KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — Tyler philanthropist and businessman Bill Barrett is dead. He was 67. KETK reports that Barrett has been honored for his work in education and civic leadership. He served on the development board for UT Tyler and on the Tyler Junior College Foundation board. A memorial service and private burial were held Thursday.

LONGVIEW — Natural gas prices are hurting property values in East Texas. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, property values in Gregg County dropped from $8.2 billion last year to $7.9 billion this year. The values aren’t being helped by the combination of low natural gas prices and companies shifting operations to the Haynesville Shale in South Texas. White Oak was the only area in the county to see an increase. The values will be certified by mid summer.

LONGVIEW — Next time you ride the city bus in Longview, you may notice a police officer riding along with you. As part of a new program, Longview Transit and LPD have teamed up to put officers on the buses. Once a month, according to KETK, officers will board the buses and ride along for a couple hours. The program will help provide a more secure environment for riders and will also allow riders to reach out to the officers.

TYLER – A two vehicle accident in Tyler has left one person dead and one is in custody. It happened around 9:15 Wednesday night in the 9100 block of Paluxy Drive. For a while, Paluxy had to be closed between Cumberland Road and Loop 49. Killed was Tara Dawn Smith, 36. She died during surgery at Tyler’s East Texas Medical Center. Charged with intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle was Dallas Youmans, 21, of Tyler. He was booked into the Smith County Jail.

PALESTINE – Anderson County authorities say a man wanted in a murder case from November 2010, is now in custody. Jacob Martinez, 22, of Palestine, was arrested around 6:00 Tuesday evening in Midland. Representatives with the Midland County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Marshal’s Service arrested Martinez at some Midland apartments. He was wanted for the shooting death of Cedric Bland, 20, of Palestine. Bland was first taken to Palestine Regional Medical Center. He was later transferred to Tyler’s East Texas Medical Center where he died.

JACKSONVILLE — Lon Morris College in Jacksonville could be getting some help. The school has been plagued with cash flow problems for the last year or so, with some recent paychecks delayed. Now, according to KETK, the school board has met with staff members and decided to hire a reorganization specialist. The hope is that the firm will help the school review its budget and make the cuts that will be most beneficial to Lon Morris. In a statement, the two-year college says, “The board is dedicated to finding resources to ensure that employees will be paid in full. All options for the viability of the future of the college are being explored, and decisions will be made in respect to the best interests of the school, students, employees, and the community of Jacksonville.”

TYLER — Tyler Police Investigators Wednesday arrested Lewis Bret Hampton, 41, for two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful carrying a weapon. The charges stem from an incident last month. Hampton was released Wednesday from a local hospital and was immediately taken into custody by detectives. Hampton was transported to the Smith County Jail; bond was set at $325,000.

Police say Hampton was responsible for attacking two victims with a large knife at 7109 Richfield on April 29. On that day at about 1:55 pm, Tyler Police received a 911 call of a man with a gun shooting in the area of Richfield Drive. Once officers arrived at the scene, they found two men on the ground in an alley way behind 7109 Richfield. Officers were told that Hampton had threatened several people with a large knife. One man, who was allegedly threatened by Hampton, reportedly had a handgun in his possession. Police say he confronted Hampton in an effort to protect himself and others.

According to authorities, Hampton continued to use the knife and continued to threaten people, including the man who’d reportedly confronted him. Police say Hampton eventually used the knife to cut the man who’d reportedly confronted him, at which point the cutting victim reportedly shot Hampton. After being shot, Hampton allegedly continued to verbally threaten and attack the cutting victim, who reportedly shot Hampton again. At this point, police say, other people were able to subdue Hampton until Tyler Police arrived.

Hampton was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for two gunshot wounds. The cutting victim was also transported to a local hospital, where he was treated for several knife wounds and released. Investigators were called to the scene as well as the Crime Scene Unit to process the scene. Investigators believe at this point that the cutting victim was acting in self-defense. The investigation continues.

DALLAS (AP) – Tyler prosecutors say they believe a man linked to a 1977 rape and stabbing can get a fair hearing before a local judge on his request to have new DNA testing that could demonstrate his innocence. Kerry Max Cook was twice convicted and condemned for the killing of Linda Jo Edwards, 21, in Tyler. Courts overturned both convictions. He would later plead no contest to the murder for a sentence of time served. Cook wants new DNA testing in hopes of being declared formally innocent. His attorneys have asked that State District Judge Christi Kennedy be removed from the case, a request that was denied by an administrative judge. They have since renewed that request. In new filings Tuesday, prosecutors say the attorneys’ newest motion should be denied.

TYLER — Tyler Mayor Barbara Bass and Dr. Kirk Calhoun, president of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler (UTHSCT), jointly hosted a ceremony Wednesday to mark the annexation of UTHSCT into the city limits of Tyler. “As illustrated in the Industry Growth Initiative plan, the higher education and healthcare industries are critical components of Tyler’s local economy,” said Bass. “Health care provides for more than 25,000 jobs in our region and has an economic impact estimated at $3.1 billion. By annexing UTHSCT into Tyler city limits, we are taking an important step in continuing to support and grow these industries.”

“We are pleased to see this process move forward,” said Calhoun. “We look forward to becoming a part of Tyler not only in name, but as a partner in our city’s future growth and development.” Calhoun notes that the move will allow the two entities to jointly pursue grants in community and public health, as well as educational opportunities. An announcement was in fact made about a new joint community education program. Calhoun says it will give citizens, particularly younger ones, opportunities to experience the workings of the health center first-hand.

The voluntary annexation of the campus was initiated by representatives of UTHSCT and is allowed under the State Annexation Law in the Texas Local Government Code. With the addition of the campus, Tyler is now 57.02 square miles or 36,494.90 acres.

GREGG COUNTY — Seven years after a Longview drunken driving wreck that killed two women, Jamie Lee Coker has been tried and sentenced on two counts of intoxication manslaughter and three counts of intoxication assault. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison. According to the Longview News-Journal, the 53-year-old had agreed to plead guilty to the charges in 2005, but days before his sentencing, the former construction worker skipped town, fleeing to Mexico. He was found this past summer, hiding in Cancun and was returned to Gregg County to be tried for his role in the deaths of his wife, Sonya Coker, and Martha Wallace, 74.

Coker was drunk when he and his wife left Mom’s Biker Bar a short time before the pickup he was driving crossed the median in the 4500 block of West Marshall Avenue and slammed into an oncoming car driven by Joe Wallace, killing his mother, Martha Wallace.

LUFKIN — A security guard in Lufkin made a gruesome discovery Tuesday afternoon at the Charles Wilson VA Clinic. William Clark Kreger, 67, of Lufkin, was found dead inside a car with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest. Officers found a handgun inside the car. According to KETK, police said there was no evidence of foul play but an investigation continues. Reports suggest the man had been in the parking lot since early Tuesday morning.

NOONDAY — A Noonday home was destroyed by fire Wednesday morning. The fire happened along the 12000 block of Pioneer Drive in Smith County. Firefighters got the call around 3:00 am from a next-door neighbor. They tell KETK no one was at home at the time of the fire. No injuries were reported.

TYLER – Tyler’s Teachers of the year have been announced. At Harvey Hall Tuesday night, the district honored Campus Teachers of the Year before naming District Teachers of the Year: W. A. Peete Elementary School Third Grade Teacher Wanda Wilson, Elementary Teacher of the Year; and Robert E. Lee High School Biology Teacher and Coach David Howard, Secondary Teacher of the Year.

With more than 16 years of teaching experience, Mrs. Wilson’s goal is to prepare students for the future. “It is my goal to foster students’ critical thinking skills, facilitate the acquisition of life-long learning skills, and prepare them to be competitive in today’s society,” Mrs. Wilson said. “Loving kids unconditionally helps them realize they are not defined by their circumstances and to seek and seize opportunities, strategies, and solutions that will assist and encourage an inward transformation of their self-worth.”

Coach Howard has spent the past 10 years teaching in Tyler ISD, and says that all the great teachers in his life taught him right from wrong while caring about him as a person. “I have been blessed with amazing people in my life that showed me the value of education,” Coach Howard said. “Education can be the key to open many doors in a person’s life and I consider it a privilege to play that role in the process.”

TYLER – A Tyler man has been arrested for burglary. Around 5:15 Tuesday afternoon, Tyler police responded to a report of a residential burglary at 508 South Bois D’Arc. Officers found that the front door to the apartment had been kicked in. According to the victims and witnesses, Vondreick Green had been verbally arguing and threatening to fight people within the complex. He then began trying to fight a woman when her husband stepped in to prevent the assault.

Police reports say Green and the husband began fighting. It was then when Green is said to have tried to get into the apartment in an effort to assault the woman. He then began kicking the door, knocking it off its hinges. The victim was able to get Green out of the apartment at which point he left the complex.

Officers arrested Green for Burglary of a Habitation and transported him to a Tyler hospital where he received stitches for a cut he received during the fight. He was then transported to the Smith County Jail.

TYLER – As Tyler’s PATH organization begins a search for a new executive director, following board policy, the Finance Director of the organization, Rick Hyatt, has been named as Acting Executive Director. The announcement was made at a news conference Tuesday. The Board has also determined that it is in PATH’s best interest to hire an Interim Executive Director to guide PATH during the months ahead while the agency searches for a new Executive Director. A search committee should be named by the end of the month.

And it was announced Tuesday that PATH has received two bequests that they say will help secure its future for many, many years to come. Trudy Richardson, who died last year and was the granddaughter of PATH founder Gertrude Windsor, left trust funds for PATH’s benefit in the amount of $500,000. Half of this money, $250,000, is to be used as a permanent endowment to provide income for PATH into perpetuity, and the other half is to be used for buildings.

They also announced another bequest of $600,000, this one from an anonymous donor. The bequest is named in honor of C.C. and Brenda Baker, longtime friends and supporters of PATH. C.C. Baker was also one of the founders of PATH.

FRANKSTON (AP) — Cattle prices have hit record highs in recent months after a severe drought forced ranchers to sell off and slaughter their livestock. Now, as the rain returns, many ranchers in Texas want to restock, further upping the price of the scarce cattle.

A recent auction on the Neches River Ranch was closely watched by ranchers, dealers and others in the cattle industry. Prices were even higher than some expected and almost double across the board from what they were a year ago, with a cow that fetched $1,800 now commanding almost $3,000.

DALLAS (AP) — Authorities in a Texas town under investigation for allegedly shaking down motorists for their cash sometimes used the travelers’ children as bargaining chips in their attempt to seize money. Documents reviewed by The Associated Press describe the extent to which children became pawns as authorities in Tenaha near the Louisiana border accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars through highway traffic stops.

The records show that authorities separated a small child from one couple and threatened to do the same to another during stops on U.S. Highway 59. The Justice Department has been investigating Tenaha and Shelby County officials since they were named in a 2008 class action lawsuit alleging that a drug interdiction program was in fact a scheme to use trumped-up money laundering charges to seize cash from motorists.

TYLER — The conservative activist group Grassroots America – We the People endorses challenger Matt Schaefer for state House District 6 in the May 29 Republican Primary. Schaefer is running against longtime incumbent Leo Berman for the Tyler-area seat. Grassroots America says it respects several aspects of Berman’s record. But the group says the state’s fiscal house is not in order, and that Berman has worked against the financial transparency Grassroots America supports. The group says it believes Schaefer understands what it will take to resolve the state’s fiscal woes. Grassroots America also cites Schaefer’s service on the Texas Sunset Commission.

Schaefer says the endorsement “is proof positive that conservatives right here in Tyler and Smith County are ready for fresh leadership.” Berman says he’s not concerned about Grassroots America’s endorsement, that he’s been able to help thousands of voters, and that he stands on his conservative record.

LONGVIEW — Gregg County authorities say 16-year-old Lauren Martin has returned home. Lauren had last been seen in the area of Maxey Road in Longview on April 21, and officials had sought help in finding her until she came back to her residence.

KILGORE — Kilgore Police investigate a downtown burglary early Monday morning. Intruders made their way into the Crystal Spur Boutique; a mannequin was taken from the store window. Police tell KETK thieves used a small weight to break in.

MARSHALL — A Nazarene pastor in Marshall, Raymond Earl Cooper, arrested and charged last week for online solicitation of a minor, has been placed on leave from the church following his arrest. That report comes from KETK and the Longview News-Journal. “After seeking advice from the General Secretary of the Church of the Nazarene as well as denominational legal counsel for the Church of the Nazarene, we have placed Raymond Cooper on leave from the pastorate of First Church of the Nazarene, Marshall, Texas,” Rob McDonald, Dallas District Superintendent for the Church of Nazarene, said in an e-mailed statement. The Dallas District hired Cooper as pastor of the church.

McDonald said church officials consider the recent allegations concerning Cooper as “tragic.” He said church officials will continue conducting their own investigation. “For the next period of time we will continue to investigate the situation and follow due process as warranted by the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene and denominational counsel as to Pastor Cooper’s credentials,” he said. “We want to be careful and cautious, yet prudent in the handling of this most sensitive issue.” Cooper was arrested last week for allegedly soliciting a person online that he believed to be 14 years old. His bond for the offense was set at $50,000 by Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Mike Smith.

TYLER — The Tyler Independent School District has announced that the John Tyler High School Principal will be leaving. Shon Joseph announced his resignation Tuesday. He will be taking a principal position at Little Elm High School, in Little Elm. Joseph said, “This decision was very difficult,” Mr. Joseph said. “This move will allow me more flexibility and more time with my family. I will always remember John Tyler’s team of students and parents. There is nothing like a Friday night at Rose Stadium with the Big Blue Band and the best football team in the state. I can’t thank you enough for your support and unwavering belief in me as a leader.”

During his time at John Tyler High School, Mr. Joseph was awarded the 2011-2012 Region VII High School Principal of the Year award.

“Mr. Joseph is an outstanding principal that set high academic standards for the students of John Tyler High School,” Tyler ISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid said. “He has served as a leader not only in the district, but also in our community. He will be greatly missed.”

MARSHALL — A Marshall man is in custody in Conroe in connection with the December murder of Kenneth Dillard, of Marshall. Dillard’s body was found Dec. 16 near St. James Cemetery in Harleton. He had been stabbed repeatedly, investigators said. According to the Longview News-Journal, Harrison County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jay Webb said Monday, investigators recovered what they believe to be the murder weapon. William Penn Jones is charged with terroristic threat and murder in connection with the slaying. Jones, 29, was taken into custody May 3 in Montgomery County. He is expected to be transferred to Harrison County this week.

LONGVIEW – Thunderstorms that moved through the area overnight Monday and Tuesday were responsible for some power outages. In the Gregg County area, Swepco reported Monday night over 10,000 residences without power. The majority of that was on the north side of Longview.

LONGVIEW – A fire has destroyed the Willene Alston residence in the 1300 block of Montclair Street in Longview. It was reported around 1:00 Monday afternoon. No one was at home at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, but it is believed to have started in the garage.

LONGVIEW – A Tatum couple’s family has grown by four. The woman, around 12:30 Monday afternoon, gave birth to quadruplets. The babies were delivered by cesarean section at Good Shepherd Medical Center. The parents are Ruben Salgado and Maria Jamaica.

TYLER – Tyler ISD is calling on parents to carefully review the contents of their children’s belongings before sending them to school. The call to action comes after a student at Orr Elementary School brought an unloaded weapon to campus. According to a school district statement issued Monday, the weapon was found and confiscated, and no students were in danger, but the incident serves as a reminder for parents to closely monitor their students. “We have staff and procedures in place to ensure our campuses are safe learning environments for our students,” Ken Vaughn, Tyler ISD Director of Student Services, stated. “We also need support from our parents and guardians to help us control what students bring to school.”

The statement continues, “Tyler ISD wants to assure parents that no students were harmed during the incident today. The teacher and principal followed proper procedure to make sure that all students were safe throughout the day. The investigation into this incident is ongoing and appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken concerning the student involved.”

LONGVIEW — Police in Longview are continuing to investigate a fatal accident, and they have some additional information. Just before 10:00pm on May 3, officers were dispatched to the 3000 block of Estes Parkway for an accident involving a pedestrian. When officers arrived they found the victim, Robert Wayne Mullins of Longview, lying in the roadway. Mullins, 51, was attempting to cross the roadway in a dimly lit area located away from the intersection. Mullins was struck by a Camry driven by 20 year-old Rebecca Ann Sheets of Tatum. Mullins was transported to a local hospital where he died.

Police have now learned that three black females stopped to help the victim but left before police arrived. Police are also looking for the driver of a white or light colored SUV that may have been involved in the accident. If you have any information regarding the accident or the driver of the SUV, you’re asked to contact the Longview Police Traffic Unit at 903-237-1196 or Officer Mike Grisham at 903-239-5516. If the caller wishes to remain anonymous, he or she can also contact Gregg County Crimestoppers at http://www.greggcountycrimestoppers.org or 903-236-STOP (7867).

HARLETON — A Harrison County 2-year old has drowned. According to KETK, at around 4:30 Sunday afternoon, Harrison County 911 dispatchers received a call from an address on Private Road 4137, near Harleton, about a possible drowning. When crews arrived, they found Lacy Besecke being given CPR inside the residence.

According to the child’s grandmother, who lives there, she was watching the children play in the pool from the back porch. The grandmother says the child was wearing a swim ring, and had apparently taken the swim ring off, and was found at the bottom of the pool by other children. It is not known how long the child was under the water. The victim was taken to a Longview hospital where she was pronounced dead by the emergency room physician.

LONGVIEW — An 86-year-old Longview woman who was struck by a vehicle while crossing Gilmer Road has died from her injuries. The accident happened April 27 around 5:15 a.m. on West Loop 281 and Gilmer Road. Longview Police were told that a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Charles Patrick McClain, Longview, was traveling south on Gilmer Road. McClain stated he did not see the victim, Mary Ruth Burgess Neal, Longview, crossing the roadway. Neal was transported to Good Shepherd Medical Center where she remained until her death on May 4. No charges have been filed against McClain.