KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — The countdown to the 2016 Texas Rose Festival is underway following Friday evening’s kickoff, and Rose Queen Mallory Kristine Curtis is more than ready for the big autumn event. “I love it,” says Mallory. “I love to meet new people, and I love the tradition of it all. I think it’s very special.” She adds, “Everyone loves it, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s also a lot of work, but it all is worth it in the end.” Pointing out the Tyler community’s extensive involvement in the festival, Mallory says, “Well, we have so much volunteerism and sponsorships, so people are…very generous in donating time and money.” She adds that she’s thoroughly enjoyed promoting the festival’s history and impact since the beginning of the year. Continue reading Rose Festival Queen Looks ahead to Big Event

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler has received a federal grant to enhance advanced nurse practitioner programming. The grant is from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. Over the three year period of the grant, it is anticipated just over $2 million will come to the university. With the funds, the university will partner with local and area clinics to further develop UT Tyler students as nurse practitioners. The Initial partners are the Cherokee County Health Department, Hiway 80 Rescue Mission, Special Health Resources and Walmart Clinics.

TYLER — As part of Tyler’s 2016 asphalt enhancement project, RNK is temporarily closing water valves located along North Glass Avenue to replace a two-inch water main. Today’s repair affects North Glass Avenue from West 25th Street south to the dead end. The work began at 8 this morning and is scheduled to continue till 5 p.m. After the water main has been replaced, residents are asked to run their water briefly before using it to clear the line of any air. Drivers are asked to find alternate routes of travel, if possible, to avoid delays. Caution is also advised when driving in this area. Continue reading Water Temporarily Shut Off along North Glass Avenue

JACKSONVILLE — The former site of Lon Morris College will be transforming into a new campus for the fall. KETK reports Atlanta-based Carver College will be launching a new regional campus in Jacksonville. Lon Morris closed several years ago. The Jacksonville College President said he was sad to see it go. He is excited that Carver College chose Jacksonville for one of its locations. The city of Jacksonville seemed to agree. Residents around the area had positive things to say about the change coming soon. Among the comments: “A lot of college students still live here, when they graduate, some of them stay here.” A former Lon Morris student said, “Somebody else buying Lon Morris will be a good thing for this town. “It’s good. It brings new kids to town and we need new faces.” Continue reading New College Coming to Jacksonville

TYLER — A Bank of America spokesperson confirms the company will be closing its downtown Tyler branch in mid-October. According to KETK, media relations spokeswoman Britney Sheehan says the Tyler Financial Center and motor bank locations will shut down on October 11. The company reportedly contacted customers by letter earlier this month. Two other Bank of America locations will remain open. Both are in south Tyler. In a statement, Sheehan says the bank “can continue to efficiently serve our customers with one less financial center in Tyler and we will still maintain a full-service ATM at the (downtown) motor bank location.” She adds that the bank will be “able to relocate all employees to other locations in Tyler.”

LONGVIEW – A couple is arrested, accused of threatening to blow up a Longview hospital. Booked into the Gregg County jail on a charge of terroristic threat was Gary Lawrence Anger, 63, and Janet Elaine Chernoff, 67. According to the Longview News Journal, a woman told police she was eating with the couple in the Good Shepherd Medical Center lunchroom. She said they were upset because the hospital had canceled a work contract with Anger. She said Chernoff threatened to blow up the hospital if she knew how to build a bomb and Anger said he would “go ISIS in here.” Even though Anger told her he was just joking, she said she was scared.

LONGVIEW – A DPS traffic stop in Gregg County has resulted in a drug bust. The car was stopped by the state trooper for tailgating another car. Dalton Tyler Ledford, 26, of El Paso was first arrested for not having a driver’s license. Then a smell of marijuana led the trooper to a duffel bag on the back seat, which contained multiple bundles of high-grade marijuana. Ledford has been charged with with delivery of marijuana, failure to ID and no drivers license. Ledford, who has a tattoo on his left calf that reads “kill cops,” was booked into the Gregg County Jail.

GLADEWATER – Robert’s Grocery in Gladewater has been extensively damaged in an overnight fire. It was reported around midnight Thursday night at the convenience store at 1610 North Main Street. The roof of the store collapsed, and it appears to be a total loss. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

KILGORE -Nearly three dozen young women have become the newest members of the Kilgore College Rangerettes dance and drill team. The announcement was made this morning in a closed ceremony in Dodson Auditorium on the Kilgore campus. The announcement culminates a week-long process of 80 young women vying for a coveted position on the 2016-17 Rangerette line. The new Rangerettes come from 28 Texas towns, including Tyler, Longview, Houston and Austin. They now join 36 sophomores to make a line of 72. The Rangerettes were the first of their kind, a vision of the late Gussie Nell Davis. They celebrated their 75th anniversary last year.

LONGVIEW — The Spring Hill Independent School District is struck by vandalism once again. Spring Hill officials found graffiti on several parts of their campus. According to KETK, there was spray paint on the tennis courts and old field house. Officials said most of it has been cleaned but they are asking anyone with information to contact the Spring Hill Superintendent.

NACOGDOCHES — The Freedom From Religion Foundation has set its sights on another East Texas school. According to KETK, the group claims a student from Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches contacted them and said that teachers were showing religious movies in the classroom. An attorney for the organization called the district and advised them to immediately stop showing the films. The school complied and said they will also continue to train their staff on establishment clause issues.

MARSHALL – Marshall police are asking for the public’s help in finding a fugitive who has evaded arrest. He is 28 year old Justin Kyle Strong of Marshall. Strong is wanted for an outstanding felony warrant for evading arrest with a vehicle. He is described as a white male who stands about 6’2 and weighs160 pounds with a medium build. The Marshall Police Department asks that if you have any information about where Strong can be located, call them at 903-935-4575 or 903-935-4540. If you wish to remain anonymous call Marshall/Harrison County Crime Stoppers at 903-935-9969.

LONGVIEW – A super load is heading toward the Eastman Plant in Longview. Edwards Moving and Rigging began moving a very tall Cold Box from The Port of Caddo-Bossier Friday morning at 9:00. According to a news release from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, the transporter will have one truck pulling and one truck pushing the combined weight of 539,000 pounds. The convoy will average 1 mph each day for three days. This transport will have multiple utility and electric companies raising wires, along with 10-12 police officers assisting. This Super Load is much like the one the company transported in July 2015 and will travel the same route. Motorists are encouraged to avoid the transport route. That would include State Highway 149 to the Interstate Highway 20 frontage road and then to Callahan Road. Traffic may have major delays with high congestion. The route also includes some difficult turns so motorists are reminded to use other routes to avoid delays.

LONGVIEW – Authorities have announced the arrest of a man accused of robbing a Longview motel. The Baymont Inn near Interstate 20 was robbed early Wednesday morning. The man, armed with a stick, is said to have taken money from behind the counter and an employee’s purse. After watching watching surveillance video of the robbery, police found Malique Makail Henderson, 19, of Longview at a nearby restaurant. When arrested about two hours after the robbery, they are said to have found the motel employee’s credit cards in his sock and money from the robbery in his pants. Henderson remains in the Gregg County Jail.

TYLER – The University of Texas System Board of Regents, who met Wednesday, made no moves to change the concealed handgun rules developed earlier this year at U-T Tyler. The University of Texas at Tyler policy details the areas on campus where concealed handguns are not allowed, calls for the development of training to educate the campus about the law and basic requirements of campus carry and creates a structure for concealed carry within residential facilities. It also outlines enforcement guidelines for campus carry violations. The policy was formulated by a campus carry working group, which was comprised of faculty, students and staff. It is scheduled to take effect August 1st. Continue reading No Changes to U-T Tyler’s Concealed Handgun Rules

TYLER – Because of a break in the mainline, the Woldert Park sprayground will be temporarily closed for repairs. The sprayground is expected to reopen on Saturday The Woldert Park pool remains open to the public and will maintain its regular operating hours.

TYLER — The City of Tyler’s Main Street Department has been reaccredited as a Main Street America program for meeting what city officials term rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the National Main Street Center and its Coordinating Program partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America programs in recognition of their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach, according to a news release from the city. Continue reading City of Tyler Receives 2016 National Main Street Accreditation

TROUP — The Troup Police Department has identified the man killed in a shooting early Thursday morning. Police were called to the 200 block of West Duval around 12:20 this morning regarding a shooting and found James Richard LaDue, 30, of Troup, dead at the scene. Police said he was initially at a home on North Noble Street when shots were fired. A woman then took him to the Duval location and called police. Smith County SWAT and Tyler Police Department were called to help the Troup Police Department with the investigation. Continue reading Homicide Investigation Underway in Troup

NACOGDOCHES — The Nacogdoches Police Department is investigating an early morning shooting that left one person dead and one in serious condition. According to KETK, officers were called to an apartment in the 500 block of Tangleberry Street shortly after 4:00 Wednesday morning. Officers were met by a roommate who said a female, identified as Chloe Love, 22, of Houston, had forced her way into the apartment, confronted another female in a bedroom and produced a handgun. The roommate ran from the residence and heard a gunshot as she was exiting. Continue reading One Woman Dead in Attempted Murder/Suicide

TYLER – A Smith County man has been arrested for seriously injuring his baby. Investigators says Wesley Watkins, 22, had been caring for the four month old at his Lindale home earlier this month. He first said was attempting to feed the baby when he accidentally dropped her on the floor. He then put her to bed. When the mother found a large amount of swelling to the baby’s head, She was taken to a Kilgore hospital and later flown to a Dallas hospital. When he was interviewed again this week, Wesley admitted to accidentally dropping the baby and then, when she wouldn’t stop crying, he threw her across the bed, where she hit her head on a bed railing. He remains in the Smith County Jail under a $250,000 bond.

TYLER – The need for blood has a tendency to increase in the summer while, at the same time, blood donations tend to decrease. The need for blood increases because of vacation accidents and scheduled elective surgery. This, coupled with no high school student blood drives in the summer, can reduce blood supplies. Jacque Decker, Manager of Operations at the Carter Blood Care in Tyler, says 25% to 30% of all their blood supplies come from these student blood drives. Currently, she says blood supplies at the center are steady. But that could change any day. Decker encourages donors to come to the center or a mobile blood drive. You can go to http://www.carterbloodcare.org to get more information or find a mobile blood drive near you.

HENDERSON — A former Tatum teacher will serve five years probation for having an improper relationship with a student. KETK and the Longview News-Journal report Kallie Boxell, 24, of Tatum, entered a plea deal on July 7 that includes deferred adjudication community service and the surrender of her teaching certification. During sentencing in Henderson, the victim’s mother made an impassioned impact statement on her child’s behalf, urging other people to come forward and report such offenses, Rusk County and District Attorney Micheal Jimerson said. “This result was entirely due to the tremendous courage and honesty of one young person who told the truth and did not waiver,” Jimerson said. Continue reading Ex-Tatum Teacher Given Probation for Improper Relationship

TYLER – Tyler police have released the identity of a body found on the city’s west side. The body was discovered around 8:00 Tuesday morning in the 900 block of South Southwest Loop 323. The deceased is identified as Richard Wayne Farmer, 49, Tyler. Investigators located an ID on the body that was later confirmed to be the identification of the deceased. There were no evident signs of foul play present upon the initial investigation. Farmer’s body was sent to the Dallas County Medical Examiner for an autopsy. Farmer was not reported missing with the Tyler Police Department. This case remains under investigation pending further information and possible evidence. Continue reading Body Found in Tyler Identified

EAST TEXAS — Gregg County elected officials and law enforcement officers gathered alongside residents at the Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center event hoping to make sense of the tragedy and offering prayers and calls for unity as they remembered the five officers killed and the nine others others wounded, KETK reports. “I can tell you that pain and hurt does not stop at the Dallas city limits,” Longview Mayor Andy Mack said during the service. “In Longview alone, there are 170 sworn officers who feel the weight of that burden, who feel the weight of that hurt and whose families feel fear and anxiety knowing the potential danger each day.” Continue reading East Texans Honor Slain Officers

LONGVIEW — A Longview woman was arrested Monday at the Western Villa Mobile Home Park after she injured a man in an argument and threw several objects at officers trying to detain her, according to the Longview News-Journal and KETK. Shella Abasolo Sarratt, 20, Longview, is being held on charges of aggravated assault of a date/family/household member and assault of a public servant. She remained in the Gregg County Jail Tuesday afternoon on $15,000 bond. Police were called to the trailer park in the 4500 block of West Loop 281 on a family violence call Monday at about 9 a.m., where they found a man stepping out of his house with red scratches around his elbow. Continue reading Longview Woman Charged with Assault

CHEROKEE COUNTY – Cherokee County authorities are looking for 3 burglary suspects who broke into one business and attempted another one. It occurred on Wednesday, July 6th.The first break in was at the Subway in Alto. They then left and went to Wells where they tried to break into Polk’s Pick-It-Up convenience store. They were scared off by the stores burglar alarm. But they returned a short time later and tried to get in again. They then left Wells and returned to Alto and re-entered the Subway store through the broken front door. Continue reading Cherokee County Burglary Suspects Sought