KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — The Texas Alliance for Life PAC has endorsed GOP incumbent Leo Berman’s candidacy for re-election as state representative of District 6. Executive director Dr. Joe Pojman stated TAL’s decision was based on Berman’s consistent support for pro-life issues in the Texas Legislature. Berman also earned the President’s Award at the Smith County Republican Club’s annual Presidents Day dinner on Saturday evening. Berman faces Matt Schaefer in this year’s Republican primary.

LINDALE – The first rabid animal in Smith County this year has been found in the Lindale area. Texas Department of State Health Services advised the City of Lindale that a skunk that was submitted for analysis tested positive for the disease. The skunk was found near the 13000 block of County Road 4200.

Citizens are advised not to handle bats, skunks, raccoons, or other wild animals. It is important for children to tell their parents of any contact with wild animals or any sick animals. Anyone who knows of a person being bitten by an animal must report the bite incident to the Smith County Rabies Control Authority for proper investigation.

Smith County Rabies Control Authority advises all citizens to confirm that their dogs and cats are currently vaccinated for rabies. City of Tyler Ordinance and Smith County Ordinance require annual rabies vaccinations for all dogs and cats. Preventive immunization for rabies is the only effective defense against this always fatal disease.

TYLER — The City of Tyler announces that Centene Corporation, a leading manager of health care services, has chosen Tyler as its first choice in Texas for the location of a multi-state regional claims processing facility in the new 140-acre Tyler Business and Technology Park. Officials say the move could create about 325 new jobs in Tyler. The St. Louis, MO-based Centene, the nation’s fourth-largest Medicaid manager, would be the first owner of a site within the Tyler Business and Technology Park, which was developed by the Tyler Economic Development Council (TEDC). TEDC has owned and managed 150 acres within the park since 1994. The park is located at the intersection of West Loop 323 and Robertson Road and is occupied by a variety of manufacturing, office, distribution, and retail businesses.

Centene is currently working with the TEDC, the City of Tyler and the State of Texas to define the business terms and begin due diligence for the project. Centene anticipates that it will take four to six months to satisfy the conditions leading to a final decision to move forward with land acquisition and construction. “We are excited at the prospect of having Centene Corporation as a new corporate citizen that brings quality jobs to Tyler,” said Tyler Mayor Barbara Bass. “Centene has a reputation as an active and generous corporate citizen in the communities in which it has offices.”

Upon satisfaction of feasibility conditions, construction of the Centene building is expected to begin this summer with completion anticipated in the summer of 2013. “We are still early in this process, however we are very encouraged by the progress that has been made,” said Tom Ellis, chair of the TEDC. “The potential addition of 325 well-paying jobs in Tyler is something we can all celebrate.”

TYLER — A man law officers say is responsible for beating his wife so badly in November that she later died from her injuries is now a free man. Smith County authorities tell KETK that Kelly Gage was released from custody Tuesday. Gage’s bond was dropped from $1 million to a $10,000 personal recognizance bond. Smith County DA Matt Bingham says there’s just not enough evidence to indict the suspect for murder.

Patty McHugh Gage was on life support after what appeared to be a drunken beating on Thanksgiving Day by her husband, Kelly Gage. Patty Gage later died, and her son says she’d endured years of physical abuse. Bingham says the investigation is ongoing, but that based on what he’s been told by experts, his office was unable to secure the evidence needed to indict the defendant within 90 days. Bingham cites the victim’s blood alcohol content, which he says was over 4 1/2 times the legally intoxicated limit. He says that raised doubts about whether Mrs. Gage was beaten to death or perhaps fell and hit her head.

Noting Kelly Gage’s lengthy criminal history, Bingham says he’d love to keep him in custody. But he says the suspect’s past criminal history is not admissible in the guilt/innocence stage.

TYLER — Tyler school officials are looking into the possibility that a gun maybe on the Robert E. Lee High School campus. According to a district news release, Lee administrators learned of a Facebook post warning that a gun may be on campus. They reportedly contacted district officials, who immediately provided increased security on the campus and began investigating the situation. Officials said they have not found anything and will continue to investigate the matter. Increased security was on the campus throughout the day.

NACOGDOCHES — A Nacogdoches man pleaded this past week in Nacogdoches County District court on the charge of driving while intoxicated with a child passenger. According to KETK, Apolonio Vasquez, 30, received 90 days in county jail from a Dec. 4, 2011 incident. Officials said he continued to drive away from police for 13 blocks after they initiated emergency lights to pull him over for making an unsafe lane change.

LONGVIEW — The Longview Police Department, along with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Longview Partners in Prevention, conducted stings at area retailers. Thirty retailers were checked by the undercover teams and six of them reportedly sold alcohol to the undercover minors. The locations that sold to minors were:

1. 4108 W Loop 281 # 101 – Kyle’s Kwik Stop # 3
2. 100 S Access Road – Food Fast # 7
3. 3122 Estes Parkway – Brianna’s Stop n Shop
4. 1800 S High Street – Super 1 Foods
5. 2001 N Eastman Road – Zippy J’s No. 5
6. 1516 W Fairmont Street – Zippy J’s No.4

Authorities said the individuals that sold alcohol to the undercover minor were listed in offense reports for “making alcohol available to a minor”. This offense is a class “A” misdemeanor and the reports will be filed with the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. The TABC also issued administrative citations to each business.

LONGVIEW — Longview officials are calling a “warrant round-up” successful. February 10th marked the first day of the Great Texas Warrant Round-Up. Longview Municipal Court participated in this program and said that between February 11th and 24th, a total of 914 warrants were cleared up and the courts collected $154,588.85 in fines and fees.

HARRISON COUNTY — A Marshall woman died Sunday morning after a one-vehicle crash in Harrison County. According to Department of Public Safety officials, Margaret Roberson Skinner, 60, was traveling west on FM 1997 around 11:15 when she drifted through the westbound lane and struck a tree. The Longview News-Journal reports, Skinner was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:15 p.m. by Justice of the Peace Nancy George.

LONGVIEW — The Longview ISD is facing a $5.5-million shortfall. But school officials say they were making preparations well before state funding for schools was cut last summer — and spokesman Adam Holland tells KETK the school district is in much better shape than others around the state. Holland says the district has in fact been preparing for the situation for years, and he says no layoffs are expected. According to Holland, there have been positions cut due to attrition. But he says that has been going on for several years, and school officials expect it to continue. The budget is in its preliminary stages, and school officials are unsure if a salary freeze will be lifted.

DOUGLASS — Deputies arrested a Douglass High School teenager accused of stabbing another student during the drive back from a school field trip last Thursday, according to Nacogdoches Sheriff Kerss. Authorities took into custody John Mark Kerr, 18, of Douglass. Kerr is charged with possession of an illegal knife in places prohibited. No other charges have been filed. Sheriff Kerss tells KETK it is illegal to carry a knife on any school property. The bus was in the school parking lot when the incident happened. The victim, stabbed in the leg with a pocketknife, was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Kerr’s bail is set at $3,500.

CANTON — Anonymous tips phoned into the Van Zandt County Crime Stoppers in the past several weeks have paid off, with six people arrested by sheriff’s deputies on a variety of charges, from drug trafficking to vehicle theft to burglary. The arrested suspects include one person from the sheriff’s 10 Most Wanted list.

The Crime Stoppers board authorized a total of $2,450 in rewards for the six tips that led deputies to arrest these individuals:

* A Ben Wheeler man who was on the 10 Most Wanted list, with warrants out for him for crimes such as two assaults on a public servant, several driving offenses, drug possession, and a revoked probation in Navarro County.
* Two young Canton men who were arrested for drug trafficking and theft of farm equipment, and who were later charged additionally after deputies allegedly found drugs, guns, and money in their residence.
* A Wills Point man on a warrant for a pair of vehicle thefts.
* A Wills Point man and his girlfriend, arrested on burglary warrant from Hunt County.

More information about Crime Stoppers is available online at http://www.vanzandtcrimestoppers.org or on Facebook.

LINDALE — The Lindale Independent School District is mourning the passing of longtime business manager Zane Beck. Beck died Sunday at the age of 60. Memorial services will be held Wednesday morning at 10:30 at Caudle-Rutledge Funeral Home in Lindale, 206 West South Street.

Beck provided his services as a business manager to several East Texas school districts. At the time of his passing, he worked with Lindale ISD Director of Finance Liz Stewart as a consultant. He first worked for Lindale from 1996-2002 as Assistant Superintendent for Business. He then began work for the Longview ISD as Assistant Superintendent for Business. After retiring from his position with the Longview ISD, he returned to Lindale in his consultant role.

Beck worked for the Tyler Independent School District as Director of Finance from 1979 to 1987 and served TISD as Assistant Superintendent for Business from 1987 to 1994. He worked for the Marshall Independent School District as Business Manager from 1994 through 1996. Beck also provided his services as a business consultant to a number of school districts, including Van, Pine Tree, Arp, Grand Saline, Nacogdoches, and Big Sandy, as well as the Region VII Education Service Center.

TYLER — Citizens have two more weeks to take advantage of the annual Smith County Wide Cleanup Event. The event is an opportunity for residents of Smith County to bring trash and bulky items to the Greenwood Farms Landfill for free. The Smith County Environmental Crimes Unit, precinct constables, and Smith County Commissioners Court are extending the annual event through March 10.

The County will provide vouchers to the public that are good for up to three cubic yards per person; about a full-sized truck bed. Vouchers are available to pick up at all justice of the peace and constable precinct offices or the Smith County Courthouse Annex, Commissioners Court Office. There is a limit of one voucher per household and businesses may not participate in the voucher program.

The vouchers will be good Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., and on Saturdays 6:30 a.m. until noon through the period. The vouchers come with a list of items that the Greenwood Farms Landfill, an Allied Waste Company, will not take. Directions and a map to the Greenwood Farms Landfill are provided with the vouchers. Items not accepted during the County Wide Cleanup include hazardous waste, pesticides, herbicides, solvents, gasoline, oils, paint, acid, batteries, asbestos, Freon, whole tires, refrigerators, freezers, televisions, and computers.

For more information or to pick up your voucher, please call: (Tyler) Pct. 1 Constable Henry Jackson, (903-590-2609; (Noonday) Pct. 2 Constable Andy Dunklin, 903-590-4840; (Troup) Pct. 3 Constable Dustin Rust, 903-842-2664; (Winona) Pct. 4 Constable John Smith 903-590-4879; or (Lindale) Pct. 5 Constable Dennis Taylor, 903-590-4901.

GLADEWATER — Police in Gladewater are investigating an overnight break-in at Veterinary Service. According to an employee, a window was broken and about $150 cash was taken during the break-in. According to KETK, the business is open.

TYLER — A pregnant woman was struck by a vehicle in Tyler Sunday night. Tyler Police say the woman, who is about eight weeks pregnant, was struck by a car near Broadway Square Mall around 8:00. She was not seriously injured. According to KETK, the driver initially left the scene but returned a short time later and spoke with police. Charges have not been filed.

TYLER – A one vehicle wreck Southeast of Tyler has killed two persons. The wreck occurred around 3:30 Sunday morning on County Road 285. Dead at the scene were the driver, Andrew Jeremiah Whitton, 36, of Tyler, and a passenger, Sarah Katherine Brown, 38, of Tyler. The Department of Public Safety reported their car was southbound when the vehicle left the road and hit a tree. Neither was wearing a seat belt.

NACOGDOCHES – A one vehicle accident near Chireno, in Nacogdoches County, has killed one person. Dead at the scene Saturday night on State Highway 21 was Laddelle Fields Bolton, 41, of Nacogdoches. Her car was west bound when it left the road and overturned. The Department of Public Safety Report said Laddelle was not wearing her seat belt.

TYLER — Here’s a quick look at work planned in the Tyler District of the Texas Department of Transportation.

TROUP — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue pavement repairs on State Highway 110 in Troup, followed by the same work in various locations on Farm Road 15 in Troup. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

PALESTINE — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue pavement-repair operations on SE Loop 256 between U.S. Highway 287 South and U.S. Highway 84 East, which includes working in front of Palestine High School. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress. Motorists are encouraged to be prepared to reduce speed and merge in and around the work zones.

LONGVIEW — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform base and pavement repairs on Spur 63 in Longview, specifically in the area of Academy and the Longview Mall. The work is being done in preparation for a resurfacing project planned for later this year. A second crew is scheduled to perform pavement repairs on State Highway 322 south of the Gregg County Airport. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress. Motorists are encouraged to be prepared to reduce speed and merge in and around the work zone.

WOOD COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to begin approximately two weeks of pavement repairs on Farm Road 3056 between U.S. Highway 80 east of Mineola and Farm Road 778. The work is in preparation for a seal coat application this summer. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations in various locations on Farm Road 177 and Farm Road 3052 in the Mixon area. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations in various locations on Farm Road 47 between Farm Road 2475 north of Wills Point and the Rains County Line. A second crew is scheduled to perform fog seal operations at Lake Tawakoni State Park. Finally, crews are scheduled to continue edge-repair operations on Farm Road 314 between Farm Road 1995 south of Van and SH 64 north of Edom. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

LANEVILLE — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations on Farm Road 225 between Farm Road 1798 in Laneville and U.S. Highway 84 west of Mount Enterprise. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers and pilot vehicles will control traffic.

TYLER — Rev. Kyev Tatum of Fort Worth drew on the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Saturday night as he keynoted Tyler’s 11th Annual Black History Program. Tatum noted a passage in King’s “I Have a Dream” speech: “Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” Tatum said he and others at Saturday’s event are “The Stone of Hope Generation” — the freedom fighters King knew would come after him. Calling on attendees to be “servant leaders,” Tatum remarked, “God has called us to look out for the least, the last, the lost, the left out.” He noted that the battle today is not just for civil rights, but also for human rights. Tatum is himself following in King’s footsteps. He’s the Fort Worth president/CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization once headed by King.

CAMP COUNTY — One person has been killed in a one vehicle crash on Farm Road 3042 in Camp County. The Department of Public Safety says Willy James Irvin, 53, was killed in the Saturday crash after he overcorrected his truck and struck a tree. Irvin was reportedly not wearing his seatbelt at the time.

EAST TEXAS — With the news that Gladewater ISD is hoping to unfreeze salaries in its 2012-13 budget, other area school officials said their decisions are not so easy to predict. According to the Longview News-Journal, in 2011, the state Legislature cut $5 billion from its education budget, resulting in two years of revenue losses for public school districts statewide. With another wave of revenue loss coming, 2012-13 budgets are uncertain, officials said.

Hallsville is looking for ways to make cuts and reductions without sacrificing its core instruction program while maintaining its extracurricular and support programs. Hallsville ISD, like Gladewater and many other school districts statewide, implemented salary freezes in 2011. Despite contending with another $518,785 in cuts in 2012-13, Gladewater ISD Superintendent J.P. Richardson said this past week his district is prepared for the continued reductions and expects to be able to unfreeze salaries.

Pine Tree ISD and Kilgore ISD were two of the few school districts to give raises in 2011, but officials said the 2012-13 budgets have not been finalized and it is too early to tell what the upcoming fiscal year may hold. Pine Tree, in 2011, gave step raises for teachers, counselors and librarians and a 3% increase for other employees

School officials agree that changes have to be made in the overall education finance system, so districts do not continue to lose millions of dollars in revenue in the future.

BIG SANDY — One person was killed and five people were injured in a one vehicle rollover on U. S. Highway 80, about two miles east of Big Sandy. The Department of Public Safety say the wreck happened around 9:50 Saturday night. Saray Liang, 65, was killed. Her vehicle was reportedly heading westbound on Highway 80 when it ran off of the road, over-corrected and flipped. Liang was not wearing a seatbelt at the time. The five people who were also in the vehicle were taken to a local hospital with injuries but are said to be in stable condition.

LUFKIN — Texas native and country legend Willie Nelson is scheduled to perform at the George H. Henderson, Jr. Exposition Center on April 19. Burt Hairgrove, director of the Angelina County expo center, said tickets will go on sale March 6 and can be purchased by calling the center at 637-EXPO or online at protix.com. “We started at the beginning of the year to try and book Nelson,” Hairgrove said. “We talked to the promoter who has been booking Nelson for years. We told him we had a great venue, and we would love to have Nelson perform. He agreed. It will be a fantastic show from start to finish.” Hairgrove said he has been looking to book bigger events at the expo center, especially after $1 million was spent to improve the facility. “Our facility has 6,800 seats, but if we put seating on the lower floor we can seat 9,000 people,” he said.

LUFKIN — A former Lufkin Dollar King manager sentenced to two years in state jail for photographing employees in the store bathroom is one week from being released. Nathan Scott Kesler, 35, appeared before state District Judge Gerald Goodwin Friday afternoon hoping to be granted shock probation and released but instead the judge opted to leave him in the Angelina County Jail for another week. Goodwin said he wanted to evaluate what rehabilitation programs may be good for Kesler before releasing him into the hands of an Angelina County probation officer.

LUFKIN — A man has been arrested after going door-to-door early in the morning trying to sell chicken. Lufkin Police say officers responded to calls complaining about a man in the 1600 block of Airport Avenue. Police arrested, Daniel Huerta, 33 for nine misdemeanor charges including, public intoxication and intent to give false information. Huerta’s bond is over $4,000.

PARIS (AP) — PARIS (AP) — A judge in Paris has dissolved a temporary restraining order blocking TransCanada from crossing a northeast Texas farm with a proposed pipeline to carry Canadian oil to refineries along the Texas Gulf coast. Lamar County Court at Law Judge Bill Harris granted the pipeline company’s request to end the order on Friday. The Longview News-Journal reported that landowner Julia Trigg Crawford, who had obtained the order, contends that the company trampled her property rights and the project could harm Caddo Indian artifacts on her farm. A full trial that will include additional issues is set for April 30. Crawford says she disagrees with the ruling but looks forward to going to trial.

EAST TEXAS — Caddo Parish authorities recovered the body of a Smith County man from the Red River near Riverbend Marina. Two officials were patrolling the river at around 10:00 Friday morning when they noticed a body near the entrance to the marina. The body was pulled from the water and turned over to the Bossier Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, who have been searching for a missing person thrown from his boat on February 8. According to KETK, the body has been positively identified as the missing boater who vanished two weeks ago at the same marina. According to the Arp Police Department, the missing boater is Dan Stanley from Arp.

EAST TEXAS — A judge in Paris ruled Friday that work on the Keystone XL Pipeline could proceed through the northernmost of 18 Texas counties on its route to the Gulf Coast. Lamar County Court at Law Judge Bill Harris granted pipeline company TransCanada’s motion to dissolve a Feb. 13 temporary restraining order that had stopped construction. That halt had been based on a landowner’s claim the company trampled her property rights and the project could harm Caddo Indian artifacts on her family farm.

Keystone last month announced plans to continue the Texas leg of the project, along with new route that bypasses North Dakota where protests have arisen, despite President Barack Obama’s denial of its permit. That permit was necessary because the pipeline crosses an international boundary, but Prescott said in an earlier interview it only affected a 30-mile stretch crossing the U.S./Canadian border.

GREGG COUNTY — Kilgore police on Friday arrested a woman charged in the Jan. 2011 death of an adult video store clerk. Officials arrested Samantha Gonzales Lara, 20, at her Kilgore residence, according to a department news release. She is charged in the shooting death of Renee Garrett, whose body was found just after midnight on Jan. 10 at Adult Video and DVD in the 1900 block of Industrial Avenue. The store had also been robbed.

The arrest comes a day after a Gregg County grand jury returned a two-count indictment for Lara, for felony murder and aggravated robbery. Garrett worked at the business. Lara, whose bond has been set at $500,000, is not the only suspect in the case. According to the Longview News-Journal, DNA evidence taken from the scene confirmed the identity of one of three suspects in the robbery and homicide and further arrests are expected.

Anyone with information regarding the death of Renee Garrett is asked to contact Kilgore Police Department Detective Trae Portwood at (903) 983.1559 or Crime Stoppers at (903) 236-STOP. A $15,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest.