KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – Tyler Junior College has announced sophomore students Justin Crowe and Hannah Lair as the recipients of its annual Rotary Young Citizens and Watson W. Wise Incentive awards. Recipients are chosen by a vote of TJC faculty and staff.

The Rotary Young Citizens Award goes to two TJC sophomores each year, based on qualities including: dependability, service, honesty, courtesy, loyalty, leadership, sportsmanship and scholarship. Justin Crowe is a chemistry/pre-med major from Jacksonville. After graduating from TJC, Crowe plans to transfer to The University of Texas at Tyler and then attend medical school. Continue reading TJC Award Winners Announced

EAST TEXAS – The East Texas Auto Theft Task Force is warning area residents about the sale of stolen vehicles. The suspects are predominately targeting the Hispanic community. They are posting vehicles on-line in Spanish and Spanish Web sites. The vehicles listed to be sold are extremely below market value to attract buyers. Then, they have the buyer travel to the Houston or Dallas area to complete the cash sale from the town where the vehicle was originally stolen. The task force suggests, if you decide to buy such a vehicle, have them drive to your town so that you won’t make a wasted trip, because they will more than likely not be there to meet you. Continue reading Stolen Cars Being Sold in East Texas

TYLER – A public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday to get citizen input on the proposed expansion of the Old Jacksonville Highway. The proposal calls for widening the existing four-lane roadway to six lanes with a raised median. Bike and pedestrian facilities will be proposed where possible. The project limits are from Loblolly Lane and Woodland Hills Drive, north of the Tyler loop, south to Saline Creek Road and Farm Road 2813. The come-and-go meeting will be held from 5:00 to 7:00pm at Tyler’s Harvey Convention Center.

ALTO – It was back to school on Monday for students in Alto following the April 13th tornado. The gym at the high school and elementary were declared a total loss and other buildings suffered damage. The Rusk school district has offered some portable classrooms to help complete the school year. High school students found a creative use of facilities as they returned to class. Some classes were held in conference rooms, library and even the teachers’ lounge at the middle school and elementary campuses. School officials are faced with a decision, repair the high school or accelerate a 5 year plan to build a new one.

LONGVIEW — Longview Police are investigating a Sunday night homicide. According to the department’s Facebook page, officers responded to the Belaire Manor Apartments on Young Street just after 11:00. Marcos Solis, 23, was found dead at the scene. One person was detained for questioning. Authorities said the investigation is ongoing and is being considered a domestic violence incident.

TYLER — Authorities in Smith County are investigating a fatal shooting and have identified three victims. According to the sheriff’s office, deputies were dispatched around 1:30 Saturday morning to a deadly conduct call on Tidwell Drive, off NNE Loop 323 on the outskirts of Tyler. Deputies describe a “chaotic” scene involving “a large number of individuals.” Authorities say the deputies were quickly able to control the scene and began speaking with witnesses. It was determined that three victims had been shot during a gathering at the location. Keyundta Devor Barrett, 20, of Tyler, died at a local hospital. His body has been sent for autopsy. Kentrell Marquie Miller, 21, and Ira Brown Jr., 18, both from the Tyler area, were shot during the incident but sustained non-life threatening injuries.

TYLER – Starting Monday, there will be a partial closure of Tyler’s Old Bullard Road. This is to improve drainage structures on the road near Rice Road. It should be closed through late August. The project will include the installation of three additional 5’ x 3’ concrete box culverts under Old Bullard Road, as well as new curb inlets and channel improvements just upstream. Motorists can expect delays throughout the construction period. Southbound traffic will remain open to one lane, having through access along Old Bullard while northbound traffic will be rerouted along Rice Road to Richmond Road to Timberwilde Drive. Four electronic message boards are up notifying motorists of the construction

TYLER — TxDOT has scheduled another week’s worth of construction and maintenance around the Tyler District. In Smith County, the FM 2493 Widening Project continues from Gresham to Flint. In Gregg County, crews plan to conduct mill and inlay operations on the U.S. 259 Bypass southbound from the intersection of U.S. 259 to FM 349 in Kilgore. You can go to https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/media-center/local-news/tyler/023-2019.html for more information on projects around the district.

TYLER — The East Texas Food Bank has unveiled its new Volunteer and Nutrition Education Center. The $3 million capital campaign project was titled, “More Space. More Meals.: Our Blueprint to Fight Hunger.” According to a news release, it provides the food bank a dedicated facility with a teaching kitchen, expanded cold dock loading/unloading areas, and improvements to existing warehouse storage capacity. Officials say they determined that the expansion and renovation “would be a crucial measure in reaching the food bank’s long-term strategic distribution goals.” The food bank will host a public open house on Saturday, April 27, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

TYLER — It’s coming down to the wire in the search for a new Tyler Junior College president to succeed Dr. Mike Metke, who is retiring. During the week of April 22, TJC will host the finalists. Each candidate will spend the day participating in a variety of visits, interviews, and forums attended by the TJC Board, community members, faculty and staff. On May 1, the TJC Board will announce the sole finalist during its regular meeting. On May 23, following a 21-day waiting period, the board will announce the new president, who will take office on July 1. Continue reading TJC Moves Closer to Picking New Leader

EAST TEXAS — City and school board elections are coming up around the state on May 4, and early voting starts on Monday. In Smith County, it will run this Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. The hours are extended on Monday and Tuesday of the following week, when they are from 7:00 a.m. till 7:00 p.m. Early voting for the Tyler City Council District 3 race and the TISD Districts 3 and 6 races is at the Hub on East Ferguson. Early voting in the Bullard ISD election is at the Bullard First Methodist Church. Early voting in the Winona city and school elections is at the Winona Community Center. There are two locations to vote early in the Chapel Hill school trustee’s election. They are at the Chapel Hill ISD Administration Building and at Jackson Elementary School. Continue reading Early Voting Begins in May Elections

TYLER — The Tyler Police Department says a missing person has been located, hours after the initial notification went out. Shortly after 7:00 a.m. Saturday, police said Ashton Jacobe Brown had last been seen wearing a hospital gown and had left UT Health-Tyler on S. Beckham headed east towards the TJC area on foot. Brown was under a peace officer’s warrant at the time of his disappearance. Police said Brown was suicidal and was considered to be a threat to himself. Police offered no further details on announcing that Brown had been found.

AUSTIN – The state has recognized outstanding volunteers at state hospitals and state supported living centers. Two of those awards came to East Texas groups. The Spirit of Youth Award went to Rusk High School. The students were recognized for their work individually and through several student groups in service to the patients of Rusk State Hospital. The Volunteer/Advocate of the Year Award went to the Volunteer Council for Rusk State Hospital. The group is a 15 member nonprofit service organization.

AUSTIN (AP) – Energy officials say Austin has bought a wood chip-fueled biomass power plant in East Texas for $460 million to break away from a punitive contract. Southern Company accepted Austin Energy’s bid for the Nacogdoches Generating Facility, a wood chip-fueled biomass power plant. The 115-megawatt plant, one of the largest biomass power plants in the United States, rarely operates because it is too expensive to run. Austin Energy is also acquiring the plant’s holding company. The Austin American-Statesmen reports that Austin Energy General Manager Jackie Sargent says the city is now off the hook for escalating annual payments under a 20-year, $2.3 billion agreement slated to run through 2032.

LONGVIEW – It is a long prison sentence for a Longview man. A Longview jury on Thursday found Michael Fred Houston, 38, guilty of aggravated robbery. Due to two prior felony convictions, and other acts against elderly persons, the jury sentenced him to life in prison. In early May of last year, police were called to the Dollar General on Judson Road for a robbery in the parking lot. An elderly woman told officers a man opened the passenger door of her car, grabbed her purse, which had her cell phone, and then fled. Houston will have to serve 30 years before becoming eligible for parole.

AUSTIN – Unemployment in Tyler and Longview continues to run low. The Texas Workforce commission reports Tyler’s unemployment figure in March was 3.4%. That is down from the 3.7% figure in February. In March of last year, it was also 3.7% Longview’s March unemployment was 3.4%. It was 4.1% in February and 4.3% in March of last year. The Texas unemployment figure for March was unchanged, a 3.8%.

ALTO — Cleanup is still going on across East Texas after two rounds of storms. According to our news partner KETK, East Texas Senator Robert Nichols of Jacksonville paid the city of Alto a visit Thursday. He surveyed the damaged schools, gym, and grounds. According to the district superintendent, preliminary estimates show the cost to rebuild damaged structures to be more than $12 million. Nichols says he and state Representatives Travis Clardy and Trent Ashby signed a letter asking the governor’s office for funding to clean up. Nichols also said Governor Abbott was already working in that direction. The senator added that one of the biggest needs he saw was for portable buildings for classrooms this fall. Meanwhile, the school district plans to reopen one building Monday to get the students through the last five weeks of the school year.

FLINT – An attempt to serve a warrant in the Flint area resulted in a standoff with law officers Thursday afternoon. The warrant was for Gregory Colin Morrison, 44, of Flint. He was wanted on a forfeiture warrant with an original charge of possession of a controlled substance. A woman, Rachel Gutierrez, 26, of Tyler, talked with deputies through the door of a metal building, with Morrison inside. But the door was slammed shut and deputies could hear a large tractor started up inside the building. It was driven to the door and used as a barricade. That’s when the deputies called in the department’s SWAT unit. The couple finally came out when SWAT team members entered the building through a window. Morrison was booked into jail on the warrant and a charge of evading arrest. Gutierrez was charged with hindering apprehension.

EAST TEXAS – The storms that moved through overnight Wednesday and Thursday brought over an inch of rain to Tyler. The National Weather Service reports the two day total for downtown Tyler is 1.50 inches. At the Tyler airport, the two day total was 1.88 inches. The Longview airport recorded 1.31 inches. The storms produced gusty winds. The highest wind gust at the Tyler airport was 46 mph at 2:58 Thursday morning. The Longview airport reported its highest wind gust Thursday morning at 3:56 when it hit 56 mph.

TYLER – State District Judge Jack Skeen has granted a defense motion for more DNA testing in the capital murder case against Gustavo Zavala-Garcia. He appeared in court Thursday morning for a pretrial hearing. Both the prosecution and the defense agreed there needed to be testing of additional small hairs found on the victim’s T-shirt and skirt. This would have to be done at a private lab or the University of North Texas lab. Zavala-Garcia is charged with capital murder in the November, 2016 death of Kayla Gomez-Orozco. She was abducted from a Bullard church. Her body was found days later inside a well on the suspect’s property.

SMITH COUNTY — Due to weather conditions Wednesday night, several roadways remain closed due to downed power lines and/or trees. Two of the most heavily damaged roads in Smith County, CR 1125 (Greenbriar Road) and CR 1113 (Lake Placid Road) have been cleared for drivers but crews continue to work to clean up downed trees and power lines. Smith County Road and Bridge crews are working to clear 19 county roads with downed trees. They include CR 1148, 1150, 1151, 192, 1113, 1139, 1134, 1205, 1206, 1140, 196, 1141, 2103, 2161, 235, 337, 397, 437 and 438.

TYLER – All non-emergency Smith County offices will be closed for business on Friday, for Good Friday. Offices will reopen for normal business hours on Monday. But, even with Smith County offices closed, the county elections office at 302 East Ferguson will open from 9:00am to noon. The Texas Secretary of State’s Office is requiring the elections office to open for three hours on the holiday to give people a chance to turn in their applications for a mail ballot for the May 4 city and school elections. Friday is the deadline to turn in the applications. Early voting begins next Monday and runs through Tuesday, April 30.

TYLER – Three Tyler residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury in a counterfeit immigration documents conspiracy. The indictment against Jose Luis Marquez Rodriguez, 53; Eleazar Juarez Juarez, 45; and Virginia Colis Rodriguez, 52, was returned on Wednesday. The three are said to have produced phony United States Permanent Residence Cards, United States Social Security Cards, and driver’s licenses. They are said to have sold them for around $200 apiece. Rodriguez is to to have kept detailed records of their distribution efforts and last month alone, recorded 90 sales of counterfeit U.S. identification documents. If convicted, the defendants each face up to 15 years in federal prison.

DALLAS — A North Texas woman is desperately searching for the wedding ring her mother was wearing saturday — the day she was killed in the tornado near Caddo Mounds State Historic Site in Cherokee County. Kerrie Bell’s mom and step-dad were on their way home when their van was overturned by the tornado. Her mom died — and her wedding ring was nowhere to be found. Bell says, “The ring itself is not worth a lot; emotionally it is.” Bell says she wants her little sister to have the ring. They’ve been back to the scene, even looking with a metal detector, with no luck. She says the gold ring has a solitary diamond. The band is a size four or five.

EAST TEXAS — Some East Texas schools started classes late or canceled them altogether on Thursday due to power outages from early-morning storms. According to our news partner KETK, Brownsboro ISD schools and offices were cancelled for Thursday. Kilgore High School also canceled classes, but it was business as usual for all other campuses. Due to a widespread power outage, Chapel Hill ISD delayed school start time by two hours. Palestine Westwood ISD also had a two hour delay. Buses ran with a delay of two hours.

ALTO – Cherokee County will not be getting any help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the wake of the tornadoes last weekend. That is what County Judge Chris Davis told our news partner KETK. The reason that FEMA will not help is because the damage does not meet the threshold necessary to receive federal disaster assistance. FEMA told KETK that the state had not requested help from them.

HENDERSON – The Rusk County Sheriff’s Department is seeking the public’s help in solving some theft cases. They say that the car pictured here has been involved in numerous thefts and burglaries in the Tatum area. The suspect has been stealing from carports and inside homes. If you can provide any information, you are asked to contact Investigator Wright or Investigator Perrault at 903-657-3581.

TYLER – A 33-year-old Salvadoran citizen has been indicted by a Tyler federal grand jury for immigration violations. Jose Eduardo Melara-Carcamo was named in an indictment returned on Wednesday. He was arrested in March for public intoxication in Athens. The deportation officer who interviewed him was the same one who processed him for deportation last year. A check of records confirmed that Melara had been previously removed to El Salvador in 2007, 2013, and 2018. Each time he reentered the United States without consent. If convicted, he faces up to 2 years in federal prison and deportation.

AUSTIN – As the result of last weekend’s storms, several area counties are under a state disaster declaration. Nine counties are contained in the declaration, including Cherokee and Nacogdoches. The Governor has authorized the use of all available resources of state government and of political subdivisions to aid in response efforts. The governor said his action is to ensure those impacted have the resources they need to recover as quickly as possible. And, he added, “Working together, we will ensure that these East Texas communities are rebuilt stronger than ever before.”