KTBB News, Weather, Talk

LONGVIEW — Some East Texans have been without electricity for almost a week now. Power companies are still working through the extensive recovery process throughout several counties in East Texas. Adding that this recovery process, which started one week ago, has been extensive and widespread. “Most of the time you know you can go to one location and find 10-20 poles here we’ve been taken to 10-20 locations and find one pole. It’s been very widespread,” said Skeen. SWEPCO’s sister companies came out from Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Skeen estimated that there are still about 1,000 personnel on the ground.

Our news partner KETK spoke with Jimmy Skeen, a SWEPCO Base Camp Manager: “I tell people it took years to build the system, it’s destroyed in a matter of minutes.” He added that the linemen are grateful for the support and hospitality they’ve received from East Texans. “Everyone we’ve encountered has really been just super, I mean we have had the communities reach out wanting to know what they can do for us, which is amazing,” said Skeen.

TYLER – As you travel along Highway 155 South, a group of men can be found planting, harvesting and maintaining a garden. What you may not know is it’s run by Smith County Jail inmates to donate all their produce to the East Texas Food Bank. “They’re sitting in line at the jail, wanting to get out here and work,” said Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith. According to our news partner KETK they produce enough fruits and vegetables to fill about three to four truckloads a harvest. “That’ll be probably in excess of 160,000 pounds, so it’s a lot of meals for our neighbors here in East Texas,” said Cullinane.

Sheriff Larry Smith says it’s not just the inmates that help out. At times you can find community members and himself maintaining the crop.

TYLER — The Better Business Bureau says to be on alert for less-than-honest contractors should you need one after severe weather in our area. According to our news partner KETK, scammers will try to prey on your emotions so you will make a quick decision.

What do you need to watch for? Low job bids. No brick and mortar locations and demanding cash. What can you do to tilt the scales in your favor? Take photos of the damage. Then call your insurance company, and get an adjuster to survey the damage. Get everything in writing from the company doing the work and never pay the full fee until the job is done.

The BBB adds it is good idea to take pictures of the license plates of vendor vehicles that are coming to your home.
Do all this and you’ll get a project done and make a valuable contact for future work at your home.

To get more information from the Best Business Bureau go here.

WINNSBORO – Multiple services are being offered on Thursday to the Winnsboro community and the surrounding area according to the Winnsboro Fire Department. No proof of residency is required. You can view the entire list of disaster services are being offered to anyone who has been impacted by the storm by visiting our news partner KETK’s website here

KILGORE – A man was arrested after leading police on a chase that resulted in the seizure of 16 grams of methamphetamine. According to our news partner KETK on Tuesday night, the Kilgore Police Department responded to a disturbance call and as they arrived, officials said they saw a man running from the scene leading police on a foot chase. According to the release, police witnessed the man “throw a package under some wood as he was trying to flee.” Police said they caught the man quickly and collected the bag which contained 16 grams of methamphetamine.

Edwin Mumphrey was identified as the suspect attempting to run from police and he was charged with a felony drug possession charge. “Edwin is known to us and his business has affected the city. We will make sure Edwin doesn’t continue to deal on the streets of Kilgore,” said the Kilgore Police Department.

GILMER — Storm recovery in Upshur County is ongoing according to our news partner KETK. Thousands are still without power, and trees are still down. The county is doing what they can to provide support to anyone who needs it. Some folks in Upshur County have gone days without power, meanwhile, temperatures are high and it’s humid. The county is providing support. “We’ve got places for folks to go, we’ve got plenty of water, plenty of ice, plenty of MRE’s,” said Nichols, of the Upshur County Emergency Management.

Upshur County is offering several cooling stations throughout the areas affected, it’s important to come inside to cool off and recharge. Adding that linemen are working extra hours to get everyone’s lights back on. “Just trying to get everybody back up as fast as they can,” said Nichols. A reminder to everyone to stay cool and hydrated through this summer weather. Upshur Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation said they have brought in more than 170 contract linemen and one of their main priorities is restoring as many outages as possible.

LONGVIEW — LeTourneau University opened its doors and dorm rooms for over 250 linemen to rest overnight according to our news partner KETK. Workers would normally stay in hotels, but they are booked up due to local families not having power. “The other option is they sleep in a cot, in a truck or they sleep in a tent. Where else are we going to put them?” said Robinson. Afraid of the alternative, SWEPCO turned locally and the timing was perfect in coordination with the university. After their 16-hour shift in the scorching heat, every lineman can rest comfortably.

“Because of previous camps all of our spaces were full and so, since the storm happened right around the time then all of those campers left and left us with the availability to have five open dorms in the first place,” said Marty Lane, Director of Conference and Event Services at LeTourneau University. This is the first time in Lane’s 15 years at the university to do something like this.
Kindergarteners who are at a summer camp on campus left letters of thanks for the linemen’s hard work. “They realize and understand ‘Hey! There’s these workers doing this and that’s why we have air conditioning,’ so they’re getting it and understanding it,” said Lane.

SWEPCO said 100 more workers are on their way Wednesday night to continue working on the damaged areas.

WOOD COUNTY – Wood County authorities arrest a man after he admitted he admitted drowning his daughter’s nine puppies. 66 year-old Jerry Lynn Thompson of Hawkins said to Wood County Sheriff deputies via phone that his daughter was threatening to burn his house down. When they arrived, they found out that Thompson had killed nine of his daughters 12 pups. Which is why she threatened to burned his house down. Deputies then arrested Thompson on nine counts of cruelty of non-livestock animals. He is in the Wood County jail on a $135,000 bond.

SHELBY COUNTY – Wednesday Gov. Greg Abbott added two more East Texas counties to the state’s disaster declaration. According to our news partner KETK, Morris and Shelby counties were included due to widespread electrical infrastructure damage. They join Franklin, Harrison, Marion, Upshur, Wood, Camp, Gregg, Hopkins, Panola, Smith and Titus counties on the state disaster declaration list. By having the disaster declaration, the counties will get more state resources, personnel and equipment to help deal with last week storm damage.

Tyler — UT Health Tyler has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR (National Cardiovascular Data Registry) Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2023. UT Health Tyler is one of only 262 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.

The award recognizes UT Health Tyler’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that UT Health Tyler has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations. Continue reading UT Health Tyler Among Nation’s Top Performing Hospitals

EAST TEXAS — The East Texas Food Bank (ETFB) will distribute fresh produce and emergency food boxes at multiple locations in East Texas this week to assist East Texans impacted by the power outages. Last week’s severe weather storm caused widespread power outages and damage, with several East Texas counties being part of the state’s disaster declaration. The emergency boxes contain shelf-stable food including cans of food and personal hygiene items. The distributions are open to the public while supplies last. No ID or paperwork is required. To find the schedule for this and other East Texas Food Banks events click here and select “find food.”

NACOGDOCHES (AP) — An assistant women’s bowling coach at Stephen F. Austin is out after the university discovered he cheated on his wife, who is the team’s head coach, with a student-athlete. SFA assistant Steve Lemke opted to resign rather than be fired after the school learned of the affair, which led to a split with his wife, the Lufkin Daily News reported Tuesday. The 38-year-old Lemke, who is married to head coach Amber Lemke, helped coach the team to two national titles and two second-place finishes before resigning April 10. The couple has since filed for divorce, according to court records.

GREGG COUNTY – Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt gave an update on power restoration as more than 40,000 people are still without power in East Texas. On Tuesday, Stoudt told KETK News they’re down to less than 15,000 outages from the high of around 60,000 on Friday morning. According to our news partner KETK Stoudt went on to thank the crews who are working to get the lights back on and said 3,000 SWEPCO employees had to be brought in from nearby states to help repair the historic damage.

“Probably in the 40 year history, we’ve never seen the infrastructure damage like it has been through this last storm. We’ve got poles that were just broken in half and big trees that had fallen over on transmission lines and it just takes a lot of personnel.” Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt

Stoudt added that the plan is to have all power restored no later than Friday.

HARRISON COUNTY – A 35-year-old lineman has died after working in the heat trying to restore power to East Texans. Harrison County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Judge John Oswalt told our news partners at KETK that on Monday, the 35-year-old lineman told co-workers he was feeling overheated and not well. Oswalt said the worker was taken back to his hotel for a medical evaluation to rehydrate and take a cold shower. After the evaluation, Oswalt said the heat exhausted lineman told co-workers and evaluators that he was feeling better so they left him to recover and rest for while they went back out to work. When the lineman’s roommate return to the hotel later that day, Oswalt said the lineman was found on the floor unresponsive and called for medical help. Continue reading Lineman dies after working in East Texas

TYLER – A Bullard man was indicted for impersonating a public servant in Smith County. According to our news partners at KETK, Jason Fears, 35, was arrested in January after officials said he flashed red and blue lights and made a hand signal at someone to pull over. The incident happened in Chandler, and the man Fears attempted to pull over called law enforcement. According to officials, the caller followed Fears to Tyler and he was later pulled over for speeding. After learning about the incident, Fears was arrested for impersonating a public servant, and booked into Smith County Jail. Fears was indicted on May 4 for exercising a function of a public servant without legal authority by performing “a traffic stop using emergency flashing lights,” according to the indictment. Fears was booked into Smith County Jail on Saturday following his indictment, and was released the same day after posting a $75,000 bond.

TYLER – ERCOT issued a voluntary conservation notice on Tuesday due to extreme temperatures and forecast record demand, according to our news partners at KETK.

The notice is in effect Tuesday from 4 p.m. from 8 p.m.

ERCOT said they are also requesting all government agencies to implement all programs to reduce energy at their facilities. On Monday, ERCOT said they broke the June peak demand record and said they are using additional tools to manage grid reliability.

Chapel Hill, Texas – Chapel Hill Independent School District has partnered with Mentoring Alliance (M.A.) to offer parents the option of after school childcare. The new program led by M.A. starts August 16 and offers families of children in Kindergarten through the 6th grade an affordable childcare option.

“As we increase parent and family engagement in Chapel Hill ISD, we are so excited to bring this program to our community that offers families affordable childcare,” said Ellie Perez, Parent and Family Engagement Coordinator. “While this program has existed in the Tyler area for years, we are proud to grow our community partnerships to now include an expanded after school program with the Mentoring Alliance.” Continue reading CHISD introduces new after school childcare program with the Mentoring Alliance

TYLER – Workforce Solutions East Texas is honored to host and extend an invitation to the Veterans Job Fair, a special event dedicated to honoring and supporting the brave men and women who have served our country with honor and dedication. This job fair aims to provide veterans with valuable opportunities to explore potential career paths, connect with reputable employers, and take decisive steps toward a fulfilling post-military career. Continue reading Veterans Job Fair to be held Wednesday in Tyler

TYLER — The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine received a $500,000 gift from the Byers Family Foundation, the university announced on Tuesday in a release. The university said the gift will be used to name a professorship in family medicine to aid in the recruitment of nationally recognized faculty. “We are excited to offer our support to the UT Tyler School of Medicine,” Brent Byers, president of the Byers Family Foundation said. “We feel attracting dynamic professors to our region, especially in family medicine, is a priority. This school is a game-changer for health care and the economy of East Texas and we are pleased to join with others who have helped to make this a reality.” Continue reading UT Tyler School of Medicine receives $500,000 gift from local foundation

LONGVIEW — Most City of Longview offices were re-open and with power on Tuesday, June 20, following storms early morning on Friday, June 16. Parks and Recreation Department offices on Timpson remain without power and closed at this time. The Longview Public Library, which has served as a public cooling center during the storm response, is open on regular schedule on Tuesday, June 20, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.  Residents needing a place to cool down or recharge devices are welcome to visit the facility during those times.

SHREVEPORT – Power outages caused by Friday’s storms persist across East Texas as we move into the week. Our news partner KETK reports that crews are working extra shifts to restore service across the region. Click here to see the current SWEPCO estimates on when your power may return.

TYLER – The Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) is hard at work across the state according to our news partner KETK, Chief of Texas Emergency Management Nim Kidd is out surveying damage and talking with storm victims. They have resources in place to speed up recovery efforts but right now, their biggest concern in our area is keeping the lights on.

“Chief Kidd wanted to make sure that he had an opportunity to see firsthand the extent of the damage. There’s always something to be said for having those first person interactions with local officials and with regional partners and with members of the community. It’s really important that the community knows that they have the support of the state of Texas,” said Wes Rapaport the communications officer for the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

TDEM officials are urging those impacted to survey their homes and to report all damages by using their iSTAT damage survey. They say the sooner that’s done, the faster you will get help.

KILGORE — Like many schools and businesses, Kilgore College was closed Monday due to last weeks severe weather. According to college spokesperson Chris Craddock, they will resume regular business hours Tuesday. Craddock pointed out that KC is thankful for the dedication and hard work of the linemen out in the field that made this possible.

LONGVIEW – The Texas Department of Public Safety announced that Interstate 20 will be closed in both directions for 30 minutes around 3 p.m. today near Eastman Road in Longview.

The closure is needed to allow SWEPCO to install new power lines across the roadway.

Officials said detours will be in place to allow drivers to to take alternative routes.

GREGG COUNTY — With storms leaving the area in disarray, our news partners at KETK report that Gregg County has declared a state of local disaster on Monday. The declaration states: Severe weather conditions occurred in Gregg County, Texas on June 16, 2023 causing catastrophic damage to electric infrastructure. The event resulted in widespread power outages throughout the county, affecting the majority of residents and businesses. The damage to power transmission lines, substations, and other critical infrastructure has significantly impaired the ability to restore electricity in a timely manner. Continue reading Gregg County issues disaster declaration

LONGVIEW – The City of Longview announced that recycled items will not be collected the week of Monday June 26. This is to allow residents to use recycling bins for food waste caused because of the recent power outages. Recycling services will hopefully resume Monday July 3. Officials also say that crews will pick up storm debris, and this won’t count against yearly bulky item pickups. Residents with yard waste need to contact the Public Works department or submit a work order through CitySend. Storm debris length must between 3 and 10 feet in length. Branches less than 3 feet have to be bundled. If you need more information click here.

TYLER — Tyler Police Department confirmed that a woman who was in a single-vehicle crash on Loop 323 was hit by another vehicle while walking down the loop on Saturday. According to our news partner KETK, Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh said that officers received a call about a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle near West Shaw Street and Loop 323 around 9 p.m. on Saturday. According to authorities, the woman had been in a crash and was walking north on the loop when she was hit. After she was hit the vehicle did stop at the scene and officials said she was taken to a local hospital. Her condition is unknown.

LONGVIEW — In Longview, some residents have been without power for days and with the heat index being in the 100’s people are hot and want answers. According to AEP SWEPCO, they have restored power to over 60,000 people but they still have a long road ahead of them. “It’s a lot of the transmission and distribution places that took a damage, significant damage,” said Warner. Even with over 2,500 linemen working all hours of the day, they said power may not be restored until Friday. “This is without question, one of those moments when you have to say it’s unprecedented,” said Warner.o over 60,000 people but they still have a long road ahead of them. Continue reading Hundreds of linemen working to restore power in Longview

KILGORE — Due to widespread power outages, both Kilgore College campuses (Kilgore and Longview) will be closed on Monday, June 19, according to a news release. College administration will assess the power situation Monday afternoon to make a determination about Tuesday operations.