Oak Ridge Today

OS man faces charges after head-on collision injures three on Hwy 61

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Harriman-Highway-Crash-Jan-15-2016

An Oliver Springs man is facing charges, including driving under the influence, after a head-on collision injured three people in two vehicles on Highway 61 west of Oliver Springs late Friday afternoon. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

OLIVER SPRINGS—An Oliver Springs man is facing charges, including driving under the influence, after a head-on collision injured three people in two vehicles on Highway 61 west of Oliver Springs late Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Ryan P. Price, 33, of Oliver Springs, will be charged with DUI, vehicular assault, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm while under the influence, a due care violation, failure to maintain lane, violation of the financial responsibility law, and a failure to carry registration, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The THP said a 2003 Dodge Durango driven by Price was traveling east in the westbound lane on State Route 61 near Scandlyn Hollow Road in Roane County at about 4:55 p.m. Friday.

A 2014 Jeep Wrangler driven west by Rodger Mattox, 66, of Oliver Springs, was also in the westbound lane, which was its travel lane, the THP said. [Read more…]

No one injured when car goes off SR 62, van rolls into creek

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SR-62-Van-Crash-Creek-Jan-14-2016

No one was injured when this 1997 Dodge van went down a steep embankment and rolled into a creek alongside State Route 62 on the north side of Oliver Springs in Morgan County on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Above, workers prepare to pull the van out of the creek. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

OLIVER SPRINGS—No one was injured when a car went down a steep embankment and a van rolled into a creek alongside State Route 62 on the north side of Oliver Springs on Thursday, authorities said.

The two-vehicle collision was reported Thursday afternoon just inside Morgan County, headed toward Wartburg.

Neither driver had to be taken to the hospital, Oliver Springs Police Chief Kenneth Morgan said. The drivers were identified as Larry Oliver and William Byrge. One was driving a 1997 Dodge van, and the other was driving a 1999 Toyota car.

Morgan said the vehicles appeared to be going in opposite directions when one crossed the center line. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Fire Department announces promotions, new firefighters

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Jody Durham

Jody Durham

Submitted

The Oak Ridge Fire Department recently held a ceremony to promote three officers and to introduce four new firefighters and their families to the organization. Congratulations to these recently promoted officers and new firefighters.

Jody Durham was promoted from battalion chief to assistant chief of operations. He has been with Oak Ridge Fire Department for more than 10 years. Durham has experience as a U.S. Department of Energy firefighter and as a paramedic with Morgan County Ambulance Service.

Eric Rackard

Eric Rackard

Eric Rackard was promoted from captain to battalion chief and is assigned as the A-Shift commander. He has been with Oak Ridge Fire Department for eight years, and he has served as a firefighter/engineer and paramedic.

Rackard is an Air Force veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. [Read more…]

Hunting fire might have started OS forest fire, official says

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Walden-Ridge-Fire-Nov-24-2015

A hunting fire might have started a fire on Walden Ridge near downtown Oliver Springs on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 24, 2015, a state official said. Firefighters set up fire lines in a 12-acre area to control and contain the fire. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:40 a.m. Nov. 25.

OLIVER SPRINGS—A hunting fire might have started the Tuesday afternoon fire on Walden Ridge near downtown Oliver Springs, a state official said.

The fire was reported to have covered about one to two acres. Firefighters contained it to a 12-acre area, said Bruce Miller of the Tennessee Division of Forestry in Anderson County.

Smoke was reported in the area at about 1:50 p.m. Tuesday.

The fire was on a steep, rough, rocky hillside above Railroad Avenue near downtown Oliver Springs. Firefighters used hand tools and leaf blowers to dig fire lines, and they had the fire controlled by about 7 p.m. Miller expected it to be contained within the hour. State officials would check on the fire Wednesday morning, he said. [Read more…]

Relics of a Firefighter: Retired volunteer fireman, avid collector to lead educational event Saturday

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Relics of a Firefighter

Tom Scott, a retired volunteer fireman and avid collector, will be the guest speaker at an educational event on Saturday titled “Relics of a Firefighter.” It starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 24, at Through the Looking Glass Antiques in Jackson Square.

Scott was a volunteer firefighter in Newport, Rhode Island; Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Aiken, South Carolina.

He has been a member of the Oliver Springs Fire Department since 1974.

In 1992, he became the volunteer photographer for the Oak Ridge Fire Department. [Read more…]

Fire destroys unoccupied home on Marlow Circle

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Marlow Circle Fire Oct. 2, 2015

A fire destroyed an unoccupied home on Marlow Circle on Friday night, Oct. 2, 2015. The Marlow and Oliver Springs fire departments both responded to fight the fire. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

A fire destroyed an unoccupied home on Marlow Circle on Friday night.

The fire was reported at 516 Marlow Circle at about 10 p.m. Friday.

The house was engulfed in flames when the first Marlow Fire Department units arrived, fire photographer Tom Scott said. Two Marlow Fire Department engines and a tanker responded and so did two Oliver Springs Fire Department engines and a rescue unit, which responded on a mutual aid call.

The house was close to the roadway, and at the height of the fire, the contents of a mailbox across Marlow Circle caught on fire, Scott said. [Read more…]

Woman reports falling asleep with cigarette in hand before Tuesday fire

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Smith Road Mattress Fire

A woman who escaped a Tuesday morning fire with her son and dog told authorities she fell asleep with a cigarette in her hand. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

Information from WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today/Tom Scott

A woman who escaped a Tuesday morning fire with her son and dog told authorities she fell asleep with a cigarette in her hand.

The fire was reported at about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday on Smith Road in Anderson County, east of Oliver Springs in Marlow.

The 77-year-old woman who lives at the home woke up to her hand being burned, said the incident commander, Captain Jordan Alcorn of the Oliver Springs Fire Department.

She activated a Life Alert emergency alarm and fled the home with her son and small dog, said Alcorn, who is also an Oak Ridge firefighter. [Read more…]

Fire destroys home on Frost Bottom Road early Sunday

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Frost Bottom Road Fire

A fire destroyed a home at 352 Frost Bottom Road in Anderson County early Sunday morning. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

A fire destroyed a home on Frost Bottom Road early Sunday morning.

The fire was reported at 2 p.m. Sunday at 352 Frost Bottom Road in Anderson County, photographer Tom Scott said.

According to a neighbor, a passerby first saw the fire and asked the neighbor to call the Anderson County 911 Center, Scott said.

He said the Marlow Fire Department was dispatched and responded with one engine and two tankers. Mutual aid was requested from the Oliver Springs Fire Department, which sent two engines. [Read more…]

Garbage truck overturns in Oliver Springs

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Oliver Springs Waste Connections Truck

Photo by Kenneth Morgan

 

Note: This story was updated at 5 p.m.

A Waste Connections truck overturned on Tri County Boulevard at Windrock Road at about 6:30 a.m. Monday, authorities said.

Oliver Springs Police Chief Kenneth Morgan said the driver, Timothy Goodale, was taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge with minor injuries.

Approximately 35 to 40 gallons of diesel fuel leaked onto the ground from the loaded truck, with some flowing into Indian Creek, Morgan said. Cleanup was provided by Waste Connections and performed by Hepco.

The Oliver Springs Police Department responded to the crash, and the Oak Ridge Fire Department HazMat team was called to help the Oliver Springs Fire Department.

Here are photos by Morgan and fire photographer Tom Scott.

[Read more…]

Saturday morning fire damages Cove Lane home

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Cove Lane Fire

Photo by Tom Scott

 

A fire just after midnight Saturday caused heavy damage to a home on Cove Lane north of Oliver Springs.

The fire was reported at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, May 16, at 1014 Cove Lane, fire photographer Tom Scott said.

The home is in the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department area about 500 feet outside the Oliver Springs city limits, Scott said. [Read more…]

Fire damages home on Old Harriman Highway

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Old Harriman Highway Fire

A fire early Sunday morning damaged a home on Old Harriman Highway in Roane County. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

A fire caused heavy damage to a large, one-story house on Old Harriman Highway early Sunday morning.

The fire was reported at 883 Old Harriman Highway at 3:40 a.m. Sunday, March 22.

The house was in the Blair Fire Department’s district. The Oliver Springs Fire Department, the Midtown Fire Department, and the Roane County Office of Emergency Services responded with a total of seven engine/tankers and two rescue units. The Anderson County Emergency Services sent a medic unit, and a Harriman Utilities Board crew cut the power to the house, which was heavily damaged, fire photographer Tom Scott said. [Read more…]

One airlifted to UT hospital after two-vehicle rollover crash

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Harriman Highway Jeep Rollover

The driver of a Jeep SUV that turned over was airlifted to a hospital in Knoxville after a two-vehicle crash on Harriman Highway west of Oliver Springs on Friday evening. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:36 a.m. Feb. 28.

OLIVER SPRINGS—The driver of a Jeep SUV that turned over was airlifted to a hospital in Knoxville after a two-vehicle crash on Harriman Highway just west of Oliver Springs on Friday evening.

The crash between the Jeep and a Dodge Ram pickup occurred at about 6:30 p.m. Friday on Harriman Highway (Highway 61) near Scandlyn Hollow Road in Roane County.

The Jeep’s driver was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, said Tennessee Highway Patrol Lieutenant Lucious Howard. The driver was later identified, after his family had been notified, as Joshua Brown, 33, of Oliver Springs. His condition was unknown early Saturday morning. [Read more…]