Oak Ridge Today

Report: Child playing with lighter under bed when fire found

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

East Tennessee Avenue Mattress Fire

A child admitted playing with a lighter under a bed when a mattress fire was found in an East Tennessee Avenue home Monday night, authorities said. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A child admitted playing with a lighter under a bed in a home on East Tennessee Avenue when a mattress fire was found at about 7:04 p.m. Monday, an Oak Ridge Fire Department report said.

Firefighters reported light smoke inside the house when they arrived, and they quickly found a smoldering mattress fire in a bedroom inside, the report said.

They reported the fire was under control, ventilated the home, and removed the mattress and box frame.

[Read more…]

Sing with Sweet Honey in the Rock vocalist Friday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Ysaye M. Barnwell

Ysaye M. Barnwell

A member of the vocal group Sweet Honey in the Rock will lead a Friday evening session of singing songs from African and African-American traditions, a press release said.

The songs will be led by Ysaye M. Barnwell, a composer, arranger, author, and actress who has performed on more than 25 recordings with Sweet Honey in the Rock as well as with other artists.

“Everyone who attends will share the common experience of learning in the oral tradition and singing rhythms, chants, traditional songs from Africa, and a variety of songs from African-American culture,” the press release said. “All are welcome, and no experience is necessary. Come and be moved by the power of the music and community.”

[Read more…]

CASA fundraiser features barbecue, bluegrass

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Ridge City Ramblers

Members of the Ridge City Ramblers are, from left, Gary Coleman, Mary Tuskan, Scott Linn, Abbie Hoerner, Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and Steve Reddick. (Submitted photo)

A March 2 fundraiser that features music, a barbecue dinner, and auctions will support an organization that helps abused or neglected children in Anderson, Blount and Scott counties who are under court protection.

CASA of the Tennessee Heartland’s 10th Annual Barbeque and Bluegrass Bash is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at the Junior Achievement – Hollingsworth Center in Clinton.

The musicians scheduled to perform are hammer dulcimer player Allen McBride and bluegrass and Americana group the Ridge City Ramblers, featuring Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, a press release said.

[Read more…]

Clinton man arrested on theft, drug charges

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

A Clinton man was arrested Friday in Oliver Springs after he allegedly tried to sell a stolen truck and utility trailer to a scrap metal business.

Oliver Springs Police were called to Tri-County Metals on Friday on a report of a suspicious individual. Employees told police that 29-year-old Nathan Bradley Welch had tried to sell them a Ford F150, a trailer, and some diesel fuel tanks but did not have the titles for the truck or the trailer or any information about the tanks.

[Read more…]

Free concert Saturday features Rachmaninoff piano concerto

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Chih-Long Hu at Piano

Chih-Long Hu (Submitted photo)

A free concert Saturday will feature the music of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Pianist Chih-Long Hu, a faculty member at East Tennessee State University, will play Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Oak Ridge Community Orchestra, a press release said.

The concert starts at 2 p.m. Saturday in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church of Oak Ridge. Although there is no admission charge, modest donations to help support the orchestra’s routine operating expenses will be appreciated, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Roane State Dean’s List released

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Several area students made the dean’s list at Roane State Community College for the fall 2012 semester.

To be eligible, a student must attain at least a 3.5 grade-point average while attempting 12 or more semester hours of college-level courses.

[Read more…]

One of ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ speaks at Roane State on Wednesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mathiang Gutnyin

Mathiang Gutnyin

Mathiang Gutnyin, one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” will speak at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus on Wednesday.

Presented by Roane State’s Office of International Education, the event starts at 6 p.m. in the City Room and is free and open to the public. The campus is located at 701 Briarcliff Ave. in Oak Ridge.

The phrase “Lost Boys of Sudan” describes thousands of children, mostly boys between ages 7 and 17, separated from their families and forced to live in refugee camps during the Second Sudanese Civil War from 1983-2005. Approximately 3,800 “Lost Boys,” a description coined by aid workers in Africa, were allowed to settle in the United States in 2001.

[Read more…]

Three found after unexpected camping trip

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

Rescue crews located three people reported missing after not returning from an ATV ride uninjured Saturday morning.

Crews from the Anderson and Morgan County rescue squads as well as crews from the Marlow and Briceville volunteer fire departments and others assisted in the search for a grandfather, father, and son who went riding Friday on Windrock Mountain, got lost, and had to camp out in the elements overnight. The trio was located Saturday morning and, aside from one mild case of hypothermia, was safe and sound.

Anderson beer board yanks controversial permit

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Beer Board met Tuesday night for a show-cause hearing on the controversial beer permit issued to the Silver Dollar Saloon on Clinton Highway in Claxton and unanimously voted to revoke the bar’s beer permit after numerous irregularities and inconsistencies were found on the application for the permit.

The bar was granted a beer license thanks to a loophole in state laws last year, despite the fact that it is within about 300 feet of a church.

[Read more…]

Patients moving into new Roane hospital

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio and Covenant Health

Patients began moving into Roane County’s newest hospital on Sunday.

The $76 million facility in Midtown replaces the Roane Medical Center in Harriman and features 54 beds, 15 emergency suites, and more space for doctors, nurses, and patients. Each patient room also has sofas that turn into sleeper beds for those who don’t want to leave their loved ones sides while they are in the hospital.

[Read more…]

‘In God We Trust’ motto proposed on Anderson County Courthouse

Posted at
By 9 Comments

Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Pastors at about 50 churches in Anderson County have asked to put the motto “In God We Trust” on the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton, the county mayor said in a report to county commissioners.

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said that putting the motto on the courthouse wouldn’t cost the county anything. Instead, it would be funded by donations from churches, businesses, and individuals, she said.

[Read more…]

Post-war photos from Japan in 1945 opens at AMSE

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Joe O'Donnell and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945

A photo exhibit that opened this month at the American Museum of Science and Energy documents the aftermath of the U.S. bombings in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945. (Submitted photo)

An exhibit that opened this month at an Oak Ridge museum includes photos documenting the aftermath of U.S. bombing raids in Japan in August 1945 during World War II.

The exhibit at the American Museum of Science and Energy is titled “Japan 1945: Images by U.S. Marine Photographer Joe O’Donnell.” It was organized by the Tennessee State Museum from O’Donnell’s original negatives. It opened Feb. 1 and will be on display through July 28.

[Read more…]