Oak Ridge Today

Police identify drivers in fatal car-motorcycle crash

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The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the two drivers in a fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue on Sunday evening.

The motorcycle was operated by Rufus E. Shephard III, 44, of Oak Ridge, authorities said. The car was driven by Noelle L. Patty, 29, also of Oak Ridge.

The Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle was northbound on North Illinois Avenue when it collided with the car, a Cadillac STS, at the western entrance to the Westcott Center, the Kroger shopping center, at about 5:40 p.m. Sunday, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

Shephard died from his injuries, the release said. [Read more…]

Police: Motorcyclist dies in two-vehicle crash on North Illinois Avenue

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North-Illinios-Avenue-Crash-Jan-31-2016-1

Authorities said a motorcyclist died in a collision with a car on North Illinois Avenue at the western entrance to the Kroger shopping center at about 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016. Above, the Oak Ridge Police Department and Clinton Police Department reconstruct the crash. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:23 p.m.

A motorcyclist died in a collision with a car on North Illinois Avenue on Sunday evening, authorities said.

The collision between a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle and Cadillac STS four-door sedan was reported at about 6 p.m. Sunday, Oak Ridge Police Department Deputy Chief Robin Smith said.

Smith said he didn’t immediately have details on whether the driver of the car was injured.

The crash occurred on North Illinois Avenue between Oak Ridge Turnpike and Ivanhoe Road, at the western entrance to Westcott Center, the Kroger shopping center.
[Read more…]

North Illinois closed near Kroger as police investigate car-motorcycle crash

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North-Illinois-Avenue-Crash-Reconstruction-Kelly-Smith-Jan-31-2016

Oak Ridge Police Department Lt. John Kelly, left, and Clinton Police Department Officer Max Smith reconstruct a car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue at the western entrance to Kroger on Sunday evening, Jan. 31, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

A short stretch of North Illinois Avenue is closed north of Oak Ridge Turnpike, at the western entrance to Kroger, as police investigate a Sunday evening crash between a car and a motorcycle.

The closure was reported at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The closure affects both the northbound and southbound lanes between Oak Ridge Turnpike and Ivanhoe Road.

The crash involved a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle and a Cadillac STS four-door sedan. [Read more…]

Free Christmas Day dinner at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

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ORUUC-Stone-Soup-Ministry-Team-December-2015

Members of the ORUUC Stone Soup Ministry team are ready to prepare a special free Community Christmas Day Dinner on Friday, December 25. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church has a free Christmas Day Dinner on Friday, December 25, and everyone is invited, a press release said.

The menu includes Honey Baked Ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, dessert, and fruit.

Dine in or take-out will be available in the ORUUC Social Hall from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday, the press release said.

The church is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Mr. K’s could close at end of October or in November

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Mr. K's Used Books and CDs on Oct. 16, 2015

An exact closing date hasn’t been set yet, but Mr. K’s Used Books and CDs will probably close at the end of October or in November, the owners said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

An exact closing date hasn’t been set yet, but Mr. K’s Used Books and CDs will probably close at the end of October or in November, the owners said Friday.

Co-owners Kaveh and Mary Dabir, who are husband and wife, said their revenues are down since Kroger moved from its store next door at the South Illinois Avenue shopping center to a new shopping center at Oak Ridge Turnpike and North Illinois Avenue in June 2014.

The Dabirs said they kept Mr. K’s open for a year after Kroger moved to see if they could make it work, but foot traffic has been down.

The closure doesn’t have anything to do with electronic books, Mary Dabir said. [Read more…]

ORUUC free community meal is Friday

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The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is inviting everyone to a free community meal on Friday, May 29.

The Stone Soup Ministry team will be serving a homemade meal of meatball and spaghetti soup, garlic bread, lemon bars, and fruit. Dine-in or take-out will be available in the ORUUC Social Hall from 5 to 6 p.m. The church is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

Some nonperishable family friendly groceries will be available for free to anyone in need, a press release said. [Read more…]

Photos: Demolition of Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

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Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Sanctuary Demolition

Workers demolished the former Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Robertsville Road on Monday. Pictured above at right is the stone-and-glass west end of the sanctuary. (Photos by Peter Scheffler)

 

Workers demolished the former Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Robertsville Road on Monday. The congregation has moved to a new church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike, on the north side of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, home to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

Church members agreed in September 2012 to sell their former site, which they had used for almost six decades, to make way for a new Kroger Marketplace shopping center.

The new UU church was dedicated in October. [Read more…]

More than 8,000 cubic feet of natural gas leaked into former Kroger on Tuesday

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Kroger Gas Leak and ORFD and ORUD

Businesses around the former Kroger grocery store on South Illinois Avenue were evacuated on Tuesday afternoon after a gas leak was reported.

 

If it had exploded, the 8,500 cubic feet of natural gas that leaked into the former Kroger grocery store on South Illinois Avenue on Tuesday could have had a devastating impact on the shopping center and blown out windows in nearby businesses, possibly even across the street, a city official said Wednesday.

“Had it exploded, we would have been on national news,” Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. “It could have been devastating for all the businesses in that complex.”

Authorities suspect that the gas slowly flowed into the 30,000-square-foot grocery store starting Tuesday morning through an uncapped gas line that was once connected to an oven.

By the time emergency workers responded to a report of a gas leak on Tuesday afternoon, Kerley said, “the store was almost completely filled with a dangerous concentration of natural gas.” [Read more…]

Shopping center evacuated after gas leak reported

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Kroger Gas Leak and ORFD and ORUD

A shopping center was evacuated on Tuesday afternoon after a gas leak was reported at the former Kroger grocery store on South Illinois Avenue.

 

A shopping center was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after a gas leak was reported at the former Kroger grocery store on South Illinois Avenue.

Emergency workers remained on the scene for several hours and were still there as of about 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The gas leak was reported at about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, and Oak Ridge emergency workers quickly evacuated surrounding stores, including China Wok, Nixon’s Deli, Mr. K’s Used Books and CDs, and Big Kmart. They also closed off the surrounding parking lot.

An employee at Mr. K’s smelled gas inside the store Tuesday afternoon, evening manager Kelly Smith said. The staff initially thought it might be coming from NIxon’s, the deli next door. But then they learned that Nixon’s doesn’t use natural gas. A walk around the shopping center’s parking lot determined that the gas was probably coming from the former Kroger store, Smith said.

The odor was getting stronger and stronger, he said. [Read more…]

2014 Election: Constitutional amendments, wine in groceries, a candidate’s record

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League Women Voters Constitutional Amendment Forum

Corinne Rovetti, co-director and family nurse practitioner for the Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health, second from right, discusses Amendment 1, which is on Tuesday’s ballot, during a forum in October. Also pictured are moderator JoAnn Garrett, right; Judy Cornett, second from left, distinguished professor in the College of Law at the University of Tennessee, who discussed Amendment 2; and Sherry Davis Kasper, professor of economics at Maryville College, who discussed Amendment 3.

 

Many voters remain confused about the four proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot in Tennessee on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4.

Three of the amendments were discussed during a League of Women Voters forum in Oak Ridge in October, and you can find a guide to the four amendments here.

The first amendment, Amendment 1, is related to abortion, and it appears to be the most divisive.

Here’s the full text of the proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution:

“Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.”

[Read more…]

Watson to discuss State of the City at Lunch with League on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will discuss the State of the City with the League of Women Voters on Tuesday.

During the annual event, Watson is also expected to give his perspective on issues facing the city, a press release said.

The Tuesday meeting starts at noon Tuesday, October 21, in the Social Hall of the new Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church location at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike (north of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, which is home to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office). [Read more…]

Garcia Garland running for re-election to City Council

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Anne Garcia Garland

Anne Garcia Garland

Oak Ridge City Council member Anne Garcia Garland is running for re-election in the November 4 municipal election.

In a press release, Garcia Garland said the City Council has now begun to function like a team, the vision she had for it when she was first elected.

“The five members who have been meeting to consider policy and long-term planning have begun to realize how much more can be accomplished in this way,” Garcia Garland said. “I believe that if we can do this as a Council, then we should be able to work in a similar manner with the Board of Education and move forward together.”

Actions by the city government have shown that TIFs (tax increment financing) are useful for investing in new businesses, and the growth of the Illinois Avenue corridor is healthy, Garcia Garland said. She said Council encouraged the Kroger development by changing zoning and permitting traffic signals, and that center inspired the investment in Oak Ridge by the new mall developers. [Read more…]