Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge municipal, education officials reach agreement on school resource officer MOU

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

School safety has been a high-priority issue for many people across the country since the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Connecticut in December.

It’s been an issue in Oak Ridge as well, with proposals to increase the number of school resource officers, or SROs, and a vigorous debate in July that was sparked by a controversial guest column written by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn.

On Thursday, Oak Ridge municipal and education officials announced a cooperative effort to govern the city’s SRO program. They said an agreement has been reached between city officials and school officials on a memorandum of understanding, or MOU.

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Pedestrian struck by vehicle on South Illinois Avenue on Monday

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An Oak Ridge woman was hit by a vehicle driven by an Oak Ridge man on South Illinois Avenue on Monday, authorities said.

Elaine Emerson, 41, was struck near Badger Avenue at 6:12 p.m. Monday by a vehicle driven south by Brandon Luke, 42, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

Emerson was transported by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where she was listed as being in critical but stable condition, ORPD Lt. Robin Smith said. No charges are expected to be filed against the driver of the vehicle.

Police chief declines to comment on use of his memo in Baughn’s letter

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

A memo he wrote in May was used by an Oak Ridge City Council member who wrote a controversial letter that has sparked a heated, week-long debate about drugs and violence in the city’s schools.

But Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi declined to elaborate on the memo on Monday—or discuss how it was used in the letter published last week by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn. Her letter, which also relied on conversations with current and former school staff members and parents of students, alleged drugs are rampant in many schools, children are at risk of being assaulted, and a “culture of terror” has saturated the system.

Asked for his views on the letter, which was sent to new superintendent Bruce Borchers, Akagi said he couldn’t comment. [Read more…]

Police allegedly find guns, drugs during search of Nevada Circle home

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Police searching a home on Nevada Circle on Wednesday night allegedly found a half-dozen guns, about 32 grams of what appeared to be marijuana, a small amount of purported crack cocaine, and a tablet identified as Roxicodone, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department was armed with a search warrant that said all controlled substances found in the home were to be seized as evidence, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

Man accused of fleeing from police, driving toward three parked officers

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Laphonso R. Porter

Laphonso R. Porter

An Oak Ridge man is accused of fleeing from police on Wednesday night, driving toward three officers parked in Scarboro, wrecking a car, and running on foot before being arrested.

Laphonso R. Porter, 23, remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility on Thursday night. He has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault, two counts of evading arrest, driving on a suspended license, and reckless endangerment, according to arrest warrants. [Read more…]

UT Medical Center can’t comment on condition of child hit by car in Oak Ridge

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The University of Tennessee Medical Center could not provide information on the condition of an eight-year-old boy hit by a car on Wednesday afternoon in Oak Ridge—or even confirm whether the child was at the hospital.

An Oak Ridge Police Department report said the boy was hit by a 1998 Toyota Camry in the parking lot of British Woods Apartments at about 4:35 p.m. Wednesday. The four-door sedan was driven by Zhenfeng Han, 33, who lives at the apartment complex on Briarcliff Avenue. [Read more…]

Report: Teen driver didn’t see stop sign due to tree limbs before hitting bus

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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.

The 17-year-old driver who hit a school bus in Woodland on Monday afternoon said he did not see a stop sign at the intersection of Northwestern and West Gettysburg avenues due to tree limbs, and he failed to stop before colliding with the bus, authorities said.

The Clinton teenager estimated he was traveling at about 30 mph in a 1997 Volvo 960 sedan as he drove west on West Gettysburg Avenue just before the 2:16 p.m. crash, according to an Oak Ridge Police Department accident report.

The bus driver, Yvonnda Smith McNair, 60, of Oliver Springs, told ORPD Officer Leslie Miller that she was driving south on Northwestern Avenue when the Volvo failed to stop and hit the bus, owned by contractor First Student Inc. [Read more…]

ORPD hosts mid-April seminar on preventing tragedy

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

The Oak Ridge Police Department will host a mid-April seminar on preventing tragedies. The seminar is scheduled four months after the December massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

“The recent tragedy in Newtown, Conn., has stimulated a broad nationwide discussion aimed at preventing future such events,” a city press release said. “This seminar is designed to make citizens aware of possible warning signs of violent behavior and a plan for how to alert the proper agency. Topics of discussion will be mental and emotional health, precautions, and solutions.”

The release said residents, employers, and employees are encouraged to attend. The seminar is titled “Preventing Tragedy: A Community United.” It’s scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, April 15, at New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex. [Read more…]

ORPD chief to talk to Women’s Interfaith Dialogue on Monday

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Oak Ridge Police Chief James Akagi will discuss vulnerable populations in the community on Monday.

Akagi will speak to the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge at 2 p.m. at Grace Covenant Church.

“He will explore various new ways we as citizens can help and will welcome suggestions from the attendees as well,” a press release said.

Akagi has been Oak Ridge police chief since July 2011. He is retired from the U. S. Drug Enforcement Agency as an assistant special agent in the Oklahoma City District Office, the press release said. He is a native of Kansas, where he formerly served as a police officer. [Read more…]

Three men allegedly invade home; steal shotgun, watches

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Note: This story was updated at 4:13 p.m.

Three men pushed their way into the home of a 78-year-old man on Ulysses Lane on Wednesday night and allegedly stole a 12-gauge shotgun, a wallet, and three watches, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said the home invasion happened at about 9:40 p.m. Wednesday. The victim answered a knock at the door, and three men wearing dark clothes, blue jeans, and masks allegedly pushed their way into the home, demanding jewelry, pills, and guns, according to a report by ORPD Officer Michael E. Swigert. [Read more…]

After large disturbance, ORPD warns restaurant to avoid over-serving alcohol

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One month after a large reported disturbance, the city’s deputy police chief told the owners of a popular restaurant and bar in central Oak Ridge that they need to monitor customers who are drinking and not serve people who have consumed too much alcohol.

The warning to the owners of Lincoln’s Sports Grille came during a Monday meeting of the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board.

That board had called a show cause hearing for Lincoln’s, which is on South Illinois Avenue, after a Feb. 10 fight that reportedly started as an argument between two men over a woman and escalated into a large disturbance that required an entire shift of police officers to respond.

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Man taken to hospital with facial cuts after head-on collision

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Edgemoor Road Crash

A Harriman man driving this Kia Optima was taken to a hospital after a head-on, two-vehicle collision on Saturday morning on Edgemoor Road near Solway Park. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A Harriman man was taken to the hospital with cuts on his face and forehead after a head-on collision between two vehicles on Edgemoor Road Saturday morning.

Sergio Apolonio Cruz, 25, was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, an Oak Ridge Police Department crash report said.

The other driver, Mark Allen Mays, 33, of Knoxville, was not injured, the report said.

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