KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — The SPCA of East Texas has formally retained the services of a specialized architectural firm for the study and design of a Regional Animal Services Center. Animal Arts of Denver, Colorado, has been contracted to perform a feasibility study for the assessment of the needs of the community. The SPCA of East Texas will be hosting an all day workshop this Friday, January 14th, for City of Tyler Animal Control, Northeast Texas Public Health District (NETPHD), Smith County Sheriff’s Department, Smith County Animal Control, Animal Rescue Fund (ARF), the Humane Society of East Texas, SPCA of East Texas and several other members of local government.

Currently, over 10,000 dogs a year are being euthanized in the Tyler/Smith County community. The 2007 cancellation of the city and county animal contracts by the Humane Society left the community with no local animal shelter or adoption facility. Officials say the creation of a Regional Animal Services Center would provide numerous important services to the community that are currently unavailable locally. Funding for the new center is being sought through the SPCA of East Texas Capital Building Campaign. A kickoff benefit concert is scheduled for February 12th at the Lone Star Event Center in Tyler.

LAMARQUE — Authorities in LaMarque have released the names of a Lufkin couple killed in what’s now been ruled a murder and suicide. They are Gary Frank Parker, 63, and his wife Kathleen, 57. Their bodies were found Wednesday morning in their travel trailer at an RV park on Interstate Highway 45. Investigators say the husband shot his wife in the head and then shot himself in the chest.

TYLER – A police chase that started near Tyler Junior Collage ended on Highway 64 East in front of Chapel Hill High School. Taken into custody yesterday was Anthony Boyd, 42, of Athens. Around 1:15 Wednesday afternoon, A Tyler Junior College police officer reported seeing Boyd driving erratically, nearly hitting a TJC police car. The officer radioed for assistance and started the pursuit. It ended when Smith County sheriff’s deputy was able to cut off Boyd’s vehicle and stop him. He is facing a variety of charges.

MARSHALL — A Marshall mother and her three children are without a home after a fire extensively damaged the inside of the house. The fire was reported Wednesday morning in the 300 block of Hawley Street. Investigators say it appears the fire was started by a space heater. No injuries were reported.

TYLER – No major damage was reported in a fire at Distant Lands Coffee on Highway 64 west. A roaster caught fire, causing a lot of smoke. The fire was quickly extinguished.

TYLER – Traffic along a portion of U.S. Highway 69, just under a mile north of Tyler, had to be blocked off for around an hour yesterday. The problem was a broken gas line. A contractor who was putting in a city water main accidently cut the pipe with a backhoe.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An attorney for the wife of a former Oklahoma prison warden accused of helping a prisoner escape wants to tap the state’s lengthy trial fund and boost jurors’ pay when the case goes to trial May 16.

Bobbi Parker is charged with helping convicted killer Randolph Dial escape from the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite on August 30, 1994. The two were discovered living on a chicken ranch near Center, Texas, in 2005. Dial has since died.

Her attorney, Garvin Isaacs, said Wednesday Parker’s trial could last up to two months and Parker doesn’t want to create financial hardships on jurors because of their lengthy service. Jurors are routinely paid $20 a day. The lengthy trial fund allows payment of up to $200 a day per juror for trials that last more than 10 days.

Greer County District Judge Richard Darby has not yet ruled on the motion.

TYLER – A 36-year-old Hutchins man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas. Cary Lee Guess pleaded guilty on Sep. 10, 2010 to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison Wednesday in Tyler by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis. Guess was also ordered to forfeit more than $22,000 cash seized at the time of his arrest, as well as a forfeiture judgment in the amount of $20,000. According to authorities, beginning in January 2008, Guess possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute to others in and around the Longview area. A federal indictment was returned on Oct. 7, 2009, charging Guess and four other individuals with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

TYLER – A 35-year-old Grand Saline man has been sentenced to federal prison for bank robbery. Carl Ray Davis pleaded guilty on Mar. 31, 2010, and was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison Wednesday in Tyler by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis. According to prosecutors, on Nov. 2, 2009, Davis entered the Mineola Community Bank, S.S.B., in Grand Saline and ordered a teller to give him the cash from the teller drawer, which he then took from the bank. On Nov. 4, 2009, a federal grand jury returned a federal indictment charging Davis with bank robbery.

TYLER — Noted economist Dr. Ray Perryman says there are some positive economic signs in the Tyler area right now, and he feels “pretty good” about its prospects. At the local edition of his 27th Annual Economic Outlook Conference Thursday, Perryman said the community is seeing some encouraging job and investment announcements. According to Perryman, the area’s job growth numbers have been up “pretty consistently” about 1.9 per cent for the year, which he terms a good number. Overall, says Perryman, Tyler figures to have a period of modest growth in the near future, and the community should begin to see a little more stabilization in the housing market in the next few months.

Perryman says Tyler is already doing a lot of things right. He says that includes great economic development leadership, along with plans for a new convention center and art museum. According to Perryman, the latter two factors can set Tyler apart and make it a destination. He also points to continuing development of the health sector, including the biomedical sector, and the energy industry.

Perryman also says the state as a whole is doing quite well in spite of the recession. He says there’s been a significant comeback in job growth over the past several months, and other indicators, such as retail sales, are on the upswing. Perryman figures economic growth in the state over the next five years will average about four per cent.

As for the United States overall, Perryman says the country is gaining momentum, but it’s still not going fast enough to bring the unemployment rate down as much as he’d like. He thinks that’s still a few months away as the country awaits a little more certainty about the impacts of the health bill and some other things. But, adds Perryman, corporate America is holding a lot of cash right now, and there are some encouraging signs that the corporations will begin to spend that cash fairly soon — and once they do, he says, we’ll see more significant growth nationwide.

This year, Perryman also scheduled a special Thursday evening appearance at TJC on behalf of the Tyler Museum of Art. His presentation’s title: “The Potential Impact of the Proposed New Tyler Museum of Art on Business Activity in the Tyler Metropolitan Statistical Area.”

TYLER — The Tyler City Council Wednesday heard a presentation from the Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) on the results of the Pedestrian Access Study. The purpose of the Pedestrian Access Study is to identify existing pedestrian infrastructure and recommend priority pedestrian routes and projects to help connect destinations around the City and promote access. The study was coordinated with the Regional Trail Plan, the Parks and Recreation Department with regard to tree plantings and the Transit Department for bus stop access.

Officials say the Tyler Area MPO began the study by reviewing existing assets, determining what gaps there were in the current system and then providing a way to prioritize new construction to best meet the goal of an accessible network. According to city staff, in creating the priority listing of projects, the MPO paid special attention to areas that would be significant draws such as major employment centers, regional shopping areas, civic centers and schools; staffers say consideration was also given to how these attractors connect with residential areas. Additionally, the MPO held three public meetings and accepted public comments throughout the development of the study to obtain input from the community to assist.

After their assessment, the Tyler Area MPO identified 214 projects; these projects were each assigned a score based on their proximity to the attractors mentioned above. The scores were used to rank the importance of the project based on the impact it would have on the community. This project ranking is scheduled to be adopted by the MPO Policy Committee at their February meeting.

The project ranking will also be submitted to the City of Tyler Capital Improvement Program in February for consideration by the Half-Cent Sales Tax Board in April. Sidewalks are currently ranked number four out of 91 projects citywide. The Tyler Area MPO has also identified the Federal Safe Routes to School program, Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife trail grants and public/private partnerships as other possible funding sources for these projects.

The City of Tyler serves as the administrative agency of the Tyler Area MPO. The MPO, in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), is responsible for carrying out the urban transportation process as required by federal legislation. The MPO is intended to provide a forum for cooperative decision making concerning transportation issues. Go to http://www.TylerAreaMPO.org for more information.

TYLER — The Tyler City Council voted Wednesday to support a measure that would raise the local hotel occupancy tax rate from seven to nine percent to fund a convention center. “We estimate that at least 20,000 convention visitors go elsewhere each year because Tyler does not have the facilities to accommodate larger groups,” commented Mayor Barbara Bass. “The need was identified in the Industry Growth Initiative (IGI) and we are taking the first step in realizing that goal.”

The IGI was adopted in May 2010 and outlines strategies Tyler should pursue to strengthen the economy. “The IGI aligns Tyler’s people resources with our natural resources,” added Mayor Bass. “It is all about identifying your strengths and wholeheartedly pursuing strategies that will capitalize upon them.” Ten building blocks were identified in the plan including healthcare, higher education, retirees and tourism. A convention or meeting center was specifically identified as an opportunity to bring more visitors to Tyler. “Tyler has tremendous opportunities to grow our tourism sector and getting the appropriate facilities will give us a competitive advantage,” added Bass.

In addition to pursuing the hotel tax adjustment, a public relations consortium has been formed to take a close look at the community’s image and how Tyler is marketed. A community survey was completed that recommended that the rose continue to be used to represent Tyler. Additionally, 72 percent of respondents felt that a convention center was needed to attract more visitors.

Texas Tax Code Section 351.003 authorizes certain municipalities to enact a hotel occupancy rate not to exceed 9 percent of the price paid for a room for a hotel. “The next step in this process is to have measures introduced into the Texas Senate and carried in the House,” explained Bass. “Because they only convene every other year, we are asking for consideration this year so that we do not have to wait two more years.”

The revenue raised from the additional 2 percent in the hotel occupancy tax rate would be used for the costs associated with and related to a new or expanded conference center and/or multi-purpose arena, and any associated facilities. The funds would be accounted for separately within the City of Tyler’s Occupancy Tax Fund and tracked as a reserve for future commitments. It is estimated that the tax would generate $500,000 per year.

KILGORE — An autopsy confirmed Tuesday that Renee Garrett died of a single gunshot wound to the torso, Justice of the Peace Arthur Fort said. Garrett, 25, of Kilgore was found just after midnight Monday at Adult Video in the 1900 block of Industrial Avenue in Kilgore after police responded to a disturbance call. She worked as a clerk at the store. Kilgore Police Department Lt. Roman Roberson said in addition to the slaying, an unknown amount of money and a cash box was taken from the store in the attempted holdup. Although no arrests have been made, police officials said they are still following ongoing leads.

At least two people received cryptic phone calls from an adult video store clerk shortly before she was shot to death in an apparent holdup early Monday morning. In an interview later Monday, store owner Robert Duggan said he received a call from Garrett at 11:59 p.m. He was unsure whether the call was dialed intentionally or by accident. Other pieces of evidence were taken from a voicemail the victim left on another person’s phone, Duggan said, but declined to give further details.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Sheriff’s Deputies investigate a report of the killing of two pitbulls. Deputies were called to CR 129 where a man said his neighbor killed his dogs. The neighbor claimed the dogs killed his goat. Animal cruelty charges are possible because the neighbor reportedly followed one of the dogs back to its home and then killed it.

SMITH COUNTY — A Tyler man is arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. James Wendell Mobley, 70, is accused of shooting his friend in the hand during an argument. He’s also accused of pulling a gun on two sheriff’s deputies responding to the shooting off of FM 2710. Mobley is in the Smith County Jail with bond set at $200,000.