Oak Ridge Today

U.S. Census seeking workers in Anderson County

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The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking census takers in Anderson County for this year’s census.

Larry Carignan, a recruiter for the census in Anderson County, will be at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton on two dates this month to answer questions and help anyone who might be interested in applying to work as a census taker, a press release said.

Carignan will be at the Courthouse from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, February 4, and Thursday, February 13, to recruit potential workers for the federal census in Anderson County. He will be set up next to the Courtesy Booth on the Courthouse’s first floor near the elevators.

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New federal designation means more law enforcement funding, full-time ATF agent

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Anderson-County-High-Intensity-Drug-Trafficking-Area-Press-Conference-Dec-17-2019
A new federal designation for Anderson County will mean more federal funding for the county’s drug and violent crime task force and a full-time agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new federal designation for Anderson County will mean more federal funding for the county’s drug and violent crime task force and a full-time agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Anderson County is now a high-intensity drug trafficking area, or HIDTA. That designation came from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. It occurred in September and will go into effect January 1.

As part of a two-part announcement this month, law enforcement officials said the White House also selected the county’s task force, the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, as an Appalachia HIDTA, or AHIDTA. It’s the only locally led drug task force in Tennessee, according to Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. The county’s Crime Task Force, or CTF, is led by Director Simon Byrne.

“No other drug task force in Tennessee has been awarded an AHIDTA grant,” Clark said. “I am very proud of our leadership team for thinking outside of the box and in looking for smart ways to make our communities safer as well as be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. We are more excited than we can convey, but in short believe that this development has the potential to be transformative as to what we are able to do in Anderson County to protect and serve our communities.”

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Winter Farmers’ Market opens Saturday

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The Winter Farmers’ Market will open in Oak Ridge on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, and it will be open through March 28, 2020, in St. Mary’s School gym in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy Grow Oak Ridge)

The Winter Farmers’ Market will open in Oak Ridge on Saturday, and it will be open through March.

With more than 30 vendors each week, the Winter Farmers’ Market is the largest one in Anderson County, a press release said.

This weekend’s opening is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, December 7, in the gym at St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge.

This year, the Winter Farmers’ Market will extend an extra four weeks, through March 28, 2020. It is closed only on the Saturday after Christmas, December 28, the press release said.

“Our farmers grow a wide array of crops all winter long,” said Rebecca Williams, director of Grow Oak Ridge, the nonprofit organization that produces the market.

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Warrant: Argument between neighbors ends with fatal shooting, homicide charge

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George Michael Patterson
George Michael Patterson

Note: This story was updated at 10:45 a.m. Nov. 26.

An argument between neighbors ended with a fatal shooting in Rocky Top on Saturday morning, and one man has been charged with criminal homicide, according to Anderson County court records.

The shooting was reported just before 8 a.m. Saturday on Willow Lane in Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

An arrest warrant filed after the shooting said the man charged with criminal homicide, George Michael Patterson, 64, had been arguing with his neighbor, David Ray Roach Jr., 43, in front of Patterson’s home. Roach was initially in his vehicle during the argument, parked in the roadway, the warrant said.

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State Building Commission approves design of TCAT campus in Anderson County

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An image shows what the Tennessee College of Applied Technology could look like in Anderson County. (Image courtesy state of Tennessee)

The Tennessee State Building Commission in Nashville on Thursday approved the early design phase of the new TCAT Knoxville Higher Education Center in Anderson County, a press release said.

The 47,603 square-foot technology training facility will be located in the city of Clinton. It will be a shared-use building for TCAT Knoxville and Roane State Community College dedicated to training students for the modern workforce, the press release said.

TCAT is the Tennessee College of Applied Technology.

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, presided over the State Building Commission meeting approving the design and was integral in getting the project approved, the press release said.

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Anderson County will also stop recycling glass

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Like other counties and Oak Ridge, Anderson County will stop recycling glass.

The county announced the suspension of glass recycling in a press release on Monday.

The press release said Anderson County Solid Waste was notified on August 15 that WestRock, the county’s recycling vendor, would suspend the “receiving, handling, and marketing of glass bottles and jars collected at (the) county’s drop off centers” effective September 1.

To prepare for the change, the Marlow Convenience Center will stop accepting glass for recycling on August 29, the press release said. Residents should place glass in their regular garbage for disposal, the release said.

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Anderson County plans $2.8 million animal shelter

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The proposed Anderson County Animal Shelter is pictured above in this plan by Blankenship and Partners LLC of Knoxville on Thursday, July 25, 2019.

Note: This story was last updated at 12:45 p.m. July 26.

A $2.8 million animal shelter is planned in Anderson County, possibly inside the city of Clinton.

The current animal shelter is on Blockhouse Valley Road in the Claxton community. It has 12 dog runs and 12 cat cages. It’s a 720-square-foot animal holding facility, the first in the county, and it cost about $25,000 to build. It was built by the county on county property with help from local contractors and inmate labor. It opened in the fall of 2015, about six months after Anderson County Commission approved an animal task force, said former Anderson County Commissioner and Oak Ridge resident Robin Biloski, who has helped lead the animal shelter project, including through fundraising.

“It was little, but it spoke volumes,” Biloski said during an unveiling ceremony for the plans for the new shelter at Calhoun’s restaurant in Oak Ridge on Thursday evening.

The new shelter would be much larger than the current facility. It would be more than 10,800 square feet, including about 2,900 square feet for kennels. It could have 20 dog kennels—30 total including kennels for animals that need to be quarantined and for miscellaneous animals such as pigs—and space for 20 to 30 cats, said Brian Porter, Anderson County Animal Control and Shelter Director.

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For members: Man charged with attempted murder of deputy has two homicide convictions

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Charles Edward Mason

Note: This story was last upated at 7 a.m. May 31.

CLINTON—The Anderson County man charged with attempted murder after allegedly pointing a gun at a deputy and pulling the trigger twice in April has previously pleaded guilty to homicides in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Charles Edward Mason

CLINTON—The Anderson County man charged with attempted murder after allegedly pointing a gun at a deputy and pulling the trigger twice in April has previously pleaded guilty to homicides in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The first homicide conviction was in Knox County, Kentucky, in 1994. The second was in Anderson County, Tennessee, in 2010. The defendant, Charles Edward Mason, now 51, received a nine-year sentence in the first case and a seven-year sentence in the second. He had been accused of shooting a man with a pistol in the first case, the one in Kentucky, according to Knox County court records. He reportedly stabbed a man in the Anderson County case 15 years later.

When he was charged with attempted murder in Anderson County this year, Mason was on probation in a different case involving drug and driver’s license violations. He had pleaded guilty in January to possessing more than 0.5 grams of methamphetamine for resale and driving on a revoked or suspended license. He had received a 10-year sentence, and he had agreed to be declared a habitual motor vehicle offender as well, according to Anderson County court records.

Now, he is facing 24 new charges in Anderson County, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder, eight counts of aggravated assault, three counts of aggravated kidnapping, and three drug charges, among other counts.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today.  Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

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For members: With no increase, AC schools budget could have $1.4 million in cuts

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Without a tax rate increase or other new revenues, the Anderson County Schools budget could include more than $1.4 million in cuts, compared to last year, school officials said during an Anderson County Board of Education meeting on Thursday, May 16, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—Without a tax rate increase or other new revenues, the Anderson County Schools budget could include more than $1.4 million in cuts, compared to last year, school officials said Thursday.

There are already $650,000 in cuts included in the budget, according to information presented by Tim Parrott, director of Anderson County Schools, during an Anderson County Board of Education meeting on Thursday. That budget, which the school board approved last month, would have required about $820,000 in new revenue, said Scott Gillenwaters, chair of the school board’s Budget Committee.

Without a tax rate increase or other new revenues, the Anderson County Schools budget could include more than $1.4 million in cuts, compared to last year, school officials said during an Anderson County Board of Education meeting on Thursday, May 16, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—Without a tax rate increase or other new revenues, the Anderson County Schools budget could include more than $1.4 million in cuts, compared to last year, school officials said Thursday.

The cuts could include reductions in elementary school, middle school, and high school positions, and Central Office, technology, custodial, and maintenance staff; cuts to materials and supplies, and band equipment at the high schools; not finishing the gymnasium at Grand Oaks Elementary School; cutting a full-time nurse, high school coaching supplements, and a school resource officer vehicle; and reductions to transportation safety, special education assistants, and City of Rocky Top field maintenance, among a long list of potential cuts.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today.  Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

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If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

Finance Committee accepts Erb resignation; full Commission to meet Monday

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Natalie Erb
Natalie Erb

Information from WYSH Radio

Meeting in a special-called session on Monday, the Anderson County Finance Committee voted to accept the resignation of Natalie Erb as the county’s finance director, effective May 23.

The Committee also voted to name Robby Holbrook, who is currently deputy finance director in charge of payroll, as the interim finance director upon Erb’s departure.

The third piece of business taken care of on Monday saw the Committee vote to authorize the Human Resources Department to begin the search for a new finance director by modifying the job description to incorporate the duties of the county purchasing agent.

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Four new stores at Main Street could generate more than $600,000 in tax revenues, city says

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A revised master plan for Main Street Oak Ridge. The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission was to discuss the proposed revisions during a work session on Thursday, April 11, 2019.

The four new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could create 150 jobs and generate more than $600,000 in sales and property tax revenues for Oak Ridge and Anderson County, according to calculations by the city’s economic development consultant.

The estimated new revenues could include $572,096 in sales tax revenues and $116,965 in property tax revenues for Oak Ridge and Anderson County, according to the calculations. The portion of new sales tax revenues for just Oak Ridge could total $385,158, according to the calculations.

The four new stores are part of a revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

A new version of that plan is scheduled to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday. The economic benefit calculations for the new stores are included in the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.

Here is the specific breakdown of the economic benefits of the four new stores, which could total 75,000 square feet, according to the calculations:

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Deadline today to vote in student manufacturing competition

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The videos are in, and it is now time to vote in Anderson County’s “Dream it. Do it.” middle school competition.

The program is in its fourth year, and it includes six schools from Anderson County and Oak Ridge school systems.

“Dream it. Do it.” is sponsored by the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, Anderson County and Oak Ridge schools, and Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC. The competition is designed to bring student awareness of job opportunities in advanced manufacturing, a press release said.

Using GoPro cameras provided by CNS, six teams of eighth-graders were paired with area industries to create videos about the companies, the press release said. These videos are now posted online for public voting.

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