KTBB News, Weather, Talk

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Nominations Committee of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) has elected Scott Martinez, CEcD, President and CEO of the Tyler Economic Development Council & CEO of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce. According to a media brief, Martinez will serve a one-year term as Chair of the Performance Oversight and Monitoring Committee of the IEDC Board of Directors. The nomination took place during IEDC’s 2020 Annual Conference. Martinez’s term will start fthe first day of 2021. Continue reading Martinez begins tenure as chair of oversight committee

TYLER — Fire officials were on the scene of a house fire in Tyler Tuesday, in which they called “suspicious.” According to our news partner KETK, one person lives at the home, but it appears they were not present when the fire started around 6:30 a.m. No one was injured in the structure fire. It is not clear if the house was insured or if smoke detectors were installed. In spite of the fire, light damage happened inside. The investigation into the fire is still on-going.

ATHENS — The TVCC Cardinal Club Golf Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 16, at Athens Country Club. Proceeds will benefit the Cardinal Club, according to a press brief on Tuesday. Tee time is 11 a.m. A meal will be served afterwards. The four-person scramble is $300 per team. For more information or to enter a team, contact Eddie Kite at 903-675-6359 or [email protected].

HENDERSON COUNTY — An East Texas couple that were expecting their first child together were killed in an alleged drunk driving crash Sunday, according to our news partner KETK. DPS said LeAnna Hester, 23, of Chandler, was traveling south on FM 315, near Coffee City, when she was struck head-on by Brandon Collins, 20, also of Chandler. Collins’ Dodge pickup crossed over the center line and hit Hester’s Dodge Neon head-on. Hester was pronounced dead at the scene. Blake Stanford, 24, of Chandler, who was in Hester’s car, was taken to University of Texas Health Hospital in Tyler, where he later died. Continue reading Alleged drunk driver kills East Texas couple

WHITEHOUSE — The early voting location at the Tyler Area Senior Citizens Association (TASCA) Center, located on County Road 2167 in Whitehouse, was temporarily shut down around 5 p.m. on Monday after a polling worker fell ill and tested positive for COVID-19. Smith County officials say the facility will be deep cleaned Monday evening. They say the polling location is expected to reopen for voters at its regularly scheduled time of 7 a.m. on Tuesday, October 27, and continue without interruption for the remainder of early voting. Smith County will continue to take all necessary safety precautions at all polling locations throughout the General Election, according to a news release. All other polling locations in Smith County were due to remain open until 7 p.m. Monday and can be found at http://www.smith-county.com.

LONGVIEW — COVID-19 screenings will be conducted in the NorthPark Drive-Through ER service. The hospital announced Monday the cost is $60 or can be filed on a patient’s insurance. In a press release from Christus, Patients are urged to bring their driver’s license or state-issued ID, and their insurance information. Screenings are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8 p.m. next door to CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Institute for Healthy Living on E Hawkins Pkwy. “Please consider participating in the screening only if you are experiencing any two of the following symptoms: fever, shortness of breath, cough, fatigue, loss of sense of smell or taste, chills, shaking with chills, muscle or body aches, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, nausea or diarrhea or if you have been exposed to a person with suspected or confirmed COVID symptoms,” said Faber White, M.D., Interim Chief Medical Officer, CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Health System.

TYLER — The defense team for one of the men accused of assaulting a nonverbal autistic teenager has filed a motion to suppress the video footage. According to our news partner KETK, Bubacarr Ceesay, 25, and Auston Reed, 24, are charged in connection with beating a 19-year-old while they were employees at a group home earlier this year. Ceesay was present via Zoom, Monday, for the hearing in front of Judge Jack Skeen in the 241st District Court. Reed’s hearing, also scheduled for Monday, was postponed until November for unknown reasons. A hearing will be held December 8, regarding the suppression of video footage collected by the victims Father.

CANTON — After multiple warnings and a lack of response, a controversial Festival scheduled to happen in Canton has been canceled. The contentious festival was the subject of several city council meetings, with droves of residents voicing their concerns about the event. Last week, the event was given the go-ahead to continue, contingent upon certain factors being addressed by event organizers. According to our news partner KETK, the name of the Festival SLVTZ was said to be an acronym for Spreading, Loving, Vibes, Through Zen. Organizers, said the goal of the festival is to instill that mantra into as many people as possible. The event was moved to November 6 and 7. The city did not receive notification of that, or a response to their inquiry and was canceled.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County is seeing incredible turnout so far in the 2020 election and it reached a new milestone Monday morning, according to our news partner KETK. More people have voted in the past two weeks than the entire early voting period for the 2016 election. According to the Smith County Elections Office, 58,973 people have voted so far this year. That is slightly higher than the 58,406 that cast early ballots four years ago. There are still five days remaining in early voting with Election Day set for next Tuesday, November 3.

LONGVIEW — Two people who wrecked a car after shots were fired and then ran from police on Sunday are in Gregg County Jail. According to our news partner KETK, just after 12:30 p.m. Sunday, an officer on Tammy Lane Drive heard gun shots and then saw a car speed from the scene. The driver lost control of the car and crashed into an unoccupied car parked on Alta Street. The three people in the car jumped out and ran. Officers caught two of them while a third got away. Longview Police arrested 21-year-old Dayson Adaway and 17-year-old Raven Reyes. Continue reading Two arrested, one sought following shooting, chase

TYLER — TxDOT is planning to conduct more construction and maintenance work in the Tyler District during the week of Oct. 26. Tyler crews plan to continue edging operations on SH 110 N. between Loop 323 and FM 3271. A second crew will perform level up work on FM 15. Longview crews on Monday plan to begin replacing a drainage pipe on FM 2207. The work is expected to take a few days to complete and will require closing the road to through traffic at North Cole Bottom Rd. FM 1252 to SH 135 on the north end (Gladewater) will also be closed to traffic. Go to https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/media-center/local-news/tyler/041-2020.html for a full rundown of the coming week’s work around the district.

LONGVIEW — Gregg County has canceled jury duty for Monday, October 26. That’s according to our news partner KETK. Residents who were summoned may disregard their jury duty notice.

LONGVIEW — LeTourneau University engineering students won third place in the annual Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) Student Design Challenge in biomedical engineering. The student team and faculty sponsor presented their design at the annual RESNA convention that was held virtually in September due to COVID-19 restrictions. Continue reading LETU student team places third in national competition

MARSHALL — John Sargent, Dean of East Texas Baptist University’s School of Education, received the Texas Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (TACTE) Leadership Award during a virtual annual conference October 20. The award is given annually to someone who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the organization and who is deserving of TACTE recognition for significant contributions to the educator preparation process in Texas, according to an ETBU news release. Dr. Sargent has been teaching since 2003 at ETBU, where he has served as the Dean of the School of Education since 2016.

KILGORE — The International Economic Development Council has recognized the Kilgore Economic Development Corporation as the national Economic Development Organization of the Year for cities with a population under 25,000. The Excellence in Economic Development award was presented at the IEDC annual conference earlier this month. In a news release, Mayor Ronnie Spradlin says the award “acknowledges the hard work, planning, and innovation that KEDC has demonstrated over the years,” adding that it’s an honor to have KEDC recognized. KEDC Board President Bob Davis echoed the sentiments, saying the board and staff are “proud and humbled” at being handed the honor.

RUSK — Authorities continue to seek leads on a woman reported missing this week. According to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Brittney Nichole “Nikkie” Aguirre is white, 27 years of age, 5’4”, and weighs 240 lbs. The last contact with her family was earlier this month. Officials say she left her residence in the northwest portion of the county. Aguirre is said to be on several medications for various conditions. It is unknown if she left walking or received a ride with someone. Anyone with any information on her whereabouts is asked to contact the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office in Rusk at 903-683-2271.

EAST TEXAS — A couple of additional school districts are issuing COVID-19 updates. According to our news partner KETK, Marshall ISD announced in a letter that the district will return to in-person classes on Nov. 9. According to Superintendent Jerry Gibson, the district made the decision because about 32% of online students in grades K-12 are failing one or more classes during the current grading period (not including Marshall Early Graduation School). Quitman ISD, meanwhile, will cancel in-person classes Monday, October 26, through Wednesday, October 28. Thursday and Friday will be school holidays and will not need to be made up. Multiple staff members at the elementary campus tested positive and will be quarantined.

TYLER — East Texas is being awarded $7.5 million from Gov. Abbott’s Public Safety Office. Abbott announced earlier this month that the state would be allocating $296 million to different programs that will deliver resources for public safety initiatives. According to our news partner KETK, Tyler, Longview and nearby areas will receive a total of $7,574,594.20 the governor’s press office announced on Thursday. Continue reading $7.5 million awarded to Tyler/Longview

SMITH COUNTY — The Smith County Fire Marshal’s office, and several local law enforcement agencies have arrested Dan Cruz Woods for setting fire to the Coker Enterprise building on October 12. According to our news partner KETK, Woods, 30, of Tyler, was arrested Friday for the second-degree felony. Smith County Fire Marshal Jay Brooks said Woods is being held in the Smith County Jail on a $150,000 bond. It is not known whether or not Woods is connected to both fires. Brooks said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Smith County Sheriff’s Office; and the Smith County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office also aided in the investigation. If convicted, Woods faces two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Continue reading Man arrested in connection to fire ruled arson

LONGVIEW — A spooky ER Drive-Thru Trick or Treat experience was announced Friday. The CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Emergency Center North Park hospital is inviting families from across East Texas to come enjoy the fun scheduled to take place Halloween afternoon from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Longview location on E. Hawkins Parkway. The free drive thru event features fun-filled trick-or-treating from the safety of your car, with candy goodie bags.

LONGVIEW — October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month. Longview Police are reminding residents that the police headquarters is a place to get rid of unwanted prescription drugs. Authorities say the drop box in the department lobby, on Cotton St., is always available. Items that can be dropped off include over-the-counter medications, prescription drugs, medications for pets and medicated lotions or ointments, said information from the police department. Items that are not allowed include needles and other sharp objects, hazardous waste, thermometers, illegal narcotic substances, trash, mail, lost and found materials and empty containers.

LONGVIEW — The Longview City Council voted to approve a $23.9 million contract to construct a 74,300-square-foot police station on Thursday. This is part of a series of public safety enhancements approved by voters totaling $52.4 million in the Public Safety bond election in 2018. Other public safety enhancements in the bond include renovating and expanding Fire Station 5, constructing a new Fire Station 7, replacing and relocating Fire Station 8, moving the Fire and Police Training Center, and renovating the current police building. Construction on the police station should begin in early 2021. https://longviewtexas.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=2885.

EAST TEXAS — Starting Monday, Chick-fil-A restaurants in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and across East Texas will host Baked Goods for Backpacks. On Friday Ikey Eason told KTBB, “We approached the food bank and said, hey what can we do to help? And we, just rolled out a brownie for Chick-fil-A across the nation…So any customer that orders a brownie or a cookie, for all of next week, Oct 26 -31, we will in turn donate right back to the food bank.” Specifically the initiative benefits ETFB’s BackPack Program, which battles the child-hunger program. Continue reading Chick-Fil-A to partner with ETFB

TYLER — Early voting ends next Friday, October 30. Registered voters can cast their ballot at any polling location within their county. You need to bring your facemask and ID. Remember, there is no straight ticket option on this years ballot. But you can still go down the ballot and vote for all the candidates on the same party if you wish to do so. As of Thursday, more ballots had been cast in Smith County through roughly the first week of early voting than the entire March primary. Over 42,000 have already cast their votes in , surpassing the total vote of 40,036 in the March Primary Election. There are 146,225 registered voters in Smith County.

TYLER — Smith County is getting ready to start two Road Bond Projects in November that will improve three heavily travelled county roads. The County said in a press brief on Thursday, The first project will include improvements to County Roads 1113 (Lake Placid Road), from CR 1125 to CR 1141; and CR 1125 (Greenbriar Road), from Texas Highway 155 to CR 1113. Work will include replacing a major cross-drainage structure, stabilizing and widening of the base material and overlaying 4.5 miles of roadway, Smith County Engineer Frank Davis said. The project is projected to cost $1,339,491. Continue reading Two road bond projects to begin in November

TYLER — NET Health released the 7-Day Rolling Rate for the previous week on Thursday. The rate is calculated by the average number of all COVID-positive cases, from the previous seven days and is then divided by the population of the county, and then multiplied by 100,000. That final number is the 7-Day Rolling Rate. Positive cases of COVID-19 include rapid tests and PCR tests among persons who physically live within one of the seven counties that are covered by the NET Health Disease Surveillance Division. NET Health reminds residents this is a new resource but other sources of information still need to be referenced for your local decision making processes.