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Update: At 1150 PM CDT, a large and extremely dangerous tornado was located near Converse, or 22 miles south of Mansfield, moving northeast at 50 mph.
Update: At 1142 PM CDT, a large and extremely dangerous tornado was located 9miles east of Patroon, or 23 miles southeast of Center, moving northeast at 50 mph.
April 24, 2019 - The National Weather Service in Shreveport has issued a Tornado Warning for Northwestern Sabine Parish in northwestern Louisiana, Southeastern Shelby County in eastern Texas, Northeastern San Augustine County in eastern Texas, Northwestern Sabine County in eastern Texas until midnight CDT.
(Updated): At 1134 PM CDT, a large and extremely dangerous tornado was located near Patroon, or 19 miles southeast of Center, moving northeast at 50
mph.
This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. TAKE COVER NOW!
HAZARD...Damaging tornado.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...You are in a life-threatening situation. Flying debris may be deadly to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be destroyed. Considerable damage to homes, businesses, and vehicles is likely and complete destruction is possible.
Locations impacted include San Augustine, Zwolle, Converse, Bland Lake, Patroon, Huxley, Noble, Hurstown, Sexton, Calgary, Toledo Bend Reservoir North and Jordans Store.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
To repeat, a large, extremely dangerous and potentially deadly tornado is developing. To protect your life, TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.
Tornadoes are extremely difficult to see and confirm at night. Do not wait to see or hear the tornado. TAKE COVER NOW!
April 22, 2019 - State Highway 87 South was the location of an 18-wheeler chicken hauler roll over at CR 3012, as of 7:24am April 22, 2019.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Keith Jones, at 7:18am a maroon 2018 Kenworth owned by JBS Transportation and driven by Jeffery Harvey Undercoffler, 53, of Douglas was northbound on State Highway 87 South.
As the truck entered a curve it was traveling at an unsafe speed due to the curve and overturned with the trailer it was hauling blocking the outside northbound lane.
No injuries were reported as a result of the crash. Undercoffler was issued a citation for unsafe speed.
Center Fire Department and Shelby County Sheriff's Department assisted with traffic control at the crash scene.
Pilgrim’s Pride personnel arrived to help clear the area and a wrecker large wrecker righted the JBS Carriers hauler.
April 23, 2019 - The family of Nathaniel Cozart are seeking to find him. He was last seen on April 5, 2019 in the Shreveport area walking in the 400 block of North Market Street.
His Aunt Glenda King of Timpson reports he was traveling to Shreveport to visit a friend when he was in a crash. He reported having a bad headache following the crash.
Cozart lives outside of Mt. Enterpise and worked at Tyson Foods in Carthage. He is 49 years old, 5'6" tall and weighs approximately 160 pounds.
The family are concerned about his welfare. If you have information about the whereabouts of Nathaniel Cozart, please call Jewel Cozart at 903-392-5835.
April 23, 2019 - FM 417 was the scene of an 18-wheeler crash April 18, 2019 near the intersection of FM 2694.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Daniel Dellenger, at 3:35pm a blue 2000 Peterbilt owner by MKO Trucking Inc. and driven by James Lee Heiman, 46, of Center was eastbound on FM 417.
The Peterbilt was hauling a tanker trailer through a curve in the roadway when Heiman failed to drive in a single lane causing the Petetbilt and trailer to overturn in the eastbound ditch.
Heiman was transported from the scene by private vehicle to Nacogdoches Medical Center - Shelby Emergency Department for possible treatment.
The Shelbyville Volunteer Fire Department diverted traffic at the scene until the truck was able to be removed by a large wrecker.
April 21, 2019 - Toledo Bend proved literally to be the end of the road for three individuals fleeing law enforcement Friday night.
A chase began in Center around 12:30-midnight April 20, 2019 in the vicinity of Center ISD High School campus when three individuals failed to comply with a Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper who was attempting to pull over the Cadillac.
The Texas DPS Troopers had support of Shelby County SheriffDeputies, Center Police Department officers and Constable 1, 2 and 3 as the Cadillac traveled throughout the county.
Center Police Department traveled with DPS into San Augustine County and then back into Shelby County as the Cadillac continued at a high rate of speed toward the west end of the county.
As law enforcement units closed in the Cadillac traveled FM 2261 where it finally turned on CR 2833, which would bring an abrupt halt to the suspects flight.
The trip down CR 2833 resulted in the Cadillac leaving the road and traveling off a boat ramp into an inlet of Toledo Bend. One of the individuals escaped from the vehicle and made it to a stand of trees where a Center PD K9 later helped encourage the suspect to return to the officers.
Combined efforts of Hopkins Wrecker and Vail and Son Wrecker pulled the Cadillac back to dry land.
The three suspects arrested and transported to the Shelby County Jail included:
- Brent Denby, 25, of Center: evading with motor vehicle, felony 4; possession of a controlled Substance, felony 4; evading arrest, misdemeanor a; reckless driving, misdemeanor b; possession of marijuana, misdemeanor b; possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanor c.
- Devin Jackson, 27, Center: possession of a controlled substance, felony 4; forgery, felony 3; exploitation of elderly, felony 3; possession of marijuana, misdemeanor b; possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanor c.
- Lindsey Bush, 30, Center: exploitation of elderly, felony 3; forgery, felony 3.
April 18, 2019 - County Road 1265 was the scene of a two-vehicle collision Wednesday, April 17, 2019.
Following the crash, both vehicles remained in the roadway with what appeared to be major damage.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Taylor Buster, at around 4pm a red 2017 Toyota Corolla driven by Jonathan Doyle Melton, 40, of Center was eastbound on CR 1265.
At that time, Melton failed to give one half of roadway to an oncoming vehicle which was a beige 1998 Toyota Camry driven by Jeffrey Quinn, 32, of Center.
No injuries were reported as a result of the crash, and both vehicles were towed from the scene.
Melton was issued a citation for fail to give one half of roadway meeting oncoming vehicle, and Quinn was issued a citation for no insurance.
April 14, 2019 – Crews are scheduled to begin a mill and inlay project Sunday night on SH 87 in Shelby County. The work is scheduled to be operational through the city of Center on Tenaha Street (US 87) beginning at 7 pm. Work will continue from Church Street to US 96 at the north traffic circle. Work is expected to continue nightly throughout the week, weather permitting.
Some delays through the work zone area should be expected as work progresses. Traffic control will be in place during work hours. Drivers are urged to stay alert for workers and moving equipment, obey all traffic control, and reduce speed near and through the work zone.
A mill and inlay project requires removing the upper layer of the existing asphalt in order to remove any cracks, ruts and imperfections. A thin layer of asphalt is then placed on top of the milled surface, which levels and extends the life of the roadway.
For more information, contact Rhonda.Oaks@txdot.gov or (936) 633-4395. For more information regarding road conditions statewide, visit drivetexas.org.
April 14, 2019 - SWEPCO has restored power to 9,200 customers after severe storms on Saturday struck the Ark-La-Tex. At the peak, about 16,700 customers were without power.
The outages include approximately 6,200 customers in Louisiana and 1,200 in Texas.
SWEPCO and contract linemen are working as quickly and as safely as possible to restore power throughout the day. Power is expected to be restored to 95 percent of customers by:
Louisiana
· Shreveport – 11:59 p.m. Sunday
· Benton – 11:59 p.m. Sunday
· Haughton – 11:59 p.m Sunday
· Mansfield – 10 p.m. Sunday
· Natchitoches – 10 p.m. Sunday
· Hornbeck – 10 p.m. Sunday
Texas
· Longview – 2 p.m. Sunday
· Marshall – 2 p.m. Sunday
How to report, track outages
· Use the SWEPCO app, available for download via the App Store or Google Play.
· Visit SWEPCO.com/OutageMap to find detailed information without logging into your account
· Sign up for text and email updates, including estimated time of restoration, at SWEPCO.com/Alerts.
· Call 1-888-218-3919 to report your outage
For updates and photos, follow SWEPCO on Facebook and Twitter.
Update: As of 9 PM, Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative is reporting approximately 1,000 outages. 800 of these outages are located in the Woden area and are dependent upon Oncor completing work on the line feeding into the DETEC system.
The other 200 outages are located in the Oakdale Community and Lake Pinkston area of Shelby County. This area saw heavy tornado activity and massive damage to the DETEC system.
At this time, outages are expected to continue into Monday afternoon.
If you or someone in your household is dependent upon life support, identify a location you can move to that has an alternate power source.
DETEC would like to remind members to be safe - STAY AWAY FROM ALL DOWNED LINES. Consider them all to be live and dangerous.
Outages may be reported by calling: 1-800-392-5986. Due to heavy call volume, please have the telephone number associated with your account and meter number available to expedite your outage report by using the automated system. This information may be found on your bill.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
April 14, 2019 - As of 12:30pm, Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative is reporting approximately 1,600 outages scattered across the system.
Crews are reporting many trees, lines and poles down. Please understand the extent of damage and continued high winds, has slowed restoration efforts considerably. At this time, outages are expected to continue into Monday afternoon.
If you or someone in your household is dependent upon life support, identify a location you can move to that has an alternate power source.
DETEC would like to remind members to be safe - STAY AWAY FROM ALL DOWNED LINES. Consider them all to be live and dangerous.
Outages may be reported by calling: 1-800-392-5986. Due to heavy call volume, please have the telephone number associated with your account and meter number available to expedite your outage report by using the automated system. This information may be found on your bill.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
As of 9:45 AM on Sunday, April 14th, Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative is reporting approximately 1,600 members remaining without power. Approximately 800 of these members are located in the Woden area and will remain out until Oncor can make repairs affecting our system. The remaining 800 are scattered across the system with the majority being in the southern portion.
Crews will continue to work as quickly and as safely as possible. Above all, DETEC encourages everyone to keep safety a priority. Should you encounter a downed line, consider it live and dangerous. Please report all downed lines and outages to DETEC at 1-800-392-5986.
Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative is a non-profit electricity provider serving 8 counties in Deep East Texas: San Augustine, Shelby, Sabine, Panola, Nacogdoches, Rusk, Jasper and Newton.
April 13, 2019 - A storm wreaked havoc on Boles Field Road which runs east from Shelbyville to Huxley through the Sabine National Forest and was littered with debris and fallen trees.
According to the National Weather Service alert, at 3:11 PM CDT severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from six miles north of Shelbyville to seven miles west of Pineland, moving east at 25 mph.
Tom Gardner and his wife Katy live on FM 2694, Boles Field Road, just past 'Welcome Hall' and they reported a tornado traveling through and lasting just minutes but left much damage in its wake.
Mrs. Gardner said, "It happened so quick, I come and looked out here and then looked out back and had a big tree done gone down back there. I said 'Lord have mercy.'" They also reported a tree collapsed on a dog kennel next to the house along with tree limbs down all around the property. It was noted leaves were plastered to the side of the house from the strong winds.
Besides the Gardners', other homes down Boles Field Road had trees down on their property as well.
The Shelbyville Volunteer Fire Department and the Huxley Volunteer Fire Department were paged out to help remove a large number of trees across the roadway. The Texas Department of Transportation then arrived with heavy equipment and moved the remaining debris off the roadway and pushed fallen trees into the woodline and as far away from the road as possible.
Along the edge and deep in the Sabine National Forest trees could be seen with the tops freshly snapped off.
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