Oak Ridge Today

Roane: Woody re-elected as county executive; Bowers wins Commission seat

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Ron Woody

Ron Woody

Roane County Executive Ron Woody was re-elected to a third four-year term as county executive on Thursday, and Charlotte Bowers of Oak Ridge won one of two seats on Roane County Commission in District 4, which includes west Oak Ridge.

Woody was first elected to his office in August 2010. On Thursday, he beat challenger David Morgan, a former Roane County property assessor, 8,217 votes to 3,113 (72.52 percent to 27.48 percent). That’s according to unofficial election results reported after all 24 precincts had been counted.

Bowers, the executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County, was one of two Oak Ridge candidates to run for the District 4 seat on Roane County Commission in the August 2 election. The other was Cory Jenkins, general manager at Cumberland Utility District. They were among five candidates who qualified to run in the district.

The other three candidates were from Oliver Springs. They were James W. Brummett, an incumbent, and Thaxton H. “T.H.” Brown Jr. and Jerry W. White.

Brummett, a former chair of the Roane County Commission, was defeated Thursday, finishing third behind Bowers and White, who is also a new commissioner. (There is now a Jerry White on Anderson County Commission, and a Jerry White on the Roane County Commission; they are not the same person.) White has worked at K-25 and Y-12 in Oak Ridge, and he is currently employed providing security for the Roane County Sheriff’s Office at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston. [Read more…]

Two Oak Ridge candidates qualify to run for Roane County Commission

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Two Oak Ridge candidates have qualified to run for two seats in District 4 on the Roane County Commission in the August 2 election.

The two Oak Ridge candidates, Charlotte Bowers and Cory Jenkins, are among five candidates who have qualified to run in the election.

The three other candidates are from Oliver Springs. They are James W. Brummett, an incumbent, and Thaxton H. “T.H.” Brown Jr. and Jerry W. White.

Former Roane County Commissioner Steve Kelley, an Oak Ridge resident, had occupied one of the District 4 seats since 2010, and he had been expected to seek re-election in August. But Kelley died in February. [Read more…]

Mayors, sheriffs also had fraudulent liens filed against them, indictment says

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More public officials, including at least two county mayors and two sheriffs, have been the victims of the allegedly fraudulent liens that led to the indictment announced by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in Nashville on Thursday, after arrests in East Tennessee on Wednesday.

Information about the liens is contained in the 302-count indictment filed in Davidson County on January 20. That indictment came after a one-year investigation by state and federal authorities into fraudulent liens filed by East Tennessee residents. The TBI said 11 people were indicted, and 10 had been arrested as of Thursday afternoon. Seven of those arrested were from Anderson County.

Among the officials that have confirmed that they they were the victims of liens alleged to be fraudulent are Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett and Roane County Executive Ron Woody, and Anderson County Sheriff Paul White and Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton.

Oak Ridge Today has already reported on some of the police officers and law enforcement officials and agencies in Oak Ridge and Anderson County that have been named in the $137 million worth of liens filed by Lee Harold Cromwell, who was one of the 10 people arrested Wednesday.

Other victims named in the 302-count indictment that haven’t previously been identified: Don A. Layton, Daryl R. Fansler, Jimmy Jones, Ronald Nathan Murch, and Steve R. Queener. [Read more…]

Roane sheriff plays role in indictment, conviction of Chattanooga pain clinic owner

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Jack Stockton

Jack Stockton

The Roane County Sheriff’s Department was one of several law enforcement agencies that took part in an investigation that led to the indictment and conviction of the owner of two pain clinics, or “pill mills,” in Chattanooga, authorities said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were also involved in the investigation that led to the convictions of four people, including Barbara Lang, a.k.a. “Aunt Bea,” 60, of Rossville, Georgia, who owned and operated Superior One Pain Clinic and Primary Care Pain Clinic in Chattanooga, federal officials said.

Lang was convicted of drug trafficking and financial crimes. [Read more…]

Yager Chili Supper, Silent Auction set for Nov. 21

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Ken Yager

Ken Yager

The 21st annual Chili Supper and Silent Auction sponsored by State Senator Ken Yager, a Harriman Republican, has been set for Friday, November 21, at Roane State Community College in Harriman. The fundraiser will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. EST, and proceeds from the silent auction will be donated to a local nonprofit organization, this year the Boys and Girls Club.

“The chili supper and silent auction is truly a community event and an opportunity to raise needed funds for a good cause,” Yager said in a press release. “No speeches and great chili make it a perfect event to see old friends and make new ones.”

One attraction is the use of local and state officials as “celebrity servers,” the press release said. This year, the celebrities include Majority Leader Mark Norris, senators Becky Duncan Massey and Mike Bell, and Department of Children’s Services Commissioner Jim Henry. Sheriff Jack Stockton and local mayors are expected to serve as well. [Read more…]

TBI: Roane officers justified in using deadly force

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Information from WYSH Radio

An investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has concluded that the shooting of an armed burglary suspect in Harriman on Tuesday was justified. Officers shot and killed 28-year-old Miranda Michelle Guy inside her home on Fairchild Street on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a joint press release from District Attorney General Russell Johnson, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office, and the Harriman Police Department, Guy pointed a handgun at the officers and was advancing on one of them when they opened fire. The preliminary autopsy showed that Guy was hit multiple times in her right arm, which was holding the gun, and her front torso.

Officials said that while a Harriman Police Department officer was speaking to witnesses of a burglary at a storage building in South Harriman, a white pickup truck drove by that the witnesses identified as the vehicle that the suspect in the break-in had been driving. The release said the officer could see items in the bed of the truck that matched the description of some of the stolen items. The officer ordered the truck to stop, but the driver, who was identified as Guy, sped up and drove away.

The officer started a pursuit, which was joined by a HPD investigator and two Roane County Sheriff’s Department deputies. The four officers followed Guy to her house, where they saw her run inside. The officers split up, with two going to the back of the house while the other two followed Guy inside through the front door. [Read more…]

New Circuit Court clerk winner after Roane recount

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On Thursday, it looked like candidate Sarah E. Stewart had won the election for Roane County Circuit Court clerk.

But there was a new winner after a Friday recount: candidate Ann Goldston, who is now a deputy clerk.

Roane County election officials recounted every vote in Thursday’s state primary and county general election after an early voting memory card that had stored about 1,300 votes was not turned in. Election officials called it a human error.

The recount showed Goldston won 4,876 votes (41.5 percent) to Stewart’s 4,538 (38.6 percent). The earlier results, before the recount, showed a narrow win for Stewart.

Finishing in third in that race in both counts was Marty Miles, who had 2,349 votes (20 percent) in the recount. [Read more…]

Roane County executive, sheriff re-elected

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Ron Woody

Ron Woody

Roane County Executive Ron Woody was elected to a second four-year term on Thursday, and Sheriff Jack Stockton won a third term.

Woody beat former county mayor Mike Farmer, who previously lost to Woody after one term, by a 60 to 40 percent margin. The unofficial vote tally, with all 24 precincts reporting, was 3,388 votes for Woody to 2,237 for Farmer.

Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton coasted to re-election, beating Rockwood Police Department Patrolman Jared Hall by a 78 to 22 percent margin. The vote tally was 4,504 to 1,284, according to the unofficial election results. [Read more…]

Roane candidates discuss DOE funding, airport, DARE, technology

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Roane County Candidate Forum

A large standing-room-only audience attends an election forum for Roane County candidates on Tuesday at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Sara Wise)

 

Roane County candidates in four contested races—county executive, sheriff, circuit court judge, and circuit court clerk—discussed issues ranging from federal funding for U.S. Department of Energy work to anti-drug D.A.R.E. programs in local schools during a standing-room-only forum in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The forum was at Roane State Community College. Freelance reporter Sara Wise covered it for Oak Ridge Today. Here’s a summary of what the candidates said.

County Executive

County executive candidates Mike Farmer and incumbent Ron Woody both attended the forum.

When asked about the Plateau Partnership Park, Farmer said Roane County has “several million dollars” invested in the Roane Regional Business Technology Park. He said that this technology park, as well as the Plateau Partnership Park, is important to the county from an economic standpoint. [Read more…]

Arrests made in aggravated burglary involving 11 guns

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John Edward Farmer

John Edward Farmer

Eric Keith Lane

Eric Keith Lane

Eleven rifles and shotguns were reported missing after an aggravated burglary in Roane County last month, and authorities investigating the case arrested two men on Monday, a press release said.

The alleged burglary occurred Sept. 19 on Collins Road, which is north of Oak Ridge near the intersection of Blair Road and Old Harriman Highway.

The press release said Roane County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Kate Bell and Sgt. Richie Stooksbury were searching for John Farmer in connection with the alleged burglary on Monday when Bell found the vehicle matching the description of the Collins Road incident, Sheriff Jack Stockton said in the release. [Read more…]

Roane authorities arrest two after armed robbery investigation

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Mark Andrew Randolph

Mark Andrew Randolph

Rufena Jean Bunch

Rufena Jean Bunch

Roane County authorities investigating an armed robbery at a gas station on Highway 70 on Friday arrested a Harriman man and Kingston woman on Monday, Sheriff Jack Stockton said.

The alleged robbery occurred at a Rocky Top Market on Bluff Road at Highway 70 at closing time Friday. A white man wearing camouflage clothing entered the store, pointed a handgun at the clerks, and demanded money, Stockton said in a press release. The suspect allegedly left the store with an undetermined amount of money.

On Monday, Roane County Sheriff’s Office deputies, with help from detectives Bryan Walker and Brandon Kittrell, arrested the two suspects without incident, the release said. The Crossville and Kingston police departments also helped. [Read more…]

Boston Marathon: Local runner finishes race, hears explosions, prays for recovery

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Mark Cristy

Oak Ridge resident Mark Cristy was running in the Boston Marathon on Monday when two bombs exploded near the finish line. Cristy was not injured. Above, he runs in a half marathon in New Zealand a few years ago. (Photo courtesy Mark Cristy)

Amy Viars heard the first explosion about 30 minutes after she finished the Boston Marathon on Monday.

It struck her as strange. Then, about 10 seconds later, a second explosion. It seemed out of place. Maybe it was a cannon celebrating Patriots Day or a Red Sox win.

“It just got eerily quiet,” said Viars, a Powell resident who works at Oak Ridge Associated Universities. “Everyone just got eerily silent.”

Amy and her husband James, who was there to cheer her on in her first Boston Marathon, decided to leave. About the time they started walking to their car, a quarter-mile away at the Prudential Center, they began hearing sirens. [Read more…]