Oak Ridge Today

One challenger for City Council, none for school board

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The deadline for candidates to qualify for the November 6 municipal elections was noon Thursday, and four Oak Ridge City Council incumbents have one challenger while there are three candidates for three school board seats.

Besides the four seats now held by incumbents, the November election will include the selection of an additional member of Oak Ridge City Council to fill the rest of the term of Hans Vogel, who was elected to a four-year term in November 2016 but resigned in June to take a new job at Idaho National Laboratory. Only one candidate, Derrick Hammond, has qualified as a candidate in that special election. Hammond was unanimously appointed to the seat by City Council in July to fill the seat through the November election. After his unopposed November election, Hammond will serve the last two years of Vogel’s unexpired term.

Also on the ballot in November are city council and school board seats in Clinton, Norris, Oliver Springs, and Rocky Top. That’s in addition to the state and federal elections for Tennessee governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and Tennessee Senate and Tennessee House of Representatives.

The four incumbents on the seven-member Oak Ridge City Council who are up for election in November all qualified as candidates by Thursday’s deadline. They are Kelly Callison, R.G. “Rick” Chinn Jr., Warren Gooch, and Ellen D. Smith. The four incumbents last had an election in November 2014. [Read more…]

WYSH: Green McAdoo soon to be part of state museum system

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Green-McAdoo-Cultural-Center

Information from WYSH Radio

The Clinton City Council on Monday unanimously approved a resolution to transfer the Green McAdoo Cultural Center and Museum to the Tennessee State Museum, a move officials said will ensure that the facility remains open to tell the story of the first black students to attend a previously all-white, Southern, public high school in 1956.

The state budget passed earlier this year included $100,000 to be used exclusively for maintenance and operational expenses at the museum, located on School Street. The museum opened in 2006, on the 50th anniversary of the day in 1956 when 12 black students walked from the former Green McAdoo School down the hill to Clinton High School and into history. Green McAdoo was, at the time, the school for black students in Clinton. [Read more…]

WYSH: Clinton bridge project delayed again

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Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

The Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge is pictured above on Clinch Avenue near downtown Clinton. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

Clinton will have to continue to wait for the Lewallen Bridge replacement project to proceed as city officials have told WYSH Radio that the Tennessee Department of Transportation has not yet obtained the necessary permits from either the Tennessee Valley Authority or the Coast Guard that would allow the work to begin.

Clinton City Manager Roger Houck said that the permit application process will likely take six to nine months, meaning that the timeline has been pushed back once again by the state.

A request for bid proposals is now expected to be sent out next month, with those bids tentatively scheduled to be opened in January. TDOT could award a contract for the new bridge in February and construction, provided the necessary permits have been obtained, could now begin sometime in the spring. [Read more…]

Clinton teachers, principal of the year honored

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Information from WYSH Radio

Clinton City Schools Director Kelly Johnson recognized the school system’s teachers of the year and principal of the year during the Clinton City Council meeting on Monday night.

Leslie Goins of North Clinton Elementary School, Abbey Kidwell of South Clinton Elementary School, and Kimberly O’Dell of Clinton Elementary School were voted teachers of the year from their respective schools by their peers.

Leighann Bonesteel, principal of South Clinton Elementary, earned principal of the year honors.

A banquet will be held on April 11 at First Baptist Church in Clinton to recognize these individuals as well as the educators of the year from the Anderson County school system.

Clinton Council to get update on project to replace Lewallen Bridge

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Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

The Clinton City Council is scheduled to receive an update Monday evening, Jan. 23, 2017, from City Manager Roger Houck on the status of the state project to replace the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge on Clinch Avenue. The bridge over the Clinch River connects downtown Clinton and South Clinton on Highway 25W. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

The Clinton City Council is scheduled to receive an update tonight from City Manager Roger Houck on the status of the state project to replace the Lewallen Bridge connecting South Clinton and downtown Clinton on Highway 25W.

According to the city manager’s report included in the agenda for this evening’s meeting, Houck recently met with Tennessee Department of Transportation officials, who informed him that the project is still on schedule and that the design phase is nearing completion. Houck reported that TDOT has incorporated the various requests made by the city to be included in the design, such as lighting and bike lanes.

A plans review meeting is also set for next month, at which time city leaders could learn more about the expected timetable for the bridge project. [Read more…]

Clinton passes budget with no tax increase

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Monday, the Clinton City Council approved its budget on second and final reading, leaving the property tax rate at its current level of 94 cents per $100 of assessed value while providing 2 percent pay raises for city workers.

The new fiscal year begins on Friday, July 1.

Clinton budget passes on first reading

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Clinton City Hall

From WYSH Radio

On Monday, the Clinton City Council approved its budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 on first reading.

The budget leaves the property tax rate at its current level of 94 cents per $100 of assessed value while providing 2 percent pay raises for city workers.

The second and final reading for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 budget will be held on June 27.

Clinton Schools: Violette to retire in June

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Vicki Violette

Vicki Violette

Information from WYSH Radio

Last Wednesday, Schools Director Vicki Violette informed the Clinton Board of Education, Clinton Mayor Scott Burton, City Manager Roger Houck, and members of Clinton City Council that she will retire in June.

Violette’s educational career has spanned 36 years, the last 10 of which she has spent at the helm of Clinton City School District.

Violette said she had been thinking about retiring for some time and plans to spend more time with her family. [Read more…]

Albert Turner, a former Clinton Council member, police officer, dies at 68

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Albert Oscar Turner

Albert Oscar Turner

Albert Turner, a former Clinton City Councilman and longtime member of the Clinton Police Department, died at his home on Sunday. He was 68.

Turner served two terms on the Clinton City Council, and he served as a Clinton police officer for 26 years.

His family will receive friends next Wednesday, September 9, from noon to 2 p.m. at Jones Mortuary in Clinton. His funeral service will follow in the chapel of Jones Mortuary with Rev. Bill Caldwell officiating. His interment will follow his services at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church Cemetery in Clinton.

Jones Mortuary in Clinton is in charge of all arrangements. Condolences can be made to the family at www.jonesmortuaryllc.com.

Read the full obituary here.

Clinton Council OKs budget, 15.5-cent tax increase

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Clinton City Hall

Information from WYSH Radio

Note: This story was updated at 10:52 a.m. May 20.

The Clinton City Council voted on Monday to approve its budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1 on first reading, and it includes a 15.5-cent property tax increase.

Last week, WYSH reported that a three- or four-cent tax increase would be necessary to pay for an increase in insurance costs and to pay for the salaries and benefits of four full-time firefighters. The costs associated with those firefighters were paid for by a FEMA grant for the past two years, but they became the responsibility of the city this year.

Following a late-week budget workshop, another seven cents was added to the proposed tax increase to pay for the city taking over all of the costs associated with school resource officers at the city’s three schools ($62,000), hiring a codes enforcement/police officer ($50,000), and to set aside $100,000 to start a street-paving fund aimed at preventing the city from having to borrow money for street improvement projects in the future. [Read more…]

Nineteen candidates for Oak Ridge City Council, School Board

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Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

Ten candidates have qualified to run for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 4 municipal election, and there are nine candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education—a total of 19 candidates.

It’s the largest field of candidates in recent memory, and it’s not immediately clear when, or if, there has been a field as large.

The deadline to qualify as a candidate in this fall’s municipal elections in Anderson County was noon Thursday.

There is a mix of incumbents and newcomers in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Rocky Top (Lake City), Norris, and Oliver Springs.

Oak Ridge

In Oak Ridge, two incumbents, including Mayor Tom Beehan and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller, are not seeking re-election. Meanwhile, the other two incumbents whose terms expire this November, Anne Garcia Garland and David Mosby, are running for another four-year term.

In addition to Garcia Garland and Mosby, the other Oak Ridge City Council candidates are:

  • Kelly Callison,
  • R.G. “Rick” Chinn,
  • Warren L. Gooch,
  • Gary L. Love,
  • Pedro J. Otaduy,
  • Aditya “Doc” Savara,
  • Ellen D. Smith, and
  • Eric Tobler.

[Read more…]

Thursday deadline to qualify for municipal elections across Anderson County

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Thursday is the deadline to qualify for municipal elections across Anderson County, and so far, there appears to be a mix of incumbents and newcomers in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Rocky Top (Lake City), Norris, and Oliver Springs.

Eleven people, including the four incumbents, have expressed an interest in running for four seats on Oak Ridge City Council in November, and seven candidates have qualified so far.

Meanwhile, three people, including one incumbent, have qualified to run for three seats on the Oak Ridge Board of Education. A total of nine potential candidates, including the three who have qualified, have picked up petitions to run for Oak Ridge school board.

The November 4 election is the last in a series of three elections this year. The deadline to qualify is noon Thursday, August 21. A candidate needs 25 verified signatures on a nomination petition to qualify.

Those who have qualified to run for Oak Ridge City Council are: [Read more…]