Oak Ridge Today

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…]

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.

[Read more…]

Sen. Corker also votes against Toomey-Manchin background checks

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U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, also voted Wednesday against the bipartisan Toomey-Manchin amendment to expand background checks for potential gun purchasers.

Like U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, Corker said he supported what is known as the Grassley amendment.

“Like most Americans, I want to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and dangerous mentally ill people,” Corker said in a press release Wednesday evening. “Today, I supported the Grassley amendment to enhance mental health reporting requirements, which I believe is the central issue, and to improve the background check system in a way that is not an impediment to Second Amendment rights. [Read more…]

Alexander votes against assault weapons ban, expanded background checks

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Wednesday joined senators opposing one amendment that would have expanded background checks for potential gun purchasers and another to ban assault weapons.

New gun-control measures are being considered four months after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Wednesday’s votes were considered major defeats for supporters of tougher gun laws.

A Tennessee Republican, Alexander said he instead supports a proposal offered by senators Chuck Grassley, a Iowa Republican, and Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican. He said the Grassley-Cruz amendment would strengthen federal prosecution under existing gun laws and clarify which records must be included in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. [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…]

School Board to discuss school resource officers, superintendent search

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Bob Smallridge

Bob Smallridge

The Oak Ridge Board of Education will discuss a plan to possibly add more school resource officers during a meeting this evening.

The board will also consider a new timeline in its search for a new superintendent.

Interim Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Robert J. Smallridge, who is a former superintendent in the Secret City, said he would like to have one school resource officer, or SRO, in each school. There is currently one SRO at the high school.

[Read more…]

Educators respond to proposals to allow armed teachers in Tennessee

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The Tennessee Education Association said this week that it is neutral on gun laws.

But the organization did release a statement after some legislators proposed allowing teachers to carry guns in Tennessee schools. The proposals followed the Dec. 14 school shooting at Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 students, six adults, the gunman, and his mother.

Here’s the TEA statement:

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Connecticut massacre focuses attention on school security in Tennessee

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The school shootings in Newtown, Conn., on Friday have focused attention on school security in Tennessee, led to pledges to increase the police presence at some schools, and bolstered calls for more school resource officers across the state.

It has also revived an intense debate about gun control in the United States.

The shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown last week killed 20 children, six adults, the gunman, and his mother. On Tuesday, the National Rifle Association said it was prepared to “offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again” and would have a major news conference on Friday.

In Tennessee, a few legislators have proposed requiring school resource officers in all schools, training at least one staff member to use firearms, or allowing teachers to carry handguns into schools not patrolled by armed police officers. But it’s not yet clear how much support—or funding—those proposals will have.

In Oak Ridge, Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer said education officials will continue to advocate for more school resource officers, or SROs. But local officials said adding SROs could depend upon funding.

In Anderson County, Mayor Terry Frank sent out information on Tuesday on the positive measures taken this week by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department after last week’s shooting, including four walk-throughs at Dutch Valley Elementary School on Monday.

[Read more…]