KTBB News, Weather, Talk

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — A Gun Barrel City teen has died, four others were injured, following a two vehicle wreck. According to the DPS report, it happened Wednesday night around 7:35 on VZCR 2801, about 10 miles north of Mabank. A Pathfinder, driven by James Jones, 16, ran a stop sign and struck a minivan. Jones and two other occupants were ejected from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The other 16-year-old and a 14-year-old were transported to Dallas for treatment. The driver of the other vehicle and a passenger were taken to ETMC in Gun Barrel City.

EAST TEXAS — The first of three funeral services for the East Texas Boy Scouts killed in a boating accident at Lake O’ the Pines was held Thursday morning. Will Brannon, 17, of Hallsville, was remembered at the First Baptist Church in Hallsville. The boys were sailing in a catamaran Saturday when their 30-foot metal mast hit a power line. The contact caused them to be electrocuted. Continue reading Funeral Services for Three Boy Scouts

HOUSTON (AP/STAFF) — Former Governor Mark White was remembered Wednesday as a dedicated and caring Texas leader by someone who later held the same elected position, George W. Bush. Bush, the nation’s 43rd president, spoke at White’s funeral at Second Baptist Church in Houston. Two other prominent Texas Republicans, Gov. Greg Abbott and ex-Gov. Rick Perry, now U.S. Energy Secretary, were among the hundreds of mourners. White, a native of Henderson, who battled kidney cancer, died Saturday at age 77. White, his casket draped in a Texas flag, was a lawyer and Democrat who served one term as Texas governor, from 1983 until early 1987.

LINDALE – Lindale police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a theft suspect. He is said to have entered WalMart in Lindale on numerous occasions and took items without paying for them. He has been seen in a gold Buick and an older black Chevy truck. If you can identify him, you are asked to contact the Lindale Police Department.

TYLER – A Longview man, Desmond Denard Brown, 31, is heading to prison for drug trafficking. Brown was sentenced Wednesday to just over 65 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark in Tyler. Brown pleaded guilty back in March to possessing with intent to distribute and distribution of crack cocaine. Federal prosecutors say Brown distributed about 28 grams of crack cocaine in Gregg County.

TYLER – A Tyler man is facing a variety of charges following a traffic stop and foot chase. Byron Leanthony Taylor, 23, ran from the traffic stop, but was chased down and arrested. He showed officers where he had a gun hidden. It had been reported stolen. They also found some marijuana in his vehicle. Taylor is charged with theft of a firearm, unlawful carrying a weapon and possession of marijuana. There was also a warrant out for him for an accident involving injury charge from a previous Smith County case. He was booked into the Smith County Jail with bonds totaling $7,500.

AUSTIN – Sales tax allocations for Texas cities are up slightly. But some East Texas cities continue to show a slight decrease. The state comptrollers office shows sales tax allocations to Texas cities for August are up just over 1%. Tyler’s sales tax allocation is down nearly half a percent from the same period last year, to over $3.8 million. Tyler’s year to date figure is up 3% to over $27.2 Million. In Longview, the August figure is down over 20% to just over $2.6 million. For the year, Longview has received over $19.8 million. This is down nearly 3% from the figure in 2016.

TYLER — Card skimmers continue to pop up on gas pumps across the state — and just this week, another one was found in Tyler, at the Exxon at Commerce Street and Loop 323. Tyler Police Sgt. Adam Colby tells KETK, “This is the typical skimmer that we’ve been finding — Bluetooth enabled.” And it takes just seconds for the thieves to covertly retrieve your information. Most of the card skimmers found in East Texas have been either on a gas pump on the city’s loop, or close to the interstate. Texas Agriculture Commisioner Sid Miller says Bluetooth on your smartphone is the best way to detect a skimmer, but the only one way you can fully protect your identity is by paying with cash, inside.

LONGVIEW — Longview police say a Longview man kicked an officer in the chest and face as he was being arrested. According to KETK, police say Samuel North was lying in front of a room at the Express Inn and when police asked him to leave, he refused. He was taken to the back seat of the patrol car, where he’s accused of kicking the officer. He’s been taken to jail and charged with assault, resisting arrest, and criminal trespass.

TYLER – A slight tax increase is contained in Tyler’s proposed budget, which was presented to the city council Wednesday. The one cent tax hike takes the city’s tax rate from 23 cents to 24 cents per $100 valuation. The increase is proposed to cover lower sales tax revenues and a decline in the oil and gas sector. But, the tax hike is not the only proposed increase. Hikes are also proposed for city water, wastewater and garbage collection. Public input on the proposed budget will be taken at the city council meetings on august 23rd and 30th. The final adoption of the budget is scheduled at the council meeting September 13th.

LONGVIEW — An Athens woman has been sentenced to prison for driving while intoxicated. According to KETK, on Tuesday, Carol Hurley, 61, was given a 15 year prison sentence. On September 11, 2016, a DPS Trooper saw a car blocking traffic on the exit ramp of I-20 and Joy Wright Mountain Road, in Longview. Hurley’s blood alcohol content was .214, more than twice the legal limit. Hurley had four prior DWIs.

TYLER – Smith County commissioners have been given a look at a proposed six year road and bridge capital improvement with a price tag of between $100 million and $120 million. The plan lists projects for more than 1,167 miles of roadway. It was formulated from three citizen input meetings and meetings with representatives from cities within the county, as well as the Texas Department of Transportation. The commissioners also discussed potential ways of financing the plan, including the possibility of a bond election. You can go to https://www.smith-county.com/Commissioners/CommunityInput/RoadImprovement.aspx for more information about the county’s road and bridge plan, or to submit road opinions through an online form. The citizen feedback forms are also available at the Smith County Commissioners Court offices located at 200 East Ferguson, Suite 100. They can also be found at any of the Justice of the Peace/Constable offices throughout the county.

LONGVIEW – A man charged with several child sexual assault charges, is in jail in Longview. Javier Bahena Quintana, 42, of Longview, was arrested in North Carolina. He was booked into the Gregg County jail on Monday. He is facing three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child sexual contact. Besides being held on bonds totaling $400,000, he is also held on an Immigration and Naturalization Service detainer.

AUSTIN – The so-called “bathroom bill, which pased the senate last week, has not moved in the house. With the special session set to end next week, the bill has still not been sent to a house committee. The bill would require transgender Texans to use public restrooms corresponding to the gender on their birth certificates. Among those supporting the measure is Tyler Representative Matt Schaefer. He says privacy for women and girls in public bathrooms, showers and locker rooms is about safety and common sense. He says, “it’s also about sports and women’s programs.” Schaffer adds that private businesses should be protected from lawsuits if the business owner chooses to keep men’s and women’s changing rooms and bath rooms separate.

TYLER – According to a national publication, Tyler’s Christus Mother Frances Hospital is one of the best in Texas. The U.S. News and World Health Report has the Tyler hospital tied with 7 other hospitals for the 12th best in the state. It is also “Recognized” in the Piney Woods region.

MARSHALL – The trial for former Hallsville coach Dean McDaniel is currently underway in Marshall. McDaniel, a track and cross country coach for 13 years at Hallsville ISD, announced in October, 2015, he would resign at the end of the year. He cited personal reasons for his actions. He turned himself in two months later following a grand jury indictment. He is charged with three counts of indecency with a child by exposure and one count of improper relationship between an educator and a student. A panel of six men and six women was seated Monday to hear the case.

TYLER – Dallas-based developer Tai Ly is buying the Smith County office building that was formerly the Carlton Hotel. Smith County commissioners approved the sale at Tuesday’s meeting. County public information officer Casey Murphy says the selling price is $537,500. The building, at the corner of South Broadway and Elm, opened over 60 years ago. It was bought by the county in 1977. The last county office moved out, for better facilities, nearly four years ago. The new owner is now required to get the necessary building permits within the next 90 days. They are also required to invest at least $1 million into the project and spend over half of that amount on improvements whithin the next 18 months.

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler is one of five institutions in the U-T System to receive funds for a campus-based project designed to enhance student success. The school will be receiving an $803,234 grant. The money will be used for a program designed to increase first-year GPA and retention of first-time, full-time freshmen.

TYLER — Despite repeated attempts to reach him, state Representative Matt Schaefer of Tyler has not responded to KTBB’s requests for comment on the so-called “bathroom bill.” A version of the bill recently cleared the state Senate but is said to face a much tougher fight in the House. Supporters and opponents of the measure are continuing to get lots of attention, but there’s been no word on when House members might begin debate. The bill would require transgender Texans to use public restrooms corresponding to the gender on their birth certificates. KTBB continues to await any observations Rep. Schaefer might have on the item.

EAST TEXAS — The family of an East Texas Boy Scout is donating his organs. The Longview News-Journal reports Thomas Larry, 11, of Hallsville had been airlifted Saturday to LSU Medical Center in critical condition after being electrocuted when the mast of the sailboat he was on struck a power line. Fellow Troop 620 Scouts Will Brannon, 17, and Heath Faucheaux, 16, were killed at the scene near Alley Creek Camp. All three were at a camp out at a private residence near Alley Creek on the reservoir’s north shore when the accident occurred. Continue reading Vigil after Third Local Scout Dies

TYLER — Tyler police are following up on two early Tuesday morning shootings. Officers were called to ETMC around 12:45 regarding a man who had been shot in the face and hand at a home on Trezevant Street. Several people were in the home at the time. The victim is in stable condition. His name has not been released. A second shooting was reported around 2:15 on Vance Street. Numerous rounds were fired at a home. No injuries were reported. Witnesses at both scenes were not able to provide any suspect information.

JEFFERSON — A Jefferson woman is dead and her son is charged with her murder. Marion County sheriff’s deputies say they discovered the body of Tonya Roxanne Kilgore, 46, during the weekend. She’d been beaten to death. Deputies arrested her son, 24-year-old Zachary McDaniel, at the scene.

TYLER – If you have a jury summons in Smith County on Tuesday and Wednesday, you can forget about it. Smith County Jury Coordinator Lisa Bennett says jury duty has been cancelled for all courts for both days. However, if you have been asked to return for jury duty by a specific court, you must still report.

AVINGER (AP/STAFF) — A third Boy Scout has died from injuries suffered when a sailboat struck an overhanging power line on an east Texas Lake. Thomas Larry, 11, died Monday at a Shreveport hospital. Killed Saturday in the accident were Will Brannon, 17, and Heath Faucheux, 16,. All are from Boy Scout Troop 620 in Hallsville. They were sailing in a catamaran when the mast struck the power line at Lake O’The Pines. The catamaran was on fire, with sails up, when game wardens arrived. It wasn’t clear Monday why the power line was hanging over the water, close to the boat. Upshur Rural Electric Cooperative, which owns the line, says it’s cooperating with the investigation.

TYLER – Dr. Julie Delello and Dr. James Newsom, at the University of Texas at Tyler, will be receiving a 2017 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. With the award, both will received $25,000. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Austin August 23rd. Delello is an associate professor in the School of Education and the director of The University of Texas at Tyler Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. A University of Texas at Tyler alumnus, Newsom is a senior lecturer in history. Continue reading Outstanding Teaching Awards at U-T Tyler

MARSHALL – Marshall police say they have identified five persons responsible for stealing from Wal-Mart. Police spokesperson Kelly Colvin says, because of their ages, they are not releasing any other information at this time. Last Friday they said the three men and two women entered the store on East End Boulevard North around 2:00am on July 21st. After filling their carts with around $2,000 in merchandise, they left through an emergency exit without paying.

KEY WEST (AP) – A companion pulled Candice Cooper, 38, of Lindale from the ocean at Smathers Beach Friday night. Key West police spokeswoman Alyson Crean said in a news release, Bill Baker told investigators he spotted Cooper floating and unresponsive in the water. He brought her to shore and called 911. The report says Baker began CPR and she was then taken to a hospital, where she died. Crean says they are looking into suspicious circumstances and the preliminary findings “indicate her death might be a homicide.” No other information was released.

HOUSTON (Staff/AP) — The memorial for former Texas Governor and Henderson native Mark White has been scheduled. The family says a service will be held Wednesday morning at 11:00 at Second Baptist Church in Houston, with burial planned Thursday afternoon at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. White, a Democrat who championed public education reforms that included the landmark “no-pass, no-play” policy for high school athletes during his single term in office, died Saturday at 77. White was governor from 1983 until 1987.

TYLER — A 3-year-old girl was unresponsive after she was pulled from the bottom of a swimming pool. Tyler Police were called to The Residences Apartments on Frankston Highway around 7:45 Sunday night. A former military medic was at the pool and performed CPR on the child until first responders arrived. The child was transported to ETMC for further evaluation. Police said it’s the second incident in recent weeks where a small child slipped out of blowup water floats and sank. Supervising adults are reminded to always keep a watch on swimming children.

SMITH COUNTY — Three gunshot victims were found Sunday morning. Smith County Deputies responded to an area on County Road 246, off of Highway 31 east, around 2:30. The men were suffering from non life-threatening gunshot wounds to their legs. Two of the men have been released from the hospital. An uninjured witness at the scene told investigators that they had a flat tire and were stopped on the side of the road when a gray jeep passed them and pulled over. A man got out of the jeep and began shooting, hitting the 20-year-old driver and two 16-year-olds passengers that had also gotten out of the vehicle. No arrests have been made.