|

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
SEARCH FOR MORE NEWS AND INFO...click here
|