Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Public Works has open house Thursday

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The Oak Ridge Public Works Department and Public Works Employee Relations Committee (PwERC) have invited residents of Oak Ridge to a Public Works Community Open House and Touch-the-Truck event on Thursday, May 25.

The event will be held in recognition of Public Works Week in the City of Oak Ridge and National Public Works Week (May 21-27). The open house will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Central Services Complex, located at 100 Woodbury Lane.

The purpose is to provide an event at which the community can learn about all the different divisions that make up the Public Works Department, a press release said.

“Public Works is much more than just water and sewer services,” the press release said. “They are, in short, the people who maintain and improve the systems and services vital to the city’s health, safety and comfort. Those systems and public services include, but are not limited to, water distribution, sewer collection, water and wastewater treatment, street, sidewalk, and storm drain repair and maintenance, stormwater management, public building maintenance and management, snow removal, and city fleet maintenance.” [Read more…]

Two protesters questioned, released at Y-12’s east gate

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Two women protesting the U.S. Department of Energy and trying to inform the public of the effects of global warming were questioned and released at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge on Monday morning, authorities said.

New Energy Secretary Rick Perry was at Y-12 for a tour on Monday morning, but it’s not clear if the two women were there because of Perry.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a call of two protesters trespassing at Y-12’s east gate at 301 Bear Creek Road at about 10:13 a.m. Monday. Perry was reported to have left the nuclear weapons plant by then. [Read more…]

Presentation on opioid drug epidemic this evening

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A presentation this evening will feature a retired drug enforcement agent discussing the opioid drug epidemic.

The presentation is titled “Chasing the Dragon: Understanding the Opium Drug Epidemic in Our Community.” It’s scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, May 24, at the Jefferson Middle School Little Theater in Oak Ridge.

The presentation will be by Neil Morgenstern, a specialist with the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, or AHIDTA. Morgenstern is retired from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. [Read more…]

Responding to disturbance near DOE landfill, police allegedly find drugs, stolen gun in vehicle

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Daniel Ray Price

Daniel Ray Price

 

Note This story was updated at 11:50 a.m. Nov. 1.

Oak Ridge police allegedly found marijuana, Xanax, drug paraphernalia, and a stolen pistol in a vehicle after responding to a report of a disturbance near the U.S. Department of Energy landfill on Bear Creek Road near the Y-12 National Security Complex on Sunday, May 14, court records said.

Oak Ridge Police Department K-9 Officer Christopher Wallace said a search of the vehicle with the help of a drug-detecting canine officer found 18.4 ounces of marijuana, along with 97 Xanax (alprazolam) tablets; drug paraphernalia that included rolling papers, a grinder, digital scales, glass marijuana pipe, glass meth/crack cocaine pipe, and a snort straw; an SCCY Industries 9mm CPX2 semi automatic pistol; and a North American Arms (N.A.A.) .22LR mini revolver pistol that the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office had reported as stolen.

Charged after the search was Daniel Ray Price, 35, of Coster Lane in Knoxville. Price said all the items belonged to him, Wallace said in affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Turnpike re-opened, truck escorted to business after authorities investigate possible hazardous materials

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Oak Ridge Turnpike re-opened near Big Turtle Park after about 1.5 hours Wednesday afternoon, May 17, 2017, after authorities investigated a possible hazardous materials situation involving a truck pulling a flatbed trailer with two cargo containers marked radioactive. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge Turnpike re-opened near Big Turtle Park after about 1.5 hours Wednesday afternoon, May 17, 2017, after authorities investigated a possible hazardous materials situation involving a truck pulling a flatbed trailer with two cargo containers marked radioactive. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6:45 p.m.

Oak Ridge Turnpike re-opened near Big Turtle Park after about 1.5 hours Wednesday afternoon after authorities investigated a possible hazardous materials situation involving a truck pulling a flatbed trailer with two cargo containers marked radioactive.

The Turnpike was closed between Montana Avenue and Newport Drive at about 12 p.m. Wednesday. It re-opened after the truck and trailer were moved to a parking lot at Big Turtle Park near the dog park and a soccer field.

At about 1:30 p.m., the Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department escorted the truck and trailer through central Oak Ridge to Toxco on Flint Road.

It wasn’t immediately clear if there was any hazardous materials detected, although the truck and its containers were presumably deemed to be okay since they were escorted through town, and workers and police officers were standing near them at Toxco. Toxco repackages low-level radioactive waste. [Read more…]

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department celebrating National Police Week

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will join law enforcement agencies across the nation in celebrating National Police Week, May 14 through May 20, a press release said.

May 15 is National Peace Officers Memorial Day, and the week containing May 15 has been National Police Week, since President John F. Kennedy signed Public Law 87-726 on October 1, 1962. It was not until May 15, 1982, that the first National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day service was held.

Activities during National Police Week now include the annual Candlelight Vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. The National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day Service on May 15 draws thousands from across the nation.

The Sheriff’s Department has lost eight officers in the line of duty. Seven were killed by gunfire, and one died in an automobile accident, the press release said. [Read more…]

Law enforcement to be honored during ceremony this afternoon

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Law enforcement personnel will be honored during a Peace Officers Memorial Day Ceremony in Oak Ridge today, and certificates and letters of commendation will be awarded to Oak Ridge Police Department personnel this afternoon.

The Oak Ridge Police Department is joining other law enforcement agencies across the nation in celebrating National Police Week, Sunday, May 14, through Saturday, May 20, a press release said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department will honor all law enforcement personnel during a Peace Officers Memorial Day Ceremony held in front of the Oak Ridge Municipal Building at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, May 15. The keynote speaker will be Bishop Richard Stika of the Diocese of Knoxville.

Beginning at 3 p.m., following the memorial service, certificates and letters of commendation will be awarded to Oak Ridge Police Department personnel in the Municipal Building Courtroom. [Read more…]

Emergency workers respond to car crash, fallen trees, flooding

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Oak-Ridge-Flooding-Oak-Ridge-Turnpike-Illinois-Avenue-April-22-2017-Slider

Floodwaters rose close to road level at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue after heavy rains fell in Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon and evening, April 22, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge emergency workers responded to a car crash that injured two people, two fallen trees, and a possible apartment complex evacuation due to flooding during the severe thunderstorms on Saturday.

Heavy rain from the storms led to widespread flooding in Oak Ridge starting late Saturday afternoon. The water appeared to have receded in places a few hours later, or by early Saturday night.

Emergency workers made preparations Saturday evening to possibly evacuate apartments on Royce Circle, where water covered part of the roadway and rose near the first floor of an apartment complex at the northeast end of the circle. The apartments, which are next to Robertsville Road and just east of Willow Brook Elementary School, are in a low-lying area between two creeks that flow down along Jefferson Avenue and intersect with East Fork Poplar Creek, which was swollen with floodwaters on Saturday.

Authorities had made preparations to see how many people lived on the first floor of the Royce Circle apartment complex in case the residents had to be evacuated, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. Of the 10 people there, all but one had another place to go, he said. Authorities were watching the water, Kerley said.

“We think it’s receding,” he said Saturday night. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Junior Police Academy is in June

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Oak Ridge Police Department Badge

The sixth annual Oak Ridge Junior Police Academy will be held this summer from June 11 through June 29. The Junior Police Academy will be using an age-appropriate format this year, which will allow three separate sessions.

Sessions will be based on the grade that is obtained for the 2017 through 2018 school year, a press release said.

  • 7th grade through graduating seniors: This session will be a Junior Police Forensic Academy, an intensive week of forensic training in crime scene investigation, and the science involved. It is targeted toward those who may be interested in a career in forensic science. The training environment will be classroom and lab setting.
  • 8th grade through graduating seniors: This session will target students who may be interested in a law enforcement career. Training will focus on basic policing and law enforcement techniques.
  • 5th grade through 7th grade: This session will be a junior police camp with a police theme and will focus on group activities and team building exercises.

Are you right for the Junior Police Academy? Answer these questions: Have you thought about what you are going to do after school? Have you ever wondered exactly what a police officer does? Are you interested in a career in law or paralegal? Would you be interested in learning more about law enforcement? If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you are a great candidate for the Oak Ridge Junior Police Academy. [Read more…]

Child reported missing Monday evening was located Monday night

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The 12-year-old boy reported missing from Georgia Avenue on Monday evening was located Monday night, authorities said.

The boy was reported missing sometime around 7 p.m., according to Nixle alerts sent out by the City of Oak Ridge.

On Tuesday morning, the city said the boy was located shortly after 10 p.m. Monday and reunited with his parents. [Read more…]

Juvenile driver taken to hospital after crashing into trees while airborne

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A Subaru Outback station wagon went off Delaware Avenue and appeared to have crashed into trees while airborne at a house at Dixie Lane on Thursday evening, April 13, 2017. (Photo by Mark Boatner)

A Subaru Outback went off Delaware Avenue and appeared to have crashed into trees while airborne at a house at Dixie Lane on Thursday evening, April 13, 2017. (Photo by Mark Boatner)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:15 p.m.

A Subaru Outback went off Delaware Avenue and appeared to have crashed into trees while airborne at a house at Dixie Lane on Thursday evening.

The juvenile female driver was taken to the hospital. She was already out of the car when Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi arrived, and a neighbor who heard the crash said the girl was able to walk to an ambulance stretcher.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said it appeared that the girl’s seat belt and air bag likely saved her life. The station wagon came to rest in a spot where the windshield was just a few feet away from a tree in front of the driver, which could have been dangerous if she had been ejected. There is a house on the other side of Dixie Lane, if the car had continued traveling forward. [Read more…]

Man indicted on reckless homicide charge in death of Lauren Fritts

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Troy Andrew Venable

Troy Andrew Venable

 

An Oak Ridge man has been indicted on a reckless homicide charge in the death of an Oak Ridge High School graduate and former goalkeeper for the Lady Wildcats who was, at the time of her death, the member and customer service representative at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

Lauren Alexandra Fritts, 26, died Saturday, October 8, 2016, according to her obituary.

Troy Andrew Venable, 28, was indicted on the reckless homicide charge in her death on Tuesday, April 4. He was arrested Friday afternoon and released about four hours later from the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton. His bond has been set at $25,000. [Read more…]