KTBB News, Weather, Talk

PLANO – Two people with partial East Texas residency are named as a federal grand jury in Plano returns multiple indictments this week. They’re named as Franciscus Maria Berdina Gerrits, 47, also known as Francisous Gerrits, and Mari E. Hendrina Gerrits, 44 — also known as Maria Gerrits, Maryke “Maria” Arends, and Marijke Arends. The two, who list their homes as Hopkins County, Texas, and the Netherlands, were indicted for violations of fraud against farm credit agencies and conspiracy to commit fraud against farm credit agencies. If convicted, they each face up to 5 years in federal prison.

MARSHALL – A 45-year-old Gladewater man has pleaded guilty to federal firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales Friday. Edward Charles Lee pleaded guilty in Marshall to being a felon in possession of a firearm on Aug. 11, 2011, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Everingham, IV. According to information presented in court, on Apr. 7, 2011, Lee was found in possession of numerous firearms. Further investigation revealed Lee was a convicted felon, having been previously found guilty of battery in 1993. As a convicted felon, Lee is prohibited by federal law from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition. Lee was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 11, 2011, and charged with federal firearms violations. Lee faces up to 10 years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) is applauding the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that part of the federal health care plan is unconstitutional. Gohmert released the following statement Friday:

“Today’s ruling is a triumph for the Constitution and a great victory for the American people. Not only is it unconstitutional to force Americans to purchase health care insurance against their will, this bill misrepresents the rule of law in the United States. It not only destroys jobs; but, it robs the taxpayers of 2.6 trillion of their hard-earned money. This is not the first time that a federal court has ruled that the individual mandate in ObamaCare is unconstitutional. I applaud this court decision and look forward to replacing Obamacare with healthcare that does not just bring change but offers hope.”

LONGVIEW — A vehicle fire causes serious problems in Longview. Longview Fire Officials tell KETK the blaze occurred just after 1:30 p.m. Friday on Interstate 20, when an 18-wheeler carrying several cars caught fire. The driver of the truck noticed the fire and managed to pull over near the Estes Parkway exit and detach his cab before the fire spread. There were multiple cars destroyed in the fire, and a small patch of grass was also burned. Explosions were reported by nearby businesses, which officials say may have been caused by the tires and hydraulic lines on the cars. No word on what might have sparked the fire, but officials say there were no injuries involved. Traffic was reduced to one lane as authorities got busy clearing the scene.

LONGVIEW — Danny Lynn Busher accepted a maximum two-year state jail sentence Friday morning for theft. Busher, 58, of Longview, has been arrested and convicted by multiple agencies during the past two decades. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, Smith County authorities took him into custody Wednesday on theft charges there. He was later transported to the Gregg County Jail.

Prosecutors said Busher conned at least six Gregg County residents out of more than $23,500 in cash for which he must pay restitution as part of his plea agreement Friday. In exchange, the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office charged him with theft between $1,500 and $20,000 – a state jail felony punishable by up to two years – rather than third-degree felony theft that carries up to 10 years in prison. Still, Assistant District Attorney Stacee Brownlee said Busher tried to negotiate a lesser sentence because of his health issues.

Busher’s plea resolves all of his Gregg County theft cases, though Brownlee said other victims have come forward since media have published Busher’s Tyler arrest. District Judge David Brabham said Busher’s plea does not exonerate him from charges in other counties, including Smith and Upshur.

HUGHES SPRINGS — A Hughes Springs teacher was arrested Friday morning, accused of having an improper relationship with a student. According to KETK, police issued a warrant and arrested Karrie McKinney, 41, after a lengthy investigation. The elementary teacher was allegedly involved with a 16-year old boy who attends Hughes Springs High School. McKinney is charged with improper relationship between an educator and a student, a second degree felony. The teacher was released on a $25,000 bond Friday.

LINDALE — The Lindale ISD board of trustees voted unanimously to move forward with a tax cut for Lindale home and property owners. The tax cut would reduce the Interest and Sinking (I&S) rate from 41.5 cents to 39.5 cents. The I&S rate is used to pay off school construction bonds. Bond sales only affect the I&S rate. The Maintenance and Operation (M&O) tax rate of $1.06 per one hundred dollars of appraised value will remain the same.

In November 2009, the voters of LISD approved at $42 million bond that included the construction of a new junior high school, the addition of classrooms at the high school, a 1,200 seat auditorium and improvements to athletic facilities. “Due to the conservative nature of our spending in the Lindale Independent School District, proper planning and continued student growth, the board of trustees will be able to lower the tax rate,” Superintendent Stan Surratt said. The rate must be advertised locally to LISD voters before it is voted on for approval at a special school board meeting on August 29. The 2011-2012 LISD operating budget will also be considered for adoption at the meeting.

A reduction in the I&S tax rate and no change in the current M&O rate are possible despite a massive budget shortfall in the state of Texas that led to more than $4 billion in cuts to public schools. Lindale ISD’s share of the state cuts is approximately six percent of the district’s operating budget. “We need to cut about $1.5 million out of last year’s budget to balance the budget for this year,” Surratt said. “We had to reduce more because of the added expenses of maintaining our new junior high campus, classroom additions and the auditorium. We were able to make the cuts to the budget without laying off any full-time LISD employees.”

Surratt continued, “Lindale ISD Director of Finance Liz Stewart calculated the expenses related to the new facilities at just over $500,000. “We were very fortunate to recommend a tax cut to the board of trustees despite the reduction in state funds.” Surratt noted that every department and campus was asked to reduce their budgets. Travel and supply budgets in LISD received significant cuts. “We reduced and tightened our belts in every area but hopefully in a way that will have little effect on the instruction to our students,” Surratt said.

LONGVIEW — The tax increase Longview voters asked for is on the horizon. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, the city has proposed a 50.09-cent property tax rate for the 2012 budget year. The rate includes an unchanged maintenance and operations rate of 38.62 cents per $100 taxable value, plus 13.47 cents for debt service. The debt rate increased from 11.78 cents after voters approved a $52.6 million street bond proposal in May. City Manager David Willard addressed the rate as part of his nearly $150 million spending plan for 2012 at Thursday’s City Council meeting. Council members also rezoned Magnolia Lane property to make way for apartment homes and named a new mayor pro tem.

Last year’s property tax rate of 48.4 cents and the 2012 proposed rate are higher than the effective rate of 48.13 cents — the rate needed to generate the same amount of revenue as in the current budget. For taxpayers, the average taxable home value increased from $132,325 this past year to $135,465 in 2012. That means the average tax bill, with the proposed 50.09-cent rate, would be $678.54, representing an increase of $38.09, or a nearly 6 percent jump.

FORT HOOD — Fort Hood officials have released the name of a Soldier who died Aug. 7. He was found unresponsive in a home in Gilmer. According to KETK and information from Fort Hood, 21-year-old SPC Justin Wade Powell’s home of record is listed as Gilmer. He entered active-duty service in November 2008 as an air traffic control operator. He had been assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, since June 2009. Powell deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from July 2010 to June 2011.

Powell’s awards and decorations include an Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with combat service star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO International Security Assistance Medal, Aviation Badge, and Sharpshooter Badge. The incident remains under investigation.

LUFKIN – Lufkin Police are investigating what they are calling an “abnormal” death of a woman found Thursday afternoon under the Chestnut Village bridge behind Firestone Tire off Timberland Drive. Lufkin Police detectives have identified the body as that of Joy Yvonne Bybee, 48.

According to Lufkin Police Lt. David Young, the body of a white female was discovered by someone she knew, who then notified authorities around 5 p.m. Thursday. To get to her body, detectives and crime scene technicians had to navigate a sloping wooded trail before ducking under the bridge that connects businesses lining Timberland Drive to Chestnut Village shopping center. As of Thursday night, her cause of death was unknown, but will be handled as a homicide until an autopsy is performed.

NACOGDOCHES – Nacogdoches Police continue their investigation into a shooting incident on South Ritchie Street Thursday afternoon. The investigation has indicated that two men went to the Ritchie Street residence and purchased a quantity of marijuana. The two men returned to the residence a short time later, and claimed a discrepancy in the amount of marijuana. Once inside the residence, one of the men produced a .22 caliber pistol and threatened the resident,tied him up and the men then began to ransack the house, gathering valuables in a robbery.

The resident of the home, Davarick Chatman, 32, was able to free himself and retrieve a 16ga shotgun. Chatman then shot one of the men, identified as Michael Obrien Johnson, age 27 of Lufkin. Johnson was shot several times at close range. Johnson died at Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital. The other man, identified as Courtny Randale Allen, 24 also of Lufkin, fled the scene on foot. He turned himself in to the Nacogdoches Police Department last night on a warrant for Aggravated Robbery.

TYLER – The temporary restraining order against the Double D Restaurant has been extended for two weeks. Toys R Us, which owns the land where the restaurant is located, alleged breach of a commercial real estate lease. Judge Christi Kennedy said yesterday it had been hoped that the parties would settle the matter behind closed doors. But, when that did not happen, the judge extended the temporary restraining order and increased the bond to $200,000. Another hearing will be held in a couple of weeks.

LONGVIEW – The Tarrant County Medical Examiner has ruled the manner of death of a Gregg County Jail inmate is undetermined. But he said he found no signs of notable trauma or foul play in the death of Micah Aaron Garner, 30. He ruled the cause of death “nocturnal adult death with evidence of recent ingestion of methamphetamine.” Garner was found unresponsive in his cell on June 6th. The toxicology report from Medical Examiner Marc Krouse showed a “low level” of methamphetamine in Garner’s blood, but noted that it could not be “directly attributed to the death at such a low level.” Garner had been in the jail for three days after being charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and forgery of a financial instrument when he was found unresponsive in a medical holding cell.

Garner’s death was the second in Gregg County Jail in less than six months. On December 29th, Amy Lynn Cowling, 33, was pronounced dead at a Longview Hospital after being found unresponsive in her jail cell. Her family has filed a federal lawsuit against the county, claiming she was denied proper medical attention.

ATHENS — We may find out tonight who the next Athens School Superintendent will be. School trustees have scheduled a meeting this afternoon to possibly name the lone finalist for the position. Over 60 applications were received for the post. Nine of those candidates were interviewed. That list was narrowed to three. The person selected will succeed Dr. Fred Hayes. He served as Athens school superintended from 2006 until this past June when he became school superintendent in Nacogdoches.

WICHITA, KAN. (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Wichita have charged 12 people in the ongoing investigation of a Kansas camp run by two Texas men from Nacogdoches County. At the camp, hunters paid thousands of dollars to kill deer illegally. Camp Lone Star owner James Butler Junior and his brother, Marlin Butler, both of Martinsdale, Texas, were sentenced to prison in June in the case.