Oak Ridge Today

City buys, demolishes blighted home in Woodland

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South Purdue Avenue Home Demolition

A work crew demolishes a blighted home on South Purdue Avenue in Woodland on Thursday. (Photos courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Matt Widner)

 

The city of Oak Ridge bought a blighted home at the corner of Northwestern and South Purdue avenues in April and demolished it on Thursday, June 26.

“It was in really bad shape,” Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said. “This one was past saving.”

The home, which had been vacant, was extremely contaminated and dirty inside, and there were problems with every system in the small, single-story house, including the electrical and heating and cooling systems, said Matt Widner, Oak Ridge Community Development housing specialist. The ceilings were collapsing.

“It was a mess,” Widner said.

The straw-covered quarter-acre lot is now vacant. Before the demolition, a yard sign said the project was “Turning Blight into Right.” [Read more…]

Auto repair business owner running for Anderson County Commission

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Mike Marsh

Mike Marsh

Michael Marsh is running for Anderson County Commission in District 7 in the Aug. 7 county election. His District 7 voting precincts include Glenwood, Pine Valley, and Highland View.

In a press release, Marsh said the commission has made many contributions during the last 28 years.

“I feel with an open seat in District 7 now is the time to bring fresh ideas and new strategies to our county,” he said in the press release.

Marsh said county officials must work together to reduce taxes and attract new jobs and affordable housing, tourism, and opportunities for small family-run businesses. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge: 4,000 lose power, 70 homes damaged

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Wadsworth Circle Home Tree

One of two trees that fell on a home on West Wadsworth Circle. The second tree, visible on the ground in the background, punched a hole in the roof and displaced a mother, grandmother, and two children.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2:40 p.m.

Roughly 4,000 customers lost power in the Tuesday evening storm, and about 70 damaged homes will require repairs by an electrician before power can be restored, an Oak Ridge official said Wednesday morning.

Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs said he doesn’t recall ever having 70 homes damaged in one storm, although the Electric Department has experienced worse storms when many utility poles were broken. But the brief, fierce Tuesday storm, which brought severe winds and driving rain, was significant in terms of its damage to homes and its far-reaching nature, from Blair Road on the west end of town to east Oak Ridge and beyond—into Clinton and Anderson County, Suggs said.

“It was pretty widespread,” Suggs said.

Janet Bowker on Plymouth Circle and Storm Debris

Janet Bowker, left, walks through debris on Plymouth Circle in front of her home, where a tree fell into her bedroom during the Tuesday evening storm. Her home is at right but not visible in this picture. There were no injuries, but Bowker does not have power now.

 

The storm, which ripped through Oak Ridge at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, left a trail of debris: scattered branches and limbs, broken trees, fallen power lines, and damaged buildings and homes. It also triggered a flood of calls to the city’s 911 call dispatch center.

About 500 customers remained without power around noon Wednesday, including the 70 damaged homes. [Read more…]

Kevin Rice running for Anderson County Commission in District 7

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Kevin Rice

Kevin Rice

Kevin Rice, an Oak Ridge High School graduate, is running for Anderson County Commission in District 7, which includes the Highland View, Glenwood, and Pine Valley precincts, a press release said.

Rice has served on the Anderson County Jail Committee and now serves on the Anderson County Beer Board, the press release said. He also volunteers as a Neighborhood Watch block captain and as a district leader for the Watch Group in the Jackson Square area.

Rice is a member of the Oak Ridge Quarterback Club, Football Boosters, and Oak Ridge Boys and Girls Club Alumni. He is also a member of the Anderson County Underage Drinking Task Force.

Rice said his goal as a commissioner is to cut taxes by recruiting high-tech jobs, small businesses, hotels, and tourism.

“The potential for increased tourism in the county is abundant,” Rice said. “However, added attractions would be beneficial to the city and county in many ways. Our young people, as well as our treasured senior citizens, need a variety of activities to keep Anderson County the best choice to work and live, now and in the future.” [Read more…]

Theresa Scott to seek election to Anderson County Commission in District 7

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Theresa Scott

Theresa Scott

Theresa Scott has announced her candidacy for Anderson County Commission in District 7. The seat is non-partisan and represents the Highland View, Pine Valley, and Glenwood precincts.

Having run previously in 2010, Scott said in a press release that she has been strongly encouraged by community residents to run again for County Commission.

“I am very humbled to see that people in my district continue to show their approval for me to step into this position. I want to be their choice,” Scott said in the release. “My platform remains the same—speaking up for and on behalf of the residents, taxpayers, homeowners, and voters of my district.” [Read more…]

Board orders demolition of five homes in Highland View

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117 Wade Lane Home

A city board on Thursday declared this home at 117 Wade Lane to be unfit for human habitation and ordered it demolished within 90 days.

Note: This story was updated at 11:40 p.m.

From the outside, the homes look they’re in decent shape and not the worst in the neighborhood.

But inside and underneath, problems range from collapsing floors and settling foundations to leaking roofs and tens of thousands worth of mold damage.

On Thursday, a city board declared the five vacant homes to be unfit for human habitation, and members ordered them demolished within 90 days. The city could use federal money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to buy and demolish the homes. [Read more…]

Spotlight: Neighborhood Watch cleanup in Highland View

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Highland View Neighborhood Watch Cleanup

From left to right are Sharon Crane, Oak Ridge Community Resource Officer Brandan Sharp, Theresa Scott, Kenny Crane, and Neighborhood Watch Program President Brad Stephenson. (Submitted photos)

Submitted

Despite heavy rain Saturday, about 21 volunteers turned out to clean up trash in Highland View.

Here are two pictures provided by resident Theresa Scott, pictured at center in the photo at left.

Scott said Pizza Inn provided several pizzas for the volunteers, who also included Pat Imperato, Jerry Creasey, Whitey Hitchcock, Kay Williamson, and Mare Martell. [Read more…]

Highland View spring cleanup on Saturday

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The Highland View Neighborhood Watch will have a spring cleanup on Saturday morning. It’s scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, and volunteers can sign in at the Oak Ridge Children’s Museum.

“Join us as we work toward making our neighborhood something to be proud of,” a flyer said. “From Highland Avenue to Illinois and side streets, we’re conquering the accumulated trash and garbage. The more participants, the easier and faster we get to enjoy spring in our home neighborhood.”

The flyer said the goal is to eliminate garbage along West Outer. [Read more…]

Letter: Let’s help Applewood residents displaced by fire

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On Thanksgiving Day, an electrical fire broke out at the Applewood Apartments in the Highland View neighborhood. Eighteen people were displaced from their apartments while most of us were enjoying rich feasts with friends and families. Although the Red Cross was able to find these people temporary housing, they asked for help to meet the need of meals for these families.

On Monday morning checkout time, these families may be able to return to their apartments or they may have no place to go until the repairs are made to the electrical system of their building. The Red Cross representative said that because of the holiday and because many of these people couldn’t afford to have heat during this cold snap, they were able to extend the amount of care they could normally give. However, that will be ending and reaching beyond the scope of what they can further do during this emergency. [Read more…]

Council approves expansion of residential rental inspection district

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Rental Property in Manhattan District Overlay

Rental properties in the Manhattan District Overlay could be registered and regularly inspected under a proposal unanimously approved in the first of two readings by the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday. The rental properties are pictured in red above. (Image courtesy of Oak Ridge city staff)

The ordinance was already on the books, and on Monday, city officials agreed to expand the area where inspections of rental homes are allowed to include most of the center of the city.

The expanded residential inspection district, which had originally applied to the Highland View Redevelopment Area, could include about 1,700 rental units.

The Oak Ridge City Council unanimously endorsed the expansion during a Monday night meeting. [Read more…]

Council considers electronic signs, land bank, rental inspections

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Oak Ridge City Council

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider new regulations for electronic signs, expanding the city’s residential rental inspection district, and creating the first-ever land bank in Tennessee.

Oak Ridge officials could prohibit animated electronic signs, expand the city’s residential rental inspection district to include about 1,700 homes, and officially set up an Oak Ridge Land Bank Corp. during a Monday night meeting.

The Oak Ridge City Council will also consider approving contracts with economic development consultant Ray Evans and state lobbyist Bill Nolan, and terminating the lease on the building that once housed the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic on Badger Road. Now partially empty, the split-level two-story building still houses the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association, and city officials said they haven’t decided what to do with it yet.

The Monday night City Council meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge officials reconsider residential rental inspections

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Rental Property in Manhattan District Overlay

Rental properties in the Manhattan District Overlay could be registered and regularly inspected under a proposal being considered by Oak Ridge officials. The rental properties are pictured in red above. (Image courtesy of Oak Ridge city staff)

Oak Ridge officials are reconsidering a proposal that would allow them to inspect rental homes as part of a program to combat property blight and substandard housing.

It’s been considered before and the Oak Ridge City Council has approved an ordinance establishing the program, but it’s never been implemented, Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said Monday.

Now, the city staff has proposed expanding the program from the Highland View neighborhood to the larger Manhattan District Overlay, which includes Highland View and a swath of properties north of Oak Ridge Turnpike from East Drive in east Oak Ridge to Bryn Mawr Circle in west Oak Ridge. The MDO also includes properties in the Woodland, Scarboro, and Burnham Woods neighborhoods. [Read more…]