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Third Annual First Responders Appreciation Day is Saturday

Posted at 2:52 pm October 2, 2017
By Becky Hodge Leave a Comment

Flags are pictured above at the First Responders Appreciation Day in 2016. (Submitted photo)

Flags are pictured above at the First Responders Appreciation Day in 2016. (Submitted photo)

 

The First Responders Appreciation Committee of Oak Ridge will present the Third Annual First Responders Appreciation Day on Saturday, October 7, in the parking lot of Swifty’s Atomic Bar and Grill in Oak Ridge. The event begins at 2 p.m., a press release said.

“This year’s event will be much larger than last year!” the press release said. “We will have a waterslide for the kids, free food provided by Sysco Foods, and music. We’ll also have booths featuring DotDotSmile; Handmade Wreaths; Honey Pots; The Mystic Orb jewelry; National Martial Arts; Outta the Attic; Paparazzi Jewelry; Plum Crazy Boutique; and SET Guns and Range.

“Most importantly, we will be honoring all local area first responders to include law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and emergency medical services personnel. We will read a roll call of the fallen police, firefighters, and EMS in 2017 and have a candlelight vigil to honor their memory.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: First Responders Appreciation Committee of Oak Ridge, First Responders Appreciation Day, Jack Mansfield, Jim Dodson, John Ragan, Randy McNally, Rick Chinn, Swifty's Atomic Bar and Grill, Terry Frank, Third Annual First Responders Appreciation Day, William Jones

Pay cited most often as reason for ORPD turnover, low morale, MTAS report says

Posted at 8:05 pm October 15, 2015
By John Huotari 23 Comments

Margaret Norris and Rex Barton of MTAS on Oct. 15, 2015

Margaret Norris, left, and Rex Barton of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee deliver the results of a six-month review of the Oak Ridge Police Department to City Council on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m. Oct. 16.

It probably wasn’t the explanation that many expected, but pay was cited most often as the reason for turnover and low morale in the Oak Ridge Police Department, according to a report released Thursday.

Some have pinned most of the blame for the department’s woes—or perceived woes, depending upon your perspective—on Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi, and they had called for an investigation of the chief earlier this year on several different fronts.

Among those pressing for an investigation was Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn. She and others had raised questions about the chief’s temperament, including whether he has outbursts and is vindictive, and what Baughn suggested is a high turnover rate.

But the City Council instead approved a review of the ORPD that focused on morale, turnover, and administrative policies. In March, Council hired the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee to conduct the six-month review, which was first proposed by Council member Kelly Callison. MTAS presented its findings in a 20-page report presented to the Oak Ridge City Council in a special work session on Thursday.

The report identified a primary culprit familiar to many workers: pay. But as officers have pointed out, they, unlike most other workers, face danger on a daily basis.

Most of those interviewed by MTAS thought that ORPD salaries are not suitable for retaining good employees, MTAS consultant Rex Barton told Council members Thursday. Whatever raises have been given in the past few years have been outstripped by the rise in the cost of benefits, Barton said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: administrative policies, Charlie Hensley, City Council, Jack Mansfield, Jim Akagi, John Criswell, Kelly Callison, Margaret Norris, morale, MTAS, Municipal Technical Advisory Service, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, Rex Barton, Tasha Blakney, Trina Baughn, turnover, University of Tennessee, UT

Police chief denies wrongdoing, no reason for investigation, attorney says

Posted at 9:55 am February 9, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Tasha Blakney

Tasha Blakney

Note: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m.

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi denies any wrongdoing related to the concerns publicly raised in the past two weeks about the Police Department and his leadership, attorney Tasha Blakney said.

“The chief denies that he has been engaged in any wrongdoing at all,” said Blakney, who represents the chief. “Based on my review, I don’t see any reason for an investigation.”

But Akagi will respect the decision of the City Council, assuming the proper process is followed, and he will cooperate with the Council’s decision, Blakney said.

“The chief will respond to whatever City Council requires of him,” she said.

The investigation has been requested by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn. It’s on the agenda for tonight’s meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Christopher Bayless, David Beams, grievance, investigation, Jack Mansfield, Jim Akagi, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Municipal Building, Oak Ridge Police Department, order of protection, Tasha Blakney, Trina Baughn, turnover

Former officers ask for investigation, hearing of officers’ concerns

Posted at 7:23 pm February 8, 2015
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Oak Ridge City Council November 2014

Four former Oak Ridge police officers have asked the City Council to investigate some of the concerns recently raised about the Police Department and its chief, or to hear the concerns of officers. The City Council will consider what to do next during its regular meeting on Monday. Pictured above from right in November 2014 are Kelly Callison, Charlie Hensley, Rick Chinn, Mayor Warren Gooch, Chuck Hope, Trina Baughn, and Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Smith. (File photo)

 

Four former Oak Ridge police officers have asked the City Council to investigate some of the concerns recently raised about the Police Department and its chief, or to hear the concerns of officers.

The officers were responding to recent news reports about the police department and concerns raised about its turnover rate, as well as alleged policy violations included in a mid-January grievance filed by former Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Christopher Bayless. A few also cited letters written to the media by former Police Chief David Beams and former Lieutenant Jack Mansfield.

The officers expressed a range of concerns that include the alleged policy violations by Police Chief Jim Akagi and a Blount County order of protection in effect from April 2012 to June 2013, questions about the turnover rate and the chief’s leadership, and decisions about promotions, spending, and weapons. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Blount County, Charlie Hensley, Chris Carden, Christopher Bayless, David Beams, Jack Mansfield, Jim Akagi, Kelly Callison, leadership, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Police Department, order of protection, Randy Myers, Tasha Blakney, Trina Baughn, turnover

Baughn asks for investigation of police chief; Hensley seeks reprimand of Baughn

Posted at 6:48 pm February 3, 2015
By John Huotari 15 Comments

Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

Charlie Hensley

Charlie Hensley

Note: This story was updated at 7:08 p.m.

On one hand is Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn. She’s called for an investigation of the police chief.

On the other is City Council member Charlie Hensley. He wants the seven-member Council to reprimand Baughn.

It’s not clear which side, if either, will prevail during the Monday night meeting of the Oak Ridge City Council.

The two Council members, who have a strained relationship, have dueling resolutions that could be considered on Monday. Either one would require a second from another Council member to be discussed and four votes to be approved.

Both resolutions follow more than one week of accusations and allegations that have roiled and divided the community. They have focused, in particular, on the management of the Oak Ridge Police Department by Chief Jim Akagi and raised questions about the turnover rate and whether it is high. Some of the most blistering criticisms have come from former Oak Ridge Police Chief David Beams, who said he still visits the city. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Government, Meetings and Events, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Blount County Circuit Court, Board of Education, Bobby Hill, Charlie Hensley, Christopher Bayless, City Council, David Beams, investigation, Jack Mansfield, Jim Akagi, Ken Krushenski, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge City Charter, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Police Department, order of protection, police chief, rebuke, recruiting firm, reprimand, resolution, Trina Baughn

Traffic Safety, Environmental Advisory board member running for City Council

Posted at 9:42 pm October 24, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Aditya "Doc" Savara

Aditya “Doc” Savara

Aditya “Doc” Savara, a member of two city boards, is running for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 4 municipal election.

In a press release, Savara said he has been involved in local politics during the past two years and served on the Traffic Safety Advisory Board and the Environmental Quality Advisory Board. Savara said he has attended and commented during public comment periods at City Council meetings, is knowledgeable about the issues facing the city, and has been vocal about them.

“In 2012-2013, an ordinance came before Oak Ridge City Council regarding whether property owners Jack and Myra Mansfield could build a single home on their property in a neighborhood zoned as R1, for single-family dwellings,” Savara said in the release. “Adjacent homeowners asserted property values would drop if the Mansfields were allowed to build a home on the open space. I pointed out that the neighbors could have bought the open property themselves if they wanted to keep it as open space. I stated that the neighbors didn’t want to buy the cow, but wanted to have the milk for free, and that it was not too late for the neighbors to make the Mansfields a fair offer. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2014 Election, Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Aditya "Doc" Savara, apartments, Board of Education, Centennial Golf Course, City Council, Doc Savara, economy, Environmental Quality Advisory Board, golf course, incentives, Jack Mansfield, lease, manufacturing, Myra Mansfield, Northwestern University, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, open space, recycling, retail, shopping centers, strip malls, taxes, teaching, Traffic Safety Advisory Board

Myra Mansfield running for County Commission in District 8

Posted at 10:52 am June 1, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Myra Mansfield

Myra Mansfield

Myra Mansfield has announced she is running to serve as an Anderson County Commissioner for District 8 in Oak Ridge. The district includes the Emory Valley, Hendrix Creek, and Woodland voting precincts.

Mansfield is a native Oak Ridger who grew up in the district where she is asking to serve, a press release said. She attended Woodland Elementary School, Jefferson Middle School, and is a graduate of Oak Ridge High School. After high school, she received an associate degree in accounting and a bachelor degree in business management. Later in life, she returned to school to receive her master’s degree while studying counseling.

The release said Mansfield has invested her adult life in business and nonprofit leadership, government and community service, parenting, writing, and public speaking. As a hobby, she has been involved in numerous multimedia projects. She loves history and historical research. Over the years, she found herself being offered a series of opportunities to use her leadership skills to bring positive transition to organizational structure, the release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2014 Election, Anderson County, Government, Top Stories Tagged With: American Red Cross, Anderson County Commission, Anderson County Domestic Violence Task Force, Anderson County Drug Court, Anderson County Preschool, best practices, business management, chaplain, Choices Resource Center, Contact CareLine, cooperation, counseling, District 8, Emory Valley, Hendrix Creek, Jack Mansfield, Myra Mansfield, Oak Ridge Ministerial Association, Oak Ridge Schools, taxes, Woodland

Lunch and Learn on Friday to focus on local legend John Hendrix

Posted at 10:29 am February 5, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Jack Mansfield

Jack Mansfield

A Lunch ‘n Learn at the Oak Ridge Senior Center on Friday will focus on local legend John Hendrix, known to some as “The Prophet of Oak Ridge.”

The presentation is titled “Who is John Hendrix—and what does he have to do with you?” Oak Ridge resident Jack Mansfield will present an impersonation of Hendrix.

The Lunch ‘n Learn is scheduled from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday at the Oak Ridge Senior Center. Living Water Christian Fellowship will provide hamburgers and hotdogs for the event. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News Tagged With: D. Ray Smith, Jack Mansfield, John Hendrix, Lunch 'n Learn, Oak Ridge Senior Center, Prophet of Oak Ridge

Faith column: Change the world like it really matters

Posted at 5:30 am September 23, 2013
By Myra Mansfield Leave a Comment

What an amazing sight! A middle-aged woman and a man sitting at a picnic table surrounded by fascinated young people all listening attentively to what she was saying. I wanted to go over there but didn’t. I waited to see what would be said afterward.

Revonna has had visions. You might ask, “Visions? Were they about the past? The present? The future?” The answer is yes. They are as ancient as the earth and as modern as tomorrow. These kids wanted to hear about it.

We don’t do church like everyone else. We didn’t even mean to start a church, and I’m not sure we should even call it a church. One night with seven people present, after three hours of nothing but prayer and scripture, suddenly the Holy Spirit broke in and spoke to us that we were to meet in our basement on Sunday morning, and have Rich Bean bring the message. We were shocked honestly because none of us had talked about it. Rich didn’t even answer whether he would do it or not. One woman said, “Yes, please.” I responded as any gracious hostess would, though tentatively, “Ok.” Everyone then left. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: change, church, faith, freedom, God, Holy Spirit, indoors, Jack Mansfield, Jesus, Living Water Fellowship, Myra Mansfield, Oak Ridge, outside, Revonna Bean, Rich Bean, worship

Faith column: Vet battles addictions, turns to faith in jail

Posted at 12:33 pm November 4, 2012
By Oak Ridge Today Faith Columns Leave a Comment

Note from the authors: One of the important ministries of the faith community is to follow the words of the Bible and “visit those who are imprisoned.” Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chaplains Clyde Drummond and Jack Mansfield, who conduct a weekly Bible study in the local jail, have submitted the following testimony of one inmate who has turned his life toward faith. It has been edited for clarity.

I was raised a church kid, the oldest child of six children. We didn’t have a lot of material wealth, but my parents loved us and wanted to raise us right. I was the athletic type and sports seemed important, until one very important moment in my life. It was the moment I met the most beautiful woman I had ever seen—my future wife.

She and I dated off and on for seven years before we were finally married. I was 24 years old, and she was 22. I got a job at a local factory and we were faithful to church. We were ready for a child, and there she came. It seemed like we had the perfect life, but for some reason it wasn’t enough.

So I decided we would start our own business. I had done some roofing so it made the most sense to make my living that way. The business started really well, but there still was something not right.

Soon the bubble burst, and a lot of people went out of business including us. Eventually we ran out of money, and we wound up living with relatives. I decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. I called the local recruiter and told them I needed in the Army as soon as possible.

Two weeks later, I was in basic training. I was a good soldier, and I went into combat. Though I survived, I experienced about every human emotion possible during this time.

When I got back, I began to have problems. I began drinking myself to sleep every night. When that became too much for my family, I looked for something that might work better—I found pills. Pills allowed me to keep my addiction while ignoring reality around me. What I really needed was what I was running from the hardest—God!

Eventually, pills didn’t satisfy either. So I started shooting up. I was a junkie. The needle soon landed me in the hospital on my death bed. I had a bacterial staph infection in my blood stream, and it was attacking my heart.

After spending some time in the hospital and barely surviving, I made a profession of faith, or so I thought. What I really did was just realize that I had gone from bad to worse and that I needed to do better. I didn’t really surrender to God, still thinking I was going to be able to make it without God. It didn’t take but a couple of months and I was right back on the needle. In a desperate attempt to find a less noticeable drug, I went to meth.

Meth made me feel like superman. My wife and I by this time had another little girl, and our family was being destroyed by my addictions. We separated, and I went to live with my dope man.

Not long after that, he went to jail. His girlfriend invited me to stay with her. That was a horrible idea. It only took a couple of weeks before she taught me all I needed to know about cooking dope. I was making meth and loving it. We had also started a relationship.

This went on for six months and I did a good job of hiding from my wife what was really going on. She thought I was staying with a friend trying to get my life straightened out. She had absolutely no idea what was really going on.

One of my buddies came into the mix, pushing everything downhill even worse. He went on a bad trip and got arrested. I had a lot of confidence in this guy and thought he would never tell the truth, but he did.

The cops showed up. They really showed up too. There were cops everywhere. The whole road was full of cops. As soon as I saw them the first thought I had was that God had finally released His judgment on me.

Later, when I arrived at the jail, they walked me to my cell, and the first thing I noticed was an old worn-out piece of Bible staring straight at me. I was so afraid of what God had to say that I couldn’t even look at that Bible. I knew that God was finished with me. When they closed the door, my cell turned into what felt like a three-day long cage match with God.

On the third day, one of the detectives came and got me. I was relieved to get out of that cell away from that Bible. I was in utter torment over all I had done. The jail had even sent chaplains in to talk with me. Later, they told me I was as suicidal as anyone they had ever met. The only reason I decided not to end it was that I knew I deserved to pay for what I had done, and I didn’t want to get my guilty verdict from God.

Well, as the detective started questioning me, I stopped him and said: “Look, you’ve got me. I’m guilty.” I told him everything he needed to know. He was amazed at how easy it was. As soon as we were done, I asked to call my wife just to tell her what she would have to look forward to and to give her a chance to tell me off. He agreed.

I called and told her what the detective told me would happen to me. Then she asked me the hardest question that I’ve ever been asked in my life. She asked if I was in a relationship with the other woman. Without hesitation I said, “No.” Then I thought back to all the lies I’ve told this woman. I realized she deserved the truth at least once. So I took it back and said, “Yes, yes we were in a relationship.”

She was devastated. I held the phone as she cried asking why. I couldn’t even say I was sorry because I was so ashamed of myself.

Then there was silence on the phone. I waited for her to tell me never to contact her again or something even worse. Then she said something that I will never forget. She said: “You have hurt me worse than anyone ever has, and it will take a long time to ever trust you again. But I still love you.”

I was shocked. After all I had done to this woman, all the pain and hurt, she still loved me. “How can she?” I thought. I broke down right there.

We got off the phone, and they took me back to my cell. On the way back to my cell I thought to myself, “If she can still love me, maybe God can too. Maybe, just maybe, I’m not finished.”

When I got back in my cell, I all but dove on that Bible that I had hidden from. I held it and said: “OK, God. Is there still hope for me?” Then I opened the Bible and looked down at the page where I read these words: “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

I fell on my face right there and accepted Christ, realizing He still loved me just as my wife did. He didn’t want to condemn me; He wanted to save me! I couldn’t believe it. I was now suddenly the most loved person on earth, even after what I had done.

God is so very good! The same chaplains saw me about a week later, and I was so different that I had to tell them who I was. God had worked a miracle in my heart, and I’m eternally grateful. Now I have work to do, and that work is to tell others the good news of what Jesus Christ can do for them too. May God have His will and way in all our lives. Forgiveness is there. All we have to do is realize our need of it.

Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: addictions, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Bible, chaplains, Clyde Drummond, combat, faith, God, inmate, Jack Mansfield, jail, Jesus Christ

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AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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