Oak Ridge Today

Drug Awareness Day at Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Saturday

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2016 Drug Awareness Day

The Oak Ridge Chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks will be hosting the fourth annual Drug Awareness Day at the Oak Ridge Municipal Pool located at 172 Providence Road, on Saturday, June 18.

Drug Awareness demonstrations will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. inside the pool area. Hundreds of prizes will be given away to those participating in a drug awareness activity. Some of the prizes include T-shirts, coloring books, swim noodles, beach balls, and Frisbees.

This event is a partnership with Anderson County Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department, Roane County Anti-Drug Coalition, and the Tennessee Meth and Pharmaceutical Task Force. [Read more…]

Warrants: Woman admits residents made meth in Tusculum Drive apartment

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Kimberly Hughes Welch

Kimberly Hughes Welch

An Oak Ridge woman who lives at an apartment raided by police on Wednesday admitted that she and a man who also lives at the home were using methamphetamine laboratory components, including chemicals and pseudoephedrine powder, to make meth there, authorities said.

Besides the chemicals and pseudoephedrine, officers also found gas generators, hoses, and what they described as bi-layer liquids, according to arrest warrants. Police described those items as meth lab components. They were allegedly found inside Apartment C at 197 Tusculum Drive during a Wednesday evening search, according to the warrants, which were filed by Simon Byrne of the Seventh District Crime Task Force.

Raynell Fountaine Hopson

Raynell Fountaine Hopson

After she was read her Miranda rights, apartment resident Kimberly Welch, 48, told police that she and Raynell Hopson, 47, who also lives in the apartment, were using the equipment to make meth, Byrne said.

Welch and Hopson have each been charged with the initiation of meth manufacturing, possession of drug paraphernalia, and the manufacture/delivery/sale of Schedule II drugs.

The alleged meth lab was within 1,000 feet of La Petite Academy on Tulsa Road, a drug-free school zone, so there could be a school zone enhancement to the charges, which would be applied at sentencing if Welch or Hopson are convicted, said Russell Barker, director of the Seventh District Crime Task Force. [Read more…]

Authorities find active meth lab on Tusculum Drive; three arrested

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Tusculum-Drive-Meth-Lab-Bust-March-30-2016-2

Authorities found what they described as an active methamphetamine laboratory in a home on Tusculum Drive on Wednesday, March 30, 2016. Pictured above are three members of the 7th District Crime Task Force dressed in hazmat suits and using oxygen as they prepare to enter the back of the home. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 5:15 p.m.

Authorities found what they described as an active methamphetamine laboratory on Tusculum Drive on Wednesday, and three people were arrested, including two people who live at the home.

The Seventh District Crime Task Force determined the home was an active meth lab at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Director Russell Barker said. The alleged lab was inside a home at 197 Tusculum Drive, Apartment C.

Three members of the Crime Task Force first checked the home wearing hazardous materials suits and breathing oxygen. After they determined it was an active meth lab, they went back in to remove what Barker described as meth lab materials and trash left from cooking meth. Officers also found finished product, Barker said, although he didn’t have information on how much.

Officers collected the meth lab-related materials in front of the home on a blue tarp. Wearing gloves, boots, and sometimes using breathing masks with eye shields, they also placed some items in plastic five-gallon buckets.

A man and woman who live at the house were decontaminated and taken to jail in white Tyvek suits at about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday. Barker said one of them had been inside the home but was coming out when officers arrived. [Read more…]

Drug Awareness Day at Oak Ridge Pool on Saturday, June 6

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Drug Awareness Day at the Oak Ridge Pool

The Third Annual Drug Awareness Day is at the Oak Ridge Municipal Pool on Saturday, June 6.

It’s hosted by the Oak Ridge Chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks. The pool is located at 172 Providence Road, near Oak Ridge High School.

Drug Awareness demonstrations will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. June 6 inside the pool area. Hundreds of prizes will be given away to those participating in a drug awareness activity, a press release said. Some of the prizes include T-shirts, coloring books, and Frisbees.

This event is a partnership with Anderson County Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Oak Ridge City Recreation and Parks Department, Roane County Anti-Drug Coalition, and the Tennessee Meth and Pharmaceutical Task Force. [Read more…]