Tyler County News

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AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has added David Daniel Boone to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. Boone, 47, is wanted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, assault of a family/household member and a parole violation. Texas Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $7,500 for information leading to his arrest. All tips are guaranteed to be anonymous.

 Boone, of Cleburne, is affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. He’s been wanted since October 2020, when the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a warrant for a parole violation. In February 2021, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office also issued warrants for Boone’s arrest for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault of family/household member by impeding breath/circulation.

Boone is 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighs about 215 pounds and has tattoos on his chest, back, both arms, both wrists and his fingers. In addition to Cleburne, Boone has ties to Hood County. For more information or updates in the event of his arrest, view his wanted bulletin.

Texas Crime Stoppers, which is funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division, offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Fugitives or Sex Offenders. So far in 2022, DPS and other agencies have arrested 12 people off the lists, including four gang members and seven sex offenders. In addition, $32,500 in rewards has been paid for tips that yielded arrests.

To be eligible for cash rewards, tipsters MUST provide information to authorities using one of the following three methods:

Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about then clicking on the link under their picture.

Submit a Facebook tip by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).

 All tips are anonymous — regardless of how they are submitted — and tipsters will be provided a tip number instead of using a name.

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In this Booster file photo from 2019, dulcimer players enjoy a good jam session at the Festival of the Arts. The Southeast Texas Dulcimer Friends group are always a welcome presence to the eyes (and ears) of festival attendees. JIM POWERS | TCB

Dinner on the Grounds returns to festivities

From the Dogwood Publicity Committee

The Tyler County Dogwood Festival will kick off three weeks of activities with the Festival of the Arts on March 19-20.  This weekend will give visitors the opportunity to tour Heritage Village, see the Dogwood Festival exhibit, and listen to some live music. The Dogwood Festival exhibit will give visitors a chance to view coronation gowns from former queens and see various memorabilia from Dogwoods past.  Guests will have the opportunity to take a guided tour of the Clyde Gray House Museum. 

Director Oferia Gazzaway has also scheduled some wonderful exhibits to include a quilt show and a buggy and wagon exhibit.  The gate to Heritage Village opens at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 19 and the festivities will go on until 3 p.m.    

The famous Pickett House Restaurant will be cooking a delicious lunch of fried chicken, dumplings, a variety of fresh vegetables and all of the trimmings, served family style. The Pickett House will be open on Saturday, March 19 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Restaurant hours on Sunday, March 20 are from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. 

Sunday, March 20, the Village will close out the Festival of the Arts with a Dinner on the Ground from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.  Tickets will be $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12 years of age. There will be live entertainment and lots of great food and fun.

Tickets to Festival of the Arts can be obtained from any of the Tyler County Heritage Society board members, or from Sullivan’s Hardware or the Tyler County Booster.

The Dogwood Entertainment Committee invites all the little princesses to a Royal Tea on Sunday, March 20 at the Village Street Bed and Breakfast. The tea will offer a chance for young girls to meet the Royal Court, take photos with the Princesses and Ladies in Waiting, and make their very own sash.  Each little princess will also receive a crown.  Tickets are available at the door for $20. The Village Street Bed and Breakfast is located at 201 N. Village Street in Woodville. 

The Festival of the Arts is a great opportunity to learn about the culture and heritage of Tyler County and East Texas and there will be so much to see and do.  For more information regarding the festival, call the Heritage Village at 409-283-2272.

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Jesse Gomez (right) gives a quilt to Alonzo Randolph. Gomez volunteers with Quilts for Vets, an organization that makes and gives quilts to veterans. Randolph’s wife Rosemary is also pictured. CHRIS EDWARDS | TCB

By Chris Edwards
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WOODVILLE – Sociologists labelled folks of Alonzo Randolph’s demographic “The Greatest Generation,” due to their weathering of hardships such as the Great Depression and World War II.

Randolph, a Colmesneil resident, does not look nearly old enough to claim part of that group. With his tall, sturdy frame, youthful smile and super-firm handshake, Randolph appears and acts several decades younger than the milestone birthday he celebrated last Thursday.

He is a soft-spoken man who enjoys a good laugh and conversation and he got to enjoy a great deal of laughter, telling stories and celebration of birthday number 102. This occasion was celebrated with a party and a couple of special commendations for his service to his country.

Randolph is a World War II Army combat veteran. He served in the Army as a Staff Sgt. and was a combat engineer who served in the China-Burma-India Theater. 

He was joined on Thursday by his wife, Rosemary and several friends, family members and well-wishers who simply wanted to come to meet and shake the hand of one of the Greatest Generation.

The county veterans’ service office hosted the party for Randolph at the Nutrition Center in Woodville. Along with cards and gifts, Randolph also received a special certificate from U.S. Rep. Brian Babin (R-Woodville) commending him for his service. Sarah Blacksher from Babin’s office presented him with the document. 

Jose Narvaez, a Marine Corps veteran who volunteers his time to give elderly veterans birthday parties, was also on hand. He presented Randolph with a medal that celebrated his service in working on the Burma road from India to China.

Narvaez said that when he first met Randolph, he was amazed at what he told him, about his service, as he’d not met many vets who’d been a part of the Burma campaign.

When Narvaez handed Randolph the case with the medal inside, the birthday boy was visibly moved and stunned. 

Randolph said it was something he had been looking for, and waiting to receive, for more than 60 years.

“Those medals are hard to get,” Narvaez said. “I looked for a long time for a campaign medal and ribbon for him.”

Narvaez was present two years ago when Babin and State Rep. James White helped Randolph celebrate his 100th birthday, with commendations and a flag that had flown over the nation’s capitol.

White, an Army veteran himself, remarked that meeting and speaking with a hale and hearty older veteran like Randolph made him want to grab his gunny sack and get back into the field. 

Babin, also a military veteran, said last week that it is a great privilege to represent an American hero like Randolph in Congress.

Tina Cleberg, the county’s veterans’ service officer, said it was an honor to help Randolph celebrate his birthday and said “He’s just a great guy.”

For all of the commendations and recognition, Randolph was humbled and grateful, but the chance to enjoy some fellowship with folks like John Allen Bean and Wilbert Barnett, among others, on Thursday, may have been the best gift of all, judging by his laughter and smile.

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From Staff Reports

A late morning crash that occurred near Colmesneil on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 9, claimed two lives.

According to Texas Department of Public Safety Sergeant Shana Clark, the crash occurred shortly after 11 a.m. on US 287 at the FM 256 turnoff, which is located six miles northwest of Woodville and between Woodville and Colmesneil.

According to Clark’s report, a 2020 Kia SUV was westbound on FM 256 when the driver failed to yield to the right-of-way at the intersection and pulled out in front of a fully loaded log truck, which was northbound on 287.

Clark said the log truck hit the driver side of the Kia and rolled over into a ditch. 

The driver and the passenger of the SUV, who were later identified as John and Pamela Crenshaw, ages 71 and 62, respectively, of Brookeland, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the log truck was identified as Christopher Faulkenberry, 31, of Woodville. He was not injured.