KTBB News, Weather, Talk

LONGVIEW – The East Texas Regional Airport in Gregg County is receiving two grants through the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program. The grants total $918,000. Our news partner, KETK, reports $810,000 is earmarked for a new taxiway. The remainder of the funds will pay for an airport study. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told KETK, “These Airport Improvement Program grants will ensure that a safer, more efficient East Texas Regional Airport remains an economic engine and vital infrastructure component for its community.”

GRAND SALINE – Van Zant County authorities have arrested a man in a March shooting death. Arrested Monday was Dwight Dean Rosamond, 44. He has been charged with murder in the death of Ricky White II. The shooting occurred at a residence on County Road 1216 outside of Grand Saline. The night of the shooting, Rosamond told investigators White was a prowler and he shot him in self defense. But, investigators feel the autopsy report and forensic evidence didn’t match the story and Rosamond was arrested.

TYLER – Funeral services are scheduled for a former Tyler police officer. Joseph Alfred Barron, 90, died on Monday. He joined the police department on May 22, 1957 and retired in 1989 with 32 years of service. Visitation will be on Thursday, July 19th from 4:00 to 7:00pm at Caudle Rutledge Funeral Home in Lindale. The funeral service will be on Friday, July 20th, at 10:00am at New Harmony Baptist Church.

TYLER – The trials of three men charged with a Smith County murder, have been rescheduled. All three appeared in state district court in Tyler Tuesday morning. The trial of Martin Wesley Reynolds Jr. was rescheduled for August 20th. The trial of Colton Wade Tate and Nathan Ryan Garcia, was rescheduled for September 24th. The three, all from Whitehouse, are charged in last November’s shooting death of Andrew Carpenter, 19. The shooting occurred at a residence on Deerwood Drive, southwest of Whitehouse. The shooting is said to have been the result of an argument between Reynolds and Carpenter.

HALLSVILLE – Hallsville school trustees have approved arming administrators starting in August of next year. The resolution was approved at Monday night school trustee’s meeting. The resolution is the first step in implementing the district’s school guardian program. Trustees also approved intervention counseling for “red card” students. These are students who exhibit behaviors of an active shooter. Assistant Superintendent John Martin told the Longview News Journal, the program enables the district to “approve and enforce policies that allow staff members to have access to and/or carry weapons as a possible means of defense in the event of a violent, deadly act.” Continue reading Some Hallsville School Administrators Will Be Armed

TYLER – A meeting scheduled in Tyler Tuesday will look at ways to improve the traffic flow along South Broadway. The public will get its first opportunity to provide input on the U.S. Highway 69 Tyler Feasibility Study that’s looking at ways to improve safety and mobility along the corridor from Amherst Street to Farm Road 2813. The City of Tyler, the Tyler Area MPO and TxDOT have partnered to conduct the study that explores improvements, including what is called innovative intersections along the corridor. The meeting will be held at the First Christian Church on South Broadway from 5:00 to 7:00pm. Continue reading Meeting on Improving South Broadway

TYLER — A Whitehouse woman has pleaded guilty to federal violations. Shelly Hunter, 47, pleaded guilty July 16 to interstate transport of stolen funds. According to information presented in court, from March 2005 until February 2017 Hunter was employed as the Business Office Manager for Peltier Chevrolet, Inc. in Tyler. Beginning March 2011, Hunter embezzled and stole funds belonging to the dealership. Hunter used the stolen funds to pay her personal credit cards. In some instances, she mailed checks to pay her accounts. She also directly wired funds from the dealership’s bank account to her credit card accounts. Continue reading Former Peltier Business Manager Guilty of Fraud

JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville police are encouraging residents and business to join them in a community camera program. The program allows persons to register the locations and capabilities of their security systems. Then, when a crime occurs, officers will know the locations of nearby video cameras to help them collect evidence in the case. They say this is one of the best methods to catch suspects and to convict them. You can get more information by clicking on the Community Camera program link on their web page.

HENDERSON – A woman is arrested in connection with a Henderson robbery earlier this year. Arrested late last week was Ashley Alexderia Page, 32, of Nacogdoches. She is charged with aggravated robbery in connection with the January robbery of the East Texas Professional Credit Union. Investigators used fingerprints found at the scene to lead them to Page. A man, also involved in the robbery, has also been identified. His name has not been released, but a warrant is out for his arrest.

KILGORE – The Kilgore school superintendent will soon announce she is stepping down. Cara Cooke has confirmed she plans to resign. She will be taking a job in a south Texas school district so she can be closer to her husband. Cooke was named the Kilgore school superintended in February, 2013.

TYLER – A Lindale teen pleads guilty in connection with the theft of a Lindale police car. Kelsey Nichole Wood, 18, entered the plea in state district court on Monday. Last November, she is said to have taken the vehicle, driving off at a high speed and injuring an officer. She was arrested after crashing the vehicle into a tree. She has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault against a public servant, felony escape and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Her sentencing will come at a later date.

TYLER – The trial of a man accused of recording a woman in a restroom has been postponed. The jury had been selected for the trial of 30 year old Victor Antonio Cruz-Castellanos of Tyler. But, after a motion to suppress was filed, the trial was postponed until mid August. He is charged with invasive visual recording in a bathroom or dressing room. Tyler police said a woman was going into the restroom when the suspect asked if he could go in before her. He is then said to have put a cellphone in a cabinet across from the stall in order to record her. Officials say the woman spotted the phone’s lens and confronted him. He remains in the Smith County Jail ever since his arrest last December.

TYLER (AP/STAFF) — A rare 7-week-old white lion cub is on public display at an animal sanctuary just north of Tyler. The little African lioness named Luna arrived last week. Someone came across the cub at a breeding facility and brought it to the Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary. She is among fewer than 500 white lions left in the world. Sanctuary director Emily Owen says white lions are endangered due to over hunting. Only about a dozen white lions are left in the wild due to poachers and “canned hunting facilities” where people pay to hunt the lions. The 12 pound cub is bottle-fed every two to three hours. When she is six months old, she will be moved to her own habitat.

TYLER — A Tyler man known on social media as the “Asian Nazi” has written asking for a release from jail. According to our news partner KETK, Heon Jong Yoo says his lawyer is trying to get him convicted, and he says he will not leave the country. Reports say his nickname came from being a self-described neo-Confederate. Yoo has been indicted on several federal charges including knowingly making false statements during the purchase of a firearm. The indictment says he falsely listed his country of citizenship as the United States when he is not and was not at the time. The indictment states Yoo did this five times, on four separate occasions, at three different gun stores in Tyler.

SMITH COUNTY — A theft suspect has been added to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office’s Most Wanted list. According to our news partner KETK, Broderick Walker is wanted for theft of property. Smith County judicial records list numerous convictions for Walker, including possession of marijuana, failure to appear, driving while intoxicated, theft of property, criminal trespass and fraudulent use/possession of identifying information items. Walker also has other outstanding warrants from the SCSO and the Tyler Police Department. If you know of Walker’s whereabouts, please contact the SCSO at (903) 566-6600 or the TPD at (903) 531-1000.

SMITH COUNTY — A Tyler man is scheduled to appear in court for a jury trial Monday for allegedly recording a female coworker while she was in the restroom. Victor Antonio Cruz-Castellanos, 30, is charged with invasive visual recording in a bathroom/dressing room. A jury trial wa scheduled for 10:00 a.m. in the court of 241st District Judge Jack Skeen. According to our news partner KETK, the incident reportedly occurred in December 2017. Tyler police said a woman was going into the restroom when Cruz-Castellanos asked if he could go in before her. Cruz-Castellanos then allegedly put a cellphone in a cabinet across from the stall in order to record her. Continue reading Tyler Man Accused of Recording Woman Set for Trial

TYLER — The countdown to Tyler’s 85th annual Texas Rose Festival is underway following a Friday night kickoff party at Willow Brook Country Club. Rose Festival Queen Amanda Elaine Hiles didn’t hide her excitement about the upcoming event. She told KTBB, “It has just been such an amazing tradition,” adding that “it’s really awesome to be part of… something that’s so special to our Tyler community.” Amanda’s been volunteering in the community since the beginning of the year. That included making a little girl’s last wish come true as Amanda crowned her “Queen of Hearts.” The youngster was suffering from a number of terminal illnesses, and Amanda calls the crowning “a moment I will cherish forever.” The 2018 Rose Festival is set for October 18-21. Go to http://www.texasrosefestival.com to learn more.

MARSHALL – The smoke testing of Marshall’s sewer lines starts Monday. It’s part of the city’s annual program to reduce groundwater infiltration into sewer lines. The process involves pumping non-toxic smoke into sewer main lines. This allows smoke to seep up through the soil and indicate any cracks or line deterioration. These cracks are a source for groundwater to infiltrate sewer lines and overload the collection and treatment system. The smoke testing program also allows the city to locate problems in private sewer lines that need to be repaired. The crews will be testing in the following areas: North Franklin Street, Wausau Street, Summit Street, Louisiana Street, West Street, May Street, Ida Street, Henderson Street, Dallas Street, Hargrove Street and Sledge Street. Continue reading A Smoke Test Starts in Marshall Monday

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler has announced it has been accepted into the NCAA Division II process. The announcement was made Friday afternoon by school president Dr. Michael Tidwell. UT Tyler is expected to join the Lone Star Conference. During a three-year transitional period, UT Tyler teams are not eligible to compete for NCAA championships. The Patriots applied for NCAA Division II status in February, after a nearly year-long vetting process with guidance from an expert consultant and internal research led by the school’s athletic director, Dr. Howard Patterson. UT Tyler currently sponsors intercollegiate teams in 17 sports. The leap into Division II could allow for the university to create a football program in the future.

KILGORE – Two Muslim men, who formerly worked for Halliburton in Kilgore, are claiming they were harassed by co-workers for their religion and because they hail from Syria and India. The Longview News Journal reports the men have filed a federal lawsuit because they were “subjected to taunts and name calling” by co-workers and supervisors. The suit was filed July 3rd in the Northern District of Texas by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to the lawsuit, one of the men reported his complaint to Halliburton’s human resources office in September 2015. The suit said he was “abruptly terminated in retaliation for his complaints.” The paper says a spokesman for Halliburton declined to comment on Friday.

KILGORE – The number of Kilgore College Rangerettes has grown. After a week-long tryout, 36 freshmen on Friday became the newest members of the Rangerettes dance and drill team. They come as far away as San Juan, Texas, east of McAllen and Woodward, Oklahoma, which is northwest of Oklahoma City. The announcement, made in a closed ceremony in Dodson Auditorium on the Kilgore campus, culminates a weeklong process for 96 young ladies. The new Rangerettes will join 36 sophomores to make a team of 72.

JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville police held a news conference Friday over an officer-involved shooting and killing of a dog. The officer had gone to a residence on Heath Lane on July 4th concerning a call about illegal fireworks. No fireworks were found. A video shows, as the officer was leaving the property, she was charged by a 100 pound German shepherd. It was running toward her with its teeth showing and growling. The dog tried to bite the officer and she pulled her gun and shot it. Jacksonville Police Chief Andrew Hawkes said, officers do not have to wait until they are injured to protect themselves from injury threat or death.” The incident remains under investigation.

GREGG COUNTY — Eastbound I-20 is now clear near Exit 583 in the Longview area. Drivers were experiencing delays of approximately 20 minutes while authorities cleared a crash. The accident was reported around midday.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Road 173, northwest of Bullard, is closed due to a downed tree. Officials say county Road and Bridge crews are working to clear the portion of CR 173 between CR 152 and FM 344. They say they’ll let you know when the road is reopened to drivers. Until then, you’re asked to use alternate routes.

TYLER — Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller makes a stop in Tyler on what he terms a “listening tour,” visiting with people connected to the agriculture industry. He talked to KTBB about the two major issues he feels are affecting agriculture today. Miller pointed to tariff-related issues connected to NAFTA and China, as well as immigration and labor. Miller says there are more jobs available than workers, which he calls “a good problem to have.” Miller is upbeat about the chances of getting a good immigration bill through Congress.

NACOGDOCHES — Authorities have recovered the body of a man who drowned Thursday afternoon at Lake Nacogdoches. According to our news partner KETK and Nacogdoches Police, around12:50, 911 dispatchers received a call about a man who went under the water in the west swimming area at Lake Nacogdoches. When first responders arrived at the scene, the man showed no signs of life. The identity of the victim has not been released. Police say the investigation is ongoing.

TYLER – Tyler has set a new rainfall record for July 12th. The National Weather Service says Tyler recorded 2.03 inches of rain on Thursday. That makes the date the wettest July 12 on record, and the records go back to 1883. Previously, the wettest July 12th occurred in 1893 when 1.63 inches of rain was recorded.

LONGVIEW – Starting at 7:30 Friday night, the intersection of East Cotton Street and South Mobberly Avenue in Longview will be closed to all traffic. It will remain closed until 7:30 Sunday evening. The same intersection is expected to be closed during the same time period the following weekend. This time period was selected in an effort to limit the impact on motorists. This street work is part of the 2011 Street Bond Fund. This project consists of reconstructing Cotton Street from Green Street to M. L. King Jr., Boulevard with curb and gutter, drainage inlets and pipes, sidewalks, signs, and water and sewer improvements.