Residential recycling pickup will be discontinued, and regular trash pickup will be changed to curbside service only as of July 1, the Norris City Council decided Monday night. The council approved a new contract with its current provider, Waste Collections, Inc., which does not include the back-door trash pickup service that Norris residents have enjoyed for years – not because the city didn’t want it, but because the contractor did not offer it. As for recycling, the council could have chosen a contract proposal that would have included biweekly pickups, but that would have raised the residential refuse pickup charge to $24.50 a month from the current $16. Instead, the council picked an alternate contract that eliminates recycling, but also reduces the monthly trash collection fee to $15, which is added to the water and sewer bills of all residents. Norris residents packed the council’s meeting room to hear the waste-collection options and voice their opinions about the changes, with some speaking out against the elimination of back-door service. But City Manager Adam Ledford told the council and residents in attendance that only three companies submitted bids for the new trash contract, and none of them included an option for back-door pickup.
Read MoreWhile some race on foot and others in cars, still others program and control drones that race through the air. Meet the Blaze Drone Club, a group of students in Clinton City Schools’ elementary schools. They’ve so far raced physical drones against each other and against students from Philadelphia Elementary School in Loudon County. Using a simulator, they’ve virtually raced against many other teams across the country, including some high schoolers. Coach Kimberly Odell said there are many reasons why students like to race drones. Some just find it exciting. “Things that go fast are just fun,” she said.
Read MoreBy Ben Pounds ben@mycouriernews.com While the school year was wrapping up, schools presented different projects for approval by the Anderson County Board of Education. The board approved three projects that schools plan to fund with donations. These projects, which did not require any local government funds were: shade structures and a playground for special education pre-kindergarten students at Andersonville Elementary School; a shade structure, tables and landscaping for Grand Oaks Elementary School; and renovations for Lake City Middle School’s gym. These votes happened Thursday, May 8. However, the board put off voting on the one project that would have involved committing funds: additional supplies for Clinton High School’s band. The board delayed its vote after Director of Schools Tim Parrott said he would prefer to put the project on hold until the next budget comes out. He explained to The Courier News that the school system’s policy is to fund similar programs at each of the schools based on number of students rather than just which school requests the money. “By student, everything has to be equal, so when you give more money to one group of students, you have to give it to the other band’s students,” he said.
Read MoreHurst Excavating LLC. of Knoxville plans to begin work July 14 on its $851,455 contract from the city of Norris for the first phase of sewer-line upgrades, City Manager Adam Ledford told the City Council on Monday night. The project includes replacing older lines to help reduce the influx of stormwater runoff that overwhelms the city’s sewage-treatment plant following significant rainfall. The contract, approved April 14 by the council, will cover about 25% of the sanitary-sewer system, City Manager Adam Ledford said. “These are the areas most in need of repair or replacement to reduce load levels at the sewer plant,” he said. The work is expected to cause some traffic disruptions, mainly on East Norris Road, as the lines are uncovered, Ledford said. “There will be very little damage to roads.” In conjunction with that, the council voted Monday to seek bids for repaving a section of East Norris Road from the Commons to Pine Road. Ledford said the city already has money in the budget to cover that portion, but also plans to extend the work from Pine Road to Cedar Place, near Andersonville Highway, when money is available for that.
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