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DOE, state pave way to transfer 3,500 acres

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From left, TWRA Executive Director Bobby Wilson, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Acting Manager Laura Wilkerson, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office Manager Johnny Moore sign an agreement that lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land from the U.S. Department of Energy to the state of Tennessee. (Submitted photo)

 

More than 3,500 acres of federal land could be transferred to the state of Tennessee, including Clark Center Park and Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement.

The land could be transferred under an agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The two organizations signed an Agreement in Principle on Wednesday, December 15, that “lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land to the state,” a press release said.

“Transferring this federally owned land will increase natural resource management and designate areas for greenspace and mixed-use recreational opportunities for the public,” the press release said.

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From left, TWRA Executive Director Bobby Wilson, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Acting Manager Laura Wilkerson, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office Manager Johnny Moore sign an agreement that lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land from the U.S. Department of Energy to the state of Tennessee. (Submitted photo)

 

More than 3,500 acres of federal land could be transferred to the state of Tennessee, including Clark Center Park and Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement.

The land could be transferred under an agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The two organizations signed an Agreement in Principle on Wednesday, December 15, that “lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land to the state,” a press release said.

“Transferring this federally owned land will increase natural resource management and designate areas for greenspace and mixed-use recreational opportunities for the public,” the press release said.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Clark Center Park will re-open Friday

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Clark Center Park Beach
The beach at Clark Center Park is pictured in July 2014. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge will re-open on Friday, May 1.

The re-opening was announced by the U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday.

DOE closed the park on April 4 in response to an executive order by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee as the state tried to control the spread of COVID-19.

The park has been closed since then.

[Read more…]

Clark Center Park temporarily closed

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Clark Center Park Beach
The beach at Clark Center Park is pictured in July 2014. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The U.S. Department of Energy has temporarily closed Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge.

The closure was effective Saturday, April 4. It was in response to the stay-at-home order issued by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Thursday, April 2. That statewide order was meant to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that cause serious symptoms, lead to hospitalization, and sometimes result in death.

The park closure will remain in effect until further notice, DOE said.

[Read more…]

No crime suspected in case of man found dead at park

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A crime is not suspected in the case of a man found dead at Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge on Tuesday, authorities said.

While patrolling the park on Tuesday afternoon, an Oak Ridge Police Department officer found a man sitting motionless in the driver’s seat of a sport utility vehicle, the ORPD said Wednesday. The SUV was parked along the road leading to the main portion of the park.

The officer stopped to investigate and saw the man slumped behind the wheel with an apparent gunshot wound to the head, the ORPD said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was taken to the Knox County Regional Forensics Center. [Read more…]

ORFD swimmers rescue stranded canoeist

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Two Oak Ridge Fire Department swimmers rescued a man who had fallen out of a canoe near Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge on Thursday afternoon, April 12, 2018, authorities said. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

Two Oak Ridge Fire Department swimmers rescued a man who had fallen out of a canoe near Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge on Thursday afternoon, April 12, 2018, authorities said. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

 

Two Oak Ridge Fire Department swimmers rescued a man who had fallen out of a canoe near Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The man, who was not identified, cannot swim, but he was wearing a life jacket, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release Friday. He was hanging onto a fence post in the water after falling out of his canoe, but he was cold and could not get himself back into the overturned canoe or to the shore, the press release said.

The Oak Ridge 911 dispatch center had received a call that a canoe had overturned in the cove at the entrance to Clark Center Park at about 3:35 p.m. Thursday.

Oak Ridge Fire Department Captain Jason Benjamin has been training a crew of firefighters to become rescue swimmers during the past 24 months, and their training was put to the test on Thursday, the press release said. [Read more…]

Photos: History talk at Freels Bend Cabin, city’s oldest structure

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freels-bend-cabin-presentation-6-oct-13-2016-smith

Aaron Astor, an associate history professor at Maryville College, discussed life along the Clinch River in Anderson and Roane counties before Oak Ridge was built in a special meeting at the historic Freels Bend Cabin on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 during a meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. The Freels Bend Cabin was built in 1844, and it is the oldest structure in Oak Ridge. It’s on the National Historic Register. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)

 

Aaron Astor, an associate history professor at Maryville College, discussed life along the Clinch River in Anderson and Roane counties before Oak Ridge was built in a special meeting at the historic Freels Bend Cabin on Thursday, October 13.

It was the monthly public and membership meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. Here are pictures by D. Ray Smith.

The Freels Bend Cabin was built in 1844, and it is the oldest structure in Oak Ridge. It’s on the National Historic Register. [Read more…]

Fire Department rescues four stranded at night on boat in Clinch River

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The Oak Ridge Fire Department rescued four people stranded on a boat Wednesday night on the Clinch River, authorities said.

There was an initial call of someone possibly missing Wednesday night, and the Oak Ridge Police Department called the Oak Ridge Fire Department to help locate the stranded occupants of the boat, authorities said.

The people in the boat were able to stay in touch with dispatchers using a cell phone. Someone in the boat had a flashlight, and they used it to help alert rescuers to their location. They told dispatchers they could see a bridge. Rescuers thought that must be either the Edgemoor Road or Solway bridge.

The boat’s occupants reported being in a cove near houses, said ORFD Firefighter and Engineer George Carroll. [Read more…]

TWRA looking for watercraft riders in hit-and-run crash that injures four on Melton Hill Lake

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Personal Watercraft Operator Melton Hill Lake Crash June 30 2016

A photo of a personal watercraft and operator that witnesses described as striking a boat containing a family pulling a child on a tube on Melton Hill Lake on Thursday, June 30, 2016. (Photo courtesy TWRA)

 

Tennessee officials are investigating a hit-and-run boating crash on Thursday on Melton Hill Lake in the area of Clark Park and Knox County Park.

The crash was reported at about 7:45 p.m. Thursday. Among the agencies that responded were the Oak Ridge Fire Department, which went to Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge.

According to witnesses, two personal watercrafts, or PWCs, were operating near the bluffs directly across from Knox County Park and going back and forth between the dock at the park and the bluffs where others were swimming, according to a press release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Witnesses describe the operators as being reckless and inconsiderate, and as one of the PWCs left the bluff and headed toward the park, it collided with a boat in the area containing a family pulling a child on a tube. [Read more…]

DOE remains interested in transferring Clark Center Park to city

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Clark Center Park Water View

A view of Melton Hill Lake near a boat ramp and between two picnic areas at Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge in July 2014. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy remains interested in transferring Clark Center Park to Oak Ridge, and the city continues to discuss that possibility with the federal government even though it could be a strain on municipal finances, officials said Tuesday.

The property could be transferred at no cost to the city. But one of the questions raised two years ago about the potential property transfer was whether Oak Ridge could afford to take over the 80-acre park.

That appears to remain a concern. It costs DOE about $300,000 per year to operate the park, which is in south Oak Ridge on Melton Hill Lake.

“Monetarily, it’s difficult for us right now,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said Tuesday.

In 2014, there were Oak Ridge City Council meetings and public meetings about the future of the park and the potential transfer to the city. [Read more…]

ORHS classes of 1974-1978 reunion in September

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The Oak Ridge High School Class of 1976 is holding their 40th reunion during the weekend of September 23-25, 2016.

The class is inviting the classes of 1974 through 1978, those who attended school with class members but may have graduated elsewhere, and our teachers and staff to join the festivities which are scheduled as follows:

  • Friday, September 23, will be an informal gathering at Blankenship Field as the Oak Ridge Wildcats host Sevier County in the Homecoming game. The tailgate party will begin at 5 p.m. near the upper gate, and then they will follow the team onto the field for recognition prior to the game, which starts at 7 p.m. Admission to the game is $7 per person.
  • The dressy casual main event on Saturday, September 24, will be held at the new Calhoun’s (formerly Riverside Grille) at 100 Melton Lake Drive. A cash bar starts at 5 p.m. and hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m. Come enjoy music, dancing, and reminiscing along the waterway in this beautiful venue until 11:30 p.m., a press release said. Admission for the main event is $43.86 through August 14 and obtained by registration at orhs76reunion.com.
  • A lunch picnic gathering takes place on Sunday, September 25, at Clark Center Park (known as Carbide Park in our day) at 12:30 p.m. Bring your own lunch and family for a final informal get-together of the weekend, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Today: Harlem Ambassadors for Habitat, former NASA chief astronomer, Smith on Three Bend

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A reminder—There are three events happening this evening: the Harlem Ambassadors Basketball Show in a benefit for Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County, a former chief astronomer at NASA who is referred to as the “mother of the Hubble Telescope” discussing the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang to black holes, and local historian and writer Ray Smith discussing the Three Bend Scenic and Wildlife Management Refuge Area of the Oak Ridge Reservation.

The Harlem Ambassadors Basketball Show starts at 6 p.m. today (Thursday, March 24) at Wildcat Arena at Oak Ridge High School. This show is not only entertaining, organizers said, it also brings an important message to kids: “Stay off drugs, stay in school, don’t be a bully!”

Individuals have sponsored tickets so that student-athletes in Anderson County can come to the game for free.

The “opposing” team, the Habi-bats, is made up of local coaches and other local basketball standouts.

“We hope to fill the arena and sell lots of hotdogs, all in an effort to raise money to build and repair homes in Anderson County,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Clark Center Park, Bull Bluff Road tree removal work was postponed this week

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Clark Center Park Picnic Area

A plan to temporarily close Clark Center Park and Bull Bluff Road in Oak Ridge on Monday, Nov. 30, and on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, for tree removal was postponed due to weather. (File photo)

 

A plan to temporarily close Clark Center Park and Bull Bluff Road in Oak Ridge on Monday, November 30, and on Tuesday, December 1, for tree removal was postponed due to weather, officials said.

The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office had identified the trees as potential safety hazards for travelers and visitors on the road and throughout Clark Center Park.

But the tree removal was delayed by rain.

“The temporary closure for the tree removal work will resume once the weather clears in the near future, and the public will be advised at that time,” a press release said.

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