KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — The United Way of Tyler/Smith County has surpassed its $1.7 million campaign goal for 2010 by over $13,000. The final take of $1,713, 829 is also 10% more than what was raised in the 2009 campaign. United Way President Nan Moore says she’s very pleased. She says it’s the first time in about six years the campaign has met or exceeded its goal. Moore attributes that largely to “a stronger and larger group of volunteers in our loaned executive group and in our campaign cabinet.” And she says that’s needed because of a local market shift from larger to smaller businesses. According to Moore, years ago, volunteers often addressed hundreds at a single sitting, but now it’s much more common for them to speak to groups of ten or 15.

LINDALE — The Lindale Independent School District has applied for a waiver from the Texas Education Agency which would exempt the district from holding classes on May 31 as a snow day makeup. The date was originally scheduled on the district’s school calendar to recover instruction time lost after LISD’s closure on February 4 due to winter weather. The district will extend two early release days to full-length instruction days to meet the criteria for the waiver. Students will no longer be released two hours early on March 22 and May 26. Instead, classes will be released at the regularly scheduled end time on each campus. The Lindale ISD school board approved the amendment to the calendar on Monday night. “By substituting two early release days for a full makeup day, we are not requiring students to be back in the classroom after Memorial Day,” LISD Superintendent Stan Surratt said.

LINDALE — A groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday for the construction phase of the Lindale Industrial Park Infrastructure Project. John W. Clary, president of the Lindale Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), calls the effort an “important economic development project for Lindale and northern Smith County.” Located south of I-20 on Harvey Road (CR 433), the land for the 120-acre park was purchased in 2007 by the LEDC. The infrastructure project is being completed in partnership with the City of Lindale and the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) through a 50/50 matching grant from the EDA and LEDC Funds. The infrastructure project will include a new cul-de-sac concrete street with storm drainage, water, and wastewater to all sites within the park. Sites are available from two acres to 40 acres.

TYLER — A home has been destroyed by a Smith County fire. It happened at 12412 Farm Road 14, just south of Interstate Highway 20. The home’s owner, Steven Kovac, said it started in a wood burning stove. He says he tried to put the fire out himself, but it got out of control. No injuries were reported, but the homeowner does not have insurance.

LUFKIN — Lufkin Memorial Hospital staff members call police after suspecting a young patient was abused. Lufkin Police say a mother brought her son into the hospital Saturday night after she noticed he was bleeding. An examination showed he had a severe case of a sexually transmitted disease. Police are investigating the case and so far, no arrests have been made.

PITTSBURG – A Camp County man has been arrested and charged with his wife’s death. Johnnie Morse, 75, is charged in the death of Terry Morse, 73, his wife of 56 years.

Last Wednesday night Morse called the Camp County Sheriff’s Department to report his wife missing. He told officers he had returned home and his wife’s car was there but she wasn’t. A search of the area the area turned up no trace of the woman.

Last Friday Morse came to the sheriff’s department to report he had found his wife’s body behind a gun safe in the master bedroom. An autopsy was ordered. The body was so badly decomposed deputies were unable to determine the cause of death.

At last report Morse remained in the Camp County Jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond.

TYLER — Tyler school trustees have continued their discussion on academic initiatives for the school district. Monday’s discussion was a continuation of the February board workshop where four initiatives were shared. They were:
*CTE Expansion and Enhancements
*High School STEM Academy
*Early College High School
*Non-Traditional High School Expansion and Enhancements

Monday’s discussion included a brief review of the first four initiatives as well as a look into the final two initiatives: a Freshman Academy and 5th and 6th Grade Centers.

According to school superintendent Dr. Randy Reid, statistically, the freshman year in high school has proven to be one of the largest stumbling blocks to students’ academic success. As a result, many districts have begun to focus significant attention on freshmen by isolating them either in separate campuses or in areas of their facilities. Additional resources are usually allocated in an attempt to help the students begin their high school careers on the right track.

He explained that currently, this school year, John Tyler High School began a pilot program by creating a Freshman Academy program. They identified the downstairs portion of their main building as the designated area for all freshman core classes. Additional staff and resources were focused on meeting the needs of these freshmen, and initial results are showing great promise.

He said a consideration about this program is the district could continue to support John Tyler’s efforts and begin to look at opportunities to expand the concept to Robert E. Lee High School. He also said the district could consider this concept when planning future facility enhancements with the goal of creating freshman-specific spaces within future high school facilities. Dr. Reid shared with the Board of Trustees how 9th grade academies can address academic and facility challenges.

The final academic program presented to the Board was the concept of 5th/6th grade centers. Dr. Reid explained how fifth and sixth grade students have very similar characteristics. He said this is a critical phase in their educational progress and by this age, they usually have enough data to identify strengths and weaknesses. Coupling these grades would allow strong interventions to help struggling students and bring greater rigor to the classroom. This could help to prevent the usual drop-off in performance for middle school.

He said considerations of this 5th/6th grade proposal are that fifth graders are currently housed at elementary campuses while 6th graders are in middle schools; projected growth at the elementary level will lead to a shortage of space at many of our campuses; and our middle school campuses are already overcrowded and in need of updating/replacing. He also said the district could seek opportunities to build new middle schools and remodel existing facilities to utilize for 5th/6th centers and the district could build new 5th/6th centers. Dr. Reid explained how 5th/6th centers can address academic and facility challenges.

Also at Monday’s meeting, Steve Hulsey with Corgan Associates, Inc. presented the District’s facility assessment to the board. He explained the assessment process and the results. The consultant interviewed all department leaders and looked for efficiencies as well as current and future needs of the facilities in the District. Hulsey explained that the future needs of the District will require more space. He also said that the reorganization of departments will make operations more efficient. Some of the older facilities have served the district beyond their useful life and repurposing these facilities would be cost prohibitive.

Dr. Reid suggested that at the April Board Workshop half of the meeting will be for the purpose to share the demographic report and half the meeting will be dedicated to conversations about these programs and facilities presented today. It was also discussed that it is important to involve the community, parents and students in the discussion process in the future.

TYLER — Smith County Clerk Karen Phillips says the land records portion of the County Clerk’s office is being reorganized and relocated from the third floor to the basement of the Smith County Courthouse Annex. The move is underway and will continue through Wednesday. The land records division and the criminal department of the County Clerk’s office will remain open during this time but will be minimally staffed, and delays in processing are expected. “The changes are being made in an effort to streamline work flow and improve customer service. We know this small inconvenience will result in increased efficiencies and a leaner operation of our services,” Mrs. Phillips said.

Officials say both the land records division and criminal division will return to full operational capacity Friday, the 18th, with four land record work stations downstairs to better serve Smith County customers. “We apologize ahead of time to our customers for the inconvenience but feel the restructuring of our land records department will benefit our office, our customers and the tax payer’s pocket book,” Mrs. Phillips said.

TYLER — The Smith County Red Cross is continuing to brief the public on how to address the Japan earthquake and tsunami. According to Red Cross staffers, the best way to contact or locate U.S. citizens living or traveling in Japan is to contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at 1-888-407-4747 or (202) 647-5225. People in Japan and other countries in the Pacific can register at http://www.icrc.org/familylinks to inform their family and friends that they are safe and provide their current contact details. People in the U.S. looking for loved ones can check the ICRC list for information. They can also register the names of family members and friends, encouraging them to get in touch.

Those who want to help can go to http:// http://www.redcross.org and donate to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami. Gifts to the American Red Cross will support our disaster relief efforts to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific. People can make a $10 donation by texting REDCROSS to 90999. Their donation will go to support relief efforts for the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

NACOGDOCHES – Nacogdoches police are investigating a motorcycle accident that killed a Nacogdoches County sheriff’s deputy. Morgan Sheppard, 26, a county jailer, died early Sunday morning when a car pulled into his path. The accident happened shortly after 1:15am in the 2800 block of North Street.

GARDEN VALLEY – Mercy Ships, an international charity operating the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship, is debuting promotional spots on the CBS “Super Screen” in Times Square. Smith County-based Mercy Ships will have 30 seconds of air time each hour from March 14 through April 30. The Super Screen is located on 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. It is 26 feet wide and 20 feet tall. During the 6 weeks of airtime, the promotional spots will range from three 10-second spots to two 15-second spots to one 30-second spot.

The airing of the promotional spots coincides with the arrival of the Africa Mercy to Sierra Leone, one of the poorest nations in the world, for the Mercy Ships 2011 Field Service. Mercy Ships officials say this advertising opportunity in Times Square — combined with a complementary marketing campaign in web, print, and local events — will allow Mercy Ships to increase awareness of its organization in the United States.

“We are very pleased to have a presence in such a recognizable and high-traffic area,” says Mercy Ships Founder Don Stephens. “Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to bring state-of-the-art medical services to developing countries—we simply need to expand awareness of the needs in West Africa so more people can be helped. Times Square is a great platform to achieve that!”

According to press materials, Mercy Ships follows the 2000-year-old model of Jesus by bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor. Mercy Ships officials say their state-of-the-art hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, is equipped with six operating theaters, a 78-bed ward, a lab, a pharmacy and a CAT scanner. The officials say their crew of 450 volunteers transforms lives by delivering world-class health care to developing nations in West Africa. Program offerings for the 2011 Field Service in Sierra Leone include reconstructive surgeries such as cleft lip and palate correction, orthopedics, plastics, and tumor removal. An eye care team offers corrective cataract procedures, and an off-ship dental clinic provides dental care.

Officials say Mercy Ships is also committed to building capacity by training local medical personnel. In this way, medical care is available to the people of Sierra Leone even after the ship leaves port. Mercy Ships provides all services free of charge and without regard to race, gender, or religion. You can visit http://www.mercyships.org to learn more about Mercy Ships.

LAKE PALESTINE — A controlled burn became anything but over the weekend near Lake Palestine. KETK reports the fire became dangerous when winds fueled flames. Dixie and Noonday volunteer firefighters answered the call for help, along with the Texas Forest Service. After a few hours, crews were able to put out the flames. Fortunately, no structures were damaged by flames, and no injuries were reported from the fire.

SMITH COUNTY — Officials release the name of a young Smith County drowning victim. The sheriff’s department is continuing to investigate the death of Seth Gonzales. Authorities say it happened at a home on Seven Hills Road. Officials say the toddler was reportedly playing with some other children outside his home while his parents were installing a sprinkler system when the boy wandered away from the group. His mother noticed he was gone and went looking for him and found him in a pond. His father attempted CPR. The child was taken to the hospital where he died.

TYLER — The suspect in a fatal weekend accident in Tyler is now out of jail. 51-year-old Charles Winn has been released on $5,000 bond. Carlos Edgar Ramirez-Medina, 24, of Tyler was killed around 5:30 Saturday afternoon at the intersection of Palace and Oakwood. Police say Winn 51, failed to yield the right of way and struck Medina, who was riding a motorcycle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Winn was arrested for intoxication manslaughter.

TYLER — It’s time for the final week of Tyler’s spring Bulky Item Collection. Bulky items that will be picked up at no charge include furniture, appliances, carpet, fence material, up to four noncommercial vehicle tires, old toys and other large items that would normally require a special fee. No liquid waste, limbs or brush will be picked up. Paint must be dried out with oil dry or kitty litter. Free bulky item collection dates are dependent on your location in the city.

This past week bulky items were collected from home owners whose garbage is normally collected on Monday and Thursday. If your garbage is normally collected on Tuesday and Friday, you are asked to place your bulky items on the curb today. You are asked to leave them there until they are picked up. There is no need to call the Solid Waste Office when you set out your bulky garbage. Items may be collected on a different day from your regular collection.

Residents are encouraged to contact the Habitat for Humanity ReStore or Goodwill Industries before disposing of unwanted items that are in good condition. Televisions, computers and other electronics can be recycled at any Tyler Goodwill Drop Off on weekdays or at the Tyler Recycling Collection Center from Wednesday through Saturday.