KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler announced its UT System Regents’ Outstanding Employee Award recipient. He is Chemistry Laboratory Supervisor Jason DiStefano. He has been at UT Tyler since 2004. He is one of 30 systemwide staff who each received $10,000 in recognition of exceptional workplace performance.

LONGVIEW – A tip has led law officers to a Gregg County man who has been wanted for nearly three years. Arrested Sunday in the area of Texas Street and Marshall Avenue was Larry Don Morgan, 36, of Kilgore. He had been named in a warrant for indecency with a child-sexual contact. He was last seen walking around Martin Street in downtown Kilgore early on the evening of June 25, 2015. Following his arrest, Morgan was booked into the Gregg County Jail.

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler has announced its collaboration with the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement. The organization was founded by Scarlett Lewis, whose 6 year old son was killed in his first grade classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012. The partnership will launch the university’s social emotional learning research. It will also spearhead area school districts’ efforts to ensure officials are meeting the social, emotional and academic learning needs of East Texas students. Lewis will be speaking with area schools and will also be speaking at U-T Tyler in a couple of weeks.

TYLER – Ceremonies are scheduled around the area honoring peace officers who made the ultimate sacrifice. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. The week in which that date falls is Police Week. Marshall Police are hosting a ceremony honoring fallen law officers on Wednesday at noon at at the Marshall Visual Arts Center. In Tyler, a ceremony is scheduled at noon on Tuesday on the dowtown square. Eighteen officers will be recognized during the service.

TYLER — One person has been injured in a shooting Sunday night in Tyler. Officers responded to an aggravated assault call just before 11:00 on Houston Street. The victim, Wilber Medina, 35, was shot in the leg with a hand gun. He told officers he was arguing with a man staying at his home over a cellphone. The unidentified suspect shot Medina and left the scene before officers arrived.

MCLENNAN COUNTY — A Bullard woman is dead after the vehicle she was in rolled over on Interstate 35 near West. Texas DPS says the crash happened around 1:40 p.m. Saturday. DPS determined the Toyota 4Runner was traveling northbound when a tire blew out, causing the driver to lose control. The vehicle flipped multiple times, ejecting three passengers. Anna Wegener, 19, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and three passengers were transported to a local hospital. Family members say Blake Rodgers is in a coma, while Mackenzie Davis is recovering from a broken pelvis. The driver of the car is said to have received minor injuries. Continue reading Local Teen Killed in Rollover Wreck

TYLER – Tyler school trustees will learn Monday what it would cost if they decide to change the names of the city’s two high schools. School trustees last year discussed changing the name of Robert E Lee High School. The suggestion was hotly contested at a meeting. The suggestion even resulted in community members circulating petitions for and against the proposal. The cost of changing the names of the city’s high schools is listed on the agenda for the workshop meeting of the school board Monday morning at 11:00. The agenda stresses the cost analysis is for discussion only and no action will be taken.

LONGVIEW – Three vacant leadership positions at the Longview Police Department have been filled by promotions. Officer Drew Allison and Officer Jeremy Higginbotham were both promoted to sergeant. Sergeant Shane McCarter was promoted to lieutenant. They will begin their new duties on Monday.

PALESTINE – The City of Palestine will spray for mosquitoes starting on Monday. Between 9:00 Monday night and 5:00 Tuesday morning, sprayers will be dispatched to Area 2. Area 2 encompasses the streets of Kolstad Street to the north south to Loop 256 and the Willow Creek Business Park, and from Royall and Elm streets west to Oak and Variah Streets. You can go the City of Palestine’s website at cityofpalestinetx.com for a full map of the spraying areas.

LONGVIEW – Beginning Monday, High Street will be reduced to one lane in each direction between Eckman Street and South Street. This closure prohibits left turns on and off of High Street at Luckett Street, Hopkins Street, College Street, and Mitchell Street. College Street will be closed to through traffic east of High Street. This street work is part of the High Street Sewer Line improvements. This project consists of replacing sanitary sewer main along High Street between Mitchell Street and College Street and between Radio Street and Birdsong Street. The closure is scheduled for four weeks.

TYLER – Here’s a look at work planned in the district during the week of May 14th. Schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues. Slow down and pay attention when traveling through work zones.

In Tyler, work has resumed on the project that’s extending turn lanes and adding right turn lanes at various intersections. On Tuesday, daytime lane closures are planned for Grande Blvd. and Old Jacksonville Highway during activation of new traffic signals. Night work is set for Wednesday and Thursday at the Broadway Avenue and South Town Drive work location. The southbound, outside lane of Broadway Ave. as well as South Town Dr., west of Broadway, will both be closed from 7:00pm to 6:00am each night. Alternate routes are encouraged. Additional project information is available in the Smith County section of this release. Continue reading TxDOT Weekly Roadwork Update

TYLER – Early voting is underway in Smith County in the runoff in the Democratic race for governor. That is the only race on the ballot. Polls will be open from 7:00 until 7:00pm on Tuesday. The early voting runs Monday through Friday of this week at the HUB on East Ferguson Street in Tyler. Hours are 8:00am till 5:00pm Monday through Wednesday and from 7:00am till 7:00pm on Thursday and Friday. The election is on Tuesday, May 22nd.

LONGVIEW – A Longview fire death is being investigated as a homicide. The body of Johnny Quentin Miller, 44, of Longview was found in a burning duplex on Loring Lane late Wednesday morning. No word on how the fire started. The preliminary autopsy report showed he had hemorrhaging around his anterior neck muscles and almost his entire body was covered in burns. It also said no soot was found in his airway. Detectives say they are still awaiting the final report from the autopsy which will guide their investigation. Miller’s missing Dodge Caravan has been found. It was located on South Mobberly Avenue.

TYLER – The spring commencement at Tyler Junior College was held yesterday, and it’s a special day for over a dozen Chapel Hill students. Over 1,200 degrees and certificates were awarded. This includes the first 11 graduates of the new TJC Veterinary Technician program and 10 graduates from the second class of graduates from the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene program. The 15 Chapel Hill students are from their school’s early college program. They’re received their Associate of Arts degrees before they got their high school diplomas.

MARSHALL – A Marshall woman, who drove her car into a school last month, has been arrested. Anterra Gatson, 30, was arrested Thursday and charhed with attempted aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. and felony criminal mischief. Her bonds total $105,000. On April 11th, her vehicle crashed into a classroom at Price T. Young Elementary School. She was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Even though there was extensive damage to the building, no students or staff were injured. Gatson was arrested after the investigation showed she deliberately crashed her car into the building.

MARSHALL – A string of vehicle burglaries is under investigation in Marshall. The burglaries happened Thursday night. A total of six vehicle burglaries were reported. In all six cases, the vehicles had been left unlocked. Marshall police remind you to lock the doors. Also, don’t leave any valuables in plain sight. If you have information about the suspects, or if you see anyone suspicious in your neighborhood, you are encouraged to call the police.

TYLER – The North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority, for the third year in a row, is giving back $500,000 to the East Texas region by awarding funds to its member counties for transportation related projects. Harrison County will receive $150,000 for the US 59/Interstate 369 Marshall Relief Route. NET RMA will present Bowie County a check in the amount of $350,000 for a feasibility study for I-369 West Spur. So far, NET RMA has awarded $1,400,000 in funds towards the transportation-related projects in areas in East Texas.

LONGVIEW — Someone’s raccoon bit a child in East Texas. The child now has to get rabies shots. A game warden for Gregg County says authorities gave the person who was keeping the raccoon a citation for illegal possession of wildlife. The raccoon tested negative for rabies.

HOUSTON (AP/STAFF) — A 28-year-old East Texas man on death row for the slaying of his girlfriend’s 13-month-old daughter in what prosecutors said was an exorcism has lost a federal appeal. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday rejected arguments from Blaine Keith Milam, who was condemned for the 2008 beating death of Amora Carson at Milam’s trailer on County Road 2125 in Rusk County. Milam’s attorneys contended he had deficient legal help at his trial and in earlier appeals and that the trial judge gave jurors a faulty instruction. Evidence showed the child was bitten some 30 times and beaten with a hammer. Milam’s trial in 2010 was moved about 140 miles south to Conroe because of extensive publicity in Rusk County. Milam doesn’t yet have an execution date.

TYLER – There was a celebration at the Tyler Rose Garden Thursday. Mayor Martin Heines read a proclamation that designating the day as “Tyler Municipal Rose Garden Great Places in Texas Day.” The celebration was in recognition of the rose garden being named by the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association as one of the 2018 Great Public Spaces in Texas. The recognition is part of the APA’s Great Places in Texas program that recognizes and promotes streets, neighborhoods, and public spaces that has, what they call “exemplify exceptional character.” The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is a 14-acre park, making it the nation’s largest rose garden. It has over 38,000 rose bushes of at least 500 different varieties.

TYLER – There will be more DNA testing in the capital murder case of Gustavo Zavala-Garcia. At a Tyler hearing Thursday morning, the state and the defense announced they agreed upon the clothing items that will be tested. State District Judge Jack Skeen signed the order for the testing.The clothes belong to the suspect and the 10 year old victim, Kayla Gomez-Orozco. She was abducted from a Bullard church in November, 2016. Her body was found days later inside a well on the suspect’s property. The new DNA testing could take months. The next pretrial hearing in the case is scheduled on July 12th. The trial is still set to start in October. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty.

GLADEWATER – A Gladewater man, critically injured in an accident late last month, has died. Dakoda Lane Gour, 21, was taken to a Longview hospital following the April 30th accident. The Croley Funeral Home obituary says he died on Wednesday. The Department of Public Safety report says he was leaving from a private driveway when he rode into the side of a truck on U.S. Highway 271. The truck driver swerved in an effort to avoid him, but was unsuccessful.

TYLER – The spring commencement at Tyler Junior College is going on today, and it’s a special day for over a dozen Chapel Hill students. Over 1,200 degrees and certificates are being aawarded. This includes the first 11 graduates of the new TJC Veterinary Technician program and 10 graduates from the second class of graduates from the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene program. The 15 Chapel Hill students are from their school’s early college program. They’re receiving their Associate of Arts degrees before they get their high school diplomas.

TYLER — Former Tyler Mayor and state Senator Kevin Eltife was honored Wednesday with the annual Samaritan Counseling Center Person of Courage Award. Acording to our news partner KETK, the center says it’s proud to give it to him for many reasons, including his commitment to his community. Eltife says he’s extremely honored by the award, calling mental illness “the number one issue we should all be talking about” — and thanking Samaritan for its work in that area.

TYLER — Bicycle riders will have a safer and more convenient way to get around Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, the city has given the go-ahead to start designing a web of bike lanes funded by TxDOT. The move largely targets college students. Officials also hope the effort will reduce bike-vehicle interactions that cause accidents and sometimes fatalities. The project will include 12 separate bike lanes on city streets, for a total length of 130 miles. It is expected to take several years to complete at a cost of $1.2 million. Tyler taxpayers are only responsible for about $187,000. Those funds will cover the design cost.

TYLER – And alert for a missing Tyler woman has led to her being found. Wednesday evening the police put out an alert for Zelda Boucher, 80. The woman, who suffers from loss of memory and confusion at times, was last seen around 10:00 Wednesday morning leaving her residence on South Tipton in her Lincoln Navigator with her two small dogs. A person who was aware of the media alert saw her walking her dogs in North Tyler and contacted the police. Her vehicle is still missing at this time.

TYLER – The police department has put out an alert for a missing Tyler woman. She is Zelda Boucher, 80. They have been told that she suffers from loss of memory and confusion at times. Boucher was last seen around 10:00 Wednesday morning leaving her residence on South Tipton. She was in her Silver 2005 Lincoln Navigator with Texas license plate BH61122. She is 5’4″, 120 lbs. silver hair, hazel eyes and is traveling with her two small dogs. If you see this lady, you are asked to contact Tyler police.

MARSHALL – The Marshall Police Department is asking residents to join in a video registration program as a way to help fight crime. Business owners and residents are being asked to voluntarily register the fact they have installed video surveillance systems. This will allow detectives to know where the systems are located to help them if a crime is reported in the area. People who register their cameras with the police department will only be contacted if there is a criminal incident in the vicinity of their video surveillance system. The police department stresses the video registration is voluntary and there is no cost associated with registration. Participants in the program can retract their registration at any time.

TYLER – Smith County residents are being invited to look over new voting machines the county is considering buying. The county has looked at two businesses who carry state- and federal-certified voting machines. The court is considering remaining with its current vendor, ES&S, and purchasing the new ExpressVote machines. The County says ExpressVote was less expensive and offered more features that will streamline what polling workers have to do on election day, which they say will make the process more efficient. All of the machines will be ADA compliant, have battery backups, a voter-verifiable paper trail, and a voter activation card with a barcode, eliminating human error when selecting which precinct a voter is casting their ballot. Continue reading New Voting Machines Under Review