Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County partners come together to celebrate tobacco prevention

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Choose Not to Use Tobacco

Kelli Kent, Emma Berry, Reagan Wolfe, Noah Carter, Jake Wade, Sarah Thomas, Hope Hicks, and Courtney Sharp dance as Snow White helps the seven side effects to #ChooseNotToUse tobacco products. (Submitted photo)

 

The Anderson County Health Department and community partners Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) of Anderson County, Anderson County Schools, Clinton City Schools, and Oak Ridge City Schools have made great strides in tobacco prevention since nearly $65,000 was awarded to Anderson County earlier this year.

At the Tobacco Initiative Reception held on Wednesday, October 22, those strides were recognized. Art Miller, director of the Anderson County Health Department, said “this is the first time tobacco settlement funds are being used to fund tobacco prevention.”

More than 40 attendees watched as the ASAP Youth Coalition demonstrated why they “Choose Not To Use” tobacco through a special presentation of a skit they wrote and produced titled “Snow White and the Seven Side Effects.” During the skit, the dangers of tobacco use—such as cigarettes being the leading cause of house fires with more than 7,600 each year in the U.S. and losing teeth after the use of chewing tobacco—were highlighted. [Read more…]

AC Chamber Council starts discussions on educational resources, workforce needs

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Randy Boyd

Randy Boyd

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CLINTON—Leaders from business, local, and post-secondary education across Anderson County gathered at the Hollingsworth Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership on Tuesday for an Anderson County Workforce Development Training Resources Luncheon hosted by the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce Education and Workforce Development Council. The council plans for this to be the first of a series of in-depth county-wide discussions about how to ensure that our educational resources are focused at meeting the businesses workforce needs in Anderson County.

Randy Boyd, Governor Bill Haslam’s special adviser on higher education, spoke about Tennessee’s “Drive to 55” initiative and the five main aspects to this statewide initiative: get students ready, get them into school, get them out of school, finish what we started with adult students, and tie education directly to workforce needs.

“There are nearly a million Tennesseans that have some college credit but no degree—that’s an untapped pool of people that we can get to complete a certificate or degree,” Boyd said. [Read more…]

Nightfall Challenge on Saturday features climbing, swinging, zip-lining

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LDC Nightfall Challenge Poster

 

The LDC Nightfall Challenge on Saturday will feature climbing, swinging, and zip-lining in “pitch black darkness,” a press release said. For one price, you’ll be be able to ride on three of the high elements and participate in a bonfire and spooky scavenger hunt.

The Nightfall Challenge is at the Life Development Center on Old Edgemoor Road in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Community Mediation Services has Giant Garage Sale this weekend

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Community Mediation Services of Anderson County, or CMS, is having its annual Giant Garage Sale on Friday and Saturday.

The garage sale is scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the yellow Eagle building at 1650 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

For more than 28 years, CMS has helped hundreds of juveniles and families come up with their own solutions to difficult conflicts and concerns, using well-trained, community volunteer mediators, a press release said. This fall, in addition to its three other mediation programs, CMS will be working with the Anderson County Schools on school attendance (truancy) issues. [Read more…]

Swearing-in for county’s elected officials to be broadcast on ACTV

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Robin Biloski

Robin Biloski

Officials elected or re-elected in Anderson County on August 7 will be sworn in on September 2, and ACTV, the county’s television station, will broadcast it for residents.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. September 2 in the Criminal Courtroom on the third floor of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

ACTV is “pleased to play a part in this special event and provide our citizens a first-hand look at this official act by their government officials,” Anderson County Commissioner Robin Biloski said in a press release.

“Our ACTV Committee wanted to provide our residents an opportunity to see actually how important the oath of office is for those who were elected in the August 2014 election,” said Biloski, chairwoman of the Anderson County TV Committee. “ACTV is always looking at new ways to educate and inform our citizens of what actually happens in government, and we thought this was an exciting way to begin our new terms of office.” [Read more…]

County officials urged to hire attorneys in ouster suit as legal fees rise

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Jay Yeager and Lynn Byrge

Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager, left, the defendant in an ouster suit filed by a group of residents, is pictured with Lynn Byrge, one of the petitioners, during a Monday morning Anderson County Commission meeting.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:06 a.m. July 22.

CLINTON—The legal fees in a few high-profile disputes between top Anderson County officials could approach a half-million dollars, and Anderson County commissioners should all seek their own legal counsel in an ouster lawsuit filed against the law director, stunned commissioners were told Monday.

Subpoenas have already been issued in the ouster suit, and several officials, including a few County Commissioners, have reportedly received letters asking them to waive their attorney-client privilege.

Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski, who is former interim mayor, said some of the records he’s been asked to provide go back 10 years, and some of them are personnel records. Iwanski said he needs legal representation because he doesn’t want to disclose anything improper, a mistake that could lead to another lawsuit.

“It’s about trying to do what’s right for the county,” Iwanski said.

He said former Anderson County Jail Administrator Avery Johnson has also been served with a subpoena and will need legal representation.

“This is just the start of the legal battle,” Iwanski said. [Read more…]

Guest column: D.A.R.E. graduates 395 students

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DARE Logo

By Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Mark Whaley

The 2013/2014 Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program finished its instruction at the end of the school year. A total of 395 students successfully completed the curriculum. Each student earned a certificate of completion and was awarded a special D.A.R.E. T-shirt as an award.

For the first time, we were asked to start D.A.R.E. classes at the Clinch River Community School, where we introduced the program to the fifth and sixth grade students. The primary focus of this year’s D.A.R.E. classes was peer pressure and how important it is to make good choices. [Read more…]

Guest column: Anderson mayor’s budget includes no tax increase

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

CLINTON—Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank has presented her administration’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Frank’s proposed general fund budget, as recently presented to the Budget Committee, keeps most county departments at current-year spending levels and includes no tax increase. It was unanimously approved at a May 15 budget meeting.

The balanced $25,010,105 budget for the county’s general operating fund proposes maintaining a focus on stabilizing spending levels until we have full economic recovery. [Read more…]

EMS luncheon to honor crews, give awards, name scholarship winner

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Anderson County Emergency Services Logo

Anderson County EMS and UT Lifestar are having their annual EMS Week luncheon on Tuesday, May 20. The event is from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and it is open to the public.

“We will be honoring our crews and also giving out our EMT-IV, paramedic, and officer of the year awards,” a press release said. “We have received certificates of appreciation from Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam for some crew members involved on a call earlier this year. Plus, we will be announcing our first-ever recipient of the Next Steps Scholarship.”

The luncheon will be at the EMS main garage complex at 314 Public Safety Lane in Clinton. Call Anderson County EMS at (865) 457-8609 for more information. Lunch will be provided for attendees. The event is meant to thank Anderson County emergency providers for the work they do each day, a flyer said. [Read more…]

Honors: Norwood Elementary Classworks All-Stars

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Norwood Elementary Classworks All-Stars

Pictured above are Norwood Elementary School students Ronnie Rigney, Kristin Lindsay, Landan Lowery, and Jason Bolden. (Submitted photo)

 

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Congratulations to Norwood Elementary School students Ronnie Rigney, Kristin Lindsay, Landan Lowery, and Jason Bolden. They have been selected as Classworks All-Stars. This honor is only given to 500 students nationwide. This award is for math and reading achievement on the Classworks program sponsored by Anderson County Schools.

Anderson Schools rejects Oak Ridge Head Start application over false federal data

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Larry Foster

Larry Foster

Note: This story was last updated at 8:35 p.m.

Anderson County Schools director optimistic that resolution will be reached

By John Huotari and Sara Wise

They had concerns about the alleged falsification of federal documents that contained data on motor skills of children, so Anderson County school officials rejected Oak Ridge’s application for Head Start funding in the 2014-2015 school year.

The decision could affect roughly $700,000 in funding, or enough to cover about 118 students in the Oak Ridge Head Start program, a federal entitlement program for low-income children. Anderson County Schools supervises the local Head Start program.

But Anderson County Schools Director Larry Foster said the county school board’s unanimous April 10 decision could be rescinded based upon collaboration between the two school systems. Representatives of the two systems have already had discussions, and school board chairs are expected to discuss what can be done to resolve funding for next year.

“Hopefully, this can be resolved,” Foster said during a brief break in a Monday morning Anderson County Commission meeting in Clinton. [Read more…]

Letter: Hunt can listen, respond with facts supported by law

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Brian Hunt

Brian Hunt

To the Editor:

It’s not every day that one has the opportunity to praise and uphold a member of our community. That is why I choose this particular time of the year to recommend Brian Hunt, one of our most outstanding citizens of Anderson County, as our next juvenile judge.

I have worked closely with Brian over the past five years as he dedicated himself to providing legal counsel and representation for my homebound families. Without Brian’s assistance, they would have had no recourse and no real “voice” in the legal arena. Although Brian may appear to be a man of few words, I can assure you that his words were sacred in the lives of those who entrusted him for representation. [Read more…]