KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – More Smith County roads, inundated by last week’s rains, are back in service. A report from the county says County Road 165, between County Road 166 and Farm Road 2493, has been repaired and reopened. Also, County Road 455, County Road 420 and County Road 2180 no longer have high water over them and all have been reopened to drivers.

MARSHALL – A fatal two vehicle accident in Marshall remains under investigation. The crash happened around 2:15 Wednesday afternoon at the intersection of Loop 390 and the Karnack Highway. Pronounced dead at the scene was Jose Ivan Garcia Moreno of Marshall. His wife is hospitalized in stable condition. The driver of the other vehicle was taken to a Marshall hospital for treatment. Witness tell Marshall police the southbound vehicle crossed over into the northbound lane and hit Moreno’s car.

TYLER — Authorities have released the name of a little Smith County girl killed in a tragic accident earlier this month. According to KETK, she has been identified her as two year old Abbie Spaccia who was injured March 6th in the 18,000 block of County Road 2323 near Whitehouse. A driver, on the way to a grocery store, ran over the youngster with their van. She was first taken by a private vehicle to a local hospital where she was in critical condition. She was later flown to Children’s Hospital in Dallas, where she died. The death has been ruled accidental.

LUFKIN – A little Lufkin girl has died after being left in a car for a lengthy period of time. Justice of the Peace Billy Ball has identified the victim as seven month old Peyton Hale-Williams. She was found in a car seat in her grandmother’s car in the parking lot of the State Supported Living Center. Her grandmother works at the center. The Angelina County Sheriff’s Department the said the girl had been in the car several hours before being found just before 5:00 Tuesday afternoon. She was rushed to a Lufkin hospital, where she later died.

TYLER — Smith County Judge Joel Baker remains under scrutiny, with a computer forensics expers now weighing in. A woman who wishes to remain anonymous claims Baker friended her on Facebook and sent her lewd messages and obscene pictures of himself. She asked computer forensic investigator Tim McLemee to prove it was him. McLemee responded, “The photographs, the countless messages on the Facebook, and the multiple telephone calls — there’s absolutely, positively no way that this is not Joel Baker. I honestly did not want it to be him when we started. I’m taking no pleasure in being involved in this.” Continue reading Baker Remains under Scrutiny; Computer Forensic Expert Weighs In

ATHENS — ATHENS — Two teenagers have been shot during an attempted robbery Wednesday night. According to KETK, just after 9:00 at the Game X-change on East Tyler Street in Athens, four suspects entered the store, pulled a gun and ordered the employees and customers to the floor. While the four were taking money from the register, an off-duty officer attempted to stop the robbery and shot two of the suspects. They were detained until officers arrived. A 16-year-old was flown to a Tyler hospital. The other teen was treated at the scene. Leroy Horton, 18 and Troy Horton, 17 (pictured) were both taken to the Henderson County Justice Center. All four suspects face charges of aggravated robbery.

EAST TEXAS (AP) – Four more counties have been added to the Texas disaster declaration area following last week’s storms that have led to thousands of evacuations and possibly two deaths. Gov. Greg Abbott says people in Henderson, Shelby, Smith and Walker counties join 21 other counties in being eligible for government disaster help. The amended disaster proclamation was signed Wednesday after Abbott toured communities in the flood-ravaged region. The declaration for the other 21 counties was announced March 14, after East Texas was slammed by as much as 20 inches of rain over four days last week. Steadily rising waters along rivers prompted evacuations beginning last weekend. The flooding has led to intermittent closures of stretches of Interstate 10, one of the country’s major transportation arteries.

TYLER — A Tyler teen has been arrested and charged with sexual assault of a child. Taken into custody was 17 year old Montravion Mapps. A woman said she caught the teen in bed with her six year old granddaughter. She said after being caught, Mapps jumped out of bed and started pulling up his pants. The little girl was in bed with her pants down. After an investigation, the teen was arrested and booked into the Smith County Jail. Bond was set at $400,000.

MINEOLA – A former manager of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce is going to Jail. Pam Franklin has been sentenced to 10 years for forgery and two years for each credit card abuse count, to be served concurrently. Both sentences were probated and will serve 180 days in the Wood County Jail under a plea agreement. She has also forfeited her vehicle to the Police Department and has repaid around $25,000 in restitution to the city.

MARSHALL – One person has been killed and two injured in a head-on collision in Marshall. The crash happened around 2:15 Wednesday afternoon at the intersection of Loop 390 and the Karnack Highway. The driver of one of the vehicles was pronounced dead at the scene. One of the injured was to a Louisiana hospital. The other injured person was taken to Good Shepherd Hospital-Marshall. Names have not been released and the cause of the accident remains under investigation.

TYLER – A Smith County Jail inmate is hospitalized after he was found hanging in his cell. He is 32 year old Thomas Haley of Lindale. He was found hanging by a towel in the shower of his cell shortly after 6:45 Tuesday evening. Sheriff Larry Smith said Haley was found 26 minutes after his last check. State standards require inmates, such as Haley, to be checked every 30 minutes. Haley, who had been in jail since last October, was being held for nonpayment of child support and evading and resisting arrest. He is currently listed in critical but stable condition.

LONGVIEW — Trinity Tank Car this week notified Longview Mayor Andy Mack that it would lay off more than 600 workers at two Longview plants on May 15. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, the company said “the permanent mass layoff” would affect 236 workers at the facility on Jordan Valley Road and its accompanying building on Fisher Road. The company also reported 381 employees would be laid off from the Shady Brook Lane facility. The company’s letter said, “employees should have no expectation of recall.” Further details on the move weren’t immediately available.

WOOD COUNTY — A Quitman man accused of murdering a woman and her son has been found guilty in a Wood County retrial and is sentenced to life in prison. According to KETK, in December 2007, Austin Taylor Wages, 16 and Nicole Payne, 35, were found shot to death in their home near Quitman. Several weapons were also found in the home. Authorities eventually arrested Jason Payne, the husband and stepfather, in Nacogdoches and charged him with murder. Payne was sentenced to life in prison in 2010. In 2013, Payne was granted a new trial by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

GREGG COUNTY — Longview police tracked a man to his home Sunday by the vehicle they say he abandoned after it struck a car waiting at a red light, injuring three adults and four children. According to the Longview News-Journal, Cedric Charles Christian, 45, met a $10,000 bond Monday. He is accused of causing an accident involving serious bodily injury. Police said three of them were taken to a Longview hospital “sustaining possible life-threatening head trauma.” All seven are expected to recover. Christian fled an SUV after the vehicle hit the rear of another SUV, which was waiting at a red light in the northbound lane of Texas 31 at Spur 63. Christian ran into a wooded area that was flooded. When officers found Christian at his home two blocks from the wreck, he was wearing dirty, wet clothes.

TYLER — Tyler Police responded to the Family Dollar Store on Frankston Highway just after 8:00 last night following a reported attempted armed robbery. The two victims told officers they were meeting with the suspect that they had met on social medial to purchase a dog. According to the victims, when they arrived, they were met by the suspect who led them towards the rear of the store where they were confronted by several other men who ordered the victims on the ground. The victim said they were unsure if the suspects were armed due to the poor lighting. One of the victims drew his weapon and pointed it at the suspects who fled the scene. No one was injured and no property was taken from the victims. The suspects were described as black males.

Following the heavy rains Smith County received on March 9-11, Smith County reports the following roads are damaged and remain closed until further notice for repairs:

CR 165, between CR 166 & FM 2493
CR 132, between CR 135 & CR 1230
CR 233, between CR 234 & FM 850
CR 247, between CR 246 & CR 223
CR 448, between CR 446 & FM 1805 (one lane is now open)
CR 434, between CR 436 & CR 4184
CR 499, between CR 4101 & CR 498 Continue reading Smith County Road Update

TYLER – Because of damage from heavy rains last week, Smith County has issued a disaster declaration. Smith County Fire Marshall Connie McCoy Wasson said the damage to the roads and bridges in the county comes to $150,000. She said her department, along with the road and bridge department, made the assessment last Saturday, following the three day rain event. And she added they are continuing to assess the situation. Gregg County issued a similar disaster declaration last week.

TYLER – Flood waters continue to necessitate the closure of the following road in the Tyler District:

Smith County:
• FM 1804 closed from south of US 80 to north of US 69 Continue reading Some Area Roads Still Closed

LONGVIEW – A two vehicle accident in Gregg County has killed a former Upshur County commissioner. He is identified as 62 year old Tommy Stanley. He served three terms on the commissioners’ court from 1990 to 2002. He was killed when his motorcycle and an SUV collided around 10:30 Monday morning on U.S. Highway 259 near Henderson Lane. The Department of Public Safety says the SUV was pulling onto the roadway from a private drive when the vehicles collided. The 84 Longview woman driving the SUV was not injured.

LONGVIEW – The East Texas Regional Airport will be the scene of an emergency training exercise today. The Tri Annual Emergency Exercise is required by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration. Airport manager Roy Miller says it will be a simulated airplane accident, with over two dozen agencies will be taking part in the exercise. The exercise is scheduled to begin at 10:00am and should be over around 3:00pm. Miller said the exercise should not impact normal operations of the airport. They will use a site on the field away from normal activities. TxDot has provided them with signs for use along the highway to let motorists know that a drill is underway and it is not an actual accident.

TYLER — The City of Tyler Water Utilities have reopened all public boat ramps on Lake Tyler and Lake Tyler East. Officials said the lakes have receded below elevation 376.0 mean sea level. Ramps were closed last week due to boating hazards resulting from debris washed into the lakes by the recent rains and to reduce damage resulting from erosion of the shoreline caused by boat wakes. In addition, the lakes were closed to boat traffic from lake residents.

TYLER – Grassroots America We the People, is calling for the resignation of County Judge Joel Baker. This following allegations of offensive behavior were raised. According to KETK, Executive Director JoAnn Fleming released the following statement Monday evening: “After viewing the news report and looking into the credentials of the forensic investigator, the Board of Directors of Grassroots America calls on Joel Baker to immediately resign the office of Smith County Judge. Abusing his elective office in such a vulgar manner breaks his oath of office, severs the public trust, and makes a mockery of his role of county judge, probate judge, and overseer of mental health commitments.” Continue reading GAWTP Calls for Resignation of Judge Joel Baker Following Allegations

KILGORE — A rollover accident in Kilgore this morning is under investigation. According to the Kilgore Police Department’s Facebook page, the driver fled the scene at Dudley Road near Meadowgreen Drive. Officers said they know the identity of the driver, but have not released his name. A fire hydrant was destroyed in the crash.

AUSTIN (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a state of disaster in nearly 20 counties hit by severe rain and flooding. In a statement issued Monday, Abbott said the state is assisting with evacuations in three East Texas counties and stands ready to assist in swift water rescues. Heavy rains last week forced the evacuation of hundreds of people in East Texas, as floodwaters rose in several Gulf Coast states. His declaration covers the following counties: Angelina, Erath, Gregg, Hardin, Harrison, Hood, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Madison, Marion, Newton, Orange, Parker, Sabine, San Augustine, and Tyler.

TYLER – The Park of East Texas has released the dates for the 2016 East Texas State Fair. It will be held in Tyler September 23rd through October 2nd. Last year’s fair attracted over 260,000 visitors to the fairgrounds. The fair dates back 101 years. Organizers say this year the fair will be adding some exciting new attractions, as well as bringing back some old favorites. And, as usual, there will be entertainment, exciting concerts, fantastic food, and much, much more!