KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — UT Health East Texas confirmed that they are off divert status as of Tuesday morning and are treating patients in emergency rooms, hospitals and clinics.  The initial divert status was issued following a ransomware attack on the computer system of their parent company, Ardent Health Services. That’s according to our news partner KETK. Ransomware is designed to encrypt files and make them unusable before a hacker demands ransom in exchange for decryption. As of Monday, Ardent said it “cannot confirm the extent of any patient health or financial data that has been compromised,” but said they reported the event to law enforcement and hired third-party forensic and threat intelligence advisors. Ardent took its network offline after the attack, but that is no longer the case. Continue reading UT Health East Texas drops divert status

JEFFERSON– The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help in finding a 60-year-old cyclist last seen Friday in Jefferson. According to our news partner KETK, missing is Clyde Finely. Finley is a Black man . He’s 6-foot-tall, 180-pounds with black hair and blue eyes. Finely is known to be a long distance cyclist. The Marion County Sheriff’s ask if you have information to please call them at 903-665-3961.

TYLER – Even though the Christmas tree lighting in downtown Tyler was postponed due to weather, city employees put up Tyler’s new Christmas tree Monday night. According to our news partner KETK, the 30-foot artificial tree is topped off with an extra 5-foot star and has more than 1,800 ornaments. The Christmas tree lighting, which was originally set for Thursday, now is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. next Thursday. At that time, Tyler Mayor Don Warren and this year’s Miracle Child will be introduced and they will light up the tree.

TYLER – Our news colleagues at KETK report that former Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler Joseph E. Strickland released an open letter to the community on Monday after his forcible removal by the Pope earlier this month. In the letter, Strickland said he was asked to meet with the Apostolic Nuncio of the United States where he was read a list of reasons why he was being removed. He said he would like to make these reasons available but was not given a copy of the list. Strickland wrote that the reasons read to him “seemed to be related, for the most part, to my speaking the Truth of our Catholic faith, and to my warnings against anything that threatened that Truth” and mentioned him “not walking alongside my brother bishops as I defended the Church and her unchangeable teachings.” Continue reading Former Bishop pens open letter to community

TYLER — A local food pantry received a donation to feed and clothe people in need. According to our news partner KETK, on Monday, St. Vincent De Paul received a $30,000 check from the Tyler Friends of the Poor at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Center. According to the organization, the money will be used to help feed and clothe those in need. “We have to supply the food for our food pantry, this is a tremendous support in that aspect for our ministry,” said Grace Vierling, the executive director at St. Vincent De Paul.

TYLER — The Rose City Christmas Parade, scheduled for Thursday, November 30, has been canceled due to potential severe weather. The announcement was issued by the parade committee on Monday. Continue reading Rose City Christmas Parade canceled

HARRISON COUNTY — The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a 28-year-old Tyler man shot at the home of his ex-girlfriend. According to our news partner KETK, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office received a call on the morning of Nov. 23 from a women about shots fired  in Longview. The woman explained her ex-boyfriend had shown up at her residence and that another man had shot him. When investigators arrived they found Diante Hampton unconscious. Hampton was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Sheriff’s Office said the case is still open and they will release further details when they are available

TYLER — In a press released received from UT Health Communications Director Allison Pollan, “In light of recent events, it will be necessary to reschedule the UT Health Tyler tree-lighting ceremony originally planned for Tuesday, Nov. 28. As work continues to fully restore access to our systems, we are committed to remaining focused on hospital operations and providing quality care for our patients and their families. Thank you for your understanding, and we will let you know as soon as we have a rescheduled date to announce.”
Continue reading UT Health Tyler tree lighting to be rescheduled.

ANGELINA COUNTY – A Diboll man was sentenced to 55 years in prison earlier this month after pleading guilty to the murder of his father according to our news colleagues at KETK. Cody Cosby, 47 of Diboll, was initially arrested in June 2020 after being accused of fatally shooting his 77-year-old father James Cosby. Officials at the time said James was shot while sitting in his recliner watching TV, and Cody fled the scene but was arrested hours later by Angelina County authorities. Cosby pleaded guilty to murder on Nov. 13, and was sentenced later that day.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY – A 22-year-old man is dead after officials said his vehicle left the road and hit a tree on Saturday, according to our news partners at KETK. According to the Department of Public Safety, Kody Pounds, 22 of Emory, was driving his 2001 Chevrolet Suburban west on State Highway 64 when the Chevrolet left the road, went into a ditch, crossed a private driveway and struck a tree. Justice of the Peace Don Ashlock pronounced Pounds dead at the scene. DPS is continuing to investigate the crash.

MOUNT PLEASANT – A man was arrested on Friday in Mount Pleasant for possession of child pornography. According to Mount Pleasant PD, and out colleagues at KETK, an investigation found that Jerry Henderson, 53, used social media to obtain illegal material. The investigation began after police said they gained information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about Henderson regarding online child pornography. A search warrant was executed at Henderson’s home where officials said he was found to be in possession of child pornography, and booked into the Franklin County Jail that same day.

TYLER — The annual UT Health Tyler Tree-Lighting Ceremony will take place Tuesday, Nov. 28, from 5-6 p.m. at 1000 S. Beckham on the hospital’s front lawn. Santa arrives on the front lawn of the hospital at 5 p.m. Bring your own cameras for photos. Refreshments will be served at the event. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and free parking is available in both parking garages. The event is open to the public. At 5:20 p.m. our tree-lighting ceremony will begin. The tree will be lit by Rob Taylor, who underwent open-heart surgery this year at UT Health Tyler, where his wife and daughter work as nurses, and completed Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehab at the UT Health East Texas Rehabilitation Center in Tyler.

EAST TEXAS — The United Way of Smith County will host the fourth annual “Tyler Gives” on Giving Tuesday, November 28th. Supplemented by a $75,000 matching grant, the online fundraiser addresses local needs by providing dozens of local nonprofits with essential year-end funding. Since its inception on Giving Tuesday in 2020, more than $600,000 has been raised online through tylergives.org. The United Way of Smith County and event sponsor Express Employment Professionals provide the $75,000 matching grant and cover all credit card fees from donations during the fundraiser. Beginning at 8 a.m. CST on November 28th, the first $75,000 in donations through tylergives.org will be matched. Donors can select a specific agency to support or choose to support all equally with one gift. Continue reading United Way to host 4th annual Tyler Gives with 75K

NACOGDOCHES – The Nacogdoches Police Department said that one man was found dead in an early Sunday morning shooting in Nacogdoches. Authorities identified the man found at the Fredonia Apartments on East Seale Street as 27-year-old Ladarius Hogan. Nacogdoches PD and SWAT team members arrested the suspected shooter, 19-year-old Daquarius Hunt of Nacogdoches around mid-morning Sunday. Hunt is currently in the Nacogdoches County Jail. The Nacogdoches Police Department is still has the case open.

TYLER — Tyler’s Green Acres Baptist Church on Wednesday hosted “Pure Religion,” where a team of around 300 volunteers built close to 50 beds for foster children in East Texas. Pure Religion President Tony Black said, “One in three does not have a bed to be able to be placed in a next of kin home and so this was a huge need that we found here in Smith County alone.” Black said gifting the brand new twin beds to kids in need and seeing their reaction on the children’s face is an amazing experience. “They’ve never had anything to call their own and they get to lay in the bed for the first time and literally expressions of joy and sometimes we get tears.”
Continue reading Volunteers build beds for children in foster care

TYLER – Emergency rooms in the UT Health East Texas network are in “divert status” after a network outage caused by a possible security incident. According to our news partner KETK, The outage was first reported by UT Health on Thursday afternoon. In a statement provided by UT Health East Texas Director of Communications Allison Pollan, “Earlier today, we became aware of a network outage due to a potential security incident that is affecting UT Health East Texas. As we work to assess the impact of this outage and restore access, we are following established downtime protocols. As a precaution, our emergency rooms are currently on divert status as we work to bring our systems back online. We anticipate that network access will be restored in the next 24-36 hours,”
Continue reading UT Health network outages continue

TYLER — Tyler Mayor Don Warren proclaimed the month of November as “Thank a Business Month, in partnership with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). “Thank a Business Month,” is a month-long celebration dedicated to expressing appreciation for the businesses that contribute to the vitality of our community, providing a platform to acknowledge their hard work and commitment and valuable contributions to the local economy. Every November, BBB will celebrate local businesses and will encourage the community to participate in various activities designed to show gratitude to local businesses. Continue reading Tyler joins BBB celebrating “Thank a Business Month”

TYLER — The Tyler Salvation Army, with the help of volunteers, serve a big Thanksgiving dinner every year, helping to feed anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people, our news partner KETK reports. “We can’t manage all that, so we have these great volunteers, and some of these volunteers have been doing it for years,” said Jeremy Walker, captain and commanding officer of the Tyler Salvation Army. Walker said it’s a blessing to see how this community rallies around each other. Whether it is giving your time or making a donation just for the holidays. The Tyler Salvation Army will be serving meals for their residents inside and will have to-go meals outside for the community on Thanksgiving day from 11 am to 1 pm. Continue reading Salvation Army and volunteers hand out Thanksgiving meals

TEXARKANA – Authorities in Texarkana said they are investigating a Tuesday night shooting that left two people injured according to our news partners at KETK. Officials with Texarkana PD said they were dispatched to the scene at a McDonald’s on New Boston Road around 10:30 p.m. “When we arrived, we found a 17-year-old man in the parking lot there who had been shot in the leg,” officials said in a release. “A 21-year-old man who had been shot twice in the torso showed up at the hospital about 10 minutes later.” Continue reading 2 injured after McDonald’s parking lot shooting

TYLER – With the Christmas season here, so is your chance to view Christmas lights in our area. Our news partner KETK has a list for you to view. To do so, just click here.

TYLER- The Tyler Junior College Apache Belles will be performing in the 74th Houston Thanksgiving parade. According to our news partner KETK, this is the 24th year TJC has been part of the parade. Tuesday the team was given the chance to practice on concrete. This gave the dancers an idea what conditions on parade day will be like. Freshman Akayla Manning said, “It was the first time I’ve done a jump split on concrete, especially hooked up with people, you have that thing going on through your head of ‘oh my gosh am I going to bust my knee?’”
Continue reading TJC Apache Belles prep for Thanksgiving parade

MABANK — A Mabank High School student has been arrested after investigators allegedly located child pornography in his possession. According to our news partner KETK, an affidavit revealed that the investigation began after a “Cyber Tip” was reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and was later given to officers with the Henderson County Crimes Against Children Task Force. Kevin Cruz, 17, was arrested after investigators reportedly found two file hosting servers under Cruz’s domain where they located hundreds of videos and photos of child pornography. Officials said in one server they located 220 photos and videos of pornography. In the other server, they reportedly located three files with a total of 734 videos. Continue reading Teen arrested on child porn charges

TYLER — On Tuesday morning, the 2024 Miracle Child, representing Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances was introduced at the Goodman-LeGrand Museum with a small ceremony. This year, 4-year-old River Hardy was chosen, according to our news partner KETK. “He’s been our miracle child from the beginning,” said Kyla Hardy, River’s mom. Every year, the Miracle Child gets to do the honors and light the City of Tyler’s Christmas tree following the parade November 30th. “River was selected because he has accessed so many of our programs and services, and equipment that is fully funded by Children’s Miracle Network,” said Christina Mosier, manager of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals at CHRISTUS TMF. Continue reading Miracle Child to light Tyler Christmas tree

TYLER — Fleishel Avenue and Lake Street intersection in Tyler’s medical district reopened Wednesday. According to our news partner KETK, the closure was to accommodate the UT Tyler Medical School construction. Officials at UT Tyler add that Lake Street will be closed through the early part of next year. The intersections of Lake Street and Beckham Avenue as well as Lake Street and Fleishel Avenue will remain open.

NACOGDOCHES – Last week, Lion Star Nacogdoches Hospital, LLC filed a Chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy. According to our news partner KETK, Sean Fowler, CEO of Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital said in a statement, “This restructuring will allow time for Lion Star to renegotiate contracts with its landlord, insurance companies, and numerous other vendors. Lion Star is taking this action to protect more than 600 jobs in Nacogdoches, ensure continuance of the high quality care Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital provides every day to the citizens of Nacogdoches county and surrounding areas, preserve our expansion of services, and retain the key physicians with whom we have partnered and established within the community.”
Fowler said the hospital is continuing with normal operations. The bankruptcy petition was filed on Nov. 17.

TYLER – A Tyler man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Monday for sexual assault of a child according to our news colleagues at KETK. Adyson Fuentes, 37 of Tyler, was arrested in July 2022 after a 12-year-old told her mother he had raped her, according to his arrest warrant. The warrant said the child had waited a few weeks to report what happened because “she was afraid of Fuentes because he had been to jail.” Tyler PD investigated the report against Fuentes, who was described at the time as the boyfriend of a family friend, and the warrant said they found evidence that supported the victim’s statements. Fuentes was soon after booked into Smith County Jail for the charges, and on Monday, pleaded guilty to first-degree felony sexual assault of a child.