KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — In an effort to raise the county’s immunization level against rabies, the annual Smith County Dog and Cat Rabies Vaccination Clinics are being held this week. The clinics are open through Saturday at various locations around the county. Your pet dog or cat can be inoculated at the reduced price of only $8.00. Here are this year’s clinics and locations:
Monday, April 11th, 7:00pm
Bullard……..High School Ag Shop
Mt. Sylvan….Community Center
Winona…….Winona High School Ag Shop

Tuesday April 12th, 7:00pm
Chapel Hill….High School Bus Loop
Flint/Gresham…Community Center
Noonday…….Community Center
Overton……..Overton High School Ag Shop
Pine Springs…Community Center
Providence……Community Center
Red Springs…..Red Springs Fire Department
Troup…………Troup High School Ag Shop

Wednesday April 13th, 7:00pm
Tyler………….Humane Society of Smith County, 1823 County Road 386

Thursday April 14th, 7:00pm
Lindale……….High School Ag Shop
Jackson……….Fire Department
Whitehouse…..Covered pavilion across from the high school
New Harmony….Community Center
Starville…………Community Center
Arp………………High School Ag Shop

Saturday April 16th, 2:00pm
Colonial Hills……Colonial Hills Baptist Church on South Broadway
John Tyler……….Parking lot in front of the school on NNW Loop 323

If you need more information, contact the Smith County Extension Service Office at 903- 590-2980.

TYLER — The City of Tyler Street Department and Texas Department of Transportation will again be closing the outer westbound lane of Loop 323 from Copeland Road to Fry Avenue between 8:30am and 4:30pm Tuesday and Wednesday. This closure is to ensure the safety of area high school students as they paint a mural on the retaining wall in this area.

For the first time in nearly a decade, the mural stretching along the southeast portion of Loop 323 will receive a facelift. Originally launched as an interschool project that would be repainted regularly, the existing mural was painted by students from area schools in 2002.

This spring, students from six area schools including: The Brook Hill School, All Saints Episcopal, T.K. Gorman, Robert E. Lee, John Tyler, and Grace Community School will join forces to repaint the retaining wall. The new mural will portray a long strand of multicolored roses, with each school completing a section of the vine in their own style and color scheme.

All drivers are asked to use caution while driving in this area to further safeguard the safety of the students as they work.

UNDATED — Here’s a quick look at events and work planned in the Tyler District of the Texas Department of Transportation.

SMITH COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations on Farm Road 2661 east of Tyler between State Highway 64 and State Highway 31. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

LONGVIEW — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue pavement-repair operations on Spur 63 between U.S. Highway 80 and Loop 281. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and motorists are encouraged to be prepared to reduce speed and merge in and around the work zone.

WOOD COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform pavement repair operations in various locations on State Highway 37 in Winnsboro between State Highway 11 and Farm Road 515, and south of Winnsboro near Farm Road 1647. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform fog seal operations on U.S. Highway 175 between Frankston and Jacksonville. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers and pilot vehicles will control traffic.

Then, on Monday, April 18, TxDOT maintenance crews are scheduled to begin several weeks of pavement-repair operations in Rusk, Reklaw and Jacksonville. Crews will be working in the following locations in the following order:
*U.S. Highway 69 and U.S. Highway 84 in Rusk, working in and around the intersection;
*U.S. Highway 84 east of U.S. Highway 69 in Rusk;
*U.S. Highway 84 in Reklaw in the curb-and-gutter section;
*U.S. Highway 69 and U.S. Highway 79, working in and around the intersection; and
*U.S. Highway 79 east of U.S. Highway 69.
Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform pavement-repair operations on State Highway 19 in Canton between Interstate Highway 20 and State Highway 64. Once that work is complete, crews will be performing the same work on State Highway 64 west of State Highway 19 and on State Highway 243 west of State Highway 198. Crews will also be at work in various locations south of U.S. Highway 80 on Farm Road 857 and Farm Road 1255. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

HENDERSON COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations on Farm Road 85 between the Navarro County Line and State Highway 274 in Seven Points. A second crew is scheduled to perform base repairs on Farm Road 317 south of Chandler between Farm Road 314 and Farm Road 315. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

RUSK COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform edge repairs on State Highway 323 between Loop 571 and State Highway 42. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

ANDERSON COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform edge repairs on Farm Road 323 southeast of Palestine between U.S. Highway 84 and Farm Road 1817, then move to Farm Road 321 between Tennessee Colony and the end of state maintenance. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

TYLER — The City of Tyler Historic Preservation Board will host a ceremony at 4 p.m. Monday designating the Schoenbrun House at 505 W. Third as a Historic Landmark. The designation of this modern-style home coincides with Preservation Texas’ Inaugural Texas MODern Month. The goal of Texas MODern Month is to raise awareness of and to preserve locally, regionally and nationally significant examples of modern architecture in Texas.

Mano Schoenbrun, born in Slovakia but a naturalized U.S. citizen, came to Tyler in 1931 with his wife Elsie, who had just immigrated from Hungary. They established what would become a retail fashion icon for men and women in East Texas, the New York Store. In 1947, with their business firmly established, the Schoenbruns took the first step toward building their dream home, purchasing from the estate of Walter H. Knight a large lot on the north side of West Third Street near the intersection of Chilton Avenue. Always in the forefront of fashion, Elsie and Mano embraced the new Modernism in architecture, building in 1950-1951 a sleek, one-story, u-shaped home of nearly 4,000 square feet –- distinctive in a neighborhood of traditional residences.

Attributed to architect Shirley Simons and built by Harry Oliver, Jr., the house features wide sweeps of aluminum windows that wrap corners. A massive chimney dominates the low roofline and façade of elongated salmon-colored brick. Important in 1950s Modernism, the flow begins with flagstone used for the front walk and porch, continuing as the entry and dining room flooring. Original cork paves the den and the 60-foot windowed hallway that runs along one side of the interior west wing.

Floor to ceiling sliding glass doors open onto a central private patio with a deep overhanging roofline shading the interior wrap-around porch, another element of 1950s Modernism. Interior features include pocket doors, recessed lighting and a fossil stone living room fireplace wall that begins at the front entry. This same stone was added to the face of the downtown New York Store, still visible on the second story portion of the building at the corner of Spring and Erwin streets.

The Schoenbruns reared their four children, Ronnie, Larry, Shirley and Greta in this home. Rising to prominence in the East Texas retail business world, they added a store in Kilgore as well as one in Tyler’s then new Broadway Square Mall. Mano died in 1959, but Elsie operated the business with help from her family and continued to live in the home until her death in 1993. The property was purchased from the Schoenbrun estate in 1998 by Steve and Niki Cash.

In 2003 the house was included as a Contributing Property in the survey of the Azalea Residential Historic District and subsequently was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Don and Bonny Edmonds, current residents, bought the home in 2010.

TYLER — Police in Tyler are following up on an assault report. Shortly after 6:30 Saturday evening, TPD received a call of an aggravated assault at 3088 Old Omen Road. Officers responded to that location and were informed that two people had been cut with a broken beer bottle and were being transported to Mother Frances Hospital by private vehicle. No suspects were located at the scene. Officers responded to Mother Frances and contacted two men, ages 23 and 24 year, with minor lacerations to their backs. Both victims said that an unknown black male in his late teens or early 20s had caused a disturbance near the swimming pool area at the apartment and ultimately cut both of them during an altercation with a broken beer bottle. Both victims were treated at the hospital emergency room for their wounds and released.

TYLER — Tyler police are investigating a reported accidental shooting. Officers and EMS arrived on scene after police were dispatched to 516 West Houston Saturday night just before 8:00. Police and EMS were led into the residence by a friend of the victim. The victim, an 18 year old man, had suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest. The victim was then transported to East Texas Medical Center to undergo surgery. Two friends of the victim were at the residence at the time of the shooting and advised officers that the victim had accidentally shot himself.

TYLER — Citizens can pick up their vouchers and participate in the annual Smith County Wide Clean-up Event April 11-16. The County Clean-up event is an opportunity for residents of Smith County to bring trash and bulky items to the Greenwood Farms Landfill for free. The Smith County Environmental Crimes Unit, Precinct Constables, and Smith County Commissioners Court are working together to host the event. The County will provide vouchers to the public that are good for up to three cubic yards of trash per person, which is equal to a full-sized truck bed. Vouchers are available to pick up at all Justice of the Peace and Constable Precinct offices or the Commissioners Court Office in the Smith County Courthouse Annex. There is a limit of one voucher per household, and businesses may not participate in the voucher program.

The vouchers are good Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., and on Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to noon the week of April 11-16. The vouchers come with a map to the landfill and a list of items that the Greenwood Farms Landfill, an Allied Waste Company, cannot accept. “We would like to thank Greenwood Farms Manager Zach Briscoe for providing us with this service every year. It is a benefit to the citizens of Smith County and helps us keep the trash off the roads and in the landfill, where it belongs,” Smith County Environmental Officer Tommy Goodman said. Items not accepted during the County Wide Clean-up include hazardous waste, pesticides, herbicides, solvents, gasoline, oils, paint, acid, batteries, asbestos, Freon, whole tires, refrigerators, freezers, televisions and computers.

For more information or to pick up your voucher, you can call (Tyler) Pct. 1 Constable Henry Jackson, 903-590-2609; (Noonday) Pct. 2 Constable Andy Dunklin, 903-590-4840; (Troup) Pct. 3 Constable Dustin Rust, 903-842-2664; (Winona) Pct. 4 Constable John Smith 903-590-4879; or (Lindale) Pct. 5 Constable Dennis Taylor, 903-590-4901.

TYLER — It’s the final day of Tyler’s annual Azalea and Spring Flower Trails. Among the showcase events: the 2011 Azalea Trails Arts and Crafts Fair at Bergfeld Park, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. More than 90 vendors will offer handmade items such as pottery, clothing, jewelry, candles, floral arrangements, woodcrafts, oil paintings, and much, much more. You can go to http://www.tylerazaleatrail.com for more information on Azalea Trails.

VAN — A 78-year-old Van woman is dead in a two-vehicle accident that occurred in Van shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday. The DPS says Peggy Alexander was eastbound on Kansas Street when her car struck a vehicle driven by Amanda Cabler of Ben Wheeler. Cabler’s vehicle was southbound on FM 314. Alexander, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at Cozby-Germany Hospital in Grand Saline. Cabler was last reported in good condition at ETMC/Tyler. She was wearing a seat belt.

McKINNEY — Big trouble for a former East Texas police chief. Donnie Gene Lewis has been indicted by a grand jury in Collin County on five counts of sexual assault of a child and eight counts of indecency. No further details were immediately offered, except that all of this allegedly happened in Plano between 2001 and 2004. That was shortly after Lewis had retired as chief in Sulphur Springs. He’d been on the force there for 25 years. He’s now 61, and if he’s convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

AUSTIN (AP) – State health officials say people who attended horse shows in Belton and Lufkin last month may have been exposed to a horse that tested positive for rabies. About 150 people from Texas, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana and Mississippi attended the American Southwest Texas Cutting Horse Association show in Belton March 19-21 and the Lufkin Cutting Horse Association show March 25-27. The horse was a 7-year-old bay quarter horse gelding with a faint star on its forehead. The horse died April 4 and tested positive for rabies April 6. People can be infected if they are bitten or if the infected animal’s saliva gets in an open wound or cut or in the eyes, nose or mouth. A series of post-exposure shots, if given in time, can prevent rabies from developing.

LUFKIN — Thirteen suspects have been arrested following a year-long investigation into drug trafficking in the Lufkin and Nacogdoches area. A 12-count sealed indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on March 17, 2011, charging 11 individuals with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. Three of the individuals are also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. A separate sealed indictment in another unrelated case was also filed on March 17, 2011, charging Teodocio Carrera, also known as Maclovio Ocon, along with two other individuals, with conspiracy with intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.

The following individuals are in custody:

Jesus Pineda, 28, Nacogdoches
Antonio Mendoza, 25, Nacogdoches
Israel Colin, 28, Nacogdoches
Esteban Castro, 25, Nacogdoches
Robert Max Wilson, 24, Lufkin
Leocadio Garcia Rivera, 26, Nacogdoches
Eleazar Rivera Estrada, 22, Nacogdoches
Augustin Chacon, 44, Lufkin
Armando Colin, 27, Nacogdoches
Ramiro Samarripa, 41, Lufkin
Margarita Pineda, age unknown, Nacogdoches
Nelson Rodriguez, 37, Nacogdoches
Teodocio Carrera a/k/a Maclovio Ocon, 48, Nacogdoches

Federal authorities seek the forfeiture of $1 million cash in drug proceeds. Authorities also seek forfeiture of 6 pieces of real estate property in Lufkin and Nacogdoches and multiple vehicles that authorities say were utilized in the drug trafficking crimes.

WASHINGTON – A Tyler-based effort was among the honorees as Attorney General Eric Holder recognized seven individuals and three organizations for what was termed outstanding work on behalf of crime victims. It happened at an awards ceremony hosted by the Department of Justice. According to a news release, the Crime Victims Fund Award recognizes individuals or teams for their outstanding work in pursuing federal criminal offenders and imposing and collecting the criminal fines. This year’s recipient is the Tyler-based Financial Litigation Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

Officials say the honor recognizes the unit’s efforts to maximize fine collections on behalf of the Crime Victims Fund and the restitution payments to victims of crime. According to officials, the unit assures defendants meet their responsibilities to victims in restitution cases by coordinating with prosecutors and investigating agencies to prevent fraudulent asset transfers, or the hiding of assets, by defendants.

Holder remarked, “We commend these individuals and service providers who, when faced with emerging challenges, seek out new ways to protect our communities, and to more effectively assist and empower crime victims.” The Attorney General’s Annual Victims’ Service Awards are presented as a prelude to the nation’s observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 10-16, 2011. Officials say this year’s theme — “Reshaping the Future, Honoring the Past” — highlights the importance of crime victims’ rights and recognizes individuals and organizations that demonstrate a commitment to this effort.

TYLER – Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler was named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals by Thomson Reuters. Mother Frances officials say Thomson Reuters is a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of health care. The study evaluates performance in several areas. Those include mortality; medical complications; patient safety; average patient stay; patient satisfaction; adherence to clinical standards of care; post-discharge mortality; and readmission rates for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia. Hospitals do not apply, and winners do not pay to market this honor.

Mother Frances has been designated a 100 Top Hospital four times and is one of only four hospitals in Texas — and the only hospital in East Texas — to receive the recognition this year. “Our patients deserve this level of health care and I am proud of every Trinity Mother Frances employee for their dedication and focus that keeps Mother Frances Hospital an award-winning medical destination,” said Ray Thompson, FACHE, the hospital’s chief executive officer.

TYLER — A 40-year-old Tyler man is in jail after police say he escaped from Officer Kevin Mobley, who had him detained for possession of a controlled substance in the area of Trezevant Street and Tennneha Avenue, around 10:15 a.m. Friday. Markus Earl Glenn of Tyler is charged with escape causing bodily injury, a 2nd degree felony, and tampering with evidence, a 3rd degree felony.

According to police, Glenn was being placed under arrest and had one handcuff on when he struggled with Mobley and broke free. Authorities say Mobley suffered cuts to his hand during the struggle to maintain control of Glenn. Police report that Glenn was located on a roof top at 703 Trezevant Street, after a short foot pursuit. A police department news release says officers and negotiators responded to the scene to secure the area and talk the suspect into coming down off the roof. Authorities say Glenn was taken into custody after two hours of negotiations.