Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County has fireworks Saturday night

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Fireworks at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2017. (File photo by D. Ray Smith)

There are fireworks in Anderson County for Independence Day this evening.

The fireworks are funded by Anderson County with help from private donations from businesses and residents.

Anderson County commissioners debated last month whether to have the fireworks because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also debated how much to spend, with potential amounts ranging between $12,000 and $20,000. The goal was to get to a total of about $20,000.

The fireworks show will start at 9:45 p.m. today (Saturday, July 4) at Anderson County High School. The high school campus will be closed to the public.

Anderson County High School is at 130 Maverick Circle in Clinton, close to Exit 122 on Interstate 75. The Anderson County mayor’s office recommended that anyone watching the fireworks from public areas around Exit 122 use social distancing, which generally means staying six feet away from people who don’t live with you.

There are normally fireworks in cities such as Oak Ridge, but those displays have been canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, in what could be a one-time event, the county is hosting and helping to fund the display.

[Read more…]

Anderson County ‘visioning’ workshop is next week

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Gary Human

Gary Human

 

Submitted

Anderson County has a rich history, from coal mining to pearling, and the rise from agricultural infancy to become a world-leading technological powerhouse.

But what about Anderson County’s future? What is your vision—as a citizen, business leader, or elected official—for Anderson County?

Come share your ideas at a “Visioning Workshop” from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 20, in the Club Room at the Clinton Community Center, 101 Hicks Street. Sandwiches will be provided during the event, which was originally scheduled to be at the Anderson Courthouse, a press release said. [Read more…]

WYSH: Wandell elected Commission chair, Creasey vice chair

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Anderson County Commissioners are pictured above after being sworn in at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. At center front (third from left) is Tracy Wandell, who was elected chair by the other commissioners, and at right front is Jerry Creasey, who was elected vice chair. (Photo courtesy Shannon Wandell)

Anderson County Commissioners are pictured above after being sworn in at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. At center front (third from left) is Tracy Wandell, who was elected chair by the other commissioners, and at right front is Jerry Creasey, who was elected vice chair. (Photo courtesy Shannon Wandell)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

Newly elected and re-elected Anderson County commissioners were sworn in Tuesday morning at the Courthouse in Clinton.

Following the swearing-in ceremony, commissioners held a brief meeting during which they elected Tracy Wandell to serve as the next chair of the Commission, succeeding Tim Isbel.

Longtime Commissioner Jerry Creasey was elected vice chair. [Read more…]

Anderson: Barker elected sheriff; incumbents win in Oak Ridge

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Russell Barker

Russell Barker

Note: This story was last updated at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 3.

Russell Barker, a Republican, won the race for Anderson County sheriff on Thursday, beating Mark Lucas, a Democrat, in a race decided by about 2,000 votes, according to unofficial results.

Meanwhile, four incumbents were re-elected in two Anderson County Commission districts where there was a challenger in Oak Ridge.

Barker is a detective sergeant with the Clinton Police Department who has served as director of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County. Lucas is chief deputy of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

Barker had 7,684 votes (57.79 percent), compared to 5,613 votes (42.21 percent) for Lucas, according to the unofficial results posted after all 27 precincts had been counted Thursday night.

Anderson County Sheriff Paul White is retiring at the end of his third four-year term, and he did not seek re-election.

In another contested race, Regina Copeland, the Republican director of the 911 center, defeated Ebony Capshaw, a Democrat, by a 69.74 percent to 30.26 percent margin (8,981 votes to 3,987). The last elected trustee, Rodney Archer, is now executive director of the County Officials Association of Tennessee, and Myron Iwanski, a former county commissioner and commission chair appointed to the trustee job through this August election, did not seek the job in the election. [Read more…]

Despite censure, lawsuit, calls for resignation, Jones still running in May 1 primary

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The Anderson County Commission, which is pictured above on March 20, 2018, unanimously censured Anderson County Circuit Clerk William Jones on Feb. 20, and asked him to resign after sexual harassment allegations were reported. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Anderson County Commission, which is pictured above on March 20, 2018, unanimously censured Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk William Jones on Feb. 20, and asked him to resign after sexual harassment allegations were reported. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:40 a.m.

CLINTON—He’s been accused of inappropriate behavior that includes unwelcome sexual advances, unwanted touching, and lewd and vulgar text messages. He’s been unanimously censured and asked to resign by the Anderson County Commission. He’s been sued in federal court. And some residents have joined commissioners in asking him to resign, or at least not seek re-election.

Despite those pleas, though, Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk William Jones, who has denied many allegations and called others false, is seeking re-election in the Anderson County Republican Party primary election on Tuesday, May 1. Jones has filed counterclaims in federal court and filed a defamation lawsuit in state court.

Some of the sexual harassment allegations appear to have been forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies, including the Tennessee Attorney General, Tennessee Department of Labor, and Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, according to records released by Anderson County. It’s not clear which outside agencies, if any, might be investigating the complaints, or whether the local district attorney general might be investigating.

Willliam T. Jones

Willliam T. Jones

Commission censures Jones, asks him to resign

The accusations against Jones, who is seeking his second four-year term, were publicly disclosed during a review of a sexual harassment complaint at an Anderson County Commission meeting on February 20.

During that meeting, Kim Jeffers-Whitaker, Anderson County’s chief deputy director of human resources and risk management, said her department had received five reports of inappropriate workplace behavior by Jones.

“The five reports create a harassing pattern,” Jeffers-Whitaker said.

She said the reports are supported by two affidavits and four sworn statements that the county’s human resources department obtained from the victims, who include four past or present employees and one citizen.

According to Jeffers-Whitaker, the alleged instances of unprofessional conduct include: [Read more…]

Twenty-nine qualify to run for 16 seats on Anderson County Commission

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Twenty-nine candidates have qualified to run for 16 seats on the Anderson County Commission in the county general election in August.

There are also three people running for the Tennessee House of Representatives in District 33, a new appointed Oak Ridge school board member running in a special election in August, and a Democratic challenger to Tennessee Senator Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge resident who is also lieutenant governor.

The deadline to qualify to run in the August 2 election, which will also feature contested elections for Anderson County sheriff and trustee, was noon Thursday.

Anderson County has eight County Commission districts, and there are two commissioners per district. The offices are non-partisan, meaning that, unlike some other county offices, they are not part of the Democratic and Republican primary elections on May 1. [Read more…]

Commissioners plan tour with video, showing need for guardrails on New River Highway

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Graves Gap Wildfire

A section of New River Highway, also known as Highway 116, is pictured above between Briceville and Rosedale in November 2012, when the Graves Gap wildfire was reported on a mountain east of the highway (to the right in the photo above). (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Two Anderson County commissioners have planned a mountain drive on Tuesday that they say will again show the need for guardrails along Highway 116, also known as New River Highway, in north Anderson County.

The commissioners, Tim Isbel and Shain Vowell, represent District Four in Anderson County. That district includes Briceville and Rosedale, among other parts of mountainous north Anderson County.

They have scheduled a meeting with a representative of the Tennessee Department of Transportation at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, September 26, at the Anderson County Career and Technical Center beside the Anderson County High School. The purpose is to explain the need for the guardrails, the commissioners said in an email forwarded to other county commissioners, county officials, and the media. [Read more…]

Coal Miners Reunion in Rocky Top on April 29

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Submitted photo

Submitted photo

 

There will be a Coal Miners Reunion in Rocky Top on April 29. It’s hosted by the Coal Creek Miners Museum.

The reunion is scheduled from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at Lake City Middle School in Rocky Top. It Will honor the miners that worked in the Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia coal mines, a press release said.

“The museum’s purpose is to honor the miners and the impact that they had on our communities, and now we want to host an event to bring the miners together to reconnect to each other and honor them for their years of hard work,” said Tim Isbel, chair of the Coal Creek Miners Museum.

There will be chili and soups, live music, door prizes, T-shirts for sale, and script vendors will be on hand to sale and trade script, the press release said. At 5 p.m. there will be a program to honor the hard working men and women who mined coal.

Tickets are $5 per person, and they can be purchased at the Coal Creek Miners Museum from Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., online at www.coalcreekminersmuseum.com, or at the door at the event. However, because of a generous donation, admission is free for anyone that has worked in a mine, the press release said. [Read more…]

New Charter Commission meets Tuesday

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The new Anderson County Charter Commission will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Room 312 in the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

Agenda items include a consideration of rules, according to an agenda submitted by Charter Commission Chair V.L. Stonecipher.

The Charter Commission members are Stonecipher (District 1), Mark Alderson (District 2), Steve Emert (District 3), Tim Isbel (District 4), Jerry White (District 5), Steve Mead (District 6), David Stanley (District 7), and Bob Smallridge (District 8). [Read more…]

Christmas gifts meant to help children stolen from disabled vehicle

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Information from WYSH Radio

A real-life Grinch struck in Anderson County on Thursday.

Organizers of Saturday’s Rocky Top Christmas Party were driving near the intersection of Highway 116 and Andy’s Ridge Road in Briceville on Thursday evening after a wrapping party, where volunteers had wrapped presents for children in need in the northern part of Anderson County, when their green Ford Ranger’s alternator went out and they stopped by the side of the road.

The occupants of the vehicle locked the truck and went to call for help.

But while they were away from the vehicle, someone smashed in the windows and ransacked it. [Read more…]

Seven of eight term-limit candidates defeated in Charter Commission race

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Bob Smallridge

Pictured above is Bob Smallridge, a District 8 candidate who received the most votes of any candidate for Anderson County Charter Commission. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Steve Emert

Pictured above is Steve Emert, a District 3 candidate who received the second-highest number of votes in the Anderson County Charter Commission election.

Seven of the eight candidates who said they will support term limits if elected to a new charter commission lost in the Tuesday election, according to unofficial election results posted by the Anderson County Election Commission.

In District 1 (Claxton, Bull Run), V.L. Stonecipher, a former director of Anderson County Schools, defeated Floyd Grisham, the term-limit candidate, by 1,500 votes to 1,292. A third candidate, Tim Risden, had 412 votes.

In District 2 (Clinton), Anderson County Commissioner Mark Alderson beat Jim Cooper, the term-limit candidate, 1,954 to 1,340.

In District 3 (Andersonville, Norris), Steve Emert, the Anderson County Commission chair, earned about 300 votes more than former commissioner Dusty Irwin, the term-limit candidate. Emert had 2,157 votes to Irwin’s 1,846.

In District 4 (Briceville, Rocky Top), Tim Isbel, an Anderson County commissioner, defeated Dennis Hashbarger, the term-limit candidate, 1,567 to 1,024. [Read more…]

Term-limit candidates trail in early voting

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Bob Smallridge

Bob Smallridge

 

Note: This story was updated at 1:30 a.m.

Seven of the eight candidates who said they will support term limits if elected to a new charter commission are behind in early voting, according to unofficial results posted on the Anderson County Election Commission website on Tuesday evening.

In District 1 (Claxton, Bull Run), Floyd Grisham, the term-limit candidate, trails V.L. Stonecipher by 1,019 early votes to 831. A third candidate, Tim Risden, had 286 early votes.

In District 2 (Clinton), Jim Cooper, the term-limit candidate, is behind Mark Alderson, an Anderson County commission 1,430 to 922.

In District 3 (Andersonville, Norris), Steve Emert, the Anderson County Commission chair, leads former commissioner Dusty Irwin, the term-limit candidate, 1,541 to 1,323.

In District 4 (Rocky Top), Tim Isbel, an Anderson County commissioner, is ahead of Dennis Hashbarger, the term-limit candidate, 773 to 620. [Read more…]