KTBB News, Weather, Talk

EAST TEXAS — An Arctic blast has blown through East Texas today dropping temperatures into the 20s. Just a reminder, bridges and overpasses are the first to become icy. Periods of sleet and freezing rain will last into early tonight before ending around 9 or 10 pm. Depending on how much precipitation falls, we could wind up with ice accumulations of one tenth to one quarter of an inch of sleet and freezing rain. According to KETK, this could make driving hazardous and cause some tree and power line damage, resulting in power outages by this evening. The precipitation will end before midnight and temperatures will continue to drop reaching the mid to upper teens by early tomorrow morning. Skies will become partly sunny on Monday with highs in the 30s.

TYLER — Young adults in foster care had their very own prom Saturday evening at the Glass Recreation Center in Tyler. It’s the annual “Pal Prom 2014”. According to KETK, the project allows teens who share similar experiences to meet and have fun together. Before the big event at 5:00, the girls got to pick up a dress, shoes and jewelry at Shiloh Road Church of Christ. The young boys also had their time to get ready and were treated to bowling. Star College of Cosmetology in Tyler gave the girls a full beauty experience. Continue reading Prom Night for Foster Kids

LONGVIEW– Two people have been injured in a Longview house fire. It happened at a home in the 400 block of Dawn Street Saturday afternoon. According to KETK, three people were inside the house at the time of the fire and were able to escape; however, two were injured in the process. An adult and a child were taken to a local hospital for treatment of their injuries. The house did receive some smoke damage. Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.

GILMER — A 27-year-old Gilmer man died early Friday morning in a one-vehicle wreck on Texas 300, in Upshur County. Justin Shawn Frost was driving a 2008 pickup north on the highway about 3:45 when the truck veered to the right lane near FM 726. According to the Longview News-Journal, the intersection is known by the shuttered A&W convenience store on its corner. Frost was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators did not immediately determine whether Frost had been wearing a seat belt. He was supposed to be married Saturday. Continue reading Gilmer Groom Dies In Wreck

TYLER — Anyone with outstanding court costs and fines in Smith County had through Friday to arrange for payment. Smith County is combining forces with 320 other jurisdictions across Texas to participate in the largest joint warrant round up of this type in the state. On Saturday, officers began visiting homes, neighborhoods, and places of work to arrest anyone who has not settled his or her debt with Smith County. According to a county news release, more than 1,300 bright yellow notices were mailed out this week to individuals with active warrants for delinquent fees in Smith County. The Smith County courts have hundreds of active warrants they’re seeking to clear. No amnesty is being offered in conjunction with the Round Up effort.

TYLER — He’s “highly respected and displays the utmost professionalism in the image he projects for the Tyler Police Department.” That’s why Officer Charles “Chuck” Boyce was named Officer of the Year at Friday evening’s Tyler Police Department Annual Awards Banquet. Numerous honors were handed out at the event, held at the UT Tyler Ornelas Activity Center. Continue reading Awards Handed Out at Tyler Police Banquet

LONGVIEW — A Longview man was sentenced Thursday to 27 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of continuous violence against a family member, Assistant Gregg County District Attorney Chris Botto said. KETK and the Longview News-Journal report Eric Lamothe Hill, 38, was tried this past week in the 124th District Court on the third degree felony charge. Continue reading Longview Man Gets 27 Years for Violence against Family Member

TYLER — An armed robbery suspect who was captured following a manhunt January 15 has been indicted in Smith County. KETK reports Adam Heath Bowers was indicted on two counts of aggravated robbery Thursday and is currently being held in the Smith County Jail on $660,000 bond. On January 15, acting on a tip from the Lindale Police Department, the Smith County Sheriff’s Narcotics, Criminal Investigation, K-9, and Patrol Divisions initiated surveillance on Lavender Road half a mile north of Loop 323 in search of Bowers. The surveillance began at 4:00 p.m. after he was reported to be in that area. Bowers was wanted on two armed robbery warrants and aggravated assault warrants. Continue reading Armed Robbery Suspect Indicted Following January Manhunt

LONGVIEW — Longview police are investigating a theft of two outside air conditioning units from ArtsView Children’s Theatre, 313 W. Tyler St. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, police spokeswoman Kristie Brian said the theft was reported Wednesday, but police suspect it occurred between Saturday and Wednesday. Brian said the units taken are valued at $5,000 each. Anyone with information is asked to call Longview police at (903) 237-1199.

TYLER – Four Tyler ISD high school students were recently honored by the White House for their video submission in the inaugural White House Student Film Festival. The festival was created for students across the country to share reasons technology is important and how they use technology in their classrooms. Continue reading Tyler ISD Students Receive Accolades from the White House

LONGVIEW — Longview Mayor Jay Dean began a new push for a walker-friendly city Thursday, spring-boarding from a presentation about an ongoing pedestrian study. That’s according to KETK and the Longview News-Journal. “I would recommend to council that we have a discussion about the entire city of Longview … we really need to consider a citywide program … and in doing so look at a long-term project to where we can associate funding to pay,” Dean said. Continue reading Longview Mayor Pushes Citywide Sidewalks

TYLER — Two units were damaged by a fire Friday morning at the Eastwood Apartments, 1030 Old Omen Road in Tyler. Firefighters were dispatched at 10:25 a.m., and officials say the blaze was brought under control shortly after their arrival. According to a Tyler Fire Department news release, occupants of one unit awoke to a popping sound, saw the kitchen area on fire, and evacuated the apartment. No injuries were reported. Investigators believe the fire started in the kitchen from food left cooking on the stove. One unit sustained heavy fire damage and another light smoke damage. The occupants of the fire-damaged unit are staying with family.

TYLER — The Brookshire’s FRESH 15 race is set for Saturday, and approximately 2,000-plus runners are expected. The 15K-5K-1K event starts at 8:00 a.m. and ends around 10:00 a.m. A concert by Curtis Grimes will follow at Fresh by Brookshire’s. The event benefits Bethesda Health Clinic and the American Heart Association. The Tyler Police Department has issued a traffic advisory for FRESH 15, whose participants will be running specific courses throughout Southwest Tyler. Continue reading FRESH 15 Race Set for Saturday; Traffic Advisory Issued

TYLER– The University of Texas at Tyler has been awarded $50,000 to continue research on an epidemic disease affecting potatoes. The funds, consisting of two grants from the 2014 Zebra Chip Specialty Crop Research Initiative, will assist Dr. Blake Bextine’s continued efforts to help suppress the potato disease known as Zebra Chip and further analyze the ‘potato psyllid’ or Bactericera cockerelli, the determined disease-causing agent. Continue reading UT Tyler Continues Lead Investigations into Potato Epidemic

RUSK — Authorities have identified the suspect and victim in a Cherokee County slaying. Rebecca Barker, 53, is in custody after she called authorities to say she had shot and killed her husband, Jerry Barker, 76. The shooting occurred just west of Rusk off Highway 84 around 11:00 Wednesday morning. Rebecca Barker has been charged with murder and remains in the Cherokee County Jail on $500,000 bond. The man’s body was found with a single gunshot wound in the living room of the couple’s home.

GILMER — Another defendant in the case of a mentally disabled Longview man’s murder was sentenced Thursday in an Upshur County courtroom. KETK reports Sarah Haslam pleaded guilty to the murder of Ronnie Gammage in December 2012. She was sentenced to life in prison. The Upshur County District Attorney had planned to seek the death penalty for Haslam. Haslam was one of three defendants in the case and is the second to be sentenced. Another defendant, Daniel Jones, entered into a plea agreement in October 2013, and received a life sentence without an opportunity for parole. The third defendant, Andrew Norwine, is still in jail awaiting trial. Continue reading Woman Pleads Guilty, Gets Life in Beating Death of Longview Man

LONGVIEW — Brittany Ashby’s maternal instincts took over Tuesday night when a house fire forced her to escape through a second-story window with two small children in tow. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, Ashby was about to tuck her 2-month-old son Gunner and his 1-year-old sister Sophie in bed when she smelled smoke. She tried to find out where it was coming from but only made it to a smaller room beside hers. “The smoke was already so strong. I couldn’t go any further. I panicked and grabbed my kids, and I went to the window and the smoke was filling up the house,” she said Thursday afternoon speaking from her hospital bed at Good Shepherd Medical Center, where she was hospitalized for smoke inhalation. “I put my daughter out the window first, then I got my son out,” she said, adding the flames started pouring out of the window after them. “I had to act fast because I felt like I was about to pass out.” Continue reading More Information Released on Major Longview House Fire

TYLER – A Smith County Jail inmate has died of an apparent suicide. Officials say John Hays, 45, of Tyler, was found unresponsive in his cell at 8:42 p.m. on February 26. Hays died by apparently hanging himself in his shower with a piece of bedding material. The announcement of Hays’s death was delayed until his family could be notified, according to a news release from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office. Continue reading Smith County Inmate Apparently Takes His Own Life

TYLER — The Rusk TJC Citizens Promise, the first scholarship program of its kind in Texas, may fund two years at Tyler Junior College for the top 50 percent of qualifying Rusk High School graduates. A TJC news release says the new initiative, announced during Thursday’s TJC board meeting, begins with the Rusk High School graduating class of 2014. The Rusk TJC Citizens Promise covers $4,000 per year (for two years) for each qualifying student who graduates in the top half of the class. Continue reading Rusk TJC Citizens Promise Funds TJC Scholarships for Rusk Graduates

LONGVIEW — A Gladewater man is being held on bonds totaling $110,000 after being charged with multiple child sex offenses. KETK and the Longview News-Journal report Jeffrey Ray Willoughby, 27, appeared Wednesday morning before 188th District Court Judge David Brabham to hear the charges against him. Acting on the recommendation of prosecutor Pamela Ibeh, Brabham set Willoughby’s bond at $50,000 each on the two charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child younger than 14 and $10,000 on a charge of forgery. Willoughby said in court he did not understand what a bond or court-appointed counsel meant. “This is my first time in jail,” he told the judge. “I don’t know about this bond stuff or whatever.” Continue reading Bond Set at $110K in Child Sex Case

TYLER — A Tyler jury has sentenced a Louisiana man to prison and fined him following his conviction of manufacturing and delivery of a controlled substance. Officials say he was found in possession of over a pound of methamphetamine by a DPS trooper. A jury in the 114th State District Court had earlier convicted Joseph Pierce, 35, of Greenwell Springs, Louisiana. After deliberating Wednesday afternoon, Pierce was sentenced to 70 years in state prison. He was also fined $250,000.

LONGVIEW — A stabbing has sent two men to the hospital and then to the Gregg County jail. The men had gotten into a fight late Tuesday night in the 1700 block of Lakeshore Drive. Chase Caldwell Ramirez, 21, received a chest wound and Cody Ryan Eaves, 22, was stabbed in the hand. Both men have been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

TYLER — The Tyler City Council has approved the plans for a brand new all-inclusive playground at Southside Park. The Tyler Area AMBUCS, Tyler Sunrise Rotary, the City of Tyler, and Child’s Play Incorporated of Dallas have teamed together to design the playground. The proposed all-inclusive playground would replace the current structure at Southside Park. It would be funded through donations from the community. Continue reading City Acts on Proposed New Playground at Southside Park

TYLER – The Tyler City Council Wednesday approved initial plans for an arts and innovation center presented by the Arts Task Force. In July of 2013, Mayor Barbara Bass appointed a task force to make recommendations to the City Council regarding the potential use of parts or all of the S.A. Lindsey Building at Elm Street and Broadway Avenue as an arts and innovation center. The S.A. Lindsey Building was gifted to the City of Tyler in 2010 by the R.W. Fair Foundation and the Fair Estate. It is located at 123 S. Broadway Ave. and is currently vacant. The structure has eight floors and more than 50,000 square feet of space. Continue reading Arts Center Task Force Recommendations for S.A. Lindsey Building

NACOGDOCHES — The Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office has been making arrangements to transport a teenager back home after she was found safe in Lubbock. An Amber Alert for 15-year-old Noemi “Mimi” Vasquez of Nacogdoches was discontinued Wednesday afternoon, and a man wanted for her kidnapping was taken into custody. KETK reports Juan Delacruz, 28, was arrested at a job site on the Texas Tech campus by FBI officials and Lubbock police. Shortly after taking Delacruz into custody, law enforcement authorities were able to find Mimi, who was in a nearby motel room. She had been reported missing Monday night.

TYLER – Authorities are investigating new information connected to Tuesday’s shooting death of a Smith County woman. According to a sheriff’s office news release, an incident took place on CR 333 at approximately 8:00 a.m., prior to the murder, relating to numerous shots being fired near suspect Adrian Mata’s residence. Authorities say this was not reported to the sheriff’s office at the time of the event, but was learned during the investigation. The release says the sheriff’s office is still searching for the medium gray PT Cruiser in which the suspect reportedly fled. Continue reading More Charges Possible in Woman’s Death

TYLER – Smith County authorities say they’ve caught and arrested a fleeing burglary suspect and his suspected colleague — and it’s believed that additional burglaries may be cleared from the two arrests. Wednesday morning at approximately 6:05, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch received a call of a burglary in progress at the Chapel Hill Storage facility located on FM 3226 northeast of Chapel Hill. Multiple Sheriff’s units responded to this call. Upon arrival of the first two units, they observed a man entering a white Dodge pickup, which was parked at the rear of the storage facility. The individual fled the scene in the Dodge truck. Authorities say a pursuit ensued for several miles, resulting in the Dodge pickup crashing in a subdivision off East Side Road. Continue reading Authorities Arrest Two Burglary Suspects

AUSTIN – The battle for endorsements continues in the hotly-contested Texas House District 6 race, focusing of late on the medical front. The Texas Radiological Society political action committee (TRS-PAC) Wednesday announced its endorsement of Skip Ogle, who’s challenging incumbent Matt Schaefer in the GOP primary. Continue reading Ogle Gets Radiological Society PAC Endorsement

TYLER – Mother Frances Hospital – Tyler has achieved a place on Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals list. Healthgrades is an online resource that helps consumers search, evaluate, compare, and connect with physicians and hospitals. According to a news release from Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics, Healthgrades evaluated nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide based on objective measures of clinical performance. Trinity Mother Frances officials say this represents five years of advanced and continuous clinical quality excellence and patient care for Mother Frances Hospital – Tyler. “We are very proud to be included in this elite group of hospitals,” said Dr. Barbara Allen, Vice President of Medical Affairs.