Oak Ridge Today

Council to consider utility rate increases, sewer tanks, new fire trucks

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Emory Valley Road Sewer System Holding Tank

A draft image of what a sewer system holding tank could look like on Emory Valley Road east of the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center. The proposal could change based upon input from Oak Ridge City Council members. (Images courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge officials are considering utility rate increases that could cost many residents another $6.87 per month, and they have also proposed building three large sewer system holding tanks, including two near busy roadways, in response to a federal order requiring the city to stop all sewer system overflows by September 2015.

Council could consider those proposals, as well as a request to buy three new fire trucks, during its Sept. 9 meeting. [Read more…]

Emory Valley Road land could be donated for Oak Ridge sewer system tank

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Emory Valley Equalization Basin

Anderson County commissioners have endorsed donating up to 2.05 acres on Emory Valley Road for an Oak Ridge sewer system holding tank.

CLINTON—Despite a few concerns about whether the tank would be an eyesore, Anderson County officials on Monday endorsed a request to give up to 2.05 acres on Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge for a sewer system holding tank.

The tank would be east of the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center, and it would be used to help Oak Ridge stop all sewer system overflows by 2015, as required by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order.

The Anderson County Commission endorsed the land donation in a voice vote Monday night. [Read more…]

Anderson County Commission considers coal mining museum tonight

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Bank of America Lake City

Bank of America has agreed to sell this two-story brick building on Main Street in Lake City for $100,000 for a Coal Miners’ Museum and county storage space and satellite offices.

The Lake City Council on Saturday developed a plan for operating and maintaining a coal mining museum, a proposal that will be presented to the Anderson County Commission this evening, a nonprofit organization said this weekend.

The Commission will consider buying the former Bank of America building in Lake City as a home for the Coal Miners’ Museum during a meeting that starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge asks for county land on Emory Valley Road for sewer system tank

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Emory Valley Equalization Basin

Oak Ridge officials have asked Anderson County to consider donating up to 2.05 acres on Emory Valley Road for a sewer system holding tank.

Oak Ridge officials have asked Anderson County to consider donating up to 2.05 acres on Emory Valley Road for a sewer system holding tank east of the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Oak Ridge to stop all sewer system overflows by 2015, and studies have shown that several holding tanks are required at critical locations “to equalize and detain excess flow during heavy rain events,” Public Works Director Gary Cinder said in a July 26 memo. One equalization tank would be required near the county-owned Daniel Arthur Center, which is used by satellite county offices, the Oak Ridge Senior Center, and the Emory Valley Center.

The Anderson County Operations Committee will consider the request during a Monday evening meeting. [Read more…]

USEC donates to Emory Valley Center campaign

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USEC Donates to Emory Valley Center

Pictured above from left to right are Robin Biloski, Emory Valley Center development director; Dottie Thompson and Gene Caldwell, co-chairs of the EVC Capital Campaign; and Bob Eby of USEC Inc. (Submitted photo)

Emory Valley Center recently received a donation from USEC for its capital campaign to build a new facility on Emory Valley Road, a press release said.

“Emory Valley Center has always been such a vital part of our community in helping so many adults and children in our region,” said Bob Eby, director of Centrifuge Technology and Process Engineering of USEC in Oak Ridge. “All of us at USEC are so happy to play a part in providing a new center for the many who receive their services.” [Read more…]

Contractor installing pedestrian warning signs on Melton Lake Drive

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A city contractor is completing work on new flashing warning signs on Melton Lake Drive at three pedestrian crossings near the Oak Ridge Marina on Melton Lake Drive. The three crossings are at Amanda Drive, Rivers Run Boulevard, and just west of Emory Valley Road.

The flashing beacons could be become operational Thursday, a city press release said. The beacons are activated by a push button and will flash for a short period of time, allowing pedestrians to cross the street. [Read more…]

Council approves Aldi rezoning, waterfront crosswalk signs, kayak rentals

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The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday approved a rezoning that could allow an Aldi grocery store on South Illinois Avenue, solar-powered pedestrian warning signs on Melton Lake Drive, and a program to rent bicycles and kayaks at Melton Lake Park.

The Aldi could open on about 1.4 acres in the Woodland Town Center near Panera Bread and Aubrey’s restaurant this fall.

The pedestrian signs, as well as new pavement markings, could be installed at three crosswalks at Amanda Drive, Emory Valley Road, and Rivers Run on Melton Lake Drive. [Read more…]

Flashing pedestrian signs could be installed at three crosswalks on Melton Lake Drive

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Melton Lake Drive Pedestrian Warning Signs

New solar-powered pedestrian warning signs could be installed at three crosswalks on Melton Lake Drive under a contract to be considered by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday. (Submitted photo)

Solar-powered pedestrian warning signs and new pavement markings could be installed at three crosswalks on Melton Lake Drive.

The crosswalk improvements are proposed at Amanda Drive, Emory Valley Road, and Rivers Run. They will be considered by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday night.

The Oak Ridge city staff has recommended awarding a roughly $38,000 contract to First Place Finish of Oak Ridge for the crosswalk work, which could start in April and be completed in four to six weeks. The bid was the lowest of four received, City Engineer Steven R. Byrd said in a memo to City Manager Mark S. Watson.

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Guest column: Runner, driver safety at risk in ‘Death Zone’

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Melton Lake Pedestrian Crossing

The pedestrian crossing at Melton Lake Drive and Emory Valley Road. (Submitted image)

The subject of this article is safety awareness for pedestrians and drivers at the crosswalk near the intersection of Melton Lake Greenway and Emory Valley Road Greenway (pictured at left), which I have dubbed the “Death Zone.”

To establish some credibility on the subject, I’ll note that I’ve been running competitively for 34 years, running nearly 75,000 miles, placing in all race distances and age categories. I’m also a board member of the Oak Ridge Track Club, an organization dedicated to promoting fitness through safe running and road racing in the Oak Ridge community.

Running as much as I do, and traveling as much as I do, I find myself at the subject intersection almost daily, as well as many other intersections throughout Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and the United States in general. With this running experience, I am keenly aware of the importance of running safely, and I advocate safety while running above all other interests. After all, if I don’t get home alive, my run wasn’t very successful at improving my health, right? Although an experienced runner, I have no legal experience, so I speak only as an educated layman on the legal aspects of Tennessee pedestrian law.

With regard to the “Death Zone,” a few weeks ago I came the closest to being killed by a vehicle while running than ever before—that is, other than the deliberate attempts by drivers to kill me while I’m running, which could easily be the subject of my first book. This near-death experience occurred because of three key factors, some of which are unique to this crosswalk, while others are universally applicable:

[Read more…]

Police Department starts crosswalk safety operation Friday

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Starting Friday, the Oak Ridge Police Department will conduct an intensive eight-day pedestrian crosswalk safety operation that will focus on drivers who fail to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, a press release said.

Known as Operation Drive Safe 2013, the operation starting Friday will focus on a particularly dangerous location on Emory Valley Road, the press release said. It’s meant to improve pedestrian and traffic safety in the city.

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Police chief stops two theft suspects at former fitness center

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

For the second time in a week, Oak Ridge Police James T. Akagi has helped arrest two suspects.

Last week, the chief tackled one of two men who fled from him in a car through Scarboro and then on foot.

This week, Akagi stopped a white van at the former Paragon Athletic Club on Emory Valley Road. In the back of the van, an apparent HVAC unit valued at $11,000 was visible through an open rear hatch, and it appeared to have been cut from the fitness center, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Nathan Stinnett said in affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

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Woman not injured, but vehicle submerged after she slides into Clinch River

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Melton Lake Drive Submerged Car

The area where a Clinton woman appears to have slid off snowy, icy Melton Lake Drive into the Clinch River on Saturday morning.

A Clinton woman escaped injury when her car slid off snowy, icy Melton Lake Drive into the Clinch River on Saturday morning, but her 2002 Nissan Pathfinder remains underwater, possibly to be pulled out of the lake later, authorities said.

Debby Hillman, 55, of Clinton was southbound on Melton Lake Drive just after 11 a.m. Saturday when she lost control of her vehicle as she tried to slow down in a curve, shifting down into second gear, an Oak Ridge Police Department crash report said. Her Pathfinder slid across the northbound lane of Melton Lake Drive and into the river north of Emory Valley Road and Melton Lake Park.

[Read more…]