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Missing Oak Ridge man found safe by neighbor after search

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A missing 77-year-old man was found safe Tuesday night after a roughly 2.5-hour search by Oak Ridge and Anderson County authorities, and neighbors.

The man was reported missing just before 9 p.m. Tuesday in the Rivers Run neighborhood in east Oak Ridge.

The man’s family became concerned when he did not return home from his daily walk by dusk, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a press release. They were unable to find the man during a search of his normal route to Haw Ridge Park, so they called the Oak Ridge Police Department for help.

A team from the Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department responded to search the surrounding area, the press release said. Crews also called in a scent-tracking dog and handler from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department to aid in the search. [Read more…]

Photo: Oak Ridge Track Club starts 2018 with chilly run at Haw Ridge

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Braving single-digit wind chills, members of the Oak Ridge Track Club and friends prepare for an hour-long trail run at Haw Ridge to start 2018 off on New Year's morning. (Submitted photo)

Braving single-digit wind chills, members of the Oak Ridge Track Club and friends prepare for an hour-long trail run at Haw Ridge to start off 2018 on New Year’s morning. (Submitted photo)

 

Braving single-digit wind chills, members of the Oak Ridge Track Club and friends had an hour-long trail run at Haw Ridge to start off 2018 on New Year’s morning.

City provides information on what power poles on Pine Ridge could look like

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H-frame or H tower transmission towers are pictured at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex off Scarboro Road on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

H-frame or H tower transmission towers are pictured at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex off Scarboro Road on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 1 p.m.

The City of Oak Ridge this week provided information on what the power poles on Pine Ridge could look like.

The logging work to install the power line poles, or transmission towers, on top of Pine Ridge has been temporarily delayed for 45 days after Oak Ridge City Council members raised concerns in November and December.

One of the concerns for City Council members has been the potential visual impact the power poles could have on top of Pine Ridge. That prominent ridge in south Oak Ridge separates Y-12 from the center of the city.

So far, the National Nuclear Security Administration and its Uranium Processing Facility Project Office haven’t provided a visual representation of what the transmission towers could look like on top of the ridge.

On Tuesday, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson and Electric Director Jack Suggs provided some visual comparisons to City Council members during a non-voting work session. Watson said a light pole at the city baseball field is about 80 feet. That’s close to the same size as the roughly 79-foot-high power poles expected on Pine Ridge. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society to hold fall wildflower walk meet & greet in September

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Kris Light is pictured above on a fall wildflower walk at the University of Tennessee Arboretum. (Photo by UT Arboretum Society)

Kris Light is pictured above on a fall wildflower walk. (Photo by UT Arboretum Society)

 

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will host a meet-and-greet followed by a fall wildflower walk at Haw Ridge Trails on Saturday, September 2. The event is scheduled from 9-11 a.m.

Kris Light, an expert naturalist, educator, and photographer will lead this fun, educational, and easy walk, a press release said. Participants may want to bring a camera to take pictures of the many wildflowers, the release said.

Describing the walk, Light said, “Most people think of springtime as wildflower season, but late summer and fall color the fields and roadsides in gold, purple and white. Come to the fall wildflower walk to learn more about the wildflowers of the fields.” [Read more…]

Emergency crews use boat to rescue injured mountain biker

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oak-ridge-fire-department-haw-ridge-bike-rescue-oct-16-2016

Emergency crews use a boat to rescue an injured mountain biker from Haw Ridge Park on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016. (Submitted photo)

 

Emergency crews used a boat to rescue a mountain biker with a broken ankle in Haw Ridge Park on Sunday, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department responded at 5:12 p.m. Sunday, October 16. Dispatchers had received a reported a man down on a Haw Ridge bike trail with a broken ankle.

The Oak Ridge 911 dispatchers were able to ping the caller’s cell phone and determine the approximate location of the accident, a press release said. They determined the biker was near the water on the southeast side of the trail.

Oak Ridge paramedics from Engine 3 and Rescue 1 began hiking to the incident while the rescue boat responded and was launched from Solway Park boat ramp. The ORFD boat located the patient within 25 minutes of the call, the press release said. [Read more…]

Haw Ridge Park, greenways to be closed during TWRA hunts

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City of Oak Ridge SealHaw Ridge Park and the North Boundary and Gallaher Bend greenways will be closed for hunts in the Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area on several dates starting this weekend, the City of Oak Ridge said.  The closure on Haw Ridge includes the portion of Melton Lake Greenway through the park, from the lake to the parking lot on Edgemoor Road.

The hunts will take place on the following dates:

  • October 31-November 1
  • November 14-15
  • December 12-13

[Read more…]

Harvest Hike on Melton Lake Greenway on Oct. 3

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City of Oak Ridge Harvest Hike

A Harvest Hike on Melton Lake Greenway on October 3 will feature a 4.2-mile “out and back” walk with optional trail hiking.

The hike is scheduled from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, October 3 at Melton Lake Greenway, Phase 4.

The walk path has varied elevations and can accommodate bicycles and strollers.

The hike will start from the Haw Ridge parking area on Edgemoor Road promptly at 9 a.m., organizers said. The hike is sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee and Oak Ridge Schools Coordinated Health.

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ORFD uses boat, cell phone signals to rescue mountain bikers lost at Haw Ridge

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Oak Ridge Fire Department and Haw Ridge Rescue

The Oak Ridge Fire Department used cell phone signals and a search crew in a boat to rescue three lost mountain bikers at Haw Ridge Park on Sunday night.

 

Note: This story was updated at 3:45 p.m. June 15.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department used cell phone signals and a search crew in a boat to rescue mountain bikers lost at Haw Ridge Park after dark on Sunday.

Dispatchers received a call that the three young men were lost at about 10 p.m. Sunday. Three firefighters launched a large rescue boat stored at East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, by about 10:45 p.m. from a boat ramp at Solway Park, which is near Haw Ridge Park.

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said the three had stayed on the trails past sunset and became disoriented.

“Without flashlights, they were unable to find their way back to the parking lot, so they called 911 for assistance,” Kerley said. [Read more…]

Hike for Your Heart at Haw Ridge on Feb. 7

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Haw Ridge Park Parking Lot

Part of the Melton Lake Greenway is pictured above at the Haw Ridge Park parking lot.

 

Oak Ridge city and school officials will kick off Heart Health Month with a walk and hike at Haw Ridge Park on February 7.

Hike for Your Heart is a 4.2-mile walk with optional trail hiking included. It starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, February 7, and the public is invited. The walk and hike has been organized by the City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee and Oak Ridge Coordinated School Health.

The walking path has varied elevations, a press release said. Walkers will leave the Haw Ridge parking area on Edgemoor Road promptly at 9 a.m. February 7. [Read more…]

Local cycling community riding this weekend in honor of Biegalski

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Michael Biegalski Memorial Road Ride

A memorial road ride honoring Michael Biegalski, an avid athlete and Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher, started Sunday morning near Whippoorwill Drive and Wisconsin Avenue.

 

Michael Biegalski

Michael Biegalski was an avid athlete and a research and development staff member at the Center for Nanophase Materials Science at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

The local cycling community is having memorial rides this weekend in honor of Michael Biegalski, an avid athlete and Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher who recently died in a tragic mountain biking accident at Haw Ridge.

On Saturday, top athletes from the community rode the North Boundary and Black Oak Ridge trails.

On Sunday, they’re riding the My Larry/Brushy Mountain “prison loop.” It’s a road ride. Like Saturday’s ride, it will depart from the Westwood neighborhood.

The rides are in memory of Michael, who competed in road, mountain, and cyclocross racing and was passionate about big climbs and endurance riding, Amy Biegalski said. [Read more…]

Man killed in Haw Ridge accident was skilled biker, valuable ORNL researcher

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Michael Biegalski

Michael Biegalski (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:45 p.m. Dec. 23.

The 38-year-old Oak Ridge man who died in what appears to be an accident while mountain biking on Haw Ridge on Saturday is being remembered as a skilled biker and valuable researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Michael David Biegalski, who was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, had been a research and development staff member at the Center for Nanophase Materials Science at Oak Ridge National Laboratory since 2008 and had worked there from 2006 to 2008 as a postdoctoral research associate.

“He was an incredibly valuable person to the center,” CNMS Director Hans Christen said Monday. “A friend of everybody, extremely helpful.”

Other mountain bikers described Biegalski, who was married with two young daughters, as very skilled, and Christen said he was very competitive and raced. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge man dies in apparent biking accident on Haw Ridge

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Michael Biegalski

Michael Biegalski (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:45 p.m. Dec. 23.

An Oak Ridge man died in what appears to be a tragic mountain biking accident at Haw Ridge on Saturday, authorities said.

Two hikers found the body of Michael Biegalski, 38, near a hiking trail at Haw Ridge at about 4:34 p.m. Saturday, Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said.

The hikers met Oak Ridge Police Department officers at a trailhead, and they guided officers to the body, which was about 300 yards from Old Edgemoor Road. The officers confirmed that Biegalski was deceased, and they called the coroner and criminal investigations division to process the area around the accident, Akagi said. The Oak Ridge Fire Department also responded and helped transport the body. [Read more…]

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