KTBB News, Weather, Talk

WHITEHOUSE — Three men were arrested in East Texas for allegedly forging stolen checks adding up to thousands of dollars, the Whitehouse Police Department said. According to our news partner KETK, on Tuesday, Whitehouse police said officers stopped a vehicle leaving the scene of a disturbance that had just been reported. After talking to the individuals who called in, it was confirmed that the people in the vehicle they had stopped were involved in the disturbance. During the search of the vehicle, officers said they found several forged checks from a multitude of businesses. The stolen checks totaled up to thousands of dollars and lead to the arrests of Charles Clark, Cornelius Brooks and Emanuel Akpom, officials said. All three men were booked into the Smith County Jail and charged with forgery of a financial instrument.

TYLER — Several key items were addressed by the Tyler City Council at its Wednesday meeting. The Council approved a $1,745,800 contract for the design of the Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant Aeration Basin and Final Clarifier Improvements project. Officials point out that the plant was built in 1955, and they say it has an aging system that needs rehabilitation. Continue reading Busy day for Tyler City Council

TYLER — Smith County received the 2022 Safety Achievement Award from the Texas Association of Counties Risk Management Pool. According to a news release, the award was earned for the county’s record of maintaining a strong commitment to safety in the workplace, as well as for controlling workers’ compensation claims. Smith County employees will be formally presented with the award at an upcoming County Management and Risk Conference. Smith County received a banner this week to announce the award, and several departments took turns taking pictures with it. Road and Bridge employees are pictured at left. Continue reading Smith County receives Safety Achievement Award

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler University Academy Longview campus has made the national CHILDREN AT RISK School List as an A/A+ school for 2022. According to a news release, UA Longview is ranked No. 20 out of 3,967 elementary schools. “We are pleased that the University Academy at Longview campus has been recognized with this designation,” said Dr. Jo Ann Simmons, University Academy superintendent as quoted in a news release. “This recognition celebrates the work of our teachers, administrators, staff and students.” CHILDREN AT RISK is a nonprofit organization that aims to help parents, educators and community members understand how their schools are performing and spark dialogue on the quality of public education across Texas, according to the release.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KRLD) — The trial of two East Texas men on charges related to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol has been delayed. A federal judge has granted the delay in the trial of Longview resident Ryan Nichols and Carthage resident Alex Harkrider, set for March 27, because of a surgery taking place in the family of one of Nichols’s attorneys. But that was not the original reason Nichols’s lawyers requested the delay. They asked for more time to go through additional hours of video taken at the Capitol that were recently released. Also, they say that nichols’s physical and mental health badly declined during the time he was incarcerated in federal prison, to the point that he is “a shell of his former self.” He was released for home confinement last November.

PALESTINE – The City of Palestine announced Wednesday they are mourning the death of District 3 Council Member and Mayor Pro Tem Vicky Chivers. According to our news partner KETK, the city said Chivers died Tuesday and had served as council member for District 3 since 2002. “Ms. Chivers been a constant in our city government for more than 20 years and a pillar in the community,” Mayor Justin Florence said in a prepared statement. “Not only have we lost a great city and community leader, but we have lost a sister, mother, cousin, mentor and friend.” Continue reading Palestine City Council Member Vicky Chivers dies

LINDALE — Miranda Lambert has begun selling tickets to book signings for her new cookbook “Y’all Eat Yet?” with the final stop of the book tour being held in Lindale, according to our news partner KETK. “At each event, you’ll get a chance to meet Miranda Lambert and have your copy of her new book signed,” the book’s website said. The book tour is set to begin in New York City, before heading to Los Angeles and making it’s final stop in Lindale on May 9 at The Pink Pistol. Tickets are $38.11 plus fees, and only two tickets are allowed per order. “My first book tour,” Lambert said in an announcement. “Let’s go y’all!”

LONGVIEW — The Longview Public Library is forced to cancel a teen lock-in event after too many kids became rowdy. Library Youth Service Supervisor Terri Nalls says most of the teens behaved themselves normally at the event on Friday night, but she said some kids were running the library’s electric scooter into the wall, throwing books, and breaking things. Some of the library staff said they could smell alcohol and probably drugs. Nalls says they normally have about 80 teens 13 to 18 for the lock-in events, but they had 187 registered last Friday night. She said a lot of them were kids they had not seen before. The kids were asked to call their parents to pick them up. The Longview library is now considering what to do about future teen lock-ins.

TYLER – A woman arrested for abuse of a corpse after a baby was found dead in a bucket had given birth to the child in a toilet moments before, according to her arrest warrant. The warrant said deputies with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office were called to a home in the Lindale area March 15, where the baby was found, and spoke with the homeowner, who showed them a red mop bucket that had been placed outside. According to our news partner KETK, the homeowner reportedly told officials she lived at the home with her roommate, Jazzlyn Cooper-Holmes, 23, of Longview, who later told detectives during an interview that the baby found was hers. The warrant says Cooper-Holmes told detectives she gave birth to the child in a toilet around 4 a.m. on March 12 and “only looked at it once.” Continue reading Warrant: Mother gave birth to baby in toilet before placing it in bucket

TYLER — The Smith County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to approve new hours of operation for the Animal Shelter. The Commissioners Court voted in October to extend the hours the shelter was open to the public, including opening during lunch and staying open until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and opening on Saturday. Animal Control and Shelter Supervisor Amber Greene said they did not see an increase in people coming in to the shelter to adopt dogs during the extended hours and it resulted in compensatory time being worked by the employees. Continue reading Smith County Animal Shelter changes hours of operation

LONGVIEW — The High Street Bridge between Nelson Street and Marion Drive in Longview will be closed Wednesday and Thursday, March 22 and 23, as part of TxDOT’s bridge reconstruction project. During this closure, traffic will detour on Nelson and Fredonia Streets and Marion Drive, according to a city news release.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Nathaniel Moran gives KTBB an update on the battle in the House over President Biden’s proposed budget. Moran says, “I can tell you there’s so many things inside of this budget that’s been proposed that are troubling to me. When you talk about… 40-plus billion dollars new for the IRS, above the 80 billion dollars that they were granted last year — and then things like climate change and ESG — so much money being presented in this budget to support those administrative policies down the road, things like 178 million dollars for civil right enforcement at the Department of education; we have to cut this nonsense out of the budget.” Continue reading Moran weighs in on budget, gun rights

LONGVIEW — The Gregg County Sheriff’s office is warning the public of a scam call that people reportedly received about having a warrant out for missing jury duty. According to our news partner KETK, GCSO says the scammers have used Lt. David Falco’s name when making calls. The Sheriff’s Office says it does not call people about warrants. In a prepared statement, GCSO says, “Please do not pay warrants over the phone and always contact the law enforcement agency to verify the information.”

TYLER — The Smith County Sheriff’s Office seeks your help solving some burglary and theft cases. According to a news release, the Sheriff’s Office has recently been receiving several reports of such incidents in the western areas of the county. Officials say they have also found out that similar cases are being reported near Chandler. A person and vehicle of interest have been established through continuing investigations as well as information received by the Sheriff’s Office, according to the release. Continue reading Help sought identifying burglary suspect

TYLER — The Texas Department of Transportation is hosting a virtual public meeting with an in-person option regarding the six-lane widening project on FM 2493, more commonly known as Old Jacksonville Highway. Officials encourage you to participate and share your comments on improving safety and mobility along the highway from Loop 323 to FM 2813. The virtual public meeting is available from 8 a.m. Tuesday, March 21, through Wednesday, April 12. The in-person public meeting will be held in a come-and-go format March 28 from 5-7 p.m. at the Regional Training and Development Complex on the Tyler Junior College West Campus. Click this link for all the details.

KILGORE – The Kilgore Police Department said they found a substance which tested positive for fentanyl during a recent traffic stop. According to our news partner KETK, officials said the owner told them she had to spike her meth with fentanyl because “meth just wasn’t doing the trick anymore.” KPD said in a Facebook post, “We hear about fentanyl on TV, but it is here in ETX.” They added that Kilgore youth haven’t gotten into fentanyl yet but that the community has to be vigilant. “It is not something we are yet seeing with our youth, but we can’t say it will not happen in ETX. Let’s be very vigilant and stop it before it affects us,” Kilgore PD said. Continue reading Kilgore Police find fentanyl during traffic stop

MINEOLA – Officials are continuing to investigate a school bus crash in Wood County. According to DPS, at approximately 7:13 Monday morning, a Mineola ISD bus was traveling south on State Loop 564. A car was traveling north on the same highway. Officials say the driver of the school bus crossed the center stripe and collided with the car. The bus was occupied by students, three of whom were transported to local hospitals for minor injuries, according to a news release. The car driver was taken to UT Health Hospital in Tyler, and the driver of the school bus was transported to CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, both with what are termed non-life-threatening injuries. Continue reading Mineola school bus crash under investigation

TYLER — Officials are following up on the death of a newborn infant. According to a news release, at approximately 7:20 p.m. on March 15, Smith County deputies responded to a location on US Hwy. 69 North near Tyler. Upon arrival, they were directed to the back yard, where they observed an overturned mop bucket covering the newborn’s body, wrapped in a towel. At that time, deputies secured the area and requested the assistance of investigators and the crime scene unit. During the investigation, the baby’s mother was identified as Jazzlyn Cooper-Holmes, 23, of Longview. She admitted to having the infant on March 12, wrapping the baby in a brown towel, placing the child in a red bucket, and placing the bucket outside behind the residence. Continue reading Sheriff’s Office investigating death of newborn infant

LONGVIEW — The Longview Police Department announced that Marteleus DeShon Epps, 37, was found dead north of Longview on Sunday. According to our news partner KETK, the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office said Epps was found in the woods off Highway 155 near Gilmer, with his truck parked close by. Upshur County Sheriff’s Office is investigating his death and officials said “there is no immediate indication of foul play in this matter.” An autopsy has been ordered, which is set to be done by Forensic Medical Management Services in Tyler, officials said. Epps was reported missing on Saturday.

TYLER — The Smith County Collections Department’s annual Warrant Round Up is underway as of Sunday. “Smith County Courts have hundreds of active warrants they are seeking to clear,” Judicial Compliance/Collections Director Sheryl Keel said as quoted in a news release. “We are encouraging defendants to take advantage of the options available to settle outstanding warrants immediately.” Keel says once the arrest period begins, Smith County will target persons on the delinquent and/or warrant list, and arrests can take place at any location — including the defendant’s home, school, or workplace. “I urge you to contact the Judicial Compliance Department at 903-590-4624 to make arrangements on your case,” she said. For more information about warrants or citations, visit this link.

TYLER — TxDOT schedules another week’s worth of roadwork in the Tyler District for the week of March 20. In Gregg County, work continues on US 259/SH 42 (Business) in Kilgore from Woodlawn Street south to the Rusk County line. The project consists of milling and in laying hot mix asphalt on all lanes and striping. Motorists should expect alternating lane closures. You’re asked to slow down and watch for workers. Expect delays. In Smith County, Tyler maintenance will have a ditch maintenance crew on FM 2964 at various locations. A second crew will be on FM 14 performing bridge maintenance. Expect lane closures and flaggers controlling traffic at both locations. There will also be an herbicide unit at various locations throughout the county. Click here for a complete rundown of roadwork around the district.

MARSHALL — Police have made an arrest in a Marshall shooting death, and the suspect has been charged with murder. On March 16 at around 1:40 p.m., police responded to a 911 call on Randolph Street from a man who said he had been shot. According to a news release, officers found Adrian Rashad Ward, 34, suffering a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Marshall Fire Department paramedics transported him to a local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. Investigation by police detectives led to the arrest later that day of Johnthan Antione Reeves, 28, on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. That charge has since been upgraded to murder. Reeves remains in the Harrison County Jail.

MARSHALL — Another honor is given to a key figure in what has become a national holiday. Opal Lee, an East Texas native and 1953 Wiley College graduate, was named the Grandmother of Juneteenth after her efforts helped the holiday become nationally recognized. According to our news partner KETK, her alma mater has now awarded her an honorary doctorate to celebrate its 150th year. “I was grateful, I really was…Wiley means a lot to me,” said Dr. Lee. Lee was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 for her activism toward making Juneteenth a federal holiday. Continue reading Opal Lee awarded honorary doctorate during Wiley College’s 150-year celebration

KILGORE — A restaurant in Kilgore reopens after strong winds tore off its roof early this month. According to our news partner KETK, Brigitta’s Hungarian Restaurant returned to its normal hours Friday. Helping hands from a local roofing company are credited with the quick return to business.

TYLER – Habitat for Humanity of Smith County’s Board of Directors has approved Mary Alice Guidry as the affiliate’s new chief executive officer. Mrs. Guidry’s role with HFHSC will officially commence in early July. According to a news release, Guidry joins the Habitat team after serving six years on its Board of Directors, serving terms as secretary as well as president. She is a licensed architect with nine years of experience as a senior project manager with Fitzpatrick Architects, Inc., of Tyler. Current Smith County Habitat CEO Jack Wilson will be retiring at the end of June and returning with wife Patricia to Sarasota, Florida, where they lived before coming to Tyler in 2008.

IRVING (KRLD) – A Texas-based company that owns local TV stations across the country is being sued by DIRECTV. The lawsuit accuses Irving-based Nexstar Broadcasting and two other companies of improperly working together to set prices that local TV stations charge satellite companies to carry those stations. DIRECTV’s lawsuit claims that has led to some of those stations being blocked from their service — including stations in Amarillo, Tyler, Lubbock, Abilene, Midland-Odessa, and Wichita Falls. The Tyler station is our news partner KETK. A statement from Nexstar says the lawsuit is “without merit.”

KILGORE (KRLD) – Taxpayers in East Texas win a settlement in a lawsuit against their school district. 13 plaintiffs in the Kilgore ISD filed the class-action lawsuit against the district in 2016. They alleged that the school district wrongly removed a homestead exemption in 2015 and illegally assessed and collected taxes as a result. The dispute had to do with changes in state law regarding homestead exemptions around that time. The case ultimately went to the state Supreme Court, but the Kilgore ISD decided to settle. A Gregg County Court-at-Law judge approved the agreed upon settlement of more than $2.9 million to the district’s taxpayers, who have until May 1 to apply to receive a payment from the settlement.

COFFEE CITY — The Coffee City Police Department is warning people about a man who is allegedly impersonating an officer. Authorities said he is a white man between 25 and 35-years-old, and he is driving a black Tahoe with red and blue lights. The man is around 5’6” and between 165-190 lbs. The man reportedly pulled people over in Tyler and Coffee City, and he was wearing a tan or brown uniform, officials said. Coffee City officers typically wear dark blue or black uniforms, and they have their badge and name tag. Police vehicles also have “police” written on the side and Texas license plates that say exempt. Law enforcement said they have also received two reports that another man in a black Charger has pulled people over. Continue reading Coffee City police looking for man impersonating officer

AUSTIN — The Texas Senate Tuesday voted 19-12 to send Senate Bill 2 to the House of Representatives. The measure would make illegal voting a felony. According to our news partner KETK, Senator Bryan Hughes of East Texas authored the bill after an amendment in 2021’s Senate Bill 1 lowered the felony to a Class A misdemeanor. “This type of voter fraud this bill is targeting is exceedingly rare. It hardly ever happens,” said Katie Owens with voter services for The League of Women Voters of Tyler/Smith County. Hughes said in the last session the bill wasn’t debated, was overlooked, and needed attention. “To lower the penalty of an offense sends the message that this offense is less serious and we do not want to send that message,” said Hughes. Continue reading Hughes’s illegal voting bill advances but draws local opposition