Oak Ridge Today

Woman found floating face down at Civic Center, taken to hospital

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

A female believed to be in her 30s was taken to Methodist Medical Center on Monday afternoon after she was found floating face down in the fountain at the Oak Ridge Civic Center, city officials said.

The woman, who was not identified in a Tuesday statement, is currently receiving treatment at the hospital. She is believed to be in her mid-to-late 30s.

She was found in the 14-inch deep fountain at about 2:45 p.m. Monday by residents visiting the Civic Center, the statement said. Two people reported the incident to the staff at the Civic Center front counter, while a third tried to pull the woman out of the water, said Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs, who is acting city manager while Mark Watson attends an out-of-town meeting. [Read more…]

No children reported to be injured in school bus crash

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Oak Ridge Preschool Bus Crash

No students were reported to be injured after a Monday afternoon collision between a school bus and a car in Woodland.

No children appeared to be injured after a Monday afternoon collision between a school bus and car at the intersection of Northwestern and West Gettysburg avenues in the Woodland neighborhood, authorities said.

However, a bus assistant may have hurt her shoulder, and she went to the hospital to be checked out, Oak Ridge Interim Superintendent Bob Smallridge said.

The yellow school bus, Bus #596, which is operated by contractor First Student, was carrying about 18 children from Oak Ridge Preschool at about 2:16 p.m. Monday when it collided with a red Volvo four-door sedan. The students were headed home after school. None were taken away from the crash by ambulance, Oak Ridge Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said. [Read more…]

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department celebrated National Police Week

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department joined law enforcement agencies across the nation in celebrating National Police Week from May 12 through May 18.

May 15 was 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 Oct. 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. [Read more…]

Police officers remembered, sworn in, honored, promoted during Memorial Day ceremony

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Oak Ridge Peace Officer Memorial Day Ceremony

Law enforcement officers from the Oak Ridge Police Department and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies honor Peace Officer Memorial Day on Thursday.

Eight new Oak Ridge police officers were sworn in, two were promoted, and many were honored with new awards during a Peace Officer Memorial Day ceremony on Wednesday.

The annual May 15 ceremony is part of National Police Week, and it pays tribute to local, state, and federal peace officers, including those who died on the job.

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said more than 20,000 officers have died while working since 1792, and on average, one is killed every 57 hours.

Last year, 127 died, and so far this year, 50 have been killed.

“Your unsung work is what binds us all together,” Akagi told several dozen officers gathered outside the Oak Ridge Municipal Building on a warm, sunny Wednesday afternoon. [Read more…]

Crime task force searches Carver Avenue home, allegedly seizes marijuana, cash

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The Anderson County 7th Judicial District Crime Task Force searched a home at 248 Carver Avenue in Oak Ridge on Tuesday and arrested two people and  seized about two pounds of marijuana and more than $13,000 in cash, according to a press release provided by the Oak Ridge Police Department.

The release said an adult male and female were arrested, and a warrant was being sought for a third individual. [Read more…]

Police investigate illegal gambling on Oak Ridge Turnpike, charge trio after raid

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Scott William Stockstill

Scott William Stockstill

Three men have been arrested after a Sunday night police raid during an investigation of illegal gambling on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Scott William Stockstill of Clinton was charged with aggravated promotion of gambling, an Oak Ridge Police Department press release said. Two other men, Jeffery Ray Smith of Kingston and William Harold Bailey of Clinton, were cited on misdemeanor charges of promotion of gambling, the release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge to honor law enforcement personnel on May 15

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Peace Officers Memorial

Oak Ridge police officers stand at attention during a National Peace Officers Memorial Day ceremony at the Municipal Building in 2012.

The Oak Ridge Police Department will honor law enforcement personnel during the annual Peace Officer Memorial Day Ceremony on Wednesday, May 15.

It’s part of National Police Week, scheduled from May 12 through May 18.

The Oak Ridge ceremony will be held in front of the Oak Ridge Municipal Building near the flagpole at 1:30 p.m. May 15. Personnel from all law enforcement agencies in the Anderson and Roane County areas have been invited to attend, along with state and federal law enforcement personnel, as well as local prosecutorial elements and public officials, a press release said. [Read more…]

Proactive policing, officer visibility, Neighborhood Watch help reduce crime, chief says

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

The number of reported crimes has dropped significantly in each of the past two years in Oak Ridge, and that’s good news for the community, economic development, and police officer morale, officials said Wednesday.

Reported crimes were down 9 percent in Oak Ridge in 2011, and 11.5 percent in 2012, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation statistics.

“That indicates to me that isn’t a blip,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. “It’s not a one-year blip.” [Read more…]

More than 300 pounds of unused medicine collected

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Information from WYSH Radio

Local law enforcement agencies teamed up to host Operation Medicine Cabinet at four locations across the county on Saturday, and more than 300 pounds of medicine were collected.

That amount far surpassed the weight from any previous event held in the county since law enforcement agencies began collecting and disposing medicine in 2010. In all, 314.6 pounds of medicine were collected at sites in Clinton, Oak Ridge, and Oliver Springs, said Stephanie Strutner, executive director for Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention. The medications were disposed by DEA. [Read more…]

Man pulled unconscious from burning truck discharged from UT hospital

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Irene Lane Crash

Jason J. West of Oliver Springs has been discharged from a Knoxville hospital after being pulled unconscious from this burning pickup truck on Irene Lane on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge Police Department)

The Oliver Springs man who was pulled unconscious from a burning pickup truck on Irene Lane on Friday night has been discharged from the University of Tennessee Medical Center, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Jason J. West, 25, of Old Hen Valley Road, hit two utility poles and damaged concrete curbs as his 1999 Dodge Dakota pickup truck went down an embankment on the east side of North Illinois Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. Friday.

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Christopher W. Wallace said the pickup truck was in heavy brush about 100 feet from the entrance to Irene Lane. Reports said it had flipped, and the engine compartment was engulfed in fire, Wallace wrote in a crash report. [Read more…]

Police rescue unconscious driver from burning vehicle

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Irene Lane Crash

Oak Ridge police officers rescued an unconscious driver from this burning vehicle on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge Police Department)

Oak Ridge police officers rescued an unconscious driver from a burning vehicle that went down an embankment on Irene Lane on Friday night, authorities said.

The unnamed driver, a 26-year-old Oak Ridge resident, was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after the 11:30 p.m. crash, which shut down the northbound lanes of North Illinois Avenue, authorities said.

Eight officers responded, and they used fire extinguishers to fight the flames and keep police from getting burned, an Oak Ridge Police Department statement said. The Oak Ridge Fire Department also responded.

[Read more…]

Drop off unused medication on Saturday

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There are currently few safe and convenient ways for consumers to dispose of unused prescription drugs, but on Saturday at the Earth Day Festival, the community will be able to drop off unused prescription medication, a press release said.

Nearly all unused pharmaceuticals enter either our solid waste system or sewage system. Neither disposal method is environmentally sound. These medications, when flushed down the toilet, pass through our sewage treatment plants, which are generally not designed to screen for these chemicals, the press release said. Pharmaceuticals discarded in landfills can seep into the surrounding groundwater table. [Read more…]