KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – According to our news partner KETK TxDOT started winterizing East Texas highways on Friday. “Most traveled roads, and so I20 is one of those, so we hit that in Gregg County, Smith County, Van Zandt County,” Jeff Williford, TxDOT Tyler District Public Information officer. TxDOT officials also assisted with Toll 49, despite it not being their roadway. Officials were treating streets with a saltwater solution.

Their number one advice is to slow down. “Roads can still get slick when it’s on there, it does help slow the process down of freezing when that precipitation hits,” said Williford. Officials also suggest checking car battery life and tires. Continue reading TxDOT monitors roadways for winter weather

TYLER – According to our news partner KETK an Arctic front arrived Saturday night, bringing a light wintry mix late Sunday into Monday and around 50+ hours of consecutive hours of below freezing temperatures. Lows are predicted to fall into the teens both Tuesday & Wednesday morning. At this time, this will be the coldest air that we’ve witnessed in East Texas since the morning of December 23rd, 2022 when we fell to 10 degrees at Tyler Pounds Airport. The lowest we’ll get temperature wise will be Tuesday morning (13 degrees). Wind chills Tuesday morning may drop below zero, mainly north of I-20. Continually updated details on coming winter weather can be found here.

TEXARKANA — According to our news partner KETK two drivers have been arrested in connection to a fatal crash from Dec. 18, 2023. According to a release, the Texarkana Police Department arrested Christopher Daniel, 25, and Robert Culpepper, 23, and were both charged with racing on the highway involving death. They were booked into the Bi-State Jail and their bonds were set at $1 million each. Linda Reed, 66, died after her car was hit when she attempted to cross North Stateline Ave. from East 9th St. to Hazel St. around 7:20 p.m. Officials said evidence showed that Culpepper and Daniel were driving southbound on Stateline “at an extremely high rate of speed.”

TYLER — It was successful search for a missing Tyler boy. According to our news partner KETK, 9-year-old Jordan Pickett went missing around 3:45 p.m. Thursday. Initial police reports say Jordan jumped out of family member’s car at an apartment complex on S. Fleishel Ave. However, he was found safe and unharmed shortly before 11:00 p.m.

LAIRD HILL– The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office said that they seized what they suspect to be heroin and methamphetamines during an investigation Wednesday in Laird Hill. According to our news partner KETK, arrested was Roy Westley Lick of Overton. Charges against Lick are manufacture and delivery of a substance, possession of a controlled substance, both penalty group 1. He was also charged with resisting arrest, search or transport. Lick is being held in the Rusk County Jail on a $102,500 bond. Officials said that they expect more arrests in this ongoing investigation.

TYLER – With extreme cold weather settling into our area, several locations are already to open as shelters and warming centers. Our news partner KETK will be continuously updating the list of available locations here.

TYLER – After Thursday night storms, several thousand people in East Texas are without power. Our news partner KETK has compiled a list of counties with power outages from ONCOR, SWEPCO, and several electric co-ops. You can find the list here.

LONGVIEW – In a report from the City of Longview, their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day March will be held despite winter weather predictions. In the release, the march is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 15. Due to expected weather conditions participants have the option to march or drive a vehicle from Broughton Park to Mt. Olive Baptist Church. The march will be immediately followed by an Interfaith Service.

SMITH COUNTY– All non-emergency Smith County offices will be closed Monday January 15. observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. According to a press from the county, offices will be back to normal business hours on Tuesday January 16.

CASS COUNTY — Our news partners at KETK report two people on a motorcycle are dead after striking a wild animal Tuesday night on the roadway. According to DPS, a 2004 Honda VTX motorcycle was heading west on U.S. Highway 67 when it struck a wild animal in the roadway “knocking the driver and a passenger onto the road.” The driver, identified as Benny Dan Snyder, 53 of Redwater, and the passenger as Darlene Green-Hurst, 40 of Maud, were pronounced dead at the scene. Officials said the two were not wearing helmets.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County’s Emergency Management Office launched a tool for residents to notify the county of potential hazards. “I am excited to share a groundbreaking initiative that places the power of community safety directly into your hands,” Smith County Judge Neal Franklin said. “Whether you’ve noticed flood-prone areas, wildfire risks, or other potential threats, your insights are crucial in building a more resilient and prepared community.” The public input form for hazard mitigation can be found here.

The county emphasized that this is not a form for emergency action or to request routine services. Continue reading Smith County launches hazard mitigation form

TYLER – After closing arguments and deliberations Tuesday, Daniel Nyabuto was found guilty of intoxication manslaughter in the death of Smith County Sherriff’s Deputy Lorenzo Bustos. On Wednesday, Nyabuto was sentenced to 32 years in prison. According to our news partner KETK, prosecutors said in July of 2022, Nyabuto was driving drunk when he rear-ended a patrol car causing the death Deputy Bustos. Bustos was completing the final night of his training when he died.

TEXAS – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has issued a weather watch on Wednesday for two days next week. According to our news partner KETK, ERCOT said the weather watch was issued for Jan. 15 through Jan. 17 due to a forecast of extreme cold weather across their region, higher electrical demand and the “potential for lower reserves.” To monitor the power grid, you can go to the ERCOT website.

TYLER – Tuesday marked Texas College’s 130th year providing higher education. According to our news partner KETK, Texas College was founded in 1894 by a group of ministers from the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, now the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, in order to provide post-secondary education for the city. According to Texas College, they are the oldest higher education institution in the city of Tyler. The school started in a four-room frame house on the same grounds that the school currently stands, starting with a class of only six students. By the end of the first year, enrollment had increased to over 100 students.

SMITH COUNTY – One person is dead after an early morning fire in Winona. According to Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue, the call came in at 3:10 a.m. that a residence in the 11000 block of CR 3168 was on fire. At least 15 Smith County Emergency Services District 2 firefighters and UT Health EMS responded. The Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office and ATF are investigating the cause of the fire. The identity of the victim has not been released pending family notification according to our colleagues at KETK.

TYLER — One person is dead and four injured after a wreck on SH 31 near Surrey Trail on Tuesday according to our news partners at KETK. A DPS report said a 2006 Chrysler 300 was heading north on Surrey Trail at around 5:50 p.m. and attempted to turn west onto SH 31 but collided with a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado. The driver of the Chrysler, identified as Mary L. Crockett, 55, was pronounced dead on the scene. DPS said the driver and passengers in the Chevrolet had non-incapacitating injuries and taken to a local hospital.

TYLER — TxDOT crews are getting ahead of the winter storm forecast for East Texas by preparing roadways around the eight-county district for potentially icy conditions. The pretreatment of bridges and other roadway areas susceptible to wind and ice began Friday. I-20 and other major roadways will be pretreated with a brine solution consisting of salt and water designed to prevent ice and snow from sticking to surfaces. The process is a fast-moving mobile operation with minimal impacts to traffic. Drivers should allow a safe traveling distance between their vehicles and the mobile convoys distributing the pretreatment materials. Crews have readied equipment and materials to treat other roadways as warranted. Coordination efforts with local municipalities and law enforcement are also underway. TxDOT works closely with the National Weather Service to have the best available information preparing for a winter weather storm. Continue reading TxDOT has started pre-treating roads

TYLER — A man was arrested last month for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection to a Tyler apartment shooting in late August. According to his arrest affidavit, Xavier Young, 21 of Flint, is accused of jumping over the balcony of a woman’s apartment, who witnesses said is the mother of his three young children, and shooting her in the face and leg. Our news partner KETK reports, a witness told authorities, according to the affidavit, that on Aug. 26 she had received a Facetime call from the shooting victim and saw her face “was covered in blood,” then called 911 and drove to the apartment. The woman was found in her apartment on Old Bullard Road, and taken to a local hospital in critical condition, but was reported by local authorities at the time to be conscious and alert. Continue reading Man arrested following apartment shooting

TYLER — A Tyler based crimes intelligence center has prevented over $170 million in losses due to fraud in Texas, our news partner KETK reports. According to the Texas Department of Licensing Regulation (TDLR), the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (FCIC) prevented $171,516,831 in losses due to fraud and recovered 445 credit card skimmers and 5,574 fraudulent credit cards in the last two years. The FCIC was created by the House Bill 2106 in the 87th Texas Legislature and is the first of its kind in the United States. The center operates as a partnership between the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) and the Smith County District Attorney’s Office. “When TDLR, Smith County, law enforcement and members of the Texas Legislature began discussing the need for a unit like the FCIC, we never dreamed that it would make the impact it has in such a short time,” said TDLR interim executive director Brian E. Francis. “This remarkable achievement shows the power of all of us working together to protect the people of Texas.” Continue reading Crimes intelligence center prevents millions in fraud losses

HAWKINS — On Tuesday night, the Hawkins city council started the new year with personnel changes and approved the resignation of the first female mayor, Susan Hubbard, according to our news partner KETK. “There are certain pressures on her. There are certain citizens in our communities that don’t want to see the growth, the possibilities the good things,” said 21-year-old former mayor pro-tem Clara Kay. In the absence of a city leader, the mayor pro-tem steps in to fill the role of mayor. However, Kay resigned as well. “This was going to be my last term running anyway, so I thought this would be a good time with her going out anyway to kind of go out with her, almost like John Wayne riding into the sunset together,” said Kay. Continue reading City of Hawkins accepts mayor and pro-tem’s resignation

WHITEHOUSE – One person is dead after an officer-involved shooting in Whitehouse on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Andre White, 30. The Whitehouse Police Department said that they responded to 502 W. Main St., Pecan Woods Apartments, for a disturbance around 12:15 p.m. According to our news partner KETK, a summary of the incident, as stated in a custodial death report, indicates that White yelled “let’s get this party started” before shooting a handgun at officers, with two rounds hitting the patrol car. The report stated that one officer returned fire and shot White, who died at the scene. “It is not clear at this time why the suspect began firing a weapon at the officers and complainant,” the report stated. “The officers had only been on scene approximately 15 seconds before the shoot[ing] occurred.” Texas Rangers are still investigating the shooting and the officer was put on administrative leave, per policy. A witness told KETK they believe the disturbance was between a couple, which lead to police being called and ultimately the shooting.

MOUNT PLEASANT – A man was arrested on Tuesday in Mount Pleasant after police said he fled in a stolen car while an officer attempted to make a traffic stop. According to Mount Pleasant PD, officers attempted to stop a car around 11:30 a.m. that was displaying a false registration in the area of 100 S Lee Ave. when the driver, identified as Eduardo Flores, 40, fled from them. Officials said officers followed him into the east side of Titus County and were able to spike the car’s tires, “but the suspect still refused to yield.” Continue reading Man arrested after traffic stop leads to pursuit

TYLER – With strong winds making their way through East Texas, over 3,500 customers are without power as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Our news partner KETK, has a county by county list of those impacted on the ONCOR and SWEPCO service maps and other electric co-ops as well. You can find the list here.

TYLER – Douglas Elementary School has started plans to transform their outdoor space into an extension of the classroom following a $100,000 donation from former student Jack Benson. According to our news partner KETK, Tyler ISD announced last Wednesday that the funds will be used for new playground equipment as well as a covered learning space. The outdoor learning area is planned to incorporate scientific concepts with microscopes and other tools for experiments and hands-on learning. Benson hopes that through his donation others are encouraged to give back. “The vision for the outdoor learning area is to have an outdoor extension of the classroom, something I think children at any elementary grade level will benefit from,” Benson said.

TYLER — The East Texas Food Bank (ETFB) has been named the recipient of a $125,000 grant through the annual Chick-fil-A True Inspiration Awards program, according to a news release. “This grant will help further ETFB’s efforts in the community of fighting hunger and feeding hope in the 26 counties we serve in East Texas,” said David Emerson, CEO of the East Texas Food Bank. “This will allow us to feed more East Texans through our mobile pantries, resource centers and programs for seniors and children.” ETFB is one of 51 True Inspiration Awards grant recipients in 2024 that are receiving a collective $5.48 million from Chick-fil-A, Inc. To be selected for a grant, organizations must work to address key issues that align with Chick-fil-A’s corporate social responsibility priorities: Caring for People, Caring for Others through Food, Caring for our Communities and Caring for our Planet. Continue reading East Texas Food Bank receives grant

PALESTINE — The Palestine Police Department arrested three men after responding to a call of multiple people “waving around guns” at a Whataburger on Jan. 5 around 8:20 p.m. According to our news partner KETK, officers responded to a call of a witness claiming to observe people getting into and out of a white Chevrolet Traverse at the Whataburger on Loop 256. Officials said they have received multiple calls in recent months in the area and the Palestine Plaza, involving fights, drugs and weapons offenses. A detective with the Street Crimes Unit was the first to respond to the scene and located the vehicle in the parking lot that reportedly occupied several young males. The detective reportedly held them at gunpoint until back-up arrived. The detective allegedly noticed one of the passengers, Brenden Mathews, 17, was making “furtive movements” and was ordered multiple times to keep his hands up. Continue reading Teens arrested after ‘waving around guns’ in public