KTBB News, Weather, Talk

LONGVIEW — Fourth Street in Longview will be closed between Highway 80 and Jefferson Street from June 5 through June 6 and June 12 through June 13 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Officials say the closure will allow for street repairs with asphalt overlay on Fourth Street. Drivers wishing to travel between Jefferson Street and Highway 80 should use alternate routes along Third or Sixth Street. The purpose of the project is to replace deteriorated asphalt and overlay. The project is being constructed by Reynolds and Kay of Tyler. If you have any questions related to construction, call the city’s project manager, Kevin Chumbley, at 903-237-1112.

TYLER – Officials with UT Health Northeast announced that Tyler philanthropists Joseph Z. and Louise H. Ornelas will be the recipients of the 2016 Galaxy Award during a dinner and ceremony September 13 at Green Acres Baptist Church CrossWalk Conference Center. In a statement, UT Health Northeast President Dr. Kirk A. Calhoun cited “the numerous heartfelt gifts” given to multiple entities by the honorees. Calhoun added that their contributions to UT Health Northeast “have been key to expansion on many areas of our campus.” UT Health Northeast Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Chief Development Officer Derrith Bondurant said that the Galaxy Award was created both to spotlight “stars” of philanthropy and to raise scholarship funds for students in healthcare and research. Continue reading UT Health Northeast Announces 2016 Galaxy Award Recipients

HENDERSON – The Rusk County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a man named in several warrants.They are looking for 35 year old Felipe Villanueva. The warrants for his arrest are for possession of a controlled substance, possession and delivery of a controlled substance, driving with a suspended license and speeding. Investigators say he weighs about 210 pounds and is 5 feet 9 inches tall. You are asked to call the Rusk County Crime Stoppers tip line at 903-655-8477 if you know where he can be located.

LONGVIEW – Funeral services are set today for Longview businessman Ronnie Horaney. He died after being shot at his home north of the city on Memorial Day. Following a 1 p.m. visitation and reception in the Fellowship Hall of Trinity Episcopal Church, services will be held at the church at 2:00. Burial will follow at Rosewood Park Mausoleum. Continue reading Horaney Funeral Services Scheduled

TULSA, OKLAHOMA – A Longview man has been sentenced to prison after pleading in connection with an Oklahoma murder. William Earl Garrett II, 27, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by a state judge in Tulsa. Assistant District Attorney Kevin Gray told the Longview News Journal Garrett pleaded guilty after his charge was modified from first-degree felony murder to accessory to murder. A second suspect in the murder was sentenced last week to life in prison. Two more Longview men have also been charged in the case. No trial date has been sent for James Vasco Jones, 43, and Sidney Aaron Randall, 20.

TYLER – Tyler non-profit agency People Attempting to Help, also know as PATH, has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. It’s the country’s largest independent charity evaluator. PATH Executive Director Greg Grubb says the award verifies the work they are doing and validates their efforts to do good work and to do it in a way that uses their resources wisely so they don’t waste a lot of money and they are very transparent about it. Grubb said, “It’s important that our donors trust that we are being a good steward of all the gifts that we receive.” He said the 4 star rating demonstrates to the agency’s supporters that they take this very seriously.

TYLER – A Professor of biology at the University of Texas at Tyler since 1979, Dr. Neil Ford, has received the 2016 Donald W. Tinkle Research Excellence Award. It’s from the Southwestern Association of Naturalists. The award is presented each year to a scientist who, in the past 10 years, has made a significant contribution to the knowledge and understanding of the animal and plant life of the southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America. This is done through scientific articles and books. At U-T Tyler, Ford conducts research into behavior, life history and ecology of snakes and lizards as well as the community ecology of freshwater mussels. Ford will be recognized at the association’s annual meeting next year in Lawton, Oklahoma

LONGVIEW — An elderly woman has died from injuries received in a Longview wreck. Killed was Anna Elder, 82, of Longview. She died Thursday afternoon at Longview Regional Medical Center. The wreck occurred around 3:00pm on West Marshall Avenue. Longview police report her vehicle collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer rig that was making a right turn.Chris Murphy, 51, the truck’s driver, was not injured.

PALESTINE – Palestine Police are no longer investigating a possible kidnapping. According to a police news release, around 2:00 this morning, both Natalie Pipkin and Christopher Calhoun were located in Pipkin’s 1999 Honda Accord near Pearland. An officer with the Pearland Police Department interviewed both Pipkin and Calhoun separately and determined Pipkin was not taken against her will. The Palestine Police Department has determined Pipkin is not considered missing-endangered and has cleared the case. Officers received a call from the family of Natalie Pipkin, 37, who did not pick up her 6-month-old child Thursday night. After several attempts, the family reached Pipkin who said she was traveling with her ex-boyfriend, Christopher Calhoun, 28, Palestine, to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Calhoun, who has been arrested for aggravated kidnapping in 2015, was considered to be dangerous.

LONGVIEW — Monday night, Longview business owner Ronnie Horaney was shot at his home north of the city. He died at a local hospital. The Gregg County Sheriff’s Department announced late Thursday afternoon they are looking for a person of interest in the case. In releasing a sketch of the person, they gave no indication how they came to look for him. There was one report that Horaney was shot as he answered the door at his home. Department spokesman Josh Tubb told KTBB he could not comment on the case since the investigation was ongoing. In the news release Tubb said if anyone had information that could assist them in locating this person, they are asked to call Investigator Gary Robinson at (903)237-2536 or call Gregg County Crime Stoppers at (903)236-STOP.

TYLER – An eight year old boy, who could not swim, nearly drowned in ten feet of water in South Tyler. Around 2:00 Thursday afternoon two boys were playing on a dirt mound at a construction site. It is located off Blue Mountain Ridge just east of the Old Jacksonville Highway. The mound started to give way and one of the boys slid into the water. His friend ran to a man who was nearby for help. The man pulled the boy from the water. A police officer, who was nearby, Kerri Long, administered CPR. Police spokesman Don Martin said the boy was taken to a Tyler hospital, where he is in stable condition. Martin said the boy will be fine.

PALESTINE – Thursday’s rains brought reports of flash flooding around Palestine. The city’s Emergency Management Coordinator Scott Parkhurst said minor flooding was reported at one home on Moody Street. The residents did not evacuate. Flooding on Timber Drive, where major flash flooding was reported on April 30, reached the curb of the street before receding. By 1:45 Thursday afternoon the rain let up and the flash floods receded. City personnel will be monitoring these areas closely for flooding during the next few days. Continue reading Flash Flooding Reported in Palestine

QUITMAN – A Wood County man has been arrested in connection with a fatal 4-wheeler accident. The accident happened Wednesday afternoon off Highway 154 near Quitman. Killed when the 4-wheeler she was on flipped over was Michelle Hagger, 52. KETK reports, at the time of the accident, the 4-wheeler was being towed by a vehicle driven by Ted Wayne Morris, Sr., 57, of Quitman. Sheriff’s department investigators say that Morris had been drinking at the time of the accident. He’s been charged with manslaughter and booked into the Wood County Jail.

NACOGDOCHES – Nacogdoches police are looking into an injury sustained by an infant. A mother brought the month old girl to the emergency room at Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital. She said the infant was sick. Police reports indicate the little girl may have suffered a head injury at a home on Pearl Street. No other information has been released as the investigation is ongoing.

LONGVIEW – Some 4th grade students at Longview’s J.L. Everhart Elementary had an end of school experience they will long remember. Teacher Carol Pruitt gave her students an expense paid formal dinner at the Summit Club in Longview. The students dressed in their finest attire and listened to classical music as they dined. And like the correspondent’s dinner in D.C., the students got up and told jokes at the microphone. They were excited to be there. As one student said, “It’s just like on TV!” Why does she do this for her students each year? Pruitt said it introduces the students to etiquette in a formal dinner setting. And she also said, “They deserve it! These students have worked so hard and had such a great year.”

LONGVIEW – A search warrant has led to the arrests in Longview of three convicted felons on drug charges. The warrant was served by Longview Police and the Gregg County Organized Drug Enforcement Unit. The warrant was served Thursday morning at 1108 Rainey Drive. Inside the house, officers found cocaine, marijuana and two firearms. Arrested were Christopher Antonio Dotrey, 35, Christopher Shawn Fields, 39, and Frank Sonny Wade III, 61, all of Longview. They have been charged with manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana. Wade also had an outstanding Class C Misdemeanor warrant on him. They’ve been booked into the Gregg County Jail.

TYLER — Smith County commissioners accepted a grant from the criminal justice department of the Governor’s office on Tuesday. It will fund body cameras for the Smith County Sheriff’s Office. “This system will work in conjunction with the systems that we have in our car, the dash cam equipment,” says Chief Deputy Robert Carlson. According to KETK, it will cost more than $117,180 and the grant will fund about $93,750 of that. The county will be responsible for 20% of the total, which is about $23,400. It will cover everything needed for the camera system as well as training. Continue reading Smith County Sheriff’s Office Awarded Grant for Body Cameras

GREGG COUNTY — Two burglary suspects in Longview and Kilgore were arrested Tuesday after they tried to flee the homes from which police said they were trying to steal from. According to the Longview News-Journal, Robin Bernard Giddings, 55, of Kilgore (pictured) has been charged with burglary of a habitation and resisting arrest search or transport in the burglary of a home in the 1500 block of Post Oak Road in Kilgore. James Earl Pleasant Jr., 25, of Nacogdoches has been charged with burglary of a habitation and evading arrest/detention in the burglary of a home in the 200 block of Skyline Drive in Longview. Both men remained jailed Wednesday on bonds totaling $12,000 each.

TYLER – The Smith County grand jury has indicted a Tyler woman in a fatal wreck last December. The district attorney’s office tells KTBB, Chasity Khan, 32, of Tyler, was indicted on May 12 on one count of intoxication manslaughter. The accident happened just before 10:00pm on December 1st on County Road 2120. Her vehicle ran off the road and hit several trees. Khan was hospitalized. A passenger in her vehicle, Jason David Cook, 37, was pronounced dead at the scene. Khan remains in the Smith County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

CARTHAGE — A Gregg County man has been sentenced to prison for indecency with a child by sexual contact in Panola County. Lewis Lavon Jones, 53, of Kilgore, was accused of molesting an 11 year old boy. After being found guilty, a state district judge sentenced Jones to 15 years in prison.

NEW YORK – There had been some reports that former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel might be missing. But he’s been found and is okay. Concern arose over the weekend when the unemployed quarterback failed to show up for a helicopter ride. He was flying to a family party he was suppose to be hosting in the Hamptons. But he has been found and if you said at a club, you’re correct. He was partying at an upscale New York club. A video of the former Tyler resident appeared on Instagram. Manziel was indicted for a Dallas incident in January. And there are some who say, because of all the controversy surrounding him, there is doubt about his NFL Future.

TYLER – A shoplifter turned robbery suspect has been arrested by Tyler police. Arrested Tuesday after turning himself in to a bail bondsman was Winston Alexander Love, 18, of Tyler. The incident occurred on March 16th at Tyler Game X Change at 4007 South Broadway. Love was accused of shoplifting. But it became robbery when he fought with employees who tried to keep him from leaving. Love remains in the Smith County Jail today. His bond is $100,000.

LONGVIEW — Monday night, Longview business owner Ronnie Horaney was shot at his home north of the city. He died at a local hospital. According to KETK, the Mayor of Longview, Andy Mack, heard the news about his friend and cousin. “This should not have happened. Ronnie was one of the good guys. And he’ll be very very missed in our community,” said Mack. He said Horaney was a well-known business owner, husband, father, and friend to many people in Longview. The 54-year-old and his mother, Betty, own one of Longview’s oldest family businesses, Horaney’s Feed stores in Longview and Marshall. His grandfather, Harry Horaney founded the business in 1940. Continue reading Investigation Ongoing in the Murder of Business Owner

TYLER – Smith County Commissioners have proclaimed May 31st as Bob Randall Day in Smith County. The long time Tyler businessman died May 14th. Members of Randall’s family received the resolution by Commissioner Jeff Warr, who also read it in court. Randall started working For J.C. Penny in 1955. He moved from Dallas to Tyler in 1971, working for J.C. Penney which was then located at the Smith County Courthouse Annex. He helped plan, build and open the first J.C. Penney store in a mall between Dallas and Shreveport in Tyler’s Broadway Square Mall. Randall worked there until his retirement in 1988.

LONGVIEW — The Longview Symphony has announced it has a new director. Jon Cromer, president of the Longview Symphony League Board announced Monday that Dr. Geen Moon is the symphony’s new director. The musical arts director at Stephen F. Austin University, teaches graduate conducting and orchestra administration, coaches chamber groups, opera scenes and oversees student teaching for the string area at SFA. Dr Moon’s doctoral thesis was on the history of the Longview Symphony. The symphony’s artistic committee is now working with Dr. Moon to finalize the 2016-2017 season.

LONGVIEW — A police dog with the Longview Police Department will be getting some body armor. K9 Indio will be getting a bullet and stab protective vest. It is a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Indio’s vest is sponsored by Amy Dingler of Protecting Pups in Longview. Amy is a retired police chief’s wife. The vest will be embroidered with the sentiment “In tribute to fallen officers.” It is expected to arrive within 8 to 10 weeks.