Tyler County News

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COURTESY PHOTO | TERRY BABINO The Warren ISD Tribe Tribute for April went to Gladys Mitchell from the WISD Food Services Department who was praised as being a model employee and "cooking from the heart". (Left to right front row) Scott Mitchell, Tammy Heriard, Gladys Mitchell, Stephen Mitchell, Dr. Tammy Boyette (Left to right back row) Kimen Johnson, Clay Brown, Steve Moore, Rocky Burks, Burt Moore, Billie Read.

By Caleb Fortenberry

WARREN – At its most recent monthly board meeting, the Warren ISD board of trustees voted for the mask mandate to be lifted, it passed.

After Gov. Greg Abbott made Executive Order-GA 34 allowing school boards to determine their school’s mask policy, many schools in Texas jumped to remove the policy.

The board voted to make masks optional effective Monday May 17, nearly seven days before some graduation ceremonies will take place.

COURTESY PHOTO | TERRY BABINO UIL District, Regional, and/or State Qualifier Honorees (Left to right front row) Dr. Tammy Boyette, Brianne Dean, Isabell Stanford, Ty Lambert, Bryce Dean, Julia Drake, James Swinney (Left to right back row) Kimen Johnson, Clay Brown, Steve Moore, Rocky Burks, Burt Moore, Billie Read.

WISD superintendent Dr. Tammy Boyette released a letter with the following information covering the frequently asked questions of the matter.

• Masks will be a matter of personal choice for employees and students beginning on Monday, May 17
• Daily self-screening for COVID-19 symptoms is still required for all employees and students
• Employees and students remain subject to existing requirements for self-reporting and quarantining
• The current TEA definition of “close contact” remains in effect and is enforceable for all employees and students
• Students required to quarantine will be allowed to attend school remotely
• The district will continue to provide notice to parents of known positive COVID-19 cases and to monitor data associated with case prevalence
• The district will continue to provide hand sanitizer and maintain existing cleaning protocols
• To the extent possible, schools will continue to exercise social distancing practices at lunch, common areas and in the classroom in order to reduce the likelihood that students meet the close contact definition
• Buses will open windows to allow for improved air circulation while in transit
• Indoor school visits will continue to be restricted to only those essential to school operations
• To the extent possible, principals will provide events for end-of year celebrations that can be held outdoors to accommodate family attendance
• TEA requires that screening protocols be in place for entrance into all WISD sponsored events
• Medically fragile students may submit a waiver with accompanying medical documentation to opt in to the At-Home learning platform for the remainder of the school year, if they so choose

Other Business:

• The TEA 2021-2022 Allotment and TEKS certification were approved
• Burke Dagle was approved as the “designated asbestos manager” for Warren ISD

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CHRIS EDWARDS | TCB Ivanhoe City Marshal Terry Riley with Yaya.

By Chris Edwards

IVANHOE – Much like the animated bloodhound in the 1980s named McGruff who reminded kids to “take a bite out of crime,” there are some canine law enforcers who are doing just that in Tyler County.

According to Deputy Marshal Michael “Mike” King with the Ivanhoe Marshal’s Office, the three recently added canine deputies to the department’s ranks are “earning their kibble.” The canine deputies, named Yaya, Baby and Duke, have, in the short time they’ve been active on the streets, netted three felony charges for possession of controlled substances and one of the canines (Duke) is certified in explosives detection.

Both Yaya and Baby are certified narcotics detection dogs and are the canine counterparts of Chief Marshal Terry Riley and King, respectively.

The human officer counterparts (K9s) and the dogs both endure rigorous testing and training on an ongoing basis in order to protect and serve their communities. Along with narcotics detection and explosive identification, the dogs are also extremely useful in search-and-rescue operations and pursuing fleeing suspects.

Riley and King also recently attended a canine first-aid course, which allows the dogs to be life-flighted by Hermann Memorial Life Flight if they are seriously injured in the line of duty.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IVANHOE MARSHAL’S OFFICE Ivanhoe Deputy Marshal Mike King with Baby.

Yaya was obtained last November by Riley and trained by Ivanhoe resident Michael Hadnot. More recently, Warren resident and businessman Neil Alderman sponsored the narcotics training of Baby. Alderman said he learned during the last election cycle that there were no narcotics dogs working in the county, and said he wanted to ensure there were canine officers available to help out the different school districts in the county, along with other law enforcement agencies in tackling the drug issues facing the area.

The Marshal’s Office reported that it has responded to 130 calls for service, assistance or criminal activity for each month since the beginning of the year, and the presence of the canine officers has helped immensely.

Along with the canine officers, Riley recently added another officer to the department, longtime Tyler County lawman Jim Zachary, who will serve as a Deputy Marshal.

Zachary recently retired from his post as Pct. 4 Constable, which his son, Zach, won in the last election. “With the addition of Deputy Zachary, the Marshal’s Office personnel has over a combined 100 years of law enforcement experience,” Riley said.

The Marshal’s Office has also forged working relationship with other agencies, including the DEA Narcotics Task Force. According to King, although it is small in number, the Marshal’s Office of Ivanhoe is a full-service law enforcement agency capable of handling everything from traffic incidents to serious criminal violations, all on a small operating budget.

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COURTESY PHOTO Pete Lammons trading card as a New York Jet

By Chris Edwards

A man who drowned in Lake Sam Rayburn on Thursday was identified on Friday by authorities as that of Peter Spencer “Pete” Lammons, Jr., a 77-year-old Houston man who was once an NFL athlete.

Lammons, who was reportedly an avid outdoorsman, was fishing in the Major League Fishing’s Toyota Tournament when the incident occurred on Thursday. According to Texas Parks & Wildlife, the drowning occurred near San Augustine Park, which is located on the east side of the lake, seven miles southwest of Pineland. The drowning in the second that has occurred in the region during this week. On Sunday, 18-year-old Richard Tyler Johnston, of Hemphill, drowned in Dam B.

Texas Parks & Wildlife game wardens recovered his body by using sonar, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, according to a press release from Major League Fishing. The accident occurred when Lammons fell overboard at the dock while preparing to fish in the tournament, according to MLF.

Lammons was a native of Crockett and played football for Jacksonville High School in the late 1950s and early ‘60s before he matriculated to the University of Texas in Austin and played as a Longhorn. He was drafted as an eighth-round pick by the New York Jets in the 1966 AFL draft, according to ESPN, where he played as a tight-end through 1971. He finished his career as one of the Green Bay Packers in 1972.

Pete Lammons as UT Longhorn courtesy of UT

Lammons was a starting defensive player on the Jets’ Super Bowl III championship team, and he was also a part of the UT 1963 national championship team under legendary coach Darrell Royal.

Lammons also played for another legendary coach, Bum Phillips, as a high school freshman. Phillips was then head coach at Jacksonville High School. Years later, the two men met again on the sidelines of the 1967 AFL All-Star Game.

According to Lammons’s nephew Lance, his uncle had been fatigued from two recent stent surgeries and tripped as he was about to board the boat, fell into the lake and could not be saved.

After his football career, Lammons was involved in real estate and horse racing. He was also a professional angler, and had competed in more than 50 of the MLF tournaments.

On a story about Lammons’s death on the New York Jets’ official website, his nephew is quoted as saying that “Pete wanted Jacksonville to have his Super Bowl ring and his National Championship ring from the University of Texas.”

Lammons also has a scholarship named in his honor for Jacksonville HS graduates.

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FILE PHOTO LE Flashing Lights

By Chris Edwards

DAM B – A Sabine County teenager drowned on Sunday afternoon while fishing at Dam B, according to Jasper County Sheriff Mitchel Newman.

Richard Tyler Johnston, 18, of Hemphill, was reportedly fishing near the spillway at the reservoir. The incident was reported right before 7 p.m., and volunteers from the Jasper County Emergency Corps, as well as others, were dispatched to the location, on the lake’s south end. The volunteers, along with officers from the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife and the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department arrived on the scene, and game wardens from TPW recovered Johnston’s body.

According to Newman, the body was recovered from an area between the floodgates and the Willis Hydroelectric Unit. Johnston was pronounced dead at the scene by Jasper County Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Raymond Hopson.

Hopson said that he requested an autopsy be performed.

According to Newman, from the preliminary investigation, it appears that Johnston, along with others, walked to the location where the incident was reported, from the east side of the dam. Johnston was reportedly there on a fishing trip.

Johnston’s family has established a Go Fund Me page to raise money for his funeral expenses. According to the site, Johnston had turned 18 in December, and he had only begun working and had no life insurance.

His father preceded him in death, and the family wishes to bury him next to his late father, as they believe it is what he would have wanted.