KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – The Texas Wounded Warrior Foundation has donated $20,000 to the University of Texas at Tyler to support student veterans. According to our news partner KETK, the foundation and Eagles Bluff Country Club Dew Boys golf group presented the award to the Richard and Madeline Lewis Scholarship. Both groups have repeatedly backed the scholarship during the past seven years. The organizations have given a total of $137,000 to the scholarship and $165,000 to support veteran students at the local university overall.

TYLER — An overnight fire devastated a Tyler home early Tuesday morning. According to our news partner KETK, Fire crews and teams responded shortly after 2 a.m. to the fire on the west side of town on Chandler HWY, just off Loop 323. The roof was heavily damaged and most of the interior was lost. No injuries were reported from the fire.

TYLER — A Tyler man accused of killing his girlfriend and leaving her body in her vehicle last year says he is willing to take a plea deal of 50 years in prison. According to our news partner KETK, Johnny Bradley Osburn, 40, was in a Zoom hearing Tuesday for the charge of the murder of Leslie Michelle Gamino, 42, of Tyler. Gamino’s body was found by Tyler police in a motel parking lot on Gentry Parkway in January of 2020. Osburn has remained in the Smith County Jail on a $1 million bond. The prosecution said they would not bring a tampering with a corpse charge to a grand jury if Osburn accepted a plea deal of 50 years. Osburn shouted “signed.” Once documents are prepared, a plea hearing will be held.

LINDALE — A cheerleading competition has a group of Lindale Independent School District students cheering their way to the top in a virtual cheerleading contest. According to our news partner KETK, The Pathfinders Club at LISD is participating as part of the Special Olympics Texas’ Winter Games. Team members have spent the last several weeks perfecting a cheer sent to them by the Special Olympics. Videos, both as a group and as individuals, have been sent in to be critiqued by judges. The evaluation includes hitting cheer poses, how loud they yelled and how well they have memorized the chant. Results will be announced April 17.

TYLER — The sixth annual East Texas Giving Day is quickly approaching. On Tuesday, East Texas Communities Foundation President Kyle Penney told our news partner KETK, the registration deadline for non-profits is one week from Wednesday. “If you’re working at a non-profit organization or you’ve got a favorite charity, March 31 is the deadline for those organizations to get signed up.” Penney went on to say, “You can go to our website and search for your favorite non-profit and if their name is not there, pick up the phone and give them a call.” Last year’s event had over 196 charities involved, with over $2.2 million dollars raised in 18 hours. Get more information here.

TYLER — Tyler ISD says a plan to put more administrative resources on the campus level is on track following the appointment of Cassandra Chapa as the new chief innovation officer. Chapa was placed into the role by the board Monday night. She is the current principal of Pete elementary. According to the district, Chapa will complete the school year in her current role before helping implement initiatives the district believes will improve student performance on campuses where many at-risk students attend school.

ATHENS — A Henderson county man was arrested Sunday night with drugs in what Athens police say was a stolen car. According to the department, Jeffrey Anding was pulled over on East Tyler Street just after 11:30 p.m. Police discovered the plates did not match the vehicles registration. Officers also found a jar that they believe contained marijuana along with two plastic baggies contained a white, crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine. The marijuana weighed just under two ounces and the meth was 86 grams, which is less than 0.2 pounds. Anding was placed into the Henderson County Jail for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana.

TYLER — The annual Great Tyler Cleanup is April 10, from 9 a.m. to noon. On Tuesday, organizers of the Keep Tyler Beautiful sponsored event asked volunteers to get involved. Participants can select the areas they want to help in by registering online. Trash bags, gloves, event T-shirts and other clean-up supplies will be provided to registered volunteers. This is part of the statewide Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off and the nationwide Great American Cleanup. Get more information here.

TYLER — UT Health East Texas has additional COVID-19 vaccine appointments available this week. The vaccines will be given to those who qualify by appointment only. New appointments will continue to open as more vaccine arrives. More information is available here. Those who need help navigating online sign-up or who are without access to internet can call 903-747-4VAC (4822) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to get a vaccine appointment. Inoculations will be given at UT Health North Campus on U.S. Highway 271. Appointment time slots are available from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

TYLER — An Arlington man accused of shooting his partner at a convenience store near Tyler State Park has rejected multiple plea deals from prosecutors. According to our news partner KETK, Robert Price, 51, rejected the latest deal, 40 years in prison, on Monday. Price allegedly shot and killed his partner, 32-year-old Nathaniel Snell, last July, after finding graphic images of child pornography on Snell’s phone. The shooting happened at State Park Gas Station on FM 14. Price remains in the Smith County Jail, awaiting his next hearing, on a $500,000 bond.

TYLER — Tyler Fire and Police responded to a structure fire at the IHOP on W SW Loop 323 Sunday night. According to our news partner KETK,  multiple first responder units went to the scene west of South Broadway Avenue. The outside westbound lane of Loop 323 was temporarily closed to allow emergency crews to respond. The official cause of the fire, or the full extend of damages, has not been released at this time.

LONGVIEW — A Shreveport man awaits extradition after being arrested in Longview Sunday night. According to our news partner KETK, Joseph Lee Smith, 33, was placed in Gregg County Jail for his involvement in a shooting that has left a five-year-old boy in life-threatening condition. Smith is believed to be responsible for the shooting that grazed the boy’s mother, but hit her son in the head. The victim’s names have not been released by investigators. The mother was treated and released from a local hospital. Shreveport police got a tip that Smith was inside a Longview apartment, before LPD made the arrest.

TYLER — The city of Tyler reminded residents Monday, that the Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Committee has scheduled a regular meeting for Thursday at 2 p.m. The MPO gathering can be attended in person at City Hall on North Bonner Avenue or online. Board members will consider supporting the 2021 Statewide Safety Targets established by the Texas Department of Transportation, as well as adopting an update to the Master Street Plan. Learn more here.

MALAKOFF — Multiple fire departments assisted an early morning house fire in the Long Cove community. According to the Payne Springs Fire Rescue, there were no injuries despite the house being occupied by 10 people. Crews arrived to fight the fire Sunday at 1:54 a.m. A total of 15 fire departments assisted PSFR. An investigation into the cause of the incident is underway by the Henderson County Fire Marshal.

LONGVIEW — The city of Longview announced Monday a change in traffic flow that will begin this week. If all goes as planned, starting Wednesday, Hawkins Parkway, at the intersection of Good Shepherd Way, will be temporarily closed to eastbound, right lane traffic between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Officials expect the temporary lane closures will continue for several weeks to allow for the widening of Hawkins Parkway. Drivers are encouraged to use an alternate route. Read more here.

TYLER — The Northeast Texas Health Authority held multiple ‘outreach’ vaccination clinics last week, as well as immunizations given at Harvey Convention Center. NET Health’s George Roberts tells KTBB News, “This is kind of a test for us and we are learning. Our plan is to ultimately be able to do Harvey Convention Center as well as these outreach clinics. We plan to do more in the future. We are probably going to pause for a couple of weeks on those and then do more after Easter.”

The Center for Disease Control says studies show that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at keeping you from getting the coronavirus. The CDC also says it will help keep you from getting seriously ill, if you do contract COVID-19.

PALESTINE — Palestine police are investigating a fatal shooting Saturday night. It happened in the area of Spring and Magnolia Street. According to our news partner KETK, 28-year-old Dustin Rodgers, of Elkhart, had an apparent gunshot wound to the torso. A 6-year-old child suffered a gunshot to his foot. Rodgers died from his injuries after being taken to the Palestine Regional Medical Center. The child was treated and released. The other two passengers in the car were not injured. A witness said that the gunfire came from another vehicle also traveling on Spring Street. Police say the circumstances leading up to the shooting are unknown. Continue reading Fatal Palestine shooting under investigation

TYLER — The class will be modeled to help students become successful adults. According to our news partner KETK, the Senior Seminar will be a 36-week course that is a requirement for graduation and will cover areas such as resume building, problem solving, and career planning. Also included is a nine-week class on helping guide students with financial planning. Instead of a traditional high school setting, learning will be done in small groups to enhance collaboration, which they hope will improve conflict resolution. Continue reading Tyler ISD approves ‘life skills’ class for high school seniors

WILLS POINT – An East Texas man is behind bars after a four-hour standoff with Van Zandt County deputies early Sunday morning. According to our news partner KETK, Sheriff Steve Hendrix said deputies responded to a domestic disturbance situation on CR 2627, just off I-20 near Wills Point, at 7:15 p.m. Saturday night. Monte Adair, 52, allegedly pointed a long gun at deputies, who immediately took cover. Sheriff Hendrix came to the scene along with the Wills Point Police K-9 unit and the State Park Police. Continue reading East Texas man arrested after nearly 4 hour standoff

TYLER — TxDOT is planning to conduct another round of construction and maintenance work in the Tyler District during the Week of March 22. Tyler Maintenance plans to continue bridge work at Black Fork Creek on US 69. The second crew will be excavating ditches on SH 110N just off Loop 323 toward Van. Expect lane closures at both locations with traffic managed by flaggers. Longview Maintenance plans to continue mill and inlay operations on SH 31 from South St. to US 80 before moving to Spur 502/Judson Rd. between Loop 281 and Eden St. Expect various lane closures with flaggers providing traffic control. Click here to get the complete rundown.

CANTON — Authorities in Van Zandt County say a man was arrested Sunday morning after he led law enforcement on a high-speed chase while throwing drugs out the window and ended up crashing his car, which burst into flames. That’s according to our news partner KETK and the County Eagle. Officials say the chase began at a Whataburger in Canton, continuing along I-20, FM 2965, and CR 3812. 37-year-old Carl Fulton only sustained minor injuries. He was jailed on charges of evading arrest, possession of drugs, and violation of parole.

TYLER — Four people came together earlier this month with an idea of vaccinating the minority communities in Smith County against COVID-19. After only a couple of weeks of planning, they were able to vaccinate nearly 1,500 people during four days of pop-up vaccine clinics held at local churches. “We wanted to bring the vaccines to the people in our African American and Hispanic communities,” Smith County Precinct 4 Commissioner JoAnn Hampton said in a news release. “By bringing these vaccine clinics to their churches, we thought they would be more comfortable in coming to get a vaccine.” Continue reading Mobile clinics at minority churches exceed expectations

TYLER — The Tyler ISD has named its Campus Teachers of the Year. According to a news release, teachers receive this honor from their school administrators and staff. The campuses chose these teachers for modeling extraordinary leadership and excellence in teaching, according to the release. Partnering with the school district on various projects over the years, Cooperative Teachers Credit Union has sponsored the event since 2014. TISD will honor all Campus Teachers of the Year and announce its 2021 District Teachers of the Year at a limited-attendance Educator of the Year Banquet April 29. Click here to get all the details.

TYLER — The 62nd annual Azalea & Spring Flower Trail got underway Friday and continues through April 4. The recent winter storm and frigid temperatures have many wondering what condition the azaleas will be in this year. Visit Tyler consulted with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Horticulturist Greg Grant, who thinks visitors can expect to see about 15-20% of the normal blooms for this time of year. The Azalea Trail stretches ten miles and attracts more than 100,000 visitors to Tyler each year. To read more click here.

TYLER — An injured Aldi customer has been awarded 1.4 million dollars by a federal jury in Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, the award comes after the customer suffered injuries from a fall at the supermarket in Longview. In a prepared statement from the plaintiffs attorney’s, Roberts and Roberts, the law firm said, “This is the highest verdict ever in a business premises liability case in a Texas federal court. Our client was injured… Aldi refused to take responsibility for its actions and told us that they would never pay six figures to resolve this case.” The plaintiff was represented by Frank Weedon, Randy Roberts, Justin Charles Roberts and Allen Gardner for the law firm.

MARSHALL — Police in Marshall have arrested a man following an early morning shooting of a newspaper carrier. The 34-year-old female paper carrier called 911 saying she had been shot. The victim was transported to a Longview hospital. Officers made contact with an individual at the residence, later identified as Jose Manual Galvan, 20, of Marshall. Police say Galvan was uncooperative and detained while the investigation was conducted. Preliminary gunshot residue swabs showed Galvan had recently fired a weapon. A search warrant for Galvan’s residence was obtained and authorities say they located an AR15 rifle, spent shell casings, and a large quantity of illegal THC products. The suspect was arrested and placed in the Harrison County Jail.

TYLER — The Goodman-LeGrand Museum will host the Texas Chapter of the Azalea Society of America on March 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Organizers said Friday, several varieties of azalea bushes will be available for purchase. Advisers will be on-hand to answer questions regarding proper care for growing azaleas. The museum will also be open for tours. Visitors will be encouraged to wear a mask at all times and tour size will be limited to 5 people.

TYLER — The East Texas Crisis Center had to cancel the 31st annual auto and cycle show earlier this year. However, the non-profit was able to extend the drawing for their iconic 1965 Ford Mustang give-a-way by 30 days. Organizers say the drawing will take place Saturday at 4 p.m. at Traditions Restaurant on South Broadway Avenue in Tyler. The East Texas Crisis Center offers immediate emergency intervention as well as advocacy help during regular business hours. Purchase tickets here.

TYLER — Janie’s Cakes has received the Beauty and the Business Award for the fourth quarter of 2020. In a prepared statement Friday, the Keep Tyler Beautiful Board said, “The Beauty and Business Award recognizes businesses in the community for their improvement, upkeep, cleanliness, and beautification efforts.” Businesses are nominated by the public and board members measure different criteria against other nominated local establishments. Janie’s Cakes has been serving the East Texas community since 1987. Read more here.