Oak Ridge senior quarterback Herbert Booker (13) scrambles during a 20-14 loss to Farragut on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. (Photo by Barry Houchin)
The Oak Ridge football team is 6-1 so far this season. Here are photos from some of their first seven games, courtesy of Barry Houchin.
Oak Ridge is off this week. They play next at Clinton on Friday, October 12. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Wildcats walk down the stairs at Jack Armstrong Stadium before a 41-12 win over Dobyns-Bennett on Blankenship Field on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. (Photo by Barry Houchin)
The Oak Ridge football team is 6-1 so far this season.
The Wildcats have had three wins and no losses in Region 3-5A. They have defeated Campbell County at home and West and Karns on the road.
Their other three wins were in non-regional games, with victories at Hardin Valley, at home against Dobyns-Bennett, and at Sevier County.
Their one loss, a non-regional game, was to Farragut on Blankenship Field.
All three games remaining in the regular season are regional games: Clinton (1-5, 0-2); Powell (6-1, 3-1); and Fulton (5-1, 2-0).
Oak Ridge is off this week. They play at Clinton on Friday, October 12. Their final two games, against Powell and Fulton, will be at home on October 19 and 25.
Here is a summary of the first seven games. [Read more…]
Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday will hear an update on the progress and next steps in the Blankenship Field revitalization project and an update on energy savings projects.
The update on the Blankenship Field project, which includes the installation of synthetic turf, will be given by Jon Hetrick, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks director. [Read more…]
Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The renovations at Blankenship Field, including the installation of synthetic turf, won’t start until after this year’s football season ends, officials said Thursday.
At one time, there had been hopes that the renovation work would have started this past January and be finished by this June. Then, after an $800,000 contract was approved in June, there had still been the possibility that the work could be complete this summer, on or around the first home football game in August.
But on Thursday, the City of Oak Ridge announced a decision to wait until the Oak Ridge High School football season is complete to begin the renovations.
“The decision was based on the contractor’s estimate that the project could not be completed without impacting the first three home football games,” a city press release said. [Read more…]
Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was published at 4:15 p.m. June 19 and updated at 6 p.m. June 20.
The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday approved a $800,000 contract to buy and install synthetic turf at Blankenship Field.
Council approved the contract in 5-0 vote during a special meeting Tuesday evening in the Multipurpose Room in the Central Services Complex in central Oak Ridge.
The contract was awarded to Field Turf USA Inc. of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. The company has a regional office in Calhoun, Georgia.
The contract says the purchase and installation of the synthetic turf are not to exceed $800,000. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018, will consider an in-kind design agreement for renovation work at Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider an in-kind design agreement for renovation work at Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium and $70,000 in funding for renovations for Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, which is moving to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road.
The Blankenship Field design contract would be awarded to Barge Design Solutions of Knoxville. It would be an in-kind donation to the project, valued at up to $50,000, and used to help meet the requirement to have matching funds for a Local Park and Recreation Fund grant awarded to the city by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. That $496,000 grant required a 50 percent local match, which is to come from the Blankenship Field Revitalization Foundation.
The Barge Design Solutions work would include surveying, civil engineering, landscape design, permitting, and construction administration.
The roughly $1 million project is called the Oak Ridge Blankenship Field Renovation and Trailhead Improvement Project. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Police Department found a small crater that might have been caused by an explosion in mulch at a playground at Milt Dickens Park in east Oak Ridge late Monday afternoon, Jan. 15, 2018. The crater pictured here the next morning, Tuesday morning, measured about 4.5 feet across and one foot deep, but the hole had been enlarged by officers taking dirt samples during the investigation. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The juvenile arrested Tuesday in connection with recent explosions in Oak Ridge has been charged with two counts of possession or manufacture of prohibited weapons, a Class B felony, authorities said Wednesday.
The juvenile appeared in juvenile court for a detention hearing on Wednesday and was released, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.
“The investigation is continuing,” the city said. “No additional information will be released at this time.”
The student, an Oak Ridge High School student who has not been publicly identified because he is a juvenile, was arrested Tuesday after the Oak Ridge Police Department found evidence in a car that was connected to two recent explosions, one at Blankenship Field and the other at Milt Dickens Park, authorities said. [Read more…]
An Oak Ridge High School student was arrested Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018, after police found evidence in a car that was connected to two recent explosions, one at Blankenship Field and the other at Milt Dickens Park, authorities said. The Oak Ridge Police Department was helped by the Knoxville Police Department Bomb Squad. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Police Department/City of Oak Ridge)
An Oak Ridge High School student was arrested Tuesday after police found evidence in a car that was connected to two recent explosions, one at Blankenship Field and the other at Milt Dickens Park, authorities said.
The male student is a juvenile and is not being publicly identified.
Investigators with the Oak Ridge Police Department Juvenile Unit detained and questioned a male at Oak Ridge High School while working with Oak Ridge Schools on Tuesday morning, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. The boy was believed to have knowledge regarding both explosions.
“Further investigation led investigators to determine that potential evidence was still inside the student’s vehicle, which was parked in the front lot of the high school,” the ORPD said. “Investigators immediately identified the vehicle, established a safe perimeter, and requested assistance from the Knoxville Police Department’s Bomb Squad. At no time were any students, staff, or bystanders in danger. Bomb squad personnel were asked to assist out of an abundance of caution.” [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Police Department found a small crater that might have been caused by an explosion at Milt Dickens Park in east Oak Ridge late Monday afternoon, Jan. 15, 2018. The crater pictured here on Tuesday morning measured about 4.5 feet across and one foot deep, but the hole had been enlarged by officers taking dirt samples during the investigation. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 9:25 a.m. Jan. 19.
The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a report of an explosion that left a small crater in the playground and rattled nearby windows at Milt Dickens Park in east Oak Ridge late Monday afternoon. Police recovered physical evidence that indicated an explosion might have occurred, the City of Oak Ridge said in a statement Wednesday.
Police are also investigating a report of an explosion near Blankenship Field on Saturday night. Officers found a concrete picnic table in the area of Blankenship Field that appeared to be damaged as the result of an “over-pressure or impact-related event,” but no physical evidence at the scene definitively indicated that an explosion had occurred or that the initial reporting was the result of an explosive device, the city said.
The Blankenship Field explosion was reported at 9:12 p.m. Saturday, January 13. A witness reported seeing a black vehicle leaving the area at a high rate of speed just after the incident occurred, the City of Oak Ridge said. [Read more…]
The renovation work at Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium could start in January and be complete by June, officials said Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
The renovation work at Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium could start in January and be complete by June, officials said Thursday.
The work will be done with help from a $496,000 state grant and an equal match from the Blankenship Field Revitalization Foundation, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.
“The funds, totaling roughly $1 million, will be used to make a number of upgrades to the facility, including, but not limited to: installation of synthetic turf, concrete walkways, synthetic track, new fencing, signage for the Cedar Hill Greenway trail head, and additional restrooms,” the press release said.
The state grant for the Blankenship Field renovations is from the Local Parks and Recreation Fund, and it has been approved by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
On December 11, Oak Ridge City Council voted to amend an earlier resolution to include all the enhancements specifically outlined within the grant contract. The expected date for project completion is June 1, 2018, the press release said. [Read more…]
An overall view of the proposed renovation of Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium. (File image from April 2015)
Accepting a state grant of $480,000 for Blankenship Field, primarily for synthetic turf, means that the facilities must be open to the public.
But there could be exceptions for previously scheduled events that are coordinated through the Oak Ridge school system.
Keeping the facilities open is part of an operational agreement with Oak Ridge Schools that was amended in a 7-0 vote by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, November 13.
“The important thing is that it’s just not locked up,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told City Council during that meeting. Residents have to be able to use the property.
Watson said there will be a bathroom available, and the facilities will be open sunrise to sunset. There could be field rentals, Watson said. [Read more…]
Photo courtesy Heather Hartman
Note: This story was updated at 4 p.m. Oct. 23.
Update: The games below have been postponed due to a rain delay to Thursday, October 26. Anderson County will play William Blount at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, and Oak Ridge will play Heritage at 7:15 p.m.
They’re undefeated, and the Oak Ridge Wildcats freshman football team will play their last game of the season on Blankenship Field on Monday.
It’s the inaugural Battle at Blankenship Freshmen Bowl games, which are being hosted by Oak Ridge. The games start at 5:30 p.m. Monday, October 23, with Anderson County playing William Blount. Oak Ridge will play Heritage at 7:30 p.m. [Read more…]
