Oak Ridge Today

State releases information on weekend crashes that ended high-speed chase

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The Tennessee Highway Patrol has released information on the Saturday night crashes in Oak Ridge that ended a high-speed chase, caused one vehicle to overturn, and sent two people to a hospital.

The chase started in Kingston late Saturday night after the suspect, Austin Cody Burns, 21, of Tellico Plains, nearly collided head-on with a vehicle driven by a deputy, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office reported. Burns allegedly fled from Roane County and Kingston Police Department officers at speeds that exceeded 90 mph. [Read more…]

City board will consider demolition or cleanup order for Price Florist

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Price Florist

A city board next week will consider issuing a demolition or cleanup order for Price Florist on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

A city board next week will consider issuing a demolition or cleanup order for Price Florist on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The city staff has recommended that the structure, used for a longtime floral business, be declared unfit for human occupation or use and has requested a demolition or cleanup order within 60 days.

The city required an “emergency vacate” on May 1, according to an agenda for the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals. A notice dated May 1 and still posted on the building’s front door said the building is deemed unfit for human occupation or use. It is to remain conspicuously posted until the structure is repaired or demolished. [Read more…]

Driver ejected, dies in single-vehicle rollover near Horizon

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Horizon Center Fatal Crash

A driver died Tuesday night after being ejected from this vehicle, which left Oak Ridge Turnpike and rolled several times at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday near Horizon Center. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A Cleveland, Tenn., man died after he was ejected from an eastbound minivan that left Oak Ridge Turnpike and rolled several times at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday near Horizon Center, authorities said.

Benjamin Park Birdwell, 33, was driving the 2004 Toyota Sienna near Imperium Drive, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. [Read more…]

Unitarian Universalists buy land near Federal Building for new church

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Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Site

Members of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church have purchased this 4.6-acre site in front of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building on Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Photo courtesy of Jake B. Morrill)

The members of a heavily used church on busy Oak Ridge Turnpike have found a new home, part of a neighborhood exodus to make way for a new Kroger Marketplace shopping center in the heart of the city.

Members of the Oak Unitarian Universalist Church had agreed in September to sell their current building and 3.6 acres at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Robertsville Road in a deal arranged by commercial developers Blanchard and Calhoun Commercial.

On Wednesday, roughly five months later, congregation members announced they had purchased a 4.6-acre parcel at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Laboratory Road, in front of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building.

[Read more…]

Three injured in Thursday car crash

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Oak Ridge Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue Accident

Three people were injured when two vehicles crashed Thursday night at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue. (Photo by Tom Scott)

Three people were injured in a two-vehicle accident at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue on Thursday night, authorities said.

The first vehicle, a 2000 Ford Taurus, was driven by Joseph Elliott Scales, an 18-year-old Oak Ridge resident. Scales said he was trying to turn left onto westbound Oak Ridge Turnpike from the northbound lanes of South Rutgers Avenue and had a green arrow during the 7:50 p.m. crash, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said.

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Planning commissioners consider rezonings for grocery, store

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A grocery story and commercial store are being considered at two small sites on South Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The unnamed grocery store could be built on a 2.3-acre parcel at the new Woodland Town Center, where Aubrey’s and Panera Bread recently opened. The store would be across from the two restaurants, on the other side of a new roadway called Woodland Terrace East.

[Read more…]

Vehicle rolls, injuries reported in Oak Ridge Turnpike crash

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Oak Ridge Turnpike Crash

Four people were injured, three ejected or partially ejected, and two extricated after a two-vehicle collision on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Sunday afternoon. (Photos by Tom Scott)

Four people were injured, three were ejected or partially ejected, and firefighters had to extricate two after two vehicles collided on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Sunday afternoon.

The crash occurred east of Laboratory Road near the entrance to Home Depot at about 3:08 p.m. Sunday.

An Oak Ridge Police Department crash report said the two drivers and two passengers—Charles E. Brooks, 83; Derick S. Coapman, 22; Faith M. Goncalves, 22; and Daniel W. Coapman, 27—were reported in stable condition at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville at the time of the report.

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Unitarian Universalists consider new site in east Oak Ridge

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Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Site

Members of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church voted 131-2 to try to buy this 4.6-acre site in front of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building for a new church. (Photo courtesy of Jake B. Morrill)

They’ve agreed to sell their current church to make way for a new shopping center, and on Sunday, members of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church voted overwhelmingly to try to move to the east end of town.

The congregation voted 131-2 to buy a 4.6-acre site in front of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, home of the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office. The plot is beside Summit Medical on Laboratory Road.

But they haven’t closed on the deal yet, the church’s minister, Rev. Jake B. Morrill, said Monday morning. In a press release Monday afternoon, members of the Church’s Relocation Steering Committee said the due diligence process is not complete, and a closing date hasn’t been set.

Assuming the deal is completed, the next step would be to design a building. The church said it is working with an architect “to begin a congregation-wide process to design a new church using a sustainable, green design for the new facility and preservation of as much of the existing park-like setting of the parcel as possible.”

Church members expect to be in their new home by Thanksgiving 2014.

[Read more…]

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

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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.

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

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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.

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Report: Subway robbed Saturday

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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.

Two roads could occasionally be closed during sewer line work

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A sewer line that runs underneath Oak Ridge Turnpike will be replaced, and two roads on the east end of town could occasionally be closed starting today and ending in January, a city press release said.

The two roads, Science.Gov Way and Brisbane Road, could also have intermittent traffic interruptions or temporary lane closures through Jan. 11, the release said.

[Read more…]