Posted 10:26 am Wednesday, November 16, 2011
The Investigators Follow Up On Previous News Stories
KYTX CBS 19 VIDEO
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
and MICHELE REESE
KYTX CBS 19
The look of desperation that once filled 71-year-old Ethel Foley's face has been replaced by a room-lighting smile.
Ms. Foley said she no longer worries about where she would move after her former landlord failed to meet standard requirements for subsidized housing.
Earlier this year, Ms. Foley was living in an apartment with no heat and using a gas oven to keep warm.
“I used to have to sleep with my stove on, but now I don't have to do that,” Ms. Foley, featured in a Tyler Morning Telegraph story in April, said from the couch of her new home. “It's a big change — a whole lot better than I used to have.”
Staff Writer
and MICHELE REESE
KYTX CBS 19
The look of desperation that once filled 71-year-old Ethel Foley's face has been replaced by a room-lighting smile.
Ms. Foley said she no longer worries about where she would move after her former landlord failed to meet standard requirements for subsidized housing.
Earlier this year, Ms. Foley was living in an apartment with no heat and using a gas oven to keep warm.
“I used to have to sleep with my stove on, but now I don't have to do that,” Ms. Foley, featured in a Tyler Morning Telegraph story in April, said from the couch of her new home. “It's a big change — a whole lot better than I used to have.”
Ms. Foley was one of the voices in The Investigators, first piece, “Run Down Rentals,” which looked at housing conditions in Tyler and the surrounding areas.
Since the story, Ms. Foley was sued by her former landlord for non-payment and paid the woman $200 to get past the problem.
“I just wanted to be done with that, so I paid her,” she said. “I'm in my new place now, and they fix things when they need to be repaired and they change my smoke alarm batteries and make sure I'm safe. I've also got heat and air now where before I had to deal with the heat and the cold. Everything has fallen into place for me.”
Since the story, Ms. Foley was sued by her former landlord for non-payment and paid the woman $200 to get past the problem.
“I just wanted to be done with that, so I paid her,” she said. “I'm in my new place now, and they fix things when they need to be repaired and they change my smoke alarm batteries and make sure I'm safe. I've also got heat and air now where before I had to deal with the heat and the cold. Everything has fallen into place for me.”
While Ms. Foley is receiving federal grant monies to help subsidize her rent through the city of Tyler, there are hundreds waiting on a list that sees little movement.
Susan Guthrie, city of Tyler spokeswoman, said the most common way for the list to fluctuate is by the death of one of the people already being assisted through the program.
“There are several ways for people to be removed from the list, but the most common way is people passing away or moving out of the area,” she said.
Ms. Guthrie said there have been no changes or plans to address changes in how landlords keep up their property as Tyler is set up for property rights of individuals over government regulation.
“If we did something like that then it would probably cause rental rates in the city to rise,” she said.
Susan Guthrie, city of Tyler spokeswoman, said the most common way for the list to fluctuate is by the death of one of the people already being assisted through the program.
“There are several ways for people to be removed from the list, but the most common way is people passing away or moving out of the area,” she said.
Ms. Guthrie said there have been no changes or plans to address changes in how landlords keep up their property as Tyler is set up for property rights of individuals over government regulation.
“If we did something like that then it would probably cause rental rates in the city to rise,” she said.
SEX OFFENDERS
In May, The Investigators looked at sex offenders on local college campuses and were surprised to learn a sex offender was on the Student Council at The University of Texas at Tyler.
The offender, who did not register with campus police until media attention highlighted his case, spoke candidly about his situation.
Jamie Newburn told The Investigators he should not be considered a sex offender, though his intended victim was 14 at the time he traveled by bus to meet her in California.
Newburn remains a student on campus, but officials have corrected a link on the university's website that was broken.
The link was supposed to direct students to the Texas Department of Public Safety's website detailing where sex offenders live and or go to school, but it did not work at the time the story was done.
As part of the The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, colleges and universities are supposed to provide information on crime stats and known sex offenders on college campuses.
Officials at UT Tyler said the problem was DPS had changed the URL to the site.
UT Tyler officials said also they looked into performing background checks on potential students, but the school has given up doing such checks after learning of the difficulties.
“We do not have sufficient resources to conduct a comprehensive background check,” said Beverly Golden, university spokeswoman. “As a result, we could only get information for criminal incidents occurring in Texas, not the nation. Also, if the crime were committed prior to the age of 18, that information may not be included as juvenile records are often sealed.”
Tyler Junior College and Kilgore College officials have made no changes to their policies despite Kilgore officials telling The Investigators they wanted to have sex offenders report in with campus police on a quarterly basis instead of a yearly required visit.
The offender, who did not register with campus police until media attention highlighted his case, spoke candidly about his situation.
Jamie Newburn told The Investigators he should not be considered a sex offender, though his intended victim was 14 at the time he traveled by bus to meet her in California.
Newburn remains a student on campus, but officials have corrected a link on the university's website that was broken.
The link was supposed to direct students to the Texas Department of Public Safety's website detailing where sex offenders live and or go to school, but it did not work at the time the story was done.
As part of the The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, colleges and universities are supposed to provide information on crime stats and known sex offenders on college campuses.
Officials at UT Tyler said the problem was DPS had changed the URL to the site.
UT Tyler officials said also they looked into performing background checks on potential students, but the school has given up doing such checks after learning of the difficulties.
“We do not have sufficient resources to conduct a comprehensive background check,” said Beverly Golden, university spokeswoman. “As a result, we could only get information for criminal incidents occurring in Texas, not the nation. Also, if the crime were committed prior to the age of 18, that information may not be included as juvenile records are often sealed.”
Tyler Junior College and Kilgore College officials have made no changes to their policies despite Kilgore officials telling The Investigators they wanted to have sex offenders report in with campus police on a quarterly basis instead of a yearly required visit.
TISD POLICE
In July, the team looked at the police budget for the Tyler Independent School District and asked why the district was spending $1.1 million on police when districts across the state were facing budget woes.
Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid said the department was needed, but added some changes were in the works. One such change left the department without a chief of police to save some money.
Since the story, TISD officers have responded to 1,098 calls at all campuses and 212 at Robert E Lee High School and 216 calls at John Tyler High School.
Last school year there were 1,416 calls answered by TISD officers at the various campuses in the district.
Laura Jackson, the district's communication director, said Tuesday the district has cut $35,000 from the TISD police budget since the beginning of the school year.
Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid said the department was needed, but added some changes were in the works. One such change left the department without a chief of police to save some money.
Since the story, TISD officers have responded to 1,098 calls at all campuses and 212 at Robert E Lee High School and 216 calls at John Tyler High School.
Last school year there were 1,416 calls answered by TISD officers at the various campuses in the district.
Laura Jackson, the district's communication director, said Tuesday the district has cut $35,000 from the TISD police budget since the beginning of the school year.
BOOTLEGGERS
In July, The Investigators went with Tyler SWAT team members as they raided a local pool hall at 917 W. Morris St. where bootleggers had operated in the past.
The story looked at the number of bootlegging cases in Tyler and how illegal alcohol sales were not only happening in the city on a small scale, but how one man used a pool hall to sell thousands of dollars worth of alcohol.
William “Junebug” Coleman turned himself in the same day after he learned police had an arrest warrant for him for attempting to sell 98 bottles of malt liquor, 540 bottles of beer, 49 bottles of vodka and 53 bottles of various liquors, including brandy, gin and whiskey.
Coleman was indicted Thursday by a Smith County grand jury and will now have to face felony charges for selling alcohol without a license.
The story also detailed residents' pleas with police to rid their neighborhoods of bootleggers and cut down on the traffic in the neighborhoods.
Police also talked to a woman on Owens Avenue, where officers found 13 30-packs of beer, one box of Budweiser Light containing 24 beers, two sacks with nine Budweiser Lights in each sack and one box of Budweiser containing 18 beers, for a total of 480 cans.
The woman allowed police to enter her home without a warrant and let the officers seize the alcohol in exchange for not being arrested.
Tyler police spokesman Don Martin said though there have been no new arrests for bootlegging in the city, teams were still checking tips and working cases.
The story looked at the number of bootlegging cases in Tyler and how illegal alcohol sales were not only happening in the city on a small scale, but how one man used a pool hall to sell thousands of dollars worth of alcohol.
William “Junebug” Coleman turned himself in the same day after he learned police had an arrest warrant for him for attempting to sell 98 bottles of malt liquor, 540 bottles of beer, 49 bottles of vodka and 53 bottles of various liquors, including brandy, gin and whiskey.
Coleman was indicted Thursday by a Smith County grand jury and will now have to face felony charges for selling alcohol without a license.
The story also detailed residents' pleas with police to rid their neighborhoods of bootleggers and cut down on the traffic in the neighborhoods.
Police also talked to a woman on Owens Avenue, where officers found 13 30-packs of beer, one box of Budweiser Light containing 24 beers, two sacks with nine Budweiser Lights in each sack and one box of Budweiser containing 18 beers, for a total of 480 cans.
The woman allowed police to enter her home without a warrant and let the officers seize the alcohol in exchange for not being arrested.
Tyler police spokesman Don Martin said though there have been no new arrests for bootlegging in the city, teams were still checking tips and working cases.
GERATRIC PRISONERS
In October, the series looked at the rising cost of caring for geraitric prisoners in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
With a state senator championing for discharging sick and dying inmates to save a sizeable portion of the annual $465 million budget spent on prisoner health care, others have cried foul, believing legislators would be cutting the legs out from under Texas juries and judges that sentence felons to prison terms.
Since the story, inmates have started a petition to have legislators save the state money by releasing inmates who are 50 years old or older with 20 years served on their sentences. The plan, as laid out by inmates, would save the state $33,000 per inmate released.
However, TDJC officials said that though costs might be high in caring for aged inmates, the outcome of releasing potentially dangerous felons on the streets is not something they want to do and something they would fight against.
Family members of murder and sexual assault victims also have said they do not want these men to be released from prison.
Courtney Tanner said Fred Durrough took her father's life and she wanted him to remain in prison for his actions.
She was upset to see Durrough had talked to The Investigators about being released and earning his freedom.
“He took my father's life and he deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life,” she said.
Mrs. Tanner's father's murder and subsequent trials of Durrough was one case that led to the victim impact statements being read after a guilty verdict in a trial.
She said she was on the panel that helped create this piece of legislation giving victims a voice.
“Yes, there is an expense, but it is an expense that we need to pay to keep the public safe from people like this man,” she said.
With a state senator championing for discharging sick and dying inmates to save a sizeable portion of the annual $465 million budget spent on prisoner health care, others have cried foul, believing legislators would be cutting the legs out from under Texas juries and judges that sentence felons to prison terms.
Since the story, inmates have started a petition to have legislators save the state money by releasing inmates who are 50 years old or older with 20 years served on their sentences. The plan, as laid out by inmates, would save the state $33,000 per inmate released.
However, TDJC officials said that though costs might be high in caring for aged inmates, the outcome of releasing potentially dangerous felons on the streets is not something they want to do and something they would fight against.
Family members of murder and sexual assault victims also have said they do not want these men to be released from prison.
Courtney Tanner said Fred Durrough took her father's life and she wanted him to remain in prison for his actions.
She was upset to see Durrough had talked to The Investigators about being released and earning his freedom.
“He took my father's life and he deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life,” she said.
Mrs. Tanner's father's murder and subsequent trials of Durrough was one case that led to the victim impact statements being read after a guilty verdict in a trial.
She said she was on the panel that helped create this piece of legislation giving victims a voice.
“Yes, there is an expense, but it is an expense that we need to pay to keep the public safe from people like this man,” she said.
