Oak Ridge Today

Lunch with League to feature chancellor candidates

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Lunch with the League on Tuesday will feature candidates for Anderson County chancellor.

It’s scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Anderson County will have its primary election on March 5. The four candidates for chancellor in the Republican primary will be James W. Brooks Jr. (the incumbent), Daniel Forrester, Evan Hauser, and Roger Miller, a press release said.

Brooks was appointed chancellor in April 2023 by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee after former Chancery Court Judge M. Nichole “Nicki” Cantrell resigned.

[Read more…]

Chancellor Cantrell resigning

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M. Nichole “Nicki” Cantrell

Anderson County Chancellor M. Nichole “Nicki” Cantrell, the county’s first female chancellor, is resigning at the end of the month.

It wasn’t immediately clear on Saturday why Cantrell is resigning. A Republican, she ran unopposed in the 2022 elections and was re-elected to a second eight-year term in the county general election in August.

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She alleges abuse, imprisonment, Sharia law; he cites immigration as possible motive for claims

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The wife of a city employee has alleged that she has essentially been held captive in a home that operates under Sharia law, been physically abused, not allowed to work or go to school, and deprived of food and medical care.

But her husband, an Oak Ridge Electric Department project manager, said he can prove that the charges are unfounded. He called the allegations, which were publicized in a newspaper story last month, “salacious accusations.” The allegations sparked a social media backlash against the city employee, Oak Ridge Electric Department Project Manager Ardo Isma Ba.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has investigated some of the allegations against Ba, including the charge that he held his wife, Madina Sall, against her will for the past three years. That information was reported to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, where Ba is a reserve deputy.

Ba was not charged after the investigation. Officers said Sall’s definition of abuse is different than what is defined in Tennessee law. Also, detectives appeared to have questions about the accuracy of some of the information, and they warned Sall of the consequences of reporting false information to law enforcement.

“The matter did appear to be a non-criminal matter due to the initial information given to (the Knox County Sheriff’s Office) not being accurate and no proof that any physical abuse has occurred,” the ORPD said. [Read more…]

AC chancellor intervenes in Andersonville Fire Dept. squabble

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Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department

Information from WYSH Radio

Earlier this month, Anderson County Chancellor Nichole Cantrell made a ruling in the dispute between two factions of the Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department.

Earlier this year, then-AVFD Chief Del Kennedy suspended the Board of Directors over allegations that they were interfering in the day-to-day operations of the department.

Kennedy then appointed an interim board to oversee the department. That led to the department’s mail delivery service being interrupted and its bank accounts being frozen over questions about who was authorized to use it.

The chairman of the suspended board, David Farmer, asked the Chancery Court to step in. On September 4, Chancellor Cantrell ruled in favor of the suspended board following a hearing that morning. That meant that the board consisting of Farmer, Carl Poore, Robert Seiber, Benny Ridenour, Judy Lenz, Gina Ridenour, John Poore, and Rodney Williams was reinstated. [Read more…]

Juvenile Judge Fisher taking new job, leaving chancellor’s race

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Brandon FIsher

Brandon Fisher

Anderson County Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Fisher is withdrawing from the race for Anderson County chancellor because he is joining a nonprofit mental health provider in Pennsylvania in September, a press release said.

Fisher will be the assistant general counsel at the national headquarters of NHS Human Services Inc., the release said. The September start will allow him to finish his term, which ends in August.

In the release, Fisher said the decision was difficult. [Read more…]

So far, five candidates for juvenile judge, four for sheriff, three for chancellor

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Anderson County Courthouse

The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above.

So far, there are five potential candidates for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge, four for sheriff, and three for chancellor.

An independent has picked up a petition to run for county mayor, possibly opposing Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, and Tennessee Rep. John Ragan has an opponent in the Aug. 7 Republican primary.

The five candidates for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge are Victoria “Vickie” Bannach, a Clinton Republican; Lauren Biloski, an Oak Ridge Republican; Victoria Bowling, a Heiskell Democrat; J. Michael Clement, a Clinton Democrat; and Brian J. Hunt, a Clinton Republican. They are candidates in the May 6 county primary.

The current juvenile court judge, Brandon Fisher, a Clinton Democrat, is running for Anderson County chancellor in that election. The other two chancellor candidates are Phil Harber, a Clinton Republican, and Robert Warren Wilkinson, an Oak Ridge Republican. [Read more…]