Woman charged with sex assault on foster
son
BROWNWOOD -- A Brown County
woman accused of sexually assaulting her teenage foster son is
now facing a new charge involving yet another foster child.
Phylecia Bien, also known as Phylecia Humprhies,
was booked into the Brown County jail Thursday on a charge of
sexual assault of a child. Authorities say they discovered
through DNA testing, that Bien had a child with one of her
foster children. She's already been charged with sexual assault
of a child after similar incident.
Food pantries running low
ABILENE -- The high price of
food and gas is driving more people to seek the services of food
pantries in this area. The Food Bank of West Central
Texas has had a 15% increase in requests for their services just
since January. It's causing shortages all around.
Watch
our story…
John Knox road construction underway
ABILENE -- Street
construction begins this weekend on John Knox Boulevard.
City crews will begin tearing up John Knox from Curry Lane to
Ridgemont Drive. The construction is expected to last about
three weeks and all traffic will be rerouted. Businesses along
John Knox will have alternate access off Curry Lane, Ridgemont,
Rolling Green and Cedar Run Road.
May 15, 2008
House of Yahweh leader facing new bigamy
charge

ABILENE -- House of Yahweh
leader Yisrayl Hawkins was arrested Thursday on a bigamy charge.
Hawkins was arrested as he was paying a visit to his
pre-trial service officer. Hawkins is free on bond for
four other charges filed back in February. Those include
promotion of bigamy.
Watch
our story…
Man indicted on manslaughter charges
ABILENE -- A Taylor County grand jury has
indicted a man on two counts of intoxicated manslaughter.
Police say 21-year-old Andrew Lugo was speeding on South
Clack when his car slid and hit a parked vehicle. The accident
killed his 20 year-old passenger, Rachelle Rueda and her
unborn child. The
parked car that Lugo hit carried two officers with the Texas
Alcoholic Beverage Commission. One of the officers suffered
non-life threatening injuries. Lugo is facing two counts of
intoxicated manslaughter, a 2nd degree felony, and one count of
intoxicated assault, a 3rd degree felony. If found guilty, Lugo
faces up to 20 years in prison.
Father charged with injuring his young daughter
ABILENE -- An Abilene man has been indicted
for violently shaking his daughter. Police say on February
9th of this year, Ronald Ray Johnson shook his daughter
while watching her at home. Detectives say the mother didn't
know about the incident until several days later when the 3
month old was vomiting and wouldn't eat. She took the infant
girl to the hospital, and she was then flown to Fort Worth. The
baby girl is now blind and doctors believe she might also be
paralyzed. Injury to a child is a first degree felony,
punishable by up to life in prison.
New council acts on building for airport
noise
ABILENE -- The city council
seated a new member Thursday and swore in the incumbent mayor
and re-elected councilman. Robert Briley is the
new councilman for Place 4. During their meeting, the
council discussed noise ordinances and building standards for
new construction near airports.
Watch
our story…
May 14, 2008
What to do with Lincoln
ABILENE -- Abilene school
administrators continue to discuss what can be done with the
vacant Lincoln school building. The failure of the
four school bond propositions ended plans to renovate Lincoln as
a magnet school. The building continues to deteriorate as
it sits empty.
Watch
our story…
Drilling for danger
ABILENE -- Since the
shooting on the campus of West Virginia, colleges and
universities around the country are having to deal with the fear
of something like that happening again. That's why
many drill for that eventuality. That was the case
Wednesday on the campus of Abilene Christian University.
Watch
our story…
Winters Freeway
work postponed until next week
ABILENE -- City of
Abilene crews were scheduled to perform maintenance work on the
freeway’s lighting today but the work has been postponed.
The work has been rescheduled until sometime next week.
The work will be done on both the north and south bound lanes
from about the North 1st exit north. The city is waiting
on needed equipment to arrive.
Home
appraisals being reviewed
ABILENE
-- By now, most Taylor County homeowners have received
their property tax valuation notices in the mail. The
value of the average home in the area is up about 9% over last
year. If you think the appraisal district has your home
appraised to high you can appeal it. The deadline to do
that is June 1.
Watch
our story…
May 13, 2008
Teacher accused of sexual contact with
student
ABILENE
-- A former teacher in the Early ISD is in big trouble
with the law. She is charged with having sexual contact with a
student. 23-year-old Joy Blackstock is accused
of sexual contact with an 18-year-old student in mid-November of
last year. Blackstock was a choral teacher at Early. When she
was approached by police about the incident in April, Early
police chief David Mercer says the woman confessed and resigned
immediately. Blackstock is officially charged with a
inappropriate relationship with a student by an educator. That's
a second degree felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
High fuel costs pounding the county
budget
ABILENE -- Taylor County
Commissioners are struggling with fuel costs that have
skyrocketed in the last year. County maintainers,
sheriff's cars and other vehicles have already used 80% of the
fuel budget for the entire year.
Watch
our story…
Commission acts to spruce up the town
SWEETWATER -- The Town of
Sweetwater is fed up will all the abandon buildings creating
eyesores in the community. Tuesday, the City
Commission ordered that 25 rundown properties must either be
fixed up or torn down. Owners have a short deadline to get
it done.
Watch
our story…
House of Yahweh under increased scrutiny
CLYDE (AP) - Behind guarded,
ornate gates at the end of a rural road, a self-proclaimed
prophet warns his followers about the end of time -- and rails
against a dangerous and unclean world outside their West Texas
compound in
Clyde. But this isn't the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints'
ranch, which authorities raided last month in Eld
orado after
receiving reports that underage girls were being forced to marry
much older men. This is the House of Yahweh: a different, even
darker sect that the state has been investigating for years.
Authorities in February charged the group's 73-year-old leader
with performing polygamous weddings and forcing about 40
children -- some as young as 11 -- to work jobs at his 44-acre
compound. If convicted on the most serious charges, Yisrayl
Hawkins faces up to 20 years in prison. Another sect leader
goes to court this summer on charges of sexually abusing a
teenager, bigamy and welfare fraud. Although members deny they
practice polygamy, former members say Yisrayl Hawkins has at
least two dozen wives -- and state records show he fathered two
babies last year with women ages 19 and 22. Yisrayl Hawkins, who
has pleaded not guilty in his criminal case, told The Associated
Press that he and his church are misunderstood and persecuted
because of their religious beliefs.
CLICK HERE to find out when you may be
getting an Economic Stimulus check from the IRS
May 12, 2008
School renovations moving ahead in Clyde
CLYDE -- One of the few
places where voters OK'd a school bond issue this past weekend
is the Clyde ISD. Now, what plans do they have for the
almost $20 million dollars approved May 10?
Watch
our story…
A good place to do business
ABILENE -- Abilene is one of
the best small cities in Texas for business and careers
according to Forbes.com. Forbes conducted a study of more
than 150 small cities in the United States. Abilene trails only
College Station in the state...and our city rates 58 in the
nation. Criteria for the rankings included cost of business, job
growth and educational attainment. The Abilene Chamber of
Commerce is putting up billboards touting the ranking.
Gas drive-offs a growing problem
ABILENE -- With the price of
gasoline approaching $4 a gallon gas drive-offs are becoming a
bigger problem. Police say stations are reporting four
or five a day. Many are now requiring you to pay before
you pump.
Watch
our story…
May 10, 2008
Local officers attend national peace
officer memorial service
ABILENE -- Abilene police
officers are making their way to Washington, DC for a memorial
service next week for officers around the county killed in the
line of duty last year. Abilene officer Jeff McCoy
was one of those. McCoy died when his patrol vehicle was
struck by a drunk driver. Watch
our story…
Applications accepted soon for next police academy
ABILENE -- The Abilene police department is in
need of officers. They're currently 18 officers short of
full strength. In September nine cadets will graduate from the
police academy. A new academy will then begin in November. They
will begin testing for that academy on June 28th. You can apply
beginning Monday. Apply in person at City Hall or
find an
application packet on-line HERE.
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-- More on stories
you saw on KTXS News --
If you saw Janet Kwak's story about
Alzheimer's,
CLICK HERE
for more information
To learn more about becoming
a Pedometer Partner with
the Right Weigh program
CLICK HERE
Digital
television takes over in 2009. To learn how you can get
a coupon to help purchase a digital converter box
CLICK HERE
If you would
like to learn more about losing weight CLICK HERE
for
the USDA food pyramid
Looking to see if your property is in
a flood zone?
CHECK HERE
Abilene residents..Find
out when you can water HERE
Is your county under a burn ban?
CLICK HERE
to find out
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Latest Texas news from The Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) - The jobless rate in metro areas of Texas
slipped to 3.9 percent last month. That compares to unemployment
of 4.2 percent in March. The Workforce Commission says the
latest rate is the lowest unemployment for an April in Texas in
nearly 30 years.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A class-action lawsuit filed today in
Washington targets plans to build a fence between Texas and
Mexico. The suit brought by some Texas mayors and business
leaders says Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff wasn't
fair with Texas landowners. The agency has denied allegations of
unfair negotiations when it comes to a border fence.
HOUSTON (AP) - A federal judge in Houston has ordered prison
for three people in an insurance fraud scheme in which homes
were flooded. Prosecutors say the case involved water hoses
being turned on in the residences.
BRYAN, Texas (AP) - Officials with a Plano megachurch say
they're saddened by reports that one of their ministers is
charged with online solicitation of a minor. Bryan police say
52-year-old Joe Barron of Plano was arrested after allegedly
communicating with someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Officials with Prestonwood Baptist Church say they're
cooperating with police.
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