KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — Liberty Utilities announced Wednesday that the company will seek to suspend a widely disputed rate hike. Liberty Utilities provides wastewater services to nearly 3,800 Smith County residents under the names of Tall Timbers Sewer and Woodmark Sewer. Under the proposed increase, some Tyler customers would see their rates go from $27.75 a month, to just over $96 by next March. Smith County home owners could see an increase ranging from 44% to 75%. Liberty Utilities released a statement: “Liberty Utilities has announced that it will seek to suspend the pending rate application for Liberty Utilities (Woodmark Sewer) Corp. and Liberty Utilities (Tall Timbers Sewer) Corp. until further notice. Continue reading Liberty Utilities Seeks to Suspend Rate Increase

TYLER – The Tyler City Council has ratified the appointment of the city’s new fire chief, David Coble. The action came at Wednesday’s city council meeting. Coble, who comes to Tyler from Fort Worth, will officially start his new job on November 7. Coble served as the executive assistant fire chief for Fort Worth for the past seven years and was the acting fire chief for most of 2015. He managed two of the department’s three divisions, including the Educational and Support Services division which includes the functions of training, EMS, supply, fire equipment services, fleet management, communications and emergency management. Coble succeeds Tim Johnson, a 35-year veteran of the City of Tyler Fire Department. He retired in April.

AUSTIN – Three East Texas schools are on the list of Blue Ribbon schools in the state. Earlier this year, the Texas Education Agency nominated 26 Texas public schools for national 2016 Blue Ribbon Schools recognition. The U.S. Department of Education has announced the 26 Texas schools have been awarded Blue Ribbon honors for 2016. On the list are Gus Winston Cain Elementary in Whitehouse, Tool Elementary in Malakoff and Pittsburg Intermediate school. All schools, who went through a rigorous application process, were selected as exemplary high performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests. Each school has an economically disadvantaged population of 25% or greater.

ATHENS – A Search warrant in Henderson County nets a drug suspect. For over a month, Henderson County authorities have been investigating a suspected drug dealer. Tuesday, they obtained a search warrant for a residence in a mobile home park on U.S. Highway 175 in Athens. They took into custody Charles Thomas Lastowski, Jr, 34, of Larue. They also found almost five pounds of marijuana, an ounce of suspected methamphetamine and a fully loaded .357 pistol. He has been charged with manufacture and delivery of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana. His bonds total $300,000. Continue reading Two Busted For Drugs in Henderson County

LUFKIN – A teacher in the English Department at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches continues to win big on the TV game show Jeopardy. On Wednesday’s edition of Jeopardy, Seth Wilson made it eight wins in a row. His latest victory came when Wilson knew that Fairfield House in England was the home of former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. With the $25,201 won on Wednesday, Wilson’s winnings now come to $191,701. That number should grow as he now tries to win his 9th game.

TYLER — The Smith County Road and Bridge Department completed 5,484 work orders in Fiscal Year 2016, according to a news release from the county. Officials say Road and Bridge employees worked tirelessly throughout much of the winter and spring, clearing downed trees and repairing roads and culverts damaged by heavy rains and tornadoes. Continue reading Smith County Road Report

MARSHALL – The East Texas Baptist University Debate Team competed in the Hub City Swing Debate Tournament.The team returned home with a fifth place team finish, as well as numerous individual honors. Cole Franklin, ETBU’s debate coach, said it was a difficult tournament. “There were a number of much larger schools competing at the event. Our students competed against and defeated opponents from schools such as TCU, Mississippi State, and the University of Tennessee. To finish in the top five universities with such difficult competition speaks well for the quality of our students.”

LONGVIEW – LeTourneau University has announced it will accept credit hours from ITT Technical Institute students who seek to transfer. The for profit school announcement it is closing its doors at all 130 campuses in 38 states. This leaves around 35,000 students without degrees and 8,000 employees without a job. According to a news release from the Longview university, “LeTourneau University has identified complementary degree plans for ITT students, and we welcome them to attend LETU,” said LETU Provost Philip A. Coyle. “We will help ensure they make best use of the credits they have already earned at ITT and elsewhere and will do all we can to help these students complete their academic journey and graduate. We also will work closely with those who desire to pursue any other LETU degree.” Continue reading LeTourneau Accepting Credit Hours From ITT Students

HENDERSON COUNTY — An East Texas man has been sentenced to 75 years in prison for a March 2015 shootout with Henderson County Deputies at a residence near Coffee City. According to KETK, Jamie Lawrence Meador, 31 of Brownsboro, was sentenced Friday to 75 years in prison. Meador was sentenced also sentenced to four additional 20 year sentences for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and evading arrest with a motor vehicle. According to testimony, the events leading up to the shootout began in December of 2014 when Henderson County Sheriff’s Deputy Keon Mack saw Meador on the side of the road in a broken down pickup with its hazard lights flashing. Deputy Mack offered to help Meador when he saw a shiny box shaped case in his pant’s pocket. Meador told Mack that it contained his marijuana. Continue reading Brownsboro Man Gets 75 Years for Shootout with Deputies

LONGVIEW – Good Shepherd Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification for total hip and total knee replacement. According to the hospital’s web page, the advanced certification is for Joint Commission accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers seeking to elevate the quality, consistency and safety of their services and patient care. According to Good Shepherd Health System President and CEO Steve Altmiller, “Good Shepherd is delighted with the continued recognition of our award winning care. This certification confirms we are succeeding by identifying Good Shepherd as one of the premier facilities across the country for total hip and total knee replacements.” Continue reading Good Shepherd Gets Certification for Hip and Knee Replacement

TYLER – A lone gunman has held up the Citi-Trends store at 1206 West Bow Street in Tyler. The robbery occurred shortly after 8:30 Tuesday night. The man entered the store wearing all black. His face was covered and he was wearing gloves, but the employees said they think he was a black male. One employee, who was not seen by the suspect, was able to hide and call 911 about the robbery. The robber took an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register and fled in an unknown direction. No injuries were reported.

MOUNT ENTERPRISE – Foul play is suspected in the death of a man whose body has been found in Rusk County. The body was found at at 1474 State Highway 315 in Mount Enterprise while officers had been executing a search warrant. The body has not been identified. It has been sent to a Tyler lab for autopsy. Officials say they have been searching Floyd Thompson, 60, of Mount Enterprise. He has been missing for about a month. They have not said if they believe the body is that of Thompson.

TYLER — The City of Tyler will host a town hall meeting Wednesday on a proposed rate increase from Liberty Utilities. The meeting will be held at 5:00pm at the Faulkner Park Police Substation. Liberty Utilities provides wastewater services to nearly 3,800 Smith County residents under the names of Tall Timbers Sewer and Woodmark Sewer. Under the proposed increase, some Tyler customers will see their rates go from $27.75 a month, to just over $96 by next March. Smith County home owners could see an increase ranging from 44% to 75%. Liberty Utilities customers, both inside and outside the Tyler city limits are invited to the meeting. A second meeting on the issue has now been scheduled. It will be on Tuesday, October 4th, at 6:30pm at the Faulkner Park Police Substation.

TYLER – It’s time to start thinking about getting a flu shot. Flu season is starting. Terrance Ates with the Northeast Texas Public Health District says cases start popping up in the area in October. October and November are the months for the fall flu season. It then picks up again in February and March. The NET Health office at 815 North Broadway in Tyler has the seasonal flu vaccine that protects against 4 different strains of the flu virus, which includes protection against the H1N1 flu strain. Continue reading Flu Season Is Here

LUFKIN – A Lufkin man is arrested after being accused of attacking and biting his mother. Jay Ebarb, 50, was arrested shortly before 12:45 Monday afternoon. His 73 year old mother told officers, when her son arrived, she told him to leave because she thought he was on drugs. It was then the man is said to have started tossing her around and biting her arms. A brother tried to help but Ebard is said to have swung a knife at him. When officers found him hiding in nearby woods, he still had the knife with him. While his mother was taken to the hospital for treatment, Ebarb was booked into the Angelina County Jail.

TYLER – The United Way of Smith County has been given the Woman’s Building on South Broadway in Tyler. They held a news conference Tuesday to discuss the gift. The building’s board of directors gave United Way the deed and the keys to the historic Tyler Woman’s Building, which was constructed in 1932. It is currently listed on 3 historic registries: The United States, The State of Texas, and Smith County. United Way of Smith County has outgrown their current facility and for many years has been in searching for a new home. Fitzpatrick Architects has been hired to assess and develop plans for the United Way’s new building, and preserve a Tyler landmark. The next steps include raising the additional funds needed to complete the renovations and rezoning the property. Continue reading Tyler’s Woman’s Building Given to the United Way

HARRISON COUNTY – More marijuana has been found growing in northeast Texas. The latest field was found over the weekend in Harrison County. Texas DPS agents made the discovery Sunday in a field in southern Harrison County. The nearly 3,000 live and dead plants were found in a area that was hidden by large trees. A destruction order was obtained to remove the plants to to an undisclosed location to be destroyed. No arrests have been made. Since mid August, similar marijuana fields have been found in Smith, Anderson, Henderson, Upshur and Van Zandt Counties.

TYLER — Downtown Tyler’s People’s Petroleum Building has racked up its second honor this month. At its recent annual meeting, Historic Tyler handed its yearly Preservation Award to the local landmark — together with Tim and Garnett Brookshire and Andy Bergfeld, the three men spearheading its renovation. Earlier, the structure was announced as one of three Tyler finalists for Texas Downtown Association President’s Awards to be presented in November. Continue reading People’s Petroleum Building Wins Historic Tyler Award

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County DPS Troopers are responding to a report of a hit and run accident involving a TISD school bus. According to authorities, the crash happened at Hwy 155 and Grande. no injuries reported. Additional details were not available.

WHITEHOUSE — Whitehouse residents will soon vote on a $94.8 million school bond. If passed, the bond could bring improvements to facilities across the district, including some new schools. KETK reports, on Monday, the school district held a town hall meeting to give the community a voice, as well as answer any questions they had. “This bond is a fairly large project that is being presented to the taxpayers and what it would do is several major construction projects that would set the course for the district for a number of years to come,” said Superintendent Dr. Chris Moran. After evaluating facilities for three years, Dr. Moran said Proposition One includes more urgent needs, such as the replacement of aging facilities. Continue reading WISD Holds Town Hall Regarding School Bond Issue

UPSHUR COUNTY — An Upshur County inmate is receiving medical treatment after officials say the inmate tried to commit suicide by hanging, according to the Longview News-Journal. A jailer was going through rounds around 6 p.m. Thursday and found the inmate in “a state of distress,” according to information released today by the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office. The jailer called for other jailers and medical staff and first responders were called. The inmate was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment.

TYLER — Today is National Voter registration Day. Smith County Elections workers will be on the downtown square from 11:00am till 2:00pm on Tuesday helping residents register to vote. There are 133,840 registered voters in Smith County. This is a 30% increase from the 102,626 registered voters in the 2012 General Election. Smith County Elections Administrator Karen Nelson still wants to increase voter registration in the county. The last day to register to vote in the November presidential Election is October 11th. Early voting is from October 24th through November 4th. You can get more information by calling 903-590-4777. You can also go to the web sites https://www.smith-county.com/Government/Departments/Elections/Registration.aspx or at http://www.votetexas.gov/register-to-vote for voter registration applications, which include making changes to your voter record.

TYLER – A campaign is underway to raise funds for body armor vests for the Tyler Police Department and Smith County Sheriff’s Department. State Senator Kevin Eltife announced earlier this month a $20,000 contribution and the City of Tyler committed to half the cost of the vests for each officer. At a news conference Monday, Eltife announced the total cost for the vests is: $204,400. The City will pay $67,900 and the County will pay $34,300 and, along with Eltife’s contribution, the remaining $82,000 is the goal of the We Back Our Law Enforcement Campaign. Continue reading Body Armor Vest Campaign Underway

LONGVIEW – A man accused of stealing a car during a Longview traffic stop, is in custody. It started Saturday when a police officer stopped a car with a broken tail light on Pine Tree Road. While the officer was talking to the driver, a back seat passenger is said to have stolen the car and fled. After wrecking the vehicle, he then fled on foot with a black cloth bag. A short time later an officer was able to catch Draper Demetric Kennedy,37, of Longview. In the bag, officers found a variety pills and two stolen guns. Continue reading Car Stolen During Longview Traffic Stop

EAST TEXAS – Two Sulphur Springs men were killed in area accidents over the weekend. A Sunday evening accident killed Michael Kenney, 49. Shortly after 6:00pm, his car left the road and hit a tree. The wreck occurred near the intersection of State Highway 154 and Farm Road 1567, north of Yantis. Continue reading Two Hopkins County Men Die in Two Accidents

TYLER — Tyler police are searching for an armed suspect wanted in an early morning shooting. Officers said around 1:20 this morning, an unknown suspect fired numerous shots inside a home on Carlyle Avenue. A sleeping 12-year-old was struck in the foot and taken to a local hospital with a non-life threatening injury. The investigation is on-going. Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the Tyler Police Department at 903-531-1000 or Tyler/Smith County Crimestoppers at 903-597-CUFF. Crimestoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest and charges filed against the suspect in this case or any other felony case.

TYLER – Here’s a look at work planned in the district during the Week of Sept. 26. These 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. Tyler Maintenance on Monday plans to resume overlay work on FM 2710 between Lindale and FM 14. Edge repairs will be performed on FM 1995 between SH 110 and the Smith County line. Expect lane closures with flaggers providing traffic control at all locations. Continue reading TxDOT Project Update

ATHENS — The FBI office in Dallas was contacted by the Athens Police Department after receiving a report of a hazardous materials concern. According to KETK, the Dallas FBI received a report of potentially hazardous materials at a residence in the 200 block of Guadalupe Street in Athens. FBI personnel responded to the residence and deemed there is no threat to public safety. The FBI said they are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of law enforcement personnel involved. An Athens resident contacted KETK about concerns of FBI agents in hazmat suits in the city.

SMITH COUNTY — After a manhunt, lasting more than 24 hours, Smith County Sheriff’s Deputies have arrested Stanton Pearce, 52. Officials said he was arrested in the Jackson Heights Community off FM 2767. Pearce, along with two women, were arrested in connection to the death of a man whose body was discovered Thursday. Smith County officials located the body of Luis V Martinez, 62, of Tyler, in a cemetery in the Antioch Community. Laurie Perry, 56, Chandler, and Rebecca Bond 37, Tyler, have been charged with murder. Both women were booked into the Smith County Jail with bond set at $250,000 each. Pearce was also booked into the Smith County Jail on a charge of murder. His bond was set at $500,000.