Oak Ridge Today

Former AC Commissioner Hitchcock dies

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Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock

Note: This story was updated at 11:30 a.m.

Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock, who represented part of Oak Ridge in three terms on Anderson County Commission, died January 10. A former teacher, he was 76.

Hitchcock served on Anderson County Commission from 2006 to 2018. He represented District 6 in Oak Ridge, including the City Hall, Robertsville, and West Hills voting precincts.

At the request of Commissioner Catherine Denenberg, the Anderson County Commission had a moment of silence in honor of Hitchcock during their monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 17.

Later in the meeting, Anderson County Commissioner Tracy Wandell said he appreciated Hitchcock’s friendship and leadership.

“He did a lot of things in a short amount of time,” Wandell said. “He always did things that made our county better.”

[Read more…]

Denenberg appointed to vacant AC Commission seat; EMS vote deferred

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Information from WYSH Radio

Meeting Thursday in a special-called session, the Anderson County Commission unanimously voted to appoint Catherine Denenberg of Oak Ridge to serve the remainder of an unexpired term on the Commission.

Denenberg was the only person to apply for the appointment, and no other nominations were made from the floor or by commissioners. The vote to appoint her to serve the remainder of Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock’s term representing Oak Ridge’s District 6 was unanimous. Denenberg has already qualified to run for that seat in the August general election. [Read more…]

Whitey Hitchcock announces re-election bid for county commission

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Harry "Whitey" Hitchcock

Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock

Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock has announced he is seeking re-election to the Anderson County Commission, representing District 6 in Oak Ridge, which includes the City Hall, Robertsville, and West Hills voting precincts, a press release said.

“It has been my honor, privilege, and joy to get to know and represent the very diverse citizens of District 6, a task I take seriously,” Hitchcock said in the press release. “When first elected in 2006, I pledged to

  1. help reduce crime,
  2. bring tax dollars back to Oak Ridge, and
  3. help re-new an effective working relationship between the city and the county. I feel that this has been largely accomplished, yet there is more work to do with a city-county partnership: housing, jobs, and retail development.”

Hitchcock said crime is everyone’s concern, and its cost cannot be overestimated. [Read more…]

Most Anderson commissioners seek re-election, six running in District 7 in OR

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Anderson County Courthouse

The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above.

There are six candidates running for Anderson County Commission in District 7 in Oak Ridge in August, and a Democrat has joined the race for Tennessee House of Representatives in the 33rd District.

Meanwhile, an Independent, Bradley S. Rickett, has joined the race for Anderson County mayor, competing against Democrat Jim Hackworth and the winner of the May 6 Republican primary, either the incumbent, Terry Frank, or her challenger, Commissioner Zach Bates.

Fourteen of the 16 Anderson County commissioners are seeking re-election to a four-year term. But Bates, from District 4 in the Lake City area, is not. And neither is Commissioner John Shuey. Shuey is one of two commissioners in District 7, which includes the Glenwood, Highland View, and Pine Valley precincts in Oak Ridge.

District 7 is the most competitive in terms of number of candidates. In addition to the incumbent, Jerry Creasey, other candidates include Jimmy Bouchard, Michael Marsh, Denny Phillips, Kevin Rice, and Theresa Scott.

District 3—which includes Andersonville, Fairview, Glen Alpine, and Norris—has five candidates, including the two incumbents, Steve Emert and Dusty Irwin. The other three candidates are Josh Anderson, David Farmer, and Philip Warfield. [Read more…]

So far, five candidates for juvenile judge, four for sheriff, three for chancellor

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Anderson County Courthouse

The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above.

So far, there are five potential candidates for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge, four for sheriff, and three for chancellor.

An independent has picked up a petition to run for county mayor, possibly opposing Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, and Tennessee Rep. John Ragan has an opponent in the Aug. 7 Republican primary.

The five candidates for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge are Victoria “Vickie” Bannach, a Clinton Republican; Lauren Biloski, an Oak Ridge Republican; Victoria Bowling, a Heiskell Democrat; J. Michael Clement, a Clinton Democrat; and Brian J. Hunt, a Clinton Republican. They are candidates in the May 6 county primary.

The current juvenile court judge, Brandon Fisher, a Clinton Democrat, is running for Anderson County chancellor in that election. The other two chancellor candidates are Phil Harber, a Clinton Republican, and Robert Warren Wilkinson, an Oak Ridge Republican. [Read more…]