KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — We’ll find out tonight what the Tyler Cattle Barons’ Committee’s plans are for this year’s gala. To be announced at the kick off event will be the gala chair, honorary chairs, Li’l Wrangler, the theme as well as this year’s headline entertainer. This year’s gala is set for August 20, and again it will be at the Harvey Convention Center. The cancer society’s Mauri Douglas says August falls during a time of year when more entertainment is available. Last years event was a big success, with nearly $526,000 raised for the American Cancer Society. Douglas says attendees responded very well to changes made in last year’s event. Those included a switch from outdoors to indoors, at the Harvey Convention Center, and the addition of a mobile bidding app.

TYLER — A ribbon cutting ceremony Monday morning has officially opened the Tyler Police Department south Tyler substation. It is located at 574 West Cumberland Road. Construction for the new 17,500 square foot facility began in March of last year. The $4.8 million project was funded by the city’s half-cent sales tax. City officials say the police substation will allow patrol officers assigned to south Tyler to maximize patrol time in their assigned areas. It will also reduce call time for service in South Tyler. The substation, which will provide short term property and evidence storage, will also allow ease of access for the department’s criminal investigators and community response officers. According to the city’s figures, the substation will create annual savings of over $200,000, primarily in officers’ time and gasoline. Continue reading Tyler Police Substation Officially Opened

LONGVIEW — Two Longview fires remain under investigation today. Arson is suspected in both fires. The first started just before 1:00 Sunday morning at a home on Butler Drive. The fire was contained to the garage and an adjacent room. That fire appears to have been intentionally set. Then, around an 1 1/2 hours later, a second fire was reported less than two miles away on Oden Street. A pickup on the lawn was reported on fire. No injuries were reported in either fire.

TYLER — Oak Alley, between Three Lakes Parkway and Dueling Oaks Drive, will be closed to through traffic today. It will be closed from 7:00am till 5:00pm to install a manhole. Drivers should use caution due to the construction activities. Continue reading One Tyler Project Starting, One Completed

TYLER — Here’s a look at work planned in the district during the Week of January 11. These schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues.

SMITH COUNTY – Tyler Maintenance plans to conduct ditch work on various roadways
around the county with flaggers directing traffic through these areas. Motorists can also expect crews to reduce State Highway 64 to one lane near the State Highway 135 Overpass as base repairs are performed. Continue reading TxDOT Road Projects

The Queen of the Texas Rose Festival has been announced. The queen for the 2016 festival is Mallory Kristine Curtis, 19, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Bradley Curtis. Mallory says it’s an honor to be selected, and “to say that I’m excited is a bit of an understatement.” She adds, “It’s important to remember that the Rose Festival is not just about the breathtaking costumes, but about promoting Tyler and the rose industry.” Mallory is a graduate of Robert E. Lee and will soon be transferring to the University of Oklahoma. The Duchess of the Rose Festival is Mary Birdsong Gabriel, daughter of Pam and Matt Gabriel. The theme for the 83rd festival is “Museum of the Majestic.” It will be held October 13th through 16th. The announcement about the Rose Festival activities was made Saturday night at the 24th annual Winter Gala at the Willowbrook Country Club.

LONGVIEW — As part of ongoing narcotics investigations, the Longview Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit has arrested five more persons on various drug charges. Six drug houses were targeted this week, resulting in 20 arrests. Four of the drug houses targeted were in Longview earlier in the week. According to the police department’s Facebook page, 2 arrests were made Friday in Woodland and 3 in Kelso on Friday after the SCU served search warrants at two homes. During service of the search warrants, officers recovered a firearm, methamphetamine, heroin, packaging material, scales and other drug paraphernalia. Continue reading Drug Arrests in Longview

LONGVIEW — Longview police say there are no new developments in the city’s first homicide of the year. The victim is identified as Tony Bernard Nelson, 20. Police received a call of a shooting just before midnight Friday night in the 1600 block of 12th Street. They found Nelson’s body inside a house. Investigators say the house is a known drug house, so they believe the shooting was narcotics related. The investigation is continuing.

LONGVIEW — An East Texas doctor is free on a $30,000 bond after being indicted for indecency with a child by exposure. Arrested was William Kenneth Huff, 62, of White Oak. The indictment says the East Texas Medical Center-Quitman doctor touched the breast of a child younger than 17 years old and had her expose her genitals. ETMC Affiliate Marketing Manager Deleisa Johnson told the Longview News Journal, after information from the indictment was released, Huff was fired.

WINNSBORO — The Winnsboro Police Department has completed it’s investigation into the death of 16 month old Madison Cannon. The youngster was found unconscious on April 9th. She was declared “brain dead” at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and pronounced dead on April 11th. The death has been ruled a homicide. On the department’s Facebook page, they say the investigation has been completed and the case will be presented to the Texas Attorney General for possible action. An autopsy performed last summer indicated the youngster died from blunt force trauma to the head. Investigators had previously said there are persons of interest in the case, but no names have been released and police stated there is no reason to believe someone outside the home would have harmed the child.

A portion of Tyler’s Old Bascome Road, which ahd been closed, has now been reopened. Construction began January 4th to replace a collapsed drainage system on Old Bascom Road between Shiloh Road and Old Omen Road. They said, at the time, they had hoped the work would be completed by January 8th. The city announced Friday that the work has been completed on schedule and the road reopened.

LONGVIEW — A White Oak man was released Wednesday on $30,000 bond on a grand jury indictment accusing him of indecency with a child by exposure. KETK and the Longview News-Journal report William Kenneth Huff, 62, is accused of touching the breast of a child younger than 1 and having her expose her genitals in June. Huff was employed at ETMC Quitman as a hospitalist, ETMC Affiliate Marketing Manager Deleisa Johnson said in a statement Friday. ETMC administration became aware of his Gregg County indictment earlier in the week, Johnson said, and the decision was made to terminate Huff’s contract. The charges against Huff did not involve a patient or relate to his employment with ETMC, she said. Huff was arrested by Gregg County sheriff’s deputies Wednesday at the Gregg County courthouse.

WHITE OAK — One man may be responsible for numerous robberies in Gregg and Upshur Counties. The latest occurred Shortly after 9:15 Friday morning at the Subway Restaurant on West Highway 80 in White Oak. According to the White Oak Police Department Facebook page, the man pulled a gun, grabbed some cash, and then fled. A similar robbery happened Friday morning in Longview at the Subway on Gilmer Road. In both cases, the suspect was described as a black male wearing a black ski mask, black jacket, red flannel under shirt, dark jeans, and black shoes. He may also be responsible for robberies, and attempted robberies, in Longview, Kilgore, Gilmer and Van. All of the robberies happened during the morning hours.

BEN WHEELER — A Van Zandt County man has been arrested for possessing child pornography. Robert Spain Jr., 48 of Ben Wheeler, was arrested after sheriff’s deputies and U.S. postal inspectors served a search warrant on Friday. Spain was arrested at a home on Farm Road 773, in the Ben Wheeler area. Evidence was removed from the house and was sent to the forensic lab for analysis.

TYLER — A Lindale minister is out on bond after being arrested for prostitution. According to KETK, jail records indicate Ronald Stribble, 66, was arrested Wednesday by Tyler police. Officials say communication between Stribble and an officer acting as a prostitute was initiated on social media. They say Stribble made arrangements to meet a woman at a motel on Loop 323 near Old Jacksonville Highway. Police say Stribble was arrested and jailed after they determined he came to the motel for “sexual relations.” He was later released on $500 bond. Continue reading Minister Arrested for Solicitation of Prostitute

SMITH COUNTY — A Thursday afternoon shooting in northern Smith County has been ruled accidental. Deputies were called to a home on County Road 446 and learned that Jesse Wiggins, 21, had been shot in the abdomen while his father, Tracey Wiggins, 54, was trying to show him how to unload the weapon. Jesse Wiggins was airlifted to a Tyler hospital for treatment of his injuries where he underwent surgery. He is listed in fair condition and expected to make a full recovery.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith tips his hat to his office’s newest K9 team for a Thursday evening cocaine bust. Smith says Deputy Logan Smith and his K9 Malachi recently graduated from a training academy. They were conducting patrol duties off FM 14 when Deputy Smith conducted a traffic stop, became suspicious of the driver, and used Malachi to examine the van’s exterior. Malachi reportedly detected the presence of a controlled substance. Sheriff Smith says a vehicle search turned up 2.2 lbs. (one kilogram) of cocaine. The cocaine was seized; the driver was arrested and charged with manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance. An Immigration Customs hold has been placed on Epifanio Bautista-Renteria, 33. The investigation is ongoing.

SMITH COUNTY — The Smith County Constable forum is set for today. According to KETK, the meeting will focus on the active shooter class held by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office. The forum will begin at 1:15 at Lakeview Church of the Nazarene in Tyler. It is open to the public.

KILGORE — A Kilgore man is being sought in connection with a felony warrant for indecency with a child. According to KETK, Larry Don Morgan is described as 5’10” and weighing approximately 190 pounds. Police believe Morgan is still in the East Texas area. Kilgore Police are urging anyone with information regarding his location to contact police. Tips can also be made by contacting Detective Kay Lynn Newbill at 903-218-6907 or by email at kay.newbill@cityofkilgore.com, or Gregg County CrimeStoppers at 903-236-STOP.

GREGG COUNTY — The driver of a pickup that led Gregg County officers on a chase earlier this week has been arrested. He is identified as Preston Wade Graham, 17, of Gladewater. He was released on bond from the Gregg County Jail on Thursday. He is accused of leading Gregg County Deputies on a pursuit in a pickup reported stolen in Longview. The chase started around 7:45 Monday night after sheriff’s deputies spotted the pickup. It ended on Commerce Street in Kilgore when the truck stopped after crashing through a traffic circle. The driver and a passenger both fled on foot. The passenger was arrested that evening.

FORT HOOD — The new Commanding General of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood is Tyler native Major General John C. “JT” Thomson III. A change of command ceremony took place at the central Texas Army post on Thursday. Major Thompson is replacing Major General Michael A. Bills. This will be Thomson’s second tour of duty at Fort Hood. He commanded the 41st Fires Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood from 2009 to 2011. Most recently, he served as the 75th Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy from August 2014 to December 2015.

MARSHALL — A Marshall woman has been arrested after her car hit the rear of a Marshall school bus. Charged with driving while intoxicated 3rd offense or more, is Margarette Cartheryn Judy, 35, of Marshall. The accident happened shortly before 7:15 Thursday morning in front of William B. Travis Elementary. Students were getting off the bus when the accident occurred. No injuries were reported.

TYLER – Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics announced Thursday that it has signed a letter of intent to become part of CHRISTUS Health, an international, faith-based, not-for-profit health system headquartered in Irving. According to a news release, the move “will greatly strengthen both organizations, improving access to care for patients and expanding each organization’s service offerings.” Lindsey Bradley, President and Chief Executive Officer of TMFHC, says in the release that CHRISTUS “shares our faith-based values and dedication to quality care.” TMFHC CEO Ray Thompson adds that the move “will solidify world-class healthcare in East Texas for decades to come,” according to the release. Ernie Sadau, Chief Executive Officer for CHRISTUS Health says the teamup “will forge a stronger Catholic healthcare system East Texans will depend on for years to come.” Continue reading Trinity Mother Frances to Become Part of CHRISTUS Health

TYLER — Internationally-known economist Dr. Ray Perryman Thursday offered a Tyler audience a varied message in his annual national, statewide, and East Texas economic outlook. Perryman remains relatively upbeat about East Texas, Tyler in particular. As in the past, he points to continued economic diversification, saying the health care industry remains “very very strong, continuing to grow and prosper.” Perryman also mentions company expansions as well as new companies coming into the market, singling out investments in the manufacturing sector. He says though East Texas has some dependence on the oil and gas industry, there’s not nearly as much in our region as in parts of the state where there’s been a lot of fracking activity. According to Perryman, the Tyler area will probably grow faster than the state or the country in general over the next 4 to 5 years. Continue reading Perryman Shares Economic Forecast

KILGORE — The Kilgore Police Department is seeking witnesses to a fatal December 22 crash on US 259 B, a short distance south of I-20. KETK reports Jerriell Lewis, 33, of Longview died in the two-vehicle wreck. Based on the statements obtained from witnesses, investigators believe there may have been additional witnesses to the crash who were not questioned by police. Police ask anyone who saw the crash to contact Det. John Rowe.

LONGVIEW — TxDOT re-opened FM 2087 in Longview to traffic Thursday morning. A portion of the roadway was closed to through traffic on New Year’s Eve due to high water. The water started receding a few days ago. TxDOT inspected the roadway and conducted needed repairs Wednesday.

TYLER — Trinity Mother Frances Health Systems will be bought out by another medical group, sources close to the hospital have told KETK. According to the sources, Christus Health is buying the Tyler-based hospital and clinic system. The formal announcement is expected to be made this afternoon.