KTBB News, Weather, Talk

NACOGDOCHES — Two people are in jail after Nacogdoches County Pct. 4 constable’s deputies seized a large amount of marijuana from the trunk of a vehicle. Clarence Manning, 34, and Shalauna Collier, 26, both of Jonesboro, Arkansas, were charged with second-degree felony possession of marijuana following a traffic stop on April 16, Pct. 4 Constable Jason Bridges said. Authorities say they seized 72 pounds of marijuana.

QUITMAN (AP/Staff) — A Louisiana man wanted in his home state after failing to appear in court on animal abuse charges has been arrested in Wood County, and 79 snakes have been seized. Wood County deputies say David James Beauchemin, 45, of Oakdale, Louisiana, was arrested in Quitman on Wednesday on 22 outstanding warrants accusing him of failure to appear in court as ordered in Allen Parish, Louisiana.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Kilan Polk tells the Tyler Morning Telegraph that deputies rescued 79 boa constrictors, pythons and anacondas, some as long as 20 feet. The serpents have been turned over to the Humane Society of North Texas in Fort Worth. Beauchemin remains in Wood County Jail without bond pending extradition and any Texas charges.

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. (AP) — The Alabama fan accused of poisoning his rival school’s famous trees has gone a radio show, saying he is going to get what he deserves. Harvey Updyke is accused of poisoning the oak trees at Auburn’s Toomer’s Corner. Updyke is a former Lufkin resident. He also served as a state trooper in south Texas.

He told Birmingham radio show host Paul Finebaum on Thursday that he has “done a lot of good things, and undoubtedly that wasn’t one of them.” He says he doesn’t want to be remembered as “Harvey the tree poisoner.”

The 61-year-old Updyke appeared in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing. Shortly afterward, he told police he was attacked at a gas station. Updyke told the radio show that he doesn’t blame Auburn fans for being angry with him. He ended his appearance on the show saying: “Roll Damn Tide.”

TYLER — Tyler ISD officials say a young student was safely returned to campus after walking off Thursday. According to a TISD news release, at approximately 1:20 p.m., the Clarkston Elementary second-grader left campus without authorization. Officials say it has been determined that the child decided to walk home. According to the campus principal, Kathryn Letsinger, a parent volunteer observed the child near the front of the school. The parent immediately notified a staff member. Campus employees began to search for the child. The Tyler ISD police, district administrators, and the child’s parent were immediately contacted. Officials say within 20 minutes of the initial report, the child was returned to campus by city of Tyler police.

TYLER — Officials say the news is good as the Tyler Police Department releases its 2010 Uniform Crime Reporting statistics. Two types of crimes were tracked by the department. Part 1 crimes are described by Uniform Crime Reporting as homicides, sexual assaults, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries (commercial & residential), thefts, and stolen vehicles. The calendar year of 2010 ended with a 13.24% decrease (834 fewer offenses) in Part 1 crimes compared to 2009. Part 2 crimes are described as simple assault, forgery, drug violations, liquor law violations, weapon violations, runaways, etc. Part 2 crime totals for 2010 decreased by 796 reported incidents (-12.99%) compared to 2009.

Police Chief Gary Swindle says one major factor in the decrease is “working together with the community and citizens reporting things to us and working with the media in efforts to get suspects and videos out there.” Swindle hopes to see even more citizen involvement. His advice: “Be smart, be responsible, use common sense. Don’t leave things in your vehicles in view to the general public.” Swindle adds, “When you see something that’s suspicious or out of the ordinary, report it. Don’t feel like you’re inconveniencing us.” Swindle also says the economic upturn helped limit property crimes, which had experienced a substantial increase in 2009.

GILMER — Darryl Gene Hollie has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for felony aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. On August 5th of last year, Hollie was parked at Glenn’s Grocery Store on Highway 155 in Upshur County waiting for the store to open. When an employee unlocked the door to the store, Hollie walked in, hit the employee in the back of the head, and stomped her with his foot. After he took all of the money from the register, he drove off. Hollie must serve half of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

NACOGDOCHES — The Nacogdoches Police Department is investigating an alleged kidnapping of a woman, which took place near the Stephen F. Austin campus at the Tetco Convenience store at the intersection of University Drive and Starr Ave. at approximately 5:30 a.m. Thursday. The victim was taken to a parking lot near the Azalea Garden off of University Drive. The victim got away and police were contacted. Police are looking for a black man, 6’1″, slim build, short hair, clean shaven with no facial hair, wearing dark colored jeans and a dark colored shirt with an emblem on the shirt.

LUFKIN — All three victims from Tuesday afternoon’s collision on U.S. Highway 69 south outside of Huntington have been transported to hospitals in Tyler or Houston. The crash involved three vehicles, including a Huntington Independent School District bus and a Texas attorney general’s car. The front passenger in the government car, Danna Gordon, 53, was taken by medical helicopter from the scene of the accident to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, a Level 1 trauma center, according to Department of Public Safety Trooper Joe Wood. Records from ETMC show she was treated and released from the hospital.

The back seat passenger, Dorothy Musick, 59, was initially taken to Memorial, but Wood said she was then driven by ambulance to ETMC. She is listed in critical condition in the ICU unit. The driver, Veronica Burns, 51, was initially taken to Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin and was later flown by medical helicopter to Houston, Wood said. Her condition was not available as of Wednesday afternoon.

After further investigation, Wood said the attorney general’s car had been stopped behind the school bus as it let off students. The green Cadillac, driven by Tonia Sue Pena, rear-ended the stopped vehicle and pushed it into the side of the school bus before deflecting into a field on the opposite side of the highway. Pena later went to the hospital complaining of chest pain from the inflated airbag and an injury to her knee. She was ticketed for not having a driver’s license and failure to control speed, Wood said. Only one child from the school received a bump to the head, according to HISD superintendent Eric Wright. Wood said everyone was wearing their seatbelts.

ELDERVILLE – A two vehicle accident in Gregg County has left one person dead. The Wednesday afternoon crash occurred on State Highway 149 at the Lake Cherokee Bridge near Elderville. Involved in the wreck were a tractor/trailer rig and a pickup. The pickup’s driver was killed. The driver of the rig is being treated for non-life threatening injuries at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview. No word yet on the identities of the people involved in the crash.

TYLER — A woman tells Tyler police she was the victim of an attempted robbery. It started around 7:00 Wednesday night at the Valero station on Loop 323 at West front Street. The victim told officers she was pumping gas when approached by a woman claiming to have diabetes. She asked for a ride to a restaurant.

The suspect gave the woman directions all over west Tyler and she became confused and lost. The suspect asked for money, but the victim refused. The suspect later said she had a gun and demanded money. The victim was then directed to a bank so the victim could get money from an ATM. When the vehicle stopped, the victim grabbed her purse and got out of the vehicle, telling the suspect to get out of her car. The suspect complied and walked away. The victim was not harmed and a gun was never seen.

The suspect is described as a black female approximately 30 years old. She is around 5’3” tall and weighs approximately 130 pounds. She has short, ear length hair. The victim could only remember the suspect was wearing a white shirt with small designs on it, possibly flower petals.

TYLER — Tyler police are looking for a man who tried to get a young boy into his car. A man told officers late Tuesday afternoon after his 11 year old son got off a school bus, he was approached by a man at the intersection of Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The driver of the vehicle told the youngster to get into his car and he would take him home. When the boy refused, the man drove away. The driver is described as a white male in his late 40’s or early 50’s with white hair. It is unknown the make and model of the vehicle or the license plate number.

KILGORE — Kilgore City Manager Jeffrey Howell has resigned. The action came during a special meeting on Tuesday. The Kilgore city council agreed to pay him for six months. Howell, who has been city manager since 2005, would not elaborate other than to say his actions stemmed from “philosophical differences about management.” Howell was one of four finalists interviewed for the city manager’s job in Cleburne. That job, however, went Wednesday night to the city’s interim city manager, Rick Holden.

AUSTIN — Governor Rick Perry has appointed 10 student regents to their respective university systems, and one student representative to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for terms effective June 1, 2011 to expire May 31, 2012. Appointed to the Stephen F. Austin State University board was Sarah Feye. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in food, nutrition and dietetics from Stephen F. Austin State University.

TYLER – A 35-year-old Tyler man has been sentenced to federal prison for trafficking methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Texas. Lucio Adan pleaded guilty on Oct. 28, 2010, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison Wednesday in Tyler by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis. According to authorities, up until Mar. 25, 2010, Adan conspired with others to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine throughout East Texas. Adan was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 6, 2010. Adan must also forfeit $20,695 in cash and firearms that were seized and has been ordered to pay a $30,000 judgment.

TYLER — Opponents and supporters of the Smith County jail plan set for a vote next month are stating their positions after the Tyler Tea Party, Inc., became the first group to announce opposition to the plan. In a news release, local Tea Party chair Tammy Blair cites several reasons including a perceived lack of transparency, timing, and issues regarding the arguments used to support the plan.

According to the news release, “On the issue of transparency, this plan fails on all fronts. This is the fifth jail proposal developed by the Smith County Commissioners Court. The court has released the least amount of supporting documentation for this plan. On the County’s website, the Commissioners have released a power point presentation that is long on promise but short on details.”

The release continues, “On the issue of timing, the most recent jail plan could not come at a worse time. The economy right now is terrible. The Tyler Independent School District just had a school bond election fail and (is) talking about laying off employees. Tyler Junior College is discussing how to fund its expected short fall. Now the County is asking the voters to support a new jail even though the voters just voted against more schools.”

The release additionally states, “The arguments being used to support the bond package are contradictory and rely heavily on assumptions that require the Commissioners Court to realize savings which they have never been able to realize in the past. The primary argument made by the Commissioners to support the bond proposal is that the County has already spent 16 million dollars in housing inmates in other counties. The Commissioners seem to be hinting that these funds could have been spent on constructing a new jail. However, this is not true. By voting no in the last 4 or 5 jail bond elections, the County has actually SAVED money by voting no. Additionally, by voting no to this bond election the County will save money.”

The news release also says, “Further, the County has acknowledged spending $41.00 a day in housing inmates in other counties is less than would be spent in Smith County if a bond election passed and a new jail built. Therefore, Smith County will actually be spending more money to house inmates here than other counties and on top of that the County would have to pay for the cost of construction. This is not a conservative approach in tough economic times.”

Also stated in the release: “Further, some of the arguments currently made do not ring true. When this plan was first announced, the Commissioners Court stated that the plan would not address all of the County’s needs and some inmates might still have to be shipped. However, more recently, the County has announced that it will be able to make substantial income from renting beds to other counties. Both of these statements cannot be true. Further, the history in Smith County is that every jail built was full the day it opened. Four years ago, the County said that it had to have a minimum of 1200 new beds. Two years ago, the County said that it had to have a minimum of around 600 new beds. Now the County says it needs around 300 new beds and can make substantial money renting them out to other counties. These inconsistencies also weigh against supporting the jail plan.”

On this week’s KTBB “Staff Meeting,” County Commissioner Jeff Warr says he took note of failed bond issues in the past — and made sure this time to find out what the community would support. He tells us, “I decided I would go out and start meeting with different civic groups, different organizations, different city councils and leaders in the community and get their input.” He adds that the proposal is cost-effective and addresses safety, his own major concern. The cost is $35 million, and 384 beds would be added.

In a statement issued Thursday morning, Warr added, “It is my hope that Smith County voters will make a decision on this proposal based on factual information. I have personally discussed the development of this plan over the past year during weekly open meetings of the Smith County Commissioners Court. I have personally spoken to at least 20 groups around the county with even more scheduled over the next few weeks. In every meeting citizens have been given the opportunity to make public comment and ask questions about the plan. Their comments and input have been important to ensure that concerns are heard and addressed.

“This plan addresses much-needed safety and security improvements to the current jail facility and includes additional beds to handle the growth Smith County has seen over the past two decades. This proposal means that Smith County can quit renting jail space in other counties at a cumulative cost of $17.5 million dollars of our taxpayers’ money. This is money that is continuing to leave Smith County to fund the operations of other counties throughout east Texas. This plan should stop that loss and bring those taxpayer dollars home.”

You can go to http://www.smith-county.com for more information from the county or to submit questions. You can also go to http://www.ktbb.com/audio to access the “Staff Meeting” show online.