Oak Ridge Today

Republican forum: Issues range from jobs, retail to drug courts, trial experience

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Anderson County Republican Party Forum

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, center, gives an opening statement during a Tuesday night candidate forum for Republican Party candidates. Also pictured are Anderson County Commissioner Zach Bates, left, who is challenging Frank in the May 6 GOP primary, and Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Randy Myers, one of two Republican candidates for sheriff.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:45 a.m.

The starkest differences between any candidates at a Tuesday night Republican Party forum might have emerged in the race for Anderson County chancellor, where candidates Michael Farley and Nicki Cantrell clashed on questions of trial experience and whether the Chancery Court should ever be used to hear criminal cases.

In the race for sheriff, Republican candidates Anthony Lay and Randy Myers agreed on one key question: No federal inmates should be housed at the Anderson County jail.

In the race for mayor, Terry Frank, the incumbent, said she had presided over one of the few—and possibly the only—tax cut in Anderson County history, while her opponent, Commissioner Zach Bates, said the county’s biggest economic challenge is “retail leakage.” [Read more…]

THP: One killed, one injured in Anderson wreck

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Powell man was killed and an Oak Ridge woman injured in a single-vehicle crash that occurred Wednesday night on Clinton Highway, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

The THP reported that the wreck happened shortly after 9:30 p.m. just inside the Anderson County line near the intersection with Old Clinton Pike. Troopers said a 2004 Buick Rendezvous driven by Patrick Johnson, 40, of Powell had been headed south when the SUV left the right side of the roadway and slammed into a truck legally parked by the side of the road. [Read more…]

Car, driver involved in pedestrian hit-and-run on Monday not yet identified

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The car and driver that hit and injured an Oliver Springs man on Old Batley Road on Monday night have not been identified, according to preliminary information released by state officials on Friday.

The unidentified vehicle and driver were traveling north on Old Batley Road near State Highway 62 in Anderson County at about 7:07 p.m. Monday when they hit Derek Jones, 23, of Oliver Springs.

“Vehicle 1 was exiting a left hand curve heading north on Old Batley Road when it hit pedestrian Derek Jones,” state officials said. “Mr. Jones was walking on the right hand side of the roadway heading north. The vehicle struck Mr. Jones, causing him to enter a ditch and then left the scene. Mr. Jones was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.” [Read more…]

THP investigating hit-and-run involving car, pedestrian on Old Batley Road

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating a hit and run accident that occurred Monday evening in Oliver Springs and sent a man to the hospital.

Derek Jones, 23, said he was jogging on Old Batley Road at around 6:45 p.m. Monday when a small, black car hit him from behind. Jones landed on the hood of the car and struck the windshield, but the driver fled the scene without stopping. [Read more…]

Fairly quiet during last week’s snow, but 911 calls spike in Anderson County

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911 calls to the communications center at the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department increased significantly during last week’s snow.

The Sheriff’s Department said the communications center received 429 telephone calls from 7 p.m. Wednesday to 7 p.m. Friday, and 77 of those were 911 calls. That compares to 390 calls, with 51 of those on 911 lines, during the same time period a week earlier. [Read more…]

THP IDs man found on I-40 in Roane County near Hwy 95, seeks help

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Brian William Taylor

Brian William Taylor

Authorities have identified the man found dead early Christmas morning on Interstate 40 in Roane County, and they said he appears to have either jumped or fallen from a moving vehicle before being struck by another vehicle.

The body of Brian William Taylor, 42, of Heath Springs, S.C., was found on the eastbound lanes of I-40 at mile marker 364, which is near Highway 95 and south of Melton Hill Dam, at about 2:30 a.m. Dec. 25, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a press release.

Taylor is a white man, and when he was found, he was wearing blue jeans, a blue and white checked flannel type shirt, and tan work boots, the THP said. [Read more…]

State trooper, former marshal running for Anderson County sheriff

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Anthony Lay

Anthony Lay

An Anderson County man who is a state highway patrolman and former federal deputy U.S. marshal has announced he is running for sheriff.

Anthony Lay is seeking the Republican nomination for Anderson County sheriff in May 2014.

Lay is an officer with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a press release said. He has served as Scott County sheriff, and when he was 33, was appointed as a federal U.S. marshal in Atlanta.

Lay returned to Anderson County to help his parents after his father suffered a health event, the release said.

“I am announcing my candidacy out of my love for public service and the people who live here,” Lay said in the press release. “Anderson County is a wonderful place to live and work, and the people of Anderson County deserve a safe community and leadership they can trust.” [Read more…]

No injuries reported, but SR 95 shut down when coal truck trailer overturns

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Highway 95 Coal Truck Trailer

A trailer hauling coal came loose from a southbound truck and overturned in a ditch next to Highway 95 between Bethel Valley Road and Melton Hill Dam on Sunday night.

No injuries were reported, but part of Highway 95 was temporarily shut down Sunday night after a coal trailer separated from a southbound truck and overturned in a ditch between Bethel Valley Road and Melton Hill Dam.

The accident was reported at about 6:15 p.m. Sunday. The highway remained shut down more than two hours later. [Read more…]

Roane County: Man suffers fatal heart attack behind wheel

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Information from WYSH Radio

A retired police detective died last week on a Roane County roadway when he suffered a heart attack behind the wheel.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said Richard Phillip Hadorn, 67, had been driving his pickup truck on Winton Chapel Road Thursday afternoon when his truck left the roadway and crashed. State troopers said an autopsy determined that he had suffered a heart attack and was likely dead before the truck came to its final rest.

Hadorn, according to our partners at BBB-TV, had only recently moved here from Florida after retiring from the New York Police Department.

Roane wreck kills one

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Kingston man died in a single-vehicle crash early Friday morning in Harriman.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol reports that Patrick E. Fly of Kingston, 22, had been headed south on Swan Pond Road at around 1:30 a.m. in a Nissan Altima when he failed to negotiate a curve. His car skidded and left the roadway, flipping several times and ejecting Fly, who was not wearing a seatbelt. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs man killed in wreck

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Oliver Springs man was killed in a single-vehicle accident Sunday night in Roane County.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol reported that at around 8:30 Sunday night, Otto Joseph Flachbart III, 35, had been driving north on Highway 327 near Oliver Springs when he lost control of his Dodge Ram pickup while rounding a curve. The THP said that he overcorrected twice before the truck flipped over and came to rest on its side. [Read more…]

Lake City woman dies in Anderson County crash

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A Lake City woman died after she was ejected from her car when it went into the median on Interstate 75 in Anderson County and rolled just before midnight Wednesday, authorities said.

Christina D. Nelson, 23, was in the left lane of southbound I-75 in Clinton at about 11:51 p.m. Wednesday when her 2000 Nissan Altima sedan left the roadway, traveled through the median, and rolled about three times, Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Anthony Lay said in a report. [Read more…]