Oak Ridge Today

Trial for Cromwell, defendant in fatal July 4 parking lot crash, set for Feb. 13

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The trial for Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, the defendant in a fatal parking lot crash after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015, has been set for the week that starts Monday, February 13, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—The trial for Lee Harold Cromwell, the defendant in a fatal parking lot crash after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015, has been set for the week that starts Monday, February 13, 2017.

The trial will be in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. Tennessee Senior Judge Paul G. Summers has been appointed to hear the case.

Officials expect that the trial could last at least four days. The plea deadline is 5 p.m. February 3.

Cromwell, 67, is accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others when he backed his Dodge Ram pickup truck through the crowded parking lot at the Midtown Community Center on July 4, 2015, after fireworks at Alvin K. Bissell Park. [Read more…]

Tonight: Cook to discuss his book, ‘Ignored Heroes of World War II’

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Richard Cook

Richard Cook

Oak Ridge resident Richard Cook will discuss his book, “Ignored Heroes of World War II: The Manhattan Project Workers of Oak Ridge, Tennessee,” during a meeting this evening (Thursday, November 10).

It’s a public and membership meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. It’s scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road.

The book is an oral history, a press release said. Cook has lived in Oak Ridge since 2000, and his wife was born and raised in Oak Ridge. He wrote a newspaper column for The Oak Ridger from 2003-2005. He has written more than 100 columns, which have appeared in The Oak Ridger, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, and on The Tennessean website, the press release said. His book has been profiled locally on WBIR, WATE, and PBS. [Read more…]

DA’s office also recused from July 4 fatal crash case because of liens filed by defendant

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Anderson County Criminal Court Lee Cromwell Jim Scott July 25 2016

Lee Cromwell, right, who has been charged with vehicular homicide and 16 other charges after a fatal parking lot crash at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015, huddles with his family and defense attorney James Scott, left, after an arraignment in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday, July 25, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 11:47 a.m. July 27.

CLINTON—First the judge recused himself and now the district attorney general’s office has been recused in a homicide case filed against an Oak Ridge man after a fatal crash in the crowded parking lot of Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015.

Both recusals were because of liens filed by the defendant, Lee Harold Cromwell, 66. The recusals mean another judge has already been appointed, and another DA will have to be appointed. A lien is a claim that one person owes something to another person.

Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Donald R. Elledge recused himself during a June 3 arraignment because of an $8 million lien filed against him by Cromwell.

“It was upsetting that he filed a frivolous lien against me,” Elledge said Monday. “I’m going to do everything I can legally, morally, and ethically to prosecute him criminally and civilly to the full extent of the law.”

Then, during a rescheduled arraignment on Monday, defense attorney James K. Scott asked for Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark and the DA’s office to also be recused. That was because of liens that Cromwell filed against the DA and another member of his office in “misplaced mindset” in a “misguided effort, out of desperation, to advocate for his innocence without the knowledge or advice of counsel,” Scott said in a motion to recuse. [Read more…]

Los Alamos Historical Society director to discuss Los Alamos, Manhattan Project on Tuesday

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Heather McClenahan at B Reactor

Heather McClenahan, executive director of the Los Alamos Historical Society, is pictured above seated at the control panel for the “B” Reactor, part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Hanford, Washington. (Submitted photo)

 

The executive director of the Los Alamos Historical Society will discuss Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Heather McClenahan is the featured guest speaker at the May 2016 membership and public meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. The meeting will star at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, at the Midtown Community Center at 103 Robertsville Road.

Her presentation is titled “Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project: 1.5 Million Years of History in One Hour.” [Read more…]

City board recommends senior center at Civic Center; will ask for $50K for conceptual studies

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A city board has recommended that the Oak Ridge Senior Center be located at the Civic Center on Oak Ridge Turnpike, and the board will ask the City Council to consider $50,000 for conceptual studies, possibly in April. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

An Oak Ridge board has recommended that the city’s senior center be located at the Civic Center and Alvin K. Bissell Park, and the board will ask the City Council, possibly in April, to consider $50,000 for conceptual studies.

The Oak Ridge Senior Center is currently located in a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road. It’s been there since 1999.

Some senior center users have been advocating for a new home for years, arguing that they didn’t voluntarily leave the former Wildcat Den (the Midtown Community Center) and that their current home has a number of deficiencies. But despite those efforts, the senior center remains on Emory Valley Road.

The current effort to find a new home has been under way since last year and picked up in January, said Linda McGhee, senior programs recreation manager in the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department. [Read more…]

Rescheduled: Learn about volunteering in the Manhattan Project National Park on Tuesday

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National-Park-Service-Employees

You can learn more about volunteering for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, during a meeting at the Midtown Community Center from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. National Park Service employees are pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

You can learn more about volunteering for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, during a meeting at the Midtown Community Center on Tuesday.

The meeting was rescheduled from this past Thursday to this coming Tuesday (January 26) because of snow last week.

The information session on volunteer opportunities will be hosted by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park-Oak Ridge. It’s scheduled from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge.

The new park, which also includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico, was formally established on November 10, 2015, in a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. The signing ceremony featured U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. [Read more…]

Council to receive briefing on Manhattan Project park from Park Service on Tuesday

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Niki Nicholas

The Oak Ridge City Council will receive a briefing on the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park on Tuesday.

The briefing by Niki Nicholas, superintendent of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, will be during a Tuesday evening work session on January 21. It will follow a special 6 p.m. City Council meeting for boards and commissions elections in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. (See the work session agenda here. See the special meeting agenda here.)

There will also be an orientation session next week for those interested in volunteering for the new park, which includes Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. That orientation session starts at 10 a.m. Thursday, January 21, at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road. [Read more…]

Learn about volunteering in the Manhattan Project National Park on Thursday

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You can learn more about volunteering for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, during a meeting at the Midtown Community Center from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016. National Park Service employees are pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

You can learn more about volunteering for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, during a meeting at the Midtown Community Center on Thursday.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park-Oak Ridge will host a volunteer opportunities information session starting at 10 a.m. Thursday. It’s scheduled to last until 12 p.m.

The new park, which also includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico, was formally established on November 10, 2015, in a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. The signing ceremony featured U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. [Read more…]

July 4 fireworks crash: Charges against driver, including homicide, sent to grand jury

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The 17 charges against an Oak Ridge man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others in a July 4 fireworks crash at Midtown Community Center have been sent to an Anderson County grand jury. The charges against Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge, who is pictured above, include homicide and aggravated assault. Cromwell had a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:18 p.m. Jan. 16.

The 17 charges against an Oak Ridge man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others in a July 4 fireworks crash at Midtown Community Center have been sent to an Anderson County grand jury.

The charges against Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge include homicide and aggravated assault. Cromwell had a five-hour preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, January 15. It included testimony for the prosecution from victims, witnesses, police officers, and an automotive technician. Prosecutor Vickie Bannach was trying to establish probable cause for the charges to be sent to the grand jury.

The next step is for the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office to present evidence to the grand jury for possible indictments against Cromwell.

Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller said he found that probable cause had been met for the charges to be bound over to the grand jury. There is no timeline for when the grand jury might hear the case. [Read more…]

Police dispute stuck-throttle claim in fatal July 4 fireworks crash, widow testifies also

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Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins testified on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, during a preliminary hearing for Lee Cromwell, an Oak Ridge resident accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others during a parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center on July 4, 2015, after fireworks at A.K. Bissell Park. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8 a.m. Jan. 16.

An Oak Ridge police officer on Friday disputed the claim that the throttle might have been stuck on a pickup truck in a fatal July 4 crash at Midtown Community Center immediately after fireworks in A.K. Bissell Park.

Police say they’ve found no evidence of a malfunction in a Dodge Ram pickup driven backward through the crowded parking lot that night by Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge, and there were no active recalls on the truck that would have affected the throttle. Police also used witness statements to help refute the stuck-throttle theory during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, January 15.

“Several of them (witnesses) said they heard his engine revving up and down,” Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins testified during the hearing. “If the throttle had been stuck, it would have been stuck at a consistent rpm, not up and down.”

Also Friday morning, Julia Robinson testified. She is the widow of the 37-year-old man who died, James Robinson of Knoxville. The couple was at the Midtown Community Center watching fireworks with their two daughters and a relative. [Read more…]

Public meeting Thursday to discuss ideas for Manhattan Project Park

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K-25 Building Aerial View

Now demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building, pictured above, was once used to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. Located in west Oak Ridge, the site could become part of a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

 

A Thursday evening meeting will focus on collecting ideas for the implementation of the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park staff will be represented, a press release said.

It’s the regular November meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. It starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 12, at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Roberstville Road.

The meeting will be held at the end of a day of: [Read more…]

Rescheduled: Atomic City Classic Car Show is Saturday

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Atomic City Car and Bike Show

A flyer for the Atomic City Car and Bike Show. It had originally been scheduled for Saturday, October 3, but it was rained out and rescheduled for Saturday, October 10.

 

The rescheduled Atomic City Classic Car Show is Saturday, October 10.

The car show, a benefit for Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, had been scheduled for October 3, but it was rained out.

The show is sponsored by Atomic Speed Shop. It will be at the Midtown Community Center (Wildcat Den) at 102 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Organizers said the show will feature classic cars, trucks, street rods, motorcycles, and motor scooters up to 1975. There will be dash plaques for each entry, people’s choice awards in each class, and door prizes. [Read more…]