KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – A case of domestic violence between a husband and his wife has left one person dead and one injured. The shooting occurred shortly before 10:30 Monday night on County Road 383, just off U.S. Highway 21 just northeast of Tyler. Sheriff’s deputies found shot to death Rodney Kilman, 50, and wounded was Tena Kilman, 47. She is the one who called 911 to report the shooting. She is listed in stable condition at a Tyler Hospital. According to sheriff’s department spokesman Deputy Larry Christian, investigators have contacted the Smith County District Attorney’s Office and recommended this investigation be presented to a Grand Jury.

TYLER – The month of December 2018 was warmer and wetter than normal in Tyler. The National Weather Service says, compared with December 2017, the month was 1.8 degrees warmer, and 0.01 inch drier. Total yearly rainfall was 4.09 inches more in 2018 than in 2017. Both years saw well above normal rainfall. 2018 was, though still warmer than normal, 1.3 degrees cooler than 2017. The mean temperature was 67.2 degrees. The mean temperature was 1.6 degrees warmer than normal, and rainfall was 11.51 inches greater than normal. Continue reading December in Tyler was Warm and Wet

PALESTINE – Beginning at midnight on Tuesday, Palestine’s yearly Water Distribution System Burnout will begin. They do this by turning the ammonia off at the treatment plant. This produces a free chlorine residual that will kill bacterial growth in the distribution system. This procedure is recommended by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to help achieve and maintain the required .5 parts-per-million chlorine residual. Residents may experience chlorine smell or red water for approximately one to three weeks. The ammonia will be turned back on at midnight on January 21. If residents experience red water, they may pick up a product called Red-B-Gone for free at the Public Water Works Utilities Office at 1620 West Palestine Avenue or at City Hall, 504 North Queen Street.

LONGVIEW – Longview police say a suspect wounded by an officer fired multiple shots at the officer before he returned the fire. Randy Carl Jeffrey, 33, of Mount Pleasant, was treated and released at a Longview hospital, then booked into the Gregg County Jail. On December 23rd, Officer William Smeltzer responded to a suspicious person call on East Marshall Avenue near American Legion Boulevard. Authorities say there was soon a confrontation with Jeffrey. The officer was not injured. As is the department’s normal practice in an officer involved shooting incident, Smeltzer was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation which is being conducted by the Texas Rangers. Continue reading More Information on Officer Involved Shooting

MARSHALL – A missing Marshall teenager has been located. A report says Denisha Mathews, 16, was found safe in Marshall on Sunday. No other information was released. She had last seen on the high school campus on October 31st.

TYLER – Crews from the Texas Department of Transportation are preparing area roadways for potentially icy conditions. Operations are currently being conducted on Interstate Highway 20, from U.S. Highway 69 moving west. Portions of various other roads, such as but not limited to U.S. Highway 271 and State Highway 31, would be included. TxDOT says the pre-treatment of major roadways allows them to get ahead of wintry weather conditions. The process is a fast-moving mobile operation with minimal impacts to traffic. Additional work will be conducted Wednesday, if needed, in advance of the wintry conditions.

TYLER – Two would be robbers got nothing for their efforts but trouble. A 15 year old and a 16 year old, matching the suspects description, were found a couple of blocks away from the robbery scene. A CO2 pellet gun was found in the area where the suspects were arrested. They are said to have tried to rob a man at the the intersection of West Queen Street and North Moore Avenue just before noon on Monday. The two pulled a gun on a man. When he said he didn’t have anything, the two left. Both have been charged with aggravated robbery.

TYLER- With your New Years celebration, Tyler police warn you about fireworks and gunfire. Everyone is reminded that unauthorized fireworks are prohibited in the city. You need a special permit from the city to discharge them. If you are caught in the park discharging fireworks you will be asked to leave and are subject to a citation. All alcohol, smoking and fireworks are not allowed in city parks, and that includes Lake Tyler Parks and Lindsey Park. They also remind you that the shooting of firearms into the air in celebration is a violation of the law. There are documented cases of persons being killed by celebratory gunfire in the U.S.

TYLER – The Department of Public Safety continues the investigation of a two vehicle accident that left one person dead and one injured. Dead at the scene was David D. Nelson, 43, of Tyler. His car was hit by a pickup that was on the wrong side of the road. The pickup driver, Caleb Marsh, 21, of Rusk, is in serious condition in a Tyler hospital. The accident happened shortly after 7:00 Friday night on State Highway 64, seven miles east of Tyler.

LINDALE – An accident involving a Lindale police officer and a pedestrian is under investigation. Brennon Green, 20, of Lindale, is listed in stable condition in a Tyler hospital, following the accident on South Main just before 7:00 Monday morning. He was walking southbound in the inside lane, wearing dark colored clothing, when hit by a car driver by Lindale officer Trent Taylor, 39. He has been a Lindale officer since May. The accident is being investigated by the Department of Public Safety.

TYLER – Tyler police are in the final days up a stepped up traffic enforcement for the holidays. The police department is participating in a state grant that is providing funding to the department to enforce traffic laws. This is being done in order to reduce the number of traffic accidents especially in high crash areas throughout the city. The program has proven to be an effective tool to help reduce the number of crashes by having the high visibility of patrol units in areas where crashes are reported to have occurred. The intent of the enforcement program is to act as a deterrent, persuading people to avoid speeding, running red lights, texting, driving while intoxicated because they know that officers are on the look-out. This special enforcement project is running till January 2nd.

TYLER – TxDOT is planning to conduct the following construction and maintenance work throughout the district during the week of January 4. Schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues.

Landscaping in Lindale and Troup
* Limits: US 69 in Lindale and on FM 13 and FM 1089 in Troup
* Contractor: Tight Line Construction, LLC
* Cost: $131,480.00
* Anticipated Completion Date: Spring 2019
No work is scheduled this week. The following week, the contractor will continue
placing the landscape elements. The project consists of landscaping various
locations in Lindale and Troup. Continue reading TxDOT Roadwork Update

NACOGDOCHES – Former President of Stephen F. Austin University President Dr. Baker Pattillo has died. Pattillo, who was 75, died at his home Saturday afternoon. He had worked for the university for 52 years. He started as the Assistant Director of financial aid, and was promoted as the Director in 1966. He served as Vice President at the university for nearly 30 years. He was named president in 2006. He stepped down in October because of health reasons. The school’s board of regents accepted his resignation at a meeting earlier this month. He had said he had planned to retire at the first of the year.

EAST TEXAS – Two area lakes, that had been closed because of the heavy rain at midweek, have now been reopened. Since conditions have improved, Lake Gladewater was reopened on Friday. Saturday morning, Lake Cherokee was reopened. The lake manager for Lake Cherokee, Erin Summerlin said on their Facebook page, “be very cautious. As is normal to our lake, debris from the feeder creeks along with unsecured items from piers and boathouses have been pushed into the water which creates a hazard to navigation. There are also many stumps just below the water’s surface.”

TYLER – A man accused of assaulting sheriff’s deputies is in the Smith County Jail. Conl Shamon Ates, 30, of Tyler, is charged with assault causing bodily injury to a family member, assault on a public servant and resisting arrest. He was arrested at a residence on Farm Road 2767, in notheastern Smith County, Thursday night. He had been accused of assaulting a woman. Deputies say he resisted arrest, and two tasers were unsuccessful. They were finally ably to handcuff him, but not before he put one deputy in a headlock. His bonds total $180,000.

MARSHALL – A Harrison County man, accused of kidnapping a woman earlier this month, is back in custody. Victor Demond Broadnax, 51, of Karnack, is accused of abducting a woman and making her drive him to Karnack on December 11th. The Longview News Journal reports, when he left Karnack, he got into a car with another lady and had her drive him to a Dairy Queen in Marshall. While in her vehicle, he went through her glovebox and her console and took some change. He now has been charged with robbery. He is being held in the Harrison County Jail on a $75,000 bond.

PALESTINE – Palestine police are investigating an incident involving a man found dead near the Texas State Railroad Park. According to our news partner KETK, police responded to a call near the park around 4:00pm on Thursday about a suspicious vehicle parked on the side of Park Road 70. Police found the vehicle occupied by a man who was unresponsive. Emergency crews arrived, and the man was pronounced dead. “There is no foul play suspected in this case,” Palestine Police Captain Mark Harcrow said. “This incident is in no way related to any activities or events at the railroad park.” The man’s identity was not immediately released pending notification of family.

GLADEWATER – The Wednesday night rains have caused flooding and a variety of problems. Lake Gladewater is closed due to the water levels and conditions on the lake. According to the lake’s Facebook page, all boat ramps are closed. The lake and all all lake activities will remain closed until lake levels and water conditions are closer to normal.

KILGORE – A former Kilgore High School students has been indicted for social media threats against Longview and Kilgore high schools. Named in the Gregg County grand jury indictment is David Alexander Nelson, 19, of Longview. He is accused of making the threats in October. Besides the threat to the high schools made on Snapchat, over a period of a couple of days, he is said to have used Snapchat to send threats of violence to various students. Investigators were able to determined the threats were made at a residence in Elderville. That’s where Nelson was arrested. Kilgore police say Nelson confessed to creating the post as a prank. He remains in the Gregg County Jail under a $500,000 bond.

WASKOM – A Louisiana man has died in a Harrison County accident. Pronounced dead at the scene was Charles Rashad Benne, 32, of Haynesville. The Department of Public Safety report says his car was traveling eastbound on Interstate Highway 20, at an unsafe speed, when the vehicle hydroplaned, left the road and ran into a ditch. It then hit a tree. A passenger in his car was taken to a Louisiana hospital and is in stable condition. The crash happened shortly before 12:45 Thursday morning two miles west of Waskom.

LONGVIEW – A Longview man is under indictment in connection with a fatal shooting. Court records show Ladadrian Deontae King, 23, was indicted last week in the death of Henry England Williams, 32. On September 29th, he was found wounded and sitting in a chair on his front porch on Clover Lane. He died nearly three hours later at a Longview hospital. In October, King was arrested in Mabank in the case. He remains in the Gregg County Jail under a $1 million bond on the murder charge.

TYLER – A suspect is in custody in Tyler in a double homicide. Dead at the scene was Caleb McGrady, 26, of Tyler and Krista Newman, 25, of Frankston. Charged with capital murder is Harvey Louis Martin, 52, of Whitehouse. He is in the Smith County Jail under a $1 million bond. The couple were found shot to death at a home on Ridgewood Drive. The shooting was reported around 2:00 Thursday morning. Tyler police say the investigation is continuing and additional information will be released at a later time.

TYLER — Downtown Tyler recently received 10 30-gallon streetscape trees through a donation from TXU Energy. Officials say the donation helps beautify downtown and boost the city’s longterm downtown revitalization efforts. They tell us the tree donation is part of a larger project to revitalize downtown and create a destination within the heart of the city. The donated trees – including five lacebark and five October Glory red maple species – were planted in both the downtown area and at the city of Tyler’s greenhouse to serve as part of the Keep Tyler Beautiful Arbor Day in January. Mayor Martin Heines says city officials are thankful for the partnerships that make such efforts possible. The tree donation is part of TXU Energy’s “Trees Across Texas” program, which has provided over 285,000 trees to communities since 2002.

TYLER – Here is a summary of the city projects now underway in Tyler. Schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues.

2018 Asphalt Enhancement (Overlay) Project
– Location: Various Streets throughout the City of Tyler
– Contractor: Reynolds and Kay, Ltd.
– Cost: $4,292,993.10
– Funding Source: Half Cent, TWU Capital Fund, General Fund
– Impact to Traffic: Traffic will usually be directed around work areas by flagging operations
– Anticipated Construction Completion: April 2019
– Status: Construction is on-going. Continue reading Tyler’s Projects Update

TYLER — One of Tyler’s time-honored fundraising traditions is back for another go-round. For the last 16 years, Tyler Ford has donated a raffle car to the East Texas Crisis Center to raise money that supports the center’s services. This year’s car is a 1962 Thunderbird Sports Roadster. For only $10 you can purchase a chance to win the car, and 100% of the proceeds directly benefit the Crisis Center. Tickets can be bought in Tyler at Tyler Ford, Quick Lane Tire & Auto, or Traditions, or at the ABC Auto Parts stores in Tyler and Whitehouse. You can also go to http://www.autoandcycleshow.com to get tickets.

CARTHAGE — An unwelcome visitor rattles a bunch of nerves inside an East Texas courthouse. Panola County Elections Adminstrator Cheyenne Lampley says as she was getting ready to leave her office, she “heard a blood-curdling scream.” Lampley then saw a huge raccoon running toward her. She closed her office door and watched through the glass. Lampley says the animal headed back to the front door and began jumping up, trying to open the door to get out. That’s when another worker “reached over and opened it just a little bit so it could run out.” Lampley reports the raccoon came back and made a destructive path throughout the building, creating holes in the ceiling — and she says those won’t be fixed until after the new year.

TYLER – The City of Tyler Solid Waste Department and Keep Tyler Beautiful are providing two locations for Christmas tree recycling in Tyler this year. Residents can drop off their undecorated, non-flocked natural Christmas trees through Sunday, January 20, in designated areas at Golden Road Park and Fun Forest Park in Tyler. Golden Road Park is located at the intersection of McDonald Road and Golden Road. Fun Forest Park is located in the 900 block of North Glenwood Boulevard. Continue reading Recycle Your Christmas Tree

HENDERSON – A Paris, Texas woman has died in a Tyler hospital from injuries received in a Rusk County accident. Lecia Beshirs Allen, 48, died Saturday following the Friday morning accident on U.S. Highway 259, 5 lies south of Henderson. Allen, who was not wearing a seat belt, was tossed from the vehicle. Her vehicle left the road, flipped and struck a group of trees.