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  • The Latest: Fire Remains Uncontained After Texas Blast

    The Latest: Fire Remains Uncontained After Texas Blast

    PORT NECHES, Texas (AP) — The Latest on an explosion at a chemical plant in Texas (all times local):

    12 p.m.

    A company that owns a Texas plant that was rocked by an explosion says firefighters remain in a defensive mode as they continue trying to extinguish a blaze at the facility.

    Troy Monk, director of health safety and security with TPC Group, said at a news conference Wednesday that it’s unclear how long it will take to extinguish the fire that erupted after the 1 a.m. explosion at TPC’s plant in Port Neches, about 80 miles east of Houston.

    Monk said the three workers who were injured during the blast —two TPC employees and a contractor — have been treated and released from hospitals in Port Arthur and Houston.

    Monk said officials have not determined what caused the explosion, which blew out windows and knocked down doors of nearby homes.

    ___

    8:30 a.m.

    Environmental officials are monitoring the air quality after an explosion at a Texas plant sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky.

    Jefferson County Emergency Management coordinator Mike White tells the Beaumont Enterprise that no elevated chemical levels have been detected so far after the 1 a.m. Wednesday explosion at a TPC Group plant in Port Neches, about 80 miles east of Houston.

    Two TPC employees and a contractor were injured in the blast, which also blew out windows and knocked down doors at nearby homes. White says five residents are being treated for minor injuries, mostly related to shattered glass.

    TPC said later Wednesday morning that it had no details on the cause of the explosion or the extent of damage to the plant.

    ___

    2:30 a.m.

    A plant that produces chemical and petroleum-based products in East Texas has exploded, blowing out windows on homes several miles away.

    KFDM-TV reports that County Judge Jeff Branick says the explosion originated at a plant in Port Neches, near the Louisiana border.

    TPC Group says on its website that it provides a diverse range of quality products to chemical and petroleum-based companies worldwide. The site says the company employs more than 175 full-time employees and 50 contractors.

    The Nederland Volunteer Fire Department said on its Facebook page that there is a mandatory evacuation for everyone within a half mile of the TPC plant. It said the evacuation could expand to a greater area.

    No injuries have been reported.

  • Mississippi Teen Charged As Adult In Home Invasion, Assault

    Mississippi Teen Charged As Adult In Home Invasion, Assault

    MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A 15-year-old in Mississippi accused of knocking a woman in her 80s unconscious and stealing her car is being charged as an adult.

    Lauderdale County Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun told news outlets on Tuesday that Nathan Crews first approached the victim at her door, asking for a ride and some water. Calhoun said when the woman refused, Crews assaulted her and toted what appeared to be a real weapon, but was actually a BB gun.

    He says the victim is suffering from a serious head injury in a hospital. He added that the two didn’t know each other, but Crews had been in the area earlier.

    Calhoun is charged with burglary, aggravated assault, armed robbery and motor vehicle theft.

  • Mississippi City’s Police Chief Announces Plans To Retire

    Mississippi City’s Police Chief Announces Plans To Retire

    GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — After more than 25 years with the Gulfport Police Department, Chief Leonard J. Papania says he’s calling it quits.

    News outlets report Papania announced Tuesday that he will retire Aug. 30, 2020 from the position he’s held since 2013. He says it’s been an honor to serve the citizens of Gulfport.

    Papania began working in Gulfport in April 1991 as a reserve police officer. In November 1994, he gained a full-time position as a police officer. Serving in the Patrol and Narcotics divisions, and the Professional Standards Unit. He’s also worked for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

    Papania plans to continue serving the Gulf Coast community after he retires. He has accepted a position as director of youth services with the Open Doors Homeless Coalition.

  • 9 Plead Guilty In Theft Ring Related To New Orleans Gang

    9 Plead Guilty In Theft Ring Related To New Orleans Gang

    NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nine people involved in the New Orleans-based East Side Wheelie Kings bike gang have pleaded guilty in a scheme that stole more than $200,000 in motorcycles and 4-wheelers in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.

    The Sun Herald of Biloxi reports the vehicles were stolen from businesses, loaded on to stolen U-Hauls and taken back to New Orleans, where they were sold online. Seven defendants pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy in the plot, while two pleaded guilty to transportation of stolen vehicles across state lines. Each also faces states charges of burglary or receiving stolen property.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn Van Buskirk says the scheme started in February 2017 and lasted more than a year. The nine defendants now await sentencing on the federal charges.

  • Natchez board supports efforts to lure movie producers

    Natchez board supports efforts to lure movie producers

    NATCHEZ, Miss. – The Board of Aldermen plans to ask the state Legislature next year to allow city funds to be allocated to help get more movies and TV shows filmed in Natchez.

     

    Aldermen on Tuesday endorsed legislation to let the city’s economic development agency divert money to a new group – Film Natchez – that’s working to get more cinematic productions here. Film Natchez leaders include movie director Tate Taylor and producer John Norris, who this summer filmed Breaking News in Yuba County in Natchez.

     

    Current state law dictates how local funds are used for Natchez Inc., the business-recruitment agency for the city and Adams County. A bill can be filed to allow Natchez Inc. to act as a conduit for city funds to be specifically used to attract more filmmakers to Natchez, said city attorney Bob Latham.

     

    The Mississippi Legislature begins its annual session in January

     

    Among other matter at Tuesday’s city board meeting, aldermen agreed to let the state’s environmental protection agency have more underground water tests done at city-owned property that once was a tire plant.

     

    As Mayor Darryl Grennell and the Board of Aldermen try to rid themselves of the old Titan tire property on Kelly Avenue, the state Department of Environmental Quality continues to monitor the site for contamination

     

    City leaders have been entangled in a legal dispute against Titan, the property’s former tenant that ended its lease of the long-dormant tire plant in 2017.

     

    Few details about the lawsuit have been publicly brought up by city officials in the past couple of years as they discuss it in closed-door sessions. The city sued Titan for damages it allegedly caused to the property. Grennell and Latham have said they ultimately want the Illinois-based company to take ownership of the sprawling facility. The land and its deteriorating buildings are a financial and legal albatross for the city.

     

    The lawsuit did find its way to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which earlier this year denied Titan’s appeal to halt trial-court proceedings in Adams County Circuit Court.

     

    The old tire factory abuts Kelly and South Concord avenues and has been the source of pollution. Gasoline and cleaning solvents have seeped into groundwater. It’s been monitored by DEQ for several years.

     

    The tire plant was constructed for Armstrong Rubber Co. in 1939 with state financing. The property was deeded to the city. The Natchez tire manufacturer once had more than 1,000 employees. After Armstrong left, the property was used by successor tire-making tenants Fidelity, Condere and Titan. Titan took over in 1998 but shuttered the factory in 2001. It continued to lease the vacant property from the city until 2017. Titan removed factory equipment that belongs to the city, which is a point of contention in the city’s legal dispute with Titan.

     

    The 80-year-old tire plant is about a half-mile from Martin Luther King Street between MLK and D’Evereaux Drive in north Natchez.

     

    Natchez and Adams County government leaders have discussed applying for a federal grant to pay for further assessing the extent of the pollution and how much clean-up costs would be. The federal government provides money to rehabilitate polluted industrial properties that could be redeveloped. The so-called Brownfields program enables states, communities and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, clean up and reuse polluted properties.

  • Chief: Officers ‘Basically Ambushed’ In South Texas Shooting

    Chief: Officers ‘Basically Ambushed’ In South Texas Shooting

    Officers responding to a disturbance call early Tuesday in South Texas were “basically ambushed” by a man with a semi-automatic rifle who shot and injured one officer and two other people, the police chief said.

    Cesar Terrazas, 22, was arrested after authorities in Laredo near the Mexico border say he fired dozens of rounds at officers responding before 6 a.m., and then broke into a home where he continued shooting. Terrazas faces a series of felony charges including attempted capital murder, aggravated assault and burglary.

    “Our officers were basically ambushed,” Police Chief Claudio Treviño Jr. said at an afternoon news conference. “This individual was ready to face them and ready to murder them.”

    A 33-year-old officer was hit in the leg, and a 21-year-old man and 53-year-old woman were shot inside the home, Treviño said. The seven-year police veteran was released from a hospital, and the other two victims were in stable condition.

    Investigator Joe Baeza described the chaotic early-morning shootout in the border city of more than 261,000 people about 150 miles (241 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio. More than 70 rounds were fired, and Terrazas repeatedly reloaded his AR-style rifle, he said.

    “It was pitch dark, midnight dark, and the officers start hearing fire coming at them and didn’t know where it was coming from,” Baeza said.

    After opening fire on the officers on the city’s north side, Terrazas made his way into a nearby home and continued shooting before being eventually arrested without injury, Baeza said.

    It is unclear what led Terrazas to allegedly open fired on police. Baeza said investigators are still piecing together the crime scene but that Terrazas seems to have been motivated by “a bad break up that escalated to this point.” Police declined to identify the two people who were shot inside the home, saying they are being treated as victims of domestic violence.

    Terrazas has no previous criminal record, Baeza said.

  • Man Gets 39 Years For The Death Of His 13-Month-Old Son

    Man Gets 39 Years For The Death Of His 13-Month-Old Son

    BOSSIER CITY, La. (AP) — A Louisiana man has been sentenced to 39 years in prison for the death of his 13-month-old son.

    News outlets report 24-year-old Cory Hannon was sentenced Monday in the 2016 manslaughter death of his baby boy.

    The Bossier City District Attorney’s Office says Hannon admitted to being responsible for the baby’s death and blamed his action on years of drug abuse.

    An autopsy report showed that the baby died from massive internal injuries from blunt force trauma.

    A news release says the baby’s grandmother went to pick him up for the day. It says Hannon handed her the lifeless baby and said he was asleep.

    Efforts to revive the child were unsuccessful.

    The grandmother, Robin Bradford, says she’s glad the case is over and now her “grandbaby can rest.”

  • Hunters Kill 90,286 Deer During Gun Opening Weekend

    Hunters Kill 90,286 Deer During Gun Opening Weekend

    MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin wildlife officials say preliminary data shows hunters killed dramatically fewer deer during opening weekend of the state’s traditional nine-day gun season than in 2018.

    The state Department of Natural Resources released figures Tuesday that show hunters killed 90,286 on Saturday and Sunday. That’s down nearly 24% from 118,670 deer last year.

    The DNR had sold 464,120 licenses that allow hunters to kill deer with a firearm as of Friday. Department spokeswoman Sarah Hoye didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking the number of licenses sold through the Friday preceding the 2018 nine-day season for comparison and inquiring about other possible reasons for the harvest drop-off.

  • Erika Mireles 11.26.19

    [vc_single_image image=”1514″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”1515″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][headerText widget_name=”Birthday and Anniversary Cakes Provided By The Markets” level=”h3″ url=”” el_class=””]

    Happy Birthday to Erika Mireles!

    Birthday Cake winner 11/26/19

  • Which Turkey Will Trump Pardon? Will It Be Bread Or Butter?

    Which Turkey Will Trump Pardon? Will It Be Bread Or Butter?

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Which Thanksgiving turkey will earn a presidential pardon? Will it be Bread or Butter?

    The White House is sponsoring an online contest to help President Donald Trump as he contemplates his role in the 30-year-old tradition of sparing the National Thanksgiving Turkey.

    According to the White House, Bread is a 45-pound (20-kilogram) turkey who likes a cherry flavored soft drink called Cheerwine, bluegrass music and college basketball. Butter weighs 47 pounds (21 kilograms) and enjoys eating sweet potato fries, listening to bagpipes and watching NASCAR.

    Trump will name the bird he’ll pardon Tuesday afternoon at the White House. Afterward, he’ll fly to Florida for a campaign rally and to spend Thanksgiving with his family.

    President George H.W. Bush established the annual turkey pardon tradition in 1989 by sparing a 50-pound (23-kilogram) bird.