Oak Ridge Today

County mayor to host community meeting for Claxton road project

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The Anderson County Mayor’s Office will host a community meeting on July 7 in Claxton, and the public is invited to attend and hear from state road officials about plans to improve Clinton Highway (US 25W) from Edgemoor Road to the Knox County line.

The community meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on July 7 at the Claxton Community Center, 1150 Edgemoor Road. Officials from the Tennessee Department of Transportation will discuss the project in detail as well as gather input from the public. Representative John Ragan and Senator Randy McNally, as well as Claxton Commissioners Tracy Wandell and Chuck Fritts are scheduled to be in attendance.

The proposed project—intended to reduce fatal and injury motor vehicle crashes while improving safety and access along the corridor—will include resurfacing the existing roadway and reconfiguring lane markings to allow dedicated passing areas, a continuous center turn lane, and wider shoulders, a press release said. The project was initiated after a meeting in April 2016 between Anderson County, TDOT, and local and state law enforcement officials. [Read more…]

Two-county car chase ends in crash that injures four in Knox

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Ralpheal Cameron Coffey

Ralpheal Cameron Coffey in 2014 (Source: Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

A two-county car chase that started in Anderson County before being terminated by deputies Wednesday afternoon ended with a two-vehicle crash in Knox County that injured four people, authorities said.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies were looking for Ralpheal Cameron Coffey, 26, around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Claxton area for several outstanding warrants, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. He said Coffey was spotted in a maroon Chevrolet Impala on Edgemoor Road.

“As deputies started to make a vehicle stop on Coffey, he began fleeing toward Clinton Highway on Edgemoor Road,” Lucas said. “Deputies began a pursuit that crossed Clinton Highway onto Raccoon Valley Road and into Knox County. Deputies lost sight of the vehicle as it went under the railroad trestle on Raccoon Valley Road in Heiskell.”

Witnesses pointed out that the vehicle turned southbound onto Heiskell Road toward Powell, Lucas said. But deputies were unable to locate the vehicle and terminated their pursuit. [Read more…]

Knoxville woman dies, Andersonville women injured in crash on Norris Freeway

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A Knoxville woman died and two Andersonville women were injured in a Tuesday morning crash on Norris Freeway at Pedigo Road in north Knox County, authorities said.

The woman who died has been identified as Nellie Gunter, 70, of Knoxville, according to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.

The KCSO said Gunter was driving north on Norris Freeway in a Nissan Versa when she lost control of her car due to the wet road and hit a Buick LeSabre, which was going south. Gunter died at the scene, authorities said.

The Buick was driven by Alice Overdyk, 67, of Andersonville. She and her passenger, Susan Moses, 58, also of Andersonville, were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by Rural Metro. [Read more…]

Man’s body pulled from vehicle submerged in Melton Hill Lake

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Knox County Sheriff Badge

A man’s body was pulled from a vehicle submerged in Melton Hill Lake in west Knox County on Friday evening, authorities said.

The body was pulled out of the vehicle by Knox County Rescue Squad divers.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Crime Unit is investigating the incident. Witnesses told detectives that they saw a white male back up his SUV from the boat ramp, then put the vehicle in drive and accelerate as it reached the water. This happened shortly after 5 p.m. Friday, the Sheriff’s Office said. [Read more…]

Man wanted in Oak Ridge after shooting, crash arrested in Knox

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Larry Dewayne Williams

Larry Dewayne Williams

Note: This story was last updated at 1:21 p.m.

A 28-year-old Oak Ridge man wanted after a September shooting and three-car crash was arrested in Knox County on Sunday, authorities said.

Authorities are waiting for Larry Dewayne Williams, 28, to be transported to Anderson County.

“We’re very, very pleased with that,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said of the arrest, “and we eagerly await his transfer to Anderson County to answer the charges.”

The specific charges haven’t been released yet.

In September, the Oak Ridge Police Department said it seized 49.2 grams of suspected heroin in a West Outer Drive house that is the home of Williams and Chelsea Reign Lively, 22.

The ORPD said it found the drugs, which also included about 7.72 ounces of suspected marijuana, during a search after the September 21 shooting, which was on Wakefield Road, and three-car crash about two hours later at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive.

[Read more…]

Teen pregnancy rates down from 2010-2013 in Anderson, Knox

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Tennessee Teen Pregnancy Map

Tennessee teen pregnancy map. The map is color-coded to reflect which counties have a pregnancy rate exceeding 19.5 per 1,000 females, ages 15-17. The map is based on the most current data, which is from 2013 and published by the Tennessee Department of Health.

 

The teenage pregnancy rate dropped significantly in Anderson and Knox counties between 2010 and 2013, state officials said Thursday. It fell about 41 percent in Anderson County and 36 percent in Knox County.

There was a smaller overall decrease in Roane County 2010 and 2013, but the rate actually increased in 2011 and 2012, compared to 2010.

The teenage pregnancy rate also fell significantly in Morgan and Union counties, but it was up slightly in Campbell and Loudon counties and it more than doubled in Scott County.

The pregnancy rate is per 1,000 females from ages 15-17.

The state average fell each year from 2010 to 2013: [Read more…]

Powell man arrested after SunTrust bank robbery, FBI says

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A Powell man was arrested after an armed bank robbery was reported at the SunTrust Bank at 6632 Clinton Highway in Knoxville on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The robbery was reported at about 1:30 p.m. Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.

Michael James Ward, 43, of Powell, was arrested in Knox County without incident through the joint efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, composed of the FBI, Knoxville Police Department, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and the KPD Violent Crimes Unit.  KCSO patrol officers also assisted with the arrest, a press release said. [Read more…]

Rep. Armstrong to discuss state legislative session on Thursday

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Joe Armstrong

Joe Armstrong

Tennessee Representative Joe Armstrong will discuss the recently ended state legislative session at the Thursday, May 28, dinner meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club. The club will meet at 6 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Power Squadron at 343 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

Armstrong, who represents the 15th House District in Knox County, began his political career in 1982 as a Knox County commissioner. He was elected vice chairman of the Knox County Commission in 1986. In 1988, he sought and won election to the Tennessee General Assembly.

Now serving in his 11th legislative term, Armstrong has served as chair of the House Consumer and Employee Affairs Committee and the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators. Currently, he is chair of the Tennessee Black Health Care Commission, which he helped establish in 1995. [Read more…]

Pilot robbery suspect arrested in Rocky Top

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Walter John Meachum

Walter John Meachum

A Caryville man suspected of robbing a Pilot Travel Center in east Knox County on Tuesday was arrested at a motel in Rocky Top in Anderson County on Wednesday, authorities said.

They said Walter John Meachum, 21, has been charged with aggravated robbery for an alleged armed robbery just before 2 a.m. Tuesday at the Pilot Travel Center at 1915 East Raccoon Valley Road in Knox County.

On Tuesday, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect was armed with a black and silver weapon, according to the initial investigation. Authorities said the suspect fled west on Raccoon Valley Road in a silver convertible with a black top after receiving an undisclosed amount of money from the business. He was described as wearing a skull mask, black hooded jacket, white shirt, and blue jeans at the time of the robbery.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office said Meachum was arrested early Wednesday morning at the Scottish Inn in Rocky Top by its Major Crimes Unit in conjunction with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, and Rocky Top Police Department. As of Wednesday, Meachum was being held at the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility on a $20,000 bond. [Read more…]

Investigation continues, suspect info released in Y-12 FCU kidnapping, extortion

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Oak Ridge Police Department officers and detectives responded to the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Tuesday morning, April 28, for what was later reported to be a kidnapping and extortion plot involving a credit union employee’s family and the Oak Ridge branch of the credit union.

 

Authorities continue to investigate a kidnapping and extortion plot involving the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge last week, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has released some information describing the three suspects.

The alleged kidnapping and extortion started at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, April 28, when a credit union employee’s family was kidnapped from the Whittington Creek neighborhood in west Knox County in an effort to extort money from the credit union, the FBI said in a press release on Wednesday.

“The employee’s family was held at gunpoint for a period of time before being released in the Gettysvue Country Club parking lot in Knoxville, around 9:25 a.m.,” the release said. “Upon being released, the victims were able to seek help from a nearby residence. During the law enforcement response, the suspects fled and remain at large. No injuries were reported, and no money was taken from the credit union.” [Read more…]

Clinton city manager: Presidential visit an honor, cost to city unknown

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City of Clinton, Tennessee

WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today

Clinton City Manager Roger Houck told WYSH Radio in Clinton on Wednesday morning that being chosen for a presidential visit is an honor for a city of Clinton’s size and worth the extra effort that local officials have been making this week.

Houck also talked about how the visit will give national attention to the city, its attractiveness for both companies and potential employees, and even more economic development.

Houck also said that the extra costs to the city associated with the visit, which will not be reimbursed by the White House, are unclear at this time but will be worked out during the next few weeks. [Read more…]

Pellissippi State confirms presidential visit to college, Techmer PM in Clinton

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President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama

 

Pellissippi State Community College has confirmed that President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Biden’s wife Jill will stop at Pellissippi State Community College during their visit to East Tennessee on Friday.

The college confirmed the visit in an announcement posted on its website. The president, vice president, and the vice president’s wife will stop at Pellissippi State in west Knox County to discuss new initiatives that Obama will propose to help Americans go to college and get the skills they need to succeed, the college said.

Afterward, the three will travel to Techmer PM in Clinton to highlight the administration’s efforts to act to create new, well-paying manufacturing jobs, the announcement said. [Read more…]