KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — A suspected homicide at Winters Park in Tyler is still under investigation. Officers say they found the body of Ronnie Kemp, 48, Tyler, Monday night in the park on Peach Street. According to KETK, family members say Kemp called them and told them he was in trouble. Neighbors to the park say they are concerned for their safety. Police say they believe Kemp knew his attacker and that he had a criminal history in Smith County.

TYLER — Investigators say a toddler who died Monday afternoon accidently drank paint thinner. According to authorities, 18-month old Nathaly Velazquez was riding in a vehicle containing paint supplies. The paint thinner was in a water bottle and investigators believe the youngster drank it, thinking it was water. The youngster’s father drove her to the Mother Frances Hospital emergency room where she died. The Tyler Police Department and Smith County Child Protective Services continue to investigate the death.

TYLER — Tyler police say they’ve apprehended a burglar. Just after 1:00 Monday afternoon, officers responded to a report of a house being burglarized in the 800 block of West Dobbs. According to a police report, officers arrived on the scene and caught a suspect, identified as Terry Desmond Vaughn, 34, of Tyler, inside the house. Police say Vaughn surrendered to officers without incident. Vaughn was booked into the Smith County Jail for burglary.

TYLER — Investigators are looking into the death of a Tyler toddler. The 18 month old was brought in to the Mother Francis Hospital emergency room Monday afternoon for the accidental ingestion of unknown poisonous substance. The girl quit breathing and could not be revived and died at the hospital. Investigators from Tyler Police Department and Smith County Child Protective Services were called and the incident is under investigation.

TYLER — Tyler police say they’ve apprehended a burglar. On Monday at 1:01 p.m., officers responded to a report of a house being burglarized in the 800 block of W. Dobbs. According to a police report, officers arrived on the scene and caught a suspect, identified as Terry Vaughn, 34, of Tyler, inside the house. Police say Vaughn surrendered to officers without incident. Vaughn was booked into the Smith County Jail for burglary.

TYLER — The Tyler ISD Foundation has experienced a great number of successful achievements in the past few years, but it has now been singled out as the best public relations foundation in the nation, according to the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). The national organization is composed primarily of school districts across America and awards 43 Golden Achievement honors. This year, 42 of the awards went to major school districts for their achievement in image building through good public relations. But for the first time, the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) awarded one of its Golden Achievement Awards to the Tyler ISD Foundation — the charter award for an education foundation in the United States. The award will be given at the association’s national conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, July 10th through 15th.

“This is the highest honor we have ever received,” said Larry Goddard, Executive Director of the Foundation. Goddard will be making the trip to Charlotte to pick up the award, which honors the overall public relations campaign. “Positive community awareness is essential in fundraising,” said Goddard. According to Goddard, the foundation needs to tell prospective donors that it does things well, and awards such as the national Golden Achievement honor do that for the foundation. Goddard thanked the local media of Tyler, from radio, to newspapers, to weeklies, to magazines, and cable companies with helping the nonprofit’s community awareness of serving donors and supporting the District.

LONGVIEW — $4 million of left over money from a Longview ISD bond issue will be used to make repairs to Longview High School. According to KETK, the nearly $267 million bond was passed two years ago to build new schools and make necessary repairs. In September, taxpayers were promised the left over money would go back to them. However, Longview ISD hasn’t received any extra state funding this year, so school board members thought it necessary to dip into the extra bond money. Former school board president Sam Satterwhite is not fond of that plan. He says, “I was against using bond funds for these projects, but I was on the short side of a vote.” The taxpayer money will go toward repairing the high school’s roof, new stadium lights, and repairs to the track.

LUFKIN — A Lufkin couple is facing charges following a fake kidnapping. Last week we told you how Lufkin police were called to a store on North Timberland Drive by a woman reporting seeing a man forcibly shove a woman into the trunk of a car. The witness said she tried to follow the car when it sped away. That started search by a contingent of law officers.

About an hour later a woman returned to the store to tell officers she and her boyfriend had been watching the movie “Jackass” and thought it would be funny to see the reaction to a faked kidnapping. The boyfriend later told officers a similar story.

Sunday, authorities identified the couple as William Short, 25, and Tamara Day, 23. They will be charged with interfering with public duties.

TYLER — Carol Johnson is the facilitator of a peer support group, “Touched by Suicide,” which has been gathering since last August in Mt. Sylvan. On this week’s KTBB “Staff Meeting,” Johnson said it’s for anyone who has lost someone they care about to suicide. Johnson was moved to start the group after her son took his own life. She also aims to create more awareness of suicide and how to prevent it.

Right now, according to Johnson, there’s a need for better services to deal with the problem in East Texas. But her group is growing. It recently received a grant that Johnson hopes will allow it to expand its scope, including achieving 501(c)3 status. Touched by Suicide is also planning a couple of awareness events for this fall. You can call Johnson at 903-574-3127 or e-mail her at caroljohnsonami@gmail.com for more information. You can also go to http://www.ktbb.com/audio to listen to the “Staff Meeting” show beginning early Tuesday.

LONGVIEW — Beginning Tuesday in Longview, Birch Drive between Scenic and Silver Falls Road will be temporarily closed. The closing is needed because of construction work on the Silver Falls Road Widening Project. The road closure will continue through late July. Silver Falls Road will also be limited to southbound traffic only from Pine Tree Road to Spring Street. Northbound traffic on Silver Falls will detour along Spring Street. Motorists are encouraged to seek alternate routes during this construction period.

The Silver Falls Road Widening Project was approved by voters as part of the Capital Improvements Bond Election in May 2007. This project is being constructed by Longview Bridge and Road.