KTBB News, Weather, Talk

ATLANTA – A boil water notice was issued for residents on the City of Atlanta’s public water system on Saturday, was rescinded Tuesday morning.

EAST TEXAS — Acting governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, has added 81 counties to a disaster declaration for hurricane Beryl, including many counties in East Texas, according to our news partner KETK.

As of Saturday, 121 out of Texas’ 254 counties are under the disaster declaration.

Anderson, Angelina, Austin, Bastrop, Bell, Bowie, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Caldwell, Camp, Cass, Chambers, Cherokee, Collin, Colorado, Comal, Dallas, Delta, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone, Galveston, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Harrison, Hays, Henderson, Hill, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Jasper, Jefferson, Kaufman, Lamar, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Madison, Marion, McLennan, Milam, Montgomery, Morris, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rockwall, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Travis, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Walker, Waller, Washington, Williamson and Wood counties were all added to Patrick’s disaster declaration on Saturday.

Patrick said that the state has more than 2,000 responders and 850 assets that can be deployed to help in rescue operations.

TYLER– A Tyler man has been charged with six counts of aggravated assault following a report of shots fired Friday morning. It happened around 9:00 at a home on 1st Street in Tyler. Police said upon arrival, officers were able to remove several children and adults from the home, including the suspect, Chandler Haught, 22. Officials said Haught and the people inside the house are acquaintances and that this was not a random incident. There was evidence of shots being fired. The handgun was located. No injuries were reported.

Haught was transported to the Smith County Jail and booked on six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The case remains under investigation and will be forwarded to the Smith County DA’s Office.

VAN – According to our news partner KETK, Melissa Davis, the chief of police at Van Police Department, was fired on Monday, according to the mayor of Van, Tammy Huff.
The City Council held a closed session at 7 p.m. on Friday to discuss “the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of the Police Chief.” The council voted unanimously to table the matter until their next meeting on Thursday, July 11. “The status right now is she was terminated by our city manager, John Desha, on Monday, July 1,” Huff said. “That’s really all I can talk about, because it’s a personnel matter.”

According to Clint McNear with the Texas Municipal Police Association, Davis was fired by the city manager John Desha via letter on Monday after Davis reportedly didn’t want to fine victims of graffiti and instead organized the community to help clean the graffiti.

SMITH COUNTY – Smith County fire investigators said fireworks may have contributed to a house fire reported Thursday night. Firefighters were called to a house FM 756, near Beam Road at 11:45 p.m. Several people were at home at the time of the fire, but were uninjured. Fire crews from other jurisdictions responded to the fire, but the home was a total loss.

Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue said preliminary investigation of the fire shows that the fire started in the garage, “and fireworks may have been a contributing factor to the cause of the fire. The investigation is ongoing and no foul play is suspected at this time.

TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Office said that a 19-year-old has died after being shot in the head on July fourth. According to our news partner KETK, 19-year-old Rawly Sanchez, was reportedly shot to death behind a Smith County business. Sheriff’s reports say deputies responded to a call of a shots fired around 10:45 p.m. on Thursday, at Highway 271 north near Tyler. Smith County dispatch reported the gunshot victim was taken to local hospital.

Smith County Sheriff’s Office learned this at the hospital. Three friends were riding in a truck on Old Gladewater Highway, but turned around to go back to Highway 271. The trio reportedly passed behind Bautista Auto Sales and that’s when gunshots were reportedly fired. While sitting in the back of the truck, Rawley Sanchez reportedly was shot in back of the head. He was immediately taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Continue reading Suspect arrested in Smith County fatal shooting

TYLER – A Friday morning shots fired call in Tyler has led to a 22-year-old being charged with six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. According to our news partner KETK, Chandler Haught of Tyler was arrested after authorities arrived to the scene at a First Street residence. Multiple adults and children were escorted from the home. The case is being forwarded to the Smith County District Attorney’s Office and no injuries were reported.

HENDERSON COUNTY – A 40-year-old drowned on Independence Day near Mabank. According to our news partner KETK, authorities said that at 8:34 p.m. they were alerted to a drowning incident in Hidden Hills Harbor where callers said a man went under and never resurfaced. Payne Springs Fire Rescue and the Texas Game Wardens arrived on scene and were assisted by Gun Barrel City Fire and Long Cove Fire for their boats. The side scan sonars on the boats helped locate and recover the victim.

DAINGERFIELD – A motion passed by the City of Daingerfield will cease all response by the Daingerfield Volunteer Fire Department outside of city limits, according to our partners at KETK. In a memo, the city said a motion was passed for the VFD to no longer respond to life-threatening calls outside of city limits on May 13. That motion went into effect on Monday, but on June 10, the city council made an additional motion to cease all VFD responses outside of city limits. The decision to cease all VFD responses will go into effect on Sept. 1. On Thursday, the VFD posted to social media a list of facts related to the response changes. One of the statements listed is that so far this year, 54% of all their responses were outside the city limits, and that the county’s contribution represents about 7% of the VFD’s total budget.

DAINGERFIELD — Our news colleagues at KETK say one person is injured following an early Thursday morning shooting in Daingerfield, now officials are looking for the suspect.The police department said at around 1:13 a.m. officers responded to a report of a robbery and shooting at a business parking lot where they discovered a victim who had a gunshot wound. According to a preliminary investigation, the suspect is a short, light-skinned Black man wearing a Nike Ski-type mask and armed with a handgun. The suspect reportedly ran from the scene before officials arrived. “It is believed that a vehicle may have been involved in facilitating the suspect’s escape, possibility picking him up after he fled the parking lot,” the police department said. Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact the Daingerfield Police Department at 903-645-2114.

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler placed first and third in the collegiate track of the 2024 U.S. Department of Energy American-Made Community Energy Innovation Competition. The contest concluded last month with the third and final impact phase in which the top three collegiate teams competed for a share of the $100,000 grand prize. Two UT Tyler teams was among the top three finalists in the contest this year. Continue reading UT Tyler team shine in DOE Community Energy Innovation Prize

VAN ZANDT COUNTY —  TxDOT has scheduled a closure on I-20 in Van Zandt County for Monday that will affect the FM 859 bridge north of Canton from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. TxDOT announced that during the time of road work, the main lanes of I-20 will be closed in both directions while crews work on the bridge. The FM 859 bridge will also be closed while crews are working.

TxDOT said that I-20 traffic will be diverted onto the frontage roads during these closures. This closure is part of a larger project to replace the FM 859 bridge.

During the construction of the new bridge, I-20 traffic will be reduced to one lane during the nighttime, according to TxDOT. The timeframe of the next phase will be provided after further progress of the project.

TYLER – As crowds celebrating Independence Day at Lake Tyler start arriving, residents in the area ask that people practice safety and do their part to keep the lake clean. Residents want visitors to know that they are welcome to celebrate but want to remind them that it is their home, and they want to keep it beautiful. According to our news partner KETK, a nonprofit in the area is also helping keep the area clean.

Although keeping the lake clean is one priority, another is safety to prevent anyone from getting hurt while on the water. People in the area said law enforcement will be patrolling Lake Tyler so it’s a great place to bring the family. Continue reading Lake Tyler ask Fourth visitors to prioritize safety, clean up

CANTON – TxDOT has scheduled a closure on I-20 in Van Zandt County for Monday that will affect the FM 859 bridge north of Canton from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. According to our news partner KETK, during this time of construction, the main lanes of the interstate will be closed in both directions while crews work on the bridge. The FM 859 bridge will also be closed while crews are working. TxDOT said that I-20 traffic will be diverted onto the frontage roads during these closures. This closure is part of a larger project to replace the FM 859 bridge.

TIMPSON – One person was arrested after a robbery at Austin Bank in Timpson on Tuesday morning, according to our colleagues at KETK. DPS said that troopers arrived at the scene within two minutes and encountered the suspect. Authorities said the subject was threatening citizens inside and outside of the bank with a pellet revolver. The person was taken into custody at the scene. The investigation is being handed to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the identity of the arrested individual is not yet available.