Polk County News

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A fire Sunday near Goodrich was extinguished a few times and has one firefighter battling injuries in the hospital.

“It is the old Shell pump station, where those tanks are sitting about two or three miles west of Goodrich,” Livingston Fire Chief Corky Cochran explained. “On the back side of that complex outside of the fence, they had a transformer that blew up and dropped fire down in the grass. The wind and breeze was blowing out of the north and it pushed the fire into the complex and covered a pretty large area of a couple of acres. It didn’t burn any structures, but it threatened getting outside of that fenced area, which could have carried it on to some houses.”

The fire chief said the flames were maintained in the vegetation and wooded areas, and did not reach structures within the facility. Firefighters remained at the scene for three hours trying to extinguish hotspots.

“When we left there, there was not a trickle of smoke anywhere,” Cochran said. “Then, (Monday) morning about 5:30 a.m., we got a call that some of that vegetation had reignited. They had to go back out there for a couple of hours and doused it down.”

Departments from Livingston, Goodrich, Holiday Lake Estates, and Scenic Loop all responded to the fire, while Onalaska VFD traveled to Livingston to cover that area for the LVFD in case of a call. Camilla VFD also was on the scene for Monday morning’s call.

One Goodrich volunteer firefighter was injured Sunday. Ryan Nelson was said to be pinned between a tree and brush truck, and is currently in stable condition, according to family members. He is expected to have an extensive recovery with several injuries, under hospital care after being airlifted to Kingwood.

Cochran said that Nelson, his family, and the Goodrich Fire Department should be in everyone’s thoughts and prayers.

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A wanted man on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon has been located and arrested.

In June, officers with the Livingston Police Department responded to the 100 block of Pan American Drive, in reference to a disturbance in progress.

Upon arrival, the officers made contact with a victim who stated he had been hit in the back of the head with a handgun by an unknown Hispanic male. Officers learned the suspect had fled the scene, but dropped the handgun in the parking lot. That handgun was recovered by officers.

Witnesses at the scene were able to provide officers with a license plate of the vehicle in which the suspect fled.

Through investigation, the suspect was identified as Alfredo Robles Ortiz, 18, of Goodrich. An arrest warrant was then drafted for Ortiz.

Ortiz was finally located and arrested Monday on the warrant. He is currently being held on a $50,000 bond at the Polk County Jail.

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From Enterprise Staff

The Livington Community Concert Association will host its first performance of the 2023-2024 concert season with Key of G Live! The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Polk County Commerce Center located at 1017 U.S. Hwy. 59 Loop North in Livingston.

Key of G Live! is a tribute to Garth Brooks, featuring AJ Bisto. Bisto was born and raised in Minnesota and has been singing since he could talk. His first gig was at age five when he sang at his cousin’s wedding. By age eight, he was filling in on lead vocals for the house band at the local American Legion and continued singing through his high school years for several bands. In addition to those performances, he also was showcased in multiple lead roles in school musicals. Even more impressive, by age 16 he had started his own vocal business for weddings and events called “A J loves to perform live!”

In 2015, Bisto and his wife Josie moved to Nashville to be closer to the music scene. Since then, he has had the opportunity to open for acts such as Jamie O’Neal, Ty Herndon, Andy Griggs and Anita Cochran. He enjoys playing at the various local venues in Nashville.

The inspiration for Key of G Live! developed after Bisto was recruited by a cruise line to perform as Garth for one of its variety shows. Due to his natural vocal having an uncanny resemblance to the sound of Garth Brooks, he has been encouraged by numerous industry professionals to create a tribute show to the number one solo selling artist of all time.

The Officers and Board of Directors of Livingston Community Concert Association are excited to open the season with this amazing tribute to Garth Brooks.

Membership in the Livingston Community Concert Association may be purchased for as little as $50 per person and family rates are also available. Membership will allow one to attend all concerts per season. For additional information go to www.livingstoncommunityconcert.org or contact Sally Frasier at 936-967-0219.

 

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From Enterprise Staff

Lynnie Ray Chatman pleaded guilty to murder on Aug. 30 and was sentenced to 32 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the Nov. 16, 2021, death of his father, Leonard Chatman.

The Polk County Sheriff’s office was called to the scene on Nov. 18, 2021 where Leonard Chatman’s body was located and his vehicle was missing. The vehicle was listed as stolen and investigators learned it had been involved in a hit and run the day before in Liberty County. Polk County investigators located video footage near the scene of the hit and run and observed Lynnie Chatman fleeing the accident on foot. Lynnie Chatman was also identified using the victim’s credit card at stores in the area. A warrant was obtained and Lynnie Chatman was arrested and interviewed about his father’s death.

Investigators believe Leonard arrived home to find Lynnie at his property and an argument ensued. During this argument Lynnie beat his father, stole his father’s vehicle, cell phone and credit cards. Leonard was unable to call for assistance and succumbed to his injuries.

The Polk County District Attorney’s Office, with the agreement of the family, offered a plea bargain of 32 years in prison with no right of appeal. A member of the family gave a victim impact statement prior to Lynnie leaving the courtroom. Because of the nature of the charge, Lynnie Chatman will have to serve at least half of his sentence day for day before becoming eligible for parole.