KTBB News, Weather, Talk

LONGVIEW – A traffic stop has led to drug charges against a Longview woman. The officer pulled over the a car on East Marshall Avenue because of an expired registration sticker. He searched the car after noticing a used syringe on the back floor board near the foot of Mona Reshell Kimbrough, 32. He also smelled Marijuana. When he searched the car he found, in Kimbrough’s make-up bag, baggies of meth and marijuana, used syringes, unused baggies and a scale with drug residue on it. She has been charged with possession of a controlled substance measuring between 4 and 200 grams and possession of marijuana measuring less than 2 ounces. She remains in the Gregg County Jail under bonds totaling $11,000.

– TYLER – A candidate has already stepped forward for next year’s primary election. Smith County Assistant District Attorney Jacob Putman announced today he will run for District Attorney next year. Putman said he will compete in the Republican Primary in 2018. He will be seeking the post currently held by District Attorney Matt Bingham. He previously announced he would not be seeking reelection next year to the post he has held since 2004. In the Republican Primary, Putman will face First Assistant District Attorney April Sikes, who had previously said she would run for the post. Continue reading Putman Running for District Attorney

TYLER — An East Texas man has been indicted in connection with the December 2 aggravated robbery of a Tyler restaurant. According to KETK, Freddy Criss, 54, Dallas, was indicted January 26 for allegedly holding up Rotolo’s Pizza on South Broadway. Tyler police said as they arrived at the restaurant, Criss was reportedly leaving the business in a red car. Officers attempted to pull the vehicle over when Criss wrecked, then fled on foot. He was taken into custody a short time later. He was booked into the Smith County Jail on four charges of aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest. Police say stolen property was recovered at the scene. Several people at Rotolo’s were injured after being pistol-whipped by Criss.

ANGELINA COUNTY — An East Texas woman picked up her sixth public intoxication arrest in five years, and her second PI arrest in two days, on Wednesday. According to KETK, the Angelina County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of shots fired around 11:00 Tuesday night at Martin Cochran Road and Hill Street. When officials arrived on scene, Lacey Raine Jones, 25, of Huntington, told authorities her face was ripped off. Deputies noticed no such wounds, but did arrest Jones for public intoxication.

TYLER – A letter sent to some Smith County businesses indicates the sheriff’s department is cracking down on illegal gambling. The letters went to around 50 game rooms located in unincorporated areas within Smith County. They have been given until Monday to voluntarily comply with the letter. If the machines are not removed by that time, investigations will be started and action will be taken to see that they comply with state law. This could result in arrests and referring cases to the district attorney’s office.

TYLER – Tyler police have arrested a youngster for inappropriately touching some women. Several women complained to police about a young black male being involved in the incidents. One woman reported that he approached her while she was working in the yard on Lindsey Lane and began talking to her. As she was about to leave the residence, she said the suspect hugged and touched her inappropriately. He then ran away. Tyler detectives identified the suspect as a 12 year old boy. Wednesday, he was taken into custody and processed into the Smith County Juvenile Attention Center on a charge of public lewdness.

TYLER – Spring semester enrollment at TJC has reached a 90-year high. Spring enrollment hit 11,427 students, a 7.3% increase over Spring last year. School officials say there are a variety of reason for the increase, including around 120 degrees and certificates options offered by the College. The school has as one of its priorities, to serve as a catalyst for economic development by strategically assessing marketplace demand and constantly evaluating the need for relevant programs of study that attract and retain students while meeting the needs of business and industry from the region. Continue reading A Record for TJC

LONGVIEW – A man said to be responsible for a two vehicle accident in Longview has been arrested. Stayton F. Worthington, 43, of Kilgore is said to have run a red light shortly before 3:45 Wednesday morning. His pickup collided with a pickup driven by William Stowe, 52, of Tatum. Neither Stowe or his two passengers were injured. Longview police say, after the collision, Worthington ran from the vehicle, was arrested a short distance away. Worthington was arrested for evading arrest and Driving While Intoxicated 3rd or more. He is currently free on bonds totaling $12,500.

TYLER – Tyler Junior College has named Dr. Cliff Boucher as interim dean for TJC North. The College’s newest facility will open this spring in The Cannery, Lindale’s new residential/entertainment/retail complex. TJC North will provide general education classes, nursing programs and the recently launched Veterinary Technician Program. A grand opening event is scheduled for 10:00am on Wednesday, March 29. Continue reading Dean Appointed for TJC North

TYLER – District Chief Michael Frost is being promoted to Assistant Fire Chief of the Tyler Fire Department. Frost will be responsible for planning budgets, grants and emergency management training and drills. Fire Chief David Coble will promote Chief Frost at a ceremony at 3:30pm on February 13 at the Tyler Rose Garden Center – Rose Room. Continue reading New Tyler Assistant Fire Chief

TYLER – Tyler’s Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School has its first president. Bishop Joseph E. Strickland announced last month a new President-Principal administrative structure would be instituted at the school. Bishop Strickland has now announced Father Anthony McLaughlin is the school’s first president. The President-Principal model of leadership is currently the most common form of administration for Catholic secondary schools in the U.S. The President is the chief administrator for the school, who, among other things, appoints the Principal to manage day-to-day school operations and oversee academics, athletics, fine arts and faculty. Father McLaughlin, a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Tyler in 1997.

WHITE OAK – A pedestrian hit by a car in White Oak last week has died. Ivan Rincon-Ramos, 34, was hit around 6:00 last Friday night as he was crossing U.S. Highway 80 at Lake Harris Road. His two young sons ran into the path of a car driven by Christopher Michael of Malakoff. When Michael served to miss the boys, he hit their father. The dad died in the hospital Monday morning. The accident remains under investigation. It’s not known if any charges will be filed.

LONGVIEW – The Longview police are asking the public to help identify a suspect in a theft case. The department has posted on its Face Book page the picture of a man suspected in a theft case at Sears on McCann Road. If you have information about the man in the photo, please contact Det. Gabe Downs 903-237-1168 or Gregg County Crime stoppers at 903-236-7867 or greggcountycrimestoppers.org and reference case #16-15762.

HOLLYWOOD (AP) – Matthew McConaughey says it’s time for Hollywood to “embrace and shake hands” with the fact that Donald Trump is president. The Oscar winner, formerly from Longview, tells the BBC that Trump’s rise to power is “as divisive of an inauguration” as there has ever been. When asked by interviewer Andrew Marr if Hollywood’s elite should give Trump a break, McConaughey replied, “They don’t have a choice now, he’s our president.” McConaughey is promoting his new film, “Gold,” in which he plays a businessman who discovers the precious metal in the jungles of Indonesia.

TYLER – The East Texas State Fair is starting to look for a new location. They have just under ten years to find it. The city hired a firm to come up with a concept of what the Rose Garden Center will look like in 20 years. The plans, which were unveiled at an open house Tuesday night, showed no fairgrounds. Park of East Texas President John Sykes told KETK, the fair still has 9 years on its contract to use its current location on West Front Street and after that it will have to relocate. Some time ago, the fair bought 250 acres of land west of Tyler, between State Highway 31 and U.S. Highway 64 off the Loop. But Sykes said they are not set in stone that the location will be the fair’s new home. Another open house on the city’s Strategic Historic Preservation Plan will be held on Thursday, February 9th, at 4:00pm, at The Foundry Coffee House at 202 South Broadway.

MARSHALL – The body of a man reported missing late last month has been found in Harrison County. The body is that of Anthony Redell Green, 55, of DeSoto. His body was found in Marshall around 12:30 Wednesday afternoon. A sheriff’s deputy operating a drone found the body in a remote pasture near the intersection of Marshall-Leigh Road and John Sanders Road. An autopsy was ordered in an effort to determine the cause of death.

PALESTINE – The city has been receiving complaints about the water’s color and odor. But the city says it is safe to drink. Palestine’s Communications and Best Practices officer, Nate Smith, says the problem has been caused by the long period of the previous rain event Palestine experienced. Smith says normal rain events stir up the water at the city’s intake area. The water is then pumped to the treatment plant where it is treated and the odor is removed along with the discoloration that it causes. But, with extended rain events, it overwhelms the plant and normal and even extra efforts to control these unusual conditions are not as effective. Smith reassures residents the water remains within state guidelines set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The city’s water treatment crews have been working to flush water lines wherever residents have complained about the water to help with the issues. The discoloration and odors should be gone within a week.

LONGVIEW – Good Shepherd Health System announced Wednesday finalization of an agreement to become a part of CHRISTUS Health. The hospitals will now be known as Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center-Longview and Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center-Marshall. As part of the agreement, Good Shepherd Medical Associates will become part of the CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic. Those aren’t the only changes. Good Shepherd president and CEO Steve Altmiller will be leaving. He will be replaced by Todd Hancock. Hancock has been with CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health system since 2008, and most recently served as senior vice president and chief executive officer in the system’s Operations Division. Continue reading Good Shepherd Health System Move Finalized

LONGVIEW – The Texas Main Street Program of the Texas Historical Commission has recommended Longview and the Longview Main Street Program for National Accreditation to the National Main Street Center. The recommendation is based upon Longview Main Street’s Report of Progress submitted to the state office. This is part of its annual reporting requirement for Fiscal Year 2016. Texas currently has 89 designated Main Street programs, making it one of the largest in the country. The Texas program was one of the first state coordinating programs to be established in 1981. Since then, it has been a part of the Texas Historical Commission, the state agency for historic preservation. Year-end reinvestment statistics show cumulative reinvestment over this time from all programs that have participated at $3.38 billion, with the creation of more than 35,000 jobs and almost 5,000 small businesses.

TYLER – A man injured in a Tyler hit and run accident has died. Albert Daron, 82, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was injured in the wreck on January 16th. He died in a Tyler hospice on Tuesday. Daron was injured as he was crossing West Gentry Parkway near Jordan Street. There was vehicle debris in the road where Daron was found, indicating that he had been hit by a vehicle, which did not remain at the scene. Investigators have requested an autopsy to determine if his injuries are related to his death.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — The Cherokee County Sheriffs Department is investigating vandalism at a church a few miles west of Alto. According to KETK, it happened last weekend at Saint Thomas AME Church Sunday morning. “I saw this fire across campus there,” said Larry Jenkins, a deacon at St. Thomas. “I was wondering what was going on and I got out of the car and proceeded up to the door to unlock the door like I usually do and heard a noise.” Jenkins then discovered a water pipe had been busted and water was running out. When he entered the church, he saw broken glass on the floor and a large rock. Despite the damage church members were unfazed by the damage. “My thought is that whoever did it we pray for them and go on because we had good church Sunday morning after we found out everything that came down,” said Jenkins. Continue reading Local Church Vandalized

LONGVIEW — A Gladewater man is in the Gregg County Jail, charged with hitting a young girl with a stick. Justin Scott Zuniga-Garcia, 23, is charged with child/elderly/disabled person with intentional bodily injury. His bond is $15,000. A mother called sheriff’s deputies to her Ann Street home to report the suspect had hit her 9 year old daughter, causing several small abrasions on her leg. The incident is said to have occured as the suspect became upset with some children who were playing outside. The youngster told deputies the suspect told her if she told anyone about the incident, he would “beat up her daddy.”

LUFKIN – The Texas Forestry Association is announcing that Ron Hufford, Executive Director, will retire by the end of the year. Hufford has been the association’s executive director since January, 1984. During that time Hufford established Project Learning Tree and the Teacher Conservation Institute, and developed several councils under TFA’s umbrella to bring together the diversity of the forest industry. Before joining TFA, Hufford worked with Southern Forest Products Association based in New Orleans, Louisiana as Mid-Western Field Representative before being elevated to director of Field Services, and later named the Vice President of SFPA’s Forest Resources and Environmental Division. Continue reading Texas Forestry Official Retiring

PALESTINE – A man accused of a shooting at Palestine High School last February has been sentenced in state district court. Bobby Burrell, 63, of Teague, pleaded guilty last November to six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for each charge, which will be served concurrently. Burrell was accused of firing several shots at another Teague man, hitting him at least once in the upper arm. He was then accused of assaulting a 59 year old woman who was accompanying the victim, hitting her in the head with the handgun after the gun malfunctioned. The woman was his ex-wife. Several more shots were also fired in the parking lot and additional rounds hit a passenger vehicle with adults and children as they were driving in the lot. No one was injured in the vehicle. The male victim was taken to a Palestine hospital and was later taken to a Tyler Hospital for additional treatment.