TYLER — Tickets to this year’s East Texas State Fair go on sale today at area Brookshire’s and Super 1 Foods stores. Advance discounts are $2 off adult gate tickets and $5 off unlimited ride armbands. Armbands are valid any weekday. The fair runs September 23 through October 2. The Bellamy Brothers are the concert headliners. Go to http://www.etstatefair.com for more information.
Kid Reach Program in Need of Mentors
TYLER — PATH’s Kid Reach mentoring program is recruiting mentors for at-risk children in Smith County. 27 children and teens are currently on a waiting list. PATH is offering training throughout the summer for those interested in becoming mentors. Kid Reach matches school-based and community-based mentors to children at risk. PATH officials say mentoring has been proven to help at-risk children overcome the many challenges they face, including breaking the cycle of poverty. Visit http://www.PATHhelps.org for more information or call 903.597.4044, ext. 121.
Possible Suspicious Fires Investigated
HENDERSON — The Henderson Fire Department is looking into three fires that occurred within a two-mile radius of each other Friday night in Henderson. The first blaze occurred about 4:30 p.m. Friday at a storage facility near the intersection of U.S. Highway 259 North and Texas Highway 322. Local fire departments were called to another structure fire about 6 p.m. near Lakewood Memorial Cemetery just off Texas Highway 64. A third fire occurred about a mile north of Loop 571 on Farm-to-Market Road 2276 just before 10 p.m. Authorities say the first two fires were contained rather quickly and parts of those structures were able to be saved, but the structure on FM 2276 was a total loss. The Henderson Daily News reports, the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office will be taking charge of the two fires outside the city limits, while the other will be investigated by Henderson Police Department detectives.
Guilty Plea for Murder Suspect
NACOGDOCHES — A man has pleaded guilty to murdering a former SFA football player, accepting a 50-year prison sentence Monday. A grand jury had previously charged Nickevette Carey, 20, with capital murder in the death of Michael Motte, 24. Carey pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of murder. He will be eligible for parole in 25 years. According to the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel online, Carey was accused of shooting Motte during a robbery in June of 2009. Jury selection was scheduled to begin for Carey’s capital murder trial Monday before Carey took the plea deal. As a condition of the plea agreement, Carey cannot appeal the case.
East Texan Named to State Panel
AUSTIN — Governor Rick Perry has appointed a Nacogdoches woman and four others to the OneStar National Service Commission for terms to expire March 15, 2013. The commission works with the OneStar Foundation to further national service initiatives in Texas and administer the AmeriCorps Texas program.
Appointed to the panel is Aranda Cooper of Nacogdoches. She is a graduate assistant for the Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) Office of Student Affairs. She is coordinator of Nacogdoches Service Saturday and co-coordinator of the Martin Luther King Day of Service and Big Event Service Project. She is also a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Fraternity, a volunteer with Nacogdoches Habitat for Humanity, and a past member of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps and VISTA. Cooper received a bachelor’s degree and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in secondary education from SFASU.
Robbery Suspects Sought
TYLER — Tyler Police search for three aggravated robbery suspects. Officers responded to the 900 block of East Locust around 6:30 Monday morning after a 25-year-old Hispanic man claimed he was robbed at gunpoint. The victim says he walking when three suspects pulled up in a truck and asked if they could use his phone. Two of the suspects reportedly got out of the vehicle and started assaulting him in attempt to take his phone. The third suspect, who was driving the vehicle, pointed a handgun at the victim and told him to give them the phone and all his money. The victim received minor injuries from the assault.
The suspect’s vehicle is described as a white, 1990 to 1994, GMC, extended cab pick-up, with a partial license plate of Z90, possibly no front bumper and a chrome toolbox in the back. The suspects were approximately 19 to early 20’s of age. One suspect was said to be about 6′ with a very thin build. Another was describes as five f5’10 and is very stocky. And the 3rd was said to be husky. All three were wearing purple shirts and garden type gloves. Anyone with information about the suspects involved in this crime are urged to contact the Tyler Police Department.
Longview Man Arrested for Alleged Forgery
LONGVIEW — A 30-year-old man is arrested, again, after Longview Police are called to the Hampton Inn on North Eastman on a report of suspicious activity. It happened Monday morning around 2:00. Hotel employees told officers that a man had used several different types of fake identification to rent a room and then paid for the room with a credit card that was possibly stolen. Officers located the man outside of the hotel and he initially tried to flee from officers. He was apprehended and identified as Raymond Bradley Roach, who is known to officers from previous forgery cases.
Inside the room rented by Roach, officers discovered a handgun, six grams of methamphetamine, a credit card believed to be stolen and a small amount of marijuana. Roach’s vehicle yielded a passport, various identification cards and equipment used to manufacture fraudulent identification cards. None of the identification cards located were in Roach’s name. He was booked into the Gregg County Jail for credit card abuse, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of marijuana and an outstanding warrant for forgery.
Citations Issued in Tobacco Sting
LONGVIEW — Longview Police conducted an undercover tobacco sting to test the compliance of Longview area tobacco retailers in regards to Texas tobacco laws. The undercover stings use 14-16 year old minors, accompanied by police officers, who entered stores and attempted to purchase tobacco products. The undercover officer/minor teams went to 112 Longview area tobacco retailers and of those, 12 retailers sold tobacco to the undercover minors. The locations that sold the tobacco products were:
Food Fast #22, 1101 McCann Road, OXXO, 301 S. Mobberly Avenue, Food Fast #24, 2851 N. Eastman Road, Zippy J’s No. 5, 2001 N. Eastman Road, La Michoacana Meat Market #20, 1419 S. Green Street, Cowboys Quick Stop #10, 3601 Gilmer Road, Brookshire Food Store #45, 3354 Gilmer Road, Murphy USA # 7086, 2430 Gilmer Road, Mr. C’s, 2578 Alpine Road, Food Fast #25, 2300 Gilmer Road, Smart Stop, 1721 E. State Hwy 31 and Lone Star, 2401 H.G Moseley Parkway.
Citations were issued to the clerk at each location that sold tobacco to the undercover minor and the clerk will have to appear at the Longview Municipal Court to resolve the citation. The stings are funded through a grant issued by the Texas Comptroller’s Office. The Texas Health and Safety Code states that it is unlawful for a person to sell, give or cause to be sold or given a cigarette or tobacco product to someone who is younger than 18 years of age. A violation of this statute is punishable as a class C misdemeanor and the fine is over $500.00.
Police Need Help in Identifying Robbery Suspects
TYLER — Tyler Police release a photo of two suspects wanted in an alleged robbery. It happened June 28th on 3400 block of Cain Street where a 33-year-old Hispanic man says he had met two men earlier in a club and was later lured outside the club. One of the suspects got out of a 2006 to 2008, Gray, GMC Yukon and approached the victim’s car while the other suspect stayed in the vehicle. The victim was repeatedly beat in the head and robbed of his wallet. He was able to run into a wooded area to get away from the suspects. The suspects are described as a white male 25 to 27 years-old and a Hispanic male 20 to 23 years-old. Anyone with information about the suspects involved in this crime is urged to contact the Tyler Police Department, at 903-531-1000, or Crimestoppers, at 903-597-CUFF (903-597-2833).
Murder Suspect Caught in East Texas
MARSHALL – A fugitive on the run from Tulsa, Oklahoma has been caught in Marshall after making his way through parts of East Texas. According to KETK, 19-year-old Gregory Carter is a suspect in the murder of a 21-year-old who was found dead Friday morning. Detectives say Carter held someone at gunpoint and forced that person to drive him from Tulsa to the Super 8 at Highway 59 and Interstate 20 in Marshall. U.S. Marshals and Marshall police arrested Carter at the motel; he was there with his infant daughter. Carter’s awaiting extradition to Oklahoma.
Fire Destroys Hideway Home
HIDEAWAY — A weekend fire has destroyed a family’s home at Hideaway, in northwest Smith County. The fire, said to have been caused by a lightning strike, occurred around 3:30 Saturday afternoon at 229 Winged Foot Drive. No injuries were reported.
Angelina County Traffic Fatality
HUDSON – A one vehicle accident in Angelina County has left one person dead. The wreck occurred around 9:45 Saturday night on Farm Road 945. Dead at the scene was Ruben Esparza, 39, of Lufkin. The Department of Public Safety report said Esparza’s pickup left the road on a curve, hit a curve signed and then flipped over several times. The cab of the pickup was crushed when it came to rest upside down.
Cuban Says NBA Should Examine How Heat Got Big 3
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says the NBA should examine how free agents LeBron James(notes), Chris Bosh(notes) and Dwyane Wade(notes) all ended up with the Miami Heat.
Cuban tells a group of reporters at the NBA’s summer league in Las Vegas that he intends to ask the league’s Board of Governors to inquire about the situation.
According to a story posted on the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s website Sunday, Cuban says the league needs to develop more definitive rules governing the issue of player tampering.
NBA owners are scheduled to meet Monday in Las Vegas.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have no plans to push for an NBA probe into the circumstances that led to LeBron James joining Team USA colleagues Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, according to sources with knowledge of the team’s thinking.
NBA commissioner David Stern said Sunday that the league would investigate the Heat’s signings of James and Bosh for any illegal negotiating or planning before free agency officially started if the Cavaliers or Toronto Raptors make that request.
Reached Sunday by ESPN, Stern said: “Whenever a team lodges a tampering charge, it is investigated.”
The Cavaliers declined official comment Sunday, but one source briefed on Cleveland’s intentions told ESPN.com that — in the wake of owner Dan Gilbert’s vitriolic open letter to Cavs fans that slammed James for leaving his home-state team — the organization wants to try to keep the focus from here on its post-James future as much as possible.
Toronto likewise declined comment, but one source with knowledge of the Raptors’ thinking indicated that they will not press for an inquiry, either, preferring to let league officials decide if any sanctions are warranted with regard to recent acknowledgements from the three players that they have been talking about teaming up for some time.
Stern also declined further comment but is expected to expound on the subject Monday night when he is scheduled to meet with reporters in Las Vegas following an owners meeting devoted to the league’s ongoing labor negotiations with the NBA Players Association.
Although labor matters were initially expected to dominate the agenda, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Friday that he intends to push for renewed discussion about the league’s tampering rules and how they are enforced.
Concerns about this issue have been mounting since an ESPN.com report in late June that James, Wade and Bosh met face-to-face before free agency to discuss their plans. Yet the league’s general position has been that players are not subject to the same tampering restrictions as teams except for “the most egregious cases,” when it can be proven that a player was operating as a direct extension of team management.
Miami’s counter to any tampering claims figures to center on the premise that James, Wade and Bosh have openly dreamt of playing together at some level since the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and that the Heat turned out to be the only team in the league in the long-anticipated summer of LeBron that had the requisite salary-cap space to sign all three players.
The Heat will also undoubtedly point to the fact the Cavaliers and Raptors — to ensure that neither team lost its franchise player without compensation — just willingly completed sign-and-trade deals with Miami for James and Bosh.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported in Sunday’s editions that James, Wade and Bosh actually hatched the idea of playing together during a stint with Team USA in the summer of 2006 at the World Championships in Japan, which contributed to each of them signing new contracts in 2007 containing an opt-out clause after three seasons to become unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2010.
Tensions nonetheless remain high in various cities around the league, starting obviously with Cleveland, some 72 hours after James announced in a one-hour special on ESPN that he would be leaving the Cavaliers after seven seasons to play alongside Wade and Bosh.
A comment made by Bosh at a welcoming rally Friday night in Miami has only fueled accusations that the three stars began plotting their joint move to South Florida well before they were technically allowed to. Bosh initially told the assembled crowd that the trio had been talking about landing with the same team for “months” before catching himself and amending that statement to “days.”
Cuban told a group of reporters Friday at the NBA’s annual summer league in Las Vegas that he would urge Stern to look into the matter whether or not Cleveland or Toronto asks, saying: “I’m going to bring it up to the league that we really do have to re-evaluate the issue of player tampering. Who knows what will happen? But I have to suggest it to them because there has to be more definitive rules.
“It’s not just the Cavs,” Cuban continued. “It could be any team. It could be the Heat in a couple years. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. But there has to be a way to keep these guys away from each other for the last week anyway.”
Wade and Bosh are represented by the same agent — Chicago-based Henry Thomas — and were together throughout the league’s moratorium period between July 1-7 when teams and free agents could meet and negotiate deals to the point of reaching agreements in principle. Thursday was the first day that teams and players could actually execute new contracts.
James and two of his closest advisors — business manager Maverick Carter and agent Leon Rose — took a different approach, inviting six teams to the Cleveland area to make their pitches over a three-day span before committing to the Heat.
But James and Wade acknowledged at a press conference Friday night that the three players were in frequent contact as they finalized their decisions where to sign, with the information flow also facilitated by the fact that Thomas joined Rose at CAA in July 2009.
Wade acknowledged Friday night that what he termed as “the possibility” that all three stars could someday wind up on the same team was established “a long time ago.”
Stern, however, has made it clear that he would not punish player-to-player interaction with the same vigor that the league threatens to punish team contact with players that they don’t employ, suggesting that it is unrealistic to try to put limits on or police player fraternization.
At the NBA Finals, when asked about the prospect of various top free agents holding a so-called “summit” — as Wade playfully suggested to the Chicago Tribune in late May — Stern said he would not try to stop it or punish participants for getting together.
“They can have it,” Stern said on June 3.
ESPN.com reported June 28 that James, Wade and Bosh held a scaled-down version of the summit to seriously discuss the prospect of playing together with the Heat.
Sources in the initial report told ESPN.com that the sitdown took place in Miami during the weekend before July 1, which was subsequently denied strenuously by Thomas. But sources close to the process reconfirmed to ESPN.com on Wednesday that the players convened at least one face-to-face meeting before July 1, except that sources now acknowledge that the meeting was on James’ Northeast Ohio turf on the Saturday before the NBA draft.
The Plain Dealer reported in Sunday’s editions that Wade flew with Bosh to Akron to meet at James home, where Wade– still under contract to the Heat — pointed out that only Miami had the cap space to afford all three players.
The newspaper also reported that the Cavaliers were aware of a November meeting Heat president Pat Riley had with James and Michael Jordan in Miami, with Jordan in town to do some Nike work with Wade. But Cleveland, according to the Plain-Dealer, did not register a tampering complaint with the league about the meeting, believing that Riley’s primary purpose was convincing James that more modern players need to pay homage to Jordan, who at the time had not yet become majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.
After James’ Cavaliers beat Wade’s Heat on Nov. 12, with Riley and Jordan watching together courtside, James made the announcement that he no longer wants to wear No. 23 and that all players, in a bow to Jordan, should forsake that number.
Bagwell Taking Over as Astros Hitting Coach
Former Astros All-Star Jeff Bagwell is taking over as Houston’s hitting coach after the team fired Sean Berry on Sunday.
Berry became “a victim of circumstances” as the offense sputtered this season, general manager Ed Wade said. He believes the offense can do more and hopes Bagwell helps that happen.
“We know we can get better, but we also know there are players here that should be better and hopefully with a different voice in Jeff Bagwell, they’ll recognize the measure of accountability that they have in this whole process so we will get better,” Wade said.
AdChoices
Bagwell had been thinking about what his next challenge would be when Wade approached him about the position.
“There comes a point in time where you realize you have to do something and that your life has to go on,” Bagwell said. “I’m 42 years old and it’s time for me to do something else. This is what I know. I know baseball. Hopefully we’re going to find out in a couple of months that I know a little about hitting too.”
The move gives Houston hitters a chance to work with one of the most beloved and successful players in franchise history.
In 15 seasons with the Astros, the former first baseman set club records with 449 home runs and 1,529 RBIs. Bagwell was the National League rookie of the year in 1991, the NL’s MVP in 1994 and a four-time All-Star.
Berry, who has been the hitting coach the past five seasons, was given a chance to remain with the franchise in a development role. He hadn’t decided if he’ll accept that opportunity.
Bagwell hasn’t been promised anything past this season and said the remainder of this year will be a sort of test for him.
“This is 2 1/2 months to see if I’m any good at it, can I get some results out of these guys and ultimately is this something that I want to do full time,” he said.
Wade knows great players don’t necessarily make good coaches, but believes Bagwell will be successful after what he’s shown working with the team as special assistant to the general manager since retiring in 2006.
“He’s very levelheaded,” Wade said. “He communicates very well, particularly with regard to the nuances of the game. We’ve seen him have a significant impact on some of our minor league hitters with the information he’s able to convey. So he’s got the interest and the passion in doing this and we think it’s appropriate to give him the opportunity to see if it works or not.”
Bagwell was not in uniform for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals and will join the team Thursday in Pittsburgh for a workout. Houston starts the second half on Friday.
“Fans love Bagwell, so that’s the first thing. He’s a legend here,” center fielder Michael Bourn said. “(He) did a lot of damage here, so of course he knows how to hit.”
The Astros entered Sunday’s game with the second-worst batting average in the majors (.237), the worst on-base percentage (.295) and tied for 28th with just 57 home runs. Only Seattle and Pittsburgh have fewer hits than the 691 that Houston has managed this year.
“This is going to be interesting,” Bagwell said. “I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. I’m going to try to prepare the guys the best I can so that when they get in that batter’s box, they have the best opportunity to succeed.”
Star slugger Lance Berkman entered Sunday’s game hitting .252 and cleanup hitter Carlos Lee is batting .238. Each has 12 home runs. Second baseman Jeff Keppinger has the best average in Houston’s starting lineup at .279.
Berkman said it stings to know the struggles of the offense cost Berry his job.
“I haven’t hit and Carlos hasn’t hit like he can and others haven’t and it’s not Sean’s fault,” Berkman said. “It’s one of those things that when things aren’t going well with the players, you have to shake something up and the most expendable pieces a lot of times are the coaching staff.”
Though he was disappointed to see Berry leave, Berkman looks forward to working with Bagwell.
“Jeff has always been one of my mentors in the game and I’m excited that he’s going to be around more,” Berkman said. “I told him (Saturday) that he helps me more than anybody even when he’s not around just from all the things that he told me during the time that we played together. So it will be great to have him around and have his expertise available.”
Lots Happening at Tyler Art Museum
TYLER — Among current attractions at the Tyler Museum of Art is an exhibition called “Cherokee Beadwork: Finding a Lost Art.” On KTBB “Staff Meeting,” Museum spokesperson Zoe Lawhorn says it was organized by Tylerite Martha Berry. Lawhorn calls Berry one of the only experts in the world on that particular type of art. Lawhorn says the art of Cherokee beadwork has indeed been virtually lost — and Berry “took it upon herself to do some really heavy, in-depth research and to find the remaining examples.” The exhibition remains up for several more weeks, along with another one called “The American Indian through the Eyes of Edward s. Curtis” and the popular “Babar’s Museum of Art.” Go to http://www.tylermuseum.org for more on what’s happening at the art museum. You can also go to http://www.ktbb.com/audio to listen to the “Staff Meeting” show beginning early Monday.