-third of that hotel and motel tax for the museum for at least the next three years, said Stephanie Wells, director of the Anderson County Tourism Council. [Read more…]

Emory Valley Road land could be donated for Oak Ridge sewer system tank

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Emory Valley Equalization Basin

Anderson County commissioners have endorsed donating up to 2.05 acres on Emory Valley Road for an Oak Ridge sewer system holding tank.

CLINTON—Despite a few concerns about whether the tank would be an eyesore, Anderson County officials on Monday endorsed a request to give up to 2.05 acres on Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge for a sewer system holding tank.

The tank would be east of the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center, and it would be used to help Oak Ridge stop all sewer system overflows by 2015, as required by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order.

The Anderson County Commission endorsed the land donation in a voice vote Monday night. [Read more…]

Four Anderson County schools among top in state for growth, achievement

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Norris Middle School

Norris Middle School in Anderson County was among the top 5 percent of schools in Tennessee for annual growth and academic achievement in 2012-13, state officials said Monday.

Note: This story was updated at 8:45 a.m. Aug. 21 to add Clinton Elementary School.

Four Anderson County schools were among the top 5 percent of schools in Tennessee for annual growth and academic achievement in 2012-13, state officials said Monday.

They were Clinton Elementary School, Grand Oaks Elementary School, Norris Middle School, and Norwood Elementary School.

The four were among 169 schools in 52 districts recognized as Reward Schools in the past year, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman said in a press release. The list includes 70 schools that serve mostly economically disadvantaged populations. [Read more…]

Kroger Marketplace has Aug. 22 groundbreaking ceremony

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Kroger Marketplace Land Clearing

The Kroger Co. will have an Aug. 22 groundbreaking ceremony for a new Kroger Marketplace shopping center on 25 acres at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

The Kroger Co. announced Monday that it will have a Thursday morning groundbreaking ceremony for its new Marketplace store in Oak Ridge.

Demolition and land clearing work is already under way at the 25-acre site northeast of the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue, and a Kroger spokesman has said building construction at the shopping center could start in October.

The groundbreaking on Thursday, Aug. 22, will be at 10 a.m. [Read more…]

Anderson County Commission considers coal mining museum tonight

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Bank of America Lake City

Bank of America has agreed to sell this two-story brick building on Main Street in Lake City for $100,000 for a Coal Miners’ Museum and county storage space and satellite offices.

The Lake City Council on Saturday developed a plan for operating and maintaining a coal mining museum, a proposal that will be presented to the Anderson County Commission this evening, a nonprofit organization said this weekend.

The Commission will consider buying the former Bank of America building in Lake City as a home for the Coal Miners’ Museum during a meeting that starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday. [Read more…]

Relay for Life of Oak Ridge hosts Hoops for Hope on Saturday

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Hoops for Hope

The Relay For Life of Oak Ridge is hosting its first Hoops for Hope 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 24, at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. Registration will start at 8 a.m., and the first games will tip off at 8:30 a.m. Registration costs are $60 per team ($20 per participant) and will include a Relay For Life T-shirt.

Divisions include competitive teams, non-completive teams, and women’s categories. At the end of the tournament, there will be a three-point contest. Participants can enter for an additional $5 donation. There will be prizes for the winners. [Read more…]

Fall swimming lessons start Aug. 20

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The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will start fall swimming lessons Aug. 20 and 22. Classes include preschool aquatics and parent-child classes. Additional levels of 1-4 and adult classes are offered.

There are eight classes, each 30 minutes long. The fee is $65 with a $10 non-resident fee for children who reside outside Oak Ridge. Registration is at the Civic Center Front Desk with payment due at the time of registration. Cash and checks are accepted. Enrollment is limited. [Read more…]

Suspicious fire probed in Oliver Springs

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Information from WYSH Radio

For the second time this month, Anderson County investigators are probing a fire at a vacant, foreclosed house.

The most recent incident happened Wednesday afternoon at a home on Cove Lane in Oliver Springs. The Oliver Springs Fire Department was called to the house at around 2 p.m. Wednesday, and firefighters reported that the structure was fully engulfed by flames. No injuries were reported, and the fire is being investigated as suspicious since there was no electricity hooked up to it at the time of the blaze.

Kiwanis Club meeting next week features ADFAC director

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Annie Cacheiro

Annie Cacheiro, right, executive director of Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC, is pictured above with Liz Herbes, director of ADFAC’s social services program.

A meeting next week of the Kiwanis Club of Oak Ridge will feature Annie Cacheiro, executive director of Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC.

The Tuesday, Aug. 27, meeting be in the Golden Oak Grill Buffet’s smaller meeting room. The program will start at noon.

Cacheiro will talk about ADFAC activities that include social services and affordable housing programs, as well as ADFAC’s efforts to help local, lower-income families by providing assistance that leads to self sufficiency, a press release said. Those programs include helping with basic needs, housing rehabilitation, and new home construction. For more information about ADFAC, visit the website at www.adfac.org. [Read more…]