KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – Sad news from our news partner KETK, after more than 20 years at KETK/FOX51 in Tyler, Neal Barton is stepping away from the anchor desk. Neal has experience being the driving force behind a newsroom and being the face of the organization, serving as both news director and anchor. For more than 20 years, the people of East Texas welcomed Neal into their homes with the good news and the bad, all delivered with his classic Piney Woods wit. Outside of the regular evening newscasts, Neal also worked to put together weekly episodes of East Texas In Focus, an hourlong program that deep dives into topics that matter. You could also see him speaking his mind on regular segments of Neal Barton’s Point of View, or even see him going live in your town–with a KETK microphone and a cowboy hat, of course– for Small Town Salute Live segments.

He created a holiday initiative, Neal’s Wheels, which regularly brings in bike donations for local children in need. Last year, thanks to the generosity of locals, Neal’s Wheels brought in a record-breaking 206 bikes, scooters and skateboards for kids in need.

TYLER – Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce officials say a homeless man set fire in a bathroom Wednesday. According to our news partner KETK, 45-year-old David Alan Sickle was charged with arson. Tyler Deputy Fire Marshall Randy Lee said that Sickle entered the bathroom, stripped down to his underwear and began to bathe with paper towels from the sink. After Sickle was found out, he was asked to get dressed leave. Lee said as he left, Sickle set the bathroom on fire. He was arrested and is being held in the Smith County Jail on a $150,000 bond.

TEXARKANA – Our news partners at KETK report that a man is dead after he was hit by a train early Friday morning in Texarkana. According to Texarkana PD, around 4:30 a.m. they responded to a call about a pedestrian reportedly being hit by a train on the Kansas City Southern Railway Co. tracks, just north of Richmond Road. Officials said a 47-year-old man from Texarkana was found dead at the scene and no foul play is suspected. “We’re still working to figure out exactly what happened and what he was doing on the train tracks at that time of the night,” officials said.

TYLER – Tyler Pounds Field Regional Airport Thursday was the site full-scale emergency response training exercise. According to our news partner KETK, the drill simulated a crash of a commercial aircraft and a bus. First responders from state and local agencies, airport personnel and more that forty actors from UT Tyler participated in the event. It’s been three years since the last training of this type at the Tyler airport.
Continue reading Tyler Pounds Field hosts emergency training drill

PALESTINE – The Palestine Police Department said they’re searching for a man who was last seen on Saturday Jan. 20. According to our news partner KETK, Trenton Lee Staneat was last seen leaving the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office around 4:45 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, Jan. 28 at 9 a.m., several people are reportedly gathering at the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office in Palestine to search for Staneart. The Palestine PD asks if you have information on the location of Trenton Staneat to call them at 903-729-2254.

POLK COUNTY – Our colleagues at KETK report that Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy issued a voluntary evacuation order for residents along the Trinity River south of the Lake Livingston Dam on Wednesday. Heavy rainfall and heavy discharge from the dam could reportedly impact areas south of the dam including roadways into and out of residential areas, according to Polk County. According to the order, shelter is available at the Dunbar Gym at 1103 Dunbar Avenue in Livingston. To stay up to date on the Lake Livingston lake level and dam discharge rate visit the Trinity River Authority online.

TYLER — An Oncor crew has repaired a damaged power pole on South Broadway Avenue, near Amherst Street.  All northbound and southbound lanes have reopened.  The utility pole was damaged overnight after it was struck by a vehicle.

TYLER – Our news colleagues at KETK report a Tyler man was arrested on Wednesday for sexual assault of a child. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to the scene on CR 326 West around 10:15 p.m. where it was reported a 7-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted. An investigation began and officials said deputies “were able to establish probable cause” against Eugenio Gonzalez-Hernandez, 18 of Tyler. Officials said a search warrant was issued for investigators to gather additional physical evidence, and an arrest warrant was issued for Gonzalez-Hernandez. He was booked into the Smith County Jail where his bond was set at $750,000.

TYLER – Tyler Pounds Regional Airport Thursday is holding a full-scale incident exercise from from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s purpose is to evaluate the preparedness of first responders and airport personnel in the event of an actual emergency. A press release from city officials said drones are prohibited during the time of the exercise

Officials are asking businesses and residents north of Gentry Parkway to North Loop 323 to check cameras or doorbell cameras from Jan. 21 between 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. and report to them if you’ve seen anyone matching Morris’ description. Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for his location. You can also contract Tyler Police at 903-531-1000.

TYLER — East Texas doctors said they are seeing cases of the common cold, COVID-19 and even RSV, but flu cases this season have outnumbered all of them. According to our news partner KETK, cold weather is a notorious time for people to spread and contract respiratory illnesses. Dr. Douglas Curran, a family doctor with the East Texas Community Clinic, said their family clinic saw a total of 60 flu cases in just one day. “It’s that time of year. We are all inside and we are people that just continue to go despite being under the weather,” said Curran. Nacogdoches physician, Loyd Whitley, said this year he’s seen flu cases go through his office at a high rate. “I’m worried that we are on an uptick, and we may see more of it,” said Whitley. Continue reading East Texas doctors see uptick in flu cases

TYLER — The Tyler ISD Foundation awarded 26 grants across 16 campuses totaling nearly $80,000 that will go towards approved projects that will enhance students’ learning. According to our news partner KETK, the grant funds will go toward approved projects that will enhance students’ learning. “So many of us learn better when we’re busy with the information and we’re actually participating and active with it,” said Sarah Starr, a Three Lakes Middle School media technology specialist. Teachers at Three Lakes Middle School will use the grant for what they call “classroom transformation stations.” “I am going to be using it for the reconstruction era of the civil war and we are all going to reconstruct our country with hard hats,” said Jennifer Constante, a Three Lakes Middle School 8th-grade social studies teacher. The middle school will have about 15-20 different themed kits that teachers can check out of the library. Empowering instructors to keep young minds active within their learning environments. Through Tyler ISD Grants for Great Ideas Program, more than seven thousand students will be impacted this school year.

TYLER – According to our news partner KETK a man pleaded guilty to capital murder on Monday for the deaths of two dentists in Smith County. Steven Alexander Smith, 42, of Tyler, was charged with capital murder of multiple persons and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for killing Dr. Blake G. Sinclair, 59 and Dr. Jack E. Burroughs, 75, after shooting them at Affordable Dentures & Implants on Highway 31 in March 2022. According the Smith County District Attorney, Jacob Putman, Smith pleaded guilty to capital murder and will be imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole.

Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said Steven was a patient at the clinic who got in an altercation about work on some dentures.  According to the sheriff’s office investigation, Smith got angry at the clinic staff and went to his pickup truck. He later went back to the lobby of the clinic with a handgun and shot the two doctors inside.

SMITH COUNTY – High water has closed two Smith County roads. CR 113, southeast of Tyler is closed between CR 112 and CR 119. At the high-water crossing on CR 2164, southwest of Arp, work crews have put up barricades. To report a Smith County road with high water, call dispatch at 903-566-6600. Also, our news partner KETK has a list for road affected by high water in the region, you can find the list here.

TYLER – Construction began earlier this month on the main entrances to Lindsey Park off Spur 364. Each remodeled entrance will feature an archway. One archway will lead to soccer fields, while the other archway will bring visitors to softball fields. Each archway will have new lighting, landscaping and irrigation. A press release said that the entrances should remain open for most of the construction period. The Lindsey Park entrance project is being funded by the Governor’s Community Achievement Award, which was presented to Keep Tyler Beautiful in 2020. Construction should be complete by Spring of this year.

TYLER – The heavy consistent rain in our area can cause flooding on roads. Our news partner KETK has a list for those roads affected. You can find it here.

TYLER – Our colleagues at KETK report that a Tyler woman was arrested on Monday for intoxication manslaughter in connection the death of her 9-year-old daughter. According to an arrest warrant, authorities responded to the scene of a two-car crash on SH 64 on Jan. 4 where it was determined a red Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV “was driving on the wrong side of the roadway” causing a head-on crash. Both occupants of the Trailblazer, identified as Krystle Medeiros, 38 of Tyler, and her daughter, were taken to the hospital for treatment before troopers arrived to investigate. Continue reading Woman arrested for intoxication manslaughter

TYLER – Months after a cyberattack on UT Health East Texas, their parent company is warning patients their personal information may have been compromised. The ransomware attack from Nov. 23 prompted the parent company, Ardent Health Services, to notify law enforcement and launch an investigation with the help of an outside cybersecurity firm. Though the attack did not disrupt patient care, many hospital systems went offline, with Ardent saying at the time they could not confirm the extent to which patient health or financial data was compromised. Continue reading UT Health cyberattack privacy risks

SMITH COUNTY – Our news partners at KETK report one person was hospitalized Tuesday morning after two separate crashes on the same county road in Smith County. According to officials with Smith County Emergency Services District (ESD) 2, the single-car crashes happened on CR 1125 near Lindsey Park with both cars leaving the roadway and one rolled over. The crashes were reportedly called in at 8:04 a.m. and 8:15 a.m., and officials said the driver in the roll-over crash was removed from the car by a firefighter before being taken to the hospital for treatment. Smith County ESD 2 responded to the scene with two fire engines, two command vehicles, a brush truck and 10 firefighters. The crashes will be investigated by DPS.

TYLER — A portion of Rose Rudman Trail will be closed due to bridge repairs. The trail portion under the bridge will be closed, and trail use will be diverted to the sidewalk along Donnybrook Avenue at the trailhead near Lowe’s. The project is funded by the Half-Cent Sales Tax Fund. The project is set to begin Thursday, Jan. 25 and will run through Friday, Feb. 9.

TYLER – A man was arrested for murder after a man was fatally stabbed in Smith County on Sunday. According to our news partner KETK, Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene in the 400 block of CR 34 near Tyler after a 911 call reported a stabbing around 5:15 p.m. When the deputies arrived they found the victim, identified as Noe Luna, 43 of Tyler, had already been taken to a local emergency room by family. Luna reportedly succumbed to his injuries a few hours later.

Letierus Drew, 23 of Tyler, was identified as a suspect during the preliminary investigation, according to authorities, and witnesses told them Drew was not welcome inside the home but had allegedly forced his way in and got into a physical fight with Luna. Drew was booked into the Smith County Jail where his bond was set at $500,000. Continue reading Tyler man arrested in fatal stabbing

UPSHUR COUNTY – A 19-year-old was arrested after a shooting in Mount Pleasant over an alleged drug dispute according to our news partners at KETK. According to police, Shaun Michael Brown was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and booked into jail on a combined $100,000 bond. The shooting reportedly happened around 8:49 p.m. in the 1600 block of Lupine Road. Upshur County deputies and investigators said that an 18-year-old male from Mount Pleasant was “shot multiple times during the course of a drug related dispute over payment for marijuana.”
Continue reading Assault with deadly weapon arrest in drug dispute

BULLARD – The Brook Hill School, which is a a private boarding school located in Bullard, has announced that Braxton Brady is their new Head of School. According to our news partner KETK, Brady is the current Head of School at Evangelical Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee. He also has a Master of Arts from the Covenant Theological Seminary in Missouri. Brady is said to join Brook Hill July 1.

“This announcement marks a significant moment in the life of our school, and we are confident that Braxton’s leadership will further elevate Brook Hill and our mission to educate the next generation for Christ and His kingdom,” acting Head of School and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Stephen Dement said.

MABANK — The Mabank Fire Department shared that Wayne McKenzie, a longtime member of the department, died on Wednesday, Jan. 17. According to our news partner KETK, McKenzie was 63-years-old and served with Mabank Fire Department for 31 years. According to an obituary from Moorhead Funeral Home, McKenzie was a hard worker who loved the outdoors, animals, construction and restoration. “We are saddened to hear of the loss of a great man and firefighter. We pray for his family at home and the Mabank Fire Department as they mourn the loss of a husband, father, friend, and brother. Rest easy brother, we will take it from here.” McKenzie’s obituary said that he worked at Southern Methodist University for 22 years before working in Mabank and then with Kaufman County until he died.

OVERTON – KETK reports that the Overton Independent School District said that Cristian Rodriguez, a student and football player, was injured in a “serious accident” on Friday night. According to the district, Rodriguez underwent surgery on on Saturday. Overton ISD has scheduled a meeting in the high school library at 5 p.m. on Sunday to pray and make cards for Rodriguez. n update that Overton ISD shared on Facebook said that Rodriguez’s surgery went well and that there is more optimism for his recovery.