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January 10, 2020 - The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch for Shelby County and surrounding areas.
As of 5:30pm Tornado Watch 5 is in effect until 2am CST for the following locations:
Texas Counties included are:
Angelina, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, Marion, Morris, Nacogdoches, Panola, Red River, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Upshur, Wood
January 10, 2020 - The intersection of U.S. Highways 84 and 59 in Timpson was the scene of a major two-vehicle crash involving an 18-wheeler and passenger car, which resulted in the death of one driver involved.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), emergency personnel responded to a two vehicle crash Thursday night, January 9, 2020 at the intersection of US 59 and US 84, inside the city limits of Timpson.
The preliminary crash investigation indicates at approximately 9:50 p.m., a 1997 Honda passenger car failed to yield right of way from US 84 and was struck by a southbound 2019 Freightliner truck-tractor semi-trailer.
The driver of the Honda is identified as Dezmond McKinney, 27, from Mansfield, LA. McKinney was pronounced deceased at the scene by Justice of the Peace Precinct 5 Tracy Broadway.
The driver of the Freightliner is identified as Maksym Kabakov, 50, from Des Plaines, IL. Kabakov was not injured as a result of the crash.
No additional information is available at this time.
Emergency personnel with the Timpson Volunteer Fire Department, Ambulance Service, Shelby County Sheriff's Deputies were on scene and assisted Texas Department of Public Safety State Troopers with their investigation.
Additional damage to the car in the picture was incurred with the use of Jaws of Life to extricate the driver.
Volunteer firemen assisted wrecker personnel in moving the car involved by utilizing Jaws of Life on the car.
January 10, 2020 - A Hazardous Weather Outlook was issued by the National Weather Service Shreveport, LA, at 11:29am CST on Friday, January 10, 2020.
This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of south central Arkansas, southwest Arkansas, north central Louisiana, northwest Louisiana, east Texas and northeast Texas including Miller, Lafayette, Columbia, Union, Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Claiborne, Lincoln, De Soto, Red River, Bienville, Jackson, Ouachita, Sabine, Natchitoches, Winn, Grant, Caldwell, La Salle, Bowie, Franklin, Titus, Camp, Morris, Cass, Wood, Upshur, Marion, Smith, Gregg, Harrison, Cherokee, Rusk, Panola, Nacogdoches, Shelby, Angelina, and San Augustine.
DAY ONE... This Afternoon and Tonight
Storms will begin to develop as early as this afternoon across portions of the region. Some of these storms will produce widespread damaging winds, tornadoes, large hail, and locally heavy rainfall, especially with the mail line of storms that will move through tonight. The severe weather threat will diminish from west to east across the region late tonight and early Saturday morning.
DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... Saturday through Thursday
Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms will return the region Monday through Wednesday. However, no hazardous weather is expected.
SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
Activation of emergency managers, amateur radio operators, and storm spotters, will be needed this afternoon and tonight.
January 9, 2020 - A Hazardous Weather Outlook has been issued by the National Weather Service, Shreveport, LA at 11:48am CST on Thursday, January 9, 2020.
This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of south central Arkansas, southwest Arkansas, north central Louisiana, northwest Louisiana, east Texas and northeast Texas for the following: Little River, Miller, Lafayette, Columbia, Union, Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Claiborne, Lincoln, De Soto, Red River, Bienville, Jackson, Ouachita, Sabine, Natchitoches, Winn, Grant, Caldwell, La Salle, Bowie, Franklin, Titus, Camp, Morris, Cass, Wood, Upshur, Marion, Smith, Gregg, Harrison, Cherokee, Rusk, Panola, Nacogdoches, Shelby, Angelina, and San Augustine.
DAY ONE... This Afternoon and Tonight
Showers and isolated thunderstorms will be increasing across the region later today into tonight. These storms are not expected to be strong or severe. However, strong southerly winds will be present today through tonight with sustained winds near 15 to 20 mph with higher gusts in some locations. The strongest winds will be located across all of Northeast Texas and the western third of Northwest Louisiana through tonight.
DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... Friday through Wednesday
A vigorous upper level storm system will be moving towards the region late Friday through Friday Night bringing with it the potential for severe thunderstorms and excessive heavy rainfall. Damaging wind gusts, tornadoes and large hail will be possible during this time frame. While there will be an isolated flash flood threat Friday through Friday Night, the greater threat appears to be north of the region during this timeframe. The severe weather should be east of the region Saturday Morning.
SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
Activation of emergency management personnel... amateur radio operators... and storm spotters will not be needed through Thursday Night but will definitely be required Friday through Saturday morning.
January 9, 2020 – Employees of Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO), an American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) company, are standing ready to respond to winter storms, and 150 additional field personnel have been called to the area.
A powerful storm system capable of producing winds of up to 60 mph is forecast to move across the Ark-La-Tex late Friday and early Saturday. Through its network of mutual aid, SWEPCO has 150 utility workers from Ft. Worth, Abilene and Austin, Texas to assist with power restoration.
Always assume that any downed utility line is energized and stay away. Report downed lines immediately to SWEPCO at 1-888-218-3919.
How to report, track outages
- Use the SWEPCO app, available for download via the App Store or Google Play.
- Call 1-888-218-3919 to report your outage.
- Sign up for text and email updates, including estimated time of restoration, at SWEPCO.com/Alerts.
- Visit SWEPCO.com/OutageMap to find detailed information without logging into your account.
About Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO)
SWEPCO, an American Electric Power (AEP: NYSE) company, serves more than 536,000 customers in western Arkansas, northwest and central Louisiana, northeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle. SWEPCO’s headquarters are in Shreveport, La. News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at SWEPCO.com. Connect with us at Facebook.com/SWEPCO, Twitter.com/SWEPCOnews, Youtube.com/SWEPCOtv and SWEPCOConnections.com.
About American Electric Power (AEP)
American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP’s approximately 18,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 219,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 32,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including about 5,200 megawatts of renewable energy. AEP’s family of companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, East Texas and the Texas Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners, and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. For more information, visit aep.com.
January 8, 2020 - State Highway 7 (SH7) just east of the Center Municipal Airport was the scene of a major two-vehicle crash early Wednesday, January 8, 2020 resulting in medical helicopter transport being necessary for some involved.
The Center Fire Department was dispatched to the location at 6:35am for traffic control and when they arrived determined Jaws of Life was necessary to facilitate extrication from a Ford Edge involved in the crash.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Jonathan Stinson, a grey 2009 Ford Edge driven by Tiffany Lynne Mayfield, 26, of Joaquin, was westbound on SH7 when she failed to control speed and struck the rear of a maroon 2018 Dodge Ram driven by James Craig Beasley, 50, of Marshall.
The Dodge was stopped for a school bus on the opposite side of the roadway which had been loading passengers. Both vehicles incurred major damage and remained in the middle of both traffic lanes following the collision.
Mayfield and a 2-year-old passenger were life-flighted by helicopter to LSU hospital for treatment of their injuries.
Beasley was not reported to have received injury as a result of the crash.
Mayfield was cited for failure to control speed and child safety belt.
Center Fire Department fire personnel, Shelby County Sheriff's Deputies and Center ISD Police Department personnel directed traffic at the scene of the crash until it was clear.
January 8, 2020 Lufkin District — Texas Transportation Commissioners recently approved speed limit changes in two counties within the Lufkin District.
Angelina County: The speed limit on FM 1819 from SH 103 to SH 7 was approved for change from 50 miles per hour to 40 mph.
Sabine County: The speed limit on SH 184 from FM 1 to the City of Hemphill city limits was approved for change from 70 mph to 65 mph. These new speed limits will be enforceable once signs are set. The limits were approved after a speed study and traffic investigation were conducted at each location to determine a safe and reasonable maximum speed.
Motorists are urged to stay alert for the new signage indicating the speed limits. For more information regarding road conditions and closures statewide. visit drivetexas org For more information regarding this and other Lufkin District projects. contact Rhonda.Oaksl&txdot gov or call (936) 633-4395.
January 5, 2020 - A number of night flying aircraft flew over the Shelby County area Sunday, January 5, 2020 with a number of witnesses.
Both the Center Police Department and Shelby County Sheriff's Department had several reports of the aircraft. The Center Police Department had one particular report come from the vicinity of Tenaha Street and Hurst Street.
Shelby County Today witnessed six of the aircraft flying over the vicinity of Loop 500 and State Highway 7 West in Center. A brief video captured several of the aircraft as three were traveling in a north-northwest direction while two appeared to be heading west and a sixth traveled in a more northern direction. It also appeared each of the wings had a white flashing light at the end.
Anyone with knowledge of what the craft may be, and where you may have witnessed them, please share your story with Shelby County Today.
The video and photos below are from viewers Sandra Olalde and Alvaro Palacios who were traveling on FM 2026 heding into Center when they saw the aircraft at 6:29pm.
January 3, 2020 - U.S. Highway 84 outside of Timpson was the location of a major single-vehicle crash January 1, 2020.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Jonathan Stinson, at 10:20am a white 2016 Volvo SUV driven by Jared Wiggins, 22, of Timpson was westbound on U.S. Highway 84 at an unsafe speed.
Wiggins failed to drive in a single lane and traveled off the westbound shoulder. The Volvo continued westbound and vaulted across a culvert 113 feet and rolled several times before coming to rest against a tree on its right and top.
Wiggins was transported by air support to Trinity Mother Frances, a major trauma center hospital in Tyler, for treatment. He is listed in stable condition.
The crash investigation is pending due to suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
The driver was issued citations for fail to drive in a single lane, unsafe speed and driving while intoxicated 1st offense (pending DWI investigation).
January 1, 2020 - The City of Center Public Water System, PWS #2100001, will be conducting water system maintenance beginning January 1, 2020, and lasting until January 31, 2020. The system will be switching to free chlorine as its main disinfection.
This maintenance which is not a requirement, but is the recommended course of action set by the TCEQ/EPA for the accumulation of disinfection byproducts.
This is a routine maintenance procedure performed to help reduce unstable water conditions in our system and insure the highest quality of water being delivered to our customers.
During this maintenance period you may notice an odor or slight discoloration, but the safety of the water will not be affected. City maintenance crews and the Fire Department will also be aggressively flushing hydrants throughout the City’s distribution system.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact our Public Works Department at 936-598-5241.
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