Oak Ridge Today

Injured CUB lineman recovering after electrical shock

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Clinton Utilities Board Logo

Information from WYSH Radio

A Clinton Utilities Board lineman was recovering in the hospital on Wednesday, one day after being injured while on the job in Clinton on Tuesday.

Shortly before noon Tuesday, a CUB employee identified by his daughter as Mike Bavousett was part of a crew working to replace old conductors with newer ones as part of an upgrade project. The crew was in the process of splicing a piece of wire into the conductor to get the wire down to the pulling equipment on the ground when the conductor came loose from the splice and slipped up into an energized conductor overhead where Bavousset was working. Officials are still working to identify exactly what went wrong. No one else was injured in the incident. [Read more…]

Storm damage delays opening of city pool in Clinton

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Information from WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today

Strong storms that rolled through the area over the weekend caused widespread damage and power outages across East Tennessee.

While this area appeared to escape the brunt of the storm’s damage, there were numerous reports of trees and power lines down. In Clinton, a tree fell across the fence at the Municipal Swimming Pool at Jaycee Park, damaging the fence and dropping limbs, branches and leaves in the pool itself. A second tree crushed the gate at the park’s main entrance as well.

The pool had been scheduled to open for the summer today (Tuesday, May 30), but that opening date has been pushed back to tomorrow. City crews will spend today removing the trees and repairing the damage.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said public safety agencies were very busy during the Saturday evening storm. The Sheriff’s Department handled 37 storm-related calls Saturday evening through Sunday, mostly due to trees and power lines blocking roads, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Power poles replaced, Clinton Highway re-opened early Tuesday

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Clinton Highway Power Lines Down 2 May 1 2017

Clinton Highway (US 25W) south of Clinton between Foust Carney Road and East Wolf Valley Road was temporarily closed starting Monday because of trees and power lines that had fallen, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said Monday afternoon, May 1, 2017. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

 

After four large power poles were replaced, all four lanes of Clinton Highway, both the northbound and southbound lanes, re-opened at about 6 a.m. Tuesday, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

Earlier, both northbound lanes and one southbound lane had re-opened at about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, Lucas said.

A section of Clinton Highway had been closed south of Clinton between Foust Carney Road and East Wolf Valley Road starting Monday because of trees and power lines that fell when strong winds blew through East Tennessee on Monday afternoon. The highway was completely blocked, and both northbound and southbound lanes were closed.

“The Clinton Utilities Board did an outstanding job of replacing four large power poles, repairing a fifth, and re-installing all the lines as quickly as they did considering all the damage,” Lucas said. [Read more…]

Flooding, fallen trees, road closures reported in Anderson County during storms

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department had a busy weekend after the rain started on Friday, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

Flooding occurred throughout the county, Lucas said. There were trees that had fallen on homes but no reports of injuries. High water forced the closure of several roads. Many of those were still closed Monday morning.

“The water is receding, but drivers are urged to continue to use caution,” Lucas said. “Due to all of the flooded roads, Anderson County Schools were closed today (Monday, April 24).”

Deputies responded to 25 traffic hazard reports from Friday through Sunday. These included fallen trees and other debris in the roadway. Mudslides were also reported on at least two roads, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Trees fall, roads flood, driver escapes floodwaters as rains continue

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Airport-Road-Flooding-Oliver-Springs-Storms-April-22-2017

The driver was reported to have made it out of floodwaters before emergency responders arrived on Saturday afternoon, April 22, 2017, but her black Nissan Altima remained partially submerged on Airport Road near Oliver Springs on Sunday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

Roads flooded and trees fell—sometimes on homes, power lines, and roads—as rain continued to fall in East Tennessee on Sunday. One driver was reported to have escaped from her car in floodwaters on Airport Road near Oliver Springs on Saturday afternoon, but the black Nissan Altima remained partially submerged in the water on Sunday.

There appeared to have been at least 10 reports of fallen trees in Oak Ridge during the severe thunderstorms that started Saturday afternoon and continued with rain showers on Sunday. Most of those trees were reported to have fallen on homes, power lines, across roadways, or on personal property such as an automobile. There were five reports of fallen trees between about 3 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday, including a tree that fell across both lanes of Melton Lake Drive near Calhoun’s restaurant, causing a temporary closure of that two-lane road.

There were more reports of trees that had fallen but not damaged anything.

Large trees are falling due to excess rain, the City of Oak Ridge said Sunday. Electric crews have been out all night, and backup is on the way, the city said, but it may be tomorrow (Monday, April 24) before all power is back.

At various times on Sunday, there were reports of flooding or flood watches across Oak Ridge, including on Vermont Avenue, near Heritage Center (the former K-25 site), on California Avenue, and at Jefferson Avenue and North Jefferson Circle.

There were also reports of trees down and road closures in Clinton. Briceville Highway was reported to be closed in Briceveille due to sinking pavement on Sunday afternoon. Earlier Sunday, State Route 71 in Anderson County was closed for several hours at Norris Dam State Park because trees were blocking the road, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Some school districts have announced they will be closed Monday. Roane County Schools said it will be closed due to “concerning road conditions throughout the county.” Anderson County Schools said it will be closed because of dangerous conditions with flooded roads and trees being down.

The National Weather Service in Morristown said a record for daily rainfall was set at Knoxville Mcghee Tyson Airport on Sunday. The NWS said 1.89 inches had fallen as of 5 p.m. Sunday, breaking the old record of 1.63 inches in 1977.

[Read more…]

ADFAC celebrates 30 years with city, ORUD

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ADFAC Board Member, Cande Seay (left), presenting a 30th Birthday cake to the ORUD employees including (L-R) Polli Wright, Ben Andrews, Emily Rios, Raeshell Maples, Sasha Benjamin, David Bunch and Jeff Patterson.

ADFAC Board Member Cande Seay (left), presents a 30th birthday cake to ORUD employees, including, from left to right, Polli Wright, Ben Andrews, Emily Rios, Raeshell Maples, Sasha Benjamin, David Bunch, and Jeff Patterson. (Submitted photo)

 

ADFAC (Aid To Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties Inc.) is celebrating its 30th birthday all year long, a press release said. Birthday cakes will be delivered throughout the community to partners who have helped in the mission of helping neighbors be as self-sufficient as possible, the press release said.

Jane Palmer, ADFAC’s 30th chairperson, said: “It’s just our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the community for 30 years of supporting us. And who doesn’t love cake? It’s a great way for us to not only say thank you but to spread the word about the great work going on at ADFAC.”

Most recently, ADFAC representatives visited all four utility companies that serve ADFAC’s service area including Oak Ridge Utility District, Oak Ridge Electric Department, Clinton Utilities Board, and Powell-Clinch Utility Board. ADFAC presented cakes to these groups as a way to say thank you for the many years of supporting Project SAFE and Project ASSIST, the press release said. [Read more…]

Anderson County storm damage report

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There were reports of trees down, along with a few power lines, from the storms and heavy rain on Wednesday, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

Several roads were impassable for a while due to high water, but on most, the water had receded as of Wednesday evening, Lucas said. Some roads could still have debris, he said Wednesday.

“There was one tree that fell on a mobile home, but no major damage and no injuries have been reported,” Lucas said.

The Little Ponderosa Zoo had severe flooding, but much of the water there had receded and all the animals are safe. [Read more…]

Fires destroy two homes Friday, one in Oliver Springs, other on Dutch Valley Road

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Hen Valley Road Fire June 24 2016

A fire destroyed a home on Hen Valley Road in Oliver Springs late Friday, June 24, 2016. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

OLIVER SPRINGS—Fires destroyed two homes on Friday, one in Oliver Springs and the other on Dutch Valley Road.

The first fire was reported at about 12:55 a.m. Friday at 1351 Dutch Valley Road in Anderson County.

The large, one-story, brick veneer home was completely on fire when the first units arrived from the nearby Marlow Fire Department Station 2 (located at the old Donovan School), fire photographer Tom Scott said. The Marlow Fire department responded with two engines and two tankers.

In response to mutual aid requests, the Oliver Springs Fire Department sent an engine and a rescue truck, and the Blair Fire Department sent an engine.

Anderson County Emergency Medical Services had a medic unit standing by at the scene. The fire units were on the scene until about 5 a.m. Friday, Scott said. The house was totally destroyed. [Read more…]

Clinton fire truck damaged by manhole cover

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Clinton Fire Department Patch

Information from WYSH Radio

Tuesday’s strong thunderstorms caused only a few problems inside Clinton, the biggest of which was a water main break that contributed to damaging a city fire truck.

Because of the water main break, likely caused in part by the runoff from Tuesday’s heavy rainfall, a manhole cover came up under the railroad trestle on Main Street and ruptured the fuel tank of a Clinton Fire Department truck on its way to a call.

The truck was able to make it back to the downtown fire hall, and it was towed from there for repairs. No injuries were reported on the truck.

Clinton Utilities Board responded to the water main break, and the utility’s insurance is expected to pay for the damage to the fire truck.

The only other damage inside the city was a downed tree on North Main Street that crews had cleared before 5 a.m. Several trees were reported down in the county, but they were also cleared overnight.

Water advisory sent to wrong Clinton; city says water clean, safe to drink

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Clinton City Manager Roger Houck on Sunday said an apparent misrouting of information may be the reason at least one city resident received a “Notice of Water Advisory” this weekend.

“We have confirmed that the Web address and phone information included in the advisory is for Clinton, Utah…not Tennessee,” Houck said in a press release. “When you go to the Utah website, you will see that they, indeed, have issued an advisory for their area.”

A woman who lives on Mariner Point Drive in Clinton, Tennessee, told officials that she received an email and a phone call saying that local water samples had tested positive for E. coli, and customers should assume the water is unsafe to drink unless it is boiled. [Read more…]

Fires destroy vacant Marlow home, Medford storage building

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Information from WYSH Radio

A vacant home in the Marlow community was destroyed by a fire Monday afternoon.

The property owner told Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies and firefighters that the house at 143 Talley Lane had been vacant for eight years after a previous fire destroyed much of the structure. She said her son had been cleaning the property the previous day and had started a burn pile about 50 feet from the home to get rid of trash and wood from inside the building. [Read more…]

TVA sets all-time power demand record; stores sell out of heaters

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Downtown Hardware on Nov. 2013

The Downtown Hardware crew is pictured above in November 2013. Co-owners Ann Clary Bratton and Roger Clary are pictured second from right and at left. (File photo)

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority set an all-time record for power demand in February on Thursday morning, and local stores have sold out of heaters.

TVA said the record set at 7 a.m. Thursday was 32,109 megawatts, with an average temperature of 7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Downtown Hardware in Oak Ridge reported that they were down to two electric heaters.

“We’re completely sold out of kerosene and propane,” said Ann Bratton, who co-owns the store with her brother Roger Clary. “That seems to be what people are asking for.” [Read more…]