KTBB News, Weather, Talk

PALESTINE — A Mississippi man was killed early Thursday morning in a crash that tied up traffic into the workday at U.S. Highway 79 and State Highway 155 in Palestine. According to KETK, police say a one-ton dually truck pulling a flatbed was headed west on Highway 79 at 4:30am when the vehicle left the right side of the road and hit a traffic pole at the intersection of Highway 155. The driver and lone occupant, Jerry Wayne McMillen, 48, of Potts Camp, Mississippi, was killed. Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 Judge James Todd pronounced the man dead at the scene. His body has been sent for autopsy. The reason the driver left the road is unknown at this time. TxDOT said a crew was called in to work on the traffic signals at the location.

AUSTIN (AP) — Two Texas counties that installed video technology for inmate visits will not be allowed to skip in-person visits now required by law. The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday that Wood and Hays counties were denied an exemption. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards determined both counties did not incur a “significant” expense to install their video jail-visit systems. The law that took effect this month requires all Texas counties to provide two 20-minute in-person jail visitation periods each week. But an amendment lets counties seek exemptions from the requirement if they’ve invested significant money on video-only visits. Commission officials declined requests to exempt Wood and Hays counties since they had not incurred “significant expense” in setting up video systems. The vendor did not charge either county for equipment or installation.

SMITH COUNTY — The Smith County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate a fatal shooting near Highway 64 West. KETK reports the incident took place near the Tyler Memorial Cemetery in the 2600 block of Cotten Road. Officials say Demario Richard, 30, of Tyler was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. He was later pronounced dead. SCSO Public Information Officer Gary Middleton says the shooting was prompted by an altercation between two people. Children were present in the home at the time of the crime. Officials have been questioning people but did not immediately reveal if one was the shooter or not. We will update information as it becomes available.

TYLER — Smith County Elections Administrator Karen Nelson is asking residents to help her office update information for 8,300 registered voters. According to a news release, her office has worked with its voter registration vendor and the National Change of Address database to determine the number of Smith County voters who need to update their addresses with the Elections Department. Nelson says her office is mailing out letters and address change forms, asking voters to update their addresses by filling out a form and mailing it back to her office. She says the goal is to get as many addresses updated as possible prior to the mass mailout of the new voter certificates in December. Continue reading Smith County Elections Updating Voter Records

TYLER — Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith Thursday announced his plans to seek re-election. Smith says he made a lot of promises in the last campaign which he thinks have been fulfilled, but that he’s not through what he started. Smith added, “There’s a great need for the citizens of Smith County to have a responsive sheriff’s office, and I want to do what I can to make that happen.” Smith won his first term in 2012 in a runoff against retired Game Warden Chris Green. Green has announced he will seek the sheriff’s seat once again. Gary Pinkerton, a former Smith County chief deputy and jail administrator, announced his Democratic candidacy for sheriff in early August.

LONGVIEW — Crews in Longview are busy this week after three fires broke out within a 24-hour period. According to KETK, the fire marshal says the first started Tuesday around 5 in the morning from a fire pit. Wednesday morning, crews put out two more fires around 1:30 a.m. at a storage building on Latham Drive and one on Rex Drive. The fire department says those blazes started near the buildings’ exteriors. Officials are still investigating the causes. No injuries were reported.

LONGVIEW — Longview police and Spring Hill ISD have identified the student responsible for vandalizing the ticket booth and press box with graffiti at Panther Stadium in July. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, that’s the word from Superintendent Steven Snell. “We had a suspect during the summer, but there was a change in address that we were not aware of, so we were unable to locate him,” Snell said, “so when he came back to school on the first day, police came in and talked to him, and we got a full confession and took appropriate action from there.” Continue reading Police: Student Confesses to Spring Hill Vandalism

LONGVIEW — Bronco Oilfield Services will close its Longview facility and cut 52 employees about the end of October. According to KETK, state regulators said Tuesday that they were notified last week of the plans, which come as low crude oil prices continue to hammer the energy industry. In a letter dated Aug. 31, the company said it was closing its facility at 5175 Whitehurst Drive in Longview, one of four offices it has in Texas. Continue reading More Bad News for Local Oilfield Workers

TYLER — Investigators are trying to determine the cause of an apartment fire that slightly injured one woman. She was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation in the 500 block of South Bois D’Arc. The fire was reported a little after 2:00 Wednesday afternoon. The fire was contained to the apartment where it started.

TYLER — We’ll find out today about the future plans for Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith. He has scheduled a news conference late this morning to discuss his intentions regarding next year’s sheriff’s election. Smith’s law enforcement career spans 3 years with the Gregg County, Texas Sheriff’s Department; United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); and United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF). Two persons announced last month they planned to run for sheriff. They are former jail administrator and Smith County Chief Deputy Gary Pinkerton and retired game warden Chris Green, who lost to Smith in 2012.

MARSHALL — Marshall police have arrested Sharketra Shardae Hildreth, 29, of Houston on a murder charge in a May 23 wreck that killed Todd Lane Davis of Waskom. According to KETK, Marshall police say the two-vehicle crash occurred at the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and U.S. Highway 80 at 3:19 a.m. That’s when a vehicle driven by Hildreth, which was traveling southbound, reportedly disregarded a traffic light and struck Davis’ vehicle, which was traveling eastbound. At the time of the crash, Hildreth’s children, both minors, were in the car with their mother. Continue reading Houston Woman Charged with Murder in Marshall Crash

LONGVIEW — LeTourneau University is again ranked in the top tier of the national 2016 U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings of “America’s Best Colleges.” According to a university news release, LETU is ranked 32nd among all the universities in its category of “Best Regional Universities in the Western Region” for 2016. This year marks the 22nd year the university has ranked in the top tier. You can go to http://www.usnews.com/colleges to view the rankings, which include nearly 1,800 schools nationwide. The guide will be available in print on newsstands September 29. Continue reading U.S. News Again Ranks LETU in Top Tier of “America’s Best Colleges”

LONGVIEW – TxDOT and the city of Longview are drawing your attention to a couple of roadwork projects. Motorists who travel FM 2087 at the Sabine River in Longview will have a slower commute at the end of the week as planned work requires temporary lane closures. The Texas Department of Transportation says in a news release that the work will be conducted over two days, weather permitting. According to TxDOT, crews will be taking soil samples for the proposed bridge design on Thursday and Friday. Work will be conducted on the bridge located half a mile north of the Interstate Highway 20 Frontage Road. Motorists can expect closures between 8:00am and 5:00pm both days. Continue reading TxDOT Plans Work on FM 2087, I-20 in Longview

TYLER — The City of Tyler has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its fiscal year 2014-2015 budget document. This is the ninth consecutive year that the city’s budget document has received the recognition, according to a news release. The award was granted by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) and was presented to the city during Wednesday’s City Council meeting. According to the release, City of Tyler Chief Financial Officer Keidric Trimble says the award reflects the city’s “commitment…to meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting.”

TYLER — The University of Texas at Tyler Wednesday announced a 9% enrollment increase for fall 2015. Preliminary enrollment is 8,862, according to President Rodney H. Mabry. In a news release, officials say this marks the largest fall semester enrollment increase in UT Tyler’s history. Last year, the total headcount was 8,114 on the 12th class day, which is the fall census date. Continue reading UT Tyler Celebrates 9% Enrollment Increase

LUFKIN (AP) – Some elected officials in East Texas have dropped the public forum part of meetings amid concerns about abusive speakers. The Angelina County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to eliminate the public forum portion of future meetings. County Judge Wes Suiter says the forum had become more of an attack or a grievance against a member of the court or another elected official. One resident, Don Lymbery, said the public forum is a way for individuals to let commissioners know about things coming up in the county. Lymbery says doing away with the public forum takes away the opportunity to talk to commissioners directly. Commissioners, whose meetings are held in Lufkin, previously allowed a person about three minutes during the public forum to bring up a topic.

LONGVIEW — A man found dead in a Longview motel room last Friday died from a stab wound to his neck. The preliminary autopsy report on the death of Arnold Lee McCollaum Jr., 47, of Longview, was released yesterday. It said, when he was stabbed, his jugular vein was perforated. McCollaum was found dead in a room at the American Dream Inn in the 2000 block of East Marshall Avenue, where he lived. Arrested in the case was Gary Don Murphy, 51, of Kilgore. (Pictured) He was arrested without incident and charged with murder several hours after the body was discovered. His bond was set at $250,000.

AUSTIN — East Texas is on the itinerary as Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar embarks on a 27-city, two-month Good For Texas tour, meeting with local officials and citizens to talk about the future of the Texas economy. Here’s a rundown of the stops he plans in our area:

Tuesday, Sept. 22:
*Lufkin-Angelina Chamber of Commerce, 1615 S. Chestnut, Lufkin — 10:00 a.m.
*Nacogdoches County Exposition and Civic Center, 3805 NW Stallings Drive, Nacogdoches — 2:00 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 23:
*Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, 315 N. Broadway, Tyler — 9:30 a.m.
*Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Complex, 100 Grand Blvd., Longview — 2:00 p.m. Continue reading Hegar’s Good For Texas Tour Coming to East Texas This Month

TYLER — On Monday, Sept. 14, Tyler’s Discovery Science Place will close for two weeks to update current exhibits and perform maintenance renovations. Executive Director Chris Rasure says the hands-on children’s museum will reopen at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, participating in Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day Live! event. The nationwide event offers free admission to visitors presenting a Museum DayLive! ticket at a participating museum or cultural institution. You can go to http://www.Smithsonian.com/museumdaylive to download your Museum Day Live! ticket. Visitors who present the ticket will gain free entrance for two at participating venues for one day only. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address. Continue reading Discovery Science Place to Close Temporarily for Updates, Renovations

TYLER — The city of Tyler has just come up with a way to alleviate the heartbreak of losing a dog. According to a news release, with approximately seven million dogs lost every year, Tyler Animal Services is integrating with Finding Rover in an effort to reunite families with their pets. Using facial recognition technology, Finding Rover is a free social media app that is just a download away, according to city officials. Continue reading Tyler Animal Services Launches Finding Rover App

LONGVIEW — A man found with a gunshot wound Monday night in Longview has died from his injuries. Fedrick Jones, 35, was found around 10:00 in the roadway in the 300 block of Scenic Drive, according to the Longview Police Department Facebook page. Authorities said Jones had a gunshot wound and was taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview where he later died. Police have no suspects in the shooting. Continue reading Longview Shooting Victim Dies at Hospital

EAST TEXAS — A driver and passenger are in custody after a chase through multiple towns between Tyler and Longview. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, it began around 3:30 Monday afternoon on State Highway 31 and ended about 20 minutes later when state troopers used road spikes to stop the vehicle. State Trooper Jean Dark said the pair were in a car that might have sped away from a traffic stop. “I don’t know what they initially were pulled over for,” she said, adding that more details should be available later.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — East Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert has an offer — though he admits it’s unlikely he’ll be taken up on it. The longtime Republican lawmaker says he won’t run for re-election if House and Senate leaders “treat the Iran agreement as the treaty it is and as the Constitution requires.” Gohmert spoke with KTBB after initially announcing his offer while sitting in for talk show host Sean Hannity Friday afternoon. Gohmert said he’d file a resolution Tuesday declaring that the Iran nuclear agreement “is a treaty, and…that since it’s a treaty, the House does not get a vote, but 2/3 of the Senate must vote for it, or it is not binding on America.” Continue reading Gohmert Makes Unusual Offer on Iran Deal

LUFKIN — Deep East Texas Crime Stoppers wants to pay you for information that leads to the arrest of a man sought by the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office for three narcotics trafficking warrants. According to KETK, a judge issued three state jail felony arrest warrants August 31 following an investigation into Samual Rodriguez for manufacturing and delivering a controlled substance. Law officers are looking for Rodriguez (AKA Sammy), a 28-year-old Hispanic male who stands 5’9″ tall and weighs approximately 200 pounds. He has a scar through his left eyebrow and tattoos on his right arm, hand, and calf. Continue reading Drug Suspect Sought in Lufkin Area

TYLER — The 5th Annual “Art Of Peace – Tyler” is a series of peace-themed events beginning with the opening of an art exhibit today at the Tyler Museum of Art. Activities last until the actual International Day of Peace on September 21. Other highlights include a Liberty Hall concert featuring Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Ruthie Foster and a peace meal at Marvin United Methodist Church. You can visit http://www.tylerpeace.com for all the details.

KILGORE — The Kilgore Fire Department will be taking a new approach to assisting in emergency situations. KETK reports it’s the first department in East Texas to purchase a drone. Last week, the department presented the drone, known as Eric — “emergency response information collector” — at the city council meeting. Eric was bought by the Kilgore Rescue Unit, which drew funds from the city, Gregg and Rusk Counties, and donations. The department has now applied for the FAA certificate of authorization, and should receive approval within sixty days. Fire Chief Mike Simmons says, “As we start to move forward in the phase one of training in the FAACLA process, we’ll have a formalized class where all the folks that want to fly the thing or be trained to fly it will go through training — how to operate it, how to use the fail-safe features.” Continue reading Kilgore FD Prepares to Put New Drone to Work

LONGVIEW — LeTourneau University hosted a short swearing-in ceremony Monday morning for its new chief of police, Michael Schultz. Gregg County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Tim Bryan administered the oath of office. Schultz succeeds Terry Turner, who left the university in May after serving in the role for nearly 16 years. Before coming to Longview, Schultz served as police sergeant for Spring ISD for 17 years and Cypress-Fairbanks ISD for three years.

TATUM — A one vehicle accident in Rusk County has left one person dead. It was reported around 9:00 Saturday morning just south of Tatum on State Highway 43. All we know at this time is a passenger in the vehicle has been killed and the driver critically injured.

LONGVIEW — One person is in custody following a Longview murder. The victim’s body was found at the American Dream Inn, 2105 East Marshall Avenue shortly before 6:00 Friday evening. He was pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace Tim Bryan and the body sent to a Tyler lab for autopsy. Investigators were able to determine that the person responsible for the murder was Gary Don Murphy, 51, of Kilgore. He was arrested for murder several hours later without incident. His bond was set at $250,000. More details will be released as they become available.

CANTON — A young boy who was sought because it was believed he was in need of medical attention, has been located. Child Protective Services says Jayden Malone, 10, was found Friday with his grandmother. Teresa Matteson, 47, was arrested on a felony charge. Authorities said the child has numerous medical conditions. CPS has been granted custody of the boy to ensure his safety.