Oak Ridge Today













Controlled burns scheduled in North Boundary Greenway Area

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Controlled burns are scheduled soon on part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation.

DOE’s Oak Ridge Office said it will start controlled burns of woodland areas of the Oak Ridge Reservation that are within the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement East Tract and Parcel ED-6 along North Boundary Road and Wisconsin Avenue in west Oak Ridge.

“Firebreak installation activities supporting these burns will begin in the near future, with ignitions taking place as soon thereafter as weather conditions permit and continuing through December 2018,” a press release said. [Read more…]

TVA, Fish & Wildlife Service announce trout stocking agreement

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have reached a multi-agency agreement to provide continued funding for three federal fish hatcheries that have stocked waters in Georgia and Tennessee with millions of trout. The agreement was announced Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, at a press conference beside the Clinch River below Norris Dam. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Authority)

The Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have reached a multi-agency agreement to provide continued funding for three federal fish hatcheries that have stocked waters in Georgia and Tennessee with millions of trout. The agreement was announced Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, at a press conference beside the Clinch River below Norris Dam. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Authority)

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have reached a multi-agency agreement to provide continued funding for three federal fish hatcheries that have stocked waters in Georgia and Tennessee with millions of trout.

The partnership, which began in 2013, includes the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Since 2013, TVA has been funding trout production by the Service at three national fish hatcheries: Dale Hollow and Erwin in Tennessee, and Chattahoochee Forest in Georgia. The trout are then provided to the following tailwaters: Apalachia (Hiwassee River), Blue Ridge, Boone, Cherokee, Fort Patrick Henry, Normandy, Norris, South Holston, Tims Ford, and Wilbur. Trout-stocked reservoirs in the plan include Fort Patrick Henry, South Holston, Parksville, Watauga, and Wilbur reservoirs.

The four partner agencies announced the new agreement Tuesday at a press conference beside the Clinch River below Norris Dam. The agreement provides partnership funding through fiscal year 2021, a press release said. [Read more…]

Black bear reported in Clinton on Friday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Black Bear at Anderson County High School on Oct. 6, 2015

An archived file photo of a black bear at Anderson County High School on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2016. (Archived file photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Information from WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today

A black bear was spotted wandering through Clinton on Friday.

The city sent out a Code Red Alert to part of the city on Friday morning indicating that the bear had been spotted in the vicinity of JD Yarnell Industrial Parkway and the 1200 block of Seivers Boulevard, heading in the general direction of the Clinton Home Center.

Authorities say that if you see the bear, you should give it a wide berth and notify the Clinton Police Department at (865) 457-3112.

It’s not unusual to occasionally see black bears in East Tennessee in the summer, including in Oak Ridge, Anderson County, Clinton, and the Great Smoky Mountains. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has previously said that Oak Ridge and Knoxville are surrounded by very good bear habitats—including the largest black bear preserve in the world—and it’s not unusual to see up to a half-dozen bears come through the Oak Ridge area each year and at least that many in the Knoxville area. [Read more…]

Rescuers search for missing man in water at Bull Run Park

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Rescuers in an Anderson County Sheriff's Department boat search for a missing man in the water at Bull Run Park in Claxton, authorities said Sunday afternoon, Feb. 18, 2018. Anderson County Sheriff Paul White is at left in the boat. In front is Knoxville Police Department search and rescue volunteer Candy Stooksbury with K-9 Barnabas, a bloodhound. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Rescuers in an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department boat search for a missing man in the water at Bull Run Park in Claxton, authorities said Sunday afternoon, Feb. 18, 2018. Anderson County Sheriff Paul White is at left in the boat. In front is Knoxville Police Department search and rescue volunteer Candy Stooksbury with K-9 Barnabas, a bloodhound. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 p.m.

CLAXTON—Rescuers searched for a missing man in the water at Bull Run Park in Claxton on Sunday afternoon and evening, but they were not able to locate him.

The search was called off as daylight faded just before 7 p.m. Sunday, more than six hours after the missing man’s pickup truck was located near the park. It’s not clear when the search might resume.

The missing man is reported to be from Knox County, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy. The identity of the man, reported to be 66, was not immediately available Sunday.

Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said the man left his black pickup truck on the side of road across Bull Run Creek from Bull Run Park, The keys were in the truck, and a suicide note was in the truck, White said. The vehicle was parked alongside New Henderson Road at Tracy Allison Lane.

But rescuers aren’t certain that the man is in the water, White said. [Read more…]

Wildlife nature walk at Freels Bend on Saturday, Jan. 20

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A wildlife management nature walk is scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, January 20, in the Freels Bend area in south Oak Ridge.

“Have you ever seen a deer foraging in a field or heard a field sparrow calling in the distance and wondered what could be done to help these species of wildlife?” a press release said. “Join wildlife experts from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.”

The wildlife management nature walk in the Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area is scheduled from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, January 20. Discussions during the tour, which is rescheduled from a rained-out date in October, will include game species, species of concern, and how to manage for them in fields and forests, the press release said. [Read more…]

Learn about Tennessee’s bats at UT Arboretum on Thursday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Photo courtesy University of Tennessee Arboretum Society

Photo courtesy University of Tennessee Arboretum Society

 

You can learn about the 16 species of Tennessee bats at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

Sponsored by the UT Arboretum Society, this family friendly program will be led by Pandy English, the assistant chief of biodiversity for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, a press release said. It’s scheduled to start at the UT Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, November 2.

“We know that bats eat mosquitoes and help pollinate plants, but there is so much more to this mysterious creature,” the press release said.

The program will be at the UT Arboretum Auditorium, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue. It will include a PowerPoint presentation, bat “show and tell” items, and children’s activities at the end, the press release said. Attendees will learn about bat myths and facts, the characteristics and types of bats in Tennessee, and why bats are one of our most invaluable species. [Read more…]

Fish caught in Melton Hill Reservoir could break state record

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Angler Stephen Paul caught the new pending state record musky on March 2, 2017, from Melton Hill Reservoir in Knox County. The fish weighed 43 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 51 and 3/8 inches in length. (Photo by Dylan Gano)

Angler Stephen Paul caught the new pending state record musky on March 2, 2017, from Melton Hill Reservoir in Knox County. The fish weighed 43 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 51 and 3/8 inches in length. (Photo by Dylan Gano)

 

A fish caught in Melton Hill Reservoir on Thursday could break a state record, wildlife officials said.

The muskellunge, better known as a musky, was hauled in by angler Stephen Paul in the Knox County portion of Melton Hill Reservoir on Thursday evening, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said.

The giant musky weighed 43 pounds and 14 ounces. It bit Paul’s artificial lure around 6 p.m. Thursday and provided him with the “catch of a lifetime,” the TWRA said.

The fish could break a 34-year-old state record.

The TWRA said muskellunge are a challenging fish to catch, particularly when they get older and wiser.

Paul’s friend Dylan Gano was with him to document the historic catch. [Read more…]

Wetland restoration project on Melton Lake Greenway on March 5

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Melton Lake Wetland Restoration

The Healthy Waters Program in Oak Ridge will be conducting an invasive plant removal on the Melton Lake Greenway, under the Edgemoor Road bridge, on Sunday, March 5, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

This is in an effort to restore a wetland along the greenway by removing non-native invasive plants, cleaning up trash, and planting native trees, grasses, and flowers, a press release said.

Tina Ball and Caitlin Craighead, the AmeriCorps members serving in Oak Ridge with the Public Works Department’s Stormwater Management Program, have received a grant through the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, or TWRA, to make this project possible, the press release said. [Read more…]

Interior Department protects 75,000 acres from surface mining, including in Anderson County

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell

U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell

 

A federal decision announced Wednesday designates about 75,000 acres of mountain ridge lines, including in Anderson County, as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations, a press release said.

The decision, which affects mountains in East Tennessee, was announced by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

“Today’s action helps protect a spectacular area of eastern Tennessee that is critical to the region’s tourism and outdoor recreation economy, provides valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and supports a healthy watershed,” the press release said.

The release said the Interior Department designated the mountain ridge lines as unsuitable for surface coal mining at the request of the State of Tennessee. Besides Anderson County, the other affected counties include Campbell, Scott, and Morgan. [Read more…]

Some periodic park, greenway closures for fall deer hunts

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Haw Ridge Park Parking Lot

Part of the Melton Lake Greenway is pictured above at the Haw Ridge Park parking lot.

 

Haw Ridge Park, North Boundary Greenway, and Gallaher Bend Greenway will be closed periodically for Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area managed quota hunts this fall, a press release said.

The closure on Haw Ridge includes the portion of Melton Lake Greenway adjacent to the park, from the lake to the parking lot on Edgemoor Road, the press release said.

The hunts, which are open only to those pre-selected in a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) quota drawing, will take place on the following dates: [Read more…]

Update: TWRA identifies drowning victim as Norris man

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

TWRA-and-Rescuers-on-Norris-Lake-Sept-5-2016 1

Rescuers recovered the body of a missing Anderson County boater in Norris Lake on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (Photo by TWRA)

 

Information from WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has identified the man who drowned on Norris Lake on Monday as Roy McClenney Jr., 71, of Norris.

McClenney’s body was recovered from 46 feet of water at around 6:40 p.m. Monday.

The TWRA said they were called shortly after noon when the man jumped off of a pontoon boat anchored in a cove near Sugar Camp Lane in Maynardville in Union County and never resurfaced.

Rescue crews from Union County and Knoxville joined TWRA in the search for the man, who was located with help from a remote operated vehicle, or ROV. TWRA officers located the man’s body, and divers from the Knoxville Rescue Squad made the recovery. [Read more…]

Rescuers recover body of missing Anderson County boater in Norris Lake

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

TWRA-and-Rescuers-on-Norris-Lake-Sept-5-2016 1

Rescuers recovered the body of a missing Anderson County boater in Norris Lake on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (Photo by TWRA)

 

The body of an Anderson County boater who went missing in a cove near Sugar Camp Lane in Maynardville was recovered under water in Norris Lake on Monday evening, authorities said.

At about 6:40 p.m. Monday, September 5, rescue crews recovered the man’s body in about 46 feet of water, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said. The 71-year-old Anderson County man went missing around noon Monday after jumping into the lake from an anchored pontoon boat.  Witnesses onboard the boat say that the man went under the water and never resurfaced.

Rescue crews from Union County and Knoxville joined TWRA in the search for the man, who was located with help from a remote operated vehicle, or ROV. TWRA officers located the man’s body, and divers from the Knoxville Rescue Squad made the recovery. [Read more…]

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today