Oak Ridge Today

Lake City man dies, wife injured after Saturday motorcycle crash

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A Lake City motorcyclist died and his wife was injured after a Saturday morning collision with a sports utility vehicle on Lake City Highway, authorities said.

The crash happened at about 10:45 a.m. Saturday on Lake City Highway, also known as US 25W, at Old Lake City Highway between Clinton and Lake City. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said William Ferrell, 71, of Old Lake City Highway in Clinton, was driving a Mercury Mountaineer SUV and turned into the path of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle operated by Gregory McNelley, 53, of Longfield Road in Lake City. His wife, Julie McNelley, 49, was a passenger on the motorcycle. [Read more…]

Anderson County D.A.R.E. program graduates 387 students

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The 2012-2013 Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program finished its instruction at the end of the school year, and a total of 387 fifth-graders successfully completed the curriculum, a press release said. Each student earned a certificate of completion and was awarded a special D.A.R.E. T-shirt as an award.

This was the first year the new, updated D.A.R.E. program was taught in Anderson County Schools, the release said. D.A.R.E. “keepin’ It… REAL” continues to discuss issues such as drugs and peer pressure, but emphasis is placed on the students decision-making process, the choices students make, and the consequences of bad choices. Anderson County was one of the first in the state to be trained and certified to teach the new curriculum. [Read more…]

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department celebrated National Police Week

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department joined law enforcement agencies across the nation in celebrating National Police Week from May 12 through May 18.

May 15 was National Peace Officers Memorial Day, and the week containing May 15 has been National Police Week since President John F. Kennedy signed Public Law 87-726 on Oct. 1, 1962. It was not until May 15, 1982, that the first National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day service was held.

Activities during National Police Week now include the annual Candlelight Vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. The National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day Service on May 15 draws thousands from across the nation. [Read more…]

Anderson County budget: No tax hike, ACSD still seeking funds

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Information from WYSH Radio

After a lengthy meeting Thursday evening, the Anderson County Budget Committee recommended approval of a budget proposal that leaves property tax rates at their current levels.

The budget proposal will be the subject of a public hearing on May 30 and will be deliberated in June by the full County Commission. It will be up to commissioners to decide what to do about funding the Anderson County Sheriff Department’s request for hiring 34 new jailers at the soon-to-be-expanded Anderson County Jail and funding requests for new vehicles and equipment. [Read more…]

Police officers remembered, sworn in, honored, promoted during Memorial Day ceremony

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Oak Ridge Peace Officer Memorial Day Ceremony

Law enforcement officers from the Oak Ridge Police Department and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies honor Peace Officer Memorial Day on Thursday.

Eight new Oak Ridge police officers were sworn in, two were promoted, and many were honored with new awards during a Peace Officer Memorial Day ceremony on Wednesday.

The annual May 15 ceremony is part of National Police Week, and it pays tribute to local, state, and federal peace officers, including those who died on the job.

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said more than 20,000 officers have died while working since 1792, and on average, one is killed every 57 hours.

Last year, 127 died, and so far this year, 50 have been killed.

“Your unsung work is what binds us all together,” Akagi told several dozen officers gathered outside the Oak Ridge Municipal Building on a warm, sunny Wednesday afternoon. [Read more…]

Crime down 25 percent in Anderson County in two years, sheriff says

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The total number of crimes reported to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has dropped by about 25 percent in the past two years, Sheriff Paul White said.

He said overall crimes decreased by an even larger percentage, roughly 35 percent, from 2007 to 2012. Crimes against property, such as burglaries and thefts, fell about 20 percent over two years and close to 30 percent since 2007.

“This drop in overall crime can be directly attributed to proactive law enforcement and increased patrols of the rural areas of the county,” White said in a Monday press release. [Read more…]

Anderson Sheriff, other communities observed National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and other communities throughout the nation, honored 2013 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week from April 21-April 27. This year’s theme was “New Challenges, New Solutions,” and it celebrated the spirit that will advance crime victims’ rights.

Thirty years ago, crime victims had no rights, access to crime victim compensation, or services to help rebuild their lives. They were often excluded from courtrooms, treated as an afterthought by the criminal justice system, and denied an opportunity to speak at sentencing.

Today, all states have enacted crime victims’ rights laws and established crime victim compensation funds. More than 10,000 victim service agencies help victims throughout the nation. Every year, states and localities receive millions of federal dollars to support these services. [Read more…]

Anderson County officials discuss budget Monday evening

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Spending requests have exceeded expected revenues by more than $4 million, mostly because of a proposal to hire more jailers, and Anderson County officials will discuss the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 during a Monday evening workshop.

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and Budget Director Chris Phillips have said they plan to present a balanced budget that does not raise taxes but still provides core services.

County officials have said projected revenues are down slightly, or about 98 percent of what they are in the current fiscal year. There has been a slight increase in property assessments, but sales and business tax revenues are projected to be down. [Read more…]

Guest column: Sheriff reminds students not to drink and drive

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Proms and graduations are important traditions for young people and the community. The time to celebrate achievements, reflect on the past, and take the first steps into adulthood. Unfortunately, some teenagers believe the deadly mix of alcohol and driving is also a part of this tradition. Far too many are injured or killed after the prom or graduation.

Our young students headed to the prom and from graduations are reminded not to drink and drive. Deputies with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will be out in force on prom nights and after graduations. Driving under the influence, illegal drugs, and underage drinking will get you a ride to the county jail.

The Sheriff’s Department also reminds teens that getting caught drinking while under the age of 21 can result in losing a driver’s license, getting suspended from school, ejected from sports teams, and even banned from graduation ceremonies. [Read more…]

Clinton pair indicted for attempted second-degree murder in New River shooting

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James Matthew Boyd

James Matthew Boyd

Rene Edith Boyd

Rene Edith Boyd

CLINTON—A Clinton man and woman have been indicted on attempted second-degree murder charges for the alleged April 2012 shooting of a man on a gas pipeline service road off New River Highway in Briceville.

James Matthew Boyd, 31, of Dutch Valley Road, and Rene Edith Boyd, 29, of Center Valley Road, were indicted April 2 and arrested Monday. They are charged in the April 14, 2012, shooting of Christopher Paul Pruett, 34, of Batley Loop Road.

When deputies arrived at the shooting scene last year, they found a white Ford Explorer that had crashed into a ditch and a man lying on his back behind the sports utility vehicle, an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report said. Deputies also spotted another man as well as a woman sitting on the ground on either side of the vehicle. [Read more…]

Report: Homeowner shoots, hits tire; burglary suspects flee, found later

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Christopher Lynn Harness

Christopher Lynn Harness

Nicholas David Hedge

Nicholas David Hedge

After they allegedly drove toward him, a homeowner shot at a Ford Taurus carrying three burglary suspects leaving his Melton Hill Drive property Saturday, authorities said. He hit a tire.

But the trio was able to escape in the black car—at least temporarily, authorities said.

The three were arrested later after a search that included the Clinton Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and a Knox County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, the CPD said in a news release posted on its website. [Read more…]

Kentucky duo arrested after alleged burglary, homeowner confrontation, police chase

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Timothy Shane Petrey

Timothy Shane Petrey

Elizabeth Jane North

Elizabeth Jane North

A Kentucky man and woman were arrested after an alleged confrontation with a homeowner during a burglary on Andersonville Highway on Saturday morning and a short police chase, authorities said.

The alleged burglary at the Andersonville Highway home was discovered by the owner and a friend at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, according to a press release from Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas.

“The homeowner confronted the male suspect as he was exiting her home after the female suspect, who was sitting in a truck in the driveway, sounded the horn and yelled to the male,” Lucas said. “The male suspect and the homeowner struggled over some items that were being taken, and then he and the female suspect fled in the truck.” [Read more…]