Oak Ridge Today

Scott, county commissioner in District 7, running for Charter Commission

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Theresa Scott

Theresa Scott

Anderson County Commissioner Theresa Scott, who represents District 7 in Oak Ridge, is running for Charter Commission in the November 8 election.

In a press release, Scott said she thinks it is extremely important that the representation of Anderson County residents continues to be both non-partisan and knowledgeable of current government processes.

One of the proposals the Anderson County Charter Commission could consider, Scott said, is changing how the county attorney is selected, possibly making it an elected position.

In Tennessee, 91 of 95 counties appoint their county attorney, rather than electing them, Scott said. [Read more…]

Last Applewood Apartments tenant moves out Friday

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The last tenant of the Applewood Apartments on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle moved out Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 8:55 a.m. Oct. 12.

The last tenant of the Applewood Apartments was moving out Friday when Oak Ridge Today stopped by for an update.

Tenants had been told in early August that the apartments would close September 30.

On Monday, property owner Joe Levitt said he decided in the last 90-120 days to shut down the 13 apartment buildings on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle and board them up. He said it was his understanding that the last tenant was moving out this past Friday.

Levitt said he is 85 and has had health problems, and he’s trying to clean up his estate. Most of his estate will probably go to the University of Tennessee and nonprofit organizations, Levitt said.

“I’ve outlived all the people I need to take care of,” he said. [Read more…]

ADFAC receives Tennessee Housing Development Agency grant

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THDA Executive Director Ralph M. Perrey and ADFAC Executive Director Annie Cachiero cut the ribbon on a rehabilitated home on Wainwright Road in Oak Ridge on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (Photo courtesy THDA/Wes Bunch)

 

State officials and local leaders joined Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties in Oak Ridge on Thursday afternoon to help cut the ribbon on a newly renovated home located in the city’s Highland View neighborhood.

The formerly blighted and vacant home was rehabilitated with the help of a $67,410 Housing Trust Fund grant the Tennessee Housing Development Agency awarded ADFAC in 2015. ADFAC obtained the property on Wainwright Road through a donation.

THDA Executive Director Ralph Perrey told those attending the ribbon cutting that it was important for the state to recognize innovative work being done to improve access to affordable housing.

“This project is exactly the kind of work that our Housing Trust Fund grant program was created to assist,” Perrey said. “We are glad to work with partners like ADFAC who continue to have a positive impact on the communities they serve.” [Read more…]

Applewood Apartments will close Sept. 30, tenants told

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Applewood Apartments Hunter Circle Aug 8 2016 1

Tenants at Applewood Apartments have been told the buildings will be closed Sept. 30, 2016, according to a letter they received this weekend. Pictured above is an Applewood Apartments building on Hunter Circle on Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1 a.m. Aug. 9.

Tenants at Applewood Apartments have been told the buildings will be closed September 30, according to a letter they received this weekend.

The letter was from Applewood Apartments owner Joseph J. Levitt Jr., a Knoxville attorney.

Levitt was not available to talk to a reporter on Monday.

The letter told tenants that Levitt, who cited health-related reasons for the closing, was providing them a 60-day notice. [Read more…]

Report: Police arrest felon who possessed AK-47

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Oak Ridge Police Department Logo

Oak Ridge police investigating a disturbance on Tuesday morning arrested a convicted felon who was asleep in a bedroom with an AK-47 rifle within reach, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the Highland View home at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. They had received a report that there was a man in the roadway causing a disturbance and impeding traffic.

When police arrived, the man told officers that he was the victim of an armed robbery that had occurred at the home earlier, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. [Read more…]

Vehicles ram each other, shots fired before police arrest OS man

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David Ramsey Dunlap

David Ramsey Dunlap

A car and a truck rammed each other during a police chase on Wednesday night, and the driver of the sedan fired shots at the truck before he was arrested, authorities said.

It started after Oak Ridge Police Department officers responded to a disturbance at a home in the Hendrix Creek subdivision at about 10:53 p.m. Wednesday, April 29. Officers learned that a man, later identified as David Dunlap Jr., 44, of Oliver Springs, was at the home, armed with a handgun and threatening to harm others, an Oak Ridge press release said.

When officers responded, they learned that Dunlap was at a home in the Highland View neighborhood. Officers then redeployed to that residence, where they encountered two vehicles, a sedan and a truck, on Outer Drive near New York Avenue traveling at a high rate of speed, the press release said.

“As the vehicles approached the responding officers, Dunlap, who was driving the sedan, fired shots at the truck,” the release said. [Read more…]

Neighborhood cleanup focuses on Highland View on May 2

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Keep Anderson County Beautiful T-shirt

Photo submitted by Mare Martell

Help put the unity back in commUNITY at this year’s neighborhood cleanup hosted by the Oak Ridge Police Department Community Resource Office, the Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program, Keep Anderson County Beautiful, and Central Baptist Church.

All participants will rally in the big parking lot of Central Baptist Church at the Hillside Road side. Sign-in and equipment pickup starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 2. The event will run from 9 a.m.-12  p.m. This happens rain or shine.

If you have a particular area on which you prefer to focus your attention, please call one of the contact numbers to arrange for the pickup of the trash-filled bags. (The sign-in and equipment pickup applies even for the people who have special requested a particular area before May 2 by contacting Officer Brandan Sharp or Sharon Crane). [Read more…]

ORFD completes firefighter training in blighted home purchased by city

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Waddell Place Firefighter Training Fire

The Oak Ridge Fire Department finished scientific and training burns on Monday, January 5, 2015, on this blighted house purchased by the City of Oak Ridge on Waddell Place. (Photos by Tom Scott)

 

The Oak Ridge Fire Department completed scientific and training burns on Monday, January 5, on a blighted house on Waddell Place.

The home was in the Highland View neighborhood in north-central Oak Ridge.

The blighted house was recently purchased by the city, which then completed asbestos abatement on the property and removed other items such as shingles, plastics, and other non-wood products to meet Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation standards for live fire training, ORFD Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said. [Read more…]

Letter: We should be in this together

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Note: This is a copy of an August 20 letter sent to city officials.

Dear Mayor Beehan, Mr. Mark Watson, respected Council Members,

I’ve written to you several times in the past regarding the implementation of community gardens in, or rather starting in, the Highland View neighborhood, where I currently reside. Because of my desire to help eliminate hunger in my community, you appointed me to the Anderson County Community Action Commission, which I’ve accepted as a great honor.

My sole focus was on getting food, easy sustainable food, into this area so that families, despite their circumstances, could build something together which, in turn, would increase the sense of community and bonding that comes with dirt under the fingernails and a cold beer after for those old enough.

It is with regret that I inform you that the grant we’d hoped so fervently for from the Lowe’s Community program did not go through. We are, instead, sitting on an acre-and-a-half of land that could have been centrally located, cleared for the sole purpose of raised gardens being built and established, educating anyone that wanted to learn about gardening food, the installation of fruit trees to add better variety to the tables more commonly filled with processed foods, and the naive ideal of success. [Read more…]

Letter: Scott would provide ‘strong voice, positive change’ on County Commission

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Theresa Scott

Theresa Scott

To the Editor:

I am writing to extend my support of Theresa Scott for County Commission for District 7, which includes Highland View, Pine Valley, and Glenwood precincts.

Although I do not live in Ms. Scott’s district, I am certain she will represent and work hard for all of Oak Ridge as one of our county commissioners. Through her years of employment, she brings extensive paralegal, management, and financial experience that qualifies her to deal with many issues that our commission faces.

Other candidates have touted the fact that they are “from and/or live in Oak Ridge” as making them more qualified. I believe the fact that she chose to purchase a “B” house in Oak Ridge while employed in Knoxville 10 years ago is evidence of her dedication to our city and county. Theresa continues to reside in that same house.

Theresa does not just “talk the talk,” she also “walks the walk” through her many volunteer involvements in our community. She has been very active in the city’s neighborhood Watch Program; our Secret City, Lavender, and Earth Day festivals; and the huge Cedar Hill Park rebuild project, just to name a few. [Read more…]

2014 Election: Commission candidates talk ouster, taxes

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During a forum earlier this month, a half-dozen Oak Ridge candidates running for Anderson County Commission said they support the county’s law director, the defendant in a controversial ouster suit, while four others said they are reserving judgement.

A few candidates said the county’s property tax rate ought to be lowered, while others argued that officials have done a good job of holding the rate as low as possible.

Several agreed that the county needs to work on attracting more jobs, affordable housing, and retail.

All five of the incumbents seeking re-election in Oak Ridge’s three County Commission districts face challengers in the August 7 election. Voters will elect two commissioners in each district.

The most crowded race is District 7, where incumbent Jerry Creasey is seeking re-election but Commissioner John Shuey is not. There are six candidates in that race. Besides Creasey, they include Jimmy Bouchard, Mike Marsh, Denny Phillips, Kevin Rice, and Theresa Scott.

District 7 includes the Glenwood, Highland View, and Pine Valley voting precincts in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Steve Fritts seeks re-election to Anderson County School Board

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Steve Fritts

Steve Fritts

Steve Fritts is seeking re-election to the Anderson County School Board in District 7, which includes the Pine Valley, Glenwood, and Highland View precincts in Oak Ridge.

Fritts, who has lived in the district since his youth, was first elected in 2010, a press release said.

Fritts graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1967, and he was an All-State football player, the release said. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in history. Fritts also served as captain of the Vanderbilt Commodore football team in the early ’70s.

Fritts worked as a carpenter until his retirement and was a member of Local 50. [Read more…]