Oak Ridge Today

Council ends review of spending at Oak Ridge Marina bathrooms

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Oak Ridge Marina Bathrooms

City workers build a block wall, patch the ceiling, and hang drywall for new bathrooms and changing rooms in part of the former New China Palace restaurant at Melton Lake Park in April 2014. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

After hearing from an auditor who said he found no irregularities, the Oak Ridge City Council voted 6-1 on Monday to end a financial review of the $281,000 project to build bathrooms and changing rooms in the structure that once housed the New China Palace Restaurant at the Oak Ridge Marina.

The audit had been requested by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, who said there was an allegation at the last Council meeting that there was some problem.

“When you get in front of a camera and you allege that something bad is going on…” Watson said, then you need to hear from a third party.

Questions have been raised about the building renovation by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn, who pointed out that she wasn’t the first to raise concerns, and former City Council member Anne Garcia Garland, among others. Most of the questions and criticisms have focused on the cost. A few different numbers have been reported about what the project was initially expected to cost and what it ended up costing. The 2014 budget showed it had a projected cost of $75,000, Baughn said.

But auditor Adam Allen, a principal of Coulter and Justus, told Council members during a special report on Monday that the renovation cost about $281,000. About half of that was labor, and another 50 percent was materials, Allen said. The audit found no irregularities. [Read more…]

Council agenda: Marina bathroom audit, Charter Review Committee, Oak Ridge Corridor

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Oak Ridge City Council on July 27, 2015

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will hear a report on an audit of the costs and procedures associated with renovating the bathrooms at the Oak Ridge Marina, appoint a seven-member Charter Review Committee, and consider setting up a five-member Oak Ridge Corridor Initiative Committee. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will hear a report on an audit of the costs and procedures associated with renovating the bathrooms at the Oak Ridge Marina, appoint a seven-member Charter Review Committee, and consider setting up a five-member Oak Ridge Corridor Initiative Committee.

Questions have occasionally been raised about the cost of renovating the marina bathrooms, and the City Council will hear the results of a financial audit by Coulter and Justus during the meeting tonight (Monday, October 12).

Also tonight, the City Council will appoint the seven members of a Charter Review Committee. The Charter Review Committee is called for in the City Charter. [Read more…]

Cocke County says case closed after widow releases suicide note, but parents dispute note

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Alexander John Heitman

Alexander John Heitman

Officials say it was suicide. But the parents are skeptical.

So questions linger almost four years after Alexander John Heitman, 29, of Knoxville, was found dead in Cocke County after being reported missing by Oak Ridge Schools. Heitman reportedly died on Tranquility Ridge Drive outside Newport on July 25, 2011. Officials said it was suicide, a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

But Heitman’s parents, Don and Annette Heitman of Adams, Wisconsin, find it hard to believe. They aren’t the only ones. Some current and former Oak Ridge residents, including City Council member Trina Baughn, are also skeptical of the official cause of death.

Heitman’s widow, Kristie Heitman, is not. In February, she released a suicide note that she believes Alex, who was the supervisor of business and support services for Oak Ridge Schools, wrote the day before he died.

Neither is Cocke County Sheriff Armando Fontes. In March, he said the case is closed, and there is no reason to continue pursuing it. Investigators found no evidence that anyone else was involved, Fontes said.

But Don and Annette continue to seek answers. They started a website in October 2013 and used it to raise questions about the case. They’ve also asked for the death investigation to be re-opened, hired attorney Hugh Ward to help them, and won the support of Baughn and others. They’ve also asked the FBI to investigate. [Read more…]

Letter: Shares Heitman story, encourages support for loved ones

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To the Editor:

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention website, 41,149 lives were taken in 2013 from suicide. According to the website of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, people who kill themselves exhibit one or more warning signs, either through what they say or what they do. The more warning signs, the greater the risk!

Talk

If a person talks about:

  • Killing themselves
  • Having no reason to live
  • Being a burden to others
  • Feeling trapped
  • Unbearable pain

Behavior

A person’s suicide risk is greater if a behavior is new or has increased, especially if it’s related to a painful event, loss, or change:

  • Increased use of alcohol or drugs
  • Looking for a way to kill one’s self, such as searching online for materials or means
  • Acting recklessly
  • Withdrawing from activities
  • Isolating from family and friends
  • Sleeping too much or too little
  • Visiting or calling people to say goodbye
  • Giving away prized possessions
  • Aggression

Mood

People who are considering suicide often display one or more of the following moods:

  • Depression
  • Loss of interest
  • Rage
  • Irritability
  • Humiliation
  • Anxiety

These are shocking. I should know. I was married to a man, who was smart, driven, and someone who, on the outside, had a very laid-back demeanor, and was extremely confident. I had known this man for 13 years. I was married to him for three before he ended his own life. You might be very familiar with this man. There have been some who have taken to the Internet to blog about him and his situation, and there has been some press about him over the last 3.5 years since his passing. Sadly, there have been a number of half-truths and pointing of fingers, and that process has defamed the characters of some citizens and a respectable city.

I am not writing to point fingers, or to publicly humiliate anyone. I want to raise awareness in hopes it helps someone else—awareness about Alex Heitman and what he experienced. I will also add that the information that I am providing is not new information and has been shared with all parties involved at one point or another since Alex’s passing. [Read more…]

Guest column: Moving forward in Oak Ridge

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With the recent uproar centered around the Police Department in our rear view mirrors, I think it is important to review what was accomplished and why.

The decision to perform a functional audit on the Police Department is a good step especially when taken in context. These kinds of audits focus on best practices, applied over the department’s field of responsibility that need to be reviewed periodically depending on a department’s complexity and size. Besides just by a calendar rotation, other events to trigger such reviews may include leadership turnover in the department to give incoming management a clean slate of actions and priorities.

I believe that since this door has been opened, it would be wise to broaden it city-wide. Think about whether such an audit could have raised awareness of our lack of proper sewer maintenance over the decades and prevented the rush and financial inconvenience that the mandate from the EPA imposes. [Read more…]

Letter: Register of Deeds audit shows surplus, refutes opponents’ claims

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Tim Shelton

Tim Shelton

Note: This is a copy of a press release submitted by Anderson County Register of Deeds Tim Shelton. Shelton and his challenger, Bill Gallaher, have had a back-and-forth debate about office finances. You can see Gallaher’s press release here.

The Anderson County Register of Deeds office has concluded an internal audit of all revenues and expenditures dating back to 2002, the year that current Register of Deeds Tim Shelton first took office. The results appear to refute the claims made by opposition candidate Bill Gallaher that the office is operating in the red. According to the audit results, the Register of Deeds office has generated a surplus of $546,286 over the past 12 years, with revenues coming in at $3,661,700 and expenditures totaling $3,115,700 for the same time period.

“I felt it important to provide this information to the public so that the confidence which our citizens have in the register of deeds office could be validated,”” stated Shelton. “”We went receipt by receipt, totaling every revenue and expenditure since I took office, double and triple checking to ensure that nothing was missed.””

The controversy of fees began a few weeks ago when a mail piece was sent out by Bill Gallaher, who is opposing current Register of Deeds Tim Shelton in the August 7 general election. Shelton disputed the accusations during two recent joint appearances by both men, one on radio and the other at a public forum in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

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…]

Appeals court sides with Powell-Clinch utility commissioners

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Information from WYSH Radio

The commissioners of the Powell-Clinch Utility District scored a legal victory last week in their dispute with the state’s Utility Management Review Board when an appeals court overturned a lower court’s ruling that they could be held liable for, and removed from office, for acts that allegedly occurred before a change in state law in 2009.

The issue before the appeals court was to determine if the three commissioners—Charles Oldham, Jerry Shattuck, and Charles Taylor—could be removed from office based on a change in state law that went into effect in June of 2009 which added an amendment that “failing to fulfill the commissioner or commissioners’ fiduciary responsibility in the operation or oversight of the district” would be considered as one of the possible grounds for the removal of utility even if the alleged acts occurred before the amendment went into effect. [Read more…]

Anderson County Commission planning to audit Andersonville Fire Department

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Information from WYSH Radio

Last week, the Anderson County Commission voted to get the ball rolling on an audit of the Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department.

Earlier this year, the department announced it was switching to a subscription-based service due to a lack of funds so severe, officials said, that the AVFD might have to close without the subscription plan.

The county has a 40-year lease with the AVFD for the land where the new Belmont Fire Station is being built, and part of the lease agreement calls for the department to be audited each year. The matter was referred to the Commission’s audit and budget committees for consideration and further discussion.

[Read more…]