KTBB News, Weather, Talk

LUFKIN – A Lufkin pediatrician was arrested on Thursday after killing a person and dog in a car crash earlier this month while driving intoxicated. The crash occurred on Jan. 17 after the Lufkin Police Department said Demarcus Hadnot was driving west on College Drive near the Texas Bible College when a Mercedes crashed into Hadnot’s Kia at around 10:15 a.m. Handot and his dog were pronounced dead following the crash.

According to our news partner KETK, the driver of the Mercedes was later identified as Woodland Heights Pediatrician George Fidone. On Thursday, Fidone was arrested and booked into the Angelina County Jail after it was revealed he was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Following his arrested Fidone was charged with two counts of intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle and two counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle. His bond was set at $92,500. He’s since been released from the Angelina County Jail after posting his bond. Continue reading Doctor charged after fatal car crash

JACKSONVILLE — One man has been arrested after a drug-related search warrant of a home led to deputies discovering narcotics, firearms and a pipe bomb.

According to our news partner KETK and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies obtained a probable cause for the search warrant of a home in the 200 block of County Road 1814 in Jacksonville, after attempting to serve arrest warrants for 42-year-old Charles Phifer and smelling marijuana coming from the residence. Deputies arrived at the home on Wednesday and executed a narcotics search at the residence where they found methamphetamine, firearms, marijuana and a suspected pipe bomb.

According to officials, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) responded to the scene and safely removed the pipe bomb. Continue reading Pipe bomb, drugs, firearms found

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Two people in Van Zandt County have been arrested after officers discovered an emaciated dog left outside in freezing weather on their property over the weekend. According to our news partner KETK, this happened Jan 24, when the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at a property where a male shepherd-mix dog was found chained to a tree.

The dog was found to appear emaciated, with ice coating his fur, and had no access to shelter to protect him from the 20-degree weather. The sheriff’s office requested assistance from the SPCA‘s Animal Cruelty Investigations (ACI) Unit, which promptly arrived at the scene.

The dog’s owners, Charles Brumbelow and Darla Brumbelow, agreed to surrender the dog to the SPCA of Texas. The dog is currently being treated for starvation after being transported to the SPCA of Texas’s Russell E. Dealey Animal Rescue Center in Dallas. The pair were arrested and booked into the Van Zandt County Jail the same day with cruelty to nonlivestock animal charges. Their bonds were set at $5,000 each, but they have since bonded out.

EAST TEXAS — With temperatures expected to return to freezing across East Texas overnight, several warming shelters in our area remain open, offering a warm place to stay, with some providing beds and cots to spend the night. Our news partner KETK has the list, you can find it here.

WINNSBORO – Due to a water line break, the City of Winnsboro has issued a boil water notice. According to our news partner KETK, the notice has been issued for all of the City of Winnsboro public water system customers, asking them to boil water for at least 2 minutes and to let it cool off before consumption. City officials will notify customers when water is safe to consume and will issue a rescission notice. For questions or concerns about the boil water notice, Winnsboro residents may contact the water office at 903-342-3654

MARSHALL —Our news partners at KETK report that Marshall ISD has been closed for the past several days due to icy road conditions. Now, the district is warning families of a fraudulent email that claims school will be canceled for the remainder of the week. “Marshall ISD has been made aware of a fraudulent email that is going around, falsely stating that campuses will remain closed this week due to icy road conditions,” the district said. “If you have received this email, please disregard.” The district said it plans to resume school on Thursday and is looking into the fraudulent emails sent out.

TYLER — UPDATE: CenterPoint Energy had capped off the main natural gas line so no further natural gas will be released into the air from the damage caused by the single vehicle crash. Any residents who were evacuated can now return to their homes.

Residents near U.S. Highway 31 were asked to evacuate after a vehicle crash on Thursday morning ruptured a main natural gas line. According to our news partner KETK, the Tyler Police Department responded to a crash at 2:45 a.m. on U.S. Highway 31 West and Whiteside Drive where a vehicle struck a natural gas pipeline, causing it to rupture.

The driver of the van is identified as Don Porter, a 57-year-old male from Tyler was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated and booked into the Smith County Jail. Continue reading Gas line repaired, evacuation over

TYLER — Smith County property taxes were due Saturday, January 31. Smith County Tax Assessor-Collector Gary Barber is warning taxpayers that changes at the post office mean you should drop your payment in the mail as soon as possible. Officials say the easiest and fastest way to pay your property tax bill is online. Payments can be made by scanning the QR code on your statement — which will take you directly to the payment page on your account.

“If you want to skip the long lines at the Tax Office, I highly recommend you pay online,” he said.

Taxpayers can also make their payments in person, through the Tax Office’s drop box outside of the Cotton Belt Building, or by mail. The U.S. Postal Service recently changed how postmark dates are determined.

In the past, the postmark reflected the date you dropped your mail in a mailbox or at the post office. Now, the postmark will show the date your envelope is first processed by an automated postal service sorting machine. This could be later than the day you mailed it, which could mean that your tax payment is past the deadline, Barber said. Continue reading Property tax due

TYLER — Tyler Police and fire crews are working a crash on Highway 31 W and Whiteside Drive. A vehicle reportedly struck a natural gas pipeline causing the main line to rupture. It’s estimated to take hours to shut off and repair the pipeline. Centerpoint Energy was able to close several remote valves to slow the leak but not able to shut it off completely. Centerpoint Energy crews are in the area measuring gas concentration.

Residents were advised to evacuate.

Tyler Police and Tyler Fire personnel are on scene directing traffic. Drivers are urged to seek an alternate route that avoids Hwy 31 W between Eisenhower Dr and Loop 323.

TYLER – The City of Tyler is investing in smarter infrastructure by tapping into the community’s local talent. Through a new partnership with the University of Texas at Tyler, the City is connecting classroom learning with community needs to build safer and smarter transportation systems. On Wednesday, January 28, the City of Tyler and University of Texas at Tyler Department of Civil and Construction Engineering and Management formally established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen infrastructure planning, transportation systems and real-world learning opportunities in Tyler.  

“This will help us bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world application,” said City Engineer Cameron Williams. “Over the past few years, we’ve welcomed five UT Tyler interns who worked side by side with our Traffic Engineering Department, gaining hands-on experience while contributing to meaningful projects that serve our community.” 
Continue reading Tyler, UT Tyler to partner

RUSK – The City of Rusk has issued a boil water notice for some of their residents after a 10-inch water main broke on Saturday. According to our news partner KETK, residents on the City’s water system who live in the following areas are required to bring any water to a vigorous rolling boil for at least two minutes before any cleaning or consumption:

US Hwy 84 East, starting at the intersection of Guinn Hill, only affecting 227, 305, 318 Quinn Hill Drive. All City of Rusk water customers heading east along US Hwy 84 and north of US Hwy 84 East. All City of Rusk customers south of US Hwy 84 East, inside of the Rusk City limits from the intersection of Park St. and Euclid St. north to US Hwy 84 East. Continue reading Boil water notices

North Texas – Due to ongoing icy conditions in parking lots and public areas, additional Texas Department of Public Safety offices will remain closed on January 28 in the following counties. Anderson, Camp, Cherokee, Ellis, Denton, Erath, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Hood, Johnson, Marion, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Panola, Parker, Rusk, Rains, Smith, Somervell, Tarrant, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wise and Wood county. If you had a scheduled appointment on January 28, you will be contacted by the email you provided to reschedule your appointment.

TYLER – The city of Tyler reports that progress continues on the City of Tyler’s 2025 Structure Flooding Project, with design and pre-construction work underway for drainage improvements on Kidd Drive and Downing Street. On Wednesday, Jan. 28, the City Council awarded a $587,169.20 construction contract to W.M. Miller Construction Company, Inc. for improvements on Downing Street and Kidd Drive. This phase of the project will deliver long-term flood relief for residents and address aging stormwater infrastructure in the area. Continue reading Kidd and Downing get upgrades