KTBB News, Weather, Talk

LONGVIEW � The Longview Fire Department responds to a fire in the 1400 block of Lake Drive around 9:00 Tuesday morning. Officials say a man was removing the fuel pump from the gas tank of a car when a spark igniting the fuel in the tank. The blaze was extinguished with no damage to any other structures. The man suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns but refused to taken to the hospital. The car was a total loss.

TYLER — Tyler Junior College officials are clarifying the tax rate increase approved last week for the new fiscal year’s budget. Trustees approved a rate of 18.29 cents per $100 valuation — the amount originally proposed. That’s 33.57 percent higher than the current rate — and 31.62 percent higher than the effective tax rate, which is the figure that would bring in the current year�s revenue.

ELKHART � A weekend shooting in Anderson County has left one person dead and one person in custody. It happened around 1:00 Sunday morning on County Road 1121 near Elkhart. Shot to death was Jacob Kennedy, 27. Arrested later that morning was Larry Warren, 35, of Palestine. He was taken into custody at a Tyler hospital where he was being treated for a gunshot wound. He was reportedly wounded by another man in a struggle over the rifle used to shoot Kennedy. Investigators say the shooting stemmed from an argument over a woman.

QUITMAN — A Wood County employee was killed Monday will trimming trees along County Road 2775. Killed was Mathew Crowell, 31, who was part of a county work crew. He was critically injured just before 11:45 yesterday morning when a tree limb he was cutting fell on him, pinning him between the limb and another tree limb. He died about an hour later at East Texas Medical Center-Quitman. An autopsy was ordered.

TYLER — Tyler Police are investigating an aggravated assault reported just before 2:00 Tuesday morning. It occurred in the 3700 block of North Broadway. A woman tells officers she was northbound on Broadway in her vehicle when a white Ford 4 door approached her from behind. It hit her rear bumper and she pulled to the side of the road thinking it had been an accident. Two black males approached her and one of them hit her in the face. When she fell to the ground two men rummaged through her car. They then returned to their vehicle and left. She was treated at the scene by ambulance personnel. There is no additional suspect or vehicle information at this time and the case remains under investigation.

LONGVIEW — One person received minor injuries in a Longview fire. The fire, in a carport, was reported shortly after 10:15 yesterday morning at 4307 Price Lane. Firemen say they found a small fire in the carport and it was quickly brought under control. The occupant of the mobile home sustained a minor injury while attempting to remove a vehicle from the carport. The vehicle was also damaged while it was being backed out of the carport. According to Interim Fire Marshal Johnny Zackary, �the cause of the fire is unintentional.”

BULLARD – The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department says the search continues for the person responsible for a shooting death in Bullard. According to KETK, the victim has now been identified as William Earl Baker, 52. He was shot to death around 7:00 Friday night on his driveway at his house in the Shadybrook subdivision, and authorities say it’s foul play. Authorities say the investigation is ongoing and anyone with any tips or information in this case is asked to call the Criminal Investigations Division of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department at 903-683-2271. All calls will be confidential and callers may be left anonymous.

TYLER — Smith County Purchasing Director Kelli Davis has been nominated to serve on the Board of Directors for the Texas Public Purchasing Association in 2011. The new board lineup will be announced at the organization’s 2010 State Conference, to be held in Smith County. The nomination comes from current Board Member and Past TxPPA President Jack Beacham, Purchasing Director for Tarrant County. �Mrs. Davis is absolutely the quality of purchasing professional to take TxPPA to its next level of success,� Beacham said in a letter nominating Mrs. Davis. �She will make an outstanding contribution to this association and will be one of the future leaders in Texas Public Procurement.�

Mrs. Davis has been the Purchasing Director for Smith County for five years and recently won the bid for Smith County to host the Fall 2010 TxPPA State Conference. �From my perspective, they could not select a candidate with better credentials,� County Judge Joel Baker said. �She will be a strong voice for Smith County and all of east Texas to that organization.� The 2010 TxPPA Fall State Conference could bring 300 or more Purchasing Directors from across the state into the county. Officials say Smith County was chosen to host the state convention for its central location and its innovative purchasing methods.

TxPPA is the first and only multi-agency organization for Public Purchasing Professionals in Texas. The Texas Public Purchasing Association is comprised of 600 Purchasing Directors from Texas cities, counties, school districts and colleges.

TYLER — The University of Texas at Tyler has received $893,475 from the National Science Foundation to support the new Noyce Scholars Program, Dr. Arlene Horne, vice president for research and federal relations, announced. The five-year grant provides academic scholarships for high achieving juniors and seniors seeking degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) who will also seek teacher certification through the university�s UTeach program.

�The UT Tyler Noyce Scholars Program encourages STEM majors to become teachers by supporting them through the most rigorous portion of their program � their upper division content courses and their field-based pedagogical courses including apprentice teaching,� said Dr. Bambi Bailey, UT Tyler associate professor of science education and program co-coordinator. �There is a high need for STEM teachers in our region. This program will support the development of over 30 new STEM teachers over the course of the next five years.� The first five Noyce Scholars will be chosen early this fall.

Noyce Scholars will teach in high-need secondary schools one year for each semester of support they receive. In addition, the program supports freshman and sophomore STEM majors considering entering the UTeach program. Dr. Michael Odell, UT Tyler Roosth professor of science education and engineering; and Dr. Fredericka Brown, UT Tyler assistant professor of mechanical engineering, also serve as program coordinators. UT Tyler last year received grants totaling $1.4 million to establish the UTeach program, which originated at UT Austin in 1997.

According to UTT officials, the core elements of the UTeach program include active recruitment and incentives, such as:
– Offering the first two courses for free;
– A compact degree program that allows students to graduate in four years with both a degree and a teaching certification;
– Strong focus on acquiring deep content knowledge in math and science, in addition to research-based teaching strategies focusing on teaching and learning math and science;
– Early and intensive field teaching experience, beginning in the UTeach students� first semester;
– Personal attention and guidance from highly experienced master teachers, faculty, and successful public school teachers.
For more information about the UT Tyler Noyce Scholars Program, contact Bailey at BBailey@uttyler.edu or 903.565.5937.

TYLER � 38-year-old Joann Morgan of Carthage has pleaded guilty to to possession of pseudoephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. The plea was entered Monday in Tyler before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love.

According to prosecutors, on Feb. 17, 2009, Morgan purchased cold pills containing pseudoephedrine at a Walgreens in Marshall, in addition to making three other purchases that same day at other Walgreens stores in Marshall, Longview and Kilgore. Authorities say that was in addition to numerous other purchases at other stores on other days, all in furtherance of her methamphetamine manufacturing activities. A federal grand jury returned a 54-count indictment on Apr. 8, 2010 charging Morgan with federal drug violations. Morgan faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.

EAST TEXAS — A capital building fund has been launched to support the efforts of the recently established Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or SPCA of East Texas. Tyler attorney Deborah Tittle-Dobbs formed the non-profit SPCA of East Texas this year, to respond to and investigate animal cruelty and neglect as well as house rescued animals for adoption. Currently, neither the city of Tyler nor Smith County has a local facility to house stray or neglected dogs for any length of time. All lost dogs and strays from the city are transported by animal control to a shelter in Cherokee County. Euthanized animals must then be transported back to Tyler for disposal by animal control. On average 60-100 dogs from our community are euthanized each week because of the lack of a community shelter.

The SPCA of East Texas hopes to remedy thE situation and is seeking private donations to build a shelter in the Tyler area. You can mail your donation to the SPCA, P.O. Box 2026, Tyler, TX, 75710. Other programs will include humane education in schools, spay/neuter awareness and pet overpopulation, �Critter Camp� a children�s day camp and a community event center for animal organizations and public events.

Additionally, the first SPCA cruelty investigator has been hired with Smith County District Attorney drug seizure funds. Former Tyler police officer, Roy Linn will investigate calls received through the SPCA hotline at 903-596-SPCA.

LUFKIN — Lufkin Police are investigating an apparent double murder that happened on Davis Street Sunday morning. Officers responded to a call of a man and woman lying in the front yard bleeding around 7:27 a.m. at 319 Davis Street. They arrived to see 23-year-old Brianna Shaw, of Lufkin lying on the front porch with a gunshot wound to the back of the head and the tenant, Artha Griffin, 64, lying beside her with a gunshot wound to the face and head. They were pronounced dead at the scene by Judge Esther Barger. According to the Lufkin Daily News, the deaths are under investigation.

TYLER — Tyler police are looking for the lone gunman who robbed the Quality Inn at 2843 West Northwest Loop 323. It happened shortly before 8:45 Sunday night. The desk clerk told officers the suspect never spoke, but used a hand-written note to convey his intentions.

The suspect fled the business on foot. It is not known at this time, whether he used a vehicle to leave the area. A green colored �Astro�-type van was seen behind the business around the time of the robbery. It is unknown whether this vehicle was involved in the crime.

The suspect was described as a white male, in his late 20�s to early 30�s, about 5�5� to 5�7� in height, about 160 lbs in weight, with an athletic build. He was wearing all black, with black gloves and a black ski mask. He displayed a chrome colored revolver during the robbery.

Tyler police say suspect took an undisclosed amount of cash. There were no injuries.

TYLER — The Texas Department of Transportation announced that it completed three projects in August and planned to break ground on another four in September. This brings the total number of projects under construction to 29 across the eight-county Tyler District.

“Without a doubt, the biggest project of the three we finished is the State Highway 198 bridge at Caney Creek,” said TxDOT spokesman Larry Krantz. “And right as we’re wrapping that one up, we’re getting another one started at Twin Creek Lake near Gun Barrel City.”

The $21 million Twin Creek project, which is being built by the same contractor, Concho Construction Company, Inc., of Garland, will be nearly identical to the Caney Creek project. The Caney Creek project, which was the first of the three State Highway 198 bridges on Cedar Creek Reservoir to be rebuilt, called for building a new, two-lane bridge next to the old, existing bridge, then shifting traffic to the new bridge while the original bridge was replaced. The end result is four lanes of traffic on SH 198, with the northbound and southbound traffic running on separate bridges.

“We’ve been very fortunate with our funding when it comes to bridges,” Krantz said. “We’ve had these SH 198 bridge projects ready to go as soon as funding was available, and now we’re working on the second of the three bridges.” No funding has been identified for the third bridge, which is between Twin Creek and Caney Creek.

Also in August, TxDOT completed night-work resurfacing projects on U.S. Highway 80 (Marshall Avenue) in Longview, and on U.S. Highway 69 (South Broadway Avenue) in Tyler. Krantz said both projects went smoothly and were completed on time.

In addition to the SH 198 bridge work beginning in September, construction crews are scheduled to begin work on a combined project to widen and resurface Farm Road 59 and Farm Road 753 in Henderson County. Farm-to-Market 59 will be widened three feet on each side and resurfaced between South Loop 7 in Athens and Farm Road 753, and FM 753 will be similarly widened and resurfaced between FM 59 and State Highway 31. The $5.2 million project is scheduled to begin in mid-to-late September and take approximately one year to complete.

In Anderson County, an $800,000 resurfacing project on U.S. Highway 287 in and around Elkhart is scheduled to kick off this week, between Farm Road 1817 and State Highway 294. The project, awarded to Madden Contracting Company, Inc., of Minden, Louisiana, is scheduled to take approximately two months to complete.

Finally, in Tyler, a $1.5 million Green Ribbon landscaping project to add decorative traffic islands and shrubbery to various intersections along Spur 147 (Gentry Parkway) between West Loop 323 and Farm Road 14 is scheduled to begin by mid-September. The project, awarded to Tyler-based Reynolds & Kay, Ltd. is part of the state’s Green Ribbon Landscape Improvement Program, which allows the state to address new landscape development and establishment projects within districts that have non-attainment or near non-attainment counties. Green Ribbon projects call for planting trees and shrubs, which help clean the air and otherwise mitigate the effects of air pollution.

The Tyler District also awarded contracts for four construction projects in August, including a $75,000 Green Ribbon Project to Encino Landscape, Inc., of Cleveland, Texas, for the Henderson Star area.

The other projects include a $165,000 project to improve camp sites at Tyler State Park, a $2.3 million project to widen and resurface Farm Road 344 in Smith County between Teaselville and Bullard, and a $1.3 million project to repair and resurface a short segment of Interstate Highway 20 between State Highway 110 and the Smith-Van Zandt county line. Projects awarded in August should begin sometime this fall.

TYLER � Lighthouse Graphics, a division of East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, has formed a legally blind team to compete in the Brookshire�s Firefighter Combat Challenge held at the Broadway Square Mall parking lot Sept. 24 and 25. The six team members all have a visual impairment caused by an eye disease �We are hopeful that our participation in the challenge will provide the community another opportunity to appreciate the abilities of people with visual impairments,� Lee Tillson, combat team captain, said. Lighthouse Graphics is one of five local businesses taking part in the corporate challenge portion of the event. These teams are required to complete the same course as the fire department teams. In preparation for the challenge the Graphics team has practiced on a simulated course designed by local fire fighters.

�Visual impairments won�t slow us down. We might have to work a little harder than the rest, but I�m confident we will be a strong force in the competition. We have good athletes on the team and we all want to win,� Tillson said. The Firefighter Combat Challenge visits approximately 25 cities across the U.S., and this and be the fifth year the competition has come to Tyler. The challenge is an energetic and friendly competition between local and out of state fire department teams — and, for the first time, local corporate teams. The obstacle course is made up of five tasks that simulate real life scenarios that fire fighters face in the line of duty; they include: high rise hose carry, hose hoist, forcible entry, hose advance and victim rescue.

Serving 46 counties in East Texas, The Lighthouse is a 501�3 non-profit organization located in Tyler. The three operating divisions — Horizon Industries, Lighthouse Graphics and East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind Rehabilitative Services — collectively employ 69 blind and visually impaired people. To learn more about the programs and services at The Lighthouse visit http://www.etlb.org or call 903.593.3111.