KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — The 96th East Texas State Fair is weeks away, opening on Thursday, September 22 and running through October 2. Of course, there’ll be carnival rides, exhibits, fair food, and animals — along with the third annual concert series. “The East Texas State Fair is a fun, family tradition. We created a concert series in 2009 and have watched it grow in popularity ever since,” said Heather Pickett, director of presentation and development. “The 2011 concert line-up features many local and almost-local favorites. We look forward to great crowds at each of the concerts. As always, the concerts are free with your Fair admission!”

The 2011 concert series kicks off Friday, September 23rd, with 13-year-old blues guitar virtuoso and Shreveport native Matthew Davidson. On Saturday, September 24th, says Pickett, East Texas’ own JB and the Moonshine Band will have the crowds on their feet. Feliz Cumpleanos to La Invasora on Sunday, September 25th, as the fair celebrates the 10th birthday of La Invasora with an all-day music festival of Tejano and Latino bands. The Monday Gospel tradition continues on Monday, September 26th, with The Sounds of Smith County, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office Gospel Choir.

Pickett says This Day Forth will rock the stage on Tuesday, September 27th. Alternative band Truffula Tree performs Wednesday, September 28th. It’s “more than blues,” says Pickett, with Something Blue on stage Thursday, September 29th. Austin’s Brad Dunn and Ellis County take the stage Friday, September 30th. Oklahoma boy and former Cross Canadian Ragweed front man Cody Canada and his new venture Cody Canada and The Departed wrap up the concert series as the headliner on Saturday, October 1st.

LONGVIEW — Fire department officials said a Tuesday night fire that displaced a Longview family was started from a 5-year-old playing with fire. Longview firefighters were dispatched to the 500 block of West Broadway Street at about 8:00 Tuesday night after authorities were notified about the fire, according to Fire Marshal Johnny Zackary. Zackary said the blaze started after a 5-year-old was playing with matches or a lighter. He said the blaze destroyed the living room and a hallway in the home.

WICHITA, KAN. – Two East Texas hunters have been indicted on federal poaching charges. The announcement was made yesterday by U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.

Justin Klein, 29, of Center, was indicted on three counts of transporting deer across state lines after the deer were illegally taken in Kansas. The indictment alleges the deer were taken in violation of Kansas hunting laws November 1, 2006, and November 1, 2007, in Comanche County, Kansas.

Johnny Risinger, 43, of Mt. Enterprise, was indicted on one count of transporting a deer across state lines after the deer was illegally taken in Kansas. The indictment alleges the deer was taken in violation of Kansas hunting laws on December 1, 2005, in Comanche County, Kansas.

Both men are charged under the Lacey Act, which is a federal law that makes it illegal to knowingly transport or sell in interstate commerce any wildlife taken or possessed in violation of state law or regulation. If convicted, Risinger and Klein face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $20,000 on each count.

The indictments are related to a federal investigation that led to the convictions of James Bobby Butler, Jr., and Marlin Jackson Butler on charges of conspiracy and interstate trafficking of game illegally taken in Kansas. James Butler was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and Marlin Butler was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. The two Nacogdoches County men ran a hunting camp in Kansas. James Bobby Butler Jr. was accused along with his brother with offering guided hunts to hunters who paid thousands of dollars to kill deer illegally.

TYLER – A Rusk County man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking. Kylon Jeffery Henson, 22, of Henderson, pleaded guilty on March 23 to possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. He was sentenced yesterday to 60 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis. According to federal authorities, beginning in September 2009, Henson possessed approximately 181 grams of cocaine base, also referred to as crack cocaine, with intentions to distribute it in the East Texas area. Henson was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 2, 2011, and charged with federal drug trafficking violations.

TYLER – An Anderson County man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking. Sterlynn Jeremiah Henry, 33, of Palestine, pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute phencyclidine, also known as PCP. He was sentenced in Tyler yesterday to 151 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis.

According to information presented in court, on October 7, 2009, Henry and a co-defendant, Andrea Rachelle Bailey, were found to be in possession of a mixture containing a detectable amount of PCP, which they intended to distribute in the Eastern District of Texas. Henry also admitted to being in possession of a firearm in furtherance of his criminal activity. Henry and Bailey were indicted by a federal grand jury on December 1, 2010. Bailey pleaded guilty on February 3, 2011 and was sentenced to time served and 3 years supervised release on June 30, 2011.

ALTO — Authorities say they’ve arrested a suspect in an Alto convenience store robbery. Around 12:30 Monday morning the Corner Market at Highway 69 and Highway 21 was robbed by a man displaying a firearm. A citizen in the area observed the suspicious activity and called 9-1-1. A Cherokee County Sheriff’s Deputy was on scene shortly after receiving the call. The deputy then observed the suspect vehicle and conducted a traffic stop in Alto. Authorities say that upon the deputy’s approach, the suspect fled on foot into a wooded area.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) K-9 track and pack dogs were called to the scene to assist in locating the suspect. Personnel with TDCJ and Sheriff’s Detectives and Deputies tracked the suspect for approximately 4 hours. The suspect had been identified through further investigation, and the search was called off due lack of information. At approximately 5:45 am a local citizen aware of the search for the suspect observed him walking on a county road outside Alto. Detectives and deputies arrived on scene and took the suspect into custody. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by TDCJ as well Rusk Police Department.

The suspect has been arrested on charges of aggravated robbery, evading arrest or detention, and resisting arrest. The name of the suspect was withheld pending arraignment.

LONGVIEW — A 911 dispatch system failure that caused one emergency call to be dropped and others re-routed occurred when workers bumped a breaker. Longview police officials blamed this past week’s outage on contractors working in the breaker box next to one for the 911 telephone system. The failure happened about 10:00 Wednesday morning.

Police spokeswoman Kristie Brian said when the telephone system failed, it went directly into multiple alarm mode, which required that calls be rerouted to non-emergency extensions for up to about seven hours.
“Because of the way the system is configured, the only way this could have occurred was if something physically bumped, switched or unseated the breaker,” Brian said. “And the only people working on the electrical system and near those breakers at the time were the contractors.”

Because of the error, one in-progress 911 call was dropped, Brian said, but it already had been processed and entered into the dispatch system, so dispatch was not affected. She said Systems Specialist Daniel Waites was notified about the issue immediately and activated the center’s backup procedure to forward all calls to the Gregg County Sheriff’s Department.

Brian said call routing was lost for between 45 seconds and a minute. While technicians worked to reroute calls to the non-emergency extensions, two dispatchers were sent to Gregg County to assist handling emergency calls, she said. “The enhanced features of 911 were not available while the system was down. Specifically, this includes the automatic number and location information that typically displays during 911 calls. However, it is (dispatchers’) policy to verbally verify all addresses and phone numbers on emergency calls, even when they have the number and location displayed. Therefore, dispatch time was not significantly delayed on any calls processed internally,” Brian said.

While the system was down and calls were being rerouted to Gregg County, the department received seven phone calls, three of which were for emergency medical services. Brian said the communication staff have an effective and capable contingency plan in case there is a system failure, and that it worked exactly as designed.

MANGUM, Okla. (AP/Staff) – A convicted killer said in a tape recorded interview that he kidnapped the wife of a former Oklahoma prison warden and that she did not help him escape. The recording of the now-dead Randolph Dial was played Tuesday in the trial of Bobbi Parker on a charge that she helped Dial escape the Oklahoma State Reformatory in 1994. Parker’s husband – Randy Parker – was the prison’s deputy warden. Dial described Parker as a victim that he kidnapped at knifepoint. Prosecutors say Parker fell in love with Dial helped him escape. The defense says Parker was kidnapped and that she stayed with Dial out of fear he would harm her family. The recording was made after the two were found living in the Shelby County, Texas, community of Campti in 2005. Dial died in 2007.

SMITH COUNTY — The burn ban for Smith County was extended for up to 90 days by the Smith County Commissioners Court. It was extended yesterday morning due to extremely dry conditions. The burn ban can be rescinded at any time during the 90 day period if conditions change. Since July 1, there have been 97 fires reported in Smith County.

“Many factors go into the decision-making process regarding the issuance of a burn ban. Record periods of heat have made conditions dangerous for outdoor burning and there is little chance for rain in the near future,” Smith County Fire Marshal Jim Seaton said.

Unusually high temperatures, lack of rainfall and low moisture levels have contributed to the need for a ban to be issued.

FLINT — A Smith County family loses its home to a fire. The Bullard fire department and Flint volunteer firefighters say flames were shooting through the roof when they arrived on the scene of the blaze in the 200 block of Cass Circle. Officials say the fire started on the back porch Monday morning, but they are unsure of the exact cause. The fire marshal is investigating and said the house was a total loss. No one was injured in the fire. Donations can be made at Bass Powersports, 750 N Northeast Loop 323, Tyler 903-566-0101. You can go to http://www.bpowersports.com to learn more about the family and their needs.

GALVESTON (AP) – Two guests have been treated for minor injuries after an SUV driven by a vacationing East Texas woman went through a wall and into a Galveston motel. Lt. Joel Caldwell says Brenda Harvey, 63, of Lufkin told police that she accidentally pressed on the gas pedal instead of the brake Monday afternoon. The vehicle went into one room at the Americas Best Value Inn and Suites and broke through the wall of another, apparently briefly trapping a guest. One woman was treated for a bump to the head. Police did not immediately provide details on the second victim. Harvey and her grandson, who was in the vehicle with her, weren’t injured. Police say no alcohol or drugs were involved in the accident.

WHITEHOUSE — A suspect has turned himself in to authorities after an argument turns violent. It happened around 10:45 Monday morning at a business at the intersection of Highway 110 and Hagan Road in Whitehouse. Police say the suspect, Shaun Lawler, 32, Whitehouse, attacked the victim, stabbing her multiple times. The 23-year-old woman was hospitalized, following emergency surgery. Lawler eventually turned himself in last night and was booked into the Smith County Jail. His bond was set at $300,000.

TYLER – Tyler police are investigating the report of an assault to a woman jogger in the 2900 block of Jamestown Drive. It happened just before 9:30 Monday night. She told officers during the assault her dog possibly bit the suspect in the face. According to investigators the woman suffered minor injuries to her neck but did not require medical treatment. The victim described the suspect as a white male as about 35 years old, medium build, 5’09”-6’00”tall, short brown hair and wearing a white t-shirt and long khaki pants.

LONGVIEW – Two Longview teens are in trouble after leading police on a chase over the weekend. It began around 4:30 Saturday morning when an officer noticed a car traveling at a high speed near the 2500 Block of Thirteenth Street. The officer stopped the car but the driver sped away when the officer got out of his patrol car. After a short pursuit the driver reached a dead end street. Both the driver and passenger jumped from the vehicle. Officers detained the 14 year old driver. Officers searched the area for the other suspect but were unable to locate him at that time.

The driver was arrested for evading arrest or detention in a Vehicle and he received two traffic citations including driving with no driver’s license and disregarding a stop sign. Several hours later, the mother of the other suspect brought her son, also 14 years old, to the police department. Police learned that he had taken the mother’s car without her permission and was a passenger in the vehicle during the pursuit. He was not arrested but investigators say charges will be filed against him.

TYLER — The City of Tyler’s newly refurbished Liberty Hall will get its first test run Saturday as the facility hosts a concert presented by the East Texas Symphony Orchestra. Donors and supporters will be recognized at this invitation-only “soft opening” of the facility, said Liberty Hall Manager Anne Payne. A grand opening open to the public is set for Saturday, Sept. 10, Payne said.

“Saturday’s celebration is being held to recognize those people who early on in the process donated their financial support to seeing the dream of Liberty Hall become a reality,” said City Manager Mark McDaniel. “Not only will be have a wonderful concert by pianist Danny Wright and saxophonist Joseph Vincelli, but we will all have the opportunity to thank those who helped turn an empty old movie theater into a spectacular performing arts hall.” More than 200 people are expected at the event, Payne said.

The building in the 100 block of East Erwin began life as a 1930s-era movie theater. For years, it had been empty, and new purposes for the property were mulled. The City of Tyler partnered with the East Texas Symphony Orchestra in early 2008 to announce a cooperative project to revive the old theater building and turn it into a performing arts hall. A major fundraising effort followed, and renovation of the 6,824-square-foot facility began.

“The soft opening is only the beginning of what will be a stellar line-up of entertainment,” Payne said, adding that the theater will bring audiences downtown and contribute to the continuing effort to make downtown a center for the arts. “Not only will we have classical music at Liberty Hall, but we have comedians, classic movies, blues concerts and more scheduled for just the first few weeks the doors of the Liberty will be open. The public will have a myriad of entertainment options at Liberty Hall, including performances for children and families to scary movies on Halloween and everything in between.” Main Street Program Manager Beverly Abell added that the Downtown Tyler Arts Coalition’s “Show Us Your Shorts” film festival will take place in Liberty Hall Oct. 12-15.

Information on the September grand opening and tickets for other Liberty offerings will soon be posted on the Liberty Hall website, Payne said. Those who want more information in the meantime should send email to [email protected] OR call Payne at (903) 595-7274.