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Emergency workers: State your location when calling 911 from cell phone

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The Oak Ridge 911 Dispatch Center is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge emergency workers and dispatchers are urging the community to remember a potentially life-saving step when calling 911 from a cell phone: immediately state your location to the dispatcher.

“The Oak Ridge fire and police departments are working to share this important information after incidents involving cell signals were routed to the wrong 911 center, potentially delaying emergency response,” a press release said.

Emergency service organizations (fire, police, ambulance, and dispatch) and 911 callers have no control over which cell tower is used by an individual’s phone. If you are making a 911 call from your cell phone, you should always advise the dispatcher of the city and/or county you are calling from and your exact location, the press release said.

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Today: ORPD has Peace Officers Memorial Day Ceremony

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The Oak Ridge Police Department Peace Officers Memorial in 2018 is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Police Department is joining other law enforcement agencies across the country in celebrating National Police Week, May 12-18. As part of the week-long observance, the department will host a Peace Officers Memorial Day Ceremony on Wednesday, May 15, to honor law enforcement personnel.

The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. in front of the Oak Ridge Municipal Building. The keynote speaker will be Rick Scarbrough, executive director of the University of Tennessee’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center in Oak Ridge and former chief of the Clinton Police Department. The public and all law enforcement officers are invited to attend, a press release said.

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DA: Granddaughter in murder case was malnourished, smothered

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Valerie Stenson

The young granddaughter who died in Oak Ridge in 2011 was malnourished and had been smothered, District Attorney General Dave Clark said Friday, after the child’s grandmother pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last Tuesday.

Emergency workers and law enforcement officers responded to a 911 call at Teller Village Apartments around 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 11, 2011. The grandmother, Valerie Stenson, now 54, was trying to revive her granddaughter, Manhattan Inman, using cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, Clark said in a press release Friday.

“An autopsy reveled that the child was malnourished, and the cause of death was smothering,” said Clark, who is DA in the Seventh Judicial District (Anderson County).

Manhattan was two years and nine months old when she died, Clark said.

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Driver identified in fatal crash on Edgemoor Road

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The driver killed in the two-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road on Monday morning has been identified as Michelle Garcia, 61, of Clinton, police said.

The head-on collision, which killed Garcia and injured the other driver, was reported at about 6:30 a.m. Monday near Haw Ridge Park. The name of the other driver hasn’t been released yet.

“The crash remains under investigation,” the Oak Ridge Police Department said Friday. “No other details will be released at this time.”

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One person dies in Edgemoor Road crash

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Note: This story was updated at 4:30 p.m.

One person died in a two-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road on Monday, police said.

The head-on collision was reported at about 6:30 a.m. Monday near Haw Ridge Park. The Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department responded.

[Read more…]

More than 550 pounds of medicines collected during Drug Take Back Days

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More than 550 pounds of unused and expired medications were collected during Drug Take Back Days in April, according to ASAP of Anderson.

ASAP of Anderson partnered with local businesses and police departments to collect unused and expired medications throughout the community, a press release said.

“A total of 582.2 pounds of medication was collected at six different Drug Take Back sites in April,” ASAP said in the press release. Collected medications are safely handled by police officers, turned over to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration representatives, and then incinerated to ensure they do not find their way back into the community.

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Police identify woman who died in two-vehicle crash

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The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the woman who died in the two-vehicle crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Tuesday afternoon as Johnnie Gary, 77, of Oak Ridge.

The two-vehicle crash between a sedan and pickup truck was reported at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the westbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike just east of Nebraska Avenue, at Newport Drive.

Gary was pronounced dead at the crash site, the ORPD said.

The other driver had non-life threatening injuries and was taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge to be treated.

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Updated: One person dies in crash in west Oak Ridge

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Note: This story was updated at 11 a.m. May 1.

A female driver died in a crash in west Oak Ridge on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The two-vehicle crash was reported at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the westbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike just east of Nebraska Avenue, at Newport Drive. It involved a maroon sedan and a white pickup truck. The sedan had come to a stop heading south on Newport Drive onto Oak Ridge Turnpike, while the pickup truck was in the westbound lanes with its front end turned into the grassy center median.

The cause is not known yet. A specialist who can reconstruct the crash was investigating, Oak Ridge Police Department Lieutenant Matt Tedford said Tuesday afternoon.

The female’s body was taken for an autopsy by the Roane County medical examiner, Tedford said.

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Jenkins promoted to ORPD captain

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Oak Ridge Police Department Captain Brad Jenkins is pictured above in April 2019. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Police Department has named Brad Jenkins as its newest captain, promoting him from the rank of lieutenant earlier this month.

Jenkins was publicly recognized by Oak Ridge City Council at the regular meeting on April 8. Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith presented Jenkins with his new badge, the same one worn by Smith when he held the rank of captain with ORPD, a press release said.

Jenkins joined the Oak Ridge Police Department in 1988 after three years with the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Police Department.

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Drug Take Back Day is Saturday

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ASAP of Anderson and police departments in Anderson County have formed a partnership to take back expired or unused medicines on Saturday.

It’s part of the 2019 Drug Enforcement Administration Rx Drug Take Back Day.

“Community members can bring their expired or unused medicines to one of the Anderson County Take Back locations anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. this Saturday,” a press release said.

[Read more…]

Lawsuit seeks up to $5 million in fatal truck-lawn mower crash

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A wrongful death lawsuit filed in Anderson County in December seeks up to $5 million in damages from the driver of a pickup truck who struck a man riding a commercial lawn mower on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge in September.

The driver of the lawn mower, Danny Palmer, 75, of Oak Ridge, died after the crash.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Palmer in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton on December 5 by his wife, Barbara Palmer, who is represented by attorney Bruce D. Fox of Clinton.

The crash between the commercial mower being operated by Palmer and the GMC pickup truck was reported near Summit Place on South Illinois Avenue at about 2 p.m. Thursday, September 13. Preliminary findings indicated that the pickup truck hit the mower, which was in the roadway at the time of the crash, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department. Palmer died of his injuries, the ORPD said. [Read more…]

ASAP of Anderson, Oak Ridge Schools, ORPD collaborate to launch new school safety app

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Oak Ridge Schools is collaborating with Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County and the Oak Ridge Police Department to launch a new monitoring program that will allow parents and students to anonymously report concerns about student safety 24 hours a day, seven days per week.

The program includes an anonymous tip reporting application, which is part of the P3 Campus family of apps designed specifically for use in schools as part of student safety and mental health, a press release said. The local version app will be branded AlertORS, and will be available to all students in the Oak Ridge School district on Tuesday, April 2. Reports can be made through the P3 Campus mobile app or through any web browser at P3Campus.com.

“AlertORS will help students and community members be proactive in the emotional and physical well-being of their peers by giving them a tool to make anonymous reports quickly, easily, and interactively,” the press release said. “Users can report a wide range of concerns from mental health issues to threats of violence. ORS has designated team members for two-way communication when a tip is reported so that staff members are able to respond to students directly through the P3 Campus app and keep the conversation completely anonymous.” [Read more…]

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