Oak Ridge Today

Student lights desk on fire; RMS bomb threat appears unfounded, ORPD says

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Note: This story was last updated at 3:58 p.m.

A 16-year-old student at the Alternative School used hand sanitizer and a lighter to ignite another student’s desktop on Wednesday, authorities said.

Students extinguished the fire, and the suspect was arrested at the Alternative School on Thursday. He was processed at the Oak Ridge Police Department on aggravated arson charges and taken to the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Facility in Knoxville, a press release said.

In a separate incident, authorities determined that a report of an alleged bomb threat at Robertsville Middle School on Monday was unfounded, and no criminal charges are expected.

The ORPD said the desk was set on fire just before dismissal at the Alternative School on Wednesday. The Alternative School is next to the Oak Ridge High School and on the same campus. Staff at the Alternative School notified School Resource Office Sherrill Selby about the incident via e-mail. [Read more…]

Several hundred compete in Ben Martin Middle School track meet

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Ben Martin Invitational

Several hundred students from five regional middle schools, including Jefferson and Robertsville, competed in the Ben Martin Middle School Invitational track meet in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

Several hundred students from five middle schools competed in the first-ever Ben Martin Middle School Invitational track meet in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

The meet was named after Ben Martin, a legendary Sports Hall of Fame coach who won seven state championships as track coach at Oak Ridge High School. Thursday’s meet was at Ben Martin Track at the high school.

Martin was the first ORHS track and football coach, and he won championships in both sports and began the entire athletic program at the high school, ORHS Cross Country Coach Allen Etheridge said.

“I talked with longtime Oak Ridge coach Winston Russell today, who told me that he remembered coach Martin as the guy who was always there, the guy who would coach anyone at any time,” Etheridge said Monday. “(Martin) was an assistant football coach and was head basketball coach.”

Athletes from Cherokee, Jefferson, Karns, Rhea County, and Robertsville middle schools competed in Thursday’s meet, which included events ranging from relays and hurdles to long jumps and high jumps. [Read more…]

Guest column: School safety update

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Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

Since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Oak Ridge Schools and the Oak Ridge Police Department (ORPD) last August, a number of significant safety improvements have occurred within our schools including physical security upgrades, leadership adjustments, and increased police presence.

As you may know, this time last year, we had only one School Resource Officer (SRO) covering our entire school district. Now we have two full time SROs, two Support Services Unit (SSU) officers manning satellite offices, and the Adopt-a-Cop program, which provides officer time in all of our schools via daily check-ins. A third satellite office is in the works as ORPD Chief Jim Akagi and Superintendent Bruce Borchers are presently working on stationing an SSU officer at Robertsville Middle School.

Chief Akagi recently invited me to join our SROs on a walk-along at the high school to personally observe the impact of these changes. He also encouraged me to tag along with our S.W.A.T. team during a threat assessment exercise. I took him up on both offers and, as a result, am sharing what I learned. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools selects Teacher Leaders

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The Oak Ridge School system has announced its selections for Teacher Leaders for the 2014-15 school year.

The Teacher Leader initiative was conceived and launched as a result of the Tennessee Department of Education’s push to create a differentiated pay scale for teachers in all counties. The department encouraged systems to either adopt a structure where teachers receive pay bonuses based on student test scores and eliminate increases in pay for advanced degrees or years of service, or adopt programs that ask teachers to take on greater responsibilities in schools.

“When presented with the opportunity to reward teachers for their dedicated and outstanding service, we decided not to get rid of our steps and lanes that reward teachers for their time and dedication to the classroom and earning advanced degrees, but rather recognize teachers that step up and take on greater leadership roles around STEM, analyzing data, and reinforcing professional learning communities,” said Bruce Borchers, Oak Ridge Schools superintendent. [Read more…]

Redflex prepared to discuss options on traffic camera contract

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Traffic Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike

The traffic camera for the westbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike in front of Oak Ridge High School is pictured above. More than half of the speeding violations issued in 2013 were for vehicles driving west here.

Note: This story was last updated at 4:17 p.m. March 24.

Oak Ridge City Council could consider extending the controversial traffic camera contract on Monday, but not without some changes. Among the proposed changes are mobile units, different camera locations, and a new revenue split between the city and the camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., of Phoenix, Ariz.

On Thursday, Redflex said it is negotiating these and other issues with Oak Ridge officials.

“Redflex is very proud of our five-year public safety partnership with the City of Oak Ridge,” said Jody Ryan, Redflex communications director. “We are prepared to discuss various options to ensure the city’s traffic safety camera program is comprehensive and provides the highest public safety value.”

Council has been presented two options to consider during a special Monday night meeting. One would extend the five-year contract for two years with the changes. A second would end the program when the current agreement expires April 21. [Read more…]

Council considers ending, extending traffic cameras on Monday

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Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider extending or ending the traffic camera contract.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider extending a controversial traffic camera contract for two years, or ending it.

The Council postponed a vote earlier this month. It will now be considered during a special 7 p.m. meeting on Monday.

The current five-year contract with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. of Arizona expires April 21. If it’s not extended, the city staff has asked Council to consider installing a traffic signal in front of the Oak Ridge High School on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The high school stoplight would have to be approved by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. It could cost $150,000 to $200,000 and take nine months to install. [Read more…]

Middle school students competing regionally for National Science Bowl finals

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Middle school students from Oak Ridge, Norris, and Oliver Springs are participating in an upcoming competition to determine what team will represent Tennessee in the middle school national finals of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science’s National Science Bowl.

The winner of the regional competition, scheduled for Feb. 1 at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge, will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Office of Science’s National Science Bowl in late April.

The winner of the national competition will win prizes for the team members and their schools.

Here are the teams that are competing: [Read more…]

City move could add another police officer to Oak Ridge Schools

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Oak Ridge High School

The number of reported crimes is down at Oak Ridge High School since police officers were given office space there in August, and a move recommended by city administrators could add another school resource officer in the Oak Ridge school system.

The number of reported crimes is down at Oak Ridge High School since police officers were given office space there in August, and a move recommended by city administrators could add another school resource officer in the Oak Ridge school system.

It’s part of a program to improve student safety and use law enforcement to reduce unacceptable student behaviors, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson and Police Chief Jim Akagi said.

Oak Ridge Schools now have one school resource officer, or SRO. There have been discussions about adding more officers, especially since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012, but funding has been an obstacle.

On Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council will consider a resolution that would allow the Oak Ridge Police Department to hire an extra police officer, exceeding its authorized personnel staffing levels, in order to assign an existing police officer as an SRO. There have been proposals to add more—in December, City Council member Trina Baughn proposed one at each of the city’s two middle schools—but Watson and Akagi are recommending one additional officer now. [Read more…]

BB pistol found in student’s backpack at Robertsville

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Robertsville Middle School

A BB pistol was found in a student’s backpack in a locker at Robertsville Middle School on Thursday morning, authorities said.

A BB pistol was found in a student’s backpack in a locker at Robertsville Middle School on Thursday morning, authorities said.

The 13-year-old student was arrested and charged with carrying a weapon on school property and aggravated assault, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a press release.

At least five officers responded to the school after receiving a report about a student armed with a handgun at about 8:53 a.m. Thursday, the press release said. Officers located the student at 9:05 a.m. and detained him. [Read more…]

Knoxville Regional LEGO tournament Saturday at Hardin Valley

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Knoxville Regional LEGO Tournament

About 100 students representing 18 Knoxville area teams will compete in a regional LEGO tournament Saturday at Hardin Valley Academy, working with miniature robots that perform required tasks on a table.

Robertsville Middle School is the defending state champion. Under the new format this year, the team needs to qualify in this regional tournament before advancing to the state tournament.

“This year’s theme in ‘Nature’s Fury,’” said John Tilson, a Hardin Valley science teacher and Saturday’s tournament director. “The students have a lot of problems they need to solve. They design and build a predominantly LEGO robot. They perform a certain number of challenges and they get points for each challenge. They have to do certain rescues, and they have to move certain items from place to place.” [Read more…]

Turkey Trot for children at RMS on Wednesday

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The 2013 Turkey Trot will be on Wednesday afternoon at the Robertsville Middle School soccer field behind RMS.

It’s open to children from kindergarten to fifth grade.

Here is the race schedule and divisions by grades:

  • K-1—4 p.m. (one-mile race)
  • 2-3—4:20 p.m. (one-mile race)
  • 4-5—4:40 PM (one-mile race) [Read more…]

Robertsville Rams finish season 8-1, win conference championship

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Robertsville Middle School Rams

The Robertsville Rams capped off a great season Thursday night with a 34-14 win over conference rival Rhea Central Middle School. The Rams finished the season with an 8-1 overall record. (Submitted photo)

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The Robertsville Rams capped off a great season Thursday night with a 34-14 win over conference rival Rhea Central Middle School. The Rams finish the season with an 8-1 overall record, with their only loss coming in a double overtime thriller against Christian Academy of Knoxville.

This team is the first to win a conference championship at Robertsville since 2006. The win over Rhea Central marks an impressive seven-game win streak for the Rams football program led by some strong future Oak Ridge Wildcats.

“This team has been fun to coach. They battle every game. Even in our one loss, they realize and see how close we were,” said Chris Layton, head football coach of Robertsville Middle School. [Read more…]