KTBB News, Weather, Talk

JACKSONVILLE — After days of rumors about alleged money problems at Jacksonville’s Lon Morris College, a Lon Morris representative agreed to sit down and talk to our news partner KETK. Vice President of Business Affairs Tommy Ferguson says everyone should have received his or her paycheck by five Thursday afternoon. Employees’ paychecks were delayed five days, and Ferguson says there’s no guarantee there won’t be future delays.

Ferguson contends rapid growth and getting new sports like football added to financial woes. He says college officials knew financial problems were coming, but they didn’t know the extent. College officials say they’re doing all they can to keep the school running, but say bankruptcy is always a possibility at a private college. According to Ferguson, “There’s businesses all over the state and all over the country going bankrupt and closing their doors, but before Lon Morris would close the doors, they will look at all their options. Ferguson says those options include furloughs and cutting jobs and programs.

KILGORE — Friday classes for all students of Kilgore ISD were canceled due to vandalism against the district’s school bus fleet. According to KETK, 39 buses had their stem valves removed, causing flat tires — and officials said they could not be fixed in time for the buses to run their normal routes. Maintenance workers discovered the vandalism shortly after arriving at the bus barn, located behind the high school, at 3 a.m. Kilgore police are investigating the incident. The cost of vandalism is not known at this time, and KISD is not sure if students will have to make up the day or not. All teachers and employees were asked to report to work at the normally scheduled time.

NEW BOSTON – A New Boston High School student has died after collapsing while doing exercises in a gym class. Stevie Surratt, 15, a freshman at New Boston High School, collapsed just before 11:00 Thursday morning. The class instructor used use an automated external defibrillator on the youth. The student was said to have been in full cardiac arrest when the ambulance arrived. He was rushed to a Texarkana hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

NACOGDOCHES – A contingent of federal law officers have searched some offices in the Nacogdoches area. Taking part in the operation were city police officers along with agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI. They were seen removing at least one box from Diamante Hair Salon on South Street. The U.S. Attorney’s Office would only confirmed an operation within Nacogdoches and said additional information will be released at a later date.

NACOGDOCHES — A Nacogdoches woman is in a Galveston hospital after being burned over nearly half of her body. Curlie Sparks, 77, who suffered first, second and third degree burns, is in critical condition at the burn center of the University of Texas Medical Branch. Investigators say she was using a newspaper to carry coals from a wood burning stove. As she headed outside in her motorized wheelchair, the coals ignited the paper which caught the woman on fire.

TYLER — Officials say a disassembled weapon was reported on the campus of Robert E. Lee High School. At approximately 12:15 Thursday afternoon, an anonymous tip was reported to the Tyler ISD Police Department that a student was in possession of a weapon on the campus. According to officials, the administration quickly responded to confirm the tip. Authorities say the student was immediately located, and that when it was confirmed that he was in possession of a rusty, disassembled handgun with no ammunition, he was taken into custody. According to a TISD news release, all students and staff remained safe and school continued on a normal schedule.

The statement concludes, “Although we hope we never have these types of instances, this is a great example of how reporting a concern can help keep each other safe. We applaud the efforts of our anonymous caller in communicating this information to school officials.”

TYLER – A federal grand jury has returned several indictments charging individuals with separate federal crimes in the Eastern District of Texas.

Timothy J. Patton, 61, and Dawn G. Patton, both of Big Sandy, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to avoid taxes and attempting to evade and defeat taxes. According to the indictment, the Pattons are charged with attempting to avoid assessment of federal income tax by failing to have withholdings taken from their paychecks; by failing to file federal income tax returns; by creating a shell non-profit corporation and having their paychecks issued in the name of the corporation; and by claiming that they were exempt from withholdings. If convicted, they each face up to 5 years in federal prison.

Edwin Tadeo Cruz-Manzanarez, also known as Franklin Lope, 24, a Honduran national, was indicted for being an alien unlawfully present in the United States after having been deported. According to the indictment, on March 1, 2011, Cruz-Manzanarez was located at the Gregg County Jail. An investigation revealed he had been deported to Honduras on several occasions. If convicted, he faces up to 2 years in federal prison and deportation.

Juan Antonio Lara-Lopez, 31, a Mexican national, was indicted for being an alien unlawfully present in the United States after having been deported. According to the indictment, on March 3, 2011, Lara-Lopez was located at the Anderson County Jail. An investigation revealed he had been deported to Mexico on several occasions. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and deportation.

TYLER – An Anderson County man has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking Derrick Leon Barrett, 41, of Palestine, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine in Tyler in his appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love. According to information presented in court, up until April 2010, Barrett conspired with others to distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine throughout the East Texas area. Barrett was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 5, 2011 and charged with federal drug trafficking violations. Barrett faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison and up to Life at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.

TYLER — Information from the Texas Comptroller indicates that City of Tyler sales tax revenues deposited for the month of April have increased 1.8% compared to April 2010, resulting in a 3.23% cumulative year-to-date increase. Officials note that the current month increase was 2.89%; however, an out-of-period audit adjustment resulted in the 1.8% increase. The reported revenue of $2,437,669.36 comprises $1,625,112.91 general sales tax revenue and $812,556.45 half-cent sales tax revenue. The figures represent receipts from February 2011 collections as there is a two-month lag before taxes are reported and remitted back to the City from the State.

“A year ago at this time we were experiencing a 9.32% decrease in revenues,” said City Manager Mark McDaniel. “To be holding steady at a more than 3 percent increase for the year-to-date is very comforting.” The City is already into its 2011-2012 budget preparation cycle. Individual departments are preparing budgets that will be submitted by mid-April, and the budget review will take place in May and June; the final proposed budget will be presented to the City Council in August. “We are entering this budget process with a very conservative approach,” said McDaniel. “We anticipate our recovery from the economic downturn will be incremental. Therefore, we will make every effort to hold the line on expenditures and will be seeking innovative ways to cut costs while maintaining quality service delivery.”

TYLER (AP/Staff) – Police in Tyler say an armed woman disguised as a man broke into the wrong house trying to collect a debt and bound and gagged a mother and her three daughters before the family escaped through a window and ran for help. Officer Don Martin said the mother told police she was preparing her 8-year-old and 6-year-old twins for school Thursday morning when the woman entered the house with two knives and a stun gun while wearing a cap and a false moustache. Martin says one of the girls suffered a scratch on her back during the escape. He said the woman’s husband was at work. Martin said Maricela Aguilera Rodriguez, 51, of Tyler, is facing a burglary charge. She did not yet have an attorney.

Meanwhile, Tyler investigators say they’ve determined that Rodriguez was administratively deported back to Mexico in 2008. Rodriguez is also said to have an alias of Maricela Sides. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a hold on Rodriguez.

AUSTIN (AP) — A Texas Senate Republican leader who represents part of East Texas is stalling a vote to oust the chairman of the state Forensic Science Commission. That would allow Governor Rick Perry’s controversial choice to rule on a case that questions whether Texas executed a man based on faulty arson evidence. The panel is to consider its final report in the Cameron Todd Willingham case next week. GOP Sen. Bob Deuell, chairman of the nominations committee, told The Associated Press that he has been holding Williamson County prosecutor John Bradley’s doomed nomination without a Senate vote in part to allow him to preside over that meeting.

KILGORE — A father and son were arrested Tuesday after a “heated argument” over horses led to the father pointing a shotgun at his son’s head, officials said. Anthony Sanders, 27, and John Frederick Polk, 52, both of Kilgore, remained jailed at last report, each on $20,000 bond, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Gregg County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 2500 block of State Highway 31 in Kilgore about 6:00pm in response to a report of a family violence disturbance involving a gun.

According to arrest reports, Sanders told authorities he and his father got into a heated argument over horses that were being kept behind the residence. He told officers his father pointed a shotgun at his head during the argument and the two of them fought over the gun until it went off. Sanders told authorities he and his father kept fighting and he was cut on his hands by a knife. Polk told officers he went to get a gun from his house because Sanders said he was going to get a gun out of his truck. Polk denied having a pocket knife. Deputies found Polk’s shotgun in his residence and a .22 caliber rifle in Sander’s vehicle. No knife was found at the residence.

MT. SELMAN – A man wanted in Smith County for a probation violation is now wanted in Cherokee County for aggravated robbery. Shane Ryan Kirkland, 20, of Arp, is accused of pulling a knife in the Hot Spot convenience store and demanding money, cigarettes, and K-2. The incident happened Tuesday afternoon. A contingent of law officers, aided by dogs, were unable to locate Kirkland. Authorities warn that he should be considered armed and dangerous.

FORT WORTH (AP) — A kindergarten teacher, a screenwriter and a Formula One race car designer are among 77 people competing in the Van Cliburn Foundation’s Sixth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. The event is for those 35 and older who don’t earn their living teaching or playing the piano, although many are classically trained pianists. Cliburn Foundation officials announced Wednesday the competition will be the last week of May at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. The event is an offshoot of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, now held every four years in the pianist’s hometown of Fort Worth. He grew up in Kilgore. Cliburn isn’t a judge at either competition but presents awards. The acclaimed pianist gained prominence after winning the first Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow in 1958.

TYLER — The City of Tyler Water Department has closed Centennial Drive from Kit Carson to Elm Tree Circle because of sink holes. Officials say crews are assessing the situation and do not currently have an anticipated reopening time. The underlying cause of the sink holes is unknown at this time, according to officials.