Oak Ridge Today

Four ORPD sergeants ask court to order salary increase

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Four veteran Oak Ridge Police Department sergeants, including one who has retired, have asked an Anderson County court to order that their pay be increased to $61,000 per year so they will earn as much as two less-experienced sergeants.

The four sergeants have requested that the pay increase be effective starting Jan. 8, 2012, when they filed a grievance.

They also want the court to overturn or modify a Sept. 7 order from the Oak Ridge Personnel Advisory Board that dismissed their grievance and found no violation of the city’s personnel ordinance.

[Read more…]

Two taken to hospital after pickup crashes into back of tow truck

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

North Illinois Avenue Crash

An Oak Ridge woman and Oliver Springs tow truck driver were taken to area hospitals after a Ford Ranger pickup ran into the back of a stalled Quality Towing wrecker on North Illinois Avenue. Oak Ridge firefighter Duane Chase is pictured above. (Photos by Tom Scott)

An Oak Ridge woman driving into the sun up a slight hill on North Illinois Avenue crashed into the back of a stalled wrecker south of West Outer Drive on Monday morning, sending two people to the hospital with possible injuries, authorities said.

Elise A. Williams, 47, was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center after the collision, and tow truck driver Charles T. Jones, 38, of Oliver Springs, was taken by ambulance to Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, an Oak Ridge Police Department accident report said.

[Read more…]

Man says rock affected steering, hits parked car on Outer Drive

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Outer Drive Crash

An Oak Ridge man was not injured when his pickup truck hit a parked car on Outer Drive early Saturday morning. (Photo by Tom Scott)

An Oak Ridge man told police he hit a rock while driving west on Outer Drive early Saturday morning, which affected his steering and caused his GMC Sierra pickup truck to veer into an unoccupied Hyundai sedan in an on-street parking space, an accident report said.

Roger C. Thompson, 58, was not injured in the crash at about 12:20 a.m. Saturday just east of New York Avenue, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said.

Report: Man flees from police, suspected drugs found in toilet

Posted at
By 1 Comment

A Knoxville man allegedly fled from Oak Ridge police Friday night once in a car and twice on foot and was found in a bathroom shower near suspected marijuana and crack cocaine that was in a toilet, authorities said.

Anthony S. Gulley, 25, fled from an attempted traffic stop just before midnight Friday and ran into a home on Houston Avenue, according to warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

[Read more…]

Renovations affect access to ORPD records section

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Starting Monday, the public will not be able to access the records section at the Oak Ridge Police Department from the north side of the Municipal Building.

Anyone who needs to access the Records Section or needs assistance from the Police Department should enter the building on the south side, at the west doorway, Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi said in a press release Friday.

“Once you enter the doorway, you will be greeted by an officer who will assist you with your inquiries for records or service,” the press release said.

[Read more…]

Two alleged Christmas shopping robberies this month

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The alleged robbery and assault reported to Oak Ridge police on Saturday was the second time this month someone reported they were robbed while Christmas shopping and would not be able to identify a suspect.

On Saturday, a 32-year-old Knoxville man told police he was assaulted and robbed of $300 while Christmas shopping for his children, but lost consciousness during the alleged assault and couldn’t remember where or how it occurred.

Earlier this month, a 34-year-old Hillside Road man reported he was robbed of about $700 in cash in Shoney’s restaurant parking lot while Christmas shopping with a female friend. The man said he was counting his cash in the parking lot, making sure he had enough money for lunch, when a woman walked up to him, took his cash, and fled in a gold Cadillac down Tulsa Road, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said.

[Read more…]

Man shopping for Elmo doll for son says he was assaulted, robbed

Posted at
By 3 Comments

A Knoxville man shopping for an Elmo doll for his son for Christmas said he was assaulted and robbed of $300, but he told Oak Ridge police he lost consciousness during the alleged assault and couldn’t remember where or how it occurred.

The 32-year-old man also could not explain a wet, blue towel in his truck with blood on it, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said.

The man reportedly drove himself to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge with broken cheek bones after the alleged Saturday evening assault and robbery. He also had a red, swollen face; cuts and abrasions on his face and head; two large knots on the back of his head; a busted, bleeding lip; a one-inch cut above his right eye; purple marks on his face—and what appeared to be a shoe tread on the left side of his face, the police report said.

[Read more…]

Former Medford fire chief dies in single-vehicle accident in Oak Ridge Turnpike

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Oak Ridge Turnpike Fatal Accident

A Lake City man died Wednesday evening during a single-vehicle accident on Oak Ridge Turnpike near Elza Drive. Braden’s pickup truck went down an embankment and hit a tree, but his passenger survived. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A Lake City man who was also a former volunteer fire chief in Medford died during a single-vehicle accident on Oak Ridge Turnpike near Elza Drive at about 4:46 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said.

Ronnie L. Braden, 62, was driving a black 2001 Ford pickup that went 15 feet down an embankment and into a tree, according to an Oak Ridge Fire Department report.

Rescuers said Braden had been complaining of chest pains before the accident.

In a statement Thursday afternoon, the Oak Ridge Police Department said Braden was declared dead at the scene by Anderson County Emergency Medical Services.

[Read more…]

Eight-point buck, three-car collision, two injuries on Christmas Eve

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Toyota Scion at Oak Ridge Turnpike at Wiltshire Drive

Three cars collided on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Christmas Eve, injuring two people, after two vehicles stopped for an injured deer in the eastbound lanes. (Photos by Tom Scott)

Two people were injured in a three-car collision on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Christmas Eve after two vehicles stopped in the eastbound lanes for a deer in the roadway and a third vehicle hit the first two.

The 6:55 p.m. accident occurred just east of Wiltshire Drive. A 2007 Lexus car driven by Paula Arlene Flowers, 44, of Oak Ridge, and a 1993 Nissan pickup driven by Bryan Keith Roberts, 42, of Clinton, had stopped for an eight-point buck that had reportedly been hit in the westbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike and staggered across to the eastbound lanes.

[Read more…]

Report: Subway robbed Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Subway restaurant in west Oak Ridge was allegedly robbed on Saturday night, authorities said.

An unknown man wearing a denim jacket with a grey hood and gray sleeves allegedly robbed the store on Oak Ridge Turnpike at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, taking $421.64, according to an Oak Ridge Police Department report and Oak Ridge Police Lt. Robin Smith.

Smith said the suspect did not display a weapon.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Driver says he swerved to avoid deer, hit parked car

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Ford Taurus in Robertsville Road Accident

A Kentucky man said he had swerved to avoid a deer on Robertsville Road early Saturday morning when his Ford Taurus hit a parked GMC Sonoma. (Photo by Tom Scott)

About 20 minutes after a rollover accident on Robertsville Road early Saturday morning, police responded to a second collision.

The driver in the second wreck, Joshua Whaley, 25, of Florence, Ky., told police he had swerved to avoid a deer while driving westbound on Robertsville Road when his Ford Taurus struck a GMC Sonoma parked in on-street parking, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said.

[Read more…]

Connecticut massacre focuses attention on school security in Tennessee

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The school shootings in Newtown, Conn., on Friday have focused attention on school security in Tennessee, led to pledges to increase the police presence at some schools, and bolstered calls for more school resource officers across the state.

It has also revived an intense debate about gun control in the United States.

The shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown last week killed 20 children, six adults, the gunman, and his mother. On Tuesday, the National Rifle Association said it was prepared to “offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again” and would have a major news conference on Friday.

In Tennessee, a few legislators have proposed requiring school resource officers in all schools, training at least one staff member to use firearms, or allowing teachers to carry handguns into schools not patrolled by armed police officers. But it’s not yet clear how much support—or funding—those proposals will have.

In Oak Ridge, Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer said education officials will continue to advocate for more school resource officers, or SROs. But local officials said adding SROs could depend upon funding.

In Anderson County, Mayor Terry Frank sent out information on Tuesday on the positive measures taken this week by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department after last week’s shooting, including four walk-throughs at Dutch Valley Elementary School on Monday.

[Read more…]