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City releases IDs in parking lot crash that killed one, injured nine

Posted at 10:51 am July 6, 2015
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Midtown Community Crash Cars

One person died and nine people were injured when a Dodge Ram pickup truck backing up in the parking lot at Midtown Community Center caused a nine-vehicle crash after fireworks in Oak Ridge on Saturday night.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:17 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified James Robinson, 37, of Knoxville, as the man who died in the parking lot crash that killed one person and injured nine others at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on Saturday.

Robinson was struck by a Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Lee Cromwell, 65, of Oak Ridge, as Cromwell backed his truck through the parking lot, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. Nine people were injured, and eight vehicles were hit by Cromwell’s truck, authorities said.

Robinson was critically injured in the crash, and he was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, where he later died, the press release said.

A family friend said Robinson, who was with his wife and two daughters, died a hero by pushing his oldest daughter Jaide out of the way of the way of the approaching vehicle.

Seven more patients were taken by ambulance from the scene to local area hospitals. One adult and two juvenile patients with non-life threatening injuries were transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. Four juvenile patients with non-life threatening injuries were taken to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, which is also in Knoxville. And two adults who were also injured were transported to Methodist Medical Center in personal vehicles.

Cromwell was not injured. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police, Police and Fire, Slider Tagged With: accident, Alvin K. Bissell Park, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, City of Oak Ridge, Clinton Police Department, crash, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, fireworks, James Robinson, Lee Cromwell, Methodist Medical Center, Midtown Community Center, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Turnpike, parking lot crash, Robertsville Road, Tennessee Highway Patrol, University of Tennessee Medical Center

Merchants frustrated with progress at Jackson Square; protest sign posted

Posted at 4:23 pm July 4, 2015
By John Huotari 4 Comments

Jackson Square Parking Lot Renovations Sign

There has been some frustration among merchants at Jackson Square about not being able to use the partially paved parking lot while they wait for renovations to be completed. This protest sign saying “Free Our Parking Lot!!” was posted on Wednesday.

 

Merchants have grown frustrated with the pace of renovations at Jackson Square, and on Wednesday a protest sign was posted. “Free Our Parking Lot!” said the sign, which has since been removed.

For now, the parking lot inside Jackson Square remains closed off behind construction fencing as work continues on a $1 million renovation mostly funded by a state grant awarded in 2012.

But merchants wonder why they can’t use the parking lot since it was used for the Lavender Festival on June 20.

Compounding their frustration is the closure of the lower parking lot at Blankenship Field. It’s one of two lots on the north side of Broadway Avenue and Jackson Square. Employees at nearby businesses who used to park in the Blankenship Field lot are now using the second lot, the one used by the Farmers Market, reducing the parking spaces available there, one merchant said.

The Blankenship Field work, which was approved by the Oak Ridge City Council in June, is also causing concern for the Farmers Market. The Farmer Market’s vendors set up in the second parking lot on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, and they now don’t have parking available at either the Blankenship Field lot or inside the Jackson Square lot. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Angel Rich Johnson, Anne Garcia Garland, Bill Haslam, Blankenship Field, Broadway Avenue, City of Oak Ridge, construction, Ellen Smith, farmer's market, Gary Cinder, interactive fountain, Jack Armstrong Stadium, Jackson Square, Lavender Festival, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Farmers Market, parking lot, pedestrian plaza, protest, Rich Construction, Rich Construction Inc., Roger Flynn, Rogers Group, TDOT, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant, Trina Baughn, Warren Gooch

Companies contributing $500K to Main Street Oak Ridge wanted to help

Posted at 6:17 pm July 3, 2015
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Ray Evans

Ray Evans

Note: This story was last updated at 7 p.m.

The six companies contributing $500,000 for public infrastructure at Main Street Oak Ridge approached the city and volunteered to help, a consultant said Friday.

The companies are Methodist Medical Center; Oak Ridge Associated Universities; UCOR, a federal cleanup contractor; Restoration Services Inc., a cleanup contractor; Consolidated Nuclear Security, which manages and operates Y-12 National Security Complex; and UT-Battelle, which operates and manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The companies understand how important the project is to the city and to them, said Ray Evans, retail consultant for the City of Oak Ridge.

“They approached us and said, ‘How can we help?'” Evans said. “They just want to ensure the success of this project.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Belk, Canterfield Hotel Group LLC, City of Oak Ridge, Consolidated Nuclear Security, Crosland Southeast, IDB, infrastructure, JCPenney, Main Street—Oak Ridge, Methodist Medical Center, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, public infrastructure, Ray Evans, Restoration Services Inc., UCOR

Convenience Center in Oak Ridge closed on Independence Day

Posted at 9:55 am June 30, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Waste Connections Inc. will close the Convenience Center located at 400 Warehouse Road on Saturday, July 4, in observation of the Fourth of July holiday. On Sunday, July 5, the Convenience Center will reopen on regular schedule from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

There will be no change to the regular residential weekly refuse and recycling pick-up schedule.

“Thank you for your cooperation with this schedule adjustment,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

Contact Waste Connections Inc. at (865) 482-3656 or visit www.wasteconnectionstn.com for more information.

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge Tagged With: City of Oak Ridge, convenience center, Fourth of July, Independence Day, July 4, Oak Ridge, Warehouse Road, Waste Connections Inc.

Independence Day Fireworks Celebration at A.K. Bissell Park

Posted at 11:52 pm June 25, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

July 4, 2012 Fireworks

The Independence Day fireworks show in Oak Ridge has been scheduled for 10 p.m. Saturday, July 4, at A.K. Bissell Park. (Photo by Charles Samuels)

 

The fireworks display sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge will begin at 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 4. The display will be shot from A.K. Bissell Park.

The fireworks will be accompanied by music played live on-site by Merle 96.7 FM. Radio host Jack Ryan will be transmitting live from the park beginning at 6 p.m. and will conclude the live broadcast with a patriotic medley as the fireworks are shot.

The countdown to the fireworks begins at 9:30 p.m. Listeners can tune their radios to 96.7 Merle FM and enjoy the show.

The Oak Ridge Community Band will perform its annual Fourth of July concert at the A.K. Bissell Park Pavilion beginning at 7:30 p.m. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Community, Government, Meetings and Events, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: A.K. Bissell Park, City of Oak Ridge, fireworks, Fourth of July, Independence Day, Jack Ryan, July 4, Mark Watson, Merle 96.7 FM, Oak Ridge Community Band

Record crowds: Secret City Festival was ‘tremendous success’

Posted at 11:21 pm June 20, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Secret City Festival Concert 2015

A concert crowd at the 2015 Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Robert Welton)

 

The 2015 Oak Ridge Secret City Festival drew record attendance, despite the heat, organizers said. Concerts by the Marshall Tucker Band and Three Dog Night attracted the highest number of spectators in festival history.

“We were ecstatic with the turnout for both concerts,” says, Marc DeRose, executive director of the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We knew the bands would be popular but didn’t expect to see quite so many people. It was outstanding!”

Attendances for The Marshall Tucker Band and Three Dog Night were more than 2,200 and more than 3,500, respectively. The previous record was 2,300 for the Rick Springfield concert in 2013.

“After seeing how many tickets were sold at the gate for Friday’s Marshall Tucker concert, we decided to move the concert fences back to accommodate the expected additional 1,000-plus spectators for Three Dog Night,” DeRose said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Arts, Community, Community, Entertainment, Government, Music, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: art show, Arts Council of Oak Ridge, City of Oak Ridge, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, festival, Jon Hetrick, Marc DeRose, Marshall Tucker Band, Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, re-enactment, Secret City Festival, Three Dog Night, TN Creats, World War II, World War II Battle of Normandy Reenactment

Reminder: Secret City Festival this weekend

Posted at 11:03 am June 12, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Secret City Festival Water Slide

Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau 

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:20 p.m.

Reminder: The Secret City Festival is this weekend. The festival kicks off with an opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Friday, and it continues through Saturday evening.

The Secret City Festival celebrates family fun, great entertainment, and arts and crafts, and it commemorates the incredible history that makes this town unique, organizers said.

“Join us as we honor the men and women who built this community and helped end the greatest war mankind has ever known,” they said.

The award-winning, two-day event includes the following and more: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Community, Government, Meetings and Events, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Arts Council of Oak Ridge, Battle of Normandy, City of Oak Ridge, festival, Legacy, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, reenactment, Secret City Festival, Steve Rutledge and the Groove Evolution, The Marshall Tucker Band, Three Dog Night, World War II Reenactment

Man arrested for alleged robbery in hotel parking lot

Posted at 1:10 pm June 9, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Jhavon T. Parker

Jhavon T. Parker

An Oak Ridge man allegedly robbed three people in a hotel parking lot on Monday and was arrested a short time later, authorities said.

The alleged robbery occurred at the Holiday Inn Express at about 11:49 p.m. Monday, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department.

The three victims told officers that a male had robbed them at gunpoint and fled on foot, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. More officers responded, inspected the area, and conducted interviews.

The press release said Jhavon T. Parker, 19, of Oak Ridge, was arrested a short time later and taken to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, where he was charged with three counts of aggravated robbery. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated robbery, Anderson County Detention Facility, City of Oak Ridge, Holiday Inn Express, Jhavon T. Parker, Oak Ridge Police Department, robbery

Driver taken to hospital, power out after van hits utility pole at Family Clinic

Posted at 12:37 pm June 6, 2015
By John Huotari 9 Comments

DEEM Van Crash at Utility Pole at Family Clinic

The driver was taken to the hospital and power was temporarily out near the Family Clinic of Oak Ridge after a DEEM van, pictured at center behind the Oak Ridge Electric Department truck, crashed into a utility pole at New York and Vermont avenues on Saturday morning. Above, a tow truck, right, responds to remove the van, and the Oak Ridge Electric Department, foreground, responds to repair the pole. (Photo by Daniel Powers)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 7:43 p.m. June 8.

The driver was taken to the hospital and power was temporarily out near the Family Clinic of Oak Ridge after a van crashed into a utility pole at New York and Vermont avenues on Saturday morning.

The crash was reported at about 9:05 a.m. Saturday.

Kristin Nevius said she was driving a Chrysler Town and Country van southbound toward Oak Ridge Turnpike on New York Avenue when the other van narrowly missed her vehicle and crashed into the pole while headed north on New York Avenue. Nevius and passenger Peggy VandenBurg and Nevius’ two children were not injured, but they said they were upset by the close call and subsequent crash. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Police and Fire, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: City of Oak Ridge, crash, DEEM, Family Clinic of Oak Ridge, Kristin Nevius, Methodist Medical Center, New York Avenue, Oak Ridge Electric Department, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Turnpike, Peggy VandenBurg, utility pole, Vermont Avenue

Warning: Fire system scam leads to costly cleanup, temporary closure

Posted at 12:21 pm June 6, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The cleanup will be costly for a local restaurant and its sister restaurant in Knoxville after they were hit by an overnight scam related to their fire alarm and fire suppression system, authorities said.

Here’s how the scam worked, according to Oak Ridge Deputy Fire Chief Josh Waldo: “An individual called both of the restaurants and indicated that there was a gas leak in the building and instructed the workers to activate their commercial fire suppression system and their fire alarm system and then break out a window for ventilation. This is a scam that has been pulled off before in town and in other jurisdictions as well.”

A press release from the City of Oak Ridge there was no problem at either restaurant, but the activation of the suppression system and ensuing cleanup will be costly for both businesses as they will be closed until repairs are made. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: City of Oak Ridge, commercial suppression system, fire alarm, fire suppression system, fire system scam, Josh Waldo, Oak Ridge Fire Department, scam, sprinkler system

Public Notice: Public hearing rescheduled on Annual Action Plan

Posted at 8:56 am June 5, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

City of Oak Ridge

Equal Housing Opportunity Logo

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

 

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Entitlement Program

for the City of Oak Ridge, Tennessee

 

CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING

For

Annual Action Plan of the Consolidated Plan

CDBG Program Year 2015-City of Oak Ridge Fiscal Year 2016

 

The Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development is a requirement of the 1990 National Affordable Housing Act and the Community Development Plan, for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Such a plan is required of entitlement communities, which receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds under HUD’s housing and service programs related to the needs of low- and moderate-income persons. The development of the sixth City of Oak Ridge Consolidated Plan took place during the eight-month period of September 2013 through April 2014 and is to be utilized for the three-year period of July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2017 (CDBG Program Year 2014 through Program Year 2016). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Meetings and Events, Oak Ridge Tagged With: Annual Action Plan, CDBG, City of Oak Ridge, Community Development Block Grant, Consolidated Plan, Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development, funding, HUD, Oak Ridge, public comment, public hearing, Sherith Colverson, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Guest column: Good things continue to happen in Andersonville

Posted at 1:26 pm June 2, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns Leave a Comment

Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department Fire Truck

Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department Fire Truck

 

By Theresa Scott

The Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department recently had a task to complete. Assistant Fire Chief Brian Casto took a crew to Oak Ridge. Upon arrival at the City of Oak Ridge’s main building, Assistant Chief Casto was directed to the Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson’s office. It was time for the papers to be signed. The title needed to be transferred and keys handed over. Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley was there to give further verbal instructions.

While the department heads were inside signing documents and discussing the final technicalities, the crew waited outside. However, without patience, they were found opening doors to compartments, checking out gauges, wiping off the windshield, checking out the view from the driver’s seat of the big yellow fire truck. This big, yellow Quality fire truck is going into full service but in a different zip code. It will still get the same hands-on care that it always had, but now it will be with a new crew out in the country. Perhaps out in the country, but still in the same county. The Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department was getting one of the surplus trucks. Most of the crew were laughing and chatting like a bunch of children on Christmas morning.  The excitement was obvious.

Thank you to the City of Oak Ridge for keeping this (as well as the one that was recently transferred to our Medford Volunteer Fire Department) in our county. It is important that we continue to pay it forward amongst ourselves as we may very well need to depend on it sometime in the future. The residents of Andersonville are very fortunate to have such caring volunteers. These men and women put their lives on the line when called to the scene of an automobile accident, a working residential or commercial property fire, or even to the water if there’s been a boating accident. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Andersonville, Guest Columns, Oak Ridge, Opinion, Police and Fire Tagged With: Anderson County Commission, Andersonville, Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department, Belmont Station Number 3, Brian Casto, City of Oak Ridge, Darryl Kerley, landing zones, Mark Watson, Medford Volunteer Fire Department, surplus truck, Theresa Scott, University of Tennessee Lifestar, volunteer firefighters

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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