Oak Ridge Today

After four years, Lincoln’s closes, cites economic conditions

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Lincoln's Sports Grille

After more than four years, Lincoln’s Sports Grille on South Illinois Avenue has shut down, citing economic conditions.

 

Note: This story was updated at 1:30 a.m. Oct. 22.

Lincoln’s Sports Grille has shut down, citing economic conditions. The closure was announced in a sign posted on a front door of the four-year-old restaurant and bar on Monday and in a press release on Tuesday.

The popular restaurant and bar on South Illinois Avenue had had a series of five sometimes-contentious show cause hearings before the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board. In the last show cause hearing on August 28, members revoked Lincoln’s permit.

Lincoln’s regained the permit after a temporary agreement imposing new conditions was worked out with the city and Beer Board and approved by Anderson County Chancellor Nicki Cantrell, pending an appeal of the Beer Board’s revocation.

But in an interview earlier this month, Scott Green, one of Lincoln’s owners, said the inability to sell beer between late August and early October had a substantial impact on the business. The restaurant and its staff had also been hurt by the bad publicity, Green said.

“It’s been a significant hit on us,” he said. [Read more…]

Alternatives to Incarceration to discuss hiring a director

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Anderson County Detention Facility

The Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton is pictured above.

The Anderson County Alternatives to Incarceration Committee will discuss the hiring of a director for the Alternatives to Incarceration Department during a meeting in Clinton today (Tuesday, October 21).

The meeting starts at 4 p.m. at the Anderson County Detention Facility at 308 Public Safety Lane.

For more information, call Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Captain Larry Davidson at (865) 457-7100.

Shelter cleaned after two dogs diagnosed with canine distemper, others tested

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Oak Ridge Animal Shelter

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter on Belgrade Road is pictured above.

 

Two dogs recently taken in by the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter have been diagnosed with canine distemper. The Animal Shelter was closed Friday and Saturday to allow for thorough cleaning of the facility. Dogs in the shelter are being tested to see if others have contracted the disease.

Test results are expected to be received by today (Tuesday, October 21). If none of the dogs test positive for canine distemper, the Animal Shelter will reopen at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

As a precaution, all animals brought into the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter will be vaccinated on arrival, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a press release. Dogs with any kind of cough or nasal discharge will be kept separate from dogs available for adoption. [Read more…]

Ouster suit petitioners, attorney have Q&A session Tuesday

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Lynn Byrge

Lynn Byrge

CLINTON—The petitioners in the ouster suit against Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager will have a question-and-answer session with their attorney Gregory Brown in Clinton on Tuesday.

The session will be held at the Clinton Community Center at 6 p.m. Tuesday, October 21, a press release said. The session will be open to the public and to the media.

A group of 22 Anderson County citizens have appealed a special judge’s decision to dismiss their ouster lawsuit against Yeager. Petitioners have asked their attorney to answer questions regarding the case and the appeal, the release said. [Read more…]

Watson to discuss State of the City at Lunch with League on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will discuss the State of the City with the League of Women Voters on Tuesday.

During the annual event, Watson is also expected to give his perspective on issues facing the city, a press release said.

The Tuesday meeting starts at noon Tuesday, October 21, in the Social Hall of the new Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church location at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike (north of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, which is home to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office). [Read more…]

Two drivers injured in head-on, rollover crash on Turnpike

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Oak Ridge Turnpike Crash at West Lincoln Road

Oak Ridge police say the westbound 2013 Ford Focus, left, crossed the median and struck a 1996 Ford Ranger head-on in the eastbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike near West Lincoln Road on Sunday night. The pickup rolled over into the ditch on the south side of the Turnpike, and one of the back wheels of the upside-down Ford Ranger is visible at right.

 

Note: This story was updated at 3:13 p.m.

Two drivers were injured in a head-on rollover crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Sunday night.

The crash was reported at about 10:54 p.m. Sunday near West Lincoln Road.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said Jeffery Wooten, 40, of Oak Ridge was traveling west on the four-lane Turnpike in a 2013 Ford Focus when the car crossed the median and struck a 1996 Ford Ranger head-on. The pickup was driven by Dexter Selby, 19, of Crossville. [Read more…]

AC Commission replaces Phillips with Bates

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Zach Bates

Zach Bates

WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today

The Anderson County Commission has voted to replace Chris Phillips in Commission District 4 with the man whose vacated seat he won in August.

Phillips resigned his Commission seat—won in the August 7 election—so that he could return to work as the county’s budget and accounts director after leaving that post earlier this year to become city recorder in his native Rocky Top. Phillips left the county government to help the town update its accounting practices as it makes the transition from Lake City to Rocky Top and prepares for what is expected to be a busy time for the city. [Read more…]

Powell man struck, killed along Clinton Highway

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Powell man was killed Saturday afternoon when he was struck by a vehicle while walking along Clinton Highway.

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Kenneth Miller, 66, was walking north along Clinton Highway when it happened around 2:30 p.m. Saturday. A vehicle also headed north crossed onto the shoulder just south of Stanley Road and hit Miller. THP said the driver was 77-year-old Patsy Kirby of Powell.

While alcohol and drugs are not believed to have played a role in Saturday’s accident, the THP report indicates that citations and/or charges are pending.

Council to discuss DOE funding, support tonight

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Oak Ridge City Council

The Oak Ridge City Council has a special meeting tonight to discuss U.S. Department of Energy support and funding. (File photo/August 2013)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will discuss U.S. Department of Energy funding and support during a special meeting tonight. It’s described at least in part as an “information-gathering session.”

The special meeting was called by City Council members Trina Baughn and Charlie Hensley. Hensley, in particular, has raised questions about whether DOE is paying its fair share to the city.

Here’s the language outlining tonight’s discussion:

“to discuss and possibly take action on a plan to engage DOE officials with regards to their obligations to the City of Oak Ridge and its citizenry. Let it [the special meeting request] include formally requesting, in writing, a DOE Community Assistance Review as allowed within AECA 1955, PL 84-221, DOE Order 2100.12A, and other supporting legislation, including those self-sufficiency plans dating from 1980 through a Council Resolution and other joint local government collaborative action to include a specific date for a response.”

[Read more…]

ADFAC annual meeting this evening

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ADFAC has its annual meeting this evening. At the meeting, new board members will be elected, and the 2013 annual report will be made available. The inaugural “Silent Hero” award will also be presented.

The meeting is scheduled from 5:15-6:15 p.m. today (Monday, October 20) in Room 102 of the Activities Building at First Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

High school seniors can sign up for TN Promise at Roane State today

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Tennessee Promise LogoHigh school seniors can sign up for the Tennessee Promise and fill out their college application on Monday, October 20, at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in Room 107 in the Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building.

The event is designed to encourage students to enroll in Tennessee Promise, the state’s new program that provides two years of community college or technical school tuition-free for any student graduating from a Tennessee high school. [Read more…]

Car once owned by ‘Sound of Music’ actor catches fire in OR

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Glenn Bell Car Fire Sound of Music

A 1965 Studebaker station wagon once owned by Dan Truhitte, who played the German officer Rolfe in “The Sound of Music” in 1965, caught fire in Oak Ridge on Friday. Above Oak Ridge Fire Department firefighter Steven London, left, sprays water on the bottom side of the four-door wagon. At right is ORFD firefighter Sandra Sila-Massengill.

 

A classic car once owned by an actor in “The Sound of Music” movie caught fire in Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.

Oak Ridge resident Glenn Bell, who now owns the car, smelled gas as he left a doctor’s appointment at Jackson Square Plaza in the green 1965 Studebaker four-door station wagon early Friday afternoon. Bell decided to head home.

As he turned onto Tyler Road from Oak Ridge Turnpike, he saw smoke under the hood and dash, and he jumped out. The car rolled a short distance to the intersection of Tyler and Talmeda roads. [Read more…]