Oak Ridge Today

Fire marshal hired in Oak Ridge

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Travis Solomon

Travis Solomon

A deputy state fire marshal has been hired as fire marshal in Oak Ridge.

The selection of Travis Solomon for the Oak Ridge Fire Department post was announced Monday by Fire Chief Darryl Kerley.

Solomon was an employee of the Tennessee Fire Marshal’s office. For the past 13 years, he has served as the deputy state fire marshal in charge of fire and life safety codes for the buildings and facilities at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, a press release said.

Solomon has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from Columbia Southern University, and he has 17 years of experience in fire, rescue, and emergency medical services, having also served with the New Market Fire Department, the press release said. He is currently a captain with New Market and maintains their FireHouse software for records management and state incident reporting. [Read more…]

ORPD accepting applications for Citizens Police Academy

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Oak Ridge Police Department Cars

The Oak Ridge Police Department is accepting applications for the next Citizens Police Academy, which will begin on Thursday, March 17, and run through May 19.

The Citizens Police Academy allows residents to learn how the Oak Ridge Police Department is organized and how it functions. It also gives an improved understanding of the challenges in serving and protecting the community, a press release said.

“The goal of the Citizens Police Academy is to create well-informed citizens who have an enhanced understanding of the Police Department and how it serves the City of Oak Ridge,” the press release said.

The academy requires a 10-week commitment from participants, and it will be held one night a week, on Thursdays beginning at 6 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m. [Read more…]

Oak Ridger with public, private work experience appointed city clerk

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Beth Hickman

Beth Hickman

Note: This story was updated at 12 p.m.

An Oak Ridge resident who has management and administrative experience in the public and private sectors has been appointed city clerk, officials said Monday.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson announced the appointment of Beth Hickman on Monday. Hickman will replace former City Clerk Diana Stanley, who resigned in November 2015.

Hickman has more than 15 years of management and administrative experience in both the public and private sectors, a press release said.

She served as field representative for former U.S. Congressman Lincoln Davis and as executive assistant at The Roane Alliance.

She is presently employed at Vanderbilt University Law School as a faculty assistant. [Read more…]

Tech 2020 winding down operations; Pro2Serve among its success stories

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Technology-2020-Jan-27-2016

The board of directors for Technology 2020, which is located in Commerce Park in south Oak Ridge, voted Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, to wind down operations after more than two decades. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Tech 2020—a nonprofit organization that counts Pro2Serve, a technical and engineering services firm, as one of its early success stories—announced last week that it is winding down operations after more than two decades.

Facing increased financial pressures, the Tech 2020 Board of Directors voted Tuesday, January 26, to begin an orderly process to wind down their operations, a press release said. The organization has been focused on technology-based economic development activities in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge region.

Tech 2020 once had 12 to 15 employees or more, but it is now down to less than five full-time employees, said Tom Ballard, past Tech 2020 chair and longtime Executive Committee member who was on the founding board. The organization has one building at Commerce Park in south Oak Ridge and manages a second building, an entrepreneurial center, for the City of Oak Ridge.

Tech 2020 was established in 1994 in Oak Ridge with significant grants from BellSouth, now part of the AT&T enterprise, and others, the press release said. The organization’s initial focus areas were telecommunications and entrepreneurship. One of its early creations was Digital Crossing Networks LLC, which is located in downtown Knoxville.

Pro2Serve is another success story, Ballard said. The company went from a home office to the Tech 2020 building to headquarters in the National Energy Security Center in the Oak Ridge Science and Technology Park at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The company now has more than 350 employees. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge recreational facilities, library closed Saturday; AC govt. offices close early Friday

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Note: This story was updated at 1:20 p.m.

Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks facilities and the Oak Ridge Public Library will be closed on Saturday, January 23, due to the forecasted winter weather, officials said.

This closure includes the Oak Ridge Civic Center, the Public Library, the Scarboro Community Center, and the Senior Center.

At this time, officials plan to reopen city facilities on Sunday, January 24, at normal operating hours, a press release said.

The Anderson County Courthouse and other county government offices closed early, at 1 p.m. Friday, due to winter weather already moving into Anderson County.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

City of Oak Ridge warns of utility scam

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City of Oak Ridge Seal

Oak Ridge utility customers, including commercial customers, should be aware that a scam regarding a meter change out program is happening in the area, officials said.

In this scam, a customer receives a call from someone claiming to be a representative from an electric company that provides electricity for the residents of Oak Ridge. The representative states the customer should have received a notice last week that the electric company will be changing out meters in the city, and the customer is asked to pay a deposit ($700-$900) to avoid interruption in the electric service. In some cases, the customer has been told the deposit will be refunded on the next bill. [Read more…]

National Weather Service: Snow, ice-covered roads through Thursday morning

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Pennsylvania-Avenue-Snow-Jan-20-2016

Pennsylvania Avenue west of New York Avenue is pictured above late Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 20, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:07 a.m.

There had been some improvement on main roads in Oak Ridge late Wednesday afternoon but many side streets remained snow-covered and slippery, and the National Weather Service said snow and ice-covered roads will remain through Thursday morning.

State Route 62 or East Tri County Boulevard in Oliver Springs was still snow-covered early Wednesday evening and was slippery, especially driving south, up the hill toward Oak Ridge.

In Oak Ridge, Illinois Avenue was in the best condition late Wednesday afternoon, and Oak Ridge Turnpike and some well-traveled side streets, including Hillside Road and a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue, still had some snow but were passable. Still, side streets were slippery. One small car needed a push from two men just to get to the curb while trying to get up a small hill on West Outer Drive near North Illinois Avenue. [Read more…]

Traffic light study under way, new plans could be implemented this year

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TDOT Commissioner John Schroer and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller

TDOT Commissioner John Schroer presents a signal optimization grant check to former Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller. (File photo from September 2014 courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

A traffic light timing study is under way, and new plans could be implemented early this year, city officials said in December.

Oak Ridge Today asked about the signal timing project during a December interview with Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs and Jon van Eek, power utilization program supervisor in the Oak Ridge Electric Department. That interview focused on radar-based traffic detectors at six intersections in Oak Ridge.

The City of Oak Ridge announced in September 2014 that it had been awarded a Tennessee Department of Transportation grant for $237,500 for a signal timing optimization project.

Suggs and van Eek said the timing study is under way, and they hope to have new plans implemented after January 1, 2016. The plan is to move the maximum number of cars in all directions and to move the maximum number of vehicles, Suggs said. [Read more…]

City extends elections for six boards, commissions, committees

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The City of Oak Ridge has extended elections for six boards, commissions, and committees. Applications are due in the Oak Ridge City Clerk’s Office by 5 p.m. Monday, January 11.

The extended elections apply to the Anderson County Community Action Commission, Personnel Advisory Board, Senior Advisory Board, Trade Licensing Board, Traffic Safety Advisory Board, and Secret City Festival Board of Directors. [Read more…]

Waste Connections announces new holiday schedule for 2016

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Waste Connections Incorporated has announced significant changes to its holiday pick-up schedule of garbage and recyclables within the City of Oak Ridge, a press release said.

Effective January 1, 2016, the only holidays that Waste Connections will be closed and not servicing the residents of Oak Ridge will be on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. If one of these holidays falls on a weekend, then there will be no service day change. If the holiday falls during the week, then refuse and recyclables will be picked up one day later. [Read more…]

City to discuss power interruptions in east Oak Ridge on Monday

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City of Oak Ridge Seal

Oak Ridge municipal staff members will discuss short power interruptions, or “blinks,” that have occurred in parts of east Oak Ridge in the past weeks during an informal meeting on Monday.

The meeting is scheduled from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday, December 21, at the Centennial Golf Course Clubhouse.

“The purpose of the meeting will be to make information available to residents and other interested parties regarding a series of short power interruptions, or blinks, which have been occurring in the area for the last several weeks,” a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

The areas that have been affected include: [Read more…]

County Commission approves 18-month lease for General Sessions Court

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Anderson-County-General-Sessions-Court-Exterior-Nov-19-2015

The seven-year lease on the Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, on Bus Terminal Road in Oak Ridge expires Dec. 31, 2015, but the Anderson County Commission on Thursday agreed to an 18-month lease to keep the courthouse where it is now. That will give county officials time to consider options for where to locate the courthouse. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:50 p.m. Dec. 18.

CLINTON—With no other alternative lined up yet, the Anderson County Commission on Thursday agreed to an 18-month lease for the Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. That will keep the courthouse at its current home until mid-2017, giving county officials time to consider where to locate the General Sessions Court, Division II.

The courthouse is used by police officers in Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, and Rocky Top, among other agencies and businesses.

The current seven-year lease expires at the end of the year, and officials have been trying to determine since October whether to keep the courthouse where it is now, find a new location in Oak Ridge, or move the Division II court to Clinton, where Division I is located.

County commissioners approved the 18-month lease at a rate of $5,500 per month during a Thursday evening meeting. The lease, which was approved 12-2, will not include a warehouse building used by the county at the courthouse site on Bus Terminal Road. [Read more…]