99.9 KMOO Radio • Music, News, Sports and Weather

Got a news Tip?

Major damage reported in Winnsboro
Winnsboro 5/15 - Trees several feet in diameter were uprooted and debris scattered the roads as a possible tornado touched down in northeast Wood County just before 1 a.m. this morning. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for northeast Wood County at 12:45 this morning. The alert woke up Rick Brown’s wife and she hustled the them and their dogs into a linen closet, with just seconds to spare.
   "We heard a thump," said Rick Brown, standing next to the thee which had toppled onto the roof of his home during the morning's storms. Audio (See photo at left)
   Across town, Renee, whose husband is also a fire fighter, said they woke to the sound of wind.
   "My husband handed me my daughter and a tree came through our bedroom ceiling. He pushed me out of the way." She then added, "He saved my life." Audio
   Driving around Winnsboro this morning, it was hard not to find a street without at least some trees or limbs down. Most roads and yards were covered with bits of green blown off trees and bushes. A half a dozen trees taller than 30 feet were knocked over like toys in the elementary school playground.
   Thousands of customers were without power following the storms and fire fighters from at least four departments combed the area for more damage for the rest of the night. They found a home at South Chestnut and Carnegie in Winnsboro with a tree across the roof.
   Amazingly, no injuries were reported in connection with the storms.
   Yantis and Como-Pickton school districts closed their doors for the day due to power outages and storm damage in the communities. Winnsboro has announced a 2-hour delay, and began classes at 10 a.m. For more photos, click here.

Five departments called out to battle fire
Mineola 5/14 - Fire destroyed a large home in Wood County this morning. It was about 9:45 when electric company workers noticed smoke coming from the home in a private subdivision, east of Mineola. By the time fire crews arrived, the home was fully engulfed in flames. The owners reportedly live in the Dallas area and were not home at the time the fire began. Fire crews from five departments battled the blaze. Crews are still on the scene at this hour trying to bring what’s left of the fire under control.
For more photos, click here.

Local Lindale landmark gutted by fire
Lindale 5/7 - Fire fighters from four departments responded to a fire at the Donut Palace in downtown Lindale Wednesday. Highway 69 was closed for more than an hour while crews stretched water hoses across the road. After beating back the flames, fire fighters then began the process of pealing back portions of the building and hosing down the insulation on fire inside the walls. No one was inside the building at the time of the fire.

Prosecution seeks death penalty in 2 cases
Mineola 5/5 - Rains County Prosecutors will be seeking the death penalty for two of the four suspects charged with killing a mother and her two sons earlier this year. During an arraignment hearing today, Charles Waid and Charlie Wilkinson both pled not guilty to charges they shot and stabbed the Caffey family as they slept in their home. Waid's girlfriend is also charged in the case. She pled not guilty as well and prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty in her case. Attorneys could not comment further due to a court-imposed gag order.

Driver slightly injured in roll-over
Mineola 5/5 - Fire fighters from Mineola rolled out of bed early Sunday for a one-vehicle accident on Highway 69. The accident happened just after 8 a.m. yesterday, about 3 miles north of Mineola on US-69. The driver of the vehicle was standing near the roadway when fire fighters arrived, reportedly suffering only minor injuries. The driver, who ran off the road and rolled his car into the trees about 50 feet from the road, apparently crawled out the vehicle through the shattered rear window. He was taken to a local hospital.

18-wheeler runs off I-20 and burns
Lindale 5/1 - "It was a miracle." That has one first responder on the scene described the accident in Lindale this afternoon and the fact that two people were pulled from a burning 18-wheeler, alive. The 18-wheeler, loaded with cantaloupe and other produce, was headed westbound on I-20 when it ran off the roadway and down an embankment between the Hwy 69 overpass. The truck was stopped by a shoulder barricade on Hwy 69, where it then caught fire. The truck’s driver and a female passenger were pulled from the cab before it was engulfed in flame. Both are said to be in stable condition in a Tyler hospital. Fire crews worked for more than two hours trying to clean up the wreck and move the truck onto a wrecker.
(Click on audio link above for excerpt of interview with Judge James "Red" Cowart")

Statewide manhunt for Tyler man
Tyler 4/30 - Police across the state are searching for a 37-year-old Tyler man who they say shot and killed a Department of Public Safety Trooper overnight. Brandon Wayne Robertson is suspected in the shooting death of Trooper in Marion County last night. Authorities say the trooper pursued Robertson until he finally pulled over. A short time later, dispatchers received a radio call from a citizen using the trooper's radio saying the officer had been shot. Robertson was last seen driving a blue Dodge Intrepid with license plate number O39-LCG. Anyone with information about Robertson or the vehicle is asked to dial 911 immediately. (Photo: Brandon Wayne Robertson)

Defense rests in Johnson murder trial
Quitman 4/24 -Attorneys are now preparing their closing arguments after the defense rested on Thursday in the trial of William Burnard Kear. Kear is being tried in the 2006 shooting death of Norman Johnson. The prosecution rested at the end of the Wednesday, but earlier, District Attorney Jim Wheeler played a recording of Kerr admitting he had killed Johnson. The recording was made when Kear testified before a grand Jury in November of 2006. The jury heard a similar admission by Kear on Tuesday when Wheeler played a 911 recording. On it, Kear said he had shot Johnson but did it in self-defense.
On Thursday, defense attorneys began the day by playing a recording made by then Deputy Terry Bevill at the scene on the day of the shooting. On it, Kear told Bevill Johnson tried to kill him with a tractor and that he shot Johnson. The defense also brought a parade of witnesses before the jury, each one testifying to Kear's "peaceable" reputation.
The case has been recessed until Monday morning and will resume at a 10 a.m. when attorneys from both sides are expected to make their closing statements.

Bass Classic Updates Here!^UPDATED!

Live scores from The Toyota Texas Bass Classic

Van Zandt ESD #2 to pay board members
Grand Saline 4/15 -Van Zandt County’s Emergency Services District in the Grand Saline area has voted to pay itself for time working for the district. The board met yesterday in Grand Saline and voted 3-2 to pay board members $50 each, for every day a board member has duties for the Emergency Services District. The first checks issued will include payments retroactive to 2007. Board Secretary Mary Ann Fisher made the motion saying that serving on the board was “definitely work.” She added that other expenses related to board activities also added up including gasoline.
    Two board members, John Teague and Harry Clifford, said they would rather have the money go to the fire department instead of their pockets.
    “I just don’t think it’s right to pay board members when we haven’t funded the fire department,” said Teague after the meeting. He and Clifford told Fisher to give their checks to the fire department and ambulance service. Teague also asked about retroactive funding for the fire department.
    “If you are going to go back and pay the board for 2007, are you going to go back and pay fire department bills for 2007,” asked Teague. “Well, put it on the agenda and lets discuss it,” replied Fisher. The board had previously declined to pay the department’s bills because the district had not collected any tax revenues.
    The board is paying some of the department’s bills now. Last night the group approved several bills submitted by the Grand Saline Volunteer Fire Department. Fisher requested the board not pay a receipt for a hot water tank the department replaced at the fire station.
    “Doesn’t the city own the building?” asked Fisher, directing her question to City Administrator Stephen Ashley. “The city should maintain the property.” Ashley said the city owns the building but does not charge the fire department rent. “They’ve always taken care of problems themselves, at their expense,” he added.
   Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night came during the first 10 minutes of the meeting when the board elected Harry Clifford its new president. Clifford immediately declined the position and the board then voted to make Teague president. Teague, who has served as president of the Grand Saline School, accepted the position. Doyle Millirons served as the board’s president until January, when county commissioners reappointed three members to the board, requiring officers to again be elected.
The board agreed to meet again next Thursday for a workshop on board procedures.

OTHER HEADLINES...click here