KTBB News, Weather, Talk

MARSHALL — A Marshall family is desperately seeking a kidney donor for its 16 month old daughter. 16-month-old Charlie Ray Furr was born with only one functioning kidney. The kidney was set to be removed last Tuesday, and Charlie Ray was expected to make a full recovery. However, during the operation, the good kidney was compromised, and then removed along with the bad organ. Now, Charlie Ray is at Children’s Hospital in Dallas undergoing life-saving dialysis treatments. A prayer vigil for Charlie Ray will be held in downtown Marshall Thursday night. Hundreds are expected to attend.

JACKSONVILLE — Some people in the Jacksonville area may have noticed lowered water pressure Wednesday. Afton Grove Water Supply is urging customers to conserve water. They tell KETK they are dangerously close to running out completely. Their plants can’t keep up with increased usage — which may be due to people running water to keep pipes from freezing.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Jail Officials will hold a public meeting February 10th. They’ll discuss plans for a new jail and will take community input. It will be held at the Smith County Courthouse at 4:00.

TYLER – Morning commuters in Tyler were greeted yesterday with traffic sign problems all over the city. KTBB traffic reporter Kerri Compton reported at mid-afternoon Wednesday that all traffic signals in Tyler were functioning. Earlier, the Tyler Police Department cautioned citizens that the city was experiencing traffic signal problems due to sporadic power outages. Those were attributed to a state directive that rolling blackouts be implemented. The state’s ERCOT agency lifted that directive yesterday afternoon.

Lufkin– A Lufkin man is being held on a collective $1 million bond after he’s arrested for the second time in six months for the alleged sexual assault of a child. Joseph Weeks, 19, was arrested Monday after he reportedly had an inappropriate relationship 15-year-old girl inside a movie theater in the Lufkin Mall Dec. 27. Weeks allegedly touched the girl inappropriately, according to an arrest report. The girl told her mother about the incident and her mother contacted Lufkin Police. The girl’s cell phone was searched and text messages between she and Weeks were discovered that confirmed the sexual contact, the report stated. Weeks was indicted for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in July. He’s currently in the Angelina County Jail.

LUFKIN — An Angelina County man who pleaded guilty to robbery was sentenced to 30 years in prison Tuesday afternoon. Bradley Durham, 40, appeared before state District Judge Barry Bryan Tuesday afternoon, begging to be sent to a prison-style drug rehabilitation program, blaming his behavior on addiction. He sank down in his chair on the stand, visibly shaking as he addressed Bryan Tuesday afternoon.

Durham was arrested for robbery and burglary of a habitation last year after injuring homeowner Cyrus Poling in his getaway attempt Jan 10, 2010. Poling was nearly ran over by Durham as he attempted to stop him from driving away with his property. Hanging onto the side of Durham’s getaway vehicle, Poling was dragged several feet.

RUSK COUNTY — Before the cold air arrived Tuesday, a line of strong thunderstorms moved through the area. They were responsible for one tornado that formed in the Oak Hill area in Rusk County. The small EF-1 tornado caused damage to a couple of houses and some trees shortly before 6:15 Tuesday morning. The Shreveport National Weather Service reported the damage path was 1/2 mile long and 100 yards wide. No injuries were reported.

KILGORE – Kilgore is getting a new police chief. Jasper Police Chief Todd Hunter has announced he has accepted the post. Hunter announced Monday his last day on the job will be February 19. He has served as the Jasper Police Chief for six years.

TYLER – The Tyler Police Department has a new Sergeant. Tuesday, Chief Gary Swindle promoted Investigator Brian Bulman, on the left, to the position of Sergeant.

Brian Bulman was hired by the Tyler Police Department on May 30, 2000. He attended the Tyler Junior College Law Enforcement Academy and was assigned to the Patrol Division upon graduation. Officer Bulman worked midnight shift patrol from 2001 until July 2004.

In July 2004 Officer Bulman was selected as an Investigator in the Special Investigations Unit. Detective Bulman worked in this capacity until February 2008 when he was assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration to work as a DEA Task Force Officer. He has served in this capacity as the DEA Task Force Officer until his promotion to Sergeant today.

Detective Bulman holds a Masters Peace Officers Certification through TCLEOSE and has been the recipient of the Life Saving Award, the Expert Marksman Award, the Safe Driving Award, and the Plainclothes Officer of the Month Award.

AUSTIN – A Tyler lawyer is running for the state bar of Texas. He is F.R. “Buck” Files, a shareholder in criminal-defense firm Bain, Files, Jarrett, Bain & Harrison. At a recent meeting the board approved candidates for the 2011-2012 State Bar president-elect race. According to a state bar news release, the other candidate is Guy Choate, a partner in personal-injury law firm Webb, Stokes & Sparks in San Angelo.

AUSTIN — Texas Mutual Insurance Company has awarded a combined $300,000 in grants to Kilgore College, Midland College and College of the Mainland in Texas City. The grants will continue to fund free workplace safety courses for employers, employees and the general public through the colleges risk management institutes.

“We are grateful for the support that Texas Mutual continues to show Kilgore College and the emphasis the company places on safety education,” said William Holda, president of Kilgore College. “Since the beginning of our partnership, we were confident that the KC Risk Management Institute would be a valuable resource for area employees and employers. It has not only proved to be an important educational tool, but has also helped to make participants more competitive in today’s job market.”

Courses at the safety institutes include general topics, such as back safety and OSHA standards, but students may also choose to attend courses tailored to the dominant industries in the Houston, Midland and Kilgore areas.

GLADEWATER (AP) — The mother of Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith has died in an East Texas hospital at the age of 77. Mae Smith had long suffered from diabetes. Gregory Dearion of Dearion & Davis Funeral Parlor in Gladewater said her funeral is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas. Dearion said Smith’s husband died in 1996.

Born in the small East Texas town of Big Sandy, Mae Evelyn Chalk Smith was a longtime resident of nearby Tyler. In a 2007 interview with the Tyler Morning Telegraph, she said she had been a Dallas Cowboys fan until her son became the Bears coach. Lovie Smith, a former Tulsa University football star, led the Bears to that year’s Super Bowl, where they lost to Indianapolis.

NASHVILLE (AP) – Lindale’s Miranda Lambert has so many nominations for Academy of Country Music Awards that Ronnie Dunn jokes it seems like she has 35. She actually leads with seven and she says that’s “awesome.” Lambert and Dunn announced many of the nominations Tuesday morning on “The Early Show” on CBS. Lambert will compete for entertainer of the year with Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith and Jason Aldean. Carrie Underwood won that top award the past two years, but isn’t nominated this year. Lambert’s fiance Blake Shelton has two nominations and will co-host the ACMs with Reba McEntire on April third.

LONGVIEW — Longview police say they’ve arrested a Gilmer man on burglary charges. On Saturday, around 10:00 p.m., Officers received information that the suspect in several area commercial burglaries was seen in the area of North Eastman Road and East Marshall Avenue. When officers arrived they located the subject walking in the 1900 Block of East Marshall Avenue. Police say the suspect led officers on a short foot pursuit. The DPS helicopter was also deployed, and the suspect was apprehended a short time later. The suspect was identified as Keir Jacques Harris, 40, of Gilmer. Harris was arrested for evading arrest and two counts of burglary. The investigation continues, and more charges may be filed at a later date.

LONGVIEW – The Longview Police Department has a new chief and assistant chief today. Yesterday morning, Don Dingler, pictured here, took the oath of office as the new Chief of Police. Chief Dingler has served in a variety of capacities during his 37 years with the Longview Police Department, including serving as Assistant Chief since 2003. Dingler succeeds Chief J.B. McCaleb who recently retired.

Following the swearing in of Chief Dingler, the Police Department also swore in Michael Bishop as an Assistant Chief for the department. Serving in the position previously held by Dingler, Assistant Chief Bishop will provide oversight to the Administrative Bureau.