KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — The East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System Monday unveiled two new emergency transport helicopters, valued at over $9 million. Officials say they’ll provide patients in East Texas with critical, fast access to the region’s only level 1 trauma center at ETMC Tyler. The Eurocopter, EC135 P2+ helicopters will be stationed at ETMC Tyler and Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant. The EC135 that currently is stationed in Tyler is being upgraded and will be positioned at ETMC Athens. Officials say this allows ETMC to provide high quality care and rapid transport to residents within a 150-mile radius around each helicopter base, covering 38 counties in East Texas.

Art Chance, vice president of operations for ETMC, says, “Reducing transportation time to ETMC Tyler’s level 1 trauma center, helps severely injured or seriously ill patients arrive within the ‘golden hour,’ significantly improving their chances for recovery.” Operations coordinator Jim Speier adds, “The new helicopters have updated safety features, including a terrain avoidance warning system that gives an audible voice alert message if an obstacle appears along the flight path. They also have a traffic collision avoidance system to warn the pilot of another aircraft in close proximity.” Additionally, the helicopters have updated medical equipment, including a new ventilator. Other features include live weather radar, a black box recorder system, and more.

LONGVIEW — The Longview United for Growth Committee has turned in signed petitions to the City of Longview for verification. More than 9,000 signatures have been collected in the petition to get alcohol sales approved for the remaining dry portions of Longview. Longview United for Growth is the group heading up the push for alcohol sales. The group told KETK in December that it had reached the number of signatures needed to get the measure on the May ballot. The group began the petition in November, and within 6 weeks had gathered at least 6,000 signatures.

Longview United for Growth’s treasurer, Kimberly Fish, tells KETK, “I think everybody in the community understands that the way to get economic development to come to the area is to allow grocery stores and convenience stores to sell beer and wine.” The City of Longview secretary now must confirm the signatures before the issue can be officially put on the ballot.

TYLER — The City of Tyler is currently considering a request to change the ordinance dealing with off-site estate and garage sale signs. Residents can share their opinions through Tyler Speaks on the City of Tyler web site: http://www.CityofTyler.org

According to a release from the city, officials will read the statements and incorporate them into their decision process. The first discussion topic, off-site estate and garage sale signs, has been posted and residents may post their opinions on the page after registering.

The City of Tyler currently does not allow off-premise advertising of estate/garage sales. The City Council is considering a proposed Ordinance Amendment that would allow up to four off-premise directional signs on private property with permission
from the property owners.

To protect Tyler’s natural beauty, signs may not be posted on the light posts, traffic signal posts, sidewalk, fire hydrant, or any other public properties and rights-of-way.

TYLER — A portion of the John Soules Food plant north of Tyler has been damaged by fire. The fire on Farm Road 14 started when a transformer blew, starting the blaze in a storage building. No major damage was reported to the main building and no injuries were reported.

RUSK — Authorities are looking for two men who robbed two women at a Rusk business. It happened late Sunday night in the 100 block of North Main Street. One of the women was said to have been pistol whipped and pushed to the ground by one of the men. KETK reports the two suspects then fled on foot, both heading in different directions. If anyone has any information, you can contact Rusk Crime Stoppers at 866-586-7878.

MARSHALL — A professor at Wiley College in Marshall has been killed in a motorcycle accident. Killed was assistant professor of biology Valentyn Siniak, 37. Investigators say Friday night Siniak was westbound on his motorcycle on U.S. Highway 80 and a pickup was eastbound. The collision occurred when the pickup turned north onto Loop 390. Siniak was rushed to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Marshall where he later died.

PALESTINE — Authorities search for armed robber in Palestine. It happened Saturday night around 8:15. According to KETK, officers from the Palestine Police Department were dispatched to the Family Dollar Store located in the 300 block of East Spring Street in reference to an armed robbery. Officers were advised that a black male had entered the store armed with a hand gun and demanded money. The suspect was given the money from the cash registers, then left the store with an undetermined amount of money. No one was injured during this incident.

Witnesses stated that the suspect was a black male just over 6 feet tall and had a thin build. The suspect was wearing a white jacket, white gloves, dark pants, and black shoes. The suspect was also armed with a black handgun. The suspect had some type of clothing, possibly a t-shirt covering part of his face. Police arrived on the scene within minutes of receiving the call and began a search for the suspect. After an extensive search of the area the suspect was not located. The Palestine Police Department is asking that anyone with information concerning this incident please call Detective Cathy Weber at 903-731-8422 or CRIME STOPPERS at 903-729-TIPS (8477).

GREGG COUNTY — Despite soaring prices and dwindling stock, gun and knife enthusiasts descended Saturday on a Longview gun show in force, pressing shoulder-to-shoulder in the hope of finding a rare deal. According to KETK, some shoppers waited more than 30 minutes to enter the exhibit building at Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Complex when the Classic Arms Productions Gun & Knife Show began at 9:00.

Twice in recent months, news events have caused gun sales to skyrocket. First was the re-election of President Barack Obama. Second was a mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school and the increased gun control rhetoric that followed. From Nov. 23 to 25, an FBI database shows 283,423 background checks were performed nationally, an increase of more than 30 percent from the same period in 2011.

Before doors opened Saturday at the gun show in Longview, a hundreds of buyers had formed long lines. Some shoppers said they waited almost 45 minutes just to get in. But vendors, many of whom travel from gun show to gun show, were not overwhelmed with the traffic and said that for the past month, guns and ammunition have been sold faster than they can be replaced. Ammunition also was in high demand at Saturday’s show. Large pallets of ammunition dwindled quickly as the day progressed, dropping from stacks of seven or eight boxes per stack to one or two.

MARSHALL — A Marshall man died Friday shortly after being shocked with a stun gun by Marshall police during an arrest. According to KETK, the incident started around 8:30 when police responded to a disturbance call near the intersection of East Houston Street and Scoggins Street in Marshall. According to a police statement, upon the officers arrival, they were confronted by an uncooperative nude black male. A struggle ensued and the black male was tased. Marcus Dewayne Slade, 32, was shocked and arrested and taken to the Harrison County Jail. Officials said an ambulance was called a short time later when Slade was found unresponsive. He was pronounced dead by Harrison County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Kenneth Alford. An autopsy has been ordered. Slade’s death is under investigation by the Texas Rangers.

GREGG COUNTY — Lawyers for Gregg County and the family of a woman who died in its jail failed to reach an agreement Friday that would have avoided a trial, a plaintiff’s attorney said. Jury selection in the case is set begin Monday. According to the Longview News-Journal, attorney Todd Tefteller, who represents the survivors of Amy Lynn Cowling, also said the trial would begin Jan. 22 in the Marshall courtroom of U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap. Friday is the second time court-ordered mediation failed.

Cowling’s family sued Gregg County in June 2011, six months after she was found unresponsive in a separation cell where she’d been placed after exhibiting symptoms of seizure and disorientation. A recovering opiate addict, the 33-year-old brought prescriptions for methadone, Xanax and Seroquel to the jail when she was arrested on a misdemeanor theft charge and unpaid tickets. But those drugs are not on the list of approved prescriptions set by Gregg County Health Authority Dr. Lewis Browne. The doctor, by phone, prescribed Librium for anxiety and Haldol, an anti-psychotic drug, for Cowling, according to documents filed in federal court by Cowling family attorneys. Browne’s weekly jail visit was the day after Cowling died, the filings stated.

Jailers and other inmates, the Cowling family filing says, reported her crying and howling, shaking uncontrollably and unresponsive days before her Dec. 28, 2010, death, five days after her arrest. The family is seeking unspecified damages in the wrongful death suit.

GREGG COUNTY — The Gregg County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help with finding a missing woman. Jacklyn Arredondo was last seen in the area of Skinner Road in Gregg County at about 8:15 AM on January 4th. She is described as a thirty year old white female, 5’5″, 150 pounds and has shoulder length brown hair with blond streaks. Arredondo was wearing a red hoodie, white jogging pants and black shoes. She was driving a 2005 silver Chevrolet Cobalt with Texas License #DC7B701. Please contact Investigator Cecil Shelton at (903) 738-1034 with any information.

SMITH COUNTY — A Smith County Constable was involved in a three-vehicle wreck Friday morning. According to Smith County DPS officials, Precinct 4 Deputy Constable Bobby Sanders was driving southbound on Loop 323 when he attempted to make a left turn onto American Legion Road around 9:00. According to KETK, a driver in a Ford F-150 pickup truck heading northbound struck Sanders, pushing him into a Fed Ex delivery van that was waiting at the light on American Legion Road. Smith County Precinct 4 Constable John Smith said three people were taken to the hospital but were not seriously injured. Sanders was also checked at a Tyler hospital as a precaution but is expected to be okay. According to Smith County DPS authorities, Constable Sanders was at fault in the wreck.

TYLER — The new Mountain Bike Trail at Lindsey Park is ready for use. The opening ceremony is this morning at 9:30. The event will be held at the south side of the park near the softball fields. That will be followed by a four-hour endurance race.

The completion of this trail adds to the already impressive lineup of public biking/hiking trails in the Tyler area including those at Faulkner Park, The University of Texas at Tyler, and Tyler State Park.

“The Lindsey Park Mountain Bike Trail came about through a creative partnership between the City of Tyler, the Tyler Bicycle Club, and the Smith County Justice System,” said Tyler Parks Director Stephanie Rollings.

The trail winds 10 miles through the 130 acres of Lindsey Park on Spur 346 west of town. The entrance and exit can be found across the park road from the parking lot for the lower softball fields.

“Tyler Bicycle Club volunteers, along with Smith County jail trustees and folks doing community service for their probation with Smith County Court-at-Law #3, cut the trail through the forested tract during the past 18 months,” added Rollings. “The City of Tyler is so excited to offer to our citizens this type of recreational opportunity at now two of our park facilities. It is with these types of partnerships that such great projects come to fruition.”

TROUP — Funeral services are scheduled in Tomball today for Jerry Vessels, 68 and his wife Madeleine, 66. Today would have been Jerry’s 69th birthday. The couple was killed in a fire in their Cherokee County home outside of Troup.

The Vessells’ two story log home in the 1100 block of County Road 4706 was destroyed by the fire around 11:30 Monday morning. The blaze was triggered by an explosion in the house. The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.

GILMER — A third suspect has been taken into custody in connection with the death of a Longview man. Andrew Conrad Norwine, 21, was extradited from the Vernon Parish Jail in Louisiana and brought back to Upshur County this morning. According to KETK, Norwine was arrested Christmas Day by Vernon Parish sheriff’s deputies on an outstanding capital murder warrant out of Upshur County with a bond of $1 million. Two other suspects, Sarah Haslam, 20, and Daniel Jones, 19, were arrested Dec. 19 and charged with aggravated kidnapping and capital murder in the slaying of Ronnie Gammage, 27. They remain in the Upshur County Jail.

Investigators believe the suspects slashed a tire on Gammage’s truck, then tricked him into taking a ride in Haslam’s car. The suspects beat and killed Gammage before burning and attempting to hide his body in a desolate area in Upshur County. Gammage was reported missing Dec. 8 by his mother. After a two-week search, his body was found after authorities released a bank security video that led to the identification of the suspects.

GILMER — According to the Upshur County District Attorney’s office, Anthony George Bassler, Ore City, pleaded guilty to cruelty to livestock and now faces 18 months in prison. According to KETK, he has also waived his right to an appeal. In addition, he is required to pay $610 to the Gilmer Animal Clinic.

Bassler was indicted on a charge of cruelty to livestock animals after being accused in June of hanging a donkey by the neck from a tree. The 35-year-old remains in the Upshur County Jail on $50,000 bond. He was arrested July 3 after he was seen abusing a donkey in June, two days before hanging it in the woods behind his house on Janis Street in the Camp Joy community. Upshur County Sheriff’s Lt. Freddie Fitzgerald testified in July that witnesses saw the donkey try to kick Bassler as he tied a rope around it.

TYLER (AP) – A 50-year-old man on death row for the slaying of an East Texas man during a home break-in more than 21 years ago has been set to die April 9. State District Judge Christi Kennedy in Tyler set the date Thursday for Ricky Lynn Lewis. Lewis was convicted of the September 1990 shooting death of 45-year-old George Ray Newman. Evidence showed he also raped Newman’s fiance at their home in Smith County and stole her car. She managed to call police to report the attack. A federal appeals court in November rejected Lewis’ claims he’s mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty, clearing the way for the execution date to be set. Lewis is among at least nine inmates already scheduled for lethal injection in Huntsville this year.

UPSHUR COUNTY — Authorities have found the body of a woman reported missing and officials said there did not appear to be evidence of foul play. Gladewater police were called to the 600 block of Gay Avenue around 3:30 Thursday morning. Heather Marie Holcomb, 39, who had been staying at that address when the resident reported her missing. Holcomb had allegedly walked away from the house during the night and was brought back inside after being found.

Later in the morning, she was once again discovered missing and reported to the police. Holcomb is said to have suffered from mental health problems. Authorities immediately began to search the area for woman. After daylight, a larger search party was formed. She was eventually found dead in the 700 block of Gay Avenue, well off the road and into a heavily wooded area.

According to KETK, Chief Farrell Alexander said a combination of the elements and health problems could have contributed to the woman’s death, but until an autopsy is completed and returned there is no known cause of death. There were no signs of a struggle or life-threatening injuries, the police chief said.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — A man who allegedly led police on a chase in Jacksonville has been captured in Louisiana. According to Jacksonville Police, Curtis Simmons, 26, was taken into custody after nearly a month on the run. KETK reported in mid-December that a man escaped after leading police on a car and foot chase in ended in a man, now known to be Simmons, shooting at officers. No officers were injured during the incident. Police and K9 units searched the wooded area, but could not find Simmons. Simmons was arrested on New Year’s Eve by officials in Calcasieu Parish, La, in the Lake Charles area. He was pulled over for a traffic violation and was taken into custody for his crimes in East Texas. He’s awaiting extradition back to Texas.

TYLER — A northeast Texas man has been formally charged in connection with a fatal accident near Overton. Justin Echols, 30, of Diana is charged with criminally negligent homicide in the accident happened on County Road 217 on October 11th.

Authorities say Echols lost control of his pickup while turning a corner and hit a tree. A passenger in the truck, Michele Allen, 27, of Harleton, was thrown from the truck and pinned underneath it. She later died from her injuries. Authorities say after the accident, Echols, hopped on an ATV, traveled away from the crash site and crashed again. He then reportedly ran from the area.

Echols later turned himself in at the Upshur County Jail and was later transfered to the Smith County Jail. He is currently free on a $250,000 bond.

WASHINGTON (AP/STAFF) — Despite a small revolt among the Republican rank and file, John Boehner has easily been re-elected as speaker of the House. It happened yesterday as the 113th Congress took power. Tyler Republican Louie Gohmert didn’t vote for Boehner. He cast his vote for former Florida Congressman Allen West.

According to Gohmert, “As this nation continues plunging deeper and deeper into debt every minute of every day, I could not cast a vote for ‘business as usual.’ With so many talented, brilliant members of Congress, it certainly seems that seven years after our current leader was elected Majority Leader and with our goals now even farther away, it is time for a change from ‘business as usual.’ Since the Constitution does not require the Speaker of the House to be a Member of the current Congress, my vote for Allen West was for a man who knows how to stand for principle and has always been faithful to those he was entrusted to protect.”

TYLER — A Tyler man has pleaded guilty to stealing government property. Raymond Kyle Welsh, 33, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith K. Guthrie. to an Information charging him with theft of government property. Welsh faces up to 10 years in federal prison, restitution of $240,569.19 and forfeiture of $26,588.00 at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.

Federal prosecutors say from January 2003 to September 2010, Welsh concealed and failed to disclose his financial resources and income in order to receive Social Security and Medicaid benefits. Welsh stole approximately $26,588.00 from the Social Security Administration in the form of Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI) payments and $213,981.19 from the Department of Health and Human Services in the form of Medicaid benefits. Welsh admitted that he knew he was not entitled to the benefits and that they belonged to the United States government..

TYLER — A well know Tyler Junior College professor has submitted his resignation following his theft arrest late last month. Manouchehr Rostamy Khosrowshai, 59, who is also known as Dr. K, turned in his resignation yesterday morning. He cited cited physical and mental health as causes as the reasons for his decision.

Dr. K, who has taught at T-J-C since1987, was arrested by Tyler police December 26th at the Wal-Mart on the the Troup Highway where he had been accused of stealing items. He is currently out of jail on a $15,000 bond.

According to the T-J-C web site, Khosrowshai received his B.A. in Political Science from the National University of Iran in 1976, his M.A. in Political Science from Tehran University, Iran, in 1978, his Ph.D. in Political Science from University of North Texas in 1983 and has three post-doctoral fellowships from UT-Austin, Rice and the United States Institute of Peace.

His awards include ‘Texas Professor of the Year’ (2008), ‘The Piper Professor’ (2010), and most recently ‘The Best Advisor of Year’ (2012).

HENDERSON — A Northeast Texas teen on trial for allegedly murdering a woman and her two children said she will plead insanity. Rachel Nicole Pittman, of Redwater, has been accused of stabbing a woman and her two young children to death in May of 2011. She then allegedly set the victim’s house on fire. Pittman’s trial is being held in Rusk County after a change of venue was granted. She’s being held in the Rusk County Jail.

LONGVIEW — A terminated police officer appeals her termination. Leigh Ann Snyder, the Longview police officer fired December 11th, one year after suffering an injury while on the job, appealed her termination yesterday morning. She went before the City of Longview council. The Longview Police Department also pleaded her case. A decision will be made within the next five days. The city fired Snyder after she failed to return to duty one year after her patrol car was hit by a suspected drunk driver. Snyder says she was not provided the benefits she needed from the city.

LONGVIEW — LeTourneau University psychology professor Dr. Vicki Sheafer has been selected as one of the top 23 psychology professors in the state of Texas by http://www.State.States.org. The website reports that top professors in the field of psychology research extensively, inspire, teach, and even help the community. The professors chosen stand out for their academic achievements, awards and impressive research. Sheafer was selected for her proven excellence in research, instruction, and community/campus service.

As a premier post-secondary educator and scholar, Sheafer also recently won the Frank Costin Memorial Award for Excellence in teaching for using drama to enhance student learning of classic experiments in social psychology. Sheafer adapted a technique of having undergraduate social psychology students develop dramatic scripts to describe their research, then present the play to the class. Her research results showed that students enjoyed both participating in the activity and also watching the plays of others, and that it allowed them to be creative, caused them to work hard and was interesting and helpful.

“Dr. Sheafer exemplifies the excellence we seek at LeTourneau University, where faculty are not only great scholars, but also great teachers who see both as mutually important,” said Steven D. Mason, associate provost and dean of faculty.

TYLER — A Tyler businessman and entrepreneur whose latest creation was produced with the assistance of the Tyler Junior College Small Business Development Center will be a part of the popular TV show “Shark Tank” tomorrow.

Doug Marshall, whose The Gameface Company benefited by business counseling from the SBDC, will be one of four entrepreneurs on this week’s episode of the critically acclaimed ABC show hoping to sell his business concept to anxious and sometimes hostile investors.

Shark Tank airs from 8-9 pm (CT) on ABC television. Shark Tank is in its fourth season of providing budding entrepreneurs with the chance to make their dreams come true and possibly make a business deal that will make them a millionaire. The show has become the top rated show in it’s time slot and is the number one family viewed television show.

18 DWI Arrests in Smith County Over New Years Holiday
TYLER — The multi-agency No-Refusal DWI campaign, December 28th through January 1st resulted in 18 DWI arrests with 2 search warrants were obtained for blood. The breakdown looked like this:
*DPS had 12 DWI arrests
*Tyler PD had 3 DWI arrests
*Smith County Sherriff’s Office had 1 DWI arrest
*Lindale PD had 1 DWI arrest
*Whitehouse PD had 1 DWI arrest
The 2 search warrants for blood were obtained by the DPS

LONGVIEW — Funeral services have been scheduled in Longview for retired Texas Ranger Glenn Elliott. He died Monday at the age of 86. Visitation will be today from 5:00 to 7:00pm at Rader Funeral Home on Judson Road in Longview. Burial will be tomorrow morning at 10:00 at the Worship Center of Alpine Church of Christ, Loop 281 in Longview. Burial will follow at Lakeview Cemetery.

Elliot had worked with the Texas Department of Public Safety, and was promoted to Texas ranger in 1961. He retired from the Texas Rangers several years ago, but not before leaving his mark on important cases in the East Texas area.

One of the biggest cases he worked were the KFC murders in 1983. In 2008, Elliot testified in court 25 years after the murders, saying that he saw two key pieces of evidence, a blood-stained napkin and a cash register tape box, at the KFC restaurant in Kilgore. His testimony was used to connect Darnell Hartsfield and his cousin Romeo Pinkerton to the deaths of five people.

According to the Rader Funeral Home obituary, he published a series of books about his career, “A Ranger’s Ranger” and “Still a Ranger’s Ranger,” with the late Robert Nieman. These books cover a vast area of Texas and a variety of cases throughout his law enforcement career. One of the many recognizable names in the books is Paul Harvey, radio commentator. He dedicated a portion of his worldwide radio program to Ranger Elliott to commemorate his retirement, “I don’t know what you know about the Texas Rangers, but they are an elite core of lawmen. Respected at all levels of law enforcement and revered in their home state. And if you had to pick one to represent the best of the best, that one would be Ranger Glenn Elliott.”

In October of 2011, a baseball field at Longview’s Lear Park was dedicated to Elliot, in recognition of his achievements in law enforcement. Elliot was also the focus of an exhibit at the Gregg County Historical Museum in 2012, and had written two books about his career.

LUFKIN — An East Texas robber is on the loose after he stole a bed comforter from a local business Tuesday evening. According to KETK, it happened Tuesday evening around 7:40 at the Lufkin Walmart on McCall Drive. Officials said a man was caught trying to leave the store with a brown bed comforter. Loss prevention team members approached the thief and he initially agreed to go with employees into an office. As they made it to the room, the bandit threw a worker to the ground and took off running. According to witnesses, the robber made it out of the store with the comforter, valued at about $50. The staff members reported minor injuries.