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Guest column: April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

Posted at 2:47 pm April 23, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns Leave a Comment

CASA of the Tennessee Heartland

Join CASA of the Tennessee Heartland’s commitment to helping victims of child abuse and neglect heal, and making sure all children feel safe and loved

Anytime a child is abused or neglected, it’s a tragedy—one that all too often scars victims for a lifetime. The latest statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are sobering:

  • Child Protective Services agencies across the United States received some 3.4 million referrals of abuse or neglect involving 6.3 million children in 2012.
  • An estimated 1,640 children died from child abuse or neglect in 2012, and nearly three-quarters of them were younger than age 3.
  • In Anderson County, 592 child abuse cases were reported in 2012, and 121 children were brought into custody, with an additional 167 remaining in custody from previous years.

Studies have shown that children who have suffered abuse or neglect are more likely to struggle in school, have run-ins with law enforcement, experience homelessness, or abuse drugs or alcohol. Research also shows that abused children are more apt to grow up to abuse their own kids. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns, Opinion Tagged With: alcohol, CASA, CASA of the Tennessee Heartland, child abuse, Child Abuse Prevention Month, child protective services, Court Appointed Special Advocates, drugs, National Child Abuse Prevention Month, neglect, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, volunteers

Guest column: Celebrate safely during proms, graduations

Posted at 8:26 am April 19, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns Leave a Comment

Paul White

Paul White

It’s that time of year again. Proms, graduations, and other events mark the end of the school year. Memories of these wonderful occasions will be with our youth for the rest of their lives.

Our young students headed to the prom and from graduations are reminded not to drink and drive. Deputies with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will be out in force on prom nights and after graduations. DUI, illegal drugs, and underage drinking will get you a stay at the county jail.

The Sheriff Department also reminds teens that getting caught drinking while under the age of 21 can result in losing a driver’s license, getting suspended from school, ejected from sports teams, and even banned from graduation ceremonies. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns, Opinion Tagged With: alcohol, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, beer, drugs, DUI, Governor’s Highway Safety Office, graduatoin, Paul White, prom, saturation patrols, school year, underage drinking, underage sales

Meth lab found in Lake City motel room

Posted at 3:49 pm January 7, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County Sheriff’s deputies seeking to serve outstanding arrest warrants on a man located a meth lab inside a Lake City motel on Monday.

Deputies received information that Tommy Joe White was at the Blue Haven Motel on North Main Street in Lake City and arrived there at around 10:15 a.m. Deputies knocked on the door of room 109 and were given permission by a woman who answered the door to search the room. White was found hiding underneath the bed and taken into custody.

While he was being patted down, deputies reported finding drugs and drug paraphernalia on White. An active, one-pot meth lab was found hidden in a backpack between the room’s refrigerator and dresser. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Lake City, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Sheriff's Department, drugs, meth lab, North Main Street, Sherry Burgess, Tommy Joe White

Four students found with drugs, hatchet, ski mask, ORPD says

Posted at 12:18 pm December 19, 2013
By John Huotari 11 Comments

Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

A 14-year-old male who refused to go to school on Wednesday possessed a tactical load bearing vest, and four students detained Thursday, including one adult student, were found near Oak Ridge High School in a car that contained drugs, a ski mask, and a hatchet, authorities said.

The news comes less than one day after the Oak Ridge Police Department announced it seized a stolen, loaded gun from the car of a student who had allegedly caused a disturbance at Oak Ridge High School and said a knife had been seized from a student during an altercation on a school bus.

In a Thursday morning press release, the ORPD said officers responded to a report of an unruly juvenile at a home on Baypath Drive at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“When officers arrived, they met with the mother and older sibling of a 14 year-old juvenile male who had refused to go to school,” the press release said. “Officers interviewed the juvenile and noted he was in possession of a tactical load bearing vest. Officers ultimately assisted in transporting the juvenile to the Methodist Medical Center emergency room for an evaluation, as well as coordinating with Juvenile Court authorities and referring the incident to DCS for follow-up. No criminal charges were filed. However, the investigation remains ongoing, and no further details will be released at this time.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Police and Fire, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Alternative School, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, controlled substances, drug paraphernalia, drugs, hatchet, Juvenile Court, knife, marijuana, Methodist Medical Center, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Police Department, possession of a dangerous weapon on school property, possession of drug paraphernalia in a school zone, resisting a stop frisk halt arrest or search, schools bus, Sherrill Selby, simple possession of controlled substances in a school zone, ski mask, tactical load bearing vest

State trooper, former marshal running for Anderson County sheriff

Posted at 9:26 pm December 13, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Anthony Lay

Anthony Lay

An Anderson County man who is a state highway patrolman and former federal deputy U.S. marshal has announced he is running for sheriff.

Anthony Lay is seeking the Republican nomination for Anderson County sheriff in May 2014.

Lay is an officer with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a press release said. He has served as Scott County sheriff, and when he was 33, was appointed as a federal U.S. marshal in Atlanta.

Lay returned to Anderson County to help his parents after his father suffered a health event, the release said.

“I am announcing my candidacy out of my love for public service and the people who live here,” Lay said in the press release. “Anderson County is a wonderful place to live and work, and the people of Anderson County deserve a safe community and leadership they can trust.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2014 Election, Anderson County, Anderson County, Government, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Anthony Lay, budget, crime, detention facility, drugs, Scott County, sheriff, technology, Tennessee Highway Patrol, theft, U.S. marshal

Children’s Hospital volunteer director to discuss neonatal abstinence syndrome

Posted at 10:12 pm September 18, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Cheryl Allmon

Cheryl Allmon

“Holding Little Lives in Our Hands” is a presentation that describes the dramatic rise of neonatal abstinence syndrome across eastern Tennessee and what East Tennessee Children’s Hospital is doing about it. It will be presented to the Altrusa Club on Sept. 25 by Cheryl Allmon, director of volunteer services and programs at Children’s Hospital.

Children’s Hospital has received national attention for their multifaceted approach to treating infants who are born suffering from prescription drug dependence. In 2012, the hospital treated nearly 300 infants suffering from withdrawal from drugs. The number of infants affected by addiction at birth continues to rise each year. The first step in treating the infants is to assess the severity of the addiction. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clubs, Community, Health, Top Stories Tagged With: addiction, Altrusa Club, Altrusa International, Cheryl Allmon, Children's Hospital, drugs, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Holding Little Lives in Our Hands, neonatal abstinence syndrome, prescription drug dependence, withdrawal

Oliver Springs man killed in wreck

Posted at 1:11 pm September 17, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

An Oliver Springs man was killed in a single-vehicle accident Sunday night in Roane County.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol reported that at around 8:30 Sunday night, Otto Joseph Flachbart III, 35, had been driving north on Highway 327 near Oliver Springs when he lost control of his Dodge Ram pickup while rounding a curve. The THP said that he overcorrected twice before the truck flipped over and came to rest on its side. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oliver Springs, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: drugs, Fred M. Collins Jr., Highway 327, Oliver Springs, Otto Joseph Flachbart III, Roane County, Tennessee Highway Patrol, THP

AC EMS doesn’t carry most medications found during search of doctor’s home, director says

Posted at 4:00 pm September 4, 2013
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Michael Lapaglia

Michael A. Lapaglia

Its former medical director was arrested Tuesday on drug and gun charges, and Anderson County Emergency Medical Services issued a statement on Wednesday that said most of the medications allegedly found in the home of Dr. Michael A. LaPaglia are not carried by the ambulance service.

The statement also said that the Anderson County EMS medical director is never allowed or provided access to any controlled equipment, supplies, or medications.

“Anderson County EMS has a very solid and concise procedure for controlled substances, with many levels of reporting and accountability,” Director Nathan Sweet said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Health, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Emergency Medical Services, Anderson County EMS, controlled substances, Crystal Jordan, drugs, firearm, gun, medications, Methodist Medical Center, Michael A. Lapaglia, MMC, Nathan Sweet, Peter Kah, TeamHealth

Get rid of old medicines Saturday

Posted at 4:37 pm August 23, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Police Department will take unused medicines and won’t ask for identification on Saturday morning.

From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, people will be able to drop off old and expired drugs at the ORPD headquarters at 200 S. Tulane Ave. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Government, Health, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County, Daniel McFee, drugs, medicine, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD

Schools have to report illegal activity, turn over dangerous weapons or drugs, agreement says

Posted at 6:04 pm August 8, 2013
By John Huotari 10 Comments

Bruce Borchers and Mark Watson

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers, left, and City Manager Mark Watson during a Monday evening reception for Borchers, who started working in Oak Ridge in June.

School principals have to notify the Oak Ridge school resource officer, or SRO, of suspected illegal activity, and principals or school staff members who locate dangerous weapons or drugs have to turn them over to the SRO, according to a renewable one-year agreement signed Wednesday by municipal and education officials.

School staff members must also provide the SRO with the names of people who are not allowed on school property, and the staff is required to notify the officer when they expect problems from parents of students who have been disciplined.

Meanwhile, the Oak Ridge Police Department is required to tell the school board of criminal gangs and associated criminal gang activity. It wasn’t immediately clear if—or how much—any of those requirements differed from earlier procedures.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, drugs, gangs, illegal activity, Jim Akagi, Mark Watson, memorandum of understanding, MOU, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Schools, ORPD, school resource officer, SRO, Trina Baughn, weapons

Baughn criticizes school officials, school supporters fire back

Posted at 10:28 pm July 9, 2013
By John Huotari 13 Comments

Oak Ridge Schools Press Conference Crowd

Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn, third from right, and Oak Ridge High School Acting Principal David Bryant, left, and Superintendent Bruce Borchers, second from left, attend a Monday afternoon press conference at the high school where education officials rebutted Baughn’s allegations that there is a “culture of terror” in the schools, drugs are rampant, and students are at risk of being assaulted.

Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn fired the first shot, writing a letter critical of education officials and alleging that the city’s schools have a “culture of terror,” drugs are rampant, and students are at risk of being assaulted.

On Monday, school supporters and students fired back in a barrage that started with an afternoon press conference at Oak Ridge High School and ended at a City Council meeting.

During the Council meeting, Chuck Agle, who serves on the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission and is the husband of school board member Angi Agle, asked council members to express their disapproval by censuring Baughn. To imply that Oak Ridge Schools widely tolerate wrongdoing is wrong, Agle said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Government, K-12, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: assaults, Brenda Fellner, Cathy Toth, Chuck Agle, culture of terror, drugs, Jim Andress, Lois Johnson, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools, Trina Baughn

Police chief declines to comment on use of his memo in Baughn’s letter

Posted at 1:23 am July 9, 2013
By John Huotari 8 Comments

James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

A memo he wrote in May was used by an Oak Ridge City Council member who wrote a controversial letter that has sparked a heated, week-long debate about drugs and violence in the city’s schools.

But Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi declined to elaborate on the memo on Monday—or discuss how it was used in the letter published last week by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn. Her letter, which also relied on conversations with current and former school staff members and parents of students, alleged drugs are rampant in many schools, children are at risk of being assaulted, and a “culture of terror” has saturated the system.

Asked for his views on the letter, which was sent to new superintendent Bruce Borchers, Akagi said he couldn’t comment. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Government, K-12, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Angi Agle, assault, Bruce Borchers, crimes, culture of terror, drugs, Jim Akagi, letter, Mark Watson, memo, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Schools, ORPD, school resource officer, security, SRO, Tom Beehan, Trina Baughn, violence

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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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