KTBB News, Weather, Talk

SMITH COUNTY — 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, 2023. A narrow bridge is being replaced with a concrete box culvert as a 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.

WILLS POINT – A former Wills Point ISD employee was arrested by Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office in relation to an indecency with a child investigation. According to our news partner KETK, Kenneth Dale Faling was arrested on Friday Feb. 24. He was a technology technician with Wills Point ISD, according to a statement from superintendent Richard A. Cooper. “At this time, Mr. Faling is no longer employed with Wills Point ISD. This alleged behavior did not occur on a Wills Point ISD campus or property,” Cooper said. In a Facebook comment Wills Point ISD said that Faling tenured his resignation Friday evening, the same day as his arrest. According to Van Zandt County, Faling is being held on $300,000 bond for the charge of alleged indecency with child sexual contact. Wills Point ISD Police Department and Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office are continuing to investigate the situation.

MOUNT PLEASANT – Mount Pleasant Police Department has announced that they’ve made an arrest in connection to a Whataburger shooting that left a man dead Saturday morning. According to our news partner KETK, Mount Pleasant Police Department responded to 2321 South Jefferson Avenue because of reports of a shooting around 2:18 a.m. Police officers said they found a male, Damien O’neal Jackson, 30, of Mount Pleasant, with multiple gunshot wounds in the Whataburger parking lot. Officials said that EMS transported Jackson to Titus Regional Medical Center where he died. Mount Pleasant PD officers interviewed several eye-witnesses and said they determined that a fight started inside the Whataburger and eventually those fighting were told to leave. As they were all leaving the Whataburger, Jackson was shot. Later around 9:20 a.m. officials said they arrested Kentravion Jajuan Evans, 18, and booked him into Titus County Jail for on a murder charge.

HAWKINS – Jarvis Christian University has announced that their current president and CEO is retiring in June, after 11 years at the school. According to our news partner KETK, Dr. Lester C. Newman started as JCU president in April of 2012 and has worked in higher education for 47 years. During his tenure at JCU, he helped save the school from “financial peril” and brought them to the point of operating without any debt, according to a press release. Dr. Newman also helped with turning around low enrollment, reviving Bulldog athletics, expanding degree programs and expanding the schools reach to Dallas. He recently brought them from being a college to a university through the creation of their business and criminal justice master’s degrees. Continue reading Jarvis Christian University president announces plans to retire by: Michael Garcia

HENDERSON COUNTY – On Feb. 21, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of a threat written on a Cross Roads ISD High School bathroom stall. According to our news partner KETK, the Henderson County Crimes Against Children Task Force worked closely with the school district and a K9 assisted in the investigation by conducting a search for firearms in the school. Carter Echo, 18, a student at Cross Roads High School, was interviewed by the task force on Feb. 24. After the interview, investigators prepared and presented an affidavit for an arrest warrant to Henderson County 392nd Judicial District Judge Scott McKee. McKee then issued an arrest warrant for Echo for the offense of terroristic threat, a third degree felony. Investigators arrested Echo and he is now waiting arraignment in the Henderson County Jail. If convicted, Echo could face up to 10 years in prison.

CHEROKEE COUNTY – A man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of assaulting a peace officer on Thursday, according to Cherokee County. On Aug. 1 2022, Eric Paulk was arrested after hitting an officer over the head during the course of his arrest for an outstanding felony warrant, according to our news partner KETK. Paulk was convicted after 25 minutes of jury deliberation and Judge R. Chris Day sentenced him to 20 years in prison. Paulk was also fined $5000. Officials said that Cherokee County Sheriffs Office, Bullard Police Department and Jacksonville Police Department assisted in his capture.

MOUNT PLEASANT – Dollar Tree Inc. has been fined $254,478 after federal workplace safety inspectors arrived at a store in Mount Pleasant, according to the Department of Labor. According to a release, inspectors found “the national discount retailer again shortchanging employee safety” by allowing storeroom merchandise to block exits, walkways and “stacking boxes high enough to fall on workers.” The Sept. 7, 2022 inspection also said the company failed to keep areas in the store and storerooms “clean, orderly and sanitary” and announced the more than $250,000 in fines issued by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Thursday. Continue reading Dollar Tree fined more than $250,000 after inspection at Mount Pleasant store

CADDO PARISH — An East Texas teenager has surrendered to Louisiana authorities in the shooting death of another teen at a Mardi Gras parade in Shreveport. The unidentified 16-year-old boy gave himself up at the Caddo Parish Juvenile Justice Complex, accompanied by his attorney. He is charged with negligent homicide in the death last Saturday of Kip Lewis, 17, of Elysian Fields. investigators say a group of teens were engaging in horseplay, chasing each other around with plastic swords, when for some reason one teen pulled out a gun and fired a shot, striking Lewis in the upper body. The teen charged in the killing will make a court appearance today in Shreveport.

NACOGDOCHES (KRLD) — Video from the dashcam camera of the tractor-trailer rig involved in a fatal crash that killed two East Texas college students is missing. Attorneys for Graylan Spring, one of the Stephen F. Austin State University students killed in the crash between Nacogdoches and Houston on January 20, want to see video from the cab of the 18-wheeler. But KTRE television reports that in a hearing in a Lufkin courtroom, attorneys said there are no files on the SD card and they believe the card was wiped. They say that is not an accident. They demand information on the chain of custody of the SD card. Defense attorneys for the trucking company want access to the cell phones for Spring and Micah McAfoose.

TYLER – The East Texas Speakers Forum will present “An Evening with Patrick Mahomes” at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at the UT Tyler Cowan Center. Tickets will go on sale at 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27, through the Cowan Center Box Office. Ticket prices are $45, $75, $85, and $125. They can be purchased online here, by calling 903-566-7266, or at the Box Office between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Mahomes, a Tyler native who graduated from Whitehouse High School, this month led the Kansas City Chiefs to a second Super Bowl victory and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Click this link for additional information.

LONGVIEW — The Gregg County Sheriff’s Office says it is facing a severe staffing crisis. According to our news partner KETK, the sheriff’s office currently has about 40 vacancies, creating a need for extra overtime work. Many people left their jobs when the COVID-19 pandemic started and have not come back. Chief Deputy Craig Harrington also says people aren’t applying for other personal reasons. “It’s not a job you’re gonna get in and be rich and is a job that oftentimes folks aren’t praised for, they are criticized for being in,” said Harrington.

JACKSONVILLE – A Jacksonville police officer was injured after attempting to stop a pedestrian, which led to a fight on Wednesday, according to the Jacksonville Police Department. According to our news partner KETK, the officer stopped the pedestrian around 2:02 p.m. on South Jackson Street. Authorities said the suspect ran away after they spoke. The officer reportedly chased the man, and they got into a physical altercation. Cadarius Rashad Mitchell, 31, of Jacksonville, was later arrested. The officer suffered minor injuries, was taken to a local hospital, and was released Wednesday. Mitchell was charged with evading arrest and/or detention, resisting arrest, and obstruction or retaliation. He is now at the Cherokee County Jail. Police said they will not release the name of the officer.

SHREVEPORT, La. – A suspect is jailed for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Kip Lewis of Elysian Fields, Texas, Saturday along the Gemini parade route in Shreveport. That’s according to our news partner KETK together with its partners KTAL and KMSS. According to earlier reports, Lewis and some friends were engaging in what Shreveport police describe as horseplay, chasing each other with plastic swords. For some reason, one of the teens pulled out a handgun and fired a single shot, hitting Lewis in the upper body. Shreveport police say the 16-year-old suspect surrendered to authorities Wednesday. The suspect is facing a charge of negligent homicide and was last reported in the Caddo Juvenile Detention Center awaiting his initial hearing.

TYLER — Tyler is continuing to observe Black History Month in several ways. On Thursday, a group called “We Remember Tyler” announced efforts to place a lynching memorial on the downtown square. A news release from the group mentions the lynching of James Hodge in 1909 on the grounds of the new courthouse then under construction. According to the release, “A lynching memorial must be placed on the new grounds to tell important historical truths, reveal community resilience, encourage reconciliation, and provide dignity.” Click this link to learn more about the group and its efforts. Continue reading Black History Month includes anti-lynching memorial bid, two weekend events