Oak Ridge Today

Letter: Former Sheriff White endorses Lay in Republican primary

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Bill White Endorses Anthony Lay

Pictured in back row from left to right are Terry Hodge, treasurer for the Anthony Lay campaign; Clyde Cook, gun doctor, Clinton business owner; Lynn Byrge, Oak Ridge business owner, and Joe Walker, local 25-year state police officer). Pictured in front from left to right are Mary Jane White, wife of former sheriff Bill White; Lay, a Republican candidate for Anderson County sheriff; and Bill White. (Submitted photo)

Former Republican Sheriff Bill White and his wife Mary Jane White have endorsed candidate Anthony Lay for sheriff in the Republican primary election in Anderson County on May 6, a press release said.

“I have known Anthony for several years and feel he is the best qualified candidate for the office of sheriff,” White said in the press release.

Bill and Mary Jane ask the voters of Anderson County to cast their vote for Anthony Lay on May 6 in the Republican primary, the release said.

ORPD officer resigns to focus on campaign for sheriff

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Randy Myers

Randy Myers

Note: This story was updated at 3:48 p.m. April 11.

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Randy Myers is resigning so he can focus on campaigning full-time for sheriff.

His last day on the job will officially be Tuesday, April 15.

“We’re campaigning full-steam,” Myers said Thursday. “We’re fully committed.”

Myers, 48, started with the ORPD in 2007. He is a Republican candidate for Anderson County sheriff in the May 6 primary election, where he has one opponent, Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper Anthony Lay. The primary winner will face the incumbent, Sheriff Paul White, a Democrat, in the Aug. 7 county general election.

[Read more…]

Republican forum: Issues range from jobs, retail to drug courts, trial experience

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Anderson County Republican Party Forum

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, center, gives an opening statement during a Tuesday night candidate forum for Republican Party candidates. Also pictured are Anderson County Commissioner Zach Bates, left, who is challenging Frank in the May 6 GOP primary, and Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Randy Myers, one of two Republican candidates for sheriff.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:45 a.m.

The starkest differences between any candidates at a Tuesday night Republican Party forum might have emerged in the race for Anderson County chancellor, where candidates Michael Farley and Nicki Cantrell clashed on questions of trial experience and whether the Chancery Court should ever be used to hear criminal cases.

In the race for sheriff, Republican candidates Anthony Lay and Randy Myers agreed on one key question: No federal inmates should be housed at the Anderson County jail.

In the race for mayor, Terry Frank, the incumbent, said she had presided over one of the few—and possibly the only—tax cut in Anderson County history, while her opponent, Commissioner Zach Bates, said the county’s biggest economic challenge is “retail leakage.” [Read more…]

Anderson County primary deadline Thursday at noon

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Information from WYSH Radio

The deadline to qualify as a candidate in any of the races on the ballot for Anderson County’s May 6 primaries is at noon Thursday.

Here is a look at who has qualified so far:

  • So far, only incumbent Judge Don Elledge has qualified to run for his seat as criminal and circuit judge.
  • Five people have qualified to run in the hotly-contested Juvenile Court judge primaries. Two Democrats—J. Michael Clement and David Dunkirk—are seeking the nomination, while three Republicans—Victoria Bannach, Lauren Biloski, and Brian Hunt—have qualified to seek their party’s nod to run for the seat in the August general election.
  • Brandon Fisher, the current Juvenile Court judge, had qualified to run for the Democratic nomination for chancellor, a seat coming open due to the retirement of William Lantrip, but he announced just a couple of weeks ago that he will be dropping out of the race to join a company in Pennsylvania. On the Republican side, Mike Farley and Phil Harber have qualified to appear on the May ballot. [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…]

State trooper, former marshal running for Anderson County sheriff

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Anthony Lay

Anthony Lay

An Anderson County man who is a state highway patrolman and former federal deputy U.S. marshal has announced he is running for sheriff.

Anthony Lay is seeking the Republican nomination for Anderson County sheriff in May 2014.

Lay is an officer with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a press release said. He has served as Scott County sheriff, and when he was 33, was appointed as a federal U.S. marshal in Atlanta.

Lay returned to Anderson County to help his parents after his father suffered a health event, the release said.

“I am announcing my candidacy out of my love for public service and the people who live here,” Lay said in the press release. “Anderson County is a wonderful place to live and work, and the people of Anderson County deserve a safe community and leadership they can trust.” [Read more…]

Lake City woman dies in Anderson County crash

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A Lake City woman died after she was ejected from her car when it went into the median on Interstate 75 in Anderson County and rolled just before midnight Wednesday, authorities said.

Christina D. Nelson, 23, was in the left lane of southbound I-75 in Clinton at about 11:51 p.m. Wednesday when her 2000 Nissan Altima sedan left the roadway, traveled through the median, and rolled about three times, Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Anthony Lay said in a report. [Read more…]

Clinton woman dies one week after three-car, head-on collision

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Three Car Collision on Oliver Springs Highway

Alberta Farrer, a 56-year-old Clinton resident and one of three drivers in a Nov. 1 head-on collision on Oliver Springs Highway, died Thursday morning at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A Clinton woman died early Thursday, one week after a head-on collision that involved three cars on Oliver Springs Highway, authorities said.

Alberta Farrer, 56, died at 4 a.m. Thursday at University of Tennessee Medical Center, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

Charges and citations are pending against one of the drivers, 55-year-old Danny Bean of Clinton, the THP said.

Bean allegedly crossed the center line while driving southbound in a Toyota 4-Runner on Oliver Springs Highway at Thursday, Nov. 1, causing a head-on collision with a Hyundai Elantra driven by Farrer, the THP said.

A Chevrolet pickup driven by Travis Gallaher, 19, of Oliver Springs, was behind Farrer, headed toward Oliver Springs. Gallaher braked and swerved left to avoid the crash, but the collision between Bean’s SUV and Farrer’s car pushed the two vehicles toward Gallaher’s truck and the pickup hit Farrer’s Elantra on the driver’s side.

Farrer and a passenger, Pat Smith, a 62-year-old Clinton resident, were flown by medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, according to an accident report last week. Bean was taken by ambulance to the UT hospital, and Gallaher was taken to a local hospital by a personal vehicle.

The accident occurred at 5:53 p.m. Nov. 1 near Marlow Circle and Anderson Memorial Gardens on Oliver Springs Highway, which is also known as State Route 61.

Emergency responders from several local agencies responded. The accident is being investigated by THP Trooper Anthony Lay.

Three taken to UT hospital after three car, head-on collision

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Three Car Collision on Oliver Springs Highway

Three people were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center after a three-car, head-on collision on Oliver Springs Highway on Thursday evening, and a fourth person was taken to a local hospital. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A head-on collision that involved three cars on Oliver Springs Highway on Thursday evening sent two drivers and a passenger to the University of Tennessee Medical Center and a third driver to a local hospital, authorities said.

The accident occurred at 5:53 p.m. Thursday when a Toyota 4-Runner driven by Danny Bean, 55, of Clinton, crossed the center line, causing a head-on collision with a Hyundai Elantra driven by Alberta Farrer, 56, of Clinton, according to information from the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

A third vehicle driven by Travis Gallaher, 19, of Oliver Springs, was behind Farrer, headed toward Oliver Springs. Gallaher swerved left to avoid the crash but collided with Farrer’s car.

Farrer and a passenger, Pat Smith, 62, also of Clinton, were flown by medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the accident report said. Bean, the first driver, was taken by ambulance to the UT hospital, and Gallaher was taken to a local hospital by a personal vehicle.

The accident occurred near Anderson Memorial Gardens on Oliver Springs Highway, which is also known as State Route 61.

Emergency responders from several local agencies responded. The accident is being investigated by THP Trooper Anthony Lay.