KTBB News, Weather, Talk

GILMER – A Gilmer man is heading to prison after pleading guilty to the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a habitual offender. Sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison was Randy Lee Rodenberg, 36. He was arrested back in April after sheriff’s deputies found him growing marijuana at his residence. They also found two rifles and 13 boxes of .22 caliber cartridges. Rodenberg entered a guilty plea prior to a jury being selected for his trial.

TYLER – It’s time for nominations for the 2019 Better Business Bureau Awards for Excellence. It honors businesses and charities who demonstrate superior ethics, reliability and trustworthiness. All BBB Accredited Businesses and Accredited Charities who have a physical location within the 19 counties served by BBB Central East Texas are eligible to be nominated and to receive a prestigious BBB Award. Nominations for businesses are due December 31. The East Texas community will select this year’s recipients via online vote. The winners will be recognized at ceremony in March at the Crosswalk Conference Center in Tyler. This year’s winners were Texas Bank and Trust, United Heritage Credit Union, Tender Loving Elderly Care and CASA for Kids of East Texas. Continue reading Nominations are Open for the 2019 BBB Awards for Excellence

TYLER – Nearly half of the registered voters in Smith County voted early in the general election. For everyone else, the polls opened at 7:00 Tuesday morning in the midterm election. Besides the statewide races, some local races have drawn a lot of attention. Congressman Louie Gohmert is facing two challengers. Independent candidate Neal Kats is going up against state representative Matt Schaefer in the District 6 state house race. For Smith County Judge, incumbent Nathaniel Moran is being faced by Democrat Michael Mast. In Lindale, there is a $32 million school bond proposal on the ballot. These are just a few of the items to be decided. You’ll hear election returns Tuesday night here on KTBB.

TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help in solving an unusual theft case. Missing is a headstone to a grave. It was was stolen from the Noonday Cemetery on Highway 155. It is believed it was taken in early to mid September. If you have any information about the missing headstone, you are asked to contact Sgt. Nikki Keegan at 903-590-2646.

GLADEWATER — Details are limited following a reported officer involved shooting Sunday in Gladewater. According to our news partner KETK, one man is recovering after he was allegedly shot by a police officer. The father of the man shot told KETK his son was suicidal and the situation escalated quickly. Gladewater police are expected to release more information shortly.

TYLER — TxDOT is planning a variety of maintenance work throughout the Tyler District during the week of Nov. 5. Tyler Maintenance crews plan to perform edge repairs on FM 2015 near US 271. Crews will also conduct pavement edge work on FM 2908. Expect lane closures with flaggers providing traffic control at both locations. Go to https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/media-center/local-news/tyler/047-2018.html for a full rundown of work planned in the district.

EMORY — The Rains County Sheriff’s Office needs your help finding whoever’s responsible for stealing a 2015 brown and tan Keystone Premier camper. According to our news partner KETK, the department says the thief or thieves made off with the camper in a dark colored Chevrolet Silverado pickup with running boards. Officials say that truck could also be a Duramax. No other details of the crime were immediately given. If you have any information, contact the Sheriff’s Office at 903-473-3153.

LONGVIEW — Longview police arrested a 30-year-old Kilgore man Thursday afternoon on suspicion of using a gun to threaten a woman, according to a report. According to our news partner KETK and the Longview News Journal, Kevin Kietrell Richardson was being held on a $7,500 bond Friday in Gregg County Jail. He is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon-family violence, jail records show. Police arrested Richardson after responding to a call about an armed person on Reel Road near the Rainbow Drive intersection, the report said. The woman told police she and Richardson were arguing when he pulled a black pistol from his waistband, pointed it at the floor, then the air and threatened to come after her and her family if she were to leave. Richardson consented to a search, and police recovered the weapon inside the home, the report said.

MARSHALL – The United States gained 39 new citizens in a ceremony that was conducted Thursday in Marshall. The group was administered the oath of allegiance to the United States in a special naturalization ceremony. Presiding at the ceremony was U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap. According to the Longview News Journal, 19 of the new citizens were from Mexico. Others were from 11 other countries, including Cambodia, Canada, Egypt, India, Vietnam, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom. One of the new citizens is Luisa Reyes, a native of Mexico, who now lives in Tyler.

JACKSONVILLE – A Cherokee County woman, on Halloween night, was tricked and received a treat at the same time. Chelsea Dillard, who was expecting her second child, was in the bathtub at her home in Rusk when her water broke. Realizing the baby was coming quicker than anticipated, she called an ambulance. She was minutes away from UT Health-Jacksonville when she thought the baby was coming. The ambulance pulled over and paramedic Charles Janak delivered his first baby. Welcome to the world Devinity Dillard, who weighed in at 6.7 pounds and 19 inches long. Mother, baby and paramedic are all doing well.

OVERTON – A man is in the Rusk County Jail following an assault complaint at an Overton home. Placed in jail under bonds totaling $20,000 was Johnathan William Elkins, 36, of Overton. The Longview News Journal reports a woman complained that Elkins was intoxicated and started hitting her and a 5 year old with eggs. He is also said to have hit her with his knee below her left rib cage. He faces two charges of assault causing bodily injury, one of those out of Gregg County, and a charge of injury to a child. He is also being held on an Upshur County warrant for theft of property.

TYLER — Jury duty scheduled for Monday, November 5, in Smith County has been canceled, according to Jury Coordinator Lisa Bennett. For additional details, contact the Smith County District Clerk’s Office at 903-590-1660.

TYLER – A state district court judge has rejected a plea from a former Arp school counselor who was convicted last month of sexual assault of a child. Barbara Orpineda was sentenced to 5 years in prison. She still faces one additional count and 2 counts of improper relationship between an educator and student. Judge Christi Kennedy rejected the plea Thursday during a pretrial hearing. She has given both the state and the defense 10 days to come to an agreement on how to proceed. Prior to becoming the Arp Elementary counselor, Orpineda taught seventh grade math for four years. When arrested, she denied the allegations. She also denied the allegations during the trial when she testified in her own defense.

TYLER – A memorial service has been scheduled for David Irwin, of Lindale. The managing partner for Tyler Ford died at his home Wednesday morning. He was 52. According to the Caudle-Rutledge Funeral Home in Lindale, a memorial service for Irwin will be held Saturday morning at 10:00 at Tyler’s Grace Community Church. Along with his business, Irwin was known for many years as a supporter of local nonprofits. Perhaps his highest-profile community endeavor was providing a vehicle for the yearly raffle held by the East Texas Crisis Center during its East Texas Auto and Cycle Show.

PALESTINE – A Palestine High School student has been injured during a woodshop class. According to a posting on the school district’s web site, the student received immediate medical attention from the instructor, who is a certified EMT. After evaluating the student’s injuries, medical personnel decided that he should be flown to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas for precautionary treatment and evaluation. We will have more information when it becomes available.

TYLER – No sooner had a Tyler robbery suspect been identified, he was arrested. On Wednesday it was announced that Thomas Mark Painter, 32, of Tyler was the suspect in the Tuesday morning robbery at the Fuel Plus Gas station on East Gentry Parkway. The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Painter around 11:00 Thursday morning. It’s believed Painter is the person who came up behind a man who had just purchased $40 worth of scratch off tickets. He approached the man from behind, hit him in the head with his fist, grabbed the lottery tickets, and then fled. He’s now in the Smith County Jail under bonds totaling $55,000.

HENDERSON – A man recently arrested on numerous charges in Rusk County will be spending a long time in prison. In state district court in Henderson on Thursday, James Paul Calvert, 47, was sentenced to life in prison. Calvert, who had evaded law officers for nearly a week, was arrested around 9:00 Sunday evening. He had been wanted for sexual assault of a child. On Facebook, District attorney Michael Jimerson said his office was grateful to the Henderson Police Department and Rusk County Sheriff’s Office for apprehending Calvert so he could be sentenced to life in state prison.

KILGORE – Kilgore police are reporting that the SWEPCO phone scam has surfaced again. The police department has received several reports about the scam. The caller tells their victim that they have a past due bill and are about to have their meter pulled. The caller will then demand the victim purchase Green Dot Debit Cards and provide the caller with the numbers. This scam first surfaced in 2014. SEPCO says they don’t call and threaten disconnection for past due bills. And they will never ask a customer to purchase untraceable debit or gift cards to pay their bills. If you get such a call, hang up and report it to your local police department.

LONGVIEW – A traffic stop in Longview has led to drug charges against a driver. The Longview News Journal reports Chad Reimon Howard, 36, of Longview, was stopped for running a stop sign and failing to signal a lane change at Marshall Avenue at Teague Street. In his vehicle, officers found cocaine, Xanax, Ecstasy, marijuana and and nearly $2,000. He is facing 3 charges of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance. He is currently free on bonds totaling $104,500.

HENDERSON – All of the power may not be restored in Rusk County until sometime Friday. As many as 5,500 power outages were reported in the county. They were caused by the heavy thunderstorms that moved through the area on Wednesday. Rusk County Electric Cooperative said in a posting on Facebook, because of the storms packing winds up to 60mph, there was damage throughout their system, with southern Rusk County getting hit the hardest. They had crews out all night Wednesday clearing trees off the lines and restringing cable. Once the main lines have been restored, they will focus on the single outages.

GLADEWATER — Two Gladewater ISD staff members have been fired after a 4-year-old student was left on a bus for 7 hours last week, Superintendent Sedric Clark said Tuesday. According to the Longview News Journal and our news partner KETK, a pair of employees, the driver and bus monitor, failed to follow “the practices in place” on October 22, resulting in the Head Start student’s neglect, Clark said. He added, the most important thing, he said, is that the student “is fine.” Clark said the district, along with Head Start administrators at the Region 7 Education Service Center, are investigating. Child Protective Services and Gladewater police also are investigating.

EAST TEXAS — A woman wanted by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office is now in custody. April Nicole Moore, 24, was booked into the Shelby County Jail Wednesday. She was wanted on multiple felony charges, including burglary and interference with emergency request for assistance. She’s also been charged with fugitive from justice.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Three people were killed, several others injured following a two vehicle wreck in Van Zandt County. It happened around 7:15 Tuesday night on State Highway19, one mile northwest of Edgewood. According to the Department of Public Safety, Jessie Michael Brown, 19, of Fruitvale was traveling south and was attempting to pass vehicles in a no passing zone. Connie McKinley Wells, 61, of Wills Point was traveling north when she was struck head-on by Brown. Wells was pronounced dead at the scene. Her passengers, Adam Thomas Tuma, 14, and Elijah William Gabriel Tuma, 11, both of Wills Point, were also pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading CPS Worker, 2 Foster Kids Killed in Van Zandt County Wreck

AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Health Services reports that 16 cases of a rare spinal condition have been reported in the state this year. One of those cases was in Smith County. The condition is acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). It is a very rare condition that affects a person’s spinal cord marked by the sudden onset of weakness in the arms or legs. Less than one in a million people in the United States will get AFM each year. According to a news release from the state, there is no specific treatment for AFM, and the cause is unknown. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to determine what causes the condition. Possible causes include viruses, environmental toxins and genetic disorders. AFM is not required to be reported, but DSHS is asking all healthcare providers to report suspected cases of AFM to their local health departments. Continue reading A Rare Condition Has Turned up in East Texas

TYLER – As we close the weather books on the month of October, the month was slightly warmer and very much wetter than normal. The thirty-day outlook for October 2018, issued on September 20, had called for near normal temperatures and above normal precipitation. It was not changed with the September 30 revision. In fact, the month was the third wettest October on record, replacing October 2015 when 11.89 inches fell. The wettest October on record was 1985 when 14.82 inches fell. Compared with October 2017, the month was 0.9 degrees cooler and 10.12 inches wetter. The year-to-date rainfall was 0.39 inch greater in 2017 than in 2018. Continue reading October Turns Out to Be Warm and Wet

RUSK – A Rusk High School student has been arrested for making a terroristic threat. Police were called to the high school on Tuesday after threats were made by a student. After investigation, the student was detained and removed from the school and charges were filed. The police said on Facebook, “at no time was the school placed in lock down.” The name of the student has not been released.

TYLER – Tyler police have identified a man who is accused of robbing a man of his lottery tickets. He is Thomas Mark Painter, 32, of Tyler. Painter, who is known to stay in north Tyler hotels, is driving 2008 Chevy Impala with Texas license plate KYG-7880. The robbery occurred shortly after 10:30 Tuesday morning at the Fuel Plus Gas station on East Gentry Parkway. Painter is said to be the suspect who came up behind a man who had just purchased $40 worth of scratch off tickets. He approached the man from behind, hit him in the head with his fist, grabbed the lottery tickets, and then fled. He remains at large.

AUSTIN – The Governor has named a Wood County woman to a state committee. Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Carol Hollen of Mineola to the Texas Poet Laureate, State Musician and State Artists Committee. Her term will expire October 1st of next year. The committee selects the state poet laureate, the state musician, the state artist representing 2-dimensional media and the state artist representing 3-dimensional media. The candidates are submitted by the Texas Commission on the Arts. Hollen is a retired human resources consultant and business development executive, and carries the designation of Licensed Professional Counselor.

GILMER – A Longview man, identified as a steak thief, is heading to prison. Mario Lacrae Rogers, 50, has been sentenced to 9 years in prison as a repeat offender and enhanced punishment because of prior state jail crimes. Investigators say Rogers has gone to Brookshire stores and placed meat and steaks in his pants and grabbed beer and fled the stores. He has done this before in several area counties. The prison sentence was for a January incident, following his last release from state jail. He is said to have gone in the Brookshire’s store in Gilmer and left with 7 ribeye steaks in his pants. Gilmer police stopped him as he was leaving the store’s parking lot.