Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County Commission candidates at forum Thursday; Roane County forum on July 19

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Voter Registration Month

The League of Women of Voters of Oak Ridge will present two forums featuring candidates on the ballots in the August 4 elections in Anderson and Roane counties. The first forum, featuring candidates for Anderson County Commission, District 8, is tonight (Thursday, July 14).

Tonight’s forum will be held at the Oak Ridge campus of Roane State Community College in Room-111. It starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 14.

Three candidates are running to fill the unexpired term of Robin Biloski, who resigned from her District 8 in Oak Ridge in August 2015. The three candidates are Myra Mansfield, Angeleque McNutt, and Phil Yager. McNutt was appointed to the seat by Anderson County Commission in August, and that appointment was to last through the county’s general election this August.

District 8 includes the Emory Valley, Hendrix Creek, and Woodland voting precincts in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Reminder: Anderson County Commission candidates at Thursday forum

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Reminder: A Thursday morning forum will feature three candidates for Anderson County Commission.

The three candidates are Myra Mansfield, Angeleque McNutt, and Phil Yager. They are running for one of two seats in District 8, which includes the Emory Valley, Hendrix Creek, and Woodland voting precincts in Oak Ridge.

The candidate forum is from 7:30-9 a.m. Thursday, July 14, at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, which is at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Gene Patterson will be the moderator. The forum is free and open to the public.

See previous story here: [Read more…]

Candidate forum for Anderson County Commission District 8 to be held July 14

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Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce building is pictured above.

 

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Advocacy Committee will host a series of candidate forums during the election season this year, and the first forum, for three Anderson County Commission candidates, will be in July.

That first forum will be for candidates running in the special election for Anderson County Commission District 8. The forum will be held from 7:30-9 a.m. Thursday, July 14, in the Joyce Conference Room at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, which is at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

All three candidates for the office—Myra Mansfield, Angeleque McNutt, and Phil Yager—have indicated that they will be present for the forum, a press release said. All candidate forums are free and open to the public. [Read more…]

Aug. 4 ballot: Competitive races for Congress, AC Commission in Oak Ridge

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Voter Registration Month

The ballot is set for the August 4 county general election and state and federal primary elections. The competitive elections include the Republican and Democratic primaries for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Third Congressional District, which includes Oak Ridge, and the race for one of two seats in Anderson County Commission’s Eighth District, which includes the Woodland, Hendrix Creek, and Emory Valley precincts in Oak Ridge.

There is also competition for two seats on the Anderson County School Board, one in the Third District and the other in the Fifth District.

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, an Ooltewah Republican, is the incumbent in the House’s Third Congressional District. He has two opponents in the Republican primary on August 4: Allan Levene and Geoffery Suhmer Smith. (Signs for Fleischmann and Smith have both recently been posted in Oak Ridge.)

There are also three Democratic candidates on the ballot for U.S. House, Third District. They are Michael Friedman, George Ryan Love, and Melody Shekari.

The Republican winner will face the Democratic winner in the November 8 federal general election. [Read more…]

Anderson County Commission meeting Monday

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Commission will meet for its regular monthly session on Monday, June 20, at 6:30 p.m. in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

Commissioners will be considering appointments of commissioners to the newly-created Budget and Purchasing Committees brought about by the recent change in financial management systems. The Nominating Committee met this week and recommended that Commissioners Chuck Fritts, Whitey Hitchcock, Myron Iwanski, Theresa Scott, and Jerry White serve on the Budget Committee. The Nominating Committee members also recommended that Commissioners Tim Isbel, Angeleque McNutt, Steve Mead, Theresa Scott, and Philip Warfield serve on the Purchasing Committee.

The full Commission will discuss and possibly vote upon the Operations Committee’s recommendation to move forward on a project to refurbish the Glen Alpine Convenience Center in Clinton. The Commission will also discuss a five-year lease extension at a cost of $1,000 per month for the land housing the Wolf Valley Convenience Center in Claxton. [Read more…]

Anderson Co. budget: Special meeting scheduled June 23

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A special meeting of the Anderson County Commission has been scheduled for June 23 for budget-related discussions.

During the meeting, department heads, residents, and elected and appointed officials can talk to the commission about the proposed budget that has been recommended by the Anderson County Budget Committee and presented by Mayor Terry Frank.

Also, there could be discussion, amendments, and adoption of the budget for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, including any resolutions required or related to the budget and/or tax rate, a meeting notice said. [Read more…]

No discussion of Crowley legal bill; trash talk dominates Operations meeting

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Commission’s Operations Committee did not end up discussing Monday night whether to pay the legal bills of Public Works Director David Crowley in connection to his acquittal in April on charges that he illegally inspected buildings without the proper certification. In fighting the charges, Crowley’s legal bill came to $59,258.62.

Crowley had requested that the Commission do what it has done before in cases when a public official faced, but was acquitted of, charges related to their governmental posting. But during the May meeting of the County Commission, some commissioners questioned whether Crowley had followed proper procedure in submitting his request for reimbursement. The question was referred to the Operations Committee and was the first item on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

But Crowley was not in attendance when the meeting began, and commissioners voted to put it on the end of the agenda due to his absence. Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank pointed out that Crowley’s presence was not necessary since the matter had been referred back to committee by the full Commission. When the topic came up again, Crowley was still not present. Commissioner Jerry White made a motion to pay Crowley’s legal bill, but discussion ended before it began due to a lack of a second. In the end, no action was taken, and the question of Crowley’s legal fees continues. [Read more…]

Main Street: Ready to close by end of June, AMSE property the one remaining hurdle

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The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge.

The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge. The wide road running vertically at center-right through the aerial photo is South Tulane Avenue. The proposed Main Street Oak Ridge would be on the right side of South Tulane Avenue at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The road running horizontally at bottom is South Illinois Avenue. AMSE is the brown-roofed building at top-center.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8 p.m. June 13.

RealtyLink, the developer that has proposed redeveloping the former Oak Ridge Mall, says it is ready to close on the roughly 60-acre site by the end of June and start construction immediately, but there is one last hurdle: The company is concerned about any redevelopment of the property across the street at the American Museum of Science and Energy that could compete with its proposed project, known as Main Street Oak Ridge.

So, RealtyLink has asked that, if the federal government wants to dispose of the AMSE property at some point in the future, the city would negotiate with the U.S. Department of Energy through the General Services Administration to either have the property transferred to the city, or allow RealtyLink to negotiate directly with DOE and GSA for a property transfer.

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider a resolution allowing the city manager to start the negotiations, should they become necessary, during a meeting on Monday, June 13.

So far, DOE and GSA have not publicly announced plans to dispose of the 17.12 acres in and around AMSE. But there have been public discussions about what to do with the property during the past 15 years or so. DOE has said it is not in the museum business. [Read more…]

Small business owner seeks to retain seat on County Commission

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Angeleque McNutt

Angeleque McNutt

Anderson County Commissioner Angeleque McNutt wants to keep her seat on County Commission, and she has announced that she is a candidate in the August 4 election.

McNutt, who owns Rainbow Florist in Oak Ridge, was appointed to replace Robin Biloski on Anderson County Commission when Biloski resigned on August 3 because she and her husband Bill moved to Madeira Beach, Florida.

McNutt now represents District 8, one of two commissioners in that district (Myron Iwanski is the other commissioner). The district includes Emory Valley, Hendrix Creek, and Woodland in Oak Ridge.

McNutt’s appointment to the seat by the County Commission in August 2015 was through the August 2016 county general election. [Read more…]

Crowley’s legal bills to be considered

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David Crowley

David Crowley

From WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Commission’s Operations Committee will consider Public Works Director David Crowley’s request that his legal bill be paid after he was acquitted of criminal charges last month. Crowley had been charged with illegally inspecting five buildings without the proper certification, but he was acquitted on those charges in April.

In fighting the charges, Crowley’s legal bill came to $59,258.62. In the past, the County Commission has approved the payment of legal fees for county employees charged with crimes connected to their positions when they are cleared out of the county law director’s budget. The request was considered earlier this month and approved by the county’s budget committee. [Read more…]

City, county could move General Sessions Court to Emory Valley Road

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Anderson-County-General-Sessions-Court-Exterior-Nov-19-2015

A few options have been considered, and Anderson County will now study whether to move the General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A few options have been considered, and Anderson County will now study whether to move the General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road.

Related to that proposal are plans to move the Oak Ridge Senior Center, which is now at the Emory Valley Road building, to the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Also up for a possible move is the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department. That department now occupies part of the Civic Center, where the Senior Center could move, but the department’s administrative offices could move to a vacant building on Badger Road that once housed Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.

The idea is that moving the administrative wing of Recreation and Parks to the Badger Road building could free up space for seniors at the Civic Center, which in turn would help create space at the county-owned building for the General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

Isbel withdraws from state rep race

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Tim Isbel

Tim Isbel

Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County Commissioner Tim Isbel has withdrawn from the race for Tennessee House of Representatives in the 33rd District, which includes most of Anderson County. The seat is currently held by John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican.

Last week, Isbel had announced his intention to run against Ragan in the Republican primary in August. The deadline to withdraw from the ballot was noon today (Thursday, April 14), and Isbel has done so.

Isbel said that after speaking with officials at the state level and consulting with his pastor, he has decided to hold off on running for the Tennessee House for at least another two years. He said there are still “some great opportunities and tasks for the people I (currently) represent,” adding that he feels he is “best suited to help accomplish these tasks.”

WYSH will have more on this developing story on Monday on “Ask Your Neighbor,” when Isbel will join the Clinton radio station (AM 1380, FM 101.1) for an exclusive interview.