KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — Tyler officially welcomed its new fire chief Monday. Dozens of well-wishers filled a room at the Rose Garden Center for Tim Johnson’s promotion ceremony. Johnson says Tyler’s fire department has a historic tradition of high-quality service to residents — and he hopes to make it the best it can be. The former district chief called his decision to join the fire department thirty years ago “life-changing.” Mayor Barbara Bass said Johnson’s appointment was the right move for the city.

WOOD COUNTY — A Yantis woman has been arrested on animal cruelty charges after Wood County Sheriff’s deputies confiscated 30 malnourished horses and several horse carcasses from her property. According to authorities, Linda Hurley Jones, 67, was taken into custody after a court hearing this past Wednesday. She was charged with nine counts of animal cruelty. Deputies, along with volunteers of the True Blue Animal Rescue organization rescued the horses two weeks ago.

Deputies responded after several neighbors reported Jones for failing to feed and water her horses as well as providing adequate shelter for them. Volunteers found more than eight dead horse carcasses and 21 malnourished mares, many of them pregnant, and nine weanlings on Jones’ property at the time of the seizure. Jones was released from the Wood County jail after posting a $13,500 bond. She faces up to a year in jail on each of the misdemeanor charges.

TYLER — It looks like more snow is on the way for the Tyler area. Last week’s four inch snowfall turned out to be a kid’s delight but a motorist’s nightmare. The Department of Public Safety reported at least 75 car wrecks during Friday’s winter storm. A majority of them were on Interstate 20, Highway 155, and U.S. Highway 69.

Larry Krantz with Texas Department of Transportation says “We put down 60,000 pounds of meltdown 20 and used over 100 pieces of equipment to do so.” He said they put down gravel on major roads outside of city limits and they say they are prepared to do it again if needed. Krantz says they cannot cover every street, and their priority is Interstate Highway 20 and U.S. Highway 69.

Inside the city limits, some streets like Loop 323 and Highway 271 were like sheets of ice on Friday. City officials say they sanded slick spots, bridges, and overpasses first, but with only two sand trucks, they say they can only sand parts of roads.

TYLER — Tyler School Superintendent Randy Reid has been given a one year contract extension. On a 5 to 2 vote Monday school trustees approved the action. His contract is now set to expire June 30, 2012. With the contract extension, Reid received no raise, his salary remains at $185,000 a year. He will also continue to receive a variety of benefits, like car and cell phone allowances. Reid has been the Tyler School Superintendent since May, 2007.

AUSTIN – A Northeast Texas resident is one of three persons appointed by Governor Rick Perry to the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents for terms to expire February 1, 2017. The East Texan is Judy Morgan of Texarkana.

Morgan is owner and president of Jack B. Kelley Enterprises Inc. She is president of the Women for Texas A&M University (TAMU) at Texarkana Board and a member of the U.S. Compressed Gas Association. She is founder and past president of the Texarkana Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, co-founder and past president of Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council, co-founder of Texarkana Women for the Arts, and past president of the Sustainers of the Junior League of Texarkana. She is also past president of the Wadley Regional Medical Center Foundation Board and St. James Day School Board of Directors, and a past member of the TAMU at Texarkana Engineering IT School Endowment Board, and TAMU at Texarkana President and Dean of Engineering Selection committees. Morgan received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston and a Master of Business Administration from TAMU at Texarkana.

Also appointed to the panel are Cliff Thomas of Victoria and Elaine Mendoza of San Antonio. All three appointments are subject to senate confirmation.

TYLER — A least for the time being, the remaining Tyler post offices are safe from closure. The downtown office was closed last year, but the remaining offices will cope with the departments monetary losses in other ways.

McKinney Boyd with the Dallas District Postal Service says that they will merge processing plants and reroute mail carriers. Boyd says post office loses about $23 million dollars nationwide every day. He blames the losses on a more technology driven public, and on businesses hoping to cut costs by “going green” in the economic downturn.

GLADEWATER – Gladewater police are investigating the shooting death of a student at the University of Texas at Tyler. Dead is Benjamin Palmer Bradley, 24, a civil engineering major. He was also a member of the university’s Patriot Talon newspaper staff. Authorities found him dead Sunday in the 1100 block of Sanders Street. The initial report was he appeared to have been cleaning a gun when it discharged. An autopsy has been ordered.

TYLER — The City of Tyler’s online payment system, Click2Gov, will be down between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 8 for scheduled maintenance. Services that will be affected are online and phone water bill payments, online traffic ticket payments, and online building permitting.

Customers who wish to pay their water bill on Feb. 8 can place their payments in one of the two available drop boxes. There is one box located in front of the Water Utilities office at 511 Locust Street and a drive-up box in the Brookshire’s parking lot on the corner of South Broadway Avenue and Rice Road. Payments may also be made over the phone by calling (903) 531-1230 or at one of many businesses in Tyler. Visit http://www.CityofTyler.org for a list of businesses that accept utility payments,

Payments for traffic tickets can be mailed to the Municipal Court at P.O. Box 895, Tyler, Texas 75710, or can be made in person at the Municipal Court, 813 N. Broadway Ave. “T-Pole” and “Clean and Show” permit applications can be made in person at the Development Services office, 423 W. Ferguson or by calling (903) 531-1151.

TYLER — In response to requests from Water Utilities customers wanting to go green and not receive a monthly paper statement, the Tyler Water Utilities Department is now offering e-billing as an option for their customers. City staffers say the process to sign up is very easy. Just visit the City website at http://www.cityoftyler.org and click on the “I want to” button at the top of the screen. A drop down of choices will appear; select “E-Billing” and fill out the required information.

Once the info is submitted, customers will be sent a confirmation email and the Water Department will receive the request. Staff will update customer accounts, and after the next billing cycle they will receive an email letting them know that their bill is ready to be paid. When customers click the notification they will see their current charges and total amount due. They can follow a link at the bottom of the screen back to the website and make a payment on their account using a debit or credit card.

“We are pleased to offer this new service to our customers,” said Joan Roberson, water business office manager. “Enhanced services like this are just one tactic that we are employing to provide our customers the best possible service.” For more information, you can contact the Water Utilities Business Office at (903) 531-1230.

LUFKIN — Authorities continue their investigating into the death of a Lufkin man pulled from his burning house last week. Richard Browning was pulled from his Mitchell Avenue home the night of January 28. Investigators say Browning had a large amount of blood on his head and clothing when paramedics arrived. Browning died in the hospital in Houston two days later. Lufkin police say they’re awaiting toxicology results from Browning’s autopsy.

TYLER — Tyler ISD’s Griffin Elementary School and Moore MST Magnet School have been recognized by the National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) as 2010 Higher Performing Schools for Texas. Griffin received the recognition for its student achievement in reading and writing, Moore for its student achievement in math.

The NCEA released its 2010 Higher Performing Schools List for Texas at the end of January. The list identifies elementary, middle and high schools as NCEA Higher Performing Schools that have consistently outperformed their peers that serve similar student populations, and recognizes their achievement in bringing more students to college and career readiness than expected. NCEA (formerly known as Just for the Kids) began identifying Higher Performing Schools in 1998 and continues to annually release these lists as well as College and Career Readiness Charts for every public school in Texas.

LONGVIEW — Longview Police have arrested a woman on child endangerment charges. Friday night just before 11:15, officers responded to a 911 at 110 South Access Road. Upon arrival, officers were directed to room #223. Officers knocked several times on the door to the room, but no one answered the door. Finally, officers noticed a small child peering through the blinds at them. Once they were able to get the door open they observed a woman, later identified as Jennifer Franchell Lilly, 29, of Longview, lying on the bed. According to authorities, Ms. Lilly was unresponsive and smelled strongly of an alcoholic beverage. Once officers were able to wake Ms. Lilly up and she was taken into custody for three counts of abandoning or endangering a child/criminal negligence and transported to the Gregg County Jail.

LONGVIEW — A Longview home has been extensively damaged by fire. It was reported around 2:30 yesterday morning in the 700 block of Travis Avenue. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the flames. No one was at home when the fire started and no injuries were reported. Investigators say it appears as if some type of flammable liquid was used to start the fire on the porch near the front door.

TYLER — The East Texas Communities Foundation has numerous scholarships available for area students. On KTBB “Staff Meeting,” the foundation’s Dana Durman told us there’s a lot to be said for the scholarship process. Durman says it rewards students who have worked hard in school, sets them above the rest, and is a good way to honor the kids and tell them they’ve done a great job. Durman encourages kids to apply through her agency — and go after all the other scholarships available. She says students aren’t taking full advantage of what’s out there, often because they find the process difficult or time-consuming. “But,” she says, “the reward at the end is great, so follow through with the process.” Also, she’s available to help if you have questions.

The East Texas Communities Foundation’s application deadline is March 1. You can go to http://www.etcf.org to learn more. And as always, this week’s edition of “Staff Meeting” is available at http://www.ktbb.com/audio beginning early Monday morning.

BROWNSBORO — A 46-year-old Pflugerville man is dead as the result of a Saturday highway crash in Henderson County. A Department of Public Safety report says it happened around 1:45pm about three miles east of Brownsboro on State Highway 31. Authorities say L.C. Smith was headed east on the slushy highway when he crossed over into the opposite lane and collided with a vehicle driven by Charles Johnson, 27, of Corsicana. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. Johnson was taken to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, where he was last listed in stable condition with a broken leg and an arm laceration. Both men were wearing seat belts.