KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – Thursday night at 6:30, Habitat for Humanity of Smith County will hold an information meeting in Tyler for potential new homeowners. The session will be held at Tyler’s Glass Recreation Center. They will look at the applicant’s level of need. They also look for families who are willing to put in 300 to 500 sweat equity hours on their homes. And they also review their ability to repay the mortgage loan with an affordable monthly payment. There are other qualifications, including criminal and background checks. You can go to http://www.smithcountyhabitat.org for detailed information.

TYLER – Area law officers are gathering in Tyler today to receive special training in child abduction. The training is provided by special agents of the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team, which is known as CARD. The officers on hand are receiving training based on the FBI’s Child Abduction Response Plan. It is the national model for best practices when responding to and investigating cases involving children who are missing under mysterious or suspicious circumstances. The CARD team has nearly a 90% success rate in identifying and apprehending child abductors.

BIG SANDY — Classes were canceled at Big Sandy I.S.D. Wednesday following an online threat. Big Sandy Police, the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department and the Texas Rangers are all investigating the threat. According to our news partner KETK, school officials were made aware of a social media threat around 10:00 Tuesday night after parents notified the district. After reviewing the post, Big Sandy I.S.D. made the decision to cancel all classes scheduled for Wednesday. This comes almost one year after Big Sandy I.S.D. was put on a precautionary lock-down following a threat made online.

TYLER – A Tyler man is one of the four finalists to become the next president of Tyler Junior College. School trustees narrowed the list during a Tuesday meeting. The four finalists are:
*Dr. Juan E. Mejia, President for Branch Locations and District Provost at Tyler Junior College
*Dr. Robert J. Exley, President of Snead State Community College in Boaz, Alabama
*Dr. Elizabeth U. Lewis, Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas
*Dr. Deana Sheppard, Vice President of instruction at Lone Star College – CyFair in Cypress, Texas Continue reading TJC a Step Closer to Getting a New President

LONGVIEW – A convicted felon has been arrested by Longview police on drug and weapons charges. The Longview News Journal reports the arrest of Thomas Ricardo Hubbard, 39, of Longview, came after a police SWAT team and the Gregg County Organized Drug Enforcement Unit executed a search warrant at his residence. Jail records show Hubbard charged with three counts of manufacture or delivery of between 200 and 400 grams of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. He is in the Gregg County Jail on bonds totaling $250,000. He was arrested at his home on Hubbard Street just before 9:45 Monday morning. Police say they found crack cocaine in his vehicle and crack cocaine, methamphetamine, PCP and weapons in his home.

LAKE TYLER – A Whitehouse High School student has drowned in Lake Tyler. The school system has identified him as high school junior Ti’Auje’ Reaves, who was known as T.J. A variety of agencies were called to the lake. Tyler police received the call shortly after 12:45 Tuesday afternoon. The initial report was a teenager was swimming toward a buoy when he disappeared near the Lake Tyler Marina. A helicopter was called in to aid in the search. The investigation into the drowning continues.

SMITH COUNTY – A traffic stop on Interstate Highway 20 has resulted in drug charges against a Smith County man. Arrested shortly before midnight on Monday was Anthony Dewayne Toliver, 24, of Winona. During the traffic stop, the sheriff’s deputy found a small amount of marijuana and two large zip-lock baggies with over 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine. Toliver has been charged with possession of marijuana and manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance. He was placed in the Smith County jail under bonds totaling $8,000.

TYLER – Tyler’s Luby’s Cafeteria will be auctioning off all remaining furniture and equipment. The store was permanently closed at the end of February. It had been in Tyler for 55 years. When it closed, the general manager for Luby’s in Longview told our news partner KETK the store had foundation issues. Besides the furniture and equipment, they will be auctioning off all the building fixtures. You can go to this Craigs List link https://easttexas.craigslist.org/bfd/d/tyler-auction-lubys-tyler-texas/6852720960.html for photos and inventory.

TYLER – Smith County officials are reminding you that they’ve cancelled jury duty for Wednesday. Smith County residents who were planning to report for jury duty on Wednesday with their yellow cards don’t have to make the trip to the Smith County Courthouse. However, if you have been asked to return for jury duty by a specific court, you must still report.

TYLER — Officials across Smith County continue working to fund a regional anti-gang center in Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, Tyler police are now submitting documents to take the next step in the application process and then assign personnel from the department. The center will join six other “TAG centers” already in operation across the state. Chief of Police Jimmy Toler says centers such as these will not only tackle gang activity, but also organized crime such as card skimming. Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith says he hopes the center will be up and running by September.

RUSK COUNTY — A single vehicle wreck Monday night claimed the life of a Jacksonville man. David Allan Cooper, 43, was pronounced dead at the scene just before midnight. According to the DPS report, Cooper was traveling south on US-79, about 5 miles outside of Henderson, when his vehicle drifted off the west side of the roadway, struck a culvert and went airborne. The vehicle rolled several times and ejected Cooper. He was not wearing a seatbelt. A crash investigation is underway.

LONGVIEW – A woman is in custody of Dallas police in connection with a Longview murder over 41/2 years ago. The Longview News Journal, quoting Dallas County online records, says Latoddra Quenice Pratt, 24, was arrested last Thursday on a murder warrant out of Gregg County. She will soon be returned to Gregg County. She is being held in the death of Tyson Patterson, 33. He was one of two persons shot just before 4:00am on August 28, 2014. The shooting occurred at an apartment on West Garfield Street. While Patterson was killed, another man was treated and released from the hospital after being treated for injuries in the shooting.

TYLER – In a couple of weeks there will be a partial closure of Tyler’s Old Bullard Road. The partial road closure is to improve drainage structures on Old Bullard Road near Rice Road. It is expected to begin on Monday, April 22nd and 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 upcoming construction.

TYLER – A student at Tyler’s T. K. Gorman High School is a finalist in the National Merit Scholar Program. He is Aidan Boyne. According to the school’s Facebook page, he has earned a perfect composite score of 36 on the ACT test.

TYLER – The Macy’s building on South Broadway in Tyler is getting a new tenant. Officials with Hobby Lobby have told our news partner KETK that its store is moving into the building. The store is expected to be open in the 65,000 square foot building in July.

LINDALE – County Road 484, north of Lindale, is back open to drivers after a bridge was repaired. A portion of the road was closed in February while Smith County Road and Bridge crews replaced a wooden deck on the bridge with a concrete deck and reworked the guard rail. The road just south of the Sabine River, from County Road 431, west to County Road 452.

TYLER – Tyler’s firefighter of the year is Matt Ford, seen pictured with Chief Coble. He was one of the persons honored over the weekend at the 28th annual award banquet of the Tyler Fire Department. Also during the ceremony, firefighters, along with retired firefighters and civilians were honored for their actions and service to Tyler. Additionally, firefighters receiving promotions over the past year were also recognized. Battalion 2 A-Shift received the Outstanding District Award and 21 firemen received Lifesaving Awards.

TYLER – An associate professor of management at the Soules College of Business at the University of Texas at Tyler has been elected to serve in various leadership roles for the Southwest Decision Sciences Institute. Dr. Venugopal “Venu” Gopalakrishna-Remani will serve as vice president for programs and meetings for 2019-20, program chair for 2020-21, president-elect for 2021-22 and president for 2022-23. Gopalakrishna-Remani holds a Ph.D. in business administration and currently serves on the UT Tyler Faculty Senate. He has presented his research at various national and international conferences.

TYLER – Three persons have been arrested in Tyler trying to pass a phony check. The four are all from Fort Worth. Tyler police say that this is an organized group of suspects working out of the Metroplex. They have been specifically targeting East Texas businesses. The three are currently in the Smith County jail, charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. A woman was detained and then released due to her having an infant with her. A warrant has been issued for her arrest. The check they tried to pass in Tyler had Miller Tire & Wheels of Tyler as the payee. The business does not exist. Additional locations where the checks may have been passed, or attempted to be passed, are not known at this time. Any business that has come in contact with someone trying to pass a check on this mythical business is asked to contact Sergeant Colby at 903-531-1098 or Detective Hale at 903-535-0121.

TYLER – We could know late Tuesday afternoon the names of the finalists for the position of president at Tyler Junior College. School trustees will meet in closed session Tuesday afternoon to come up with the finalists who will be invited to town for interviews. They are scheduled to come out in open session at 5:30 to announce the finalists. Over 80 persons have applied to become Tyler Junior College’s next president. They come from throughout the United States and Canada. The search for TJC’s next president began in January after TJC’s Chancellor and CEO Dr. Mike Metke announced he would retire this summer.

EAST TEXAS – A weekend storm has brought a good amount of rain to Texas. According to the National Weather Service, the two day storm total at Tyler Pounds Field was 2.68 inches while downtown Tyler recorded 1.47 inches. The two day storm total for Longview was 0.97.

GREGG COUNTY — The pastor of First Baptist Church of Longview’s Hispanic ministry died Friday after a lawnmower he was operating rolled over on top of him, according to our news partner KETK. Longview Police Lt. Shane McCarter said Fabio Gimenez, 50, was operating a zero-turn lawnmower when the accident occurred about 3 p.m. on Glenda Drive. He said Gimenez died at the scene. Gimenez was the Puertas Abiertas (open doors) pastor at First Baptist. “Pastor Fabio Gimenez was involved in a serious lawnmower accident and tragically passed away from his injuries,” the church posted on Facebook. Continue reading Longview Pastor Dies in Lawnmower Accident

MARSHALL – A Marshall foster parent has pleaded guilty to injury to a child. After entering her plea on Thursday, Michelle Lee Hayes, 44, was sentenced to 10 years deferred adjudication. She took an 18 month old child to a Marshall hospital in May of 2017. She said she was carrying the child and was intoxicated when she tripped and fell. She later admitted she bruised the child’s head and face when she slammed his head into the side of his crib. The youngster was later transported to a Dallas-area hospital with severe injuries. Hayes was licensed to be a foster parent in 2016 and had three children in her care when the incident occurred.

GILMER – A fatal Upshur County accident remains under investigation. The accident occurred around 7:45 Thursday morning at the intersection of State Highway 300 and Farm Road 726. Dead at the scene was Whitney Emmel Petrick, 30, of Diana. The Department of Public Safety says Patrick pulled out in front of of a pickup driven by James Sterling Jones Jr., 29, of Longview. The report said Jones was stable at the scene.

SMITH COUNTY – A Smith County death is under investigation. The man’s body was found just before noon on Thursday. It was found near a tractor on his property off Farm Road 850 east of Tyler. Investigators first said he appeared to have suffered a shotgun wound. Justice of the Peace Mitch Shamburger has ordered an autopsy and the body was sent to to Forensic Medical in Tyler.

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler has announced that Dr. Robert Beatty has been named the new dean of the school’s Soules College of Business. He assumes his new duties this summer. With five academic departments, 62 full-time faculty and nearly 3,000 students, the Soules College of Business is one of UT Tyler’s largest colleges. Soules awards nearly 900 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees per year in 12 different majors. Last year, the college received its full accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Only 5% of business schools globally hold this accreditation.

LONGVIEW – If you are looking for something to do this weekend, Longview’s Dalton Days is a family adventure. The activities were inspired initially by the story of a bank robbery. It has evolved into a celebration of our western heritage and has become a fun, family friendly tradition. Saturday’s activities start that morning at 10:00 with a bang. It’s the first of four reenactments of the infamous bank robbery in 1894. Then there’s western entertainment. There are exhibits, such as a blacksmith, soap maker, wood craftsman, chuck wagon demonstrations, root beer saloon and many others. The Dalton Day activities will be held downtown in front of the Gregg County Historical Museum and are free to the public.

LONGVIEW – A busy Longview street, that had been closed, has reopened. High Street had been closed in both directions from Nelson Street to South Street because of a gas leak. Workers have repaired the leak and the road was reopened.