Blount County Archives - Oak Ridge Today

THP releases report on ORHS football player crash

Posted at 5:38 pm July 22, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Authorities said the three Oak Ridge High School football players injured in a Tuesday afternoon crash were not wearing seat belts, and the driver has been charged after the car he was driving crashed into a utility pole in Blount County.

Preliminary information from the Tennessee Highway Patrol said the 2000 Ford Taurus was being driven northbound on U.S. 321, also known as Lamar Alexander Parkway, by a 17-year-old unidentified juvenile from Oak Ridge, when the male driver let the vehicle exit the northbound lane, where it then entered into the center turning lane.

“The driver then crossed over the turn lane and entered into the southbound lanes of Highway 321,” the THP said. “The vehicle then crossed over both the southbound lanes and shoulder, where it struck a curb before it entered into a grass field area. The vehicle then struck a high spot of earth in the field, which made the vehicle go airborne.” [Read more…]

Two ORHS football players listed in serious condition after car crash, hospital says

Posted at 4:00 pm July 22, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Wildcats Jaylen Nickerson and McMinn County

Junior running back Jaylen Nickerson (29) scored two touchdowns for the Oak Ridge Wildcats at McMinn County on Friday, September 19, 2014. Nickerson was one of three Oak Ridge High School football players injured in a Tuesday afternoon car crash in Blount County. (File photo by Julio Culiat)

Note: This story was updated at 4:41 p.m.

Two Oak Ridge High School football players are listed in serious condition at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after a Tuesday afternoon car crash in Blount County, a spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon.

Jaylen Nickerson, who will be a senior this year, and DeVonta Mitchell, who will be a junior, are both at the hospital in serious condition, spokesperson Susan Wyatt said.

Davon Middleton, a third ORHS student-athlete injured in the crash, was reportedly taken to Blount Memorial, treated for a concussion, and released.

Nickerson is a running back, Middleton is a defensive back, and Mitchell is a wide receiver. Nickerson was one of two main running backs last year. T.J. Allison was the other. [Read more…]

Three ORHS football players taken to hospital after Tuesday afternoon crash

Posted at 10:33 pm July 21, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Three Oak Ridge High School football players were taken to two hospitals after a crash in Blount County on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

The three were reportedly leaving Maryville to come to practice in Oak Ridge at the time of the crash, Wildcats Coach Joe Gaddis said.

He said two players were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville and the third was taken to Blount Memorial.

Gaddis said the three had apparently spent the night with a friend. [Read more…]

TBI not investigating Akagi, POST ends its inquiry, DAs say no violation

Posted at 4:44 pm July 1, 2015
By John Huotari 5 Comments

James T. Akagi

Note: This story was last updated at 8:53 a.m. July 2.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is not investigating, two district attorneys said there was no violation, and the state agency that certifies police officers has completed its activities, officials said Wednesday.

That would appear to end the inquiry of Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi by the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, or POST. In April, POST asked three authorities, including one federal official and two state officials, whether Akagi had violated state and federal laws by possessing a firearm after being issued an ex parte order of protection during divorce proceedings in Blount County three years ago.

The response from all three officials has been “no,” according to letters sent to POST.

Oak Ridge Today reported on the response from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as reported by Akagi’s attorney Tasha Blakney, on Tuesday. The two state officials—Dave Clark, district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District in Clinton, and Mike Flynn, district attorney general in the Fifth Judicial District in Maryville—sent their response to POST on Wednesday.

“The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and our offices have concluded that based on what you submitted, there never has been an order of protection issued against Chief Akagi and thus no violation of an order of protection could have occurred,” Clark and Flynn said in a letter to Ray Farris, assistant director of the POST Commission. “Any criminal investigation in this case is closed.” [Read more…]

Former officers ask for investigation, hearing of officers’ concerns

Posted at 7:23 pm February 8, 2015
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Four former Oak Ridge police officers have asked the City Council to investigate some of the concerns recently raised about the Police Department and its chief, or to hear the concerns of officers. The City Council will consider what to do next during its regular meeting on Monday. Pictured above from right in November 2014 are Kelly Callison, Charlie Hensley, Rick Chinn, Mayor Warren Gooch, Chuck Hope, Trina Baughn, and Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Smith. (File photo)

Four former Oak Ridge police officers have asked the City Council to investigate some of the concerns recently raised about the Police Department and its chief, or to hear the concerns of officers.

The officers were responding to recent news reports about the police department and concerns raised about its turnover rate, as well as alleged policy violations included in a mid-January grievance filed by former Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Christopher Bayless. A few also cited letters written to the media by former Police Chief David Beams and former Lieutenant Jack Mansfield.

The officers expressed a range of concerns that include the alleged policy violations by Police Chief Jim Akagi and a Blount County order of protection in effect from April 2012 to June 2013, questions about the turnover rate and the chief’s leadership, and decisions about promotions, spending, and weapons. [Read more…]

CASA receives national certification for work quality

Posted at 11:29 am February 19, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

CASA of the Tennessee Heartland—which serves Anderson, Blount, and Scott counties—has been awarded certification by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association. This certification recognizes that CASA of the Tennessee Heartland is in compliance with National CASA’s high standards for quality child advocacy.

“The National CASA quality assurance process is very rigorous and reflects our commitment to ensure every child we serve has the most powerful volunteer advocate working on their behalf,” said Michael Piraino, chief executive officer of the National CASA Association. “This certification says CASA of the Tennessee Heartland has demonstrated to us a strong capacity to provide excellent services to the abused and neglected children within their community.”

CASA of the Tennessee Heartland was started in Anderson County in 1988, has been serving Scott County for 13 years, and is entering the second year of service in Blount County. [Read more…]

Letter: Oak Ridge wins real ACT Honor Roll

Posted at 12:44 pm November 20, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Letters Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

You would never ignore Alabama when talking about top football teams, so let’s admit that Oak Ridge beats all these top school districts in the measure that matters: ACT Readiness for Careers or College. Here are the facts about how many of the grads are prepared for the next step in their lives:

Oak Ridge—39.3 percent
Blount County—17.8 percent
Lincoln County—10.4 percent
Maryville —34.3 percent
McMinn County—12.4 percent

Only Maryville is even close, with their demographic advantage. It seems there is no contest; Oak Ridge wins the real ACT Honor Roll for Tennessee with measurable academic results. Cheer for the home team! Congratulate them.

David Coffey

Lenoir City

(See this story for more information.)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park open again

Posted at 12:45 pm October 18, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is pictured above in the fall of 2010.

Information from WYSH Radio

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officially reopened on Thursday, Oct. 17, under federal funding.

The park had been closed for the first two weeks of October during the peak fall tourist season due to a lapse in Congressional appropriations.

The park and its facilities had originally reopened to the public on Wednesday, Oct. 16, due to the donation of funds from the states of Tennessee and North Carolina, who worked in partnership with Blount and Sevier counties. Their funding would have allowed the park to stay open for five days. [Read more…]

Local FIRST robotics teams dominate regionals, advance to national competition

Posted at 6:29 pm April 2, 2013
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory 2 Comments

From left, Oak Ridge High School’s Andreas Franco feeds discs into the team’s robot as Tag Groff, Oak Ridge National Laboratory mentor Mark Buckner, and Amelia DiAngelo manage the controls. (Photo by Jason Richards/ORNL)

Frisbee-flinging robots took over the Knoxville Convention Center last weekend, as thousands of high school students, mentors, and volunteers gathered for the third annual FIRST robotics Smoky Mountains regional competition.

Local teams Hardin Valley Academy, Oak Ridge High School, and Halls High School netted the championship title in a nail-biting finale at the regional event, qualifying them to compete in the national finals held April 24-27 in St. Louis. A team from Roane County High School, which won the Rookie All Star award, is also bound for nationals. The four high schools are among 14 teams sponsored by UT-Battelle, the managing contractor of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The FIRST robotics competition gives high school teams six weeks to design, build, and program a complex robot that can meet the intense demands of the year’s game. Throwing discs and climbing pyramids were among the challenges of the 2013 game, called Ultimate Ascent. [Read more…]

PlanET has greenway meeting in Oak Ridge tonight

Posted at 9:12 am November 27, 2012
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A five-county regional planning organization will have a public meeting on greenways at the Oak Ridge Civic Center tonight.

It’s one of four regional meetings and part of an effort to expand and connect greenway systems in Anderson, Blount, Loudon, and Union counties, a press release said.

[Read more…]