KTBB News, Weather, Talk

WHITEHOUSE — Whitehouse ISD added extra security to the high school campus Thursday morning after a student was charged with ‘false alarm’ and placed in custody. According to the district and our news partner KETK, around 1:50 p.m. on Wednesday, the school received an anonymous tip through the “Say Something” reporting system and the district coordinated with the Whitehouse Police Department to investigate. “At no time were students or staff in immediate danger,” officials said. The district said the report was made within six minutes of the alleged threat, and Superintendent Dr. Chris Moran said they will not tolerate threatening comments. Continue reading Whitehouse ISD adds security after ‘false alarm’ at high school

RUSK – The Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday a man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for continuous sexual assault of a child and aggravated kidnapping. The district attorney’s office said the charges were from incidents July 1, 2021 through Aug. 30, 2021. Jesse Ray Schmidt, then 32, was arrested on Aug. 31, 2021 after an Amber Alert was issued for two children who were later found in Kilgore after the 10-year-old and 11-year-old girls went missing from the Rusk area. According to our news partner KETK, Schmidt was convicted of the charges on Feb. 8.

TYLER — Smith County Road 188, east of the Emerald Bay Lake subdivision, will be closed to through traffic for a bridge replacement starting Monday, February 27. Officials say a narrow bridge is being replaced with a concrete box culvert as part of the roadway improvements to CR 188. The portion of the road that will be closed is located between FM 344 and FM 346. The road closure is expected to be for two weeks for the placement of the box culvert.

TYLER – A former Smith County deputy pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of unlawful transfer, possession or use of a means of identification. According to our news partner KETK, an arrest warrant says Luis Alberto Sandoval, 29, was arrested in August 2021 and accused of using a secure database to assist a drug trafficker from Mexico. The East Texas Anti-Gang Task Force also launched an investigation into the case that took several months. Sandoval was with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office from November 2017 to August 2021. His sentencing information was not immediately available.

EAST TEXAS – Two more East Texas school districts move to a four-day week starting this fall. According to our news partner KETK, trustees in Alto and Leverett’s Chapel have added their names to a growing list of area schools making or considering the action. According to the Alto ISD, the board carefully weighed the pros and cons of the transition and reviewed stakeholder input. Leverett’s Chapel trustees voted unanimously to make the switch. “LCISD would like to thank everyone that participated in the surveys and the community meeting,” the district said in a release. “Your input and perspective were greatly valued and appreciated.” The Leverett’s Chapel district said a school calendar will be finalized in March for the board’s approval.

TYLER — The Tyler City Council Wednesday approved a contract for the 2023 Asphalt Enhancement Project. The city prioritizes asphalt repairs according to the pavement condition index scores and staff evaluations of the city’s streets, according to a news release. The project includes 25 lane miles of pavement improvements and repainting traffic lane markings on streets throughout the community, according to the release. Also in the package: installing a high-friction surface treatment on West Grande Boulevard between Gleneagles Drive and Shady Oaks Drive, where there have been several fatal and multiple non-fatal crashes over the past 10 years. Click here for all the details.

AUSTIN (KRLD) — Governor Abbott is taking his request for federal help for this month’s ice storm to the White House. The governor has sent a letter to President Biden requesting a presidential disaster declaration for Texas communities impacted by the severe winter storm. It covers 23 counties, including Denton, Smith, Travis, and Williamson. He says local jurisdictions have reported more than $63 million worth of damage to public infrastructure so far. If the White House approves the request, those communities would be eligible for FEMA’s public assistance program to help pay for debris removal and repairs to public buildings and facilities.

RUSK — Officials are investigating the death of a Cherokee County Jail inmate. According to a news release from Sheriff Brent Dickson, jail staff contacted EMS Tuesday after 21-year-old inmate Aiydasani Bryant of Jacksonville began complaining of medical issues. He says it appeared that Bryant went into cardiac arrest while she was being treated by EMS. Dickson reports that life-saving measures were performed but Bryant was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital. Bryant was being held on a charge of aggravated assault family violence with a deadly weapon. Dickson says at his request, as with all death in custody situations, the Texas Rangers and the Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Unit are conducting an independent investigation.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — A man was charged with abuse of a corpse on Monday after he allegedly kept his mother’s body in his house for several days after her death in Van Zandt County, the sheriff’s office said. According to our news partner KETK, Douglas Dean Kilburn, 49, was arrested in the Rolling Oaks Community near County Road 3828. Authorities said they received a call from a person who was worried about Kilburn’s mother, who was their friend. Deputies conducted a welfare check on Feb. 14. Law enforcement said Kilburn told them his mother was visiting family in Oklahoma. Continue reading East Texas man arrested after being found with his mother’s body

TYLER – The Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office issued a wind advisory for Wednesday due to high fire danger. According to our news partner KETK, Smith County residents should not burn outside. Fire officials said it is not safe to burn when the weather is windy or dry.

TYLER — The South Broadway Avenue and Rieck Road intersection in Tyler is open following repairs, and all traffic signals are fully operational. The intersection was closed for most of the day Tuesday while crews replaced the traffic signal pole damaged in a weekend wreck. In a news release, the City of Tyler Traffic Operations Department thanks all residents for their patience and understanding.

TYLER – Dr. Theresa Byrd has been selected as the inaugural dean of The University of Texas at Tyler School of Health Professions, beginning next month. “Dr. Byrd’s impressive depth of knowledge and 37 years of experience in health care education demonstrated that she was a perfect fit,” said UT Tyler President Dr. Kirk Calhoun as quoted in a news release. Formed in 2022, the UT Tyler School of Health Professions includes four academic departments: health care policy, economics and management; kinesiology; public health; and rehabilitation sciences. With a mission to train future health care professionals for East Texas, the new school ensures that native East Texans won’t have to leave the region to study health care and could help to meet projected health care needs in the future, according to the release. Continue reading Inaugural dean announced for new UT Tyler School of Health Professions

OVERTON — Overton ISD hosted its third community meeting about changing to a four-day week. According to our news partner KETK, Superintendent Larry Calhoun said the change will benefit students and teachers. “The number one driver is recruiting and retention of teachers and rewarding the teachers you already have and keeping the best teachers we can on our staff,” said Calhoun. Overton resident and long-time educator Stanley Peters said the switch is not the solution to retention. “The more schools that do it, they lose that advantage because there will be more schools going to a four-day week so that advantage will go away, so where do you go next? A three-day week?” said Peters. Continue reading Overton ISD takes more input on four-day week

TYLER — More details emerged Tuesday at a press conference about a large-scale fentanyl bust this past Friday on I-20 in Smith County. According to our news partner KETK, Sheriff Larry Smith says the false compartment where 42,000 fentanyl pills were found was a hollowed-out battery. “That could’ve been 42,000 deaths right there in the United States,” Smith said. “We got a lot of kids, a lot of adults on drugs. We want to get the word out to them that they need to be careful about taking any tablet such as this.” Smith said a deputy noticed a van with Mexico license plates hauling several motorcycles and a car on a trailer, with another car being hauled behind that. When the driver failed to use a turn signal, the deputy performed a traffic stop, according to the sheriff. Continue reading Sheriff holds press conference following fentanyl bust

WASHINGTON, D.C. — During his weekly visit with KTBB, Congressman Nathaniel Moran weighed in on the topic of term limits. Moran says being in Congress “is not a right; it’s a responsibility, it’s a privilege to be able to serve the…citizens of East Texas. But it should not be a lifetime position, and people should…go and serve for a time, and then they should come home. You know, we’re gonna have to have some debate at some point about either a term limits bill on the floor or a Constitutional amendment…altogether. I would love to see…some term limits put in place. You don’t want it too short, and you don’t want it too long. But I betcha we can find something in the middle that works for everybody.” Continue reading Moran discusses term limits, border security bill