KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER —Tyler’s sales tax revenues deposited for the month of March have increased 1.38% as compared to March 2010, resulting in a 3.43% cumulative year-to-date increase. The figures come from the Texas Comptroller. Officials say the current month increase was 2.60%; however, an out-of-period audit adjustment resulted in the 1.38% increase. The reported revenue of $2,525,125.45 comprises $1,683,416.97 general sales tax revenue and $841,708.48 half-cent sales tax revenue. The figures represent receipts from January 2011 collections as there is a two-month lag before taxes are reported and remitted back to the City from the State.

“During this same month in 2010, we saw a 4.19% decrease and were running 9.49% percent down for the year,” said City Manager Mark McDaniel. “To say we are pleased with the recovery this year would be an understatement.” The city budgeted for a two percent increase in sales tax revenue for 2010-2011, so remains in a good financial position at the midpoint in the fiscal year. “We are watching gas prices closely as well as the State budget process,” added McDaniel. “For the first half of the fiscal year, the City was under budget on our gas expenditures. However, as gas prices have risen, we are edging closer to the budget threshold. Should prices continue to rise, we will be implementing additional conservation activities and possibly looking to biodiesel to control our costs.”

One of the other budget concerns is potential ramifications from budget cuts at the State level. The city received more than $1.1 million in state funding this fiscal year, of which $722,000 came from Federal grants passed through the state. Officials say state funding only represents 1.2% of the city’s operating budget. They add that although the cessation of the grants would not result in staffing decreases, there is concern that the state could choose to require cities to continue the programs without providing the funding, thereby creating an unfunded mandate. “We have worked diligently to balance our budget and make the cuts needed to stay within our means through these tough economic times. Mandates to continue state programs with local resources could be devastating to city budgets,” added McDaniel.

In 2010, the city of Tyler froze more than 125 positions mid-year, delayed capital expenditures, renegotiated contracts, launched a Lean Sigma efficiency program, limited salary adjustments and took many other actions to ensure the city ended the year in a positive financial position. “Because we have no general obligation debt and pay cash for most capital improvement projects, we are able to respond to changing financial conditions,” said McDaniel. “Thanks to our Blueprint, Called to SERVE and Lean Sigma programs, Tyler has maintained its culture of continuous improvement for greater efficiencies.”

OVERTON — An East Texas officer gets into a verbal and physical fight this week with a man who officers say was drunk. It began as a domestic disturbance between a mother and son. Overton police thought it had died down. But when Captain Clayton Taylor arrived at the scene, the fight was far from over. Authorities say Jonathan Earl Stuckey, 27, lashed out at Taylor as he was trying to calm Stuckey down. Taylor got Stuckey to the ground. But while handcuffing him, Taylor realized he was badly hurt, so he called for backup and an ambulance. A broken knuckle is fortunately the worst of Taylor’s injuries.

As for Stuckey, he was booked in the Smith County Jail that night. Later transferred to the Rusk County Jail, he faces multiple charges of assault on a public servant, assault family violence, and resisting arrest. And this isn’t the duo’s first encounter with the law. They both have a rather extensive rap sheet for causing trouble in the past.

TYLER — KTBB’s Garth Maier had a chance Thursday morning to speak with former Arkansas Governor and 2008 Republican Presidential Candidate, Mike Huckabee, who is currently on tour promoting his new book, “A Simple Government”. Huckabee says government today is overly complicated. He says it’s important for people to recognize that the government the founders created was a simple government. He says the Constitution was 20 pages long and the Obama Bill is 2,300 pages long, so that’s an indication of how different things are approached.

Huckabee goes on to talk about the Tea Party movement saying he thinks it’s the greatest thing that’s happened in the American political theater since he’s been born. He explains that it’s an indication that people recognize that they are the bosses and not slaves, servants and surfs. Huckabee will be in Tyler Sunday, March 13, 2:00, at Hastings for a book signing. Click on the link below to listen to the full interview.

Listen to the Mike Huckabee Interview

LONGVIEW — A man arrested for a Longview murder is related to a pro football player. Dexter Levi Prince is the brother of Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Demorrio Williams. Longview Police arrested Prince, 19, Tuesday for two violation of probation warrants. Late Tuesday night he was charged with the murder. Police are continuing their investigation. Just after 10:00 Monday morning, officers were dispatched to a shooting in the 100 block of East Melton Street. Upon arrival they located 25-year-old Danielo E. Nelson of Longview, dead inside the house.

NACOGDOCHES — Two suspects are under arrest in Nacogdoches after a drug sweep. The Nacogdoches County Constable’s office searched a mobile home off County Road 408. During the search, they found more than a pound of methamphetamine. Two people are charged with possession with intent to manufacture a controlled substance.

TYLER – One person has been killed and five injured as the result of a two vehicle accident on Tyler’s southeast side. It happened shortly after 4:15 Thursday afternoon at the intersection of University Boulevard and Patriot Drive.

Witnesses tell investigators a GMC SUV and a Ford SUV were westbound on University with the Ford in the inside lane and the GMC in the outside lane. The driver of the Ford attempted to turn right onto Patriot and turned into the path of the GMC. The vehicles collided and the Ford overturned and caught fire. Two bystanders tried to rescue the driver of the burning vehicle but were unable to before the vehicle was engulfed with flames.

The driver of the Ford SUV was dead at the scene. The victim’s name has not yet been released. The occupants of the GMC SUV were treated for minor injuries. The two witnesses that attempted the rescue received minor burns.

BROWNSBORO – Two persons have died in a house fire near Brownsboro. The fire was reported just before 10:45 Wednesday morning on Farm Road 317 just south of Brownsboro. Once firemen extinguished the blaze, they found the victims. The names of the victims have not been determined and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

TYLER — Following the receipt of preliminary census data, the city of Tyler has taken the initial steps to address redistricting based upon changing population patterns since the last census. Redistricting is the adjustment of electoral district boundaries to ensure that the number of voters in each district is the same; this process brings the city in compliance with the Federal Constitutional Goal of one person, one vote.

The City has hired the same consulting firm that will be used by Smith County and the Tyler Independent School District, Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP, to evaluate the population information in an effort enhance coordination and ultimately make the voting process easier for the community. Preliminary data was released to the consulting firm in early March, and the firm is in the process of creating GIS maps and initial demographic reports for the city to assess. It is anticipated that an introductory proposal will be released to the public for comment by June and a public meeting will be held to gather community feedback. The final plan will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice by July 31 with an expected effective date of January 1, 2012.

“Federal law requires the City to move forward with the redistricting process even though we are not necessarily in agreement with the preliminary numbers we have been given,” shared Planning Director Barbara Holly. “Based upon the number of households that the City submitted to the Census Bureau, we believe that the final census will be higher than the preliminary count. We are working with the regional Census office to address the issue.”

DIANA — A Diana couple is under arrest in connection with a burglary. Jason Paul Warlick, 30, and Wendy Day, 28, were arrested after Upshur County Deputies reportedly caught them burglarizing Jim’s Car Wash in Diana. Deputies say the cash taken during the burglary was found in the couple’s vehicle. They’re charged with burglary of a building.

GLADEWATER — An East Texas company is trying to find work for employees after fire destroys one of their plants. Southwest Plastics Recycling had 28 employees working at their Gladewater facility before Monday’s fire. Company officials say they will moving some of their employees to their Longview Plant. Some of them, however, will be without a job. Owners of the company are not sure if they’re going to rebuild the Gladewater site. The fire remains under investigation.

TYLER — A Van Zandt County constable is in a surgical intensive care unit after being trampled by a horse late Tuesday afternoon. Precinct 2 Constable C.B. Wiley was flown to Trinity Mother Frances in Tyler on Tuesday, Sandra Plaster, a court clerk for the precinct, said Wednesday. Wiley will have to undergo at least three surgeries for several broken bones, she said. Plaster said Wiley was leading the horse, which he purchased on Monday, when it reared up and knocked him down.

TYLER — A 44-year-old Tyler man pleaded guilty to child pornography violations in a Tyler courtroom. Thomas Alvin Boyd, Tyler, pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography on Mar. 8 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Guthrie.

According to information presented in court, on Mar. 29, 2010, law enforcement agents executed a federal search warrant at Boyd’s residence and seized several computers, USB drives, CDs, DVDs, and other forms of digital media. A forensic examination of the seized items was conducted and found to contain several thousand images of child pornography and, at a minimum, 250 videos of child pornography.

Boyd was aware that the settings on the peer-to-peer software allowed certain other users to download child pornography from him and acknowledges that the illegal images were distributed in that they were accessed and downloaded by others. Some of the images depicted prepubescent minors under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and some of the images are considered sadistic or masochistic. Boyd was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 6, 2010.

TYLER (AP/STAFF) — Governor Rick Perry says the Legislature should keep its hands off the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Perry repeated his position against tapping the fund Tuesday at an appearance at the Brookshire’s distribution facility on the Tyler loop. Perry said using the fund now would simply “kick the can down the road” and make Texas vulnerable to financial pressures in 2013.

Perry said the Rainy Day Fund is a valuable insurance policy against “a future that continues to be uncertain on a national and global scale, and must be used as an absolute last resort, not a quick fix.” According to Perry, “Here in Texas, we know you can’t tax and spend your way to prosperity, and as long as we remain committed to our job friendly principles, such as low taxes and a fair legal system, we will continue along a successful path for Texas families and employers.”

The Governor declined to say whether he’d veto any bill that taps the fund. He said his policy remains to avoid discussing legislation before it reaches his desk.

Texas is facing its worst budget crisis in generations. Some Republican lawmakers have proposed tapping the state’s Rainy Day Fund to make up for a $27 billion shortfall. But Perry continues to oppose any effort to raise more state revenue, or to tap the fund.

Strengthening the principles that have helped Texas lead the national economic recovery and add more jobs than any other state in 2010, including keeping taxes low, and maintaining a predictable regulatory climate and fair legal system, remains a priority for the governor. The governor said he is committed to keeping taxes low in order to help small businesses continue to succeed and create jobs, and reiterated the need to make permanent the small business tax cut that was passed last session. This measure cut taxes for 40,000 small businesses, and allowed them to focus on job creation and growing their businesses.

The governor also emphasized his commitment to further strengthening Texas’ legal system by creating a “loser pays” system to provide stronger protections against frivolous lawsuits, establishing an early dismissal option for frivolous lawsuits, ensuring new laws cannot create causes of action unless expressly established by the Legislature, and setting up expedited trials and limited discovery for lawsuits with claims between $10,000 and $100,000.

VAN – A one vehicle accident in Van Zandt County has left one person dead. It occurred just before 7:00 Monday night on State Highway 110, two miles north of Van. Killed was Donald Garrett, 24, of Van. According to state trooper Josh Sneed, Garrett was northbound when his car hit a horse and then a tree. The victim was not wearing a seat belt.

PALESTINE – A two vehicle accident has killed one person and sent another to a Tyler hospital. The wreck occurred around 5:15 Sunday evening on U.S. Highway 287, about a mile south of Palestine. Killed was Pamela Crowson, 47, of Crockett. She was on the back of a motorcycle driven by her husband James Marcus Crowson, 49. He was flown to Tyler’s East Texas Medical Center where he is listed in fair condition. The Department of Public Safety report says it appears as if the motorcycle was attempting to make a U-turn when it was hit by a pickup pulling a trailer. The report said both persons on the motorcycle were not wearing helmets.