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Read more about the Roane County mask order

Posted at 5:49 pm November 23, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Roane County on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

The executive order for face coverings that was issued by Roane County Executive Ron Woody on Monday could be in effect through December 29 unless Woody and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee extend the order.

Woody announced Monday morning that he was going to invoke the authority to mandate face masks in Roane County as authorized by Lee’s order in July.

The mask mandate does not apply to:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Roane County Tagged With: Bill Lee, face covering, face mask, mask mandate, Roane County, Ron Woody

Roane County requires masks

Posted at 11:15 am November 23, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A graph shows the number of new COVID-19 cases in Roane County by month since the pandemic began in March. Note: The data for November is through Nov. 22, a partial month. (Graph by Oak Ridge Today)

Face masks are now required in Roane County to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Roane County Executive Ron Woody announced the mask mandate on Monday morning. It is effective immediately.

“I hope this community will take this order without causing more divisions among our citizens,” Woody said. He hopes no law enforcement will be needed.

The west end of Oak Ridge is in Roane County, although most of the city’s residents live in Anderson County.

Roane County’s cases and deaths have risen during the past month, Woody said. Roane County has reported almost four times as many COVID-19 deaths so far this month, 15, than in the previous high month—four in September. The county has reported more new cases so far this month, 717, than in the previous high month—543 in October.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Roane County, Top Stories Tagged With: COVID-19, COVID-19 cases, face covering, face mask, mask mandate, positivity rate, Roane County, Ron Woody, Tennessee Department of Health

Roane reports 67 new cases of COVID in one day, positivity rate near 20 percent

Posted at 2:31 pm November 6, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Roane County on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

Roane County reported a record-high new 67 COVID-19 cases on Monday, and the test positivity rate in the county is very high, close to 20 percent, according to data published by the Tennessee Department of Health.

In a Facebook update, Roane County Executive Ron Woody reported an even higher number of new cases on Monday, 72. Woody said about half of those cases might be linked to one group of people.

The previous record of new daily cases in Roane County was 41 on Wednesday, October 28. (The high in Anderson County, also reported last week, is 46.)

The 14-day case average through Thursday was 26.2 new cases per day. That’s up from 15.3 in the previous two-week period in Roane County and higher than the current two-week average of 24.9 new cases per day in Anderson County.

On Thursday, the state health department said the seven-day average of the positivity rate in Roane County was 19.4 percent. That’s very high. The World Health Organization has recommended that the positivity rate be at 5 percent or lower for 14 days before activities re-open. The daily positivity rate measures the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests out of the new daily tests.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Health, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, COVID-19, COVID-19 cases, Knox County, Loudon County, Morgan County, positivity rate, Roane County, Ron Woody, Tennessee Department of Health

Roane County will not require face masks

Posted at 4:48 pm July 19, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Ron Woody (Screenshot from video posted by Woody)

Roane County will not require face masks or face coverings, County Executive Ron Woody said Friday.

In an online video, Woody said most essential businesses are now requiring face coverings. That means a mask requirement by the county may not be necessary anymore, Woody said. Stores that require face coverings now include Kroger, Lowe’s, and Walmart.

“The decisions were made the businesses, which we think was the best decision anyway,” Woody said. It’s better than a government mandate, which no one wants, the county executive said.

“Our businesses should step up and be the responsible party, and they were,” Woody said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Roane County, Top Stories Tagged With: face coverings, face masks, Roane County, Ron Woody, Tennessee Department of Health

Oak Ridge not authorized to require masks

Posted at 4:39 am July 10, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The City of Oak Ridge does not have the authority to require face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, officials said Wednesday.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County, which includes Oak Ridge, has increased significantly this month. The county had 178 total cases on Thursday—a 70 percent increase since July 2—and the number of active cases more than doubled in eight days.

As the number of cases has surged in the region, people have set up social media groups where members have reported on mask use at local businesses and offices and called for mandatory masks, including in Oak Ridge and its schools.

On Wednesday, the city said it is prohibited from enacting or enforcing a mask requirement because of a Tennessee attorney general opinion issued in April and an executive order from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in May. (The attorney general’s opinion is Opinion Number 20-07, and the executive order is Executive Order Number 38.)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Bill Lee, COVID-19, face mask, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge, Roane County, Ron Woody, Terry Frank, Warren Gooch

Roane County not requiring face masks, not clear if that could change

Posted at 1:26 pm July 7, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

As of Monday, Roane County had not invoked its ability to recommend or require face masks or coverings in the county, County Executive Ron Woody said in a video posted online.

On Friday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee granted county mayors in most of the state’s counties the authority to recommend or require face masks.

In a video posted on Facebook on Monday, Woody said there are two issues that have to be resolved before Roane County considers invoking the mandate.

First, Woody said the order, Executive Order 54, hasn’t been officially published, at least not as of Monday afternoon.

Second, the county will wait for guidance from the regional health director, Woody said.

“Generally, a regional health director would make a recommendation to a county saying (there) is a health issue to invoke a mandate or some type of action,” Woody said. “The health department has made no recommendation at this time.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Roane County Tagged With: COVID-19, executive order, face masks, Roane County, Ron Woody

Roane: Woody re-elected as county executive; Bowers wins Commission seat

Posted at 11:25 am August 3, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Ron Woody

Ron Woody

Roane County Executive Ron Woody was re-elected to a third four-year term as county executive on Thursday, and Charlotte Bowers of Oak Ridge won one of two seats on Roane County Commission in District 4, which includes west Oak Ridge.

Woody was first elected to his office in August 2010. On Thursday, he beat challenger David Morgan, a former Roane County property assessor, 8,217 votes to 3,113 (72.52 percent to 27.48 percent). That’s according to unofficial election results reported after all 24 precincts had been counted.

Bowers, the executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County, was one of two Oak Ridge candidates to run for the District 4 seat on Roane County Commission in the August 2 election. The other was Cory Jenkins, general manager at Cumberland Utility District. They were among five candidates who qualified to run in the district.

The other three candidates were from Oliver Springs. They were James W. Brummett, an incumbent, and Thaxton H. “T.H.” Brown Jr. and Jerry W. White.

Brummett, a former chair of the Roane County Commission, was defeated Thursday, finishing third behind Bowers and White, who is also a new commissioner. (There is now a Jerry White on Anderson County Commission, and a Jerry White on the Roane County Commission; they are not the same person.) White has worked at K-25 and Y-12 in Oak Ridge, and he is currently employed providing security for the Roane County Sheriff’s Office at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2018 Election, Front Page News, Government, Police and Fire, Roane County, Roane County, Top Stories Tagged With: Ann Goldston, Charlotte Bowers, Chris Mason, Cory Jenkins, county executive, David Morgan, District 4, Greg Leffew, Jack Stockton, James W. Brummett, Jerry W. White, Kent Calfee, Mary Ellen Blencoe, Mike Elmore, Nick Forrester, Oak Ridge, Roane County, Roane County Clerk, Roane County Commission, Roane County Register of Deeds, Roane County Sheriff, Roane County trustee, Ron Woody, Sharon Brackett, Steve Kelley

Two Oak Ridge candidates qualify to run for Roane County Commission

Posted at 5:02 pm April 13, 2018
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Two Oak Ridge candidates have qualified to run for two seats in District 4 on the Roane County Commission in the August 2 election.

The two Oak Ridge candidates, Charlotte Bowers and Cory Jenkins, are among five candidates who have qualified to run in the election.

The three other candidates are from Oliver Springs. They are James W. Brummett, an incumbent, and Thaxton H. “T.H.” Brown Jr. and Jerry W. White.

Former Roane County Commissioner Steve Kelley, an Oak Ridge resident, had occupied one of the District 4 seats since 2010, and he had been expected to seek re-election in August. But Kelley died in February. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2018 Election, Front Page News, Government, Roane County, Top Stories Tagged With: Ann Goldston, August 2 election, Beth Gage Johnson, Charlotte Bowers, Chase Clem, Chris Mason, Cory Jenkins, David Morgan, District 4, Greg Leffew, Jack Stockton, James W. Brummett, Jerry W. White, Kent Calfee, Mary Ellen Blencoe, Mike Elmore, Nick Forrester, Oak Hills, Oak Ridge candidates, Oliver Springs, Orchard View, Roane County Commission, Ron Woody, Sharon Brackett, Steve Kelley, Thaxton H. "T.H." Brown Jr.

Roane County Commissioner Steve Kelley of Oak Ridge dies at 63

Posted at 1:13 pm February 25, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Steve Kelley

Steve Kelley

 

Roane County Commissioner Steve Kelley, an Oak Ridge resident, died Wednesday evening, February 21. He was 63.

Kelley, who lived on Oklahoma Avenue in Oak Ridge, represented District 4 on the Roane County Commission. That district includes the Oak Hills, Oliver Springs, and Orchard View voting precincts. Oak Hills is in west Oak Ridge.

Kelley was on the Budget Committee appointed by Roane County Executive Ron Woody.

“He was a great Budget Committee member,” Woody said Sunday. “He will be dearly missed as a Budget Committee member and as a Roane County Commissioner.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2018 Election, Front Page News, Government, Obituaries, Roane County, Top Stories Tagged With: Kyker Funeral Home, Oak Ridge, obituary, Oliver Springs, Roane County Commission, Ron Woody, Stephen L. Kelley, Steve Kelley

Once like a small city, Happy Valley has been sold

Posted at 5:42 pm October 20, 2017
By John Huotari 2 Comments

An early aerial photo of Happy Valley, a construction camp that was like a small city and used to help build the former K-25 in west Oak Ridge. This picture was taken May, 22, 1944, by Ed Westcott, the official government photographer in Oak Ridge during World War II. (Photo courtesy Ed Westcott/Emily Hunnicutt)

An early aerial photo of Happy Valley, a construction camp that was like a small city and used to help build the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. This picture was taken May, 22, 1944, by Ed Westcott, the official government photographer in Oak Ridge during World War II. (Photo courtesy Ed Westcott/Emily Hunnicutt)

 

It was once home to a large construction camp that was like a small city and housed workers building K-25 during World War II.

Now the 160-acre parcel known as Happy Valley has been sold.

Happy Valley was in west Oak Ridge, across State Route 58 from the K-25 site. One of three major sites in Oak Ridge, K-25 was built to enrich uranium for atomic weapons as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II.

Today, Happy Valley appears to be mostly a rolling tree-covered landscape between Oak Ridge and Kingston along SR 58. To the public, there is little or no obvious evidence of what was once there—homes, a grocery store, schools, a post office, recreation halls, a gas station, and a bowling alley.

But those who have walked the property have seen evidence of the small city that was once there. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, East Tennessee Technology Park, Federal, Front Page News, Government, K-25, Oak Ridge, Roane County, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: atomic weapons, Bionomics, City of Oak Ridge, David Bradshaw, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, Ed Westcott, General Services Administration, GSA, Happy Valley, History Channel, John McCormick, K-25, K-25 site, Lost Worlds, Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge, Parcel ED-3, Parcel ED-3 Western Expansion Area, Ray Smith, Roane Alliance, Roane County Register of Deeds, Roane County Sheriff's Department, Ron Woody, Secret Cities of the A-Bomb, Steve Goodpasture, U.S. Department of Energy, Wade Creswell, World War II

Council to consider supporting OS request to have state widen SR 61

Posted at 12:43 am March 8, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider supporting an Oliver Springs request to ask the state to widen nine miles of State Route 61 between Oliver Springs and Harriman, where 114 crashes—some of them fatal—were reported between February 2013 and December 2016.

In a January 24 email, Oliver Springs Mayor Cecil E. Crowe told several city and county mayors that Oliver Springs has asked that State Route 61, which is two lanes, be widened to four.

“This highway project has been discussed for a number of years, but it has lacked the support necessary to get it approved,” Crowe told Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, and Roane County Executive Ron Woody. “We need your support to increase the priority of this highway project to reduce accidents, injuries, and fatalities.”

The improvement could boost both the economies in Oak Ridge and Oliver Springs, as well as in Harriman and Anderson, Morgan, and Roane counties, according to Crowe and the Oliver Springs resolution. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Cecil E. Crowe, Harriman, Oak Ridge City Council, Oliver Springs, Ron Woody, SR 61, State Route 61, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Terry Frank, Warren Gooch

Woody to discuss State of Roane County at Lunch with League on Tuesday

Posted at 10:57 pm February 19, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Ron Woody

Ron Woody

Roane County Executive Ron Woody will discuss Roane County issues during Lunch with the League on Tuesday, February 21. The program will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Woody said he will talk about such topics as Roane County economic development, education, the impact of legislation, the county jail, and the impending airport. There will be time for questions from the audience following his presentation, a press release said.

Woody was first elected in August 2010. Formerly a consultant with the University of Tennessee’s County Technical Advisory Service, he is a certified public accountant with years of experience in county fiscal management jobs, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Government, Roane County Tagged With: League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, Lunch with the League, Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, Roane County, Ron Woody

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Classifieds

Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Lithium Production Facility at Y-12

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING FACILITY AT THE Y-12 … [Read More...]

Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) (DOE/EA-2144), Finding of No Significant Impact, and Wetland Statement of Findings

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

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