KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — The University of Texas at Tyler is on the receiving end of a very generous gift: $10 million from the Robert M. Rogers Foundation to its School of Medicine to support mental and behavioral health education. In recognition of the gift, the university will name its department of psychiatry the Robert M. Rogers Department of Psychiatry. As quoted in a news release, UT Tyler President Dr. Kirk Calhoun says, “Medical schools thrive on transformation gifts that can have a real impact on our students, our community, and our state. This gift is an opportunity to impact the improvement of mental health across the Northeast Texas region, and the Rogers Foundation Department of Psychiatry is going to be something very special.”

TYLER — The countdown to this fall’s Texas Rose Festival is underway following Friday night’s Kick Off Celebration. Queen Molly Louise Berry tells KTBB, “It feels so great. I’ve been waiting for this for so long, and I’m so excited that it’s actually here. And It’s so wonderful welcoming all the out-of-town guests and welcoming them to Tyler.” How important is it to have the out-of-town guests on hand? Queen Molly says, “It’s extremely important because it brings more tourists and volunteers into Tyler and our community…which makes the festival possible.” Continue reading Rose Festival Queen “excited” as October event approaches

KILGORE — The Kilgore Police Department is warning all residents of the city that they will be experiencing little to no water pressure after a main water line broke. According to our news partner KETK, it was discovered that a 16-inch main water line broke within the city. The estimated time on restoration is not clear yet, but updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

TYLER – Three 18-year-old men Houston men were arrested on Friday in Tyler and are accused of stealing several catalytic converters. According to our news partner KETK, Tedrick Dyrone Perry Jr, Kennedy Zuron Watkins and Avory Marquis Coleman were arrested. On July 15, around 6:20 p.m. the Tyler Police Department received a call about a suspicious vehicle at 5201 S. Broadway Ave. The caller said they saw the suspects’ vehicle parked close to her, and she told them to move so she could leave. After they left, she noticed her car started making strange noises. Then, she saw a catalytic converter had been partially stolen from her vehicle. Officials then received two more calls about similar incidents and people described a similar suspect. This happened at 5614 S. Broadway and 8668 S. Broadway. Police began searching for a vehicle described as a black BMW four-door with a Florida license plate. Law enforcement saw the car around 8:20 p.m., heading north on S. Broadway and they tried to initiate a traffic stop. found four catalytic converters in the trunk of the vehicle and two saws.

TYLER — The city of Tyler is advising drivers of roadwork that will close some streets and cause traffic delays. Among the projects is edge milling on South Palmer Avenue between East Fifth Street and East Front Street Monday, July 18, through Friday, July 22. Also, major road work is planned on Northwest Road near Lake Tyler from FM 848 to dead ends July 18 through August 5. Additionally, the eastbound and westbound lanes of East Elm Street between South Broadway Avenue and South Spring Avenue will be closed from July 25 through July 29. And Crow Road will be closed for construction from Old Jacksonville Highway past Oak Hill Boulevard from July 25 through August 5. Click here for all the details.

TYLER — 32-year-old Jonathan Evans of Whitehouse was sentenced Thursday in Tyler to life without parole for continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14. According to a news release, prosecutors presented evidence that Evans sexually abused a young female family member multiple times over a three-year period. Officials say the victim eventually disclosed the abuse to a family member who contacted Whitehouse police. Further investigation led to Evans’s arrest.

TYLER – A Smith County pastor who was indicted for alleged theft against an elderly couple in 2021 is now facing additional charges. According to our news partner KETK, Jerome Milton was indicted June 16 for two charges: money laundering and property theft greater than or equal to $30,000 or less than $150,000. The indictment said Milton acquired, concealed, and transferred money from “theft, misapplication of fiduciary property, credit card abuse and forgery” and moved the money between bank accounts from Feb. 2, 2017 to Oct. 14, 2021. He also allegedly stole property from the nonprofit East Texas Communities Foundation and Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church between Feb. 2, 2017 and Jan. 5, 2018, said the indictment. Continue reading More charges against Smith County pastor

TYLER – Arguments were heard Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Tyler regarding a hazing lawsuit against Brownsboro ISD involving the varsity baseball team. That’s according to our news partner KETK. The lawsuit alleges that long-time hazing traditions within the baseball team ranged from upperclassmen having new teammates carry equipment to sexual assault. The hearing involved BISD’s second motion to dismiss the case after the first motion to dismiss was denied. The lawsuit holds the district liable for the alleged inaction of the baseball team’s head coach. Punishment was reportedly handed out to seniors in an incident said to have been caught on video. The judge said the ruling on the second motion to dismiss will be made available as soon as possible.

TYLER — The COVID numbers continue to go up in East Texas — and they’re rising “exponentially,” according to NET Health’s Russell Hopkins. Hopkins says people are picking these cases up in such places as retail outlets, churches, and businesses. And he tells us it won’t get better any time soon. According to Hopkins, “We’re behind the gun now…on mitigation measures,” so the numbers will keep going up “for the foreseeable future.” And he says the worst effects will be seen in hospitals and in those who are vulnerable to the virus. Continue reading NET Health’s Hopkins comments on “exponentially” rising COVID numbers

TYLER – The family of former constable Curtis Traylor-Harris is speaking out after the Smith County District Attorney’s Office released the bodycam footage from the incident relating to his charges. That’s according to our news partner KETK. “There’s been a lot said about Constable Harris that’s just not accurate or true,” said Benet Embry, Traylor-Harris’s brother-in-law and the spokesperson for the family. “He’s not the demon that the media and social media has portrayed.” Traylor-Harris (pictured) had a pre-trial hearing on his theft of property and official oppression charges Thursday morning, and is currently scheduled on the plea agreement docket for August. Continue reading Family of former Smith County constable speaks out

QUITMAN — A grand jury has formally indicted an Alba woman after she was arrested in January for allegedly stealing more than $20,000 from the city of Quitman. Amber Raelynn Highnote, 35, of Alba, has been accused of theft by way of unlawfully acquiring and exercising control over property of the city of Quitman, which reportedly went on between February 2018 and July 2021. Highnote’s official charge is theft of property more than $2,500, less than $30,000, which is a state jail level felony. According to our news partner KETK, Highnote worked as the city water clerk from February 2017 to July 2021, at which point she apparently resigned from her position. Continue reading Alba woman indicted for allegedly stealing more than $20,000 from the city of Quitman

COFFEE CITY – The 10-day-old baby, Ryder Williams, from Coffee City that was at the center of an Amber Alert was taken in by CPS at 10 p.m. on Thursday, according to our news partner KETK. Coffee City police were contacted around 3:30 p.m. after CPS could not locate the child. CPS decided to request the Amber Alert after the parents did not cooperate to turn the child over, said authorities. Officials then started investigating and found that an uncle of the father lived in Tyler. The Smith County Sheriff’s Office went to the Tyler residence to check for all three people, but they only located the father. He was taken back to Coffee City for the investigation and then released. Later, officials got a call that the mother had decided to turn her baby into Hunt County law enforcement. The baby was then taken to CPS. Police said the parents were allowed to go home. The couple also took drug tests, and they are awaiting the results. If the parents’ drug tests come back positive for methamphetamine, officials say they will be issued a warrant for their arrests for the endangerment of a child.

CHEROKEE COUNTY – Morris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Todd Freeman (pictured) received a citation for allegedly attending a cockfighting ring in Cherokee County in May, according to Cherokee County Sheriff Brent Dickson. According to our news partner KETK, Dickson said law enforcement is also working to get a warrant for an ex-commissioner from Houston County. That person’s name is not being released pending arrest. Officials recently arrested a new person in connection to the incident and issued 50 citations. Deputies are additionally trying to get nine more warrants. Dickson said all the roosters used in the fights will be put down due to orders from a judge. Officials discovered the cockfighting ring on CR 2638. 97 roosters were seized by authorities as well as two trucks and nine trailers.

TYLER – A Winona teen charged with posting a terroristic threat of a school shooting has been found incompetent to stand trial. That’s according to our news partner KETK. The 18-year-old, whom police identified as Tyler Tate, was arrested in December after the FBI National Threat Operations Center received a tip about a possible shooting threat at Winona High School. According to the sheriff’s office at the time, evidence was gathered including documentation of credible threats of death and/or serious bodily injury to individual students at the high school. An arrest warrant was signed by Judge Austin Reeve Jackson for terroristic threat, a third degree felony, and issued for Tate. Tate is still in jail and has been held on a million-dollar bond since his initial arrest in December. The jury trial has been canceled with the court’s incompetence finding.

TYLER — The Smith County Sheriff’s Office says a missing person has been found. Officials had earlier sought help finding George Ethan Black. They now say Black has been located alive and well in Rusk. He had checked into a healthcare facility there and an employee called the sheriff’s office after seeing him on a media outlet.

PALESTINE – Texas lawmakers and East Texas school leaders visited Palestine for a school safety forum on Wednesday. According to our news partner KETK, the event was hosted by District 8 State Rep. Cody Harris and Palestine Independent School District Superintendent Jason Marshall. It was a conversation between educators and law enforcement on how to prepare for and prevent a tragedy. These conversations are very prevalent following the mass shooting in Uvalde. At the forum, different topics were addressed such as, the security children and teachers should feel, identifying characteristics of a school shooter and being aware of surroundings. Continue reading State lawmakers meet with East Texas school leaders, discuss shootings at school safety forum

TYLER – The Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is hosting a meeting to inform the public about Tyler Transit’s intent to use federal funds to buy land for and construct a new transit facility. Although a future site for the facility has not been determined, adding an amendment for the proposed property purchase and future project to the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) allows the city to begin actively looking for potential sites, according to a news release. The public meeting will be held Thursday, July 14, from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Tyler Development Center on West Ferguson St. Staff will be on hand to answer questions. If you can’t attend, there are other options for submitting input. Click here for more details.

TYLER — The Tyler City Council Wednesday authorized the city manager to execute construction contracts for improvements to the Southside and Westside Wastewater Treatment Plants and sewer system upgrades. The wastewater treatment contract comes to about $3.66 million, with the sewer system pact totaling some $3.32 million. It’s all being done under a 2017 consent decree with the EPA to address what’s termed the city’s aging wastewater collection system and resulting discharges. Meantime, some news for drivers as the council slates a new traffic signal for West Grande Boulevard and Old Noonday Road, the product of a recent traffic signal study. The design process is estimated to take about six months, and the construction process is estimated to take about a year.

TYLER – A second former sergeant has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice following the plea agreements of two other former Van Zandt County officers. That’s according to our news partner KETK. Blake Snell, 28, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to felony obstruction of justice in federal court, and submitted a binding plea agreement that once accepted will sentence him to one year of probation. Charges were filed in the federal court on July 1 after his criminal charges in Van Zandt County for the same offense were dropped earlier this year. Snell was charged in Van Zandt County for the alleged misdemeanor of giving a false report during the investigation of former Chief Deputy Steven Craig Shelton. Continue reading Former Van Zandt County sergeant pleads guilty to federal felony

TYLER — The Smith County Commissioners Court heard Tuesday from several agencies requesting a portion of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for water and sewer projects in a workshop-styled meeting. According to a news release, no final action was taken in court Tuesday and no money was allocated to any project, but the workshop served to narrow down the existing requests for funding to targeted water and sewer projects likely to be funded. After hearing nine presentations, the Commissioners Court targeted four capital improvement projects to move forward at the present time. The affected entities are Wright City Water Supply Company, Star Mountain Water Supply, the city of Winona, and the city of Lindale. Click here for additional information.

TYLER — Tyler City Council Wednesday received a presentation and recognized the new Downtown Tyler Historic District. The new district was created May 21 by the Texas Historical Commission State Board of Review and will be accepted into the National Register of Historic Places, according to a news release. The designation allows for contributing properties to apply for state and federal tax credit programs, an effort that will fast-track many revitalization projects, according to the release. “It is an exciting time for Downtown and the Tyler community,” said Main Street Director Amber Varona as quoted in the release.The district’s rough boundaries are Front Street, Border Avenue, the Cotton Belt railroad tracks, and Fannin Avenue.

TYLER — The Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office issued its first citation Tuesday after brush burning got out of control southeast of Lindale, damaging several properties, according to a county news release. Deputy Fire Marshal Chad Hogue said the property owner off County Road 35 (Lavender Road) was burning four brush piles Tuesday morning. Firefighters were called out, doused the fires with water, and asked the landowner to stay with them until completely out. At 2:08 p.m., the Lindale Fire Department was dispatched to the same property because the fires had gotten out of control, according to the release. Hogue said the fire spread behind neighboring residents’ properties and across a pasture and burned about a quarter mile down County Road 492 (Ann Campbell Road) near the Swan community. The fire burned 20 round bales of hay, threatened houses, and damaged two vehicles. Horses also had to be relocated, Hogue said. Continue reading Fire marshal’s office issues citation for burn ban violation

EAST TEXAS – David Yager, 29, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas to violating a detainee’s civil rights by using excessive force against him. According to a news release, Yager admitted that on or about Feb. 28, 2021, while he was acting as a sergeant in the Van Zandt County Jail, he repeatedly punched a restrained detainee in the chest with a taser, which he also deployed on the detainee. Yager admitted that the detainee was confined to a restraint chair at the time. Yager also admitted that his acts caused bodily injury to the detainee, and that he used force on the detainee despite knowing that there was no legitimate law enforcement need to use force. Yager admitted that he hit the detainee out of anger. The defendant faces a 42-month prison sentence. A sentencing date will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation.

LONGVIEW — Daily high temperatures in Longview are expected to remain in the high 90s and low 100s throughout the month and into August. City officials encourage residents to use caution in the summer heat. Several resources have been gathered to provide information about staying safe in extreme heat. Residents can also keep cool at a pool or splash pad or at the Longview Public Library. Also, remember to never leave a child or animal in a hot car as heat exhaustion and death can occur in as little as six minutes in the hot summer weather. Click here for a more detailed rundown of extreme heat resources.

TYLER — Uncontrolled spread and the continued appearance of new variants are named as key factors amid rising COVID numbers in East Texas. Russell Hopkins is NET Health’s director for public health emergency preparedness. Hopkins says you simply can’t go any place where someone hasn’t been exposed — and adds that the new variants can “slip around and re-infect folks.” He says vaccinations, staying home when you’re sick, masking up, and washing your hands continue to be strongly advised. With regard to masking up, Hopkins tells KTBB it’s especially recommended if you go into retail outlets, churches, or other places “where people gather close together and for considerable amounts of time.” For more information on COVID-19 in East Texas, click here.

TYLER – A Tyler man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for kidnapping and raping a woman in March 2021. 50-year-old Michael Timmons pleaded guilty to three charges in court on Tuesday. According to a warrant obtained by our news partner KETK, Timmons and the victim had been living in a tent for at least three days at the end of a dead-end road in Tyler. She told investigators Timmons used quilts to partially cover up two tents that he set up just away from public view while she was held captive. The victim mentioned a fight, repeated beatings, threats, and allegedly being made to take meth. She finally got away after convincing Timmons to let her go to clean up and charge their phone in a Family Dollar, where she went inside and reportedly pleaded for help while Timmons ran away, according to the document.

WHITEHOUSE — A dog was found left in a crate on the side of FM 346 in Whitehouse Monday morning. According to our news partner KETK, Leandra Bissell made the discovery. “I could tell it was distressed and hot. The poor thing was soiled in its kennel,” said Bissell. She said she gave the dog a little bit of water, but it was hesitant to take it at first. She called the police and waited until an officer came out to see about the dog, which is currently being taken care of by officials. Police Captain Frank Brewer says people who see animals out alone in high temperatures should call the police or animal control. Bissell says she hopes whoever abandoned the dog is held accountable and that somebody’s able to take the animal in.

LONGVIEW — The Longview ISD Board of Trustees approved setting the minimum wage for hourly employees at $15 per hour during their July 11 regular meeting. According to a news release, that means hourly wages for Longview ISD staff will be adjusted district-wide for all hourly workers. Dr. James Hockenberry, Assistant Superintendent of District Services, explained that all hourly positions will be reviewed, and “equity adjustments will be applied as necessary or as needed.” As quoted in the release, he added, “These adjustments are being put in place to recognize the value of all our employees, each and every one of them has a profound impact on student learning in their own way.” Click here for further details.

COFFEE CITY — A Tyler man was arrested on Saturday in Coffee City after bystanders said he crashed into two cars outside of a Dollar General. According to our news partner KETK, officers who responded to the scene arrested Donald Burns, 54, for driving while intoxicated third or more. After further investigation, Coffee City Police located an empty bottle of Wild Turkey whiskey, and two empty Budweiser beer cans in Burns’ truck. No injuries were reported from the incident. Police reported that Burns truck left Highway 155 at a high rate of speed before colliding with two trucks, and missed several propane tanks by a few feet. “The force of the crash sent the last vehicle into the wall of the store and even knocked merchandise off the shelves inside,” police said. Officials said that bystanders told dispatch that Burns was attempting to leave the scene, and police were able to respond before he left. Due to his five previous convictions, Burns was arrested for driving while intoxicated third or more classified as a third degree felony.

TYLER – Following a June incident at a local trail ride, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith announced that a man was arrested and jailed on an accusation of promoting a mass gathering without a permit. According to our news partner KETK, Renault Kay was also charged with evading arrest/detention with a vehicle. His total bond is $3,500. Officials earlier announced they would be cracking down on regulations for trail rides and mass gathering events after five people were injured in a shooting at the June trail ride. Officials said the 30-year-old victim from the incident is still in the hospital. On July 9 around 6 p.m. the sheriff’s office was called due to reckless driving at a horse racing track on Smith County road 3104. Deputies arrived to the location and saw a woman collecting admission fees. Deputies told the woman they wanted to speak to the organizer of the event, and she mentioned she would call Renault Kay. Continue reading One arrested as part of mass gathering crackdown