KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — The woman who died in a weekend Tyler fire has been confirmed to be Ceola Jones, 52. Fire officials say information regarding the cause of death will be released at a later date, pending further autopsy results. On February 20, the Tyler Fire Department responded to the two-alarm structure fire at approximately 12:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of Charles St. Firefighters discovered a female victim upon entry into the one-story residence.

TYLER – Smith County residents will have a jail bond issue on the May 14th ballot. The Commissioners Court approved the measure at a meeting Tuesday. The price tag is $35 million. The plan is to expand the existing downtown jail facilities and eliminate the need for out-of-county inmate transport. The project includes an in-house infirmary, estimated to save the county $600-800,000 per year in hospital expenses, and an additional 384 beds to eliminate the average $2 million annual cost for housing Smith County inmates in alternate facilities. County officials say the plan will eliminate pressing safety issues, increase operating efficiencies and cut costs.

The proposal was discussed earlier this month at a town hall meeting. “In good and bad times government needs to strive to improve efficiencies and cut costs. There is never a good time to build a jail, however this plan offers the greatest impact at the lowest cost to the taxpayers,” said Precinct 1 Commissioner Jeff Warr, who worked to develop the plan.

“The facts are black and white. We have to keep criminals off the street and it makes more sense to own the space they are in than to rent it,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Cary Nix said. The plan offers few new amenities but reorganizes existing resources to operate more efficiently.

“The kitchen and laundry facilities are being moved to the low-risk campus to allow trustees full access to work there,” Commissioner Warr said. “The visitation space will be replaced by an infirmary and all visitation will be done by remote video, increasing safety and eliminating the need for jail employees to monitor this function. Lack of contact with family members also works as an added deterrent for offenders.”

“This plan is about organizing and maintaining efficient operations for our criminal justice system, not creating any extra comforts for those who are in jail,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Terry Phillips said. The plan, if approved in May, would add one cent per $100 valuation to the Smith County tax roll for 15 years or a cost of about $13 per year to the average Smith County household. “This proposal addresses numerous situations that our Sheriff’s office has dealt with for years in severely inadequate conditions, which will ultimately lead to greater safety for our deputies and jail personnel,” Precinct 4 Commissioner JoAnn Hampton said.

County Judge Joel Baker said that cooperation and extra work done by members of the court, along with the work that the District Attorney and the Judges have done to expedite the judicial process, will have significant benefit for all our Smith County citizens.

LONGVIEW — The City of Longview is encouraging citizens to focus on emergency readiness during Severe Weather Awareness Week, which is February 20 – 26. Sponsored by the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service, the purpose of Severe Weather Awareness Week is to urge all citizens to prepare for severe weather events and to educate themselves on safety strategies. Examples of severe weather in Texas include flooding, tornadoes, hail storms, straight line winds, thunderstorms, and other severe emergencies.

According to Fire Chief J.P. Steelman, “We know that each year brings the potential for some kind of severe weather, so we encourage residents to take steps to prepare. As we see on a daily basis in the Longview Fire Department, when individuals make preparations before an emergency, their emergency response and recovery are usually much better.”

Residents are also encouraged to sign up to register for the City of Longview’s Emergency Notification and Weather Warning System, which is a telephone alert system powered by CodeRed. The City of Longview uses the Emergency Notification system to send emergency public safety notifications to the citizens of Longview. The Weather Warning System delivers targeted weather notifications of severe weather within moments of being issued by the National Weather Service. To sign up for the Emergency Notification and Weather Warning System, you can visit visit http://www.LongviewTexas.gov or contact Public Safety Communications at 903-237-2706. You can go to http://www.Fire.LongviewTexas.gov to view emergency preparation tips and severe weather safety strategies.

TYLER – Tyler is among the participants as 23 Texas Red Cross chapters join forces Saturday for the American Red Cross’s first-ever Statewide Disaster Drill. The chapters will simultaneously test their ability to respond to a simulated devastating tornado outbreak. The Mexican Red Cross will also participate in the drill from the San Antonio area. Officials point out that hurricanes, wildfires, thunderstorms, and, tornadoes are all common occurrences across the state. According to a Red Cross news release, “That’s why it’s imperative that the American Red Cross, an organization responsible for bringing comfort to Mother Nature’s victims, is as prepared as possible in advance of any unexpected event.”

The role of the more than 600 disaster assessment volunteers will be to determine the types of residential damage caused by the mock tornado outbreak. Throughout the statewide exercise, volunteers will approach specific pre-selected neighborhoods. On stakes that will be inserted into the ground, the volunteer will have a visual image of a home that has been impacted. They will have to determine the type of damage and then relay that information back to Red Cross and to FEMA Region VI officials. “This important step is the catalyst to all Red Cross services,” according to the news release.

“It’s critical that we have an accurate assessment of impacted homes as quickly as possible,” said Tammy Prater, executive director of the Smith County Chapter. “That step tells us how many meals need to be prepared, how many volunteers need to be activated, how many shovels and rakes we need to have on hand and so much more. It drives the entire Red Cross response.” In the Tyler area, volunteers will report to the Red Cross office located at 320 E. Rieck Rd, Tyler at 8:15am, participate in a briefing, and then hit the neighborhoods by 9:30am. The drill is expected to last until noon, followed by an after-action review from noon till 2:00pm.

“Without question, this drill will help the Red Cross be better prepared for future disasters”, said Mrs. Prater. “We saw with Tropical Storm Hermine last year that disasters can and do affect the entire state. The more we train through exercises like this one, the more we can help our neighbors when they truly need us.”

TYLER — Child Protective Services tells our news partner KETK that there were three children at a Smith County cockfighting ring bust Friday night. According to CPS, a 16 year old, 12 year old and 7 year old were watching and betting on the fights. The children’s mothers were notified when CPS arrived on scene, along with SWAT and SPCA officials, and CPS placed them back in their homes. CPS says the children’s mothers did not know where their kids were at the time, and that their investigation into the case continues.

After the bust, which lasted until nearly daylight Saturday morning, no one was arrested on Primera Road near Tyler. Many are looking for a crackdown on the bloody sport. Deborah Dobbs with the SPCA of East Texas says when she walked up after SWAT had secured the location, she saw 20 Hispanic males kneeling at gunpoint. Then, she saw the bloody aftermath of cockfighting. She also says CPS was there speaking with 2 small children – apparently proud to be gambling on the birds. The Humane Society of the United States has been investigating cockfights in East Texas for over a year. Dobbs says even prostitution is a problem at these events. 44 roosters were seized Friday night. 6 had to be put down immediately because of severe injuries. And now the rest are at the East Texas fairgrounds waiting on the courts to decide their fate.

“These animals cannot be re-domesticated back into a farm setting. So the tragedy for me is that they will probably all likely have to be destroyed…and no one was arrested,” Dobbs said.

The Humane Society of the United States is supporting a bill that would crack down on cockfighting in Texas. If legislation like that had been in place Friday night, Dobbs said everyone present would have been arrested.

LONGVIEW — Police continue to search for a suspect in numerous forgeries in Longview. The suspect, John Blake Tunnell 46, of Longview, is believed to have gone to several banks in the area and cashed forged checks. Tunnell also has numerous outstanding warrants for his arrest in connection to the forgeries. He is also wanted for violating his parole. Tunnell may also be using fake identification information and driver’s licenses in other victim’s names. Tunnell is believed to be with a white female, Jacquelyn Susann Carpenter Schrimsher 41, of Longview. Tunnell is believed to be driving a 2001 dark blue Dodge 4-door truck with possible Texas license plate 81J ZK6.

LUFKIN – Lufkin police are looking for a man last seen leaving his house around 5:00 Thursday afternoon. John Nunley, 51, is ex-military and suffers from schizophrenia and is known to talk to himself. Authorities say, he can come across very aggressive and is not capable of taking care of himself. He usually picks up cans along the highway.

A Diboll officer contacted Nunley in the South Meadows subdivision before he had been entered as missing person. He was last seen wearing a green toboggan, camouflage hat, navy blue Dallas Cowboys jacket and black pants. Anyone who comes in contact with Nunley is asked to contact Lufkin police or their local law enforcement agency.

JACKSONVILLE – A Lon Morris student has been expelled and arrested after authorities found a loaded gun in his dorm room at Fair Hall. During a random security check, campus police found fully loaded AK-47 with a bayonet, and two fully loaded clips, in the room of Evan Guililand, 21. Gilliland reportedly tried to keep campus security out of his room, but they forced the door open and found the weapon, ammo and some marijuana. Jacksonville police were notified and they confiscated the weapon and arrested Guililand for possession of a firearm in a prohibited area. He is currently free on a $10,000 bond.

KILGORE – A weekend motorcycle accident in Kilgore has killed one person. Danny Albert Nauman, 36, died from his injuries in a Longview hospital. The accident happened late Saturday afternoon, just before 6:00, on State Highway 135 at the State Highway 31. Investigators say it appears as if speed may have played a part in the accident. The report also says Nauman was not wearing a helmet.

QUITMAN – It was a somber scene Sunday at First Baptist Church of Quitman as the community remembered 15-year-old Skylar Carpenter. Funeral directors told us the small church filled to capacity 40 minutes before the ceremony started at 2; that’s when funeral attendees were instructed to go to another building at the back of the church. That building was also filled with hundreds of people. Last Thursday, 6 Quitman ISD students, including Carpenter, and one teacher, Debra Holcombe, were in a suburban when officials believe Holcombe lost control of the wheel and the car rolled, ejecting and killing Carpenter. Funeral directors said a section of the church was reserved for Skylar’s FFA classmates.

LONGVIEW — Child Protective Services took temporary custody of two children Thursday from a Longview mother charged with negligence. Longview police say they found Kimberly Flores’s two small children, ages 2 and 3, in the yard of their Eden Drive home unsupervised with soiled diapers. Flores faces two counts of endangering a child, a state jail felony. She remained in the Gregg County Jail without bond Friday morning. Officers were called to her home in the 1700 block of Eden Drive shortly before noon Thursday on an assist-child call from CPS. There, they found the two toddlers walking in the yard unsupervised.

“I went inside and found (Flores) passed out in a room upstairs in the bed,” police said in an arrest report. “She did not respond when I called out to her, or when I shined my flashlight in her partially opened eyes. I touched her arm, and she jumped up asking where her children were.”

Both children had gone down two flights of “steep stairs” and gotten into the refrigerator to eat chocolate cupcakes, and both diapers were “obviously full of urine and feces,” the report showed. Police said the 3-year-old child opened the front door when someone knocked on it and went outside by her herself.

SULPHUR SPRINGS — Authorities have released the name of a Sunday morning stabbing victim in Sulphur Springs. David Harrison Cooper, 31, died following the stabbing in the 400 block of Lamar Street. Arrested at his residence was Roy Dean Duffy, 50. He remains in the Hopkins County jail in lieu of a $1 million bond. It appears as if the stabbing resulted from an on going feud between the two Sulphur Springs men.

LUFKIN — Two persons have been injured in a stabbing in North Lufkin. It happened around 6:30 Sunday evening at the Pinewood Apartments, at 120 Kirksey Drive. The two victims are hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities are still trying to piece together the circumstances surrounding the incident. At Memorial Medical Center, where the victims are being treated, family members got into a fight. One man was arrested.

UNDATED — Here’s a quick look at events and work planned in the Tyler District of the Texas Department of Transportation.

TYLER — Texas Department of Transportation contractor R.K. Hall has announced it planned to resume and complete resurfacing operations later this week on West Loop 323 in and around the State Highway 64 intersection. The work, which should last an estimated two days weather and materials permitting, is scheduled to begin Wednesday. “We’ve been looking for a good moment to get back out there and get this finished up,” said TxDOT spokesman Larry Krantz. “There isn’t much left to do, but it’s obvious that it’s not complete.”

Crews will begin working in the northbound lanes between State Highway 31 (Front Street) and State Highway 110 (Van Highway) which will require multiple lane closures while the work is in progress. Once completed, the crews will return to the southbound lanes. Krantz urged motorists to seek alternate routed if possible on Wednesday and Thursday to avoid delays and to allow the project to be completed more rapidly.

“Our materials have to get through traffic to arrive at the job site,” Krantz said. “The longer it takes the materials to arrive, the longer it takes to get them put down on the road.”

LONGVIEW — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform pavement repairs in various locations on State Highway 300 (Gilmer Road), Spur 63, and Spur 502 (Judson Road) in and around Longview. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress. Motorists are encouraged to be prepared to reduce speed and merge in and around the work zone.

HENDERSON COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue pavement repair operations on State Highway 31 between Trinidad and Malakoff, followed later in the week by the same work on State Highway 31 Business and State Highway 19 Business in downtown Athens. A second crew is scheduled to perform edge repairs in various locations on Farm RoadM 2010 near Chandler. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

ANDERSON COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue fog seal operations on Farm Road 1817 between U.S. Highway 287 and Farm Road 323, and on Farm Road 2330 between State Highway 19 and Farm Road 860. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic. Fog seal operations require lengthy lane closures and can cause moderate delays to traffic. Motorists are encouraged to seek alternate routes if possible to avoid delays.

RUSK COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform base and pavement repairs in various locations on Farm Road 1251 east of Henderson, and of Farm Road 2658 on the west side of Martin Creek Lake. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue resurfacing operations in various locations on Farm Road 858 between State Highway 19 south of Canton and Farm Road 279 in Ben Wheeler. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

WOOD COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to be at work on the following roadways in and around Wood County:
*FM 778 north of US 80;
*FM 857 near FM 1255; and
*FM 49 east of FM 14.
Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

LINDALE — A one vehicle accident in northern Smith County has left three persons dead. The accident happened around 6:45 Sunday morning on County Road 4119 North of Lindale. Killed was the car’s driver, Braxton Boone, 25 of Lindale, who is pictured here, and his two passengers, Karrie Voyles and Jasmine Pruitt both 14 years of age from Lindale. State troopers believe their car was northbound at an unsafe speed when it veered of the roadway to the left striking several trees. According to the Department of Public Safety report, the driver and passengers were not wearing seat belts and there were indicators that alcohol may be a contributing factor that led to the crash.