Oak Ridge Today

Learn about Tennessee’s bats at UT Arboretum on Thursday

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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…]

Please be careful: TWRA responds to drownings, hit-and-run, boat fires, sinking boats

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TWRA logo for news release

Since Thursday, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has responded to more than a dozen serious boating incidents, including drownings, a hit-and-run crash on the water, boat fires, sinking boats, and boat crashes, officials said.

“As we head into the afternoon and evening of the Fourth of July, to say that wildlife and boating officers have been busy this holiday weekend would be a vast understatement,” a press release said. “It’s a good thing that TWRA officers hope for the best and prepare for the worst as they have worked tirelessly around the clock responding to over a dozen serious boating incidents on Ft. Loudon, Norris, and Melton Hill lakes alone.”

Since Thursday, officers have investigated or assisted with two drownings, a hit-and-run personal watercraft incident, three boat fires, multiple sinking boats, and boat collisions, as well as making a rescue on Chilhowee Mountain and arresting five operators for boating under the influence, or BUI, the press release said. An illegal black bear hunting case was also made on Friday night.

On Saturday on Norris Lake, officers investigated two boating accidents before the Fire on the Water fireworks show as well as two accidents after the show. In one incident, a couple was rescued from a sinking vessel near Sequoyah Marina, while two boats collided in a separate accident near Waterside Marina. In other incidents, two personal watercrafts collided in the Big Creek area of Norris, and a person fell off the dock at Blue Springs Dock.

In another unfortunate accident, a 19-year-old man, William E. Blasius of Knoxville, died after jumping from the top of a houseboat near Sequoyah Marina in Andersonville. Witnesses said he was attempting to jump over another boat and struck that boat before disappearing into 30 feet of water, the press release said. [Read more…]

Knoxville man drowns after jumping from houseboat into Norris Lake

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Anderson County Sheriff's Department Badge

Note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. July 4.

A Knoxville man drowned after jumping from a houseboat into Norris Lake on Saturday evening, authorities said.

The man has been identified as William E. Blasius, 19.

The drowning was reported at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday near Sequoyah Marina in Andersonville.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency responded.

“Several houseboats had tied off together and to the shore as they gathered to watch the fireworks show at the marina,” said Mark Lucas, chief deputy of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department. “Sheriff’s investigators responded to the scene and are looking into the possibility Blasius may have hit another boat as he dove into the water.” [Read more…]

Updated: Man drowns after jumping off houseboat at Sequoyah Marina

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Note: This story was last updated at 3:40 p.m. July 3.

ANDERSONVILLE—A man drowned after jumping off a houseboat a few hours before a fireworks show at Sequoyah Marina in Andersonville on Saturday evening, authorities said.

The man was reported to have jumped into the water from the top deck of a large houseboat tied to the shore along with other houseboats, said Mark Lucas, chief deputy of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

He said the Sheriff’s Department is investigating the possibility that the man might have hit his head on another boat.

Divers recovered the man’s body under water, authorities said. His name and age haven’t been released yet.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Sergeant Roy Smith requested rescuers after he received a report that a man jumped off either a bridge or a wall about 35 feet into the water, spokesman Matthew Cameron said Sunday.
[Read more…]

TWRA: Take a lesson from the kids, wear your life jacket

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From left to right above are Sasa the dog, Trina Ward, 5-month-old Aiden Ward, Tom Werkema with 2-year-old Makaylyn Ward, 5-month-old Collin Ward, and Jake Ward. (Photo courtesy TWRA)

From left to right above are Sasa the dog, Trina Ward, 5-month-old Aiden Ward, Tom Werkema with 2-year-old Makaylyn Ward, 5-month-old Collin Ward, and Jake Ward. (Photo courtesy TWRA)

 

By Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

The biggest boating weekend of the year is among us, and officers from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency are already busy investigating too many serious injury and fatal boating accidents.

At least eight of the fatal accidents that have occurred on Tennessee waters resulted in drownings and in most cases, if not all, a properly worn personal flotation device would have saved lives. Let’s take a lesson from the kids and see why, thankfully, we don’t lose many of them to drowning while boating.

The answer is simple: In Tennessee and in most other states, children ages 12 and under are required by law to wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket while on the open deck of a recreational boat except while anchored, moored, or aground. [Read more…]

TWRA looking for watercraft riders in hit-and-run crash that injures four on Melton Hill Lake

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Personal Watercraft Operator Melton Hill Lake Crash June 30 2016

A photo of a personal watercraft and operator that witnesses described as striking a boat containing a family pulling a child on a tube on Melton Hill Lake on Thursday, June 30, 2016. (Photo courtesy TWRA)

 

Tennessee officials are investigating a hit-and-run boating crash on Thursday on Melton Hill Lake in the area of Clark Park and Knox County Park.

The crash was reported at about 7:45 p.m. Thursday. Among the agencies that responded were the Oak Ridge Fire Department, which went to Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge.

According to witnesses, two personal watercrafts, or PWCs, were operating near the bluffs directly across from Knox County Park and going back and forth between the dock at the park and the bluffs where others were swimming, according to a press release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Witnesses describe the operators as being reckless and inconsiderate, and as one of the PWCs left the bluff and headed toward the park, it collided with a boat in the area containing a family pulling a child on a tube. [Read more…]