KTBB News, Weather, Talk

LONGVIEW — Officials have announced a mandatory evacuation through much of Gregg County. According to KETK, a large wildfire has been burning out of control in the southwestern portions of the county. Evacuation has been ordered for everyone south of U.S. Highway 80 and west of State Highway 42 between Camp Switch Road and Lawson with a southern border of Merrils Road. Officials caution you not to drive into smoke or cross barricades.

NEW LONDON — According to the Rusk County Office of Emergency Management, a fire broke out Monday in New London. According to KETK, officials have been telling motorists to avoid the following areas due to fire activity: CR 1114, FM 3053, and 42/850 intersection in New London. We’ll provide more details as they become available.

EAST TEXAS — SWEPCO officials said at one point this morning, there were around 650 East Texas customers without power, most located in Longview and Gladewater. That number has since been reduced to about 114. The majority of the power outages from Sunday have been taken care of but the electric company was expecting more outage reports today due to high wind in the area.

TROUP — A Troup man died Thursday night in a two-vehicle wreck on Farm Road 346 in Smith County, the Department of Public Safety reported over the weekend. Anthony Long, 45, was driving a 2002 Nissan Altima south on the highway two miles north of Troup, shortly after 10:00pm, when he lost control of the vehicle on a curve. Authorities say the car and a northbound pickup then collided. Long was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the pickup, Ronald Decus, 45, also of Troup, was taken to an area hospital where he was treated and released. Both drivers were wearing their seat belts.

GREGG COUNTY — The Gregg County Sheriff’s Department has reported evacuations are underway for the Liberty City area. A wildfire is affecting an area just south of Interstate-20, near the intersection of Goforth Road and Mt. Pisgah Road. According to KETK, officials are calling the blaze a “major fire”, and several homes are being threatened. Gladewater Police also confirm evacuations in the following areas:

Rosy Wady Road, Lincoln Springs Road, Old Hwy (Old Gladewater Road), Tennerville Road

Officials say the fire is moving south.

TYLER — Fire officials tell KETK, a wildfire near Tyler Pounds Airport has now burned 25 acres of land. Multiple fire departments responded to the blaze which is said to have started around noon Saturday. Officials are still investigating the cause of that fire, but it may have been caused by a downed power line. Firefighters say the blaze is contained but due to the high winds, it has been very hard to put all the way out. No injuries have been reported.

LONGVIEW — Almost one hour after weather forecasters issued a fire danger alert for most of East Texas, authorities responded to a grass fire along Interstate 20 between Lansing Switch Road and Loop 281/FM 968.

The fire sent thick, white smoke across a more than three-mile stretch of the interstate, forcing Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to shut down the freeway in both directions, and DPS troopers from Gregg County were called to assist with directing traffic on nearby county roads.

Big Oak Park trailer park was evacuated due to the fires in the area. Interstate 20 has been reopened to traffic in both directions. Harrison County Fire Marshal Thomas Mock says he is hopeful that the fire is now about 60 percent contained. Several departments remained in the area battling the blaze. First Baptist church in Hallsville opened up for evacuees.

Shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service issued a “Red Flag Warning” until 7 p.m. for locations west of Marshall and north of Nacogdoches and Rusk. Sustained winds from the north and north-northeast increased throughout the day to as much as 30 mph, while humidity dropped to between 20 and 25 percent. Under a Red Flag Warning, extreme fire weather conditions such as dry vegetation and strong winds exist.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Van Zandt County Officials reported a large fire burning in the county. Multiple emergency crews are reported to have responded to the massive fire in the Van area. Authorities say the flames were sparked when a transformer exploded. The high winds spread the hot debris and flames quickly. Thousands are said to be without power.

LONGVIEW — Two Alabama residents are under arrest after a traffic stop uncovers a large amount of drugs Saturday morning. James Lloyd Smith, 55, (pictured) and 36-year-old Kristy Suzanne Wilkes remained jailed in Longview under felony charges of possessing between five and 50 pounds of marijuana. They were arrested around 10:45 on I-20. Additional information about the highway bust was not immediately available. Bonds for each were $7,500 on the pot charge, with Smith held under another $11,000 on his other three drug charges and Wilkes under another $6,000 in bonds.

SMITH COUNTY– A wildfire outside Tyler has damaged several structures. According to KETK, the fire was reported to be off of County Road 3161 and County Road 3151 just north of the old county work farm, close to the Jackson Heights subdivision. Two structures were reportedly destroyed and several others were in immediate danger. Red Springs, Winona, Jackson and the Smith County Fire Marshal responded to the scene. No injuries were reported and the cause of the blaze is under investigation.

DALLAS (AP) — Strong winds from Tropical Storm Lee combined with dry humidity to keep parts of South and East Texas on the lookout for wildfires. Showers associated with the storm fell on the deepest part of the East Texas Piney Woods on Saturday, from Liberty and Lufkin east to Louisiana. That left the rest of the eastern half of Texas with what the Texas Forest Service characterized as “critical fire weather.” A forest service statement Saturday said those conditions will dominate most of the state on Sunday. Meantime, crews battled 12 large fired across the state, including the 6,600-acre fire near Possum Kingdom Lake 70 miles west of Fort Worth. That fire which destroyed 39 homes and nine recreational vehicles, was 60 percent contained as of Saturday.

TYLER — Tyler Firefighters report a blaze has destroyed two vacant homes. The fire began Friday afternoon at a house in the 3100 block of Puckett Drive off Morningside Drive near East Loop 323. After consuming two houses, the blaze rapidly spread to a pasture, where it threatened more houses.

Smith County Fire Marshal Jim Seaton said a truck from nearly every department in the county was on scene with the Texas Forest Service and a chopper assisting with the fire. A couple of cars and a barn were also destroyed. Seaton said a family was in the process of moving into the house where the fire began and a relative was planning to move into the second house that burned. The family had reportedly gone to buy an air-conditioning window unit, and when they returned, the house was on fire. No injuries were reported.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County is currently under a burn ban but officials said that didn’t completely rule out Labor Day grilling. Under the burn ban issued by the Smith County Commissioners Court in July, county residents may still use a fully contained charcoal, propane or natural gas grill for cooking purposes only. Open barbeque pits are restricted.

Additional burn ban information for Smith County is now available by phone through the Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office. Call 903-590-2656 and choose option five to check up-to-date information on the current burn ban in place for Smith County including specific information about restricted activities and ticketable offenses. Please do not call 9-1-1 unless it is to report an emergency.

Smith County has issued dozens of tickets for fire-related activities since the ban was instated in July. Anyone with questions about fire-related jobs or activities is encouraged to call the information line.

TYLER — The Tyler Fire Department responded to a 2-alarm fire in the 2900 block of specialty Drive. Officials say the warehouse storage facility was heavily damaged. No word on the estimated loss. The Tyler Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

TYLER — Tyler Fire Investigators responded to a bomb threat at a local retailer store. It happened around 12:30 at Wal-Mart, 6801 South Broadway yesterday afternoon. Authorities arrived on scene and during the search, received several more bomb threats throughout the day. Around 4:30, officials were notified of a small fire in one restroom that employees were able to extinguish. That fire is being investigated as a separate incident. Investigators are following several leads and the case remains open at this time.

TYLER — The Tyler Police Department and other law enforcement agencies participate in the “No Refusal” enforcement campaign for ths Labor Day Holiday. Since last January 1, the Tyler Police Department has arrested 283 drivers for DWI. Reports indicate that seven persons have died in a crash where alcohol was related this year and 27 persons have been injured. Law enforcement agencies in Smith County have been out in force during the Labor Day Holiday on the lookout for intoxicated drivers on our streets, highways, and area lakes. Officers haven’t been be taking “No” for an answer once again. The No-Refusal initiative began Friday, September 2, and runs through Monday, September 5, 2011.

A multi-joint effort between the Smith County District Attorney’s Office and police agencies from all over Smith County signed on for the “No-Refusal” D.W.I Campaign. Upon the arrest of a suspected drunk driver, he or she is asked to blow into a breath-test instrument or take a blood test. If the driver says “No” to a test, officers obtain an immediate search warrant signed by an on-call judge to have blood drawn by a certified nurse on staff at the Smith County Jail. The blood is then analyzed to determine whether the driver’s blood-alcohol concentration is 0.08 or higher, the legal limit for driving in Texas.

A host of local Judges have been on stand-by to sign warrants for the enforcement campaign. Judge Joel Baker, Judge Jack Skeen, Judge Allen Ross, Judge Randall Rodgers and Judge Christi Kennedy have been on call to assist local law enforcement officers and the Smith County District Attorney’s office in processing driving while intoxicated arrests throughout the weekend. According to information from the Texas District and County Attorneys Association website about 50 percent of DWI arrestees refuse to provide a chemical sample through a breathalyzer or blood test when pulled over.

Police say, “It is the intent of all law enforcement agencies that this joint effort will act as a deterrent, persuading people to avoid driving while intoxicated because they know that police officers will be determining sobriety with or without the driver’s consent. Please Don’t Drink and Drive.”

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Assistant Fire Marshal Oren Hale says the cause of a deadly fire is undetermined because of the extensive level of destruction to a mobile home. He says authorities are fairly confident the fire was accidental. The man who died as a result of the fire has been identified as 59-year-old Michael Patrick Flowers. Three homes have been termed total losses as a result of the blaze, on County Road 195. According to KETK, firefighters were called to the Cedars mobile home community on the road’s 15000 block Thursday afternoon. Investigators say the victim was able to get outside his burning mobile home, but died when he got outside. Departments from Noonday, Tyler, Bullard, Flint/Greshman, Dixie, and Whitehouse responded.

NACOGDOCHES — A 17-year-old Nacogdoches High School student was arrested Thursday at the school on a grand jury indictment for injury to a child after police say he scalded a then 12-day-old baby in water. Kendrick Tarver reportedly gave his daughter a bath in water hot enough to give her second-degree burns over 25 percent of her body, NPD Sgt. Greg Sowell has said in previously published articles. According to KETK and the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel, the incident happened the night of July 27 in the 800 block of Jordan Street.

LONGVIEW — As many people stay on the road for the Labor Day holiday, the Longview Police Department wants to remind motorists to be safe.

• Wear your seatbelt. In the State of Texas, all occupants of a vehicle must wear their seatbelt, whether in the front or back seat. Make sure all children riding in a vehicle are in an approved child safety seat. Seat belts have been proven to save lives.

• If you are going to drink, have a designated driver. Don’t endanger your life or someone else’s by drinking and driving.

Police ask you to use extra caution during the weekend and do your part to ensure that Longview roadways are safe for everyone.

TYLER — A plow from the Texas Forestry Service arrived early Friday afternoon to help after a fire broke out on Tyler’s western outskirts. According to KETK, the fire burned five acres but has been contained. Investigators are looking into the cause. Preliminary investigation indicates the fire started near Loop 323 and spread into the Cascades area. No injuries have been reported. The fire broke out in the woods in the area of Scenic Drive, near Spur 364. At one point, seven Tyler units were working to contain the blaze, in addition to units from the Dixie Fire Department.

BULLARD — Authorities say they think have a suspect in an East Texas murder. Investigators say they believe they know who killed William Earl Baker of Bullard. He was shot dead in the driveway of his home in the Shadybrook subdivision off of FM RD 346 last summer. Cherokee County Detectives learned that the suspect was already serving prison time in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on an unrelated felony conviction from another county. Authorities say he’s expected to be transported back to Cherokee County in September to face the murder charge, at which time his identity will be released.

TYLER — Tyler Police say they arrested a 24-year-old woman for theft. Officers say over the past two weeks, Maria Dejesus Borja, of Tyler, a former employee of Southern Utilities, allegedly stole customer cash deposits totaling $20,000. She turned herself into authorities Friday and was booked into the Smith County Jail on a $30,000 bond. Borja is charged with 3rd degree felony theft.

JACKSONVILLE — The latest drug raid by the Jacksonville SWAT team yielded $300 worth of crack-rocks. It happened around 5:00 Wednesday evening at a home on Greeley Avenue. Police say they were tipped off by citizens. Delanious Session, 20, and Jacob Woodard, 18, were both arrested for delivery of narcotics.

ANGELINA COUNTY — A Lufkin man accused of beating his brother to death with a baseball bat earlier this year was indicted for murder by an Angelina County grand jury this week. After hearing evidence against Gary Wayne Hodges, 52, the grand jury decided to formally charge him with first-degree murder. Hodges has been out of jail on a $200,000 bond since the April 29 incident in which he severely beat his brother, 46-year-old Kevin Hodges, in the head with a bat. Hodges was initially charged with aggravated assault, but the charge was upgraded to murder after his brother was taken off of life support at Nacogdoches Memorial Medical Center May 4. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

HENDERSON — Rusk County Commissioners have updated the burn ban for Rusk County. The Commissioners have ordered an Unconditional Burn Ban for all outdoor burning in the unincorporated areas of Rusk County. This ban will allow for outdoor cooking in enclosed gas or charcoal grills, but bans any rolling cooking unit with fire in it on any roads in the county. Ban will also allow for Firefighter training, public utility/natural gas pipeline or mining operations, and harvesting of agricultural crops.

TYLER — The owners of the El Chico restaurant are planning to move forward with their business in Tyler — opening September 13, apparently under a new name. That’s according to our news partner KETK. The restaurant, in the same parking lot as Toys R Us, was initially going to be the highly controversial “Double D Ranch.” Restaurant reps say the name of the new eatery isn’t official yet, but it’s tentatively referred to as “El Chico Ranch.” The venue is still taking applications and hopes to employ 100 people.

The originally planned restaurant prompted citizen concern and litigation due to its scantily clad waitresses. The future menu will reportedly feature Texas comfort food and beer. There’s no word on how the servers will dress. But restaurant officials plan on keeping a November 28 court date on a recent ruling that kept the restaurant from opening as Double D Ranch.

TYLER — 16-year-old Nathaniel Anderson has been indicted in his sister’s murder. 19-year-old Amanda Anderson was found shot to death in their Chapel Hill home in September of last year. A short time later, Nathaniel Anderson, then 15, was taken into custody in connection with the murder. Indictment records obtained by our news partner KETK also show that Anderson’s bond has risen to $1.5 million.

TYLER — Tyler Police Investigators received information on Thursday from the Benton, Arkansas, Police Department, indicating that they are investigating two bank robberies matching the same description and method of operation as the suspect involved in the Altra Credit Union robbery Wednesday morning. Benton is located 15 miles west of Little Rock, off Interstate 35. Police say the suspect robbed the Summit Bank in 2009 and the same bank in 2011 in Benton. The Benton suspect was driving a red or maroon Chevy S-10 pick-up.

The suspect’s identity is not known at this time. If anyone recognizes the suspect, you’re asked to call your local law enforcement authority or the FBI with your information. The picture at left is from Summit Bank surveillance cameras that were obtained by police

Tyler police earlier released surveillance video as they continue looking for the lone gunman who held up the Altra Credit Union around 10:00 Wednesday morning at 5523 Troup Highway, across from Trane. Bank employees told investigators that the suspect approached the counter and gave the teller a note and verbally told the teller that it was a robbery. The suspect displayed a weapon that was tucked in the waistband.

The suspect is described as an around 30-year-old white male, medium build, wearing a black Fedora hat, glasses, yellow shirt, black sports coat, faded jeans and brown shoes. The teller gave the suspect an undisclosed amount of money. The suspect left the building and ran to the rear of the credit union disappearing into a nearby neighborhood. Investigators are looking into a possible suspect vehicle described as a 90’s model Chevy or GM extended-cab, pick-up, dark maroon in color. The FBI arrived on the scene to assist with the investigation.

MINEOLA — A former Mineola daycare worker is free on bond after being indicted for injury to a child. Jennifer Lynn Stone, 24, was released on a $10,000 bond Wednesday morning. The mother of a five year old boy took the complaint to Mineola police in June. The mother said she had video of the worker physically abusing her son. The worker was later fired by the daycare operator.

DICKINSON, N.D. (AP/Staff) – Authorities have identified two East Texas men who died after a head-on crash on a foggy highway in western North Dakota’s oil patch. The Highway Patrol says 25-year-old Joshua Schuchardt of Hallsville, was pronounced dead upon arrival at a Dickinson hospital after the crash early Wednesday on state Highway 22 north of Dickinson. Twenty-three-year-old Derek Moore, of Center, died later in the day at a Bismarck hospital. The two were passengers in a pickup truck that collided head-on with a semitrailer while passing another vehicle. The driver of the pickup and another passenger were hospitalized in Dickinson with unspecified injuries.