KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — Here’s a quick look at work planned in the Tyler District of the Texas Department of Transportation.

SMITH COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform base and pavement repairs on State Highway 64 east of Tyler between Loop 323 and Farm Road 2607. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress. Motorists are encouraged to be prepared to reduce speed and merge in and around the work zone.

TENNESSEE COLONY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations in various locations on Farm Road 2054 between Farm Road 321 and the TDCJ Cofield Prison Unit, followed later in the week by the same work on Farm Road 2706 between Farm Road 321 and U.S. Highway 287. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

HENDERSON COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform pavement-repair operations on State Highway 31 in Malakoff. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

LONGVIEW — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform pavement repairs on Spur 63 in various locations between North Loop 281 and State Highway 31. The work is in preparation for a resurfacing project later this spring. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

RUSK COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue edge repairs on Farm Road 1716 between State Highway 43 near Tatum and Farm Road 782. The work is being done in advance of a seal coat application later this summer. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

WOOD COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue edge repairs on Farm Road 2869 north of Farm Road 2088.The work is in preparation for a seal coat application later this summer. A second crew is scheduled to make edge repairs on Farm Road 515 west of Farm Road 2225. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

RUSK — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform pavement repair operations on U.S. Highway 84 in Rusk in the curb-and-gutter section between U.S. Highway 69 and State Highway 110. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue base and pavement repairs on Farm Road 47 north of Farm Road 2475, and on Farm Road 1395 between Farm Road 47 and Farm Road 859. A second crew is scheduled to perform fog seal operations on Interstate Highway 20 service roads between the Kaufman County Line and Farm Road 859, on Farm Road 17 between Interstate Highway 20 and State Highway 64, and on State Highway 198 between Farm Road 47 and Farm Road 3080. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

LUFKIN (AP) – State foresters are hoping that recent rains will limit the 2012 wildfire risk in East Texas, where drought factored in several disastrous fires last year. Mark Stanford is associate director of forest resource protection for the Texas Forest Service. He tells The Lufkin Daily News that the region is “actually in pretty good shape,” unlike South and West Texas. The National Weather Service in Shreveport, Louisiana had forecast severe drought to continue in East Texas through early summer. However, more than 17 inches of rain has fallen in the Lufkin area in the first quarter of 2012, the most seen in a decade. Much of the damage from the 2011 fires remains. Stanford says another $137 million will be needed to reforest the region, leaving many forest-related businesses idle.

WASHINGTON (AP) – An Army Ranger from East Texas has died in an enemy attack in Afghanistan. The Pentagon identifies the dead soldier as Sgt. Tanner S. Higgins, 23, of Yantis. The Pentagon statement Sunday says Higgins died Saturday in Logar province of eastern Afghanistan when his unit came under enemy small-arms fire. Higgins was assigned to 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

SMITH COUNTY — A northeastern Smith County home has been destroyed by a weekend fire and one person has been injured. Fire officials confirm with KETK that they were called out to a structure fire at 1:00 Saturday afternoon just outside Tyler on Morningside Drive between Pearl and Jimmie streets. Officials say when crews arrived at the scene; the building was fully engulfed in flames. The fire was put out, and the owner of the house was taken to the hospital with unknown injuries. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

TYLER — Tyler police have arrested a suspect in an early Saturday gas station robbery. At approximately 1:45 a.m., police responded to the Exxon station at 1204 W. Gentry. The clerk said a man displayed a knife and demanded the money from the cash register. The clerk also said he knows the robber because the robber frequently visits the store; however, he didn’t know his name. The robber fled the store on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. About 10 minutes later, Officer Brennon Ewen located a man at Dargan and Harmony matching the description of the robber. The clerk later claimed the person arrested was the same man who had robbed the store. Darrell DeWayne Wallace, 38, was arrested for aggravated robbery.

TYLER — Tyler Junior College will conduct two town hall meetings to discuss its upcoming $25 million bond election for the purpose of constructing a new nursing and health sciences building. College officials say the meetings will provide the public the opportunity to learn about the proposed project and ask questions. The TJC Board of Trustees has called for the election within the TJC district for Saturday, May 12. Early voting begins April 30 and concludes May 8. The town hall meetings will take place Thursday, April 19, at the TJC West Campus Skills Training Center, 1530 SSW Loop 323, Room 124; and Tuesday, April 24, in the Family Learning Center at Douglas Elementary School, 1508 N. Haynie. Both meetings are set for 6 p.m.

The TJC tax district comprises properties within the Tyler, Chapel Hill, Lindale, Winona, Grand Saline and Van independent school districts. Portions of the Tyler and Chapel Hill districts are not within the TJC district. You can visit http://www.tjc.edu/bondproposal for more information.

GREGG COUNTY — A Kilgore woman has been arrested after police said she pointed two guns at her ex-husband during an argument Wednesday night. Kristeen Brooke Adams, 40, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon/family violence.

According to the Longview News-Journal, the incident happened about about 10:40. As her ex-husband left the residence, Adams fired a single round from a revolver into the ground. A .22 caliber revolver and a .357 caliber revolver were found at the home. Both were loaded, and both had a single spent shell casing in the chamber, according to the arrest report. A application for an emergency protection order was submitted.

Adams remains in the Gregg County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

LONGVIEW — Two suspects accused of overpowering a Longview convenience store clerk around 5:00 Tuesday morning, are now in custody and officials say they expect at least one more arrest. Drew Antonio Davis, 26, and James Alexander Coombs, 36 (pictured), both of Longview, were charged with robbery and are both being held in the Gregg County Jail.

Longview police said the clerk at the EZ Mart on Judson Road was hit in the head from behind. According to KETK, the suspects are described as a black male wearing a white ball cap with a dark T-shirt and a white long sleeve undershirt with jeans and some type of house shoes and a heavy-set black female wearing a black toboggan and a black T-shirt.

MINEOLA — Trial proceedings begin for a woman accused in the hit-and-run death of a Mineola teen. According to the Longview News-Journal, Connie Young was indicted in the October death of Jacob Burrell, who was hit by a car while walking home on the shoulder of U.S. 69. The event was witnessed by another driver who reported the vehicle left the scene. The teen died at a Tyler hospital the next day. Young, a longtime nurse, is charged with serious bodily injury.

SAN AUGUSTINE (AP) – Authorities say two women accused of kidnapping a Houston boy in 2004 when he was just 8 months old used elaborate lies and homes in Central and East Texas to conceal him from authorities. Krystle Tanner and her mother, Gloria Walker, each face charges of kidnapping and injury to a child. Their relatives say the women did not abduct Miguel Morin, who is now 8 years old, but claim the boy’s mother gave him away. An attorney for Miguel’s mother calls the claim “completely false.” And authorities in San Augustine County, where the two women are charged, say the boy was kidnapped. Twenty-seven-year-old Tanner and 50-year-old Walker were to make their first court appearances Friday in San Augustine, located 150 miles northeast of Houston.

RUSK COUNTY — The National Weather Service says surveyors have been assessing damage from Wednesday’s tornadoes in Rusk County. According to KETK, Weather Service experts have determined that two EF-0 twisters hit the county. They say the damage was mainly in the area of County Road 468 and FM 1798. Officials say trees and power lines were down.

CANTON — A Canton man who was arrested and released after allegedly beating his wife severely is back in jail. Kristi Holt with the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Department says Joshua Neal Holden was arrested after his wife, Lisa, hid in the woods for two days with her two toddler daughters to escape his years of abuse. Holden was then released after his initial arrest when he posted bond. But Holt says two more felony warrants have landed him back behind bars. The sheriff’s office says the warrants were “for the same type of offense against the same victim.” Recommended bond has been set at $100,000 for each charge. Holt says this story of abuse is sickening and says despite two broken legs from a beating with a baseball bat, Lisa managed to escape. The couple has three daughters who are in CPS custody while their mother heals.

LONGVIEW — Police in Longview seek the public’s help as they try to identify a suspect in a weekend robbery. On Sunday, April 8, at 2:45 p.m., officers were dispatched to an aggravated robbery in the drive-through area of Capital One Bank located at 1111 Judson Road. According to the victim, she had gotten out of her vehicle to make a deposit in the commercial drop box. At that time, the suspect, who was on foot, came around the corner of the building with a handgun in his hand. The man took the deposit money and a cell phone from the victim and ran west from the bank. The bank was closed during the time of the robbery, but the crime was captured by the video surveillance system.

The suspect is described as a black male 5’7” to 5’10” with a slim build, and wearing a dark toboggan, a gray long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and a gray or black bandana. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Terry Davis at 903-237-1157. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may contact the Gregg County Crimestoppers online at http://www.greggcountycrimestoppers.org or 903-237-7867.

MARSHALL – A 45-year-old Gladewater man has received a hefty prison sentence for federal firearms violations in East Texas. Edward Charles Lee pleaded guilty last August to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced yesterday in Marshall to 16 years, eight months behind bars by U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap. According to federal authorities, on April 7, 2011, Lee was found in possession of numerous firearms in Upshur County. Further investigation revealed Lee was a convicted felon, having previously been found guilty of battery in 1993. As a convicted felon, Lee is prohibited by federal law from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition. Lee was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 11, 2011.

TYLER — Tyler’s sales tax revenues have increased. The sales tax revenues deposited for the month of April have increased 10.86% as compared to April 2011, resulting in a 2.27% cumulative year-to-date increase.

According to the Texas Comptroller’s office, Tyler reported revenue of $2,702,320.08 which comprises $1,801,546.72 general sales tax revenue and $900,773.36 half-cent sales tax revenue. The figures represent receipts from February 2012 collections as there is a two-month lag before taxes are reported and remitted back to the City from the State.

“We are very pleased to see this healthy increase in sales tax revenues this month,” said City Manager Mark McDaniel. “We saw a modest increase last month, so to see this upward trend continue is encouraging. The year-to-date increase of 2.27% is still shy of our budget of 3% growth; however, we are closing the gap and hope to reach the 3% goal before the end of the fiscal year. At this time, we will continue with the soft hiring freeze that was put in place over the last two months as a precautionary measure to ensure we are keeping our expenses in balance with current revenues. In addition, we will continue the postponement of employee pay adjustments until we reach our goal of 3% growth.”

LONGVIEW — LeTourneau University will host a free preview event that is open to the public today, to discuss its new graduate psychology degree program, the Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy (MAMFT). The new graduate degree is currently pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, but school officials say it’s expected to launch in the fall.

The preview will begin at 8:15am with a continental breakfast in the third floor of the Memorial Student Center for mental health professionals and pastors to meet and discuss partnerships and programs for marriage and family health in East Texas. The second session will begin at 10:00am in the same location and is particularly designed for prospective students and other interested community members. Anyone interested in attending is asked to contact Gerrie Forbis at [email protected] or 903-233-3210.

University officials say the degree is a specialized 66-hour professional graduate degree program designed to equip graduates to assess, diagnose and treat individuals, couples, families and groups to achieve healthy relationships. The MAMFT graduate degree is provided through a traditional day program in a part-time or full-time format over two or more years. Students may reside on campus and enjoy the full benefits of graduate student life. LETU officials say graduates with this degree serve as counseling practitioners, educators, administrators, ministers of family life and counseling.

KILGORE — The work week might get a day shorter at Kilgore City Hall as soon as the city council contemplates a staff proposal to close City Hall on Fridays. According to KETK, city employees would work four, 10-hour days under the proposal put forward Tuesday by City Manager Scott Sellers.

“Cost savings alone do not justify to moving to a four-day work week,” said Sellers, who estimated energy bill savings of $6,900 by not opening Fridays. “Two of the four communities I’ve worked for in the past have been on 4/10s, and I have seen the increase in productivity. I have witnessed that.”

Police, fire and other emergency services could remain on the job around the clock all week under the proposal, which would launch in pilot program form as soon as May 31.

GULFPORT, MISS. (AP) – Court papers show a retired postal worker from Texas is accused of threatening to shoot a Gulfport bank teller in the face in what officials believe to be the last of a mother-daughter crime spree at four banks in three states. Evie Mearlene Herrin, 57, and her daughter, Amelia Darci Crew, 30, have been indicted on a federal charge of armed bank robbery in the March 26 holdup in Gulfport, Miss. They also are held on warrants from Texas and Louisiana. They had been sharing an apartment in Cleveland, Texas. The women are suspected in similar holdups Feb. 13 at Iberia Bank in Kinder, La., Feb. 29 at Citizens National Bank in Henderson, Texas, and March 15 at MidSouth Bank in Sulphur, Louisiana.

SMITH COUNTY — A northeastern Smith County neighborhood off Highway 271 is experiencing an ongoing problem with stop sign runners, but law enforcement is responding. According to KETK, crews have put up a speed limit sign and a warning sign, and it’s hoped that they’ll add more. Until then, says Constable John Smith, officers will be working some weekends and probably giving out warnings for awhile to get the message out. If you are cited for running a stop sign, it will cost you about $200.

TYLER — A 52-year-old Overton woman has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations. Francie Irene Jernigan-Haynes pleaded guilty back in January 10 to possession of equipment used to manufacture heroin. In an appearance yesterday before U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis, Haynes was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison.

Federal prosecutors say, on January 25, 2011, Haynes’ co-defendant sold capsules containing heroin to a confidential informant at Haynes’ residence in Overton. Haynes and her husband were present and saw the transaction. On January 27, 2011, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Haynes’ residence, which led to the discovery of an electric grinder containing a powdery residue which tested positive for heroin. Haynes was named in a federal indictment returned by the grand jury last September.

JACKSONVILLE — Lon Morris College in Jacksonville has once again delayed pay to its employees. Jessica Chile, Director of Admissions and Media Relations for the school, tells KETK that faculty and staff were supposed to receive their paychecks on March 30th, but the college doesn’t have the funds to issue the payments. Chile says the ends of the semesters tend to strain the school’s finances because its government funding has been depleted by that time. The Pell Grants and other funds are given to the school at the start of the semester, which means that months like December, March, and April have a lower cash flow.

Lon Morris officials did take steps to limit the impact of the financial problems this year, including a tuition increase and fewer scholarships, but it wasn’t quite enough to prevent delays entirely. Chile says that the school is not certain when it will have the finances available to send out the March 30th payment to faculty and staff. Chile says that the school has prepared a very lean budget for next school year, which officials hope will prevent this kind of pay delay. Next year’s budget cuts back all departments to just what is needed for operation.

TYLER – A Van Zandt County woman has been sentenced to federal prison for embezzling bank funds. Lori Smith Pickens, 40, of Grand Saline, pleaded guilty last November, to embezzlement by a bank employee. She was sentenced yesterday to 12 months and one day in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis. Pickens was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $102,135.29.

According to information presented in court, from May 2008 to July 2010, Pickens was employed as a bank teller at the Grand Saline branch of Austin Bank. During that time, Pickens made unauthorized cash-outs from the accounts of multiple bank customers resulting in defrauding the bank of more than $100,000. Pickens was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 15, 2011.

TYLER — Tyler fire crews extinguish a blaze that broke out in a semi in front of the Carmike 14 theater on South Broadway Wednesday afternoon. According to KETK, the fire started while the driver was eating lunch inside Burger King after making a delivery of concession food to the Carmike. At about 1:15, Burger King employees noticed the truck was on fire and tried to put the flames out with a fire extinguisher, but the fire was too large. The Tyler Fire Department eventually used foam to put the fire out. No one was injured, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

TYLER — A federal grand jury returned multiple indictments Wednesday charging individuals with separate federal crimes in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales.

Mark McCullars, 44, of Marshall, and Amanda Henderson, 21, of Longview, were indicted on charges of access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, they each face up to 10 years for the access device charge, 30 years for the conspiracy charge, and two years for the identity theft charge. According to the indictment, from May 2011 to August 2011, McCullars and Henderson are alleged to have possessed approximately 150 credit card numbers, and had printed numerous counterfeit checks and fictitious drivers’ licenses, which were used as a means of identification when they cashed the checks at businesses providing check cashing services.

Daniel Joseph Kubisty, 54, of Tyler, was indicted on charges of malicious attempt, by means of fire, to damage or destroy a building. If convicted, he faces from 5 to 20 years in federal prison. According to the indictment, on Mar. 19, 2012, Kubisty is alleged to have attempted to destroy a building located at 3400 East Fifth Street in Tyler, Texas, by means of fire and explosive materials.

Arturo Navarro-Rico, 34, a Mexican national, was indicted for being a criminal alien present in the United States after having been previously deported. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison to be followed by deportation. According to the indictment, on Mar. 20, 2012, the defendant was being held in the Gregg County Jail. An investigation revealed Navarro-Rico is alleged to have re-entered the United States following deportation in 2002 after felony convictions for possession of prohibited weapons in 1998 and failure to stop and render aid for an accident which resulted in injury/death in 1999.

Ubaldo Garcia-Rodriguez, a/k/a Ubaldo Rodriguez-Garcia, a/k/a Ubaldo Morales-Garcia, was indicted for being a criminal alien present in the United States after having been previously deported. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison followed by deportation. According to the indictment, on Feb. 5, 2011, the defendant was found in Mount Pleasant, Texas, after having been previously deported.

KILGORE — An East Texas city is much bigger. The Kilgore City Council voted to annex 217 acres of the Pinewood subdivision. According to KETK, many residents were against that annexation but Kilgore officials said many of the residents changed their opinions after a meeting with city officials cleared up many of their concerns. The annexation is effective immediately.

SMITH COUNTY — Crews spent most of Wednesday cleaning up debris from an East Texas wreck. The DPS said late in the afternoon that one lane of I-20 remained closed. According to KETK, the wreck at Highway 110 (Van Highway) around 6:00 Wednesday morning was caused by an 18-wheeler that rear-ended another 18-wheeler. One of the trucks was carrying cleaning supplies. It reportedly lost its load, causing debris to scatter over the roadway. No one was injured in the crash.

LINDALE — A Lindale gas station was robbed at gunpoint Tuesday afternoon. It happened at around 4:00 at the Exxon station near Highway 69 and I-20. Lindale Police said a black male wearing long black shorts, a white hooded shirt and a black hat came in the store, bought something, and then left. According to KETK, witnesses told authorities he came back, robbed the store with a handgun and left heading east. If you have any information on this robbery, please call local authorities.

TYLER — Smith County Republican Chairman Ashton Oravetz shares his thoughts after Rick Santorum suspends his presidential campaign. The move all but assures Mitt Romney will get the GOP nomination, and Oravetz was less than excited when he spoke to KETK. Oravetz remarked, “Is it good for the Republican party? I personally don’t think so, because I think it’s better to go and have Romney prove himself rather than be anointed as the candidate.”

LUFKIN — Officials are preparing “a vigorous defense” to keep the Ward R. Burke Federal Courthouse in Lufkin open, a U.S. District Court clerk said Monday. KETK and the Lufkin Daily News report that as part of an effort to cut costs, the federal government is considering closing dozens of courtrooms across the country, including the federal courthouse in Lufkin. Of the 60 facilities to be looked at for possible closure, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press, Lufkin’s courthouse was ranked 45th. David Maland, U.S. District Court clerk for the Eastern District of Texas, said that means the facility “is getting a fair amount of use.” You can go to http://lufkindailynews.com to read more.

TYLER — Tyler Investigators have arrested the suspect in the shooting that occurred at M.L. King and North Broadway early Tuesday morning. Leon Lajuan Luton, 26, of Flint, was taken into custody yesterday. He faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, with a $200,000 bond on each count, and engaging in organized criminal activity, which carries a bond of $750,000.

Police were notified by Smith County Sheriff’s Deputies of a drive-by shooting just before 12:30 Monday morning on M.L. King and Broadway. Officers say a couple reported they were eastbound on MLK when a car pulled up beside them and fired several shots into their vehicle hitting a woman in the arm. She was transported to ETMC for treatment.

Tyler Police investigators along with deputy United States Marshals began an intensive search for Luton. He was spotted in a vehicle that was stopped in the neighborhood behind John Tyler High School. After conducting a search on foot for Luton, he was spotted by Tyler Police investigators and taken into custody without incident. He was later transported to the Smith County Jail where he was booked in for the arrest warrants.