AUSTIN — In three weeks all businesses, schools, and hotels across the state will now be required by law to directly access 911. KETK reports state lawmakers passed the law in 2015 known as “Kari’s Law”. It was named after Kari Hunt, a woman who was attacked in 2013 by her ex-husband in a Marshall hotel room. Kari’s 9-year-old daughter tried calling 911 four times but could not get through. The reason: she did not know she had to dial “9” to get an outside line. Kari died before help could arrive. The Commission on State Emergency Communications says businesses have until September 1st to comply. Businesses which are unable to comply can file for a one year waiver.
Tyler Cattle Barons’ Gala Kickoff Held Thursday
TYLER — Organizers of the Tyler Cattle Barons’ Gala are looking ahead to the big event August 20 at Harvey Convention Center. At Thursday night’s event kickoff at Cavender’s Boot City, chairperson Tomi Ellis said the excitement is in the air as tickets continue to go fast — for the gala as well as the chance drawings for jewelry and a truck. Vince Gill is the musical headliner for the big annual American Cancer Society fundraiser. Ellis points out that’s it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t been personally affected by cancer in some way. You can go http://www.cattlebaronsgala.net for tickets and more information.
Pedestrian Killed on Broadway Identified
TYLER – Police say a man in Tyler visiting relatives was killed when hit by a car Thursday night. Killed was Jeffery Dean Carter, 54, of Marion, Iowa. He was crossing the road in the 7400 block of South Broadway around 10:30 when he was struck and killed. Investigators said alcohol may have been a factor in the accident after witnesses reported the victim had been drinking before the incident. Officers say the 18 year old driver was not at fault.
Facebook Page Features Fighting in East Texas
EAST TEXAS — A questionable page has recently been created on Facebook. And to make matters worse whomever is behind the page encourages posting more videos. According to KETK, the page’s information the administrator lives in Nacogdoches. Police sometimes use social media to their advantage and pages like this particular one can easily land those involved in legal trouble. Continue reading Facebook Page Features Fighting in East Texas
Gus Ramirez Appointed by the Governor
AUSTIN — A Tyler man has been named by the governor to a state board. Governor Greg Abbott has named Guz Ramirez of Tyler to the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners. His term will expire February 1st, 2021. The board is responsible for regulating the practice of chiropractic. Ramirez, who has been on numerous area committies, formerly served as a city council member and mayor pro-tem and is a former Smith County Commissioner. Ramirez received an Associate of Arts in business management from Tyler Junior College and a Bachelor of Arts in applied science from The University of Texas at Tyler.
Cherokee County Burglary Suspect Sought
RUSK – Cherokee County authorities are looking for suspects in numerous burglaries. Eight guns were stolen from a home in the Gallatin Community. They are also looking for a suspect in the burglary of six boathouses on Lake Palestine at the Eagle’s Bluff docks. There, he stole flat screen TV’s, stereo systems, and other high value items. A security camera at one of the boathouses took photos of the suspect. Continue reading Cherokee County Burglary Suspect Sought
TISD Receives Award for Financial Reporting
TYLER – The Tyler Independent School District has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. It comes from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. The school district received the award for its comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2015. This marks 13th year the District has received the award. The award is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting.
Preliminary Agreement Between ETMC and Blue Cross
TYLER – East Texas Medical Center Tyler has announced it has reached a preliminary agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. A news release says this will ensure that the hospital will be a full in-network provider in BCBSTX preferred provider plans. They say they are not allowed to comment on the agreement since it is still being worked out. The process of finalizing the agreement is expected to take 45 days. In the meantime,ETMC remains in network for the full range of BCBSTX products.
Two Women Arrested for Alleged Prostitution
TYLER – Undercover investigators have arrested two Asian women at a Tyler massage parlor. Arrested at O.K. Massage Therapy at 212 Grande Boulevard were Hong Le, 59 (pictured) and Mei Hue Lu, 49, Tyler. Police say they were arrested on sight after they offered to perform a sexual act for a fee during the massage. They have been charged with prostitution and massage therapy license violation.
Fatal Smith County Accident
TYLER – A bicyclist has been killed when hit by a car northwest of Tyler. Killed was 19 year old Laqualus Green of Tyler. A car driven by Vickie Adams of Tyler was northbound when it hit Green in the northbound lane. Green was pronounced dead at the scene. Adams was not injured. The accident occurred shortly after 5:45 Thursday morning on Highway 110 North between County Road 4153 and Farm Road 2016.
More Arrests in Longview Murder
LONGVIEW ― Two more persons have now been arrested in connection with a Longview gas station shooting in which one person died. At a Wednesday morning news conference, it was announced that Brenndrick Kesean Lilly (pictured), 21, was booked into the Gregg County Jail on a murder charge. It is allegedl he gunned down Devin Newson, 20, of Lakeport. After the news conference, authorities arrested in the case Kambresha Shante Williams, 21. The shooting occurred at the Food Fast convenience store on South Eastman Road near the Pittman intersection around 2:00am on May 23. Newson was pronounced dead two hours later. It was Longview’s fourth homicide of 2016. Lilly was also arrested on warrants for a parole violation and unlawfully carrying a weapon in Morris County. Continue reading More Arrests in Longview Murder
Cause of Death Determined for a Wood County Inmate
QUITMAN – An Investigation has determined the cause of death of a Wood County inmate. An autopsy shows Robert Sharp, 69, of Holly Lake Ranch died because of injuries he received in an attempted suicide. Last Thursday afternoon, while conducting routine 30-minute security checks of the separation cells in the Wood County Jail, detention officers found Sharp who was unresponsive. He had used material torn from his jail uniform and was found hanging in his shower. He was first taken to a Quitman hospital. He was then flown to a Tyler hospital where doctors later pronounced Sharp dead. An investigation into the death was conducted by the Texas Rangers and Wood County authorities conducted an internal investigation
The State’s Sales Tax Allocations
AUSTIN – State Comptroller Glenn Hegar says he will be sending out $769.3 million in local sales tax allocations for August. That is just over 1% more than in August of last year. The results around East Texas are mixed. Tyler will be getting for the period $3,829,397.99. This is up 3.25% percent over the same period last year. Longview’s sales tax allocation is $3.268,633.33 million. That is nearly a 12% increase over the August figure last year. But there is still some ground to make up. For the year, Tyler has received over $26.412,726.45 million and Longview’s sales tax allocation for the year is $20.3309,776.50 million. But both cities are down just over 4% for the year.
Permit Again Sought for Proposed $387M East Texas Reservoir
JACKSONVILLE (AP) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reinstated a request for a federal permit to build an East Texas reservoir that’s been in the works for nearly 40 years. The Lufkin News reported Wednesday that the proposal involves the Lake Columbia regional water supply reservoir project. The Corps in April withdrew the permit application for the proposed $387 million project. Corps officials cited relative inactivity since 2013 on the project managed by the Lufkin-based Angelina and Neches River Authority. Jody Anderson, who’s president of the authority board, says the application was recently reinstated as ANRA officials renewed efforts to gain support for Lake Columbia – proposed for the Mud Creek flood plain. A dam could be built near Jacksonville. ANRA since 1978 has planned what’s dubbed Mud Creek Reservoir.
Longview Man Arrested in May Killing
LONGVIEW — A Longview man was arrested on Tuesday in connection with a gas station shooting in which one person died. According to KETK, police say Brenndrick Kesean Lilly, 21, was booked into the Gregg County Jail on a murder charge after he allegedly gunned down Devin Newson, 20, of Lakeport. The shooting occurred at the Food Fast convenience store on South Eastman Road near the Pittman intersection around 2:00 a.m. on May 23. Newson was pronounced dead two hours later. This marked Longview’s fourth homicide of 2016. Lilly was also arrested on warrants for a parole violation and unlawfully carrying a weapon in Morris County. His bond was set at $510,000. Continue reading Longview Man Arrested in May Killing
Smith County Man Charged With Kidnapping
ATHENS – A Smith County man is in custody in Henderson County on charges of kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault. Taken into custody Wednesday morning was 43 year old James C. Cryer of Flint. He was arrested during a traffic stop in Coffee City. A sheriff’s deputy stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation. The woman driver asked the deputy for help and he was able to intervene in an alleged kidnapping. Cryer is currently in the Henderson County Jail.
Possible Partnership with Sheriff and ATF on Hold
SMITH COUNTY — A potential partnership with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the A-T-F is on hold. According to KETK, the commissioners court tabled the decision until next Tuesday. The memorandum of understanding explains how the two agencies would share expenses on joint investigations which includes overtime pay, a move that could potentially save the county thousands of dollars. Some commissioners expressed their concerns about the wording and relationship with the federal agency. Sheriff Larry Smith said the agreement would not change the way they conduct investigations.
Why is the KTBB 97.5 FM signal interrupted by static and other stations?
The problem has nothing to do with KTBB’s signal strength. Our signal strength, like all licensed radio stations, is a function of fixed values that are set forth in the operating parameters section of our license, which is issued by the Federal Communications Commission. No station has the capacity or the authority to unilaterally alter its operating parameters.
Nominally, the FCC sets those parameters so as to provide interference-free service over a station’s city of license. Under normal conditions, KTBB 97.5 FM puts a “city grade†signal over Tyler and Longview and the surrounding communities.
The problem stems from an atmospheric phenomenon called “tropospheric propagation,” — commonly just called “ducting.” Here’s a Wikipedia article on it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropospheric_propagation
The phenomenon tends to be particularly acute in this part of the world during the summer.
What follows is a greatly simplified explanation.
Tropospheric propagation, or ducting, most commonly occurs when air aloft is warmer than air on the surface – what the weathermen call a “temperature inversion.” Normally, air gets cooler as you gain altitude away from the heat reflected by the Earth’s surface. But when you have a large high pressure dome overhead, (which typically accounts for our miserably hot temperatures in the summer), it is common for air temperatures to warm as you gain altitude. Eventually, as you climb, the air temperatures will start to cool. But in the summer, when winds are light and high pressure systems tend to stall over a particular area and stay in one place, there is frequently a layer of air – a few thousand feet thick — that is warmer than the air on the Earth’s surface – particularly in the morning (more on that in a moment).
This area of warm air aloft creates what amounts to a boundary for VHF radio signals. FM radio broadcasting occurs in the VHF portion of the radio spectrum. Rather than leave the transmitting antenna and radiate straight out across the horizon and into space, radio frequency energy comes into contact with this warm air boundary and is refracted or bent, just as a lens bends light — causing the signal to follow the curvature of the Earth. What is created is effectively a “duct” through which a VHF signal can travel a great distance.
The result is that a radio station from far away will interfere with a station close to home. The interference you typically hear in this area is either from KFNC, the all-sports station at 97.5 FM near Houston, or KLAK, an adult contemporary station at 97.5 FM in Grayson County, near Sherman, Texas. While those stations are interfering with us, our signal is most likely interfering with them. It is a two-way street. The effect on your individual listening depends almost entirely on where you happen to be at any particular moment. When the phenomenon is occurring, it affects nearly every FM station at one place or another within its coverage area.
The phenomenon typically decreases as it gets later in the day and the Earth’s surface warms. When surface temperatures rise, the differential between surface air and air aloft disappears and thus the warm air boundary disappears. When that boundary is gone, the “duct” no longer exists and the radio frequency energy resumes radiating straight out across the horizon and into space.
Ducting is extremely annoying and, unfortunately, there isn’t anything we can do about it other than — in the particular case of KTBB — jump over to the AM band and listen at 600 AM.
Thank you for listening.
Joel Baker Cancels Upcoming Hearing
TYLER – Suspended Smith County Judge Joel Baker was scheduled to appear at a post suspension hearing in Austin Thursday. But Baker has withdrawn his request for the hearing. In an email to the Executive Director of State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Seana Willing, Baker said he was withdrawing the request for the post-suspension hearing because he has confidence in the man named interim county judge, former Tyler city councilman Nathaniel Moran. In the email to Willing, Baker said, “I will continue to contest the Open Meetings charge that is the sole basis for my suspension, and expose the political motivations that led to the indictment of only one member of the Smith County Commissioners Court.” Continue reading Joel Baker Cancels Upcoming Hearing
Rehab Work Underway on Tyler Airport Runway
TYLER – Concrete work started Tuesday night at Tyler Pounds Regional Airport as part of the rehabilitation of Runway 4-22. That’s the longest runway at the airport.The runway was built in the 40s. And over the years there was some maintenance programs with overlays or sealing the pavement. Now they are completely rehabilitating the pavement and bringing the runway up to a newer standard. Airport manager Davis Dixon says the concrete work could take 8 or 9 days. Continue reading Rehab Work Underway on Tyler Airport Runway
Smith County Residents Asked to Use Caution when Burning
TYLER — If Smith County doesn’t see rain this weekend, a burn ban could be issued next week. Smith County Fire Marshal Connie McCoy-Wasson on Tuesday reported a Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) of 658. Used to determine forest fire potential, the KBDI ranges from 0 to 800. In the past, Smith County has issued a burn ban when the drought index reaches 700, she said. Continue reading Smith County Residents Asked to Use Caution when Burning
No Trial for a Marshall City Commissioner
MARSHALL – A Marshall City Commissioner will not be prosecuted after being arrested for disrupting a town hall forum. Michael Mitchell was arrested late last month during a meeting hosted by the Marshall Police Department, No Colors No Labels Initiative and Marshall Against Violence. Harrison County District Attorney Coke Solomon said after viewing all evidence in the case, including videos, his office has no choice but to refuse criminal charges against Mitchell. In a news release, Solomon said he had no alternative to conclude that Mitchell’s comments, “while unpopular,” did not have the intent to prevent or disrupt the town hall meeting. Mitchell was booked into the Harrison County Jail after being accused of disrupting the meeting. He posted bond the next day.
Two Jacksonville Residents Nabbed on Drug Charges
JACKSONVILLE – Following the recent arrest in Cherokee County of 7 drug suspects, two more have been busted for drugs. The latest arrests came late Monday night at a home on Bonner Street in Jacksonville. Arrested were Charles Wayne Bates, 62 and Stacy Lynn Sheets, 45, both of Jacksonville. Bates was charged with manufacture or delivery of substance in penalty group 1. Sheets was charged with Possession of Substance in Penalty Group 1. Bond at $75,000 for Bates and $10,000 for Sheets. The arrests came as the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division executed a search warrant for suspected narcotics. They seized in the house one quarter ounce of suspected methamphetamine, US currency, and what they called other contraband.
Gregg County Auditor Named to State Panel
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Laurie Woloszyn of Longview to the Sabine River Authority Board of Directors. She was appointed for a term that will expire July 6th, 2021. Wolosyn is the Gregg County Auditor. Prior to serving as auditor, she served as the Gregg County Clerk for eight years.She is a member of the Texas County Auditors Association. Woloszyn received a Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Tyler.
Longview Death Appears to Be from Natural Causes
LONGVIEW – Longview police are investigating a body that was found Monday afternoon shortly before 2:45. The victim is identified as 60 year old Juan Garcia. The police department’s Facebook page said the body was discovered in the area of Bostic Drive and South Green Street. He may have died as a result of the heat. Justice of the Peace James Mathis told the Longview News Journal, “That’s what it looked like. At this point there is no foul play appearance.†Investigators say the autopsy indicated he died of natural causes.
Three Accused of Soliciting Sex from Children
CROCKETT – An under age sting operation conducted by the Texas Attorney General’s Child Exploitation Unit, and the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, has resulted in the arrest of three East Texas men. Arrested following the week-long investigation was 57 year old Alan Ray Brown of Longview, (pictured) 48 year old Dana Ray Killian of Palestine, and 51 year old Richard Brent Allred, of Lufkin. Investigators, posing as minors, set up individual meetings with the men through online websites. Authorities say all three men thought they were meeting with teenage boys when they were arrested last week in Crockett. Killian is currently free on bond. The other two men remain the the Houston County Jail.
Longview Police Probe BB Gun Vandalism
LONGVIEW — Longview officers say someone went on a shooting spree with a BB gun Saturday night, causing thousands of dollars in damage across the city. KETK reports there were 11 reports filed for what appears to be criminal mischief. Officers first responded to locations on Envy Lane and Teer Lane. Police say the incidents happened late at night and mostly involved damage to vehicles. Longview Police Public Information Officer Kristie Brian says, “We’ve gotten about 11 reports of criminal mischief involving someone’s windows being shot out on their vehicles, and we believe those were BB guns.” Brian says people should call the police department immediately if they see any suspicious activity in their neighborhood.
Smith County Man Named in Criminal Warrant
TYLER – A Winona man has been arrested on a warrant out of Texrakana. Charged with engaging in organized criminal activity is Kenneth Travis Crenshaw, 25. He was arrested by Smith County Sheriff’s deputies Monday night and booked into the Smith County Jail. His arrest followed a Texarkana police raid last month on an illegal gambling establishment. Police say Crenshaw was part owner and partner in the business.
Toddler’s Drowning Death Reported to Be Accidental
NACOGDOCHES — The Nacogdoches Police Department is investigating the death of child Sunday night. According to KETK, officials responded to a hospital after a report that a child had drowned at a private pool on Lee Lane around 8:30. Officials said the boy was found by another sibling who alerted their parents. The child died at the hospital. The boy has been identified as 19-month-old Edgar Rodriguez. His death is believed to be accidental.
Longview Man Charged With Sexual Assault
LONGVIEW – A Longview man remains in the Gregg County Jail after being charged with with aggravated sexual assault of a child. Arrested was Julio C. Sanchez, 26. He was taken into custody after a 7 year old girl told her grandmother about the the sexual assaults, which appear to have been going on for some time. The assaults are said to have occurred while the girl’s mother was at work. The bond for Sanchez has been set at $125,000 on the sexual assault charge. He also was being held without bond under a detainer from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.