Tyler County News

Write a comment

Lakeside Apostolic Church was destroyed by a fire on Saturday afternoon. CHRIS EDWARDS | TCB

By Chris Edwards
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

DAM B – A weekend fire destroyed Lakeside Apostolic Church in Town Bluff. The cause of the fire is officially undetermined at present.

According to reports, the fire broke out on Saturday afternoon at the church, which is located on Highway 92, east of Dam B.

According to Lakeside Apostolic pastor Harold Davies, there was speculation that the fire might have begun in the kitchen area of the church, as a new major appliance had recently been installed.

While the cause is unknown at this time, a fire marshal will be investigating the scene, according to Dam B Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mark Holcomb.

Initially, firefighters with the Dam B VFD responded to the alarm which went out around 1 p.m., but soon after, requested additional assistance from other fire departments in the area.

Firefighters and emergency personnel from Spurger; Woodville; Beech Grove and Tri-Community responded to assist with the efforts.

The church building is a complete loss, after firefighters fought to control the blaze for more than two hours. Holcomb said that while the damage sustained to the building in the fire made it a total loss, there were, thankfully, no injuries.

Holcomb added that in addition to several fire departments showing up to assist, community members also volunteered with tasks such as handing out water bottles to the firefighters.

The church’s auxiliary building was not affected by the fire, and there were no injuries reported. Lakeside Apostolic Church is known around the region for its food distribution ministry.

Write a comment

STOCK PHOTO

By Chris Edwards
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TOWN BLUFF – The Tyler County Sheriff’s Office made a recent arrest in the Barlow Lake Estates community of a convicted felon from Hardin County who was in possession of a firearm.

According to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford, on Wednesday, Feb. 14, deputies were patrolling the area at night, along County Road 4410, when a vehicle traveling in front of the deputies came to an abrupt stop. The driver, whom they later identified as James Travis Ard, a 43-year-old Silsbee man, exited the truck and, according to Weatherford, removed what appeared to be a rifle, and throw it in the ditch.

The deputies spoke to Ard, and recovered a .22 Savage rifle, which he admitted to removing from the vehicle. He also told the deputies that he “panicked and threw the gun because he knew he was not allowed to possess a firearm,” according to Weatherford.

A check revealed that Ard was, indeed, a convicted felon, and he was taken into custody. He remains in Tyler County Jail, charged with felony possession of a firearm by a felon and felony tampering with physical evidence.

Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Mike Hughes set Ard’s bond at $20,000.

1 Comment

User Rating: 5 / 5

By Chris Edwards
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

WOODVILLE – Deputies with the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office made a pair of arrests last week in Woodville of two individuals with felony warrants, according to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford.

The deputies were made aware of two individuals from Livingston, whom they identified as Ramon Joseph Lalumandier and Christine Marie Ferris, who had active felony warrants for their arrests and were involved in some sort of disturbance at a residence.

Weatherford said that once deputies were on the scene of the residence, which was located on US 190 east, right outside of the Woodville city limits, they were able to find both Lalumandier, 28 and Ferris, 33, who were involved in the reported disturbance.

Both suspects were taken into custody on the warrants, which were out of Polk County, and booked into the Tyler County Jail. Lalumandier was charged with felony manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance (greater than four grams but less than 200 grams) and evading arrest.

District Judge Travis Kitchens has previously set a no bond on Lalumandier.

Ferris was charged with possession of marijuana; evading arrest; resisting arrest and manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance (greater than four grams but less than 200 grams). Ferris had bonds set in Polk County at $53,000 by Kitchens.

Both suspects were transferred to the Polk County Jail, where they remain in custody.

Write a comment

STOCK PHOTO

By Chris Edwards
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FRED – Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford reported that a recent arrest in Fred uncovered drugs, including LSD.

Weatherford said that deputies with the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office were patrolling in the Fred area on the night of Saturday, Feb. 17, and stopped a Ford truck along FM 92 for a traffic violation. The driver, Casey Rachelle Read, a 45-year-old woman from Silsbee, consented to having the truck searched. A passenger, Kevin Anthony Eason, 41, of Fred, was also present.

During the search, the deputies uncovered a baggie containing marijuana. Both the driver and passenger were taken into custody and transported to the Tyler County Jail on a possession of marijuana charge, for greater than two ounces.

Before entering the jail, Read admitted to having three LSD tabs on her person, hidden in her bra. Weatherford said that a female jailer was able to recover a small bag from Read containing the hallucinogenic drug, which got her a felony possession of a controlled substance charge.

Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Ken Jobe set Eason’s bond at $1,200 and Read’s at $7,500. Both have since bonded out of jail.