KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – Here’s a look at work planned in the district during the Week of August 22. These schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues.
Smith County construction projects updates:

Loop 323 West Widening at Union Pacific Railroad Underpass
*Limits: Tyler’s West Loop and SH 31
*Contractor: Longview Bridge and Road, Ltd., of Longview
*Cost: $12 million
*Anticipated Completion Date: Winter 2016
The contractor continues work on the new railroad bridge and retaining walls surrounding the abutments. Sidewalk work continues along with work on Bellwood Road West. A temporary detour is in place. The project includes widening Loop 323 from SH 31 to Shaw Street. The speed limit on Loop 323 in the work zone has been reduced to 45 mph from SH 64 to Shaw Street. Continue reading TxDOT Road Projects

TYLER – One person is in custody in connection with a Tyler stabbing. It was reported shortly after 8:30 Saturday night at 3323 Garden Valley Road. One person was said to have been stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors. Their injuries were described as minor and were taken to the hospital for treatment. The suspect was identified as Nathan Mathew Davidson, 39, of Tyler. He was located and arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and booked into the Smith County Jail.

TYLER – One person is in custody and two are being sought in connection with a Smith County robbery. It happened Friday at a residence on Broken Bow. Once inside, the men demanded, among other things, money. One even fired his gun in the house to intimidate the victims. One of the suspects was later found on County Road 37. Derion Marquis Rhodes, 21, of Tyler, has been charged with aggravated robbery and evading arrest. He was also under active felony warrants for possession of a controlled substance. He is in the Smith County Jail under bonds totaling $63,000.

TYLER – The traffic signal at the intersection of Fifth Street and Old Omen Road is in red flash after being struck by lightning on Saturday. The intersection will remain in red flash until around 5:00 this afternoon when repairs are scheduled to complete. During this time, motorists should exercise caution and seek alternative routes if available. Continue reading Problems with Tyler Traffic Signals

TYLER – The Texas Department of Transportation is sponsoring household, workplace, and commercial vehicle travel surveys that will soon be conducted in the Tyler and Longview areas. The survey will be conducted by two transportation research firms, ETC Institute and Gram Traffic Counting. Beginning this fall, randomly-selected households and workplaces will be mailed notification letters, inviting them to participate in these voluntary surveys. Employees and visitors at participating workplaces may also be given the opportunity to contribute trip-related information as part of this effort. If asked, you are asked to consider taking part in the study. The results will help TxDOT and the Tyler and Longview Metropolitan Planning Organizations prioritize local transportation projects, improve mobility and reduce congestion. Continue reading Transportation Survey Will Soon Start

TYLER – Tyler police had to direct traffic at several intersections Friday night because of a power outage. But the power has been restored and the signals are working normally. No word on what caused the outage. For a while officers were directing traffic at the intersection of Old Bullard and Loop 323, of East Hillsboro and East Gentry Parkway and East Martin Luther King and East Gentry Parkway.

TYLER – Power outages are causing some Tyler traffic problems tonight. Tyler police are currently directing traffic in the intersection of Old Bullard and Loop 323. Also, officers are directing traffic in the intersections of East Hillsboro and East Gentry Parkway and East Martin Luther King and East Gentry Parkway. Motorists are asked to avoid these intersections until power can be restored to the traffic signals.

TYLER – In partnership with the city of Baton Rouge and the Emergency and Disaster Services department of The Salvation Army, the City of Tyler will begin gathering requested supplies for flood victims to be transported to Louisiana next week. A collection center will be set up at the Recycle Center located at 418 North Bois D’Arc Avenue. Individuals wishing to donate may do so during business hours. Hours for the Recycle Center are Monday through Friday, 7:15am to 5:30pm and Saturday 8:00am to 2:00pm. Continue reading Tyler Collecting Items for Baton Rouge Flood Victims

GILMER — A man remains in the Upshur County Jail on a sexual assault charge. The arrest warrant for Victor Andrea Mack was issued on Thursday. The warrant for Mack was issued after the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office investigated allegations that Mack had sexually assaulted the victim, who is Intellectual disabled. Mack’s bond was set at $95,000 by Justice of the Peace Judge Lyle Potter. The case remains under investigation.

GILMER- A Large wooded area north of Gilmer has yielded a large marijuana growing operation. Over 2,500 plans were found in northern Upshur County. A tip led law officers to the marijuana field Thursday afternoon. No word on who was running the operation. According to the sheriff’s department Facebook page, no one was found at the location and not arrests have been made.

FRANKSTON – A four vehicle accident Thursday just north of Frankston killed one person and left the road blocked for an extended period. The accident happened around 1:30 Thursday afternoon on State Highway 155, between Farm Roads 3506 and 2215. The wreck caused a fuel spill and Hazmat crews were called in. One lane was opened around 7:00 Thursday night. The road was fully open at 10:15. The Hazmat crew was back on Friday to work on the shoulder and excavating the roadside affected area by the spill. No word yet from the Department of Public Safety on the victim’s name.

LONGVIEW – The Longview Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a missing man. He is Dontavious Elliott, 30. A family member says they last saw him in March or April of this year when he was dropped off at the Highway 80 Rescue Mission in Longview. Attempts have been made by the family and the police department to locate Elliott but there have been no leads. He is a black male, 5’8″ and weighing around 160 pounds. He was last known to have a blonde streak in his hair, and a goatee about 2-3 inches in length. If you know where he can be found, you are asked to contact the Longview Police Department.

TYLER — Tyler Police are searching for the suspect wanted in a Thursday morning robbery. Officials said it happened around 8:50 at Racetrack store, 1736 E. Gentry Parkway. Authorities said the suspect, described as a Hispanic male, 5’5” to 5’7”, 200-235lbs, wearing blue pants, camo-hoodie and glasses. The man reportedly entered the store, demanded money and fled the scene in a white 4 door car. The suspect was not armed. Contact Tyler Police with any information.

GREGG COUNTY — The Westbound lanes of Interstate 20 in Gregg County are shut down following a major wreck. According to KETK, the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office said the accident, involving an 18-wheeler, occurred near the Highway 42 exit this morning. Traffic is being detoured to the Highway 259 exit. Officials are asking that motorists avoid the area at this time. Details concerning the cause of the crash and injuries are limited at this time

FLINT — Volunteers with Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster arrived Wednesday in Louisiana to help flood victims in what is being called the worst natural disaster in America since Superstorm Sandy. A team of 12 volunteers and 3 mobile units left from Flint Baptist Church in Flint Wednesday morning. The crew will be working in Lafayette and by Friday will begin cooking meals for flood victims. Continue reading Flint Baptist Volunteers Help Louisiana Flood Victims

TYLER — Due to the falling of a large tree, the first footbridge south of Rieck Road on the Rose Rudman Trails in Tyler is closed until structural damage can be assessed. Officials say residents should not try to access the footbridge and should exercise caution while using the trail.

TYLER – Officials with UT Health Northeast have announced they are promoting Kris I. Kavasch to vice president and chief financial officer.She previously served them associate vice president and chief audit executive. Kavasch has previously worked for the State of Texas since 2001, including for the Office of the Attorney General, the Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Continue reading A Promotion at U T Health Northeast

PANOLA COUNTY – A Panola County grand jury has decided not to indict a state trooper in the shooting death of a Longview man. According to Panola County District Attorney Danny Davidson’s office, the panel no billed trooper Daniel McBride, 27, in the February shooting of Calin Roquemore, 24. He later died at Longview’s Good Shepherd Medical Center. Continue reading No Indictment in Longview Man’s Death

LONGVIEW – The third person arrested in a Longview murder has been returned to Gregg County. Jail records show Kentrell Jorail Smith, 20, was booked into the Gregg County Jail late Wednesday afternoon. His bond was set at $500,000. He had been arrested by Dallas Police in the murder of Devin Newsom, 20, of Lakeport. Previously arrested in the case were Brenndrick Lilly and Kambresha Williams. Both are 21. Both remain in the Gregg County Jail. Newsom was killed at the Food Fast convenience store on South Eastman Road near the Pittman intersection shortly before 2:00am on May 23. Continue reading Murder Suspect Returned to Longview

TYLER – The 12th Court of Appeals in Tyler has upheld a Tyler murder conviction. The appeals court on Wednesday affirmed the conviction of Carlton Ray Champion Jr. The 22 year old former Texas College football player was found guilty last December and sentenced to life in prison, for the January 2015 death of a transgendered woman, Tyrone Lee Underwood, 24. Tyler police say the two were romantically involved at some point. Champion is said to have shot Underwood, whose car crashed into a telephone pole on West 24th Street. Continue reading Appeals Court Affirms Champion Murder Conviction

TYLER – A groundbreaking ceremony in Tyler this morning officially marked the beginning of work on segment 4 of Loop 49. It is also known as the Lindale Relief Route. Because of the weather, the ceremony was moved indoors to the Willow Brook County Club. The nearly 7 mile section of the toll road will start at Interstate Highway 20, southwest of Lindale, and run to U.S. Highway 69 north of Lindale. It will be a couple of years before you see any traffic on this section of the road. North East Texas Regional Mobility Executive Director Chris Miller says the project is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2018. It carries a price tag of nearly $69 million. Miller says this section of the toll road will ease some of Lindale’s traffic congestion.

LONGVIEW — Additional details have been released following a Longview homicide in May. According to KETK, the shooting death of Devin Newson, 20, was allegedly the result of an aggravated robbery gone wrong. Arrest warrants released Tuesday detailed the involvement of Brenndrick Kesean Lilly, 21, Kentrell Jorail Smith, 20, and Kambresha Shante Williams, 21, in Newson’s death in the 3300 block of S. Eastman Road May 23. Lilly, Williams and Smith have all been charged with murder. The documents show how Lilly (pictured) is believed to have fired the gunshot that killed Newson in his car after the two struggled for control of the gun during an attempted armed robbery at the Grandy’s and Food Fast convenience store. Continue reading More Details Released in Fatal Longview Shooting

SILVERTON, Colo. (AP) – Authorities say two Nacogdoches men were killed and two others were injured in an all-terrain vehicle crash in southwestern Colorado. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office says Gary Adkinson was driving the ATV with three passengers north of Silverton on Tuesday evening. The vehicle was having transmission problems so Adkinson tried to coast down Corkscrew Pass. Investigators say the brakes failed, and the ATV left the roadway and rolled about 75 feet down a steep embankment. Adkinson and his wife, LaNita Adkinson, were seriously injured and are recovering at a hospital in Denver. Killed in the crash were the couple’s son, 26-year-old Bryson Adkinson, and their son-in-law, 35-year-old Ryan King (pictured). The family is from Nacogdoches and was vacationing in Silverton.

NACOGDOCHES – A Nacogdoches man is in custody in Tarrant County in connection to a Nacogdoches ongoing investigation into a sexual assault of a child. Arrested when he surrendered to authorities was John Paul Jones, 38. Authorities were tipped off by someone who said they saw a video of a child younger than 10 years of age on an iPad that was performing sexual acts with the suspect. Authorities say Jones gave them a full confession. Continue reading Nacogdoches Man Charged With Sexual Assault of a Child

TYLER – CVS Health has announced it is buying two local pharmacies. They are buying the two Good’s Medicine Chest Pharmacies in Tyler. One is located on South Beckham and the other is on West Grande Boulevard. Customers with prescriptions for these two pharmacies are being asked to pick them up at The CVS Pharmacy on East 5th and South Broadway or at the pharmacy next to Barnes and Noble on South Broadway. The parent company of Good’s Medicine Chest is Medicine Chest Pharmacies, which is based in Sulphur Springs.

FLINT — More local volunteers head to Louisiana, these from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Wednesday morning at 9:00, a disaster relief team, including 3 mobile units, deployed from Flint Baptist Church to Lafayette to help feed thousands of flood victims as well as first responders. The Red Cross in East Texas has already sent help.

LONGVIEW — The East Texas Veteran’s Resource Center in Longview has been awarded $100,000. KETK reports the grant will help as many as 80 military veterans find work through job coaching and job placement. Program supervisor Randall Webster says this is the first time the facility has received an employment grant. Webster says, “The instability in the veterans that we serve was unemployment or underemployment. So, in fact, 46 percent of the veterans we serve had a need for these type of services. So we thought it was appropriate to apply for a grant.” The grant will cover job readiness training classes, background checks, interview clothing and more.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — Drivers were forced to seek alternate routes from 7:30 until 10:45 Wednesday morning after a wreck closed U.S. Highway 79 in Cherokee County between State Highways 42 and 110. According to TxDOT, the crash involved two cattle trucks. Westbound traffic was detoured north on Farm-to-Market Road 2274 to Farm-to-Market Road 856 and back to Highway 79. Eastbound traffic routed north or south on Highway 110. TxDOT assisted DPS with traffic control. No word on any injuries.

MARSHALL — The Marshall Police Department has requested the public’s help in locating a missing juvenile. Shakia Morrison, 16 of Marshall, was reported missing on July 30th. She was reported missing from East Texas Open Doors and is possibly with another female by the name of Shacoya Jackson. Morrison could possibly be in the Longview area. Morrison is described as 5’3 190 pounds with black hair. She has her nose and bottom lip pierced. If you know Morrison’s location please contact the Marshall Police Department at 903-935-4575.