KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — More details are released in the Christmas Eve shooting death of Nicole Cartwright, 15, of Longview. According to Tyler police, investigators have learned that Nicole left Club REO in Longview to meet with family and friends, also from Longview, at a car wash on West Bow Street in Tyler. Once they were at the car wash, police say, a disturbance occurred in the parking lot involving four females in a gray or blue car with dark tinted windows, possibly a Pontiac, and a group of individuals in a red Dodge Challenger. Shots were fired, and Nicole was struck; she later died at a local hospital. Investigators say they’ve determined that Nicole was not involved in the disturbance and was not in either vehicle. Investigators are requesting assistance in identifying the females in the gray or blue car, as well as identifying the suspect or suspects involved in the shooting.

Sergeant Matt Smyser earlier said that around 1:30am officers answered a disturbance call meant for Williams Chicken at 1118 West Gentry. While police were en route, shots were fired, and when officers arrived, the victim was found at the car wash, at 1103 West Bow. You’re asked to call Tyler police at 903-531-1000 or Crimestoppers at 903-597-CUFF if you have any helpful information.

LONGVIEW — Two suspects are out on bond as Longview police continue to investigate a massage business that allegedly allowed sexual favors to occur. Local residents Tu Duan, 53, and Guirong Song, 45, were in the U.S. on work visas. They were arrested for allegedly not having licenses to do massages. This is not the first time Song has been arrested for not having a license, but it was a first for Dwan.

HIDE-A-WAY – A home in the Hide-A-Way community has been extensively damaged by fire. No injuries were reported in the blaze that occurred in the 400 block of Lone Star Lane around 2:30 Monday morning. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

RUSK COUNTY – A man remains in custody in Rusk County after allegedly shooting his brother. Harris “Harry” Hale is being held on a $1 million bond. The body of the suspect’s brother, Larry Glen Hale, 54, was found in a burned mobile home on Friday night. That night, Rusk County officials got a 911 call from someone on County Road 2142A, near Tatum. The caller said his brother was drunk and shooting a gun in his front yard. When a deputy arrived, they didn’t find a man shooting, but they found the caller’s mobile home engulfed in flames.

After the Tatum Fire Department put out the fire that destroyed the mobile home, they found the body inside. Rusk County Chief Deputy Ron Duncan says three brothers lived in two different mobile homes on the property. After an autopsy, it was determined Hale died of a gunshot wound and not the fire. After an investigation and the serving of a warrant at an Easton residence, Hale’s brother was arrested on the murder charge.

GILMER — A Monday morning fire has left an Upshur County family homeless. The Gilmer Fire Department got the call around 7:00 yesterday morning. It happened in the 11,000 block of Farm Road 1650 in Gilmer. The people in the home woke up to lights flickering, and then noticed that their house was on fire. Everyone was able to get out of the two-story home okay, but the house was a complete loss. Several fire departments were on scene until after noon. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

TYLER — The Tyler Police Department and other Smith County law enforcement agencies will be out in force during the New Year holiday on the lookout for drunken drivers, and they won’t be taking “no” for an answer. Starting Thursday and continuing through Sunday, a multi-joint effort between the Smith County District Attorney’s Office and police agencies from all over Smith County will participate in the “No-Refusal” DWI Campaign once again. Upon the arrest of a suspected drunk driver, he or she will be asked if they would submit to blow into a breath-test machine or take a blood test. If the driver refuses, officers will obtain an immediate search warrant signed by a judge on call to have blood drawn by a nurse on staff at the Smith County Jail. The blood is then analyzed to determine whether the driver’s blood-alcohol concentration is 0.08 or higher, the legal limit for driving in Texas.

Tyler police say this program has proven to be an effective tool to combat drunken drivers. According to a police department news release, it is the intent of all law enforcement agencies that this effort will act as a deterrent, persuading people to avoid driving while intoxicated because they know that police officers will be conducting sobriety testing with or without driver’s consent. Simply put, according to police: “Please don’t drink and drive!”

LONGVIEW — There is a movement afoot in Longview to have the city’s red light cameras taken down. Local barber Jim Martin says Longview doesn’t make any money off the 12 cameras. He says the money made goes to the city of Richardson, where the company that put in the cameras is located. The paper reports that since the lights were installed, car accidents have gone down significantly. But Martin says if Longview is not cashing in, they should go.

RUSK COUNTY – Authorities say a body has been found in a burned-down East Texas home. According to KETK, Saturday night, Rusk County officials got a 911 call from someone on County Road 2142A, near Tatum. The caller said his brother was drunk and shooting a gun in his front yard. When a deputy arrived, they didn’t find a man shooting, but they found the caller’s mobile home engulfed in flames. After the Tatum Fire Department put out the fire that destroyed the mobile home, they found a body inside.

Rusk County Chief Deputy Ron Duncan says three brothers lived in two different mobile homes on the property. “The one that lived by himself was apparently asleep when all this took place and…there’s still a lot of investigating we need to do,” Duncan said. Duncan says the body has been sent to Dallas for autopsy. He says there was no sign of foul play on the scene, and the fire seems to have originated at a wood-burning stove in the mobile home.

NACOGDOCHES — Two men are custody in connection with two bank burglaries in Cushing, the most recent of which occurred last Friday morning. Will Thacker and Emanuel Griffin, both of Alto, were booked in to the Nacogdoches County jail on two charges each of burglary of a building, according to Sheriff Thomas Kerss. In addition to burglarizing the bank Friday, the men are believed responsible for a similar burglary last week of the same Cushing bank, the sheriff said.

“At approximately 3:30am (Friday), the alarm activated at the bank in Cushing,” Kerss said, referring to a branch of Longview Bank and Trust. “This same bank was burglarized about a week ago.” As deputies responded to the alarm, officer Ben Curtis spotted a silver extended-cab Toyota Tacoma pickup leaving the Cushing area. The vehicle matched the description of the suspect vehicle used in last week’s burglary of the same bank, Kerss said.

LONGVIEW – A fire on Christmas morning heavily damaged a home in Northwest Longview. It was caused when fireplace ashes that had been removed from the home’s garage ignited some combustible materials. It then spread to the remainder of the house. While fighting the blaze, before firemen arrived, one of the residents of the house suffered minor burns.

AUSTIN — Texans who serve in the reserves could find themselves with retirement benefits, courtesy of the State of Texas. That’s if a bill filed by East Texas Representative Dan Flynn wins approval next year. Flynn says it’s important to recognize the sacrifices made by those who serve in the state military forces. “Right now,” says Flynn, “when we have hurricanes, when we have natural disasters, when we have man-made disasters…we have people that are going out and they’re receiving a pittance of money.” Flynn’s bill would give benefits to those called up to active duty for more than 45 consecutive days. If they serve more than 90 days, they could get group benefits — including membership in the Employees Retirement System of Texas.

AUSTIN — An East Texan’s on board as the Legislature next month is poised to repeal the Driver Responsibility Program. It was supposed to punish bad drivers and raise money for the state, but State Representative Leo Berman of Tyler says it never accomplished either one. The idea was to slap surcharges of as much as $2,000 a year on motorists who were convicted of traffic offenses. Berman says, “I think it’s double, triple, and quadruple jeopardy, and I’ve been offered help in the Senate…by a Democrat who wants to help with that bill.” Most motorists either can’t afford to pay the surcharges or simply ignore them, meaning they are driving without a license or insurance — and that means the roads are even more dangerous. It’s estimated that one in six Texas drivers owe a total of more than a billion dollars in surcharges.

TYLER (AP) – A forensic psychologist says there is a “low probability” that a teenager accused of fatally stabbing his teacher in a Tyler classroom last year can maintain a level of competence required for trial. Dr. Emily Fallis wrote in a recent report to a juvenile court that the 17-year-old boy remains delusional and dangerous. The report was obtained by The Dallas Morning News and reported Sunday. The suspect’s mental health leaves him in legal limbo 14 months after 51-year-old Todd Henry (pictured) was killed at John Tyler High School. Prosecutors want to try the teen as an adult, but his attorney is fighting to keep proceedings in juvenile court. Fallis re-interviewed the teen in October after determining months earlier that he was too psychotic for a transfer to adult court.

TYLER – Meadow Lake, which spokespeople term a full-service senior living community for people ages 55 plus in Tyler, will celebrate its Grand Opening in early January with two celebrations. Both are to be held on the campus, located off County Road 165 near its intersection with Old Jacksonville Highway. On Friday, January 7, dignitaries are invited to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 12:00 noon at the community entrance. Immediately following the ceremony, a celebratory luncheon prepared by special guest Master Chef Sterling Burpee will be served in the Meadow Lake Center’s Azalea Dining Room. The community’s public event, an Open House, will be held on Sunday, January 9, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., with group tours of the campus available

Robin Baschnagel is the community’s executive director and licensed healthcare administrator. According to Baschnagel, “As Tyler’s first continuing care retirement community, or CCRC, we offer choices of residential living, including single-family homes and apartments, plus assisted living, nursing care and a full range of health, wellness and supportive services on one campus,” he explained. “The people who live here will enjoy an active lifestyle and gain peace of mind knowing that their future health care needs will be met without having to relocate.” The first Meadow Lake residents moved into the single-family Executive Homes in August, and approximately 80 percent of the community’s homes and apartments have been reserved. When fully occupied, the 92-acre campus will be home to 250 to 300 residents.

The community is backed by the not-for-profit Sears Methodist Retirement System, Inc. System CEO Keith Perry says Meadow Lake has had a positive impact on Tyler’s economy and will continue supporting the community at large. “At the peak of building, more than 300 construction jobs were filled locally, and the community will hire approximately 120 full-time employees with benefits. The greater community will also benefit from Meadow Lake’s Senior Health Clinic, which will be available to the public, as well as the Chamness Lodge, a beautiful meeting space on campus that will be open for local churches and organizations to use.”

Tom Mullins, president of both Tyler’s Chamber of Commerce and its Economic Development Council, says, “Having a high quality senior living option like Meadow Lake will help us continue to attract new people to our area and also encourage long-time residents to remain here during retirement.”

LONGVIEW — Rather than send trees to the landfill after the holiday, the City of Longview encourages residents to give their real Christmas trees new purpose as compost or fish habitats. Residents may drop off their Christmas tree at three locations from starting today and running through Friday, January 14. The drop-off locations are McWhorter Park, 1000 Toler Rd.; Stamper Park, 400 Fair St.; or the Compost Site, 280 Hearne Rd., during open hours. Christmas trees left for curbside pickup will not be recycled. When dropping off trees for recycling, residents are asked to remove all decorations from trees. Flocked trees will not be accepted.

According to Recycling Coordinator Dave Wimberly, “Each year, hundreds of trees are recycled in Longview, but we know that figure could be much higher. Whether it is a Christmas tree, a cardboard box, or a newspaper, it is a good thing whenever items are diverted from the landfill. Especially during the holidays, we encourage everyone to take a moment to separate your trash from the holidays into garbage and recycling.”

As a reminder, throughout the year Longview residents may drop off yard waste at the City’s Compost Site. Acceptable items include limbs, brush, leaves, grass clippings, and pine straw. The mulch and compost that is produced at the Compost Site is available at no charge to City of Longview residential solid waste customers with proof of residency such as a Driver’s License or water bill. Compost Site regular hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The Compost Site will be closed for the New Year’s holiday on January 1. You can contact 903-237-1250 for more information about Longview’s recycling programs.