KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — Smith County has received the Texas Association of Counties 2010 Safety Award for its record of involvement and commitment to safety in the workplace, as well as for controlling workers’ compensation claims. The Award was presented in Commissioners Court Tuesday, during a regular meeting. To qualify for the Texas Association of Counties Safety Awards, a county must have a safety program rated in the top 15 percent of approximately 300 governmental entities that collectively self-insure their workers’ compensation through the Association’s Risk Management Pool. Smith was one of only 23 counties honored with a 2010 award. “We are honored and excited to receive this award from the Texas Association of Counties,” County Judge Joel Baker said.

TYLER — Smith County Sheriff J.B. Smith says a man suspected of stealing copper from numerous churches in East Texas is now in custody. He says video from one of the churches showed a suspect’s car and Monday, Evergreen Memorial Cemetery called in a report of a suspect stealing bronze markers. Deputies arrested 25-year-old Bryson Jamar Anthony of Kilgore. Smith says Anthony eventually confessed to 13 thefts of air conditioning units to obtain copper. Anthony was booked into the Smith County Jail on numerous charges with bond set at $390,000. The sheriff says other counties where Anthony is suspected of copper theft will be given opportunities to question Anthony.

TYLER — Effective August 15, Tyler’s Social Security office will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:00 – 3:30, a reduction of 30 minutes each weekday. While agency employees will continue to work their regular hours, this shorter public window will allow them to complete face-to-face service with the visiting public without incurring the cost of overtime. Congress provided Social Security with nearly $1 billion less than the President requested for the budget this fiscal year, which makes it impossible for the agency to provide the amount of overtime needed to handle service to the public as we have in the past.

Most Social Security services do not require a visit to an office. For example, anyone wishing to apply for benefits, sign up for direct deposit, replace a Medicare card, obtain a proof of income letter or inform us of a change of address or telephone number may do so at http://www.socialsecurity.gov or by dialing our toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.

ANGELINA COUNTY — A federal grand jury indicted 13 Angelina County people for an alleged conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine since 2008. The indictment states the various coconspirators purchased pseudoephedrine from Sam’s Pharmacy, Walmart Pharmacy, Walgreen’s Pharmacy and CVS Pharmacy for the purpose of manufacturing a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of meth.

They would then rent motel rooms to manufacture the illegal substance and then transport it to Angelina County from Nacogdoches, Liberty, Smith, Dallas, Collin, Anderson, Jasper, Galveton, Kaufman, Walker, Polk, Cherokee, Tarrant, Denton, Orange, Jefferson, Hardin, Shelby, Newton, Tyler, Harris and Montgomery counties, according to the indictment.

The penalties could be up to 20 years in prison, a fine from $250,000 to $500,000, or both.

NACOGDOCHES — A man police said “ate” numerous narcotics and is accused of driving while intoxicated led police on a high-speed chase through several parts of the city and county Sunday. After a nearly 24-hour hospitalization, he was booked into the Nacogdoches County Jail. Johnny Stanley, 29, of Nacogdoches, was arrested shortly after 2:15 Sunday afternoon and charged with evading arrest and driving while intoxicated.

LINDEN – A Smith County man has been killed and two persons injured in a Cass County accident. It happened around 4:00 Friday afternoon on U.S. Highway 59. Killed was Loren Jay Larson, 61, of Bullard. He died about 2½ hours after the accident in a Longview hospital. Injured were Linda Larson, 61, and Elizabeth Larson, 82. According to the Department of Public Safety, Larson, whose pickup was towing a travel trailer, ran off the road and overturned. He was tossed from the pickup.

LONGVIEW – Longview police have arrested a Denison, Texas, man on a charge of online solicitation of a minor. In the Gregg County Jail under a $30,000 bond is Donnie Smith, 58. He spent his birthday in the jail Sunday following his arrest.

Longview police say Smith is accused of having an online communication for several months with a fictitious juvenile female. He is even accused of sending a webcam of his genitals in an attempt to set up a meeting. According to court records, he thought he was communicating with a 14 year old girl.

LONGVIEW –Longview Mayor Jay Dean is announcing a program designed to provide heat relief to area citizens in need. With triple-digit heat a norm this summer, Mayor Dean, along with partner agencies and private donors, is launching the “Mayor’s Beat the Heat Project.” This program is designed to provide window air conditioning units to residents around Longview who do not currently have air conditioning in their homes. “There are many residents out there that are suffering with this heat right now, and we just want to be able to help them get some relief,” says Mayor Jay Dean.

The Area Agency on Aging (AAA) will administer the in-take process. Residents in need should contact the Area Agency on Aging at 903-984-8641 or 800-442-8845. Preference will be given to elderly ages 60 and above and/or disabled residents that live in a Longview area zip code 75601, 75602, 75603, 75604, 75605, 75606, 75607 and 75608. As supply allows, other low income residents in the Longview area may also be considered. Only one unit will be given per household.

Several area agencies have partnered together to bring this project forward. The Hiway 80 Rescue Mission, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, and AMBUCS will work together with other volunteer groups to help distribute and install the air conditioning units.

Funding for the Mayor’s Beat the Heat Project has been provided entirely through private donations. At this time, Mayor Dean has secured pledges in the amount of $25,000 from various Longview businesses, organizations, and citizens. The money raised will be used to purchase 200 air conditioning units rated at 5,000 BTU from local home improvement stores.

“I understand we are not going to be able to solve the problem of heat relief for every needy citizen with this program this year,” says Mayor Jay Dean. “My hope and my expectation is that, next year, this program will be administered by our partner agencies. My idea was to just get the ball rolling for the future. We want to do what we can this year to help, but then hopefully see the community put a program in place that makes sense going forward.”

BROWNSVILLE (AP/Staff) – Researchers in Tyler are trying to overcome a language barrier to teach safety to Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishermen in America’s deadliest commercial fishery. With Vietnamese and Spanish the dominant languages among some Gulf shrimp fleets, researchers at UT Health Science Center at Tyler are developing outreach programs in fishermen’s native languages. The government-backed researchers are designing safety signs based on universal symbols and preparing to release an interactive CD in three languages on how to make mayday calls. The UTHSCT researchers have found that many fishermen wouldn’t use their radios to call for help because they didn’t speak enough English. A federal study shows 55 Gulf shrimping deaths between 2000 and 2009. 29 of them were fishermen who fell overboard.

Despite the researchers’ efforts, funding for their work may be cut. The national program under which the researchers operate is targeted for elimination in the President’s 2012 budget proposal.

LUFKIN — Lufkin’s newest city council member, Sarah Murray, said she will introduce an ordinance to keep people from selling animals from the roadside. The proposed ordinance, drafted by the city’s attorney, specifically states: “It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, trade, barter, lease, rent, give away or display for a commercial purpose any live animal on a roadside, public right-of-way, commercial parking lot, or at an outdoor special sale, garage sale, swap meet, flea market, or similar event within the corporate limits of the City of Lufkin.” According to KETK and the Lufkin Daily News, the ordinance is restricted to domesticated animals, and does not include livestock.

Murray, a longtime animal rights activist, said she sees people selling animals in commercial parking lots and finds it appalling. “The animals that are brought to sell are from puppy mills,” said Murray, who represents Ward 6. “Sometimes these dogs are inbred. Another thing is they have no immunizations, no vaccinations, they are not spayed or neutered. I’m against euthanasia. My idea is if they’re not born, then they don’t have to die.”

Murray claims some of the dogs are selling for up to $500 and are not AKC (American Kennel Club) registered. Many of the animals could have diseases, such as parvo. “Parvo is deadly,” Murray said. “If it isn’t detected, the dog can give parvo to the rest of your animals, and they will all die.” Most importantly, she said the animals wait in inhumane conditions to be purchased. She said some don’t have enough shade or water to endure the East Texas heat or bitter cold temperatures of winter.

“It was freezing last year, and people had brought in birds in cages, and they were sitting out in the cold, cold weather,” Murray said. “To me it’s just unethical. These animals have no choice.” The side-of-the-road sale also encourages impulse buying, Murray said, which leads to more animals in the shelters, Humane Society or dumped in neighborhoods and on country roads.

LUFKIN — The man sentenced to 30 days in jail last week for resisting arrest in his Lufkin home was fighting police because he feared deportation to his native country of Honduras, according to a Lufkin Police offense report released Friday. That’s according to KETK and the Lufkin Daily News. Marco Sauceda, 30, who does not speak English, told a Spanish-speaking officer he stayed silent during the March 15, 2009, incident in spite of being pepper-sprayed and shot with a pepper ball gun because, as an illegal immigrant, he was afraid he would be deported. During the scuffle, Sauceda suffered a gash to the top of his head that required medical attention.

The jury of five men and one woman who found Sauceda guilty of resisting arrest Wednesday made its decision without knowledge of his immigration status due to a motion filed by Sauceda’s attorney, Ryan Deaton, and granted by County Court at Law No. 2 Judge Derek Flournoy on July 15, according to records from the trial. The motion, called a “motion in lemine,” claimed Sauceda’s alien status could have prejudiced the jury. “We could not go into that without the court’s permission at trial, whether he was legally in the country or not,” said Angelina County Attorney Ed Jones, who assisted in the prosecution of Sauceda’s case.

Attempts to reach Deaton for comment on his client’s immigration status Friday afternoon were not successful. With credit for time served, Sauceda is now a free man, as no immigration hold was placed on him Wednesday when he booked in and out of the Angelina County jail, according to jail records.

LONGVIEW — Bond was set at $100,000 Sunday for a Longview man authorities determined was wanted on a murder warrant in Europe after he was jailed in connection with an assault Saturday in Longview. Donald Adkins, 44, was arrested around 7:00 Saturday in Broughton Park on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Justice of the Peace Arthur Fort said Sunday that Adkins had given a false name during booking, but jail personnel were able to determine his identity and discover the foreign warrant. Fort said he was not certain which country issued the warrant, or details of that charge. The local charge stemmed from an attack that left another man with two knife wounds, one to the eye, the other in the chest.

WINONA – A one vehicle accident in northern Smith County has left one person dead. Killed in the crash shortly after 11:15 Friday night was George Douglas Nolan, 40, of Tyler, a former member of the Winona Volunteer Fire Department.. The Department of Public Safety says his car left the road and hit a tree and then burst into flames. The wreck occurred on County Road 334, a couple of miles north of Tyler. What caused the crash remains under investigation, however firemen on the scene said that Nolan had a cell phone in his hand.

LONGVIEW — East George Richey Road, located east of Gilmer Road, opened to traffic Monday. The 3,500 foot extension project was funded equally by Gregg County and the City of Longview. The total project cost was approximately $1.96 million. This project was constructed by Knife River of Bryan, Texas.

WHITEHOUSE — The Future Farmers of America has selected its new state president Peyton Gilbert, 18, of Whitehouse. After winning several local awards in high school, he figured it was time to run for statewide office. Over the next year, he’ll be traveling all over Texas to teach students about agricultural education and awareness. Afterwards, Gilbert plans to attend a four-year university in Texas before heading off to law school.